Issue 6, 17-18

the Nexus Westview High School

Sophia Righthouse (9) receives an award from the City Council for her immediate response after seeing a PQ fire.

See Righthouse Day, p. 2

January 26, 2018 | Vol. XVI, Issue 6 | 13500 Camino del Sur San Diego, CA 92129 | wvnexus.org

Courtesy of the Righthouse family

Dalia

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Scott Halander (science teacher) Jan. 19 | 8:20 PM | @MrHalander

“I’ve tweeted more tonight than all of this past month.

Reason: i don’t want to grade Final exams”

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In this

ISSUE Fine for those who $250k fail to register for the draft “One of the most flawed aspects of the draft comes from the consequences of failure to comply.”

See Draft, p. 7

120

Sandwiches Gonzalez donates to Tijuana per trip

Every other week, she travels to Mexico to hand out tortas to the homeless.

See Tortas, p. 3

9

Sources of funding for Westview

School finances come from resources: district, state, and donations.

See Funding, p. 2

Amber Li

Alex Jaberi Vivar (12) fist bumps the goalkeeper, Jose Guadarrama (12), before defending a corner kick during Westview’s game against the Nighthawks, Jan. 23. Jaberi Vivar joined the team in order to represent the school during his senior year but injured his ankle the day before his first practice with the team.

Last Piece of the Puzzle

After playing academy for four years, Jaberi Vivar takes his senior year soccer career to Westview.

Neek Azar

Editor in Chief It all happened in a heartbeat.

Alex Jaberi Vivar (12) remembers receiving the ball from his teammate, flicking it over a Rancho Bernardo defender, and then slotting the ball through another defender’s legs and past the goalkeeper to score his first ever varsity goal, Jan. 18.

He had consolidated the team’s unbeaten streak to start the league season, extending the team’s lead over the Broncos to two, with just a few touches of the ball.

“Scoring my first varsity goal felt really good,” Jaberi Vivar said. “Everyone was thrilled, especially coach Coughlin, because we were pretty much guaranteed the win at that point.”

Throughout his first three years of high school, Jaberi Vivar went through the same routine as every other soccer player: after class ends, he goes to the field, puts on his cleats, and starts playing.

The difference, however, was that during those years, he commuted to Irvine every day to play for his academy-level team. Academy, the highest level a youth player can reach, was Jaberi Vivar’s home from eighth grade through his ju-

Staff Writer

Students in PUSD choir and orchestra perform Mozart Requiem, Jan. 21.

See Choir, p. 2

See Soccer, p. 8

Alex Jaberi Vivar (12) prepares a kick while practicing for a game, Jan. 23.

Amber Hauw

Sharma shares enthusiasm for cars through Automobile Club, consulting Lydia Zhang

Daniel Lang

nior year. Unlike club, the academy season spans the entire year, meaning that one can’t play academy and high school at the same time. His senior year, however, Jaberi Vivar left the comfort of the team he’d played with for years, and decided to try out for the school’s varsity team.

“I was ready to experience the camaraderie of high school and just feel the pride of representing your school, which isn’t something that comes around very often in your lifetime,” Jaberi Vivar said. “When it does, you want to take advantage of it, so I had to have one last ride during my senior year.”

Immediately after joining the team, Jaberi Vivar noticed stark differences between the playing style and environments of academy teams and high school teams.

“High school [soccer] is more direct, with more one-onone opportunities,” he said. “I’d say it’s a lot more aggressive as well. I never remembered getting into as many physical battles [in academy] as I have in high school. Now I have to rely on my skill even more and be quicker in getting out of tight situations.”

Jaberi Vivar’s role on the field is often that of a playmaker, dictating play in the middle of the field. Normally, he said he plays as an attacking midfielder, but if the situation calls

The wind blew past a younger Deven Sharma’s (11) face as he ripped down the freeway, riding in the backseat of his father’s red 1995 Chevrolet Camaro Z28.

Miniature red cars to match were spread all over his room, along with other car memorabilia spread throughout the house--dozens of Car and Driver magazines scattered from his family’s monthly description, and the actual cars in their garage. And so, Sharma developed an interest in cars.

In his curiosity, he picked up one of the many Car and Driver magazines and started to flip through the pages.

Sharma was fascinated. And although his inability to read inhibited him from absorbing the meaning of the words, the pictures were enough to get him hooked.

After a while though, simply looking at the pictures wasn’t enough, Sharma needed more. His 5-year-old self was determined to learn more. So, as soon he learned how to spell car, he hopped onto a computer and started researching everything he could about every brand, model, and type of car out there.

By the time he was 6, Sharma was able to name every single car he saw on the road by name.

His knowledge of cars didn’t stagnate there.

Sharma continued to read every car magazine, extensively research everything he could about them, and eventually branched off into different aspects of cars: the finance and the

mechanics of them.

“The more I immersed myself in cars, the more I fell in love,” he said. “I wanted to know everything about them.”

Beginning in middle school, Sharma would frequent car repair shops to observe mechanics as they worked or to casually converse with them about various methods and techniques to fix cars.

“I would just walk up to guys and ask them what they were doing and once I got home I would look up YouTube videos online of what they were doing,” Sharma said. “Looking back on it, it’s crazy that I spent my entire free time in middle school doing that. But I really just wanted to broaden my knowledge base.”

By the time he got to high school, Sharma was sure of one thing: he wanted to take auto shop.

“Walking into registration, I had my little 4-by-4 sheet to take to one of my counselors,” Sharma said. “I had auto shop, auto shop, auto shop, auto shop written across the bars because I knew I wanted to do that all four years.”

After speaking to his counselor about his four-year plan though, Sharma was told that auto shop wasn’t offered as a class.

“My counselor told me that Westview was originally built more academic-oriented, so auto shop wasn’t a course offered,” Sharma said. “I was like, ‘Wait, hold up, what am I going to do now?’”

By the time the conversation was over, Sharma knew exact-

ly what he had to do: he was going to start a car club.

And he did his freshman year. Today, the club has grown to more than 30 members, all of whom share a similar passion as Sharma. Meetings typically feature a presentation by Sharma with a focus on whatever members pre-determine they want to learn. Some weeks it’s about finance and budgeting for a dream car, and how doing that isn’t necessarily impossible. Other weeks Sharma discusses the mechanical facet of cars, such as what fixing a head gasket means and entails. The possibilities are endless; whatever members want to learn, Sharma teaches.

“Deven literally knows everything about cars; the entire club really respects him for his knowledge,” Eric Sangella (11) said.

And for Sangella, as someone who is looking to buy a new car soon, Sharma’s advice has been invaluable.

“He’s been super helpful, giving me pointers on what features to look for in a car, helping me look for one, and giving me advice on which dealer to buy from,” Sangella said.

Outside of school, Sharma does something similar. He’s created his own car consulting app, which he’s turned into a business. Essentially, his customers give him a rundown of their lives, and he extrapolates different aspects that would be necessary when deciding what car to buy. He considers their financial situation, the lifestyle they live, and their personal

See Automobile Club, p. 3

Jan. 26, 2018 2 News the Nexus Breaking down the sources of school’s funding Mattie Sanseverino

Staff Writer Westview takes care of a large portion of its own finances, but PUSD directly handles things that are larger in scale.

These large scale items that are not factored into the site budget include the air conditioning system, leaks, walkie talkies, landscapers, security carts and electricity to name a few. Salaries are the largest district expense, and are not factored into site budgets.

The district aims to directly take care of the bare necessities to keep the school running, but there are several more items that Westview needs to pay for within its own budget.

These things range from toilet paper to textbooks, and all come from different portions of the school’s budget.

The money from each source is used for different purposes, and some sources are locked for use except in specific cases. For example, the lottery funds provided by the state may only be used to essential academic materials such as textbooks.

The sources can be put into three generalized categories: state, district and donations.

3

Primary Sources of School Funding

Donations

2

State

1

Distrcit

$12,500 Library/Student Services $9,314 Foundation Grants $10,000 General Donations $6,090 ELL Grant $14,490 EDY Grant $17,000 Lottery Funds

$140,698 Instructional

$25,894

Facilities

$8,302

Administration

The funding that comes from the district starts at the state level, but PUSD handles the filtering of the money among schools. The amount of money that filters to each school depends on factors such as school population and attendance.

If fewer students attend a PUSD school, that school will receive less money for its school’s budget from the district.

However, many of the sources of Westview’s budget, such as the lottery funds from the state and the instructional budget from the district, may only be used for specific items.

Each department handles the expenditures within, but once a month, representatives from departments and administration meet in what they call CADRE meetings to look over the overall plan for Westview’s budgets and policies.

Large grants that aren’t limited to a certain department and important decisions are often handled during these meetings.

Westview’s finance technician, Janet Waidelich, said that these meetings “help people understand each other and find ways to help each other.”

But, help doesn’t just come from within the school. “We are grateful for the extra funding from the foundation, PTSA, and donations,” Waidelich said. “We need outside help to make the learning environment better and more productive.”

1

2

3

Beyond handing the bare necessities, PUSD provides three main budgets for schools within the district.

The Instructional Budget can only be used for classroom supplies, substitute teachers when teachers are at conferences, copy machines, rental of facilities, and graduation.

The Administration Budget is allotted for items such as postage, office supplies, envelopes, and file folders.

Because of the large size of Westview’s office, the entire budget is needed for these supplies.

The Facilities Budget must be used for items such as toilet paper, soap, mops, trash can liners, and cleaning supplies. It also covers the additional facilities materials that go beyond what the district provides, such as extra tables and extra trash cans.

The state of California provides grants and lottery funds for California schools. Everything that comes from the state must be used for specified purposes that are approved by the state.

Lottery funds are donated to schools from the state’s lottery revenue. These funds from the state of California can only be used for basic educational supplies such as textbooks.

The Educationally Disadvantaged Youth Grant is given to Westview for students who are identified as at-risk for reasons such as being homeless, in foster care, and having parents who didn’t attend college.

The English Language Learning Center Grant may be utilized for students within the ELL program.

The funding provided by the state and the district isn’t enough to run the entirety of Westview, so donations play a helpful role in maintaining the school. Donations originate from countless sources, but are summed up in four areas.

General donations range from classroom donations, family donations, community member donations, and donations from the church that utilizes Westview’s facilities.

Foundation micro-grants go directly to faculty who apply for the grants.

For example, a science teacher may apply for a grant for new lab equipment, and the Westview Foundation may provide it.

The Foundation also provides funding for the library and student services office to cover for the extra hours that faculty works.

All data was provided by the Westview administration.

Design by Mattie Sanseverino

PUSD choirs collaborate to perform Mozart Requiem Andrea Chen News Editor

A mixture of melodies floated through the air as the altos, sopranos, tenors, and basses sang their respective tunes to the wave of guest conductor Dr. Keith Pederson’s baton.

The PUSD Advanced Ensembles and the Rancho Bernardo Chamber Orchestra united in order to put on the Mozart Requiem, Saturday and Sunday, at the Poway Center of the Performing Arts.

“My favorite part of this performance is definitely being able to sing with the other choirs from our district,” Singers council member Maya Howes (12) said. “I think that’s what makes music so special, because we may be yelling at each other at football games, but when we sing we all come together as one.”

Mozart was commissioned to write a requiem, but he fell sick and died before completing it.

“There’s so much behind [the story],” choir teacher Daniel Moyer said. “It’s one of the masterworks of choral orchestral

literature and it’s one of those things that are a monument to repeatedly for such a long period of time,” Howes said. “It our specific art form.” taught me how to have the stamina to sing high notes and how According to Moyer, the Mozart Requiem is notoriously to manage my breath control.” difficult, and as such, he prepared the students for the hardSoprano section leader and Singers council member Naner sections, such as the double fugue, dini Rajgopal (12), a soloist in the since the second day of school. performance, said that due to the clas“It’s a tricky piece because a lot of sicality of the music, it was difficult I think that my hardest chalit [the Requiem] is polyphonic, meanto keep singers inspired and keep their ing voices are singing different words attitudes positive. lenge was hitting the high and have different rhythms at different “There were very complex senotes repeatedly for such a times,” Moyer said. “There are severquences of notes and rhythms that long time.” al movements where it’s homophonic, were pretty advanced in comparison where everybody is saying the same to what we were used to,” Rajgopal Maya Howes (12) said. “That, mixed with Latin words words at the same time, but when everybody has got their own theme, or and a tall classical tone was difficult there are two themes weaving in and out from another, it gets to achieve.” pretty tricky to follow.”

Students practiced both during class with their choir teachDue to how technically demanding the piece was, many had ers and after school in a total of four group rehearsals. The first to adjust how they approached it, Howes said. two group rehearsals were comprised of just the PUSD choir “I think that my hardest challenge was hitting the high notes teachers and students. The third included Pederson, while the

fourth added the orchestra into the mix.

Both Howes and Singers council member Jack Setran (12) agreed that it was hard to stay together in the group rehearsals at first. “[A] challenge that I think the choir as a whole faced was being rhythmically on time together, especially the parts where we’re all singing the same melody but each part has to sing it at different times on top of each other,” Howes said.

“It’s easier to rehearse at individual schools because you are used to how your conductor leads you, but when all of the schools in PUSD convene with a new director, it can be difficult to learn his nuances and stay together as a unit,” Setran said.

Despite the challenges presented, the students continued to practice with the advice of Pederson and the other choir teachers.

“I was so proud of the effort that they put in, and the time that it took. I know how much time it takes to perform this piece. It is not an easy sing, and for them to handle it so well, with great poise and grace, I was very happy about that.”

Sophia M. Righthouse Day proclaimed in light of fire rescue Lydia Zhang

Staff Writer Sophia Righthouse (9) never thought she would ever have to use her disaster training.

Over the summer, Righthouse spent a week in San Bernardino at FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), a Young Marines youth camp. There, she learned about how to react during natural disasters, such as fires, that are common to California.

And so, when she saw the smoke plume from the structure fire at the garage of a building in the Soft Canyon Hills condo complexes on November 4, 2017 at 7 a.m. while driving on Black Mountain Road, she instantly recognized the type of fire it was and knew what to do. She quickly told her mother to call 911, and she and her father got out of the car to go knock on doors to awaken people who could potentially be affected by the fire.

“The fire was huge, and I didn’t really know where it came from, but at the time I was mostly just focused on getting all the families out,” Righthouse said.

At the risk of her own life, Righthouse helped

evacuate citizens from burning units, even physically evacuating an elderly woman herself.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but there is speculation that it started from an overheated washer or dryer or from a car in the garage.

Righthouse said she was relieved that everyone got out safely and no one was harmed.

“I’m thankful for all the training I’ve gone through that mentally prepared me for how to act during a stressful situation like the one I was in,” she said.

Word of her efforts traveled to city councilmember Chris Cate, who took it to a city council meeting to issue a proclamation to name January 23, 2018, “Sophia M. Righthouse Day” to honor her.

During the proclamation, council member Cate stated, “Sophia Righthouse is an outstanding example of a youth that embodies courage, honor, patriotism, volunteerism, civic responsibility, leadership, and a passion to help others. Individuals like Sophia, make our community better.”

The proclamation was presented on the same day of its issue, at 10 a.m. at the Council Chambers of the City of San Diego. The proclamation proclaimed her

as the District 6 Youth of the Year and also honored her other accomplishments, such as her founding of the Valuing Our Veterans flagpole program, which purchases flagpoles honoring veterans through the Young Marines, her community service through Girl Scouts, and her dedication to the JROTC program at Westview.

When Righthouse heard the news of her proclamation, she was more surprised than anything.

“I didn’t think that anything would come out of what I did, but I’m really grateful and excited that it’s happening,” she said.

In addition, Righthouse received the highest ribbon honor from JROTC, the Meritorious Achievement ribbon. It’s awarded to cadets for outstanding service to the community for a single qualifying act.

She plans to continue her participation in the JROTC program, in the hopes of one day being appointed to the United States Naval Academy.

Courtesy of the Righthouse family “I really just want to serve our country,” Righthouse said. “People fought for me so I would like to pay them back and return the favor.”

Sophia Righthouse (9) receives a proclamation naming Jan. 23 And she’s already begun to do that through her heroic life-saving efforts in her very own homebase. Sophia M. Righthouse Day from councilmember Chris Cate.

N E W S S TA N D What’s happening around campus...

1st

The five-page Athletic Packet for spring sports is due Feb. 1 by 12 p.m. Packets must be completed with a current physical.

$22

Tickets for ‘GLOW,’ the Winter Informal, will continue to go on sale next week for $22 until Feb. 2, when they will increase to $25.

5:30

Girls varsity basketball will play against Mt. Carmel tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the gym.

The boys varsity basketball game begins at 7 p.m.

12th

No Place for Hate Week, which aims to end divisions between students, takes place Feb. 12-16.

... and around the world.

“It’s not like anything I’ve experienced in my life.”

“The U.S. is pulling back from nothing.”

“I cringe to think your influence remains,”

“If you want results, you have to compromise.”

JEFFERY EDWARDS, Marshall County Attorney, expressing his shock after a high school shooting in Benton, Kentucky. Two people were killed and 17 injured by a 15-year-old male student.

GARY COHN, Director of President Trump’s National Economic Council, supporting the increased tariffs on washing machines and solar panels, insisting that the U.S. will still play a key role in global economics.

ALY RAISMAN, American gymnast and two-time Olympian, confronting former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who faces up to 175 years in jail for sexually abusing athletes.

HEIDI HEITKAMP, Democratic senator from North Dakota, defending her vote to end the government shutdown on Monday. Republicans are under fire for not taking a stronger stance on immigration.

Compiled by Kevin Lu, Evan Buckland, and Andrea Chen

3 Features

the Nexus

Jan. 26, 2018

Mattie’s Musings Mattie Sanseverino

Water Polo Teams and High School Themes

Courtesy of Martha Gomez

Monet Gonzalez (12) hands a homemade sandwich to a homeless resident of Tijuana. Inspired by her parents’ struggles, she drives there with 120 sandwiches every other Sunday to help out those in need.

Gonzalez family makes, delivers sandwiches for Tijuana’s homeless Grace Kim Staff Writer

On Saturdays, Monet Gonzalez (12) wakes up at 8 a.m. every morning to go buy ingredients for her 120 sandwiches she will deliver the next day.

After they come back from grocery shopping, they start to make tortas at about 9 a.m. with Gonzalez’s dad doing the eggs, Gonzalez’s mom making the bean paste, and Gonzalez packaging all the tortas and placing them in boxes for Mexico.

For six months, Gonzalez has been going to Tijuana with her parents every other weekend to deliver food for the homeless.

This small outreach organization created by her parents was inspired by the gratitude a stranger offered Gonzalez’s mother and father when they were living on the streets and struggling to take care of themselves.

“There was this one person that was very kind and offered them a room to stay and take care of themselves,” Gonzalez said. “For that one person to be so kind to give them something to eat and sleep has just affected all of us because without his help, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Gonzalez’s family was able to reach out to the home-

less with the help of her mother’s friend who was already giving out food to the homeless in Mexico and their passion for volunteering and helping out others.

“I really like to do outreach stuff like this and feed the homeless and for my mom to take action with me, it was great,” Gonzalez said.

Every other week, she makes 120 sandwiches called “tortas” with her parents and crosses the border to the bus station in Tijuana where they feed the homeless.

“For them to have a sandwich is a blessing even though it’s something small,” Gonzalez said.

Every Sunday, Gonzalez arrives to people in the bus station, standing up when they recognize her white Toyota Prius. People start to form a line and she unloads the box filled with tortas.

According to Gonzalez, several people have come up to her and her family and said “God Bless You.” When hearing this, Monet feels as if she is doing something with her efforts.

“The one thing I like to do is to help others as much as I can,” Gonzalez said. “It doesn’t really matter for me if they show appreciation or not.”

After several weeks, Gonzalez has met a variety of homeless people who began to help during these volun-

teering activities.

“There’s this one person who always helps us out by telling the people to get in line, wait in turn, and passes out water bottles to help us out,” Gonzalez said. “There’s also another person that’s very kind to all of us and always says thank you to all of us.”

According to Gonzalez, the homeless people are very thankful of the food and other gifts that are bestowed upon them.

“Before we get out, they’re all waiting in line to get their food and they’re very grateful about us coming,” Gonzalez said.

After volunteering, Gonzalez feels more grateful for what she has been given from her parents and the life she is living currently.

Because of the memory of kindness her parents received from a stranger, Gonzalez’s passion of volunteering and helping others has developed even more.

Although she is a senior and will be leaving for college, she plans to continue this outreach with her parents and hopes to live nearby.

“I won’t stop,” Gonzalez said. “I’m determined to hopefully get more volunteers to help me so that we can go [to Mexico] and find more places.”

A water polo game consists of four quarters. During my days as a varsity water polo player in the past, I had become familiar with the bench, so those four quarters went by slowly for me. I was an observer from the sidelines, just occasionally getting a taste of playing in the active waters. I was still having fun, but I didn’t feel quite as connected to the high stakes of each game.

This year, it’s different. I am a part of the starting lineup. I learn something new during each practice and utilize my new skills in the games. I am immersed in the game and forced away from the comforting familiarity of the bench. It’s my last year on this team, and I’m trying my best to make it count.

It’s my last year on another team, too. Water polo season is coming to a close, and my whole high school career is as well. My friends, classmates, and peers, the people I accidentally make eye contact with in the hallways, the students that make up the clustered hives within the Black Hole, they’re all on my team. It’s not the same as my 14-person water polo team, but I can’t help but draw parallels between the two.

It’s never a good idea to begin the first quarter of a water polo game with low energy. You’ll make mistakes. Your opponents will outswim you.

You’ll find yourself trailing by a goal or two. And by the time you make it to the end of the second quarter, you’re exhausted.

We’re all probably pretty exhausted right now, stumbling away from the second quarter of this school year. Maybe we started off slow, feeling like we lost the ball a few too many times. Or maybe we feel like we’ve been scoring during the first half of the school year.

Either way, the thing about being at the halfway point is that the whole game is still subject to change. There’s enough time to take a deep breath and commit to making it through what’s coming. After halftime, all that matters is finishing a strong game: minimizing errors, moving fast, scoring goals.

When I enter the third quarter of a game, I find the greatest success when I acknowledge that the mistakes I made earlier don’t matter anymore. The first half is over. Making a bad pass, missing a shot, failing a chemistry quiz, forgetting an assignment, it all doesn’t matter anymore. There’s still one half left.

It stings a little to let that sink in. There are only two quarters left in this school year. There’s still so much to do before we leave this place, before the final buzzer sounds.

Some of us on this 2,400-person team will be back in the fall, equipped and ready for more halftimes and opportunities to change the game. But for those of us who have left the bench, who are leaving this place for good with the turning of a tassel in June, this is it.

So I will make it count. I’ll worry less about what happened in the past and what’s going to happen in the future. Right now, I’m in the pool with all of my classmates. We’re a team and we’re pushing to not only finish, but to win this game.

Winning the game of high school, of Westview, means something different for everyone. If I leave this school with an acknowledgment of all my mistakes and nothing but hope for what’s coming next, I’d consider my diploma to be a trophy. I’d consider myself a winner.

New improv captains prepare team for tomorrow’s show Preparing for the Unpreparable For a successful show, improv performers play games that must touch on three points: location, relationship and conflict.

Location “Apartment” is a scene game where teams of two actors represent a different floor of an apartment building. Then, the actors on each floor must establish themselves and their lives.

Relationship In “ABA,” the team splits into two lines (line A and line B) side-by-side. While in those lines, the two people standing next to each other (one from each line) must establish a relationship in three sentences.

Conflict “Pick-a-text” is a game where two audience members volunteer their phones to two of the actors, who must then establish conflict using lines to each other from the audience members’ texts.

Design by Zara Irshad, Kristina Nguyen, Michelle Wang

Zara Irshad Staff Writer

Improv is a type of theater that’s spontaneous and in the moment, as actors put on a different show each time they perform. Simply put, improv is thinking on your feet.

“The difference between improv and a show, musical, or play that [Westview Theatre Company] is putting on is that [other shows] need structure,” Allison Dahl (12), co-captain of the improv team, said. “With Improv, rehearsals are going off of what we do [in the moment]. Instead of having a strict structure, we just see how things go.”

According to Dahl, during the teams’ rehearsals they play game upon game which are chosen by the co-captains and force the actors to make up a story as it progresses.

As co-captains of the team, Dahl, who has been on the team since her sophomore year, and Lisa Arseneau (12), who has been involved since her freshman year, have taken on immense responsibility.

The team has a professional advisor who simply helps out from time to time during rehearsals, leaving Dahl and Arseneau in control of how they want to run the team. They are in charge of nearly everything from running auditions, to choosing new members and planning rehearsals.

Team captains change each year, and are chosen by currents captains for the upcoming year based on skill and improvement.

With each change in leadership comes a different team dynamic.

“One of the big things that changes [as captains change] is the effects that leadership style has on how we run practices and shows [and] what type of humor is instilled.” Dahl said.

According to Arseneau, she and Dahl are striving to put a greater emphasis on the teamwork aspect of improv by engaging in more games and using the resulting bond the group develops to improve their performances during practices.

The teamwork aspect of improv is so crucial that during auditions, the co-captains look for “how [applicants] work with other people, the dynamic they have, and whether or not they accept the inputs that others put into a scene.” Dahl said. “We want someone who is gonna be supportive of other people and someone who has high energy.”

In order to prepare for the seemingly unpreparable, the group engages in various games and drills, all of which require interaction and trust.

A lot of these games require the actors to be completely in the moment, reflecting the very nature of improv, which is so fast-paced that most of the time actors aren’t able to plan out every detail of their performance.

Each improv performer has their own way of working to prepare themselves for this challenge; for Arseneau, it helps to not think about acting a certain way to stay in character, as that would invoke a sense of trying to control the way a scene goes. The performer must learn to go with the flow.

“That’s the thing about improv: It is funny but you can’t try and make it funny,” Arseneau said. “If you try, it’s never gonna work out; the comedy comes from the realness of it, the real life aspect of what’s going on.”

Dahl, on the other hand, tries to balance her thoughts during shows.

According to Dahl, finding that balance between listening to what her teammates are contributing to the scene and trying to figure out what she is going to do helps her stay true to her character. In addition , she focuses on how she can build her character in a way that contrasts with the others in the scene to engage the audience.

Relationship, location, and conflict are the three main criteria that each improv performer must address in order to carry out a successful show.

The improv team uses something called the “six month rule,” which requires the characters in a scene to have known each other for six months, to assure that they maintain interesting on-stage relationships.

In terms of location, both Arseneau and Dahl agree that the more absurd the setting is, the better. Rehearsal games have been set in locations from the inside of a cucumber to Mars. As far as conflict goes, most of the time, all it takes to introduce a compelling conflict is focusing in on a specific moment which leaves the audience in awe.

“Improv is just zooming in on a moment and starting right from there,” Arseneau said. “You have to act as if this has been going on for a long time, that [you’re] actually in this moment right now and you need to show people what’s going on.”

The more experienced improv actors help the new ones adapt to this style of thinking and lead by example.

With their first show of the year coming up tomorrow, both Dahl and Arseneau are excited to see what the new recruits bring to the team.

“We have a lot of new people so I’m excited to see what kind of energy they bring to the stage,” Dahl said. “[There are] a lot of creative people and I really enjoy having such an outgoing team.”

In the end, according to Dahl, each member brings their own unique sense of humor and creative style to the team that makes for a diverse group of actors.

“In improv, it’s important to have a broad mix of people, and although we do have some people who have been in shows before, some are from the sports side of campus or the ASB side of campus,” Dahl said. “I think it’s really important to get all those perspectives in there because what you get is different levels of energy from people in a scene.”

To spread knowledge about cars, Sharma revs up Automobile Club Automobile Club, from page 1 preferences in order to help them choose their perfect car.

“My business is how I make money from my obsession, well, my passion,” Sharma said. “It’s something I’m really focused on and I love helping people through my passion.”

As for Sharma’s own dream car, he doesn’t have one.

“Cars are really dynamic and some cars aren’t good for certain things,” he said. “I would really like a twin turbo Lamborghini, but the problem is you can’t pick up groceries in that car.”

So instead, Sharma has a dream garage. A deep British racing green Bentley Continental Supersports for daily errands, a tiffany blue RWB Porsche 993 or an orange Audi R8 v10 plus with black accents for track/road course racing, and a Gulf racing livery Gulf Mk1 Ford GT40 for vintage car racing.

For now though, Sharma is content with his very own two-toned carbon/silver 2014 Chevrolet Camaro that he uses to rip down the very same highway that his father once drove down in his Camaro, while he was in the backseat. Driving that car fills him with a visceral feeling, a feeling that he’s always felt with cars, and a feeling that’s drawn him to cars from the beginning. Because for Sharma, cars are more than an appliance for going from point A to point B; they’re his favorite type of economics to study, his favorite product of engineering and his favorite art to admire.

4 Features

the Nexus

Jan. 26, 2018

Miller recognized with staged reading for Playwrights Project

the Review The House 7

(out of 10)

Olivia Dealy

Album by Porches Neek Azar

Staff Writer

Throughout the night of Sept. 30 at The Old Globe’s Hattox Hall, six young women–including Sofia Miller (9)–patiently awaited their turn for the spotlight. Scattered throughout the audience, they anticipated their turn to receive recognition for months of brainstorming, writing, erasing and rewriting, which culminated in completion of their winning scripts for the California Young Playwrights Contest.

“It was really cool because they didn’t just call your name out, but when I got to go up on stage, there were also some actors that went up on stage and would read a portion of the script,” Miller said. “It was the first time I’d ever heard the script read out loud, and that was the first moment for me that I realized, ‘Wow, I actually did this.’”

Miller originally penned her play “A Life and Death Situation” as part of a school assignment last year in which everyone in her class submitted a play to the California Young Playwrights Contest. In September, Miller received word that her play stood among winning scripts out of 432 submitted and would receive a series of staged readings at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre in the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center at The Old Globe, Jan. 18-27.

“I found out right after school one day when my friend and I were listening to the voicemail I got from Rachael VanWormer, the contest coordinator, and I just freaked out,” Miller said. “I was honestly trying my hardest not to scream because I was still on the school campus, but I was overflowing with excitement. I couldn’t believe I won and I still have trouble believing it.”

According to Miller, a staged reading is nearly identical to the traditional play format in terms of the quality of acting, but rather the two forms differ in that the actors are permitted to hold their scripts rather than memorize them, and there’s less lighting, fewer props and minimal costumes.

Ultimately, Miller’s play centers around the dynamic between life and death as personified characters–Vivia (life) and Thane (death)–and a little human girl, Leora.

“It’s basically about the differences between two very different people and how sometimes it takes somebody else to help them see past those differences,” Miller said. “I’ve always really loved stories that subvert the normal and personify a lot of ideas, like life and death, and I really wanted to see how they would interact if they were actual people.”

According to Miller, the main conflict manifests itself in an argument between Vivia and Thane during a game of hide-and-go-seek between Vivia and Leora.

“Thane stumbles upon Leora hiding before Vivia finds her, and while Leora just wants to play with both Vivia and Thane, Vivia despises Thane and the conflict begins with their argument,” Miller said. “While Vivia wants to keep Leora and her creations of Life safe and Thane struggles with his identity as a killer, Leora is choosing between Life or Death, like the play’s title, though she doesn’t realize it.”

Courtesy of Ken Jacques

Actors Ramon Villa (top), Meg Stoll Tron (left) and Wisdom Yarborough (right) act during a staged reading of Sofia Miller’s (9) winning script from the California Young Playwrights Contest.

With approximately a month and a half of preparation prior to the final staged readings, the Playwrights Project paired each of the six contest winners with a dramaturg, or writing mentor, to help guide them through revisions of their script. Under the guidance of her dramaturg Thelma DeCastro, playwright and the Playwrights Project’s Community Program Coordinator, Miller completed two revisions of her play during this period. Together, Miller and DeCastro brainstormed ideas for revisions to further emphasize the major themes and overall message of the play. “[DeCastro] asked me lots of questions about the world I created and what I really wanted to show the audience and the message I wanted to give them when they left my play,” Miller said. “I want the audience to really see that there are a lot of differences between us humans that are very physical such as race, gender, and sexual orientation and I want people to see that these differences are okay, but we need to see past them and also try to understand each other on a basic level at least.”

In addition to highlighting the overarching themes of her play, the revisions to Miller’s play also served a second purpose–to shorten the script from its initial 20-minute duration to meet the official time constraints of 8-9 minutes

to fit all the staged readings and full productions of each program, respectively, into a single program.

In further preparation for the final staged readings, Miller and DeCastro attended regular rehearsals with the cast held at a local YMCA. “We would all get to talking about the play and how we wanted to show the audience my message not just through the writing but through the acting as well,” Miller said.

Although her play manifested from a school assignment, this introduction to playwriting, according to Miller, ultimately helped her unearth her desire to pursue a career in writing, namely writing novels, as well as rediscover her passion for writing in general.

“When I wrote for the Playwrights Project, it was really an eye-opener because I was kind of [in] a writing slump, or writer’s block, and hadn’t written in a while,” Miller said.

“But that assignment forced me to write and helped me realize that I love dialogue and I love [setting] up these characters on stage, watching how they interact with through dialogue and showing everything through their characterization. Overall, I’m very happy with the final draft, and I’m so thankful for all that the Playwrights Project has taught me.”

In a recent interview with Vice, Aaron Maine said that his latest album, The House, released under the name Porches, is an album about comfort with oneself.

Departing from his previous album, 2016’s Pool, Maine’s overwrought and polished mix of indie inclinations and dance-leaning production gave way to this year’s The House. With each song finished the day it was conceived, this album is an authentic, if sometimes sloppy, expression of Maine’s emotions throughout the recording of this album. Many songs retain an almost demo-like quality, emphasizing Maine’s message.

The House’s atmosphere teeters on a fine balance of stark, lonely introspection and a lush, bass-heavy hopefulness for the future.

The instrumentation often starts out cold, with Maine singing softly over sparse synths until the warmer, dance-oriented sounds kick in.

Songs like “Anymore” evolve from beginning to end, going from Maine singing over a mere drum loop during the first verse, to horns dominating the track shortly after.

In contrast, shorter, more understated interludes like “Understanding,” where Maine’s father sings, or “Åkeren,” where Maine himself sings in Norwegian, populate the tracklist. These interludes are enjoyable in small quantity, but they make up almost a third of the album and ultimately do little more than distract from the longer, more fleshed out tracks like the warm and hazy “Find Me,” which is straddled by two short, less thought-out tracks. Ultimately, these smaller tracks take the spotlight off the show-stopping moments and put it on unimportant moments.

When it comes to Maine’s sonic contemporaries 22, A Million and Farewell, Starlite! by Bon Iver and Francis and the Lights, respectively, are Maine’s closest matches, with all three albums mixing electronic expression and indie singing sensibilities.

The use of autotune interspersed with sparse atmospheric pads is most reminiscent of Bon Iver’s tasteful electronic construction of his folk roots and the more robust moments are most akin to Francis and the Lights’ climactic synth solos. A sense of soft vulnerability pervades The House and its largely due to the quiet autotuned singing filling the vast sonic quiet spaces that exist on this album.

On the other hand, more exciting moments are dotted around with synth and bass heavy dance tracks that are somehow still as emotionally affecting as the more quiet, despairing tracks.

On both sonic sides of the album, Maine’s lyrics and subject matter remain consistent in mood. Oftentimes, he’s singing to himself, often about vague “its” that are just outside of the audience’s realm of comprehension. The mood, however, is clear--Maine is figuratively stuck in his own head. With his lyrics going in circles, songs like “Find Me” give the listener a look into Maine’s mindstate, where he repeats motifs like “I’ll be fine once I’m alone/Just don’t let it find me.”

Maine’s effort with The House is a quiet one. He focuses his efforts on expressing himself not with a shout but with a whisper.

While the genre of synthpop seems inherently directly opposed to the idea of quiet music, Maine does it, and the result is a lean, smooth-edged project that sounds good played loudly on speakers, but is also enjoyable low in your earbuds while on a walk.

Wu, Gurram research cancer therapy under renowned biochemist

Mark Troftgruben Sports Editor

After waiting a few days, it’s the moment Sumanth Gurram (11) and David Wu (11) have been waiting for. Their cells have been multiplying by the hour in an incubator at the renowned Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) in Torrey Pines, and are now ready. But these aren’t just any cells, they are cancer cells, part of an in vitro experiment. After being washed in saline and placed in a suspension tube to be counted, the cells are then transferred to experimental well plates—they are ready for testing. The two are currently conducting research on a potentially new method of cancer therapy—exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs).

“EMFs are potentially important to this field because [they are] connected to biochemical reactions that are the first step in a larger, hypothesized project,” Gurram said. “They are also potentially better than standard therapy approaches like chemotherapy and radiotherapy because they are very localized or easy to direct at the tumor site, very low cost, not limited by tumor conditions as they use certain elements of tumor growth against the tumor, and are not as damaging to surrounding, healthy cells.”

For the past seven months, the two have been spending 16 hours each week to run lab experiments and read through detailed medical texts. Despite how complex and time-consuming their research is, Wu and Gurram have proven they are more than qualified to take on the challenge. Last summer, Wu qualified for the American Chemical Society U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad training camp, making him the one of the top 20 competitors out of 16,000 students. Gurram has also excelled in academics, taking many of the AP science courses as an underclassman and being a current hardware leader in Robotics. A year ago, the two began to research on the internet and collaborate on potential ideas for a project to present at the 2018 Intel Science Fair. They eventually came to question whether EMFs could be used as a form of cancer treatment.

Gurram was first exposed to the concept of EMFs in his AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism course.

“Since learning about [EMFs], I’ve always been curious about them,” he said. “It’s something you can’t see that is really powerful. When we began to think about its applications to cancer therapy, David and I searched the web and read more medical texts about it, as well as cancer treatments.”

During the early stages of their research, Wu and Gurram had to create a device, called a solenoid, that would emit EMFs and allow them to test their hypotheses.

“Basically, I came over to David’s house with several hundred feet of wire,” Gurram said. “We spent two and a half hours unwinding it and wrapping it around a plastic container.

David would wrap it using his fingers to straighten the wire and keep it at high tension, while I would use my fingernails to press the wire down and keep it from popping up. It took a tremendous amount of teamwork to put the solenoid together, but we were very happy with the way it turned out. Testing even confirmed that our calculations were right and that the solenoid was producing the magnetic field values we targeted.”

After creating their solenoid, all that Wu and Gurram needed were actual cancer cells to apply their EMFs on, a laboratory setting, and someone to guide them.

“Having a lab and such an experienced set of scientists who mentor is invaluable,” Gurram said. “The resources and suggestions you can get are really essential for the project to move forward from hypothesis to experimentation.”

Finding a lab to work in was by no means easy.

“It was really hit or miss,” Gurram said. “We were turned down by many labs that were busy, some of which expressed interest in the idea and gave us suggestions along the way. It’s difficult to find a lab because most of them simply don’t have a set program to help high-schoolers with these ideas.”

In June, Wu and Gurram were able to lock the interest of the Salvesen Lab at SBP. Not only did they have access to some of the world’s most advanced medical technology, but they were surprised when they discovered who their principal investigator was: Dr. Guy Salvesen. Salvesen is a world-famous South African-born biochemist who is best known for his work in the field of apoptosis, or “programmed cell death.” His research mainly focuses on proteases and their inhibitors in humans.

“Working with Dr. Salvesen is truly amazing,” Gurram said.

“We are so grateful that such a renowned scientist in the field of cancer research has agreed to help guide our project. Without him and the other scientists in his lab, we would not be where we are right now.”

“We wanted to work under Dr. Salvesen because he researches apoptosis, ‘programmed cell death,’ which is related to our project,” Wu said. “It’s really cool because it was kind of like meeting a celebrity from the scientific community.”

This research project has had its fair share of complications.

“The biggest challenge is that this research is relatively unexplored, meaning there is a lot of work that goes behind piecing together existing pieces of biochemical reactions into a different puzzle set that involves EMFs and a grander target of cancer cell death,” Gurram said.

Even the nature of biology provided them with problems.

“Another major challenge is the unpredictability of cells and biological experiments, which often force us to redesign and improve our experimental approach,” Wu said.

To make matters more difficult, Wu and Gurram have to complete their findings before an incoming deadline.

“We hope to present our research and findings at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair in March and the Intel Science Fair in May, so we must complete all of our research by then,” Wu said. “In addition, the longer we research, the more materials we use from the Salvesen Lab.” Despite all of these difficulties and challenges, the two say all of their efforts are worth it.

“My favorite aspect of working at this lab is that we are always learning and are constantly challenged to improve our ideas and methods,” Gurram said. “There’s just something very gratifying in trying to bring your idea to life, and working in a lab that you know will help you every step of the way.”

As of now, the findings of Wu and Gurram are strictly confidential. However, they hope to present their research at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair at UCSD in March and hopefully move on to the Intel Science Fair in Los Angeles in May. “This has been an amazing experience and I am truly grateful for it,” Gurram said. “Pursuits like this continue to catalyze my passion for STEM and keep inspiring me to come up with new ideas that can become hands-on engineering projects.”

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the Nexus

Jan. 26, 2018

6 Opinions the Nexus Editors in Chief Neek Azar* Alice Markman* News Editor Andrea Chen* Features Editor Kristina Nguyen Opinions Editor Kyle Petrie* Sports Editor Mark Troftgruben* Final Focus Editor Tiffany Le* Design Editor Amber Hauw Managing Editor Evan Buckland Staff Writers Nathan Chan Olivia Dealy* Zara Irshad Grace Kim Ameera Kumar Daniel Lang Lina Lew Amber Li Jessica Lin Kevin Lu Nicole Musano Kevin Pert Isabelle Ritter Mattie Sanseverino Michelle Wang Lydia Zhang* Julie Zhu Adviser Jeff Wenger To advertise in The Nexus, please call (858)-7802000, ext.3180 or email us at thewvnexus@gmail.

Assistant Adviser com Stephanie Tanaka *Member of the Editorial Board Westview • 13500 Camino del Sur San Diego, CA 92129 Tel: (858) 780-2000, ext. 3180 Email: thewvnexus@gmail.com Website: www.wvnexus.org Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association Spring National Convention 2017, Fourth Place Spring National Convention 2016, Seventh Place Spring National Convention 2015, Second Place Spring National Convention 2014, First Place Fall National Convention 2013, First Place Spring National Convention 2013, First Place Spring National Convention 2012, First Place Fall National Convention 2011, First Place Spring National Convention 2011, Fourth Place Spring National Convention 2010, First Place Fall National Convention 2009, Fourth Place Spring National Convention 2009, Fourth Place Spring National Convention 2008, Third Place Fall National Convention 2007, First Place Spring National Convention 2007, First Place San Diego County Journalism Education Association Grand Sweepstakes 2005-2008 First Place Newspaper Sweepstakes 2006, 2007, First Place San Diego Union Tribune Best High School Newspaper 2007, 2008 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Finalist 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2014 Pacemaker Winner 2003, 2008 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown Winner Spring 2012 Silver Crown Winner Spring 2011 Gold Crown Winner Spring 2010 Gold Crown Winner Spring 2009 Gold Medalist 2010

the Nexus

Jan. 26, 2018

Grad students protest GOP tax bill’s tuition waiver clause, incite change Nicole Musano

Staff Writer With all the desperation of a student pulling a lastminute-all-nighter, the Republican party unveiled its “long time coming” tax bill after two months. Indeed the official name for the bill, An Act to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Titles II and V of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2018, takes up more time to say than the amount of time republicans spent unfurling it in Congress.

From there, Republicans in the House and Senate passed the plan, despite the fact that it conflicted with their previous deficit ideology while simultaneously ignoring public opinion.

A partisan victory for Republicans but a loss to the American people and the fundamentals of democracy, the tax bill’s consequences were overshadowed by the looming threat of World War Three with North Korea fabricated for us through Trump’s tweets. President Donald Trump’s opposable thumbs and unfettered access to wifi was once again distracting the American people from seeing what was at stake with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In its earliest stages, the bill passed through the Senate with a tax on tuitions at the most prestigious and expensive private universities. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a provision that would make higher education for lower-to-middle-class students unattainable.

Currently, a number of graduate students obtain tuition-waivers by working or researching on campus.

The bill proposed that these tuition waivers be taxed, thereby taxing them as though it were income, even though students wouldn’t see that money to begin with.

Though most of the country was preoccupied in relearning duck and cover protocol, grad students faced

imminent nuclear threat by taking to the streets. Protests erupted across the country; students and teachers alike lobbied against the provision that would undermine many an education effort. At more than 40 graduate schools, students left classrooms and research labs to join in protests against the bill. They wrote letters to their representatives and called for them to argue against the provision’s placement. In a nationwide campaign spread through messages on Facebook and other social media networks, students assembled the Grad Tax Walkout to unite and hold protests on the same day.

Less than a month later, in the joint conference committee between the Senate and the House, Republicans decided that they would lose the battle to win the war.

They took out the taxation on tuition waivers and fo-

cused instead on helping rich people fight oppressive government regulation. For now, grad students must settle with their win and the knowledge that their voice does indeed hold power. Should they use the momentum and unity they’ve established through their movement, students could tackle other issues pertinent to their lives.

The right to protest is a fundamental constitutional right that must be exercised in order to establish a voice in this democratic republic; public opinion is a powerful tool.

Grad students don’t always protest, but when they do, they affect change. Maybe next time they’ll direct their efforts toward ridding themselves of student loan debt.

Staff Editorial Drug crises mistreated as criminal issues Overabundance of Kevin Pert communication platforms leaves students uninformed Staff Writer

Facebook, Twitter, Remind101, Homeroom Bulletins, Instagram: it seems that the number of communication platforms to students from ASB, the counselors, and the school itself has increased with each year. And we applaud these efforts; considering all that Westview has to offer, communication with students is vital. However, instead of opening students to information, they have done just the opposite: With each new social media platform opened, students begin to feel overwhelmed. With so many platforms (many of which prove unreliable) directed towards us, we lack a consistent source of relevant information.

This profusion of voices has bred ineffective communication.

Students are bombarded with irrelevant information, whether it be from the Poway Unified School District’s Twitter, which is filled with photos of elementary school field trips, or the ASB Twitter, which has been updated twice so far this school year. Students are left in the dark when it comes to beneficial information, such as when to expect certain college visits, or when the deadline is to register for the PSAT. Although much of this information can be found in the counseling bulletin or newsletter, these two are rarely looked at, possibly due to the lack of advertising they have.

Nov. 7, ASB held a vote deciding whether the winter dance would be formal or informal. Following the vote, many students, especially seniors, expressed outrage (as evidenced by the angry comments on ASB’s Instagram post announcing the informal win).

Students, particularly those without an Instagram account (the main source of advertisement for this vote) expressed frustrations that the vote wasn’t advertised enough, as they were off campus when it occurred. Although ASB should be applauded for its attempt at listening to students’ voices, the lack of efficient communication with the students must be rectified.

Instead of attempting to correct this issue by adding more platforms of communication, counselors, administrators and ASB should focus on providing one source rather than many outdated and unreliable ones. Having a reliable source to turn to, students can have quick and easy access to information they’d otherwise have to spend time scouring for, potentially missing posts about important deadlines in the process.

ASB, the administration and the counselors should collaborate on a universal platform, where each of them can own sub-accounts.

Students could opt-out for the information they don’t need, and opt-in for notifications from the sub-accounts they choose. For example, if the three were to form a shared MyConnect (an easy option considering the fact that every student already has an account), students could opt-in to hear notifications from ASB, but not from administration. If each sub-account posted important dates (such as deadlines to buy dance tickets in the case of ASB, or days we have off from school in the case of admin) at the top of their page, due dates would also be easier to track.

The counselors have attempted to create a main platform of information through the WVHS Counseling Class, which students are automatically enrolled in on MyConnect. But, more often than not, this “class” goes unnoticed, despite being a valuable source of information. Many students simply aren’t aware of its existence.

This could be due to the fact that it only encompasses a small portion of the information that students want to receive.

If counselors would collaborate with ASB and other programs to implement an efficient notification system, the class would receive greater awareness and information would have a more efficient route.

The Nexus Mission Statement The Nexus is an open form for student expression that aims to provide information to the public, following standards of accuracy, truthfulness, ethics and professionalism. The Nexus aspires to be a source of news, opinions and entertainment for its readers while showing enthusiasm in depth and coverage. In reporting information, writers strive for impartiality by presenting multiple viewpoints on issues. When opinions of an individual are expressed, they are labeled accordingly. Members of the editorial board write and select the staff editorial.

The Nexus is published by Journalism 2 students, and as the official student newspaper of Westview High School, it strives to maintain the open flow of communication fostered at school. All editorial decisions are made by members of staff, with guidance of advisor Jeff Wenger. The opinions published in The Nexus do not necessary represent those of Westview administration, Westview staff, or PUSD school board. Letters to the editor must be signed, as they represent the opinion of the individual. The editors select submissions for print based on relevancy to readers, and they may be edited for space or content reasons.

In the 1970s and ’80s, doctors were wary of prescribing opioids. Physicians had long been taught that opioids were addictive by nature and should largely be avoided. However, a letter to the editor published in the New England Journal of Medicine Jan. 10, 1980 changed all of that. Titled “Addiction Rare In Patients Treated With Narcotics” and only eleven lines long, this letter ended up having a snowball effect that helped set off the opioid epidemic. Despite being filled with flaws, the letter was cited over 55 times more frequently than other letters to the editor in that same issue; over time, the prevailing school of thought became that opioids were not addictive, and by the early ’90s opioids were being prescribed by the millions.

Fast forward to today. Widespread abuse of opioids, including OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, and heroin, has skyrocketed in the U.S.. The epidemic has caused the deaths of around 64,000 Americans per year, surpassing the number killed by the Vietnam War. The response to the recent opioid crisis has likely been the best the U.S. has seen, with President Donald Trump declaring a “health emergency” and calling for increased training for prescribers, enacting a federal initiative to pioneer non-addictive drugs, and suspending a rule that prevents Medicaid from funding many drug rehabilitation facilities. He did suggest an idea that was essentially the same concept as the “Just Say No” campaign by Nancy Reagan in response to the 1980s crack epidemic, which literally suggested just saying “no” to drugs

and failed spectacularly; nonetheless, it was a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, this step in the right direction is for all the wrong reasons. The opioid epidemic primarily affects white Americans, who account for around 82 percent of the epidemics deaths, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. However, it has been treated differently than other drug epidemics. To quote Dr. Andrew Kolodny, an expert specializing in opioid policy research.

“It’s good that we’re hearing it now. It’s too bad we didn’t hear it then.”

“Too bad” is a bit of an understatement, though.

When faced with a similar crisis during the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s, the response was nearly the opposite. Rather than being viewed as a health issue, it was labeled only as a criminal issue, with President Ronald Reagan declaring a “war on drugs” via a televised address. Weeks later, he enacted the first Anti-Drug Abuse Act with $1.7 billion in funding. Of the $1.7 billion allocated, approximately 86 percent went to law enforcement, prisons and interdiction, while 14 percent went to treatment, education and prevention. As a result of this, during the next two years drug use and sales increased, and social, legal and medical problems proliferated.

In this case, mandatory minimum sentencing laws meant that the government could effectively target specific groups via legislature. This was done during the earlier war on drugs in the 1960s, with President Richard Nixon’s domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman saying, “We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies

with marijuana and blacks with heroin.

And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.” Reagan’s war on drugs also targeted black people in devious ways, such as through his Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Because of the growing price of cocaine, crack became especially popular in low-income, primarily African-American communities, such as Harlem. The popularity of crack was largely due to that fact that it was cheap, so while it grew among primarily poor, black communities, powder cocaine was still popular in upper-class white areas. So in order to capitalize on this, the act mandated a minimum sentence of five years without parole for possession of five grams of crack cocaine, while only giving that same sentence for having 100 times the amount of that in powder cocaine. This sentencing was only changed in 2010 with the Fair Sentencing Act, but drug arrest rates have perfectly illustrated the effect of the act since its inception; from 1980 to 2010, the drug-arrest rate among black people rose from 6.5 to 29.1 per 1,000 people, while the white drug-arrest rate rose only from 3.5 to 4.6 per 1,000 people, per The Sentencing Project.

The solution to many of these issues are as straightforward as they seem: make drugs a health issue, not a criminal issue. Although I’m not suggesting to make all drugs legal, addiction needs to stop being treated as an issue that is purely the user’s fault. Fifty to 70 percent of people with substance abuse problems also suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health disorders, according to John Renner, president of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. For

this reason, it’s incredibly unfair to place the blame on drug users themselves. The only reasonable solution is to help build the resources that these individuals need instead of further devastating those in a situation that is already horrific. One would think the opioid epidemic would make legislators realize that the cause of this problem isn’t necessarily rooted in the users’ poor morals or lack of morals, but rather the situation they were put in.

Unfortunately, on issues other than the opioid epidemic, legislators have gone in the opposite direction. Despite every war on drugs in the U.S.’s history only increasing drug use and arrests, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has decided to bring back the mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug charges, thus undoing years of progress made during the Obama Administration, such as reducing sentences for crack cocaine relative to powder cocaine. The war on drugs was a dark time in the U.S.’s history, and its devastation of the black community should be a lesson in how not to address the problem, rather than a blueprint of what to do.

While the opioid epidemic will hopefully have its proposed solutions implemented soon, and politicians of all different backgrounds give respect to those affected by it, we shouldn’t only advocate for the victims of the opioid epidemic. A simple racial divide has completely alienated one group of victims while giving the other the limelight, and rather than falling back on policies that have failed miserably in the past, our country should be concerned with finding quality solutions to an epidemic that has killed more Americans last year than the Vietnam War.

A modest proposal for Tide Pod consumers: dig in Kyle Petrie

Opinions Editor Each of my years of schooling has been defined by a fad—some ridiculous possession or challenge that everyone has to own or try. It started for me in second grade with the rise of Tech Decks, followed by fourth and fifth grades’ O-so-frequently-misplaced pencil toppers and Silly Bandz.

As I got older, the fads evolved from material collectibles to so-called challenges. These challenges came in almost as wide a variety as the material fads that preceded them. Some, such as the 2014’s Ice Bucket Challenge, were designed to raise awareness for a cause—and did so rather successfully. A handful, including the Mannequin Challenge and (for the most part) Planking were simply designed as harmless dares to pass the time. Other dares, however, were not quite as harmless, with Exhibit A being the Cinnamon Challenge, wherein one must swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon in under 60 seconds. According to The New York Times, this would often immediately result in violent coughing, gagging, or vomiting, and often led to severe inflammation or lung damage. Many of those who accepted the Cinnamon Challenge were sent to hospitals or poison control centers.

But we humans always learn from our mistakes, right? We would never repeat an equally foolish or potentially fatal “challenge” only a few years after we abandoned the last one, right?

Wrong. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the Tide Pod Challenge.

If you have not yet heard about this new addition to a list of idiotic fad-challenges, its participants will film themselves biting into Tide Pods (filled with toxic laundry detergent, mind you) for a short-lived experience of Internet fame. The appeal to eat them apparently comes from their tempting smell, squishy texture, and colorful, Gusher-like appearance.

The remaining portion of the world that isn’t preoccupied with ingesting laundry soap has snapped into action on this matter. The company Tide took to Twitter to urge followers not to eat their product. Many newspapers and websites have also released statements to

inform the public that Tide Pods are not safe to eat, garnering headlines like The Washington Post’s “Teens are daring each other to eat Tide pods. We don’t need to tell you that’s a bad idea” or College Humor’s “Don’t Eat the Laundry Pods. (Seriously. They’re Poison.)”

However, I feel that the time for caution and concern has passed. A different approach to this problem would not only be refreshing, but is also necessary. The answer struck me after reading about a man, Acton Beale, who, during the height of the planking fad, planked on the balcony of a seven-story building and fell to his death. Beale won a posthumous Darwin Award, a satirical accolade designed to commend those who have helped human evolution by removing themselves from the gene pool. It occurred to me that those who are willing to eat laundry detergent for viral fame are inevitably heading toward the same humiliating fate.

Therefore, rather than grow concerned about the Tide Pod Challenge, we should simply use it to our advantage—specifically as a form of natural selection. If someone wants to eat packets of detergent, let them go right ahead. It’s their life, after all. It doesn’t matter if it’s your worst enemy, your best friend, or anywhere in between. Just stand by and watch natural selection work its magic.

Of course, we must take exception to children. According to The Washington Post, “last year, U.S. poison control centers received reports of more than 10,500 children younger than 5 who were exposed to the capsules.” This is because many of them do not yet understand that ingesting laundry soap is a health risk—they simply see the vibrant orange and rich purple pods as tangerine-grape candy, by fault of their inexperienced minds.

But after age 7 or 8, people should understand that bright colors do not necessarily translate to edible. Adolescents and adults are more than capable of

discerning between fruity candy and Tide Pods, and as such we should not allow them the luxury of a warning.

Our time would be better spent elsewhere, like achieving world peace or watching Netflix.

For those readers who may consider my solution to be inhumane, at least consider all the problems that this could help solve. For one thing, this would raise the United States’ status in terms of education; in fact, our average intelligence as a nation would skyrocket. Not to mention it would help solve overpopulation in countries around the globe (more than half of the recorded incidents this year—so far—were international). Perhaps if this measure works as designed, we can follow it up with others like it, such removing warning labels from household objects like toaster ovens, blenders, and electrical outlets. It would make us stronger as a nation, as a species. I say, to paraphrase Marie Antoinette, let them eat soap.

Some of you may still believe that this is a terrible idea, one that would potentially cause the hospitalization or death of dozens of people. Granted, it’s not the cleanest of solutions, but it is perhaps the most effective, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

And let’s be honest—it’s certainly not the first stupid and potentially harmful idea that 2018 has had to offer.

the Nexus Trump’s continuous denial of accusations threatens real change

7 Opinions

Kyle Petrie

Opinions Editor The last eleven months with the Trump administration have been, to quote the president himself, “fire and fury unlike the world has ever seen.” Controversy reigned.

If I were to list every polemic decision, action, or tweet from President Trump or his administration, this article would likely not fit in our newspaper.

Luckily, I don’t have to, thanks to journalist Michael Wolff’s new book, aptly named Fire and Fury. Starting in mid-2016, Wolff documented how Trump and his staff have operated while campaigning and while in the White House—a subject that many of us would rather ignore the details of, much like the human digestive system or hot dog manufacture.

Based upon dozens of interviews conducted with members of Trump’s campaign staff, administration, and family, Wolff paints a very unsettling picture of the Trump White House. Notable excerpts from Fire and Fury include former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon calling Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner “treasonous and unpatriotic” and Donald Trump Jr.’s account that Trump himself did not expect to win the 2016 election and was mortified when he did.

Wolff’s book was intended to research how the Trump administration operates on a day-to-day basis and to enlighten the public on this matter—a worthy goal for a journalist. But something quite unfortunate has become apparent after 11 months of the Trump presidency: nothing sticks to Donald Trump.

Seriously. Any accusations that are hurled his way are swiftly and forcefully deflected before they can do any real damage, all with one simple word.

“No.” Alongside its relatives, such as “liar,” “dishonest,” and “fake news,” “no” has protected Trump through minor blunders, major accusations, and even threats of impeachment. By simply denying anything negative that comes toward him, he has managed to escape the spotlight time and time again. Even Fire and Fury promises the same outcome, with Trump declaring the book “a work of fiction” and claiming that he never allowed Wolff access to the White House for interviews and sitins.

Many anti-Trump advocates believe that Fire and Fury will be different from past accusations, that it will be the end of the road for Trump. However, we have to recall that at one time, Paul Manafort’s indictment was Trump’s undoing. And so was James Comey’s firing. And so were Trump’s comments on the events in Charlottesville. And so was the tape on the Access Hollywood bus.

It is wishful thinking to believe that Fire and Fury will be anything but another item on a long list of almosts. As

a matter of fact, the immense coverage the book initially received has declined, thanks largely to Trump’s labeling certain third-world nations as “shithole countries.”

So if Trump continues to deny every criticism he is presented with, what will Fire and Fury wind up doing in the long run? In short, the same thing that Trump’s controversies have always done: polarizing the rest of us with little to no effect on him.

Each time Trump makes a decision that people disagree with, each time he writes a tweet that offends someone, argument ensues. Each time, those who support Trump as a president will staunchly defend him, and those who dislike Trump will accuse him of wrongdoing.

And each time, it drives a political wedge between the two groups.

Fire and Fury appears to be no exception. Liberal news outlets like CNN have begun questioning if Trump is mentally fit for office, while conservative outlets like Fox News’s “Fox and Friends” have repeatedly downplayed the unflattering comments made in the book or branded them as lies or attacks. When the President stated that he never granted Wolff permission to interview for the story, Trump’s supporters rushed to his defense, while Trump’s critics rushed to Wolff’s.

The word “no” effectively shifts the debate from whether Trump has done wrong to whether Wolff’s book

has portrayed the Trump White House accurately. “No” has done this before. Again and again, a new debate is sparked that obscures the old one, and this new debate rages on until something new pops up and the controversy that sparked the debate in the first place is forgotten.

And meanwhile, the political gap between Trump supporters and Trump detractors widens. The same thing happens every time.

Odds are, Fire and Fury will come and go, and life under the Trump administration will proceed as usual.

Nothing will change for the better, which is bad—there are countless problems in today’s society that demand fixing.

Fortunately, it’s not too late. The White House portrayed in Fire and Fury may exist, or may not exist, and as such should be investigated further. We need to stop letting “no” distract us from every accusation that comes to light. Some may say that this convicts Trump of misconduct before direct proof is available; however, the mere possibility of wrongdoing is cause enough for investigation. A democracy relies on action by the people. If we don’t put the spotlight where it needs to be, nobody else will.

It’s time to stop accepting empty denials as answers; they only serve to deflect our attention and further polarize our democracy. It’s time to move the spotlight back to where it belongs.

Jan. 26, 2018

If the formal dances are primarily just grinding, I’m not looking forward to seeing what the informal dances are going to be like.

-Kyle Petrie I don’t have to worry about rewriting 2018 on my papers for these first few months because I’m ready to move on from 2017.

-Nicole Musano The only good thing about being sick is that your nose is clogged and you can safely go into the bathrooms.

-Kevin Lu According to The Washington Post, Donald Trump has told more than 2,000 lies since taking office. Congrats, Mr. Trump, on winning first place in your own “Fake News Awards.”

-Alice Markman To submit a Praise or Folly, message us through Twitter, log onto our website at www.wvnexus.org, or drop your submission off in room L-104. Include your name, grade level, and phone number. The Nexus will decide which submissions to print based on quality of writing and value to readers. They may be edited for space or content reasons.

Lack of proper oversight in clubs Despite broken system, U.S. prompts demand for new system military draft provides sense Michelle Wang

Staff Writer My first Club Rush experience was very different from my most recent one.

It was, at first, a grand showcase of club diversity, and for me, it set the bar high for the rest of the year.

I gave up my freshman year lunches for any club meeting that piqued my interest, but as the weeks went by, clubs started losing members and meetings became infrequent.

When the excitement of Club Rush faded away, for many clubs, their future prospects faded away with it.

So, when I look at Club Rush now, I tend to be a little pessimistic. I see clubs that, for the first time that school year, have come out of hibernation.

But their presence at Club Rush doesn’t always translate into a presence on campus.

What is most frustrating about this to me is that those in charge of clubs seemed to tolerate this, sometimes even letting this inactiveness go undetected.

This phenomenon brings up questions about these clubs and how we got to this point. How did we let these clubs go inactive, despite their great potential?

Initially, I solely blamed the club approval process. I questioned ASB’s thoroughness (or lack thereof) when it came to selecting which new clubs would be approved. To elaborate, the current approval process includes a club application form, a proposal meeting with the ASB class during which the club is explained, and a group discussion

by ASB, followed by a vote. This discussion often includes some candid opinions on what a club would need in order to thrive at Westview. After approximately 30 minutes

of debate, ASB must vote with two-thirds majority for the club to pass.

ASB adviser Shannon Parker said the evaluation ultimately boils down to whether or not the proposed club would enhance Westview’s culture. However, due to the lack of a set criteria for the evaluations, the discussion over how a club improves Westview culture can easily end up being centered around what each individual member of ASB values. While one member may seek longevity from a new club, another member may prefer a club to be original, and still another may want a club to expand its influence beyond the confines of Westview.

Now, this holistic review of clubs is not fundamentally flawed. In fact, the current process allows ASB to evaluate the club as a whole instead of focusing on strict individual aspects. This process does, however, breed ambiguity, leaving certain proposed clubs to feel as if ASB’s reasons for rejection were ungrounded and vague.

But ultimately, the flaws within Westview’s club system don’t start or end with the approval process. The issues reflect a larger flaw in club oversight, stemming from a lack of club maintenance after the approval process.

When clubs are approved, ASB makes the effort to send them off with a set of rules, a meeting minutes quota, and an encouraging pat on the back. But any efforts to check up on how clubs are doing after the initial approval range from half-hearted to simply nonexistent.

The only system in place to combat this type of negligence is one that rarely sees the light of day: club audits.

These audits are supposed to occur twice each school year to evaluate clubs’ progress.

the Petrie Dish by Kyle Petrie

But, the physical audits are only conducted if the club has a terrible track record with paperwork. If the club steers clear of any serious complaints and the adviser signs off on meeting minutes, the club won’t face any real progress check-ups.

Without these follow-ups, clubs lack any pressure to go beyond the bare minimum of paperwork, letting some clubs’ potential fall flat over the years. Looking at Westview’s club culture, it’s fair to say that there is no shortage of inactive clubs that have failed to fulfill the purpose they were founded on.

What’s missing, then, is a proactive committee that doesn’t just deal with the bi-annual Club Rushes and paperwork, but one that can make sure clubs are effectively run.

Otherwise, if they have no accurate way of evaluating club culture on campus how can ASB members make educated decisions about which clubs to approve? Whether it be stricter, more thorough audits or an approval system that demands more than just a class discussion, there needs to be some form of improvement.

However, it’s unfair to place this responsibility solely on the club commissioners. It is easy to assume that those titled “ASB Club Commissioner” are culpable for the lack of oversight on clubs on campus. But they were assigned the task of filing meeting minutes and sign-up sheets, not of looking after how each club is functioning. The problem is much larger and much older than the three current club commissioners.

With more than 100 clubs at Westview, and with a vast majority of the student body involved in multiple student organizations, we need more oversight from those who “move culture forward on Westview’s campus,” as they put it.

of security, civic responsibility ficient force to defend itself in the event of an attack.

Though conflict on a worldwide scale is unlikely in Staff Writer our modern age, it is still a possibility.

On every U.S. male resident’s 18th birthday, a law “We have never once gotten it right, from the Mayathat has shaped the lives of millions begins to apply. guez to Grenada, Panama, Somalia, the Balkans, Haiti, Yet, not everyone is aware of it.

Kuwait, Iraq, and more—we had no idea a year before The Selective Service System (SSS) is an inde- any of these missions that we would be so engaged.” pendent executive agency that maintains information former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in a on those eligible to be drafted into the United States presentation to West Point cadets.

Armed Forces. Registration is required for all male Without the power of the draft, the United States’ U.S. residents between the age of 18 and 25, and sturdy defense would be weakened. With only the third should the nation require soldiers, anyone registered largest army in the world, the U.S. leaves itself vulmay be called upon to serve. But like many other gov- nerable. The U.S. cannot leave itself open to invasion. ernment programs, the SSS has a whole slew of probThe U.S. must also show resolve in the face of lems. One of the most flawed crises. The draft reinforces aspects of the draft comes the key idea of service as a from the consequences of fail- With only the third largest army civic responsibility and necure to comply. Failing to reg- in the world, the U.S. leaves it- essary for government offiister within 30 days of one’s cials. However, as shown by 18th birthday is a felony, self vulnerable. The U.S. cannot the past election, the attitude which carries a punishment leave itself open to invasion. among the voting populaof a $250,000 fine and/or five tion seems to be that military years in prison. Though these service isn’t an important cases are rarely brought up, the potential for punish- qualification in elections as it once was. But with the ment is still massive. Also, men who do not register for expanding responsibilities of the military, such as rethe draft are prohibited from receiving financial aid for building infrastructure in Iraq, it’s important to have education. One example can be found in Tennessee, leaders with military experience. It is integral to this where the University of Tennessee’s system requires nation that the divide between common U.S. citizens male students who have not registered for the draft to and those who protect them be bridged. pay out-of-state tuition fees regardless of their residenIn the interest of national security and the presercy status. These punishments are incredibly unreason- vation of a long-standing democracy, the draft must able. But all this isn’t to say that the draft only makes stay. It is, admittedly, an imperfect system. Still, it has American lives harder. undoubtedly shaped and will continue to shape AmerLet’s face it. The U.S. still has enemies around the icans’ views on war and civic obligation, and will be world. From the impending threat of North Korea to able to provide a sizeable force in the event of another global terrorist networks stemming from the Middle large-scale war. But for the greater good of our counEast, the United States must be able to mobilize a suf- try, it needs to be fixed.

Nathan Chan

Honest- Li by Amber Li

the Nexus

8 Sports

the

Jan. 26, 2018

SCOREBOARD

Boys Basketball

12 - 9

1/19: Loss vs. Rancho Bernardo, 60-41 1/23: Win vs. Del Norte, 58-30 Next Game Today: vs. Mt. Carmel, 7 p.m. (Home)

Girls Basketball

13 - 5

1/19: Win vs. Rancho Bernardo, 42-35 1/23: Win vs. Del Norte, 10-38 Next Game 1/30: vs Mission Vista, 7 p.m. (Away)

6-2

Roller Hockey 1/18: Win vs. Escondido Charter, 12-1 1/22: Win vs. Cathedral Catholic, 6-2 Next Meet: 1/29: vs Patrick Henry, 6 p.m. (Away)

Boys Soccer

6-5-1

1/18 Win vs Rancho Bernardo, 2-0 1/23: Loss vs. Del Norte, 2-0 Next Game 1/30: vs Mission Vista, 5:00 p.m. (Home)

Girls Soccer

5-6-2

1/19: Tie vs. Rancho Bernardo, 2-2 1/23: Loss vs. Del Norte, 2-1 Next Game 1/30: vs Mission Vista, 7 p.m. (Away)

Girls Water Polo

9-9

1/16: Win vs. Fallbrook, 6-2 1/18: Loss vs. Del Norte, 14-3

Derunes rises to new heights, creates scoring opportunities with speed, tenacity Staff Writer

0 - 5

1/11: Loss vs. Poway, 54-9 1/18: Loss vs. Del Norte, 45-28 Next Game 1/26-1/27: Holtville Invitational, 9 a.m. (Holtville)

Girls Wrestling

Julia Derunes (10) fires the ball towards the goal over the hands of her teammate, Sara Clarkson (12), during practice, Jan. 23. Since starting water polo at age 7, Derunes has worked hard to overcome her stature by playing more aggresively.

Julie Zhu

Next Game Today: vs La Jolla, 3:15 p.m. (Home)

Boys Wrestling

Amber Hauw

3-0

12/7: Win vs. Clairemont, 42-18 12/14: Win vs. San Pasqual, 58-18 Next Meet: Tomorrow: Matador Invitational, 9 a.m. (Mt. Miguel)

Records as of Tuesday Compiled by the Sports Staff

Before this year, Julia Derunes (10) only served as a bench player in water polo. On top of that, she was 5’1”, and said she lacked the aggressiveness to become a skilled player.

Now in her second year on the team, Derunes is a starter and occupies a key role as part of the team during games as a side driver attacking the cage. She discovered the sport at age 7 after discovering she didn’t work well in other team sports.

“My dad wanted me to play a team sport, so we tried soccer and basketball but it didn’t work out,” Derunes said. “Basically in every other sport you kinda have to be tall in order to be really successful.”

While trying different sports, Derunes discovered her attraction to water polo.

“I love the water and I love swimming and I just really liked it,” she said.

At first, Derunes struggled with the sport and could barely swim across the pool or throw the ball. As she continued playing,

she was able to swim faster after intensive where I don’t let them grab my suit first,” self-training, two years of experience on the Derunes said. “Usually, when they are bigger, swim team as well as experience as a goalie, they can kick me a lot easier and I’ll just hold which she said strengthened her arm, allowing their leg down so they won’t kick me.” her to throw the ball further.

Although Derunes lacks in size, she conHowever, she still siders herself to had to overcome her be a fast swimmer, greatest obstacle: which allows her to I had to work through [my size] her size. quickly switch beand improve my strength, speed, “I had to work tween defense and through [my size] counterattack. and everything else in order to get and improve my Over time, up to other people’s level.” strength, speed, and Derunes has adopteverything else in ed a more aggresJulia Derunes (10) order to get up to sive style of play. other people’s levFor years her parel,” she said. ents and coaches encouraged and reminded In many instances she encounters big- her to play more assertively. ger players who have longer arms and more However, it was only after a moment in one strength to grab her suit and kick her, prevent- of her games that she was able to play more ing her from reaching the ball. aggressively.

However, over the years, Derunes has de“At one point during one game, I just got veloped methods to work with her size and really mad,” she said. “I started playing a lot use it as an advantage in games. more aggressively and I really liked it so now “I kind of just came up with my own tricks it’s just a typical thing during the games.”

When Derunes changed the way she played to be more aggressive, she adopted a different mindset for the movements and methods she used when playing during games.

“You have to be more aggressive in your movements,” Derunes said. “You actually have to be physical and you can’t be afraid of hurting someone.”

With the ability to play more aggressively, Derunes was able to enjoy games more since she could match up against stronger players. After playing water polo for eight years, Derunes has not only learned to be more aggressive and faster, but also to accept feedback and listen to different points of view.

“If your coach tells you to throw it to someone and you can’t really see that they’re open but your coach does, you can do things instead of just keeping the ball,” she said. “They have a different point of view on the pool, so it helps accepting that [feedback].”

Even though Derunes had to encounter an overcome many different struggles while playing water polo, she never doubted that water polo was the sport for her.

Jaberi Vivar transitions from academy to high school soccer, enjoys team bond senior year Soccer, from page 1 for it, he’ll drop down and play defensively. As an attacking midfielder, Jaberi Vivar has a lot of freedom on the pitch to perform his creative duties.

“We have a really complete team already,” he said.

“We have two center-backs that are really good, [our goalkeeper] Jose Guadarrama (12) is very good, we have Izel Smith (11) up top with the speed, we have Liam Felicelli (12), but I feel like I’m another piece of Westview’s puzzle that could really help us to go to the next level.”

With his influence largely being behind the striker in the middle of the field, Jaberi Vivar focuses his effort on creating plays and opportunities for his teammates higher up on the pitch.

“Especially when the game’s tied I try to keep control of the ball, not give up possession, and specifically create goal-scoring opportunities,” Jaberi Vivar said. “My role results in me playing a lot balls from behind to our center forwards, giving assists, winning corner kicks and also hopefully scoring a few goals myself.”

Off the field, Jaberi Vivar said he noticed that the high school experience was much different from academy as well. He said that the more physical play style forced him to adapt and change the way he approaches situations on the field.

“With the high school experience, there’s a lot more pride involved when you’re representing your school,”

he said. “In academy it’s focused more on the club and getting exposed to scouts, but [in high school] you’re just trying to win as a collective group and have a good time.”

In addition to adapting to a new playing style, Jaberi Vivar’s transition to high school soccer was further complicated by his ankle injury at the onset of the season. Because he injured his ankle in an academy game the day before high school practices began, he missed the first month of the season, missing out on time to build chemistry with the team.

“When you’re a part of the team you want to be a part of all the games as well, and to miss almost half the season was really hard,” Jaberi Vivar said. “After being out, I really want to get back into things and improve specifically on the defensive side of my game because there’s a lot of bigger players in high school who don’t shy away from rough challenges.”

In addition to his actual play on the field, Jaberi Vivar said he hopes to make the most of his time representing Westview with his new teammates.

“I try to enjoy every game and every practice, and to soak in every single moment,” he said. “The off-thefield camaraderie is one-of-a-kind, and I really want to leave my mark on Westview’s team.”

Since recovering, Jaberi Vivar’s played in four games, with the team winning two and losing two, but still maintaining their winning league record. Playing in Division II this year rather than Division I, Jaberi Vi-

var feels like they can win the league championship this season and even make an attempt at the CIF title.

“We’re definitely thrilled because [Westview] hasn’t had a start like this in a long time and there’s a real sense of belief going on like ‘hey, we can really do it this season,’” he said. “We’re in a position to win, we have the squad, we luckily don’t have any injuries right now so there is just a lot of hope a lot of optimism going into the rest of the season.”

The players specifically hope to go undefeated at their own stadium and focus on defense. Jaberi Vivar said that the team hope to keep a “watertight defense,” much like the 2016 team that almost won the league and scored few goals, but conceded rarely.

“During the nice run the team had a few years ago, their record makes it sound like they were smacking teams,” Jaberi Vivar said. “In reality, they won 0-1, 0-2, keeping the shut-outs.”

During the game against the Broncos on Thursday, Jaberi Vivar’s father was informed that KUSI News would be showing the goal on their report that very night.

“It was pretty cool to be able to score a goal that [KUSI] called ‘one of the best goals of the season,’ and hopefully there’s more to come,” he said.

After scoring, Jaberi Vivar said he felt elated. Teammates congratulated him, a few hugged him, and one even lifted him in the air. In that moment, he felt that after four years, he was finally a part of Westview Soccer.

The Lowdown on the Showdown

#10

Nathan Middleton (12) School: Mt. Carmel (7-14)

#5

Kobe Gatti (12) Position: Point Guard

Height: 5’ 9”

Height: 6’ 0”

Weight: 158 lbs

Weight: 170 lbs

Average Points Per Game: 10.7

Average Points Per Game: 14.1

Average Assists Per Game: 4.2

Average Assists Per Game: 3.5

Free Throw %: 81

Free Throw %: 82

Last Game: Win vs. Poway, (61-53)

Amber Hauw

Today, 7 p.m.

School: Westview (12-9)

Position: Point Guard

Middleton is a steady scoring guard who is stronger at shooting than he is at making layups in the paint. Being slightly shorter than many of the Wolverines, he has to utilize his speed and agility to stay open for shots.

Home

Last Game: Win vs. Del Norte, (58-30)

Tiffany TiffanyLe Le

On average, Gatti scores almost four more points per game than Middleton and is taller than the majority of the Sundevils. His elusiveness serves him well, especially in the paint. His height and agility may give him the advantage.

the Nexus

Jan. 26, 2018

Sports 9

Moves by Weight Class

SIG NIFICANT FIG URES

While not all wrestlers fall into these weight categories, a wrestler’s weight can have a significant effect on the strategies they use.

1

THROWS

1 Heavy

CRADLE

2 Medium

3 Light

period

Two minutes into the first period, Lyusyen Loshak (11) started Monday’s game against Cathedral Catholic High School with a goal shot from above the goal crease.

The Wolverines closed the game strong, scoring half of their goals in the final period; the first made

by Loshak following a breakaway f r o m the right side.

Westview held Cathedral at only one goal in each of the two following periods, ultimately winning, 6-2.

The highest weight class is the heavyweights. Wrestlers of this class tend to be much slower and like to stay in standing positions.

“Once a heavyweight gets on their back it is harder for them to get up because they have a lot more mass to move,” Galash said. “So they try to not get into that position.”

As a result, heavyweights tend to use throws, a move that utilizes upper body strength. One of the most common throw moves is the head and arm throw. In order to execute the moves, heavyweights hold their opponent’s head and arm and throw them onto their backside. In addition to throws, a heavyweight wrestler will usually use underhooks and snapdowns. These takedown moves require lots of upper body strength and require a wrestler to be able to lift their opponent. In terms of defending against heavyweight wrestlers, Mabini notes the importance of avoiding “You don’t want to get stuck under them and you want to work to the outside so you are not matching up to them,” Mabini said.

SCRAMBLING

st

At the medium weight category, the wrestlers are lighter and have more mobility than the heavyweights. Nick Mabini (11) and Galash divide these wrestlers into two groups: tall, lanky wrestlers and short, stocky ones.

“When wrestling tall, lanky wrestlers, you always want to stay low because the taller they are the longer their legs are, which means [there is] more of an area to shoot in and you can create bigger angles with that,” Mabini said. “You want to get to their legs.

With short and stocky wrestlers, you want to stay on the outside because you don’t want to muscle match with them.”

According to Galash, tall, lanky wrestlers tend to keep their opponents in locks such as the “cradle” to prevent their opponents from taking shots on them. Short, stocky wrestlers, on the other hand, like to use a lot of ankle picks, which is where a wrestler grabs the ankle of their opponent and pulls it towards their body in order to bring their opponent to the mat.

According to David Galash (12), the main difference for lightweight wrestlers is speed. They utilize moves that require quick motions that force both wrestlers to go on the attack during a match. “[Lightweight wrestlers] like to do a lot more scrambling, where neither person is in control but they’re both trying to get the advantage over the other,” Galash said. “There’s a lot of attacking.”

Because of their mobility, lightweight wrestlers often partake in scrambling, or fighting from one position to the next, until someone takes control. Lightweight wrestlers often go for moves that attack the legs like single legs, double legs, and high C’s. All of these moves require speed, which gives them the advantage.

2

Written by Evan Buckland Design by Amber Hauw

Amber Hauw

free throws

As the girls basketball team guarded a sixpoint lead, Jan. 19, tensions were running high for both teams.

With 38 seconds left in the game, a Bronco fouled out on Julia Dahlke (12). The score read 40-34. Standing on the free throw line, Dahlke waited a few seconds, dribbling the ball before letting it fly from her fingers. The ball hit the rim then went in as the clock hit 35.7 seconds. The score read 41-34. Dahlke returned to the free throw line, once again waiting for a couple seconds before making the second free throw shot that ultimately sealed the win for Westview.

Tiffany Le

Written by Amber Hauw and Tiffany Le

BLACK & GOLD

Zara Irshad

Grace Kim

Julie Zhu

Amber Hauw

Michelle Wang

Lydia Zhang

CLARKSON

DAHLKE

LISSEBECK

YOUNG

MABINI

WATER POLO, Guard

BASKETBALL, Shooting Guard

ROLLER HOCKEY, Defender

CHEER

WRESTLING

SOCCER, Center Midfielder

Water polo has held great significance for Sara Clarkson (12) ever since she began to play in eighth grade.

As team captain this year, not only does Clarkson make sure to help other people’s techniques, she is also motivated by her aggression to work hard during all games.

“I want to get better whether we are winning or losing as a team,” Clarkson said. “I have a competitive drive that most players don’t.”

Clarkson is excited for the rest of her last high school water polo season before college.

When Julia Dahlke (12) started basketball, seeking out a team environment, she didn’t anticipate how far the sport would carry her.

Dahlke’s determination over time has earned her the title of varsity captain this year.

In what she describes as her most memorable achievement, Dahlke shot nine three-pointers during the San Marcos Excalibur classic tournament Dec. 9, tying with the school record for three-pointers in a game.

Dahlke plans to continue basketball in college, and has received offers to play for Arizona Christian University and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Despite being the only girl on the roller hockey team, Riley Lisebeck (11) has managed to become a significant part of the defense.

“As the assistant captain, I’m very vocal on the court and I communicate with the other defender in order to keep the defensive formation,” Lisebeck said.

While she mainly plays as a defender, Lisebeck also plays on offense occasionally to help bolster the attack. In total, she’s recorded three assists and scored two goals this season “My favorite moment of the season so far was when I scored in the first game,” Lisebeck said.

Prior to starting cheer, Brooke Young’s (9) older sister and mother were already involved in the sport. After starting five years ago, she found another family in her cheer team and continued cheering because of the team relationships.

“It’s not a one-person type of sport,” Young said. “We bond and laugh; it’s a big friendship really.”

This year, Young accompanied her team to second place at the season’s first competition.

In the team, Young serves as secondary, main, and back spot, base positions that support the flier, the cheerleader that is lifted.

Until last season, Nickolas Mabini (11) never knew how to deal with losing. Growing up as a wrestler, he was taught that winning was all that mattered. But after coming back from a slow, demotivating sophomore season, Mabini was ready to focus this season on improvement, not wins.

“I realized that I don’t have to win everything to be content,” Mabini said. “If I’m doing better every match I should be okay with taking a loss.”

Now, during tournaments, he finds himself qualifying to the second day of competition and gaining the upper hand in tight matches.

Camryn Melendez (12) wasn’t getting a lot of playing time. It was her first year on varsity, and she knew she wasn’t at the level she needed in order to get the playing time she wanted.

So she worked.

“I gave 110 percent and made every moment at practice count,” Melendez said.

And in the rivalry game against Mt. Carmel last year, her work paid off. During the game, the ball was slotted back across the center to her, and she instinctfully shot it. It hit net.

“It soared straight to the top right of the net,” she said. “It was an amazing goal.”

MELENDEZ

the Nexus

10 Final Focus

Jan. 26, 2018

PART 1

Nicole Musano Staff Writer

When alternating from one language to another, a particular emotion or personality trait can feel emphasized within an indivdual. This is due to memory associations with an experience with a language or a language’s culture.

Many things make up our identity: our family history, personality, culture and values are just some of the components. Often, these elements overlap and blend to form the average complex individual. But your identity isn’t solely an accumulation of these components, it’s also the way others perceive you. As such, language plays a role in making up your identity, influencing who you are and who you appear to be.

“What language you speak often intersects with which cultural and ethnic groups you belong to, Lyn Wright Fogle Ph.D., an applied linguist, said. “I think that psychologists tend to see personality as more static, while other social scientists might see identities as multiple and shifting.”

Some parts within a person remain constant and unwavering, specifically your personality, but by speaking a second (or third, or fourth) language, you are opening up another part of yourself. With each language comes a piece of the culture that speaks it, creating a new lens through which to see the world.

“As a Russian-as-a-second-language speaker, I am perceived by others to be a very different person than I am as an English speaker,” Fogle said. “I might be funnier in Russian [because] humor is a strategy I use when I’m not sure what to say, but I’m also less articulate and perhaps less polite as it’s hard to acquire those pragmatic norms.”

Exposing yourself to new languages and cultures may be reflected back onto you and cause you to be perceived in different ways, depending on the language you are speaking.

“Identity entails how others see you, not just how you see yourself internally,” Fogle said.

The accents, vocabulary, and references from within a language may change with the speaker or situation.

Learning a second language at home offers a more natural environment, making it easier to absorb the language completely, fully embracing a quality that is enhanced in a particular language.

Clémence Rausa (11) relates her second language, English, to a more lively persona.

American positivity and confidence influence her to feel more outgoing and her friends and community create a sense of comfort that is emphasized when she speaks English.

In her native tongue of French, she feels the opposite.

“Whenever I go to France to visit family, I constantly feel surrounded by the unknown. I don’t know the people very well and I feel a bit detached. So when I speak French I feel more timid and lost.”

Though having learnt Spanish at school and not at home, Rausa acknowledges a slight change in her personality when she speaks it.

“I associate the good memories in Spanish class with the fun we have and that’s why I feel more comical speaking Spanish,” Rausa said.

Similarly, Prerana Kelkar (9) grew up in a multilingual household, amidst Marathi, Hindi, and English. Her experiences speaking each of the languages ultimately altered her perception of herself in each language.

“When I’m speaking in Marathi, I feel helpful,” Kelkar said. “[Part of this] is because growing up, I would always get told advice in it.”

French teacher Ann Clevenger’s childhood was spent bouncing from France, Belgium, and Ireland while speaking and listening in French, Dutch and English.

Her experiences in each country would, over time, develop the feeling she felt in each language.

Clevenger said she feels more “philosophical or pensive” in French and “nostalgic and more religious” in Dutch.

“My concentration in college was French literature, which often included philosophers like Camus and Sartre, so I always associated French with philosophy,” Clevenger said. “I also think that the cafe scene [in France] is conducive to conversation and philosophizing.”

Speaking Dutch reminds her of her time spent in northern Belgium amongst family and the Flemish way of life.

“It’s difficult to find any connections to Flemish society in California, which only adds to that feeling of nostalgia I get when I speak Dutch.”

The emotive intricacies of a language are bound to be more prevalent and noticeable with the knowledge of another language.

Many students begin learning a second or third language in high school, with curriculum focusing largely on grammatical syntax and diction. This leaves some feeling unprepared for a cultural connection that learning a language is supposed to create.

Michelle Marshall (’09), an international development consultant, left high school with only beginner level Spanish and didn’t feel a fluency in the language until she’d taken what she calls “social risks:” first learning to speak out loud without worrying about making a mistake and then traveling to a different country without the comfort of her native language.

And while taking Spanish 5-6 may not qualify you to become an ambassador, there is still something to be gained from trying to learn another language.

“It’s really the process of learning a language that has definitely changed me as a person,” Marshall said. “You learn to be more patient and forgiving of other people’s mistakes in English once you realize how difficult it is to learn a second language or if you consider yourself in their situation. And when you learn a new language, you are exponentially amplifying your perspective by opening doors to new worlds and opportunities.”

An appreciation and passion for languages emerged from Jenya Carter’s (12) journey through Spanish, prompting her to pursue another. While taking AP Spanish her junior year, Carter began French 1-2.

“I’d say my identity has become much more open and accepting,” she said. “I’m much more curious and excited about the world than I used to be.”

Much of the connection Carter feels to French culture is through the books she reads, movies she watches, and music she listens to, rather than the grammar sheets and vocab cards she fills out in the classroom environment. But it’s difficult to feel completely immersed in the language and culture with less than two years of classroom study.

Students learning a foreign language in school may also find themselves silent, burdened by an obsession with grammatical perfection or by a self-consciousness concerning a limited vocabulary.

The Poway Unified School District recognizes the learning curve facing monolinguals, noting that, “waiting until high school to introduce a foreign language is often too late, which is why a kindergarten through 12th grade pathway is so important,” Christine Paik, PUSD Director of Communications, said.

In an effort to introduce children to other languages beginning in kindergarten, PUSD now offers dual immersion programs at Valley and Adobe Bluffs elementary schools.

“In addition to creating college and career opportunities in our increasingly global society, learning a foreign language increases academic achievement, improves cognitive abilities such as problemsolving, and fosters an appreciation for other cultures and societies,” Paik said.

The Spanish program at Valley Elementary spends 90 percent of instructional time in Spanish and 10 percent in English. At Adobe Bluffs, Mandarin and English are taught for equal amounts of time.

“The teachers use the same curriculum, standards, and assessments as other teachers in the Poway Unified School District,” Paik said. “The focus of instruction is not on the learning of two languages, but rather on the learning of academic content by using two languages. The goal is to teach grade-level content standards through both languages, so that by the time the students are in upper grades, they are proficient academically in both languages.”

PART 2 No matter if you grew up speaking two languages or if you’ve only studied a second language in high school, language connects people and influences identities.

“Understanding the link between language and identity is very important because language learning is not just about the cognitive skills involved but also about the very intimate issues of belonging and self,” Fogle said. “Being bilingual [or] bicultural means you have a different way of seeing the world and can offer a unique perspective on the problems you are addressing.”

There is no definitive illustration of how a particular language changes someone, Marshall said, because “languages and the cultures they come from are fluid. Cultures are a collection of experiences, but there is no single profile or experience that you can point to and say, ‘this’ is what it feels like to speak Spanish, or Portuguese or Czech. It can be fun to think of using a second language almost like a mask for a character, but I think a more respectful way is to just channel the different parts of yourself and your life that create your unique identity.”

Art by Nicole Musano and Daniel Lang

the Nexus

12 Opinions the Nexus Westview • 13500 Camino del Sur San Diego, CA 92129 Tel: (858) 780-2000, ext. 3180 Email: thewvnexus@gmail.com Website: www.wvnexus.org Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association Spring National Convention 2017, Fourth Place Spring National Convention 2016, Seventh Place Spring National Convention 2015, Second Place Spring National Convention 2014, First Place Fall National Convention 2013, First Place Spring National Convention 2013, First Place Spring National Convention 2012, First Place Fall National Convention 2011, First Place Spring National Convention 2011, Fourth Place Spring National Convention 2010, First Place Fall National Convention 2009, Fourth Place Spring National Convention 2009, Fourth Place Spring National Convention 2008, Third Place Fall National Convention 2007, First Place Spring National Convention 2007, First Place San Diego County Journalism Education Association Grand Sweepstakes 2005-2008 First Place Newspaper Sweepstakes 2006, 2007, First Place San Diego Union Tribune Best High School Newspaper 2007, 2008 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Finalist 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2014 Pacemaker Winner 2003, 2008 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown Winner Spring 2012 Silver Crown Winner Spring 2011 Gold Crown Winner Spring 2010 Gold Crown Winner Spring 2009 Gold Medalist 2010 To advertise in The Nexus, please call (858)-7802000, ext.3180 or email us at thewvnexus@gmail. com

Editors in Chief Neek Azar* Alice Markman* News Editor Andrea Chen* Features Editor Kristina Nguyen Opinions Editor Kyle Petrie* Sports Editor Mark Troftgruben* Final Focus Editor Tiffany Le* Design Editor Amber Hauw Managing Editor Evan Buckland Staff Writers Nathan Chan Olivia Dealy* Zara Irshad Grace Kim Ameera Kumar Daniel Lang Lina Lew Amber Li Jessica Lin Kevin Lu Nicole Musano Kevin Pert Isabelle Ritter Mattie Sanseverino Devanshi Tomar Michelle Wang Lydia Zhang* Julie Zhu Adviser Jeff Wenger Assistant Adviser Stephanie Tanaka

*Member of the Editorial Board

Staff Editorial Homeroom offers intangible benefits, sense of community In the school’s 16 years, several homeroom traditions have arisen for many classrooms: awkward beginning-of-the year icebreakers, senior advice speeches, and of course, “Food Fridays,” a staple in a number of homerooms, and an event that many students spend their entire week looking forward to. For some students, homeroom is a mad scramble to finish homework that is due the next period or a few minutes to cram for a test. For others, homeroom is a time to connect with friends, catch up on some sleep or just relax. And for most, homeroom is a 15-minute free-period for both.

Since the implementation of the attendance hotline, homeroom may seemingly lack purpose. Though there are still some small practical purposes to homeroom such as a platform for ASB announcements, voting for elections, Monday newscast, and as a vehicle to deliver The Nexus to the masses, in general the consensus is that homeroom adds little practical utility to the overall high-school learning experience.

The idea of homeroom was proposed as a part of Westview’s daily schedule at the school’s inception. The intent of the homeroom period was to provide administration with an easier platform to monitor attendance by assigning small classes of students to each teacher on campus.

In addition, homeroom teachers functioned as a makeshift counselor for each of their homeroom students, by helping them choose classes for the upcoming year and outlining their fouryear plans.

Now, with the hiring of a well-equipped counseling staff and more efficient attendance methods and policies, there’s a common notion that these fifteen minutes are wasted on mindless small talk and phone games and that the time allocated for homeroom could be better spent as a secondary Wolverine Time, used as added fragments for longer class periods, or simply just removed entirely in favor of shorter school days.

However, homeroom was also intended to function beyond administrative practicality, it was to serve as a platform for something intangible.

It’s primary purpose, at its core, was to serve, like the name suggests, as a “home” for students, a place for them to come to weekly for four years, and to provide a sense of a tight-knit community in a big school like Westview.

Most homerooms have delivered on that proposition. The shared love toward the individual assigned to bring food for the week is a priceless feeling, and the bond created between disappointed students when someone forgets is unlike any other. There are few moments in life where a sense of camaraderie and family is felt amongst non-family members, and homeroom provides those moments weekly.

What makes those moments so special, however, is that they are experienced with people who have been randomly grouped together.

Unlike a sport, class, or club, homerooms are not based on common interest. It is the one place on campus where students come together without set purpose, but still are able to foster connections with one another.

It is these unexpected connections with people that are entirely different from each other that define homeroom, and add to its intangible value.

So regardless of the little utilitarian purpose to homeroom, homeroom functions as something far deeper than a mere semester or year-long academic class.

Because for most students, homeroom provides a stable home for us to come back to week after week, year after year, from the first day we walk into Westview until the day we leave.

The Nexus Mission Statement The Nexus is an open form for student expression that aims to provide information to the public, following standards of accuracy, truthfulness, ethics and professionalism. The Nexus aspires to be a source of news, opinions and entertainment for its readers while showing enthusiasm in depth and coverage. In reporting information, writers strive for impartiality by presenting multiple viewpoints on issues. When opinions of an individual are expressed, they are labeled accordingly. Members of the editorial board write and select the staff editorial.

The Nexus is published by Journalism 2 students, and as the official student newspaper of Westview High School, it strives to maintain the open flow of communication fostered at school. All editorial decisions are made by members of staff, with guidance of advisor Jeff Wenger. The opinions published in The Nexus do not necessary represent those of Westview administration, Westview staff, or PUSD school board. Letters to the editor must be signed, as they represent the opinion of the individual. The editors select submissions for print based on relevancy to readers, and they may be edited for space or content reasons.

Feb. 16, 2018

Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for subpar music students Nathan Chan

Staff Writer The death of high school music programs is nigh.

Sadly, funding for our high school music education is being slashed in favor of other, “more useful” programs like sports. Since 2008, 80 percent of U.S. schools have suffered budget cuts and often, music and arts programs have been the first to go, according to US News.

In the minds of budget partitioners, music is a drain on resources. However, these programs hold benefits for developing students. One study conducted at Concordia University showed that music lessons taken over a long period of time can produce positive changes in brain structure and motor skills.

Another study by Nina Krauss, a cognitive neuroscientist, found that people who receive instrumental training from their early years to the end of their high school careers tend to understand speech much quicker than those who did not. Some of these participants showed these results even if they didn’t pick up an instrument for many years after their lessons. These effects were also found to be common among worldclass athletes and top-level managers. It’s unreasonable to cut funding for something that provides such numerous benefits.

It’s sad to see strong programs with numerous positive effects be thrown out the window in order to save money. Given both the dire state and bleak future of the situation, there’s only one solution to save our music programs: accept only the gifted into them.

After all, even ardent supporters of the arts like Lorenzo de Medici didn’t have millions to spend on peasants.

Similarly, schools don’t have millions to waste away on students who clearly have no talent. A recent report showed that U.S. students have been scoring lower in the music and visual arts category on the Nation’s Report Card, a wide-ranging national assessment. It’s ridiculous that the government funds this type of failing program at the expense of its citizens.

Back in the Classical Era of music, major figures like Mozart and Beethoven had their talent recognized at a young age by aristocrats. These young geniuses became apprentices to well-known musicians and spent many years studying before they achieved their widespread recognition. Their abilities were allowed to

blossom because they were given so many resources by the social elite. Today’s musicians can’t even hold a candle to them. We have bands like Nickelback.

But even if we accepted only the talented few into the musical ranks, there still wouldn’t be enough money to go around. Donations and bake sales won’t cut it. If we are to create great music programs, we need to reduce costs. We need to make our own music.

By composing our own music, we cut the costs of sheet music entirely. According to J.W. Pepper, the largest sheet music provider in the world, the average choral arrangement costs up to $2 per copy. For band arrangements, $45 a copy. If we just write our own music, funding wouldn’t be an issue! Only the most talented musicians would be able to write the music that they perform. It’s also obviously the easiest way to determine a potential student’s musical merit. Composing any form of music is often difficult, and can only be done by the most skilled at the high school level. An effective way to implement this is to ask people who are auditioning for one of the many music programs to compose a simple song, right there, on the spot. Since

this can only be done by those with high merit, we would only accept them into the program. We get the best of the best and we eliminate the need to pay for music.

Some people are under the false assumption that music programs exist solely to provide an enriching experience, but this is idealistic for our current situation. If students are looking for an open and enriching program, they should go play sports, which are better funded. According to the National Association of Music Merchants, the average cost for a high schooler’s music education is $143. But according to the IRS, the non-profit sports industry is worth $5 billion. Since funds are so low for music education, once again, it’s pointless to waste it.

I confess that I am not among these gifted elite to provide the world the genius it needs, or to provide the taxpayers their money’s worth. But because of my love for music programs, I formed this plan. I desire not to prevent people from pursuing their passions, but instead wish to do the best with what little resources we have. It’s either this or improve funding.

Second-term transfer students lack proper orientation, struggle to adjust Zara Irshad Staff Writer

Think back to your very first day at Westview. Think of the nerves, that worrisome voice in the back of your mind questioning if you’d know anyone in your classes or have friends to sit with at lunch. Most students, regardless of their grade level, began their journeys as Wolverines in August, alongside roughly 600 other anxiety-ridden teens. They sat through the four-hour orientation led by either Link Crew or Peer Counseling, which was filled with advice and guidance to start the year on the right foot.

And while some may have rolled their eyes at the process, others will admit that they valued the advice they were given, using the library bathrooms and becoming involved in clubs as a result.

Now imagine not having the luxury of the four-hour orientation. No introduction to Westview culture, no meeting your peers, no team-building before the academic rigor begins. Imagine being given your schedule and a brief tour of campus, and then being thrown into the deep end without a having clear vision of what you’ve gotten yourself into. This is what many of the roughly 50 students who transfer into Westview during the middle of the academic year experience.

According to a study conducted by the University of Chicago, there is a distinct correlation between students transferring schools mid-year and a drop in their grades. Transfer students must adjust to new environments, adapt to different

teaching methods, varying workloads, and sometimes a change in curriculum on top of dealing with the social challenges that present themselves.

If new students were relieved from some of the social pressure that comes along with starting a new school, by having a structured program in place to support them, they could focus on their grades more, and hopefully stay afloat.

While our counselors do an amazing job at making sure that the 2,400 students on campus have pleasant and comfortable Westview experiences, it’s a very time-consuming and difficult job.

As such, transfer students don’t always have the thorough orientation experience that they would have received had they had joined the school in August.

Currently, when a new student first arrives at school, each counselor has their own way of making sure that the student feels welcomed and becomes acquainted with the campus, as there is no set structure on how to do so.

“When I have a new student during the school year, I try to set them up with an ASB student or Peer Counselor for a tour of the school on their first day.”

Mrs. Cudmore said.

Mrs. Cruz, on the other hand, tends to seek out students with similar interests.

Although each of these approaches can be helpful to newcomers, if the school had a detailed plan to follow when new students do arrive, the counselors would be better equipped to help them and hopefully less stressed when trying to figure out how to do so.

This plan could begin with the student receiving their schedule, followed by a tour of campus from an available peer counselor. The tour guide would be given a list of crucial locations to point out during the tour including bathrooms, the student’s classes, and where to buy food.

This “orientation” would conclude with the student being given a small packet of helpful papers, such as a map of the school, a list of extracurriculars that they could get involved with, and a tips and tricks sheet to provide student-to-student advice that’ll help transfer students navigate the school. These sheets would ideally be compiled by Link Crew or Peer Counseling (as both organizations focus on student welfare).

While this would help the transfer students grow familiar with their new environment, a large part of the social aspect of transferring schools would remain unaddressed: actually meeting new people.

After all, the counselors try their best to support them in any way possible, but what happens when that isn’t enough?

While the counselors make it clear to newcomers that they are always welcome in the Wolverine Center, some students may feel embarrassed to take up that offer. Involving more students in the process would allow new students to connect with people their own age who may better understand what they’re going through socially and could offer a more relatable perspective and advice.

In order to give more students the option to help out a transfer student, it would be helpful if there was an outlet

allowing the counselors to relay information to the students filtering through the Wolverine Center. Through this outlet, whether it be a board or paper or screen, they would be able to communicate whenever they have a new student, so that students would know to speak with them if they wanted to help out.

If more students became involved with helping transfer students with their transition, rather than having all of the pressure fall onto the counselors, those transfer students would have more meaningful and complete experiences and connect with their peers, which could help relieve the social anxiety that many transfer students face.

Having a stepping stone off which transfer students can more easily meet and befriend other students would be ideal in this situation.

Being connected to at least one other student right off the bat could connect the new student to a sea of other students and help the social aspect of their transition run a lot more smoothly.

High school is challenging enough as it is; balancing an academic life with a social life is tough, but trying to recreate both from scratch is even harder. The social struggles that transfer students face are not to be ignored, and while Westview does a good job of accommodating them as of now, there is more that could be done. In the future, if there was more of a focus on embracing new students on campus, Westview would in turn transition into becoming a more inclusive and supportive environment.

Pre-college programs make no guarantees Lydia Zhang Staff Writer

In the midst of endless suburbia and a frenzied college-obsessed community, a multimillion dollar industry has emerged: college-preparation programs. There’s a lot of money to be made off the test-score, Ivy-leagueobsessed students and parents, and this craze has fueled the rise of dozens of tutoring companies, SAT prep programs, and college consulting firms.

Colleges have gotten involved in the market too.

For the past 30 years, prestigious universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Brown have offered summer programs known as “pre-college programs” for high school students that claim to provide the elite college experience. Most of these programs are centered around the purpose of allowing students to experience a college-level introductory class in order to ultimately provide valuable skills to aid in the student’s future academic and career success. Beyond academics, the programs provide students with a small taste of the quintessential college experience: staying on campus, living and dining with friends and doing laundry.

This summer, around 5,000 students will attend one of the many programs offered at Brown University, programs that range from one to seven weeks in duration. The university offers a catalogue selection with a wide variety of classes and subjects.

The real selling point for most parents and students though, is the notion that attending these assumed “feeder” programs will give an applicant a leg-up for college admissions.

However, this is not the case.

Nowhere on Brown’s website does it say that attending these programs will increase admissions chanc-

es. In fact, Brown’s own senior associate dean at the School for Professional Studies, Robin Rose, clearly stated that “[their summer program] is not a feeder program for Brown.”

And it’s not just Brown. Princeton’s Director of Media Relations, Martin Mbugua, also stated that “there’s no special consideration given to any particular program.”

Stanford’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Richard Shaw released a similar statement noting that, “It’s not a good idea to engage in something because the student or family believes it will augment their ability to get in.”

To attend these programs is not without hefty price, and for some families, the price is worth it. Tuition for a seven-week stay at Brown is $7,993 for enrollment in one course and $11,879 for two courses. With the addition of a meal plan, enrollment fee, room rates, and plane tickets, the cost of a summer at Brown can easily total well over $15,000. These price tags are too costly for the average American family to afford, but often many families fork over money to these programs in the hopes that attending these programs will boost the value of their children’s application.

To some, attendance at such a prestigious program is invaluable.

However, there is some value in the experience of living on a college campus for a few weeks, even if there is no direct pay off in college admissions. If the programs help students learn and mature, then there are some positive benefits to these programs.

And sure, it’s a fun experience for many students. Since these programs don’t award any credit or give any real consequence for

failure, students can relax and enjoy a summer at their dream college.

But, if you’re going to these programs to strengthen your college application, you’re better off going somewhere and doing something else. Otherwise, you’ll only be adding to the mounds of revenue accumulated by these colleges through these “pre-college” programs, without any tangible admission benefits.