The Lowell Newsmagazine May 2022

May 2022

SEXPECTATIONS

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

ELISE MUCHOWSKI

EXPLORING LOWELLITES’ RELATIONSHIP WITH READING

by Sasha Fuetsch

YESHI WANGMU SHERPA

LOSAR, THE HIMILAYAN NEW YEAR

by Yeshi-Wangmu Sherpa

MARLENA ROHDE

TORN BETWEEN THE SUBURBS AND THE CITY

by Roman Fong

LOWELL ELECTIVE FAIR

by Reina Lee REINA LEE

MARLENA ROHDE

by Jackson Lewellen

SPREAD DESIGN BY ELISE MUCHOWSKI

THE UKRAINE WAR HITS CLOSE TO HOME FOR LOWELLITES

CONTENTS

4

Editorial

6

Column

By Rae Wymer

The best books are banned books

8

Multimedia

The music that made them

By Editorial Board

By Multimedia Staff

To Wellness: 15 minutes isn’t long enough

12 Cover

Sexpectations

19 Media review

West Side Story: A stereotype, not a storyline

By Sarah Liu

By Aaliyah Espanol-Rivas

20 Hot takes

By Darren Chin, Libby Bowie and Elise Muchowski

pinions on Trader Joe’s, ars , and prom dresses

22 Feature

Lowell freshman face stigma due to lottery admissions

27 Media review

Turning ed embracing the

By Laura Reyes and Kelcie Lee

By Chloe Chon

28 Comics

By Mella Bettag, Raymond Yuan, Nicole Wong, Daniela Lopez and Darixa Varela Mendrano

realities of puberty

“ ops , “ ental study beats , “ ram , “ og upremacy , and “ irst Kiss”

By placing a time limit on Wellness breaks, the health and wellness of students is not being prioritized.

Editors-in-Chief | Sarah Liu • Rae Wymer News Editors | Layla Wallerstein • Walker Whalen • Rae Wymer

Censorship limits our ability to understand and empathize with narratives that are not our own.

Opinion Editors | Karis Kotschnig • Sarah Liu Columns Editors | Issac Fukumura-White • Madeleine Johnston Sports Editor | Brandon Ng

Lowell’s passionate musicians recreate some of their favorite album covers.

Multimedia Editors | Jaxi Cohen • Marlena Rohde Art Manager | Mella Bettag Reporters | Ava Alberts • Angela Chen • Darren Chin • Chloe Chon • Roman Fong • Ashley Glancy • Anton

“There’s always this incentive for me to have sex or progress more into my sexual life even though I personally don’t want to.

Just because everyone else is doing it, and I want to be included.”

Kox • Brooke Laur • Kelcie Lee • Ruby Shaw • Isaac Olson • Aaliyah Espanol Rivas • Dylan Twyman • Sierra Sun • Victoria Pan • Maya Law • Laura Reyes Photographers | Libby Bowie • Jaxi Cohen • Lauren Kim • Abigail Lin • Kimi Norway • Marlena Rohde •

Despite the electrifying energy the movie brings, the film fails to address the foundation of the racist Puerto Rican representation it’s built upon.

Yeshi-Wangmu Sherpa • Reina Lee Illustrators | Mella Bettag • Elise Muchowski • Nicole Wong • Denis Yabut • Raymond Yuan • Charon Kwon • Daniela Lopez • Darixa Varela Medrano • Kaixu Yu

I’ve noticed that Trader Joe’s has attracted a cult-like following not only among Lowell students but nearly all San Francisco natives.

But unlike my classmates, I think it’s overrated.

Business Managers | Yi Luo • Primo Pelczynski Web Managers | Audrey Lau • Joanne Zeng Social Media Managers | Sasha Fuetsch • Erin Guo • Gianna Ou • Madeleine Johnston

Turning Red unapologetically illustrates that puberty, in all of its messiness, isn’t anything to be ashamed of.

Researcher | Saw Nwe Advisor | Eric Gustafson Accolades 2018 NSPA Print Pacemaker Finalist, 2014 NSPA Online Pacemaker, 2012 NSPA Print Pacemaker, 2011 NSPA All-American, 2011 NSPA Online Pacemaker, 2009 NSPA First Class Honors, 2007 NSPA Web Pacemaker, 2007

Various quick laughs drawn by the illustration staff

CSPA Gold Crown, 2007 NSPA All-American

@thelowell

SPREAD DESIGN BY ELISE MUCHOWSKI

“I feel like we’re portrayed as a dumb batch of Lowell kids. We’re just kind of looked down upon for that.”

EDITORIAL

O

To Wellness: 15 minutes isn’t long enough

ne of the places that Lowell students turn to during difficult times is the Wellness Center. With the many stresses of high school life, students need a safe, sheltered environment to relax in. However, in the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, a new policy was introduced that restricts usage of the Wellness Center to 15 minutes most days and 10 minutes on Wednesdays, down from an unlimited amount of time.

By placing a time limit on Wellness breaks, the health and wellness of students is not being prioritized. This time restriction negatively impacts the Lowell student body, failing to provide them with crucial support. We cannot support such a policy and believe the 15-minute limit should be removed.

This restriction is not only harmful to students, it is also without a known cause. There are no publicized reasons behind the implementation or continuation of this policy. When we asked what drove this policy, Wellness staff declined to speak on the topic.

This time limit may have been established in order to keep students in class. If students are allowed unlimited time excused, some students might abuse the Wellness Center to skip their classes. In doing this, they wouldn’t be appropriately utilizing the Wellness Center or its provisions, as well as not attending their classes. Having this limitation in place prevents this truancy.

However, many students don’t attend their classes regardless of the shortened break. This failure to improve attendance records invalidates the purpose of this restriction.

After spending 15 minutes in the Wellness Center, students are often still not fully prepared to return to their classes. If students are not going back to their classes after their time in the Wellness Center, there is no point in preventing them from staying longer. Junior Catherine Perez says that 15 minutes can be helpful, but afterwards they often still don’t feel well enough to return to class. They have depression which can cause the classroom atmosphere, with assignments and dozens of other students, to be overwhelming. Thus, they opt to stay out of classes and roam the halls. The time limit restriction is essentially pointless if it is not encouraging students to stay in their classes. Even if some students take advantage of the Wellness Center, it is vastly more important

to have the space available for students who need it.

Along with this, 15 minutes simply isn’t enough time to discuss personal issues, which should be a priority at the Wellness Center. It is difficult for students to open up on a personal level when having serious discussions with someone that they are not especially close to. Forming that relationship takes time, time that eats into the short 15 minutes that students have to discuss their issues with Wellness counselors. Rather than enforcing a time limit, the school should allow students to take as much as they need time to work through their issues in what they feel is a safe space.

Additionally, at Lowell, the Wellness Center is one of the few places on campus where students go to rest when they feel physically ill. Students may experience sleep loss and would feel relief in having somewhere to go and relax. The 15-minute restriction takes away this opportunity as students are no longer able to rest in the Wellness Center when they are feeling unwell. A common cause of poor health is sleep loss. When it comes to sleep schedules, Lowell students typically fare pretty poorly. In a survey conducted by The Lowell, 83.8 percent of students reported that they get seven or less hours of sleep, which is significantly less than the recommended eight to ten hours for teenagers.

Many students also experience a menstrual cycle, which can cause painful cramps. When experiencing physical pain most would prefer to be somewhere comfortable, a provision that is eliminated by this 15-minute policy. Student’s functionality is also decreased while they aren’t feeling their best, reducing the benefit of attending classes. It would be healthier and not significantly less productive for them to have somewhere else to stay aside from just their classes. Under the limiting conditions of this policy, the Wellness Center can no longer serve as a comfortable place for students to rest and address their personal needs.

Wellness visits should no longer have time restrictions. Students should be allowed to have longer Wellness breaks as limiting them to 15 minutes is detrimental to their health and ineffective at making students return to class. If student health, both mental and physical, is to seriously be taken into account, things have to change. The eradication of this restriction, or at the very least an extension to it, would be a step in the right direction.

Students should be allowed to have longer Wellness breaks as limiting them to 15 minutes is detrimental to their health and ineffective at making students return to class.

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The Lowell May 2022

CARTOON

Procrastination

The Lowell is published by the journalism classes of Lowell High School. All contents copyright Lowell High School journalism classes. All rights reserved. The Lowell strives to inform the public and to use its opinion sections as open forums for debate. All unsigned editorials are opinions of the staff. The Lowell welcomes comments on school-related issues from students, faculty and community members.

Send letters to the editors to t helowel lne ws@g mai l.com.

Names will be withheld upon request. We reserve the right to edit letters before publication.

ILLUSTRATION BY KAIXU YU

FROM THE EDITORS

The Lowell is a student-run publication distributed to thousands of readers including students, parents, teachers and alumni. All advertisement profits fund our newsmagazine issues.

To advertise online or in print, email thelowellmanagement@ gmail.com. Contact us: Lowell High School 1101 Eucalyptus Drive San Francisco, CA 94132 415-759-2730 or at t h e l ow e l l n e w s @ g m a i l . c o m

Dear readers of The Lowell, SPREAD DESIGN BY KELCIE LEE

It’s hard to fathom that this is our last magazine. This school year has been one of constant learning and growing.

Our May cover story tackles a topic that this publication has never covered before: sex. We often hear scandalous, overblown statements about the copious amount of sex that teenagers are having, but what actually is happening? This cover story, “Sexpectations” by Sarah Liu, is an effort to explore the different realities of teenagers’ sex lives, and open up the conversation around sex. Speaking of conversations, our feature story examines an issue the entire nation seems to have been talking about: lottery admissions at Lowell. We chronicle how the removal of academically selective admissions has impacted the social experiences of this year’s freshmen class.

This school year, we produced five print magazines and extensive online coverage on our Instagram account, including breaking news on sexual assault protests at our school and the massive budget cut to Lowell’s programs. None of this would have been possible without our incredible staff — and dozens of coffee runs, late nights in the journalism room, and a love for what we do. The best part about this job has always been the people: learning from both our sources and our staff members.

Over these last few weeks, we’ve been training a group of talented and dedicated assistant editors, the students that will inherit the publication next year. Watching them grow into their roles has been equal parts rewarding and bittersweet, reminding us of being in their position just a year ago. As we give you our last newsmagazine of our time at this publication, we will leave you with this inside scoop: The Lowell is in good hands.

Editors-in-Chief, Sarah Liu and Rae Wymer The Lowell May 2022

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COLUMN

The best books are banned books

BY RAE WYMER

T

he first time I read Maus, I was not prepared for the vicious history of Nazi Germany depicted in the graphic novel. At the age of nine, Holocaust was just a term, and Nazis were grouped into the juvenileysimplistic category of “bad guys.” I stumbled across a copy in my grandmother’s house, drawn in by Art Spiegelman’s illustrations. I curled up, the springs of my grandmother’s spare bunk bed squeaking and my nose full of the musty smell of her antique perfume, and read it in one sitting. Rather than an entertaining story, I received a necessary one. And it changed my life.

Maus scared me. The black and white drawings of Spiegelman’s story unfolded into a narrative of family, desperation, and the pain of the Jewish persecution in Nazi

PHOTO BY LIBBY BOWIE

Germany. It was dark, showing the brutality of concentration camps and the gruesome reality of Nazism. It has also been one of the most formative novels I’ve ever read. And then, in early February of 2022, I realized this book was being banned in Tennessee because it was deemed too violent. I was shocked, momentarily teleported back into my grandmother’s home as I remembered the moral weight of Spiegelman’s memoir. I was worried, worried to lose a story that society needs to grow.

ART SPIEGELMAN

Censorship limits our ability to understand and empathize with narratives that are not our own.

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A Books like Maus, and other banned works, can change people’s lives. They have changed mine, opening my mind to new perspectives and reshaping my morals. Every time a book is banned, we lie to ourselves about the realities of life.

Censorship limits our ability to understand and empathize with narratives that are not our own. These “difficult” novels are necessary for social growth. They are not books to be banned — they are precisely the ones we should read.

I’ve read Maus multiple times since my initial encounter and I find myself returning to it again and again because of the humanity that shines through the story.

Spiegelman’s memoir chronicles his relationship with his father and his father’s survival of Nazi Europe as a Polish Jew. Maus takes the reader to the most intimate level of understanding around this bloody conflict and its ripple effect on future generations. It is the type of story that cannot be told by a historian or a Holocaust researcher as Spieglman

is writing about his family’s experiences. Despite depicting one of the most horrific events in history, it doesn’t try to pass as pure historical analysis. The important aspects of Maus are the humanity and memories of Spiegelman’s father, not the sterilized facts of the past. You don’t get the personal connection of another human’s life in a history book, but you can see yourself in the pages of a story because you are also human. You can feel the emotions of the characters, feel his father’s desire to survive Auschwitz as well as the guilt he grapples with for having lived while so many did not.

These narratives spur discourse about progress, and banning books silences these necessary conversations before they even begin.

PHOTO BY MARLENA ROHDE

SPREAD DESIGN BY ANGELA CHEN

It is this universal connection that arises from a narrative like Maus which makes it stay with you. And why it shouldn’t be banned. Whether it be in the smallest detail, like the use of a wooden coat hanger instead of a wire one, or the larger narratives of family dynamics, there are flashpoints for readers to connect. Banning Maus is a detriment to society because it tells a story we often aren’t able to hear: a tale of survivors from their own perspective. Authors like Spiegelman take the history we have and the narratives we know and twist them together like a pane of molten glass until the readers can see a new perspective on the same surface, side by side their own.

Many novels, memoirs, and non-fiction books have been branded as inappropriate for their discussions of race, gender, sexuality, or other obscene content, a label that ignores the larger, relevant criticism within the pages.

However, these ideas — for books are truly just manifestations of ideas — are essential to our growth as a society. Books don’t always reflect our better angels, instead showcasing our darkest tendencies: war, rape, racism, slavery, and the brutal reminder that people are as vile as they are good. But these narratives spur discourse about progress, and banning books silences these necessary conversations before they even begin.

Even authors I abhor, such as Rudyard Kipling, who wrote horribly racist works including The Jungle Book and The White Man’s Burden, I would never censor. I would prefer people read Kipling’s work and understand why it should never be repeated, rather than acting like it was never written at all. When you ban a book, you’re not creating silence, you’re constructing an ignorant narrative, a false narrative.

These harsh realities, shown in Maus’ Europe, can also be found closer to home in James Baldwin’s America where his breathtaking prose and cultural critiques construct an astute perspective on America’s racial history. It is no

surprise his works have been criticized and banned. By writing authentically — without censoring himself, his identity as a queer man, or his experiences and opinions as a Black man — Baldwin changed my personal understanding of white elitism and race relations. People are once again calling for Baldwin’s novel Go Tell it on the Mountain to be banned from classrooms. Doing so would silence a perspective that marginalized groups, most notbably the queer black community, can find representation in. Censoring these stories, whether it be Spiegelman or Baldwin, limits social progress because we are not letting experiences that differ from the status quo be told. Future authors will hesitate to tell their stories if they do not see themselves in the media.

We are isolating people, removing their sense of belonging in society, by not giving them the space to tell their narratives.

Maus does what a lot of books try and fail to do; it is honest. And such is my experience with pieces of Kurt Vonnegut’s work as well. He has the haunting ability to create a story so disturbingly real that you feel like someone has peeled back the skin of humanity and dumped its bowels at your door. Perhaps that’s why many of his works have been banned over the years, including Slaughterhouse Five, which lays bare not only the cruelty of war but its absurdity. He creates a humor around war, as if letting the reader in on a secret joke: war is a tragedy too vast for us to not rely on humor to cope. His protagonist is the antithesis of your traditional war hero, showing the reader how war is hell and human nature is neither good nor bad, it just is. This honesty disturbs the reader because it pokes holes into your values. In a way he’s challenging them to look reality in its face, saying, “Here, look at the beauty and the horror of our world. What are you going to do about it?”

Books have always been starting points for difficult discussions. It is in these pages that we teach growth. You cannot hide from history, nor can you erase it. In my opinion, it’s better to address it head on and show the ugly sides of the past than ignore them. You have a better chance of making actual change that way.

The Lowell May 2022 7

MULTIMEDIA

THE MUSIC THAT MADE THEM Behind every artist is their inspiration. We talked to some of Lowell’s musically-inclined students about their favorite albums and how they found their way into music. From dad rock to K-pop, these students have a variety of musical backgrounds and inspirations. In this piece, our photographers captured students posing in their favorite album covers, brought to life by our illustrators.

UNLIMITED AMMO NAMASEN

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“For me there’s like tw o halves of the world; the audi o world and the visual world.

Music is like painting but with sounds.” “[This album] has a so rta artificial feeling to it, and unapologetically so which I think is cool... it’s ever ything I like about electronic and pop music.” ­— Isidore Lu (12th), C ellist and music production enth usiast

GRAPHIC BY ABIGAIL

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“Once I started playing guitar, my passion for music grew.”

“Once I see him again, I’ll finally be able to play the songs that I once heard him sing.”

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— Rafael Perez (11th), guitarist

TOO YOUNG TO BE SAD TATE MCRAE

SPREAD DESIGN BY MELLA BETTAG

“What I particularly find meaningful about this album is the constant amount of times my grandpa in Nicaragua used to play it.”

GRAPHIC BY REINA LEE AND CHARON KONG

SPREAD DESIGN BY MELLA BETTAG

“I love this album because not only does it relate to a younger audience, but it also emphasizes messages of growing older and the difficulties of it.”

“Complex emotions expressed through music is a new lens.”

— Rema Raghu (10th), songwriter

The Lowell May 2022

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The Lowell May 2022

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ne of my o s a h ] m u “[This alb ay It which is ‘S it n o s g n favorite so Ain’t So’”. rs they use a it u g e th on “The tones lways tried a e v I’ … e ic I can are really n tones and e s o th te a .” to recre never do it sic through u m to in t o tg “I kinda jus music with y la p ll ti s I d my dad an just a fun is ic s u m e him. To m hobby.” t th), guitaris 2 (1 n e ll e Lew — Jackson and singer

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The Lowell May 2022

SPREAD DESIGN BY MELLA BETTAG

my favorite it’s Chungh K-Pop solo ist... a’s 1st stud io album, I support he want to r on this.”

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SEXPECTATIONS Media, friends, and the Internet create preconceived ideas of what sex is like for teenagers, but their experiences often don’t line up with what is portrayed.

GRAPHICS BY

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SPREAD DESIGN BY MELLA BETTAG

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L

et’s talk about sex.

Often seen as the pinnacle of growing up in our culture, sex is a widely discussed milestone in students’ paths to adulthood. According to many Lowell students, before they experience sex, their expectations of it are formed by consuming media, hearing about their friends’ experiences, and societal norms spread on social media. Whether they are sexually active, not sexually active, or asexual, teenagers are struggling to reconcile their concieved expectations of sex while navigating the reality of their lived experiences. Students and experts alike agree that through education, inaccurate expectations of sex can be remedied and help students feel more represented.

Consumption of media and spending time on social media plays a big role in shaping students’ expectations of sex. In an April 2022 survey conducted by The Lowell of 12 randomly selected registries, 60 percent of respondents said that media was the most influential factor in forming their expectations and perceptions of sex. Some students feel that many movies and TV shows set in high school hyp ersexualize teenagers’ lives, which influences their expectations of how much sex they should be having. “A lot of people do think that it’s a very big part of The Lowell May 2022 14

ALL PHOTOS BY JAXI COHEN AND MARLENA ROHDE

COVER

life, especially at this age, because all around you, you see sex being a very key part of the portrayal of high school experience,” Alex, a senior under a pseudonym, said.

Lauren, a junior under a pseudonym, believes that students internalize the sexual experiences that they see on the screen as what sex is supposed to look and feel like. “A lot of people have this idea that it’s just like what they watch,” she said. “We are so young, we’re easily influenced by it.”

These expectations formed from the media and the Internet sometimes act as a type of informal education about sex, having the potential to shape how students move through their sex lives. Bob, a senior under a pseudonym, learned the majority of the information he knows about sex from the Internet. As a gay student, Bob did not see himself adequately educated about his sexuality in health class, which left him vulnerable to having his expectations formed from other, unregulated avenues. “There’s no curriculum…it’s just people telling you information, no matter how gross, no matter how bad, no matter how inappropriate,” he said.

Informal education has consequences, according to experts.

Ivy Chen, sex educator and gender and sexuality lecturer at San Francisco State University, believes that media portrayals of sex are inaccurate and harmful. “It sets up these super unrealistic expectations of how they’re supposed to act or what it means to be popular or to be accepted, what their bodies look like,” she said. “Unfortunately, I feel like it makes them feel like they have to be put in a little box.”

Social expectations are another factor that shapes students’ sexual literacy. When Lauren started dating her boyfriend, she felt like her friends who were also in relationships expected her to be having sex because of her relationship status. Although she is still a virgin, that

ALL PHOTOS BY JAXI COHEN AND MARLENA ROHDE

social assumption makes her feel pressure to rush into intimacy with her partner. “There’s always this incentive for me to have sex or progress more into my sexual life even though I personally don’t want to,” Lauren said. “Just because everyone else is doing it, and I want to be included.”

There is also a cultural expectation of teenagers to lose their virginity that comes from being in high school.

As students transition to adulthood, they experiment with and explore their identities, and sex can be an expected

part of that. “You don’t want to enter the world without this experience, and high school is a natural place [to gain it],” Bob said. Some students also want to avoid being labelled as a “college virgin,” by starting college without having sexual experience. Maya, a senior under a pseudonym that has lost her virginity, made it a priority to gain sexual experience before she leaves for college. “I don’t want to go to college and be inexperienced and have no idea what I’m doing,” she said.

Losing virginity can be an affirmation of identity, especially for students in the gay community. Bob wants to have sex because he feels like it would validate his identity as a gay man. “The goal is sex, because [now that] you’ve discovered that you’re gay, you need to put it into action,” he said. “I do identify as a gay man. But if it comes down to it, like, I’ve never had sex, so it’s like do I know?” For Bob, having

SPREAD DESIGN BY SAW NWE AND YESHI-WANGMU SHERPA AND CHLOE CHON

“All around you, you see sex being a very key part of the portrayal of high school experience.”

sex would be both a marker of growing up and settling into his sexuality.

Despite the possible expectations, and even pressure, for students to have sex, many are not. Eighty nine percent of survey respondents reported having had zero sexual partners, and 76 percent of currently sexually inactive people reported not wanting to be. Some students don’t feel adequately educated about the logistics and potential consequences of sex. Others are waiting for the right person to be intimate with. And the majority of Lowellities are not interested in it at this point in their lives.

Many Lowell students do not want to have sex. Sixty three percent of survey respondents cited not being interested in sex right now as the reason why they are not sexually active. Brendan, a junior using a psuedonym, doesn’t feel the desire or need to seek out sex right now. He has never dated someone or otherwise been in a situation where he would lose his virginity, and does not want to extend the effort to put himself into those situations. “It’s not something that I’ve really gone out of my way to pursue,” Brendan said. “I figure with school, friends — I have responsibilities already — that I don’t need to add more stress or just stuff on top of that.”

Students also cited wanting more time to mature before making the decision to be intimate with someone.

Lauren thinks that she’s too emotionally and mentally immature to experience sex right now, and does not want to rush into something she may not be completely prepared for. “When you are still young, your brain isn’t fully mature,” she said. “Some ideas in the world we can’t really understand

ALL INFOGRAPHICS BY SAW NWE

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COVER until we hit an age where we are like, ‘Oh, that’s what it means.’”

Many students also link readiness for sex with maturity: 74 percent of survey respondents said that the “ideal age” to have sex for the first time was 18 years old or older.

Not knowing enough about the logistics of having sex can contribute to students’ wariness towards it. Despite taking health class before her junior year, Lauren doesn’t feel like she knows how to navigate all the potential consequences of being sexually active. “What if I get pregnant? What if something goes wrong in the middle?” she said. “What if I don’t feel good? What if I said yes but actually didn’t want it after?”

People who identify as asexual feel little or no sexual desire. That is the case for 10 percent of the students surveyed, and possibly for 17 percent who are unsure if they’re asexual or not. Alex acknowledges that for their peers, sex is a big part of the “teenage experience,” but that isn’t the case for them since they are asexual. “I feel much more comfortable not partaking in sex, just existing outside of those experiences,” they said. They feel confident in their asexuality, with the help of supportive friends. But this isn’t the case for all asexual people. According to Alex, some asexual people feel pressure to feign interest in sex because of other people’s judgments. They feel isolated for not feeling sexual attraction in a society that is hyper-sexual. “I heard, mostly online, from people in the asexual community that they felt like broken basically because they’re like, ‘I’m not interested in this’ and everyone else is saying, ‘Oh, you should be,’” they said. qqqqStudents that do have sex also find that it does not always match their preconceieved notions. Maya thought that she wouldn’t be physically satisfied during sex because she believed that male partners would not care enough about her pleasure, an idea she internalized from videos she saw on TikTok. Consuming videos from creators that painted a jaded view of sex with cisgender men caused Maya to expect that sex would be unccomunicative and unpleasurable.

But when Maya had sex, she realized

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that her partner did care about her pleasure, and that it takes communication between both parties to truly develop a satisfying sex life.

When Maya first started having sex, her partner didn’t fully please her right away, but she didn’t voice her displeasure.

Maya learned that she had to take initiative to speak up and tell her partner what felt good to her instead of stewing in the pessimistic mindset. “I felt like I was betraying myself, but once I spoke up, it was a lot better,” she said.

Realizing that it took open communication and a willingness to prioritize your partner’s pleasure contrasted the seamless, effortless portrayal of sex in media that Maya had previously consumed. “It’s very glamorous, they look great, it’s very easy…

When a lot of the “You always time, I think it’s imagine your first not true,” she said. something time, right? You “It’s you have to learn anticipate it, or at with your partner.”

There are also least I did.” expectations that losing your virginity is a bigger deal than it is. Some students feel that dramatic, ceremonial portrayals of “the perfect first time” in various media can lead to heightened expectations and anxiety around performance. These expectations tainted senior Nikolai Hungate’s first time having sex, building up the suspense — and the pressure for it to be the perfect experience. “You always imagine your first time, right? You anticipate it, or at least I did,” he said. “Before I had sex, it was supposed to be a big deal in society.” Hungate’s first time was not flawless: he and his partner tried multiple times to have sex before it actually happened, once having to stop when he lost his erection due to nervousness. Hungate realized not only that having sex for the first time wasn’t seamless, but it also did not transform his identity. “When it happened, it

basic knowledge, like the importance of using condoms. “It’s very bare minimum,” she said. “So that’s why I didn’t feel like I learned anything from it. I was kind of disappointed.”

Students want to see a sex education curriculum that reflects their actual questions about sex. Health class usually focuses on the biological aspects of sexual health, and some students want to learn about the emotional aspects of sex as well. Bob feels like Health didn’t teach him anything about the buildup to or aftermath of sex. “We don’t talk about liking people or any sort of emotional thing,” he said. “We just talk about [it] like, ‘This is sex. This is what happens. Don’t get an STD or pregnant!’ and that’s it.” Bob would like to learn about healthy communication habits around sex: how to tell if someone does or doesn’t want to have sex, and how to communicate those desires to partners. Bob also wishes concepts like aftercare, kinks and fetishes, power dynamics, and resources for queer students (like how to prevent HIV) were covered. Chen also wants to see a curriculum that is in tune with what teenagers want to learn about. “We have to look at the rest of that young person’s life to try to actually teach sex ed in a way that would feel like it makes sense for them to incorporate into the rest of their life, that it actually feels relevant,” she said.

This education that encompasses all aspects of sex, from the physical to the emotional, is important to students because they think it will help them develop healthier relationships. Alex emphasized the importance of educating students about consent in making sure that all parties feel safe and comfortable during sexual encounters, which is not always present in pieces of media. “A lot of guys who might not ask for consent, like they see in the media that it’s normal to not ask for consent to make those advancements,” they said. “And therefore, it’s just much more normalized to do things without asking for consent.” Bob believes that this education would help students identify when they feel uncomfortable during sex, potentially helping sexual assault survivors realize what happened to them faster. “If they taught stuff about when you’re being emotionally manipulated into having sex with someone, this would happen a lot The Lowell May 2022 17

SPREAD DESIGN BY SAW NWE AND YESHI-WANGMU SHERPA AND CHLOE CHON

was cool. It wasn’t like a life changing thing for me,” he said.

To bridge the gap between the different expectations and distorted perceptions of sex, students and experts alike think that education is essential. Chen, the SF State lecturer, believes that education is a valuable tool to help students feel comfortable in their sexuality and make informed choices about their sex lives. “The more knowledge that kids have about their own body and the more information they have about things like body autonomy and agency as well as consent, the safer they are,” she said. Lowell health teacher Judith Brooks agrees that sex education is an important tool for teenagers to make better decisions now and later on in life. Brooks expressed her concern with how late in their high school career some Lowellites receive sex education. Lowell is the only high school in the SFUSD district that allows students to take health class at any year, which leads to many students opting to take it in their seniors and juniors years. This leads to many not gaining helpful information before they need it. However, Principal Joe Dominguez has announced that all freshmen will be required to take Health, starting next school year.

Chen believes education is the most effective when it is introduced early on, before students go through puberty. Because students are growing up in the digital age and forming their expectations of sex at younger ages than before, she wants formal sex education to happen earlier to counter this informal education. “When they do become teens or maybe start to experiment sexually or get into relationships, they already [will] have had years of this foundation of at least correct information and language to be able to talk about this even with their sex partners,” Chen said.

But the timing of sex education isn’t the only issue.

The content can also be lacking. Many students feel like the current health class curriculum does not adequately go into depth on the topics they want to learn about. When Lauren took Health over the summer, the curriculum primarily focused on drugs and only scratched the surface of sexual health, spending one day on it and covering only

COVER

quicker,” he said. Education about the emotional dimension of sex would also help students to truly focus on feeling good during sex, as opposed to the potential consequences of sex. “People forget that a lot of the time that sex is something you’re supposed to understand [and] grasp the concept [of], and then decide for yourself if you want to do it or not, and then enjoy it,” Bob said.

W i t h the prevalence of the Internet only growing, Chen wants to adapt to the ways students are actually leaning about sex. She believes that the future of sex education is online, and creating online learning tools to exist alongside entertainment about sex is essential. To do this, search engine algorithms could be reconfigured to bring up educational content about sex first, and cartoons geared towards younger kids could introduce sex in engaging and casual ways. “When we talk about sex and the way that it’s represented online, it’s often a bad thing…but I think that we could maybe use that tool for good, too,” Chen said.

Trying to remedy the distorted expectations that the

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ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY DARIXA VELANA MEDRANO

The Lowell May 2022

media can create is another way that students may be able to feel more comfortable in their sex lives. Chen believes that as a society, we need to make a collective effort to remind ourselves that media portrayals of sex are unrealistic. “Anything that’s in movies or TV, it’s going to be an exaggeration of something because it’s meant to be entertaining,” she said. “It’s gonna sensationalize teens’ lives.”

Growing into one’s sexuality is a new, sometimes scary, sometimes exhilarating process. Hungate emphasizes the importance of remembering that sex is something that every teenager figures out for themselves at their own pace. “It’s a new world you’re stepping into, and for some people it can be a pretty big deal, and so it can be scary,” he said. Maya wants students to know that they have control over how they approach sex.

“Your consensual experience is really up to how you make it,” Maya said. “Don’t make your expectations too high, don’t think it’s going to be some fantasy thing.”

*Darixa Velana Medrano contributed reporting.

MEDIA REVIEW

WEST SIDE STORY

A STEREOTYPE, NOT A STORYLINE

BY AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS

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The Lowell Month Year The Lowell May 2022

SPREAD DESIGN BY LIBBY BOWIE

n Steven Spielberg’s venture into movie musical adaptations with West Side Story, released in 2021, he pays homage to the original 1957 Broadway musical.

From the use of rugged New York, beautiful cinematography, and gifted actors, Spielberg takes the theatricality the original lacked and transforms the movie into a mesmerizing display of clashing cultures. Nonetheless, the impressive visuals do not disguise the ingenuine portrayal of Puerto Ricans, a flaw the movie fails to solve from its predecessors.

West Side Story is a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Set in New York in the 1950s, two star-crossed lovers, Tony and Maria, face the consequences of their forbidden love. Meanwhile, the Sharks and Jets gangs emerge as the newly immigrated Puerto Rican and white New Yorkers clash in the upper west side of New York. Tony, a Jet, yearns to start anew after being incarcerated for nearly killing a rival gangster. Maria, sister to the leader of the Sharks, longs for independence after immigrating from Puerto Rico.

In the recent adaptation of West Side Story, Spielberg deserves all the accolades. His cinematographic choices immerses the audience in the energetic atmosphere, with the camera shots never missing a beat throughout the intricate dance sequences, encouraging the audience to dance along.

Despite the electrifying energy the movie brings, the film fails to address the foundation of the racist Puerto Rican representation it’s built upon. First a broadway musical, writers were inspired by the increasing gang activity in New York due to conflict between Puerto Rican immigrants and white communities. Without consulting the Puerto Rican community while writing the screenplay, lyrics like “Puerto Rico. You ugly island . . .Island of tropic diseases,” were allowed. The musical’s problem lies in the original sourcing, with the inaccurate facts and wrongful interpretation of assimilation into America.

The Puerto Rican characters in the movie glorify America and shame their home country. This wasn’t the attitude carried, a s many Puerto Ricans in the 50s immigrated for better economic opportunities. Additionally, In the 1961 adaptation, Rita Moreno, was the only Latina in the whole movie, as all the Puerto Rican character leads were played by white actors with overexaggerated accents. Moreover, Moreno

stated in an interview for USA Today that makeup artists made her and her white co-stars skin darker than their own. Despite this racist portrayal, West Side Story won ten Oscars in 1962.

During the development of the script of the 2021 adaptation, Spielberg vowed to change the racist portrayal of Puerto Ricans. In 2019 he held a meeting at the University of Puerto Rico for input. Students felt it was unnecessary to remake West Side Story, as the concept came from observations, resulting in racist stereotypes being made about Puerto Ricans. Isel Rodriguez, a professor at the University of Puerto Rico voiced her ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF 20th CENTURY STUDIOS concern for Spielberg’s solutions. “I don’t know if they’ll be able to fix the problem with just Latino actors and good accents,” she said. Still, Spielberg continued on the project with his goal of authenticity.

He fell short on his goal.

Throughout the movie, there are 30 Puerto Rican characters, and in the 2021 adaptation, 20 of them were played by actors of Puerto Rican descent. Although all other Puerto Rican characters are played by talented Latinx actors, the lack of genuine representation repeats the mistakes of the originals. The two main Puerto Rican characters, Maria (Rachel Zegler) and Bernardo (David Alvarez), were played by non-Puerto Ricans. As talented as Zegler and Alvarez are, why couldn’t Spielberg cast Puerto Rican actors as leads if he wanted to make the movie authentic? Furthermore, all Latinx and Puerto Rican actors were taught how to do a Puerto Rican accent. To viewers, the accents were overexaggerated and distracting in many scenes, a repeated mistake.

Though Spielberg had good intentions to save West Side Story, the narrative has passed its expiration date. Whi le the songs remained engraved in my head until now, it does not change the fact the movie could’ve been executed in a way that truly reflected Puerto Rican culture.

While it was an honest attempt, Hollywood should avoid portraying cultures that aren’t their own.

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HOT TAKES

LAUREN KIM

T HA OK E T S 20

The Lowell May 2022

Trader Joe’s or Trashy Joe’s?

By Darren Chin

F

o r m a n y people, walking through the sliding doors of Trader Joe’s is like walking through the gates of heaven. For me, it’s more like the gates of hell.

Since my freshman year, I’ve noticed that Trader Joe’s has attracted a cult-like following not only among Lowell students but nearly all San Francisco natives. But unlike my classmates, I think it’s overrated. Despite numerous gripes I have with the establishment, a few in particular stand out to me.

First of all, I’m annoyed by the stereotypical names Trader Joe’s gives its food. Take “Trader Mings,” for example. While such names can be seen as a harmless attempt at embracing the culture behind certain ethnic foods, many people (myself included) see these aliases as unnecessary and distasteful cultural appropriation.

But honestly, nitpicks about exterior labels and names aren’t the main reason I avoid Trader Joe’s nowadays.

The real culprit of my distaste? Trader Joe’s branded food is often inferior to the brand-name item it is trying to emulate. Yes, I am fully aware that this is its niche; Trader Joe’s entire identity as a grocery store is about selling food that is exclusive to its quirky and idiosyncratic brand. But to put it simply, these items just do not have the same quality as their counterparts. If I want Oreo’s, I have to settle for “Joe Joe’s.” If I’m craving Cheetos, I’m stuck with “Baked Cheese Crunchies.” The Trader Joe’s “substitute” for a popular food or snack is nothing more than a substandard knock-off.

And these food items aren’t even healthier; they often contain identical amounts of sugar and preservatives as their counterparts. While I’ll admit that they make a great kale salad kit, I remain unconvinced that Trader Joe’s is worth the hype it has been given.

LAUREN KIM

Cars 2: an anti-capitalist manifesto

Prom dress pages evoke American individualism

By Libby Bowie

By Elise Muchowski

D

espite the fictional and light-hearted nature of “Cars 2,” its parallels to current-day issues, particularly regarding corporations’ contributions to climate change, can hardly be overstated. Literature analyzing political systems often caters to an audience of people already well versed in the convoluted language of academia, namely those who can afford elite universities or have college educated parents, subsequently excluding a large number of people. “Cars 2,” however, is geared towards anyone over the age of three, making this masterpiece of politically critical media more accessible — and more entertaining.

The film follows its protagonist, Tow Mater, as he stumbles into a world of international spies. He joins agents Finn McMissle and Holly Shiftwell in uncovering a plot to sabotage the World Grand Prix, an international racing tournament. Mater discovers that Sir Axelrod, creator of the biofuel corporation sponsoring the competition, had been intentionally wrecking the race; using electromagnetic pulse guns to explode engines and crash race cars (all of which were

running on his biofuel). The ensuing chaos caused widespread distrust in biofuels, thus facilitating large-scale fossil fuel dependency – creating major profits for Axelrod, who recently acquired a massive oil deposit. This is a classic example of wealthy capitalists choosing personal gain over both the environment and the greater good. Sarge, a veteran jeep, sums it up aptly in his closing line: “Once big oil, always big oil…man.”

Fun and childish on the surface, “Cars 2” provides a critical and digestible take on capitalism. It combines classic entertainment with political commentary on the realities of big business and environmentally destructive practices.

Though allegedly not based on a true story, Sir Axelrod and his faulty biofuel represent all corporations, a reminder that they will always choose profit over people — or cars.

The Lowell May 2022

SPREAD DESIGN BY KELCIE LEE AND CHLOE CHON

PIXAR

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quick scroll on Instagram during the anxiety-inducing prom season can introduce you to “prom dress pages”, where students, mostly female students, submit pictures of their dresses before prom.

Why? To ensure they arrive at the event as the only ones wearing those outfits. Although these Instagram accounts may seem harmless, they encourage humiliation and promote a self-seeking mindset that is detrimental to young girls, advancing a harmful American culture of rivalry and insecurity.

American individualism is translated into prom dress pages, placing shame on high school girls that accidentally match dresses. After months of searching for the perfect dress, you become caught up in a contest of good looks, an unreasonable rivalry where only one of you can look the best. We need to change our mindset about prom attire and the need to look exceptional.

Prom dress pages encouraging the humiliation of merely sharing dresses takes away from the purpose of dances.

Individualistic prom dress pages stimulate competition and selfdoubt, distracting from the collective aspect of prom.

There is no concept of “sharing” in America, whether it comes to wealth, goods, or even prom dresses. As a result, students worry about matching, rather than relaxing. The unhealthy need to be distinct continues the pressure of being different, provoking insecurity. Every corner of America is stained with individualism, even the most crucial night of high school.

Prom should be about building new relationships with your community and having fun, not appearance and competition. Buy the dress you love, even if it’s “claimed” on the Instagram page.

JAXI COHEN

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BY J AXI C OH EN ,P HO TO S

A IN E R

Lowell freshmen face stigma due to lottery admissions

By Kelcie Lee and Laura Reyes

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The Lowell May 2022

SPREAD DESIGN BY JAXI COHEN

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The Lowell May 2022

FEATURE

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ILLUSTRATION BY CHARON KONG

ince 1966, Lowell students have been admitted based on their GPA and standardized test scores. But not this year. The Class of 2025 is the first grade in over 50 years to be admitted to Lowell through a lottery-based system. As a result of this, many members of the Lowell community have made assumptions about the freshmen’s academic ability. While some have correlated an underperformance in academics with the change in the admissions system, others have attributed it to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the time spent in distance learning. Now, freshmen confront these stereotypes and share their experiences with how this stigma is affecting them. Although few students face these demeaning comments or notice it, the surrounding stigma has impacted a minority of the freshmen class.

For decades, Lowell’s merit-based admissions system has been a unique factor that many community members used to separate Lowell from other San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) public high schools. The meritbased admissions assessed students based on their middle school grades, essay responses, and seventh grade test scores. In February 2021, five out of seven members of the SFUSD Board of Education voted to change Lowell’s meritbased admissions process to a lottery system. With the new lottery system, all prior forms of assessment were eliminated.

Initially, this change in policy was a temporary solution to the challenges of assessing students on their academic merit during distance learning. However, as the issue of Lowell’s

The lottery system has succeeded in bringing more ethnic diversity to Lowell. With the lottery in effect for the 2021-2022 school year, the number of Latinx students increased from 13 to 21 percent while the number of Black students increased from 2 to 4 percent. On this score, Math teacher Tyler Centers believes that the lottery system is an improvement. “The lottery system brings with it new opportunities for Lowell to expand on the diversity of backgrounds, ideas, and goals that are necessary for creating an equitable and supportive school community,” he said.

Since there is no longer a merit requirement, some people within the Lowell community, including students, teachers, and parents, began to devalue the freshman class and Lowell’s prestigious image.

Some even refer to them as “lottery kids.” According to freshmen Mira Kaminker and Ilya Shuster, among others, this pejorative term for Lowell’s Class of 2025 implies they are less intelligent, less motivated, and undeserving of their place at Lowell. In addition, some see this freshman class as bringing down the academic standard at Lowell. These assumptions have been fueled by data released by Principal Dominguez showing that 23 percent of the freshmen class had at least one D or F in the 2021 fall semester; this was in comparison to 10 percent of sophomores, 10 percent of juniors, and 7 percent of seniors. In addition, in a survey

by The Lowell administered to teachers, 77 percent believe the freshmen class is performing worse academically

According to an anonymous survey done by The Lowell, Lowell 69 percent of upperclassmen have heard remarks about freshmen in reaction to the lottery system at Lowell occaisionally or often. lack of diversity resurfaced, the SFUSD Board of Education passed Resolution No. 212-2A1 in February 2021, which implemented the lottery admissions process for the 2021-2022 school year and maintained it in December 2021 for at least the 2022-2023 school year. The Board members in favor of the lottery admissions process viewed the merit-based admissions as elitist, as it was shown to disadvantage Black and Latinx students, and thus saw the lottery system to be a viable solution.

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The Lowell May 2022

than previous years. And in another anonymous survey conducted by The Lowell on April 15 with seven randomly selected registries given to Lowell’s sophomores, juniors, and seniors, 49 percent of participants said or heard that the Class of 2025 was “troublesome,” “less Lowell like,” “not as hardworking,” “dumb,” and “don’t deserve their acceptance.” An anonymous freshman shared that “a teacher told the whole class we all had F’s because we were lottery.”

Making assumptions on Lowellites on how they were admitted is not a new phenomenon.

Prior to the change in admissions, students were admitted through the band system. Bands created benchmarks to assess grades, test scores, extracurriculars, and other extenuating circumstances of the prospective students. In Lowell’s previous admissions policy, band three allowed for students from underrepresented public and private schools an opportunity to attend Lowell through being nominated by their principal and meeting the minimum point criteria. Depending on specific circumstances regarding hardship or low-income backgrounds, students could be admitted to Lowell without high test scores and grades. As a result, many students would make assumptions about others’ lack of intellect or work ethic, labeling them as students who got into Lowell through band three, according to junior Aubrey Chikere. Chikere understands the frustration of current freshman students being called “lottery kids,” as she was referred to as a “band three kid” in her freshman year. This caused Chikere to question her worth and place at Lowell. “It’s like we didn’t deserve to be here — that I wasn’t deserving,” Chikere said.

“I wasn’t smart enough because I got in by band three.”

To many freshmen, repeatedly being called or

hearing the phrase “lottery kid” is frustrating and demeaning.

Freshman Stephanie Kuang says that when her class didn’t perform well academically, freshmen students would jokingly justify their performance by saying that the lottery system was to blame. “I feel like we’re portrayed as a dumb batch of Lowell kids,” Lily, a freshman using a pseudonym, said. “We’re just kind of looked down upon for that.”

The stigma surrounding the Class of 2025 has caused some freshmen to have difficult experiences at Lowell. Lily believes that assumptions made about the Class of 2025 have negatively affected her efforts in school, and even led her to quit extracurricular activities out of fear of judgment.

“Recently, I realized the stigma makes me subconsciously more self aware, and pressures me to watch my actions to not appear to be ‘dumb’ and seem like a stereotypical 2025 Lowell freshman,” she said. Kaminker often hears comments targeting freshmen, making them feel isolated. “I​t does affect my enjoyment at school because it creates more of a divide between the freshman and the other classes,” Kaminker said.

The “lottery kids” stigma disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous, and students of color. Freshman Neena Chapman believes that it can be partially attributed to the increase in ethnic and racial diversity in the freshman class compared to other classes. “There has been a big change in the school when it comes to the diversity in the school and some people aren’t so good with change,” Chapman said. Chikere said that she has witnessed freshman students addressing their Black classmates as “Lotts,” which is frustrating as it divides students by grade. “Personally, that makes me feel very confused and angry, because you guys are peers and you’re supposed to be one grade, one class. It shouldn’t be a division based on race,” Chikere said.

Although some freshmen have been called names as a result of the change in admission policy, a majority of them have not. In a survey given exclusively to Class of 2025 registries, 68 percent of respondents said they have not experienced negative comments from upperclassmen or teachers about being admitted through the lottery system. Shuster says that teachers have been supportive and accommodating of the freshmen class in their transition from online to in-person learning.

While teachers acknowledge freshmen are performing at a lower level than

“I feel like we’re portrayed as a dumb batch of Lowell kids, we’re just kind of looked down upon for that.”

SPREAD DESIGN BY AALIYAH ESPANOL-RIVAS & DYLAN TWYMAN

ALL INFOGRAPHICS BY SAW NWE

The Lowell May 2022

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FEATURE

PHOTO BY REINA LEE

ILYA SHUSTER

SPREAD DESIGN BY AALIYAH ESPANOL-RIVAS & DYLAN TWYMAN

previous years, they think the challenges of distance learning account for much of the lowering of grades.

Centers believes that poor academic performance is due to shortened class time during quarantine. “During distance learning, teachers had to be selective about what to teach and students didn’t always learn every topic,” Centers said. English Teacher Samuel Williams believes that with every freshmen class, comes some that struggle, but this year may be unique in that everyone returned to inperson learning. “This year some seem to be having an even harder time, but it’s hard to tell how much of this is a result of the admissions policy and how much of the pandemic,” Williams said.

Similar to the perspective of teachers, some freshmen also believe that distance learning negatively affected their academic performance. “I think there was a little bit of a learning curve coming off of quarantine learning,” Kuang said. “So initially, I felt upset at my middle school because I didn’t feel prepared.” An anonymous freshman agreed in a survey response.

“The only reason I think we could fall behind is due to the adjustment into in person learning,” they said.

Some freshmen disagree with the assumptions made by other students.

“In reality, [freshmen] actually do deserve to be here,” Lily said. “Most of the freshmen that I have seen are studious, but their efforts are not enough to evade the stereotype that we shouldn’t be here.” Chapman, who has heard people use the term “lottery kids,” finds it rude and insulting towards her and her classmates. “The students actually worked hard to get into the school,” Chapman said. World History teacher Lauretta Komlos has noticed that her freshmen students were excited to be at Lowell. “They were thrilled, and they were ready,” she said. “They were ready to work super hard and get on that ship and

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The Lowell May 2022

coast to accomplishment.”

A number of Lowell community members see this stigma as harmful and something that needs to come to a halt. Chikere believes that the first step is to stop the use of the term “lottery kids” when referring to the Class of

“We need to be clear that every student at Lowell has the potential to succeed and that how a student was admitted doesn’t define their ability.”

2025. Centers also believes that the freshmen class should not be labeled by how they were admitted. “Even if you disagree with lottery admissions, these students had no say in the matter and deserve the same respect and kindness we show every class,” he said. “We need to be clear that every student at Lowell has the potential to succeed and that how a student was admitted doesn’t define their ability.”

According to Chikere, the freshman students missed out on most of their middle school years but still have the potential to rise above the assumptions. “I feel like a lot of people look down on them and think that they’re not going to ever be as good as the upperclassmen,” Chikere said. “But they have the potential.”

MEDIA REVIEW

TURNING TURNING RED RED :: Embracing the realities of puberty

By Chloe Chon

IMAGES COURTESY OF PIXAR

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Turning Red unapologetically illustrates that puberty, in all of its messiness, isn’t anything to be ashamed of.

SPREAD DESIGN BY ELISE MUCHOWSKI

urning Red is one of Disney’s most controversial films; it’s also one of my favorites. The coming-of-age Pixar film follows Chinese-Canadian girl Meilin and her journey through adolescence, but with an unusual twist: she’s been bewitched by a generational curse that causes her to turn into a giant red panda under moments of emotional intensity. The film’s unabashed coverage of traditionally more stigmatized topics, such as menstruation and cultural conflict between community and identity, has made it stand out among the wide breadth of coming-of-age films.

Turning Red unapologetically illustrates that puberty, in all of its messiness, isn’t anything to be ashamed of.

Meilin’s sexual maturation is also characterized by awkward, clumsy instances of sexually charged thoughts and actions, a welcome change from that same collectedness. The scene where Meilin’s mother bursts into the bathroom equipped with sanitary pads and overbearing questions is the first time I’ve ever seen periods even mentioned in a Pixar film, although it’s a real, daunting part of many young teens’ lives.

Meilin’s defiant claim of “my panda, my choice” is likely a nod to the slogan “my body, my choice” that is often used regarding women’s abortion rights, and also signifies boundaries set by Meilin around her autonomy as she discovers who she is, and who she wants to be. While some berate its inappropriateness for young children, I found it gratifying: teens should never feel as if puberty and maturing are isolating or ostracizing phenomena. Instead of treating teenage development as a mere blip between childhood and adulthood, “Turning Red’’ depicts it as an independent journey of exploration and growth.

In addition to the physical aspects of growing up, one of the most relatable aspects of the film is the struggle between

Meilin’s self-identity and her cultural heritage. The cure to her red panda problem is to undertake a ritual that suppresses intense emotions like aggression, passion, and happiness.

This situation, also seemingly silly, is representative of bigger cultural themes: East Asian cultures often emphasize the health and interconnectedness of a community as a whole, contrasting the individualism in Western society.

Growing up, many East Asian people, including myself, were raised in an environment that taught us to conceal and control our emotions. The pressure on Meilin to give up large aspects of her personality for the sake of appearing more tame is a nod to the real-life pressure many Asian teens experience. The biggest choice she makes in the film is to keep her red panda despite her mother’s wishes, breaking the generational cycle of suppression that’s plagued her family for generations.

In the process, she teaches us that embracing all aspects of oneself is a healthy step towards growth and maturity.

Some critics claim that “Turning Red’’ is too specific to be palatable to a general audience, which is an unconvincing argument once you watch the actual movie. When reviewing the film, Cinema Outlet’s editor Sean O’Connell wrote that “The target audience for this one feels very specific and very narrow. If you are in it, this might work very well for you. I am not in it. This was exhausting.” However, the claim that a movie that discusses sexual maturation or menstruation isn’t relatable enough doesn’t make sense because the majority of people go through these changes. Adolescence,

with all its turbulent ups and downs, is not an experience specific to Meilin. Admittedly, the cultural elements of the film that include conflict between Meilin’s community and identity is not an experience shared by every viewer, but if the film focused on appealing to all demographics, it would become predictable and uninteresting. The portrayal of the struggle sends recognition to the many East Asian teens dealing with this struggle, often in silence.

This blending of both universal and more niche topics is what makes the film so riveting, as well as its rich depiction of growing up as a teen that many viewers will resonate with. “Turning Red’’ has become a turning point for both Asian representation and teenagers in film, and we should embrace the bold direction it’s taking us in.

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COMICS

COMICS

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“Oops”

by Mella Bettag

“Metal Study Beats”

by Nicole Wong

The Lowell May 2022

“Cram”

“Dog Supremacy”

by Darixa Verala Medrano

by Daniela Lopez

The Lowell May 2022

SPREAD DESIGN BY JAXI COHEN

“First Kiss”

by Raymond Yuan

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CROSSWORD Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ Lowell

Down 1. through Annie Leibovitz’s lens, circa 1981 2. diy orgasm 3. alter ego of David Bowie 4. baby prevention 6. Lowellites’ favorite vice 7. double trouble 8. the tumbling rocks 10. reversible sperm killer 14. “the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”

Across 5. another _____ in the wall 9. watermelon sugar 11. xanax, percocet, vicodin, codeine, etc.

12. _____ or pass 13. Frederick Hg’s band 15. Timmy T’s gift to NYU 16. 90s grunge band; something in the way 17. x(4 + 8(2)) = 4 log1010 18. fertile tubes 19. copper T 20. aka. embalming fluid, angel dust 21. perhaps what the beatles meant by Lucy 22. Walter White’s product 23. played at Giants game SPREAD DESIGN BY JAXI COHEN

Turn in your correctly completed crossword for a FREE BAKED GOOD! Come by the journalism lab (S107) during blocks 3, 4, or 5 to recieve your winnings! There will be a set number of baked goods per block. First come, first serve.