Issue 8, 18-19

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Westview High School

April 12, 2019 Vol. XVII | Issue 8 wvnexus.org | @wvnexus 13500 Camino del Sur San Diego, CA 92129

aerial acrobatics As an aerial silks performer, Victoria Krasnyanskiy (10) combines her acrobatic tricks and dance skills while hanging 20-30 feet in the air Grace Kim

Victoria Krasnyanskiy (10) executes a wrap on aerial silks, March 27. To build up the core and arm strength necessary for aerial silks, Krasnyanskiy does ab workouts and pull-ups.

Staff Writer

Every Wednesday, Victoria Krasnyanskiy (10) floats high in the air, holding onto aerial silks for balance and to keep herself up. She wraps herself into a cocoon and unravels again.

Twenty feet up, she wraps her arms and legs around the silk, takes a deep breath and releases the fabric, descending and safely landing on the ground.

Aerial silks is an art form where one performs acrobatics while hanging onto long strands of nylon tricot silk. The moves performed can be categorized into climbs, wraps, and drops.

Climbs are when the aerialists climb the silks while simultaneously performing tricks such as flipping over onto their back and holding poses.

Wraps are when the silk is wrapped around different body parts such as their legs, allowing it to hold the aerialist up without much strength.

Drops are similar to free falls and

starts with a wrap before the aerialist lets go.

Krasnyanskiy was first introduced to aerial silks by a friend through a friend when she was 12. As a dancer, Krasnyanskiy enjoyed the feeling of dancing in the air, creating an sensation of nearly flying.

“You get to combine dance and strength because you pretty much have to hold yourself up by your arms and be flexible,” Krasnyanskiy said.

Every practice, Krasnyanskiy chooses a different aerial silk move to learn.

“You have a sheet with your name on it, and there’s different moves and it tells you the name of the move and the coach checks it off that you now how to do it,” Krasnyanskiy said.

Out of all the moves, the tails or “die” drop is Krasnyanskiy’s favorite.

“It’s like a controlled fall, but you have [to] catch the tails of the silk or else you get tangled and ‘die’ or drop,” Krasnyanskiy said.

Krasnyanskiy also enjoys the aeri-

al back bend where she wraps the silk around her legs and bends her back, allowing her to stretch.

Moves like this require the aerialist to be 20 to 30 feet in the air. However, Krasnyanskiy has never been afraid of heights. Rather, Krasnyanskiy feels a rush of adrenaline.

“When I’m high up in the silk and look down, I just say ‘You got this’ to myself and go for it,” Krasnyanskiy said. “I enjoy [dropping] because it’s the closest thing you get to flying.”

Although she enjoys the sensation of flying, Krasnyanskiy said she always makes sure she is safely secured before dropping or hanging up in the air after observing an injury to another aerialist.

“One time this girl dropped incorrectly and fell and twisted her neck so after that I asked [the coach] to make sure things secure,” Krasnyanskiy said.

Another part of being secure in aerial silks is having the strength to hold the body up.

See Aerial Silks, page 4

Bokka's StressLess candy wins business accolade Mark Troftgruben Sports Editor

Jessica Lin

Akhil Bokka (11) couldn’t help but stutter as a panel of judges and hundreds of students from around the world stared down at him in an auditorium at the Virginia Tech Research Center, Arlington in Washington, D.C., June 22, 2018.

For the past year prior to this, Bokka and three other students from San Diego high schools had been working with adult mentors to create a product to help reduce teen stress levels. The product—called “StressLess”—is a candy containing honey, water, magnesium and an herb called tulsi.

Through the course of their research, Bokka and his peers discovered that both magnesium and tulsi are scientifically proven to reduce stress levels in a variety of ways. According to a study by Marc Maurice Cohen of the National Center for Biotechnology

Information, magnesium prevents stress hor- also won the People’s Choice award in the mones from entering neurological pathways Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship Competition. in the brain and tulsi provides a multitude of But now, at this point in time, they were health benefits for the body, including the moving on to the 2018 TYE Global Youth prevention of physical, chemical, metabolic Entrepreneurship final competition. and psychological stress.

Hundreds of high In an age where, acschool students from cording to clinical psyIt’s kind of like Shark schools across the U.S. chologist Dr. Valerie and other countries asLong, “teen stress levels Tank. Even if you have a great sembled in Washingare higher than ever” as product, it won’t matter if you ton, D.C. to present a result of increased prestheir sales pitches and sure to perform at higher can’t present it well.” products in the hopes of levels academically, Bok—Akhil Bokka (11) returning home with a ka’s product received a trophy. lot of interest and allowed On the day of compehis team to find success in a number of dif- tition, each team had 15 minutes to present ferent entrepreneurship competitions. and pitch their product to a panel of judgIn April of 2018, Bokka and his team es. During their Powerpoint presentations, won The Indus Entrepreneurs (TYE) Glob- members of each team had to answer any al Youth Entrepreneurship program’s San questions the judges asked in regards to the Diego regional competition at UCSD. They financial, technical and promotional aspects

“

Blake Parker Staff Writer

UCSD Professor Dr. Mike Sailor was an author on the research papers and literature she had been reading, she reached out with him with a proposal for Anushree Chaudhuri (11) was halfway through grant funding. her explanation of her research on porous silicon “I really fell in love with chemistry, and some of as an optical nanosensor for toxic organic vapors the documentaries [science teacher Scott] Halandwhen a judge interrupted, introducing himself as a er showed us, specifically NOVA’s Making Stuff chemistry professor.

Smaller, inspired me to read numerous papers and “He was like, ‘I’ve already seen your poster, you take an online course on nanotechnology,” she said. don’t need to explain anything to me,” she said. “I “I’m really lucky that Dr. Sailor liked me and took was kind of taken aback, I was even questioning my me on in his lab and summer program.” own work. Once I started When she heard the recent news thinking clearly after the of chemical terror attacks and air What we found is that quality threats, Chaudhuri was ininitial nervousness, I was able to answer his questions with strong enough EMFs, spired to create her first prototype because I felt solid about sensor for Volatile Organic Comcell proliferation could be my research.” pounds (VOCs).

According to Chaudhu- inhibited.”

VOCs are often carcinogenic and ri, this was just one of the contribute to air pollution by react—David Wu (12) ing with nitrogen oxides to create many presentations she gave at the Greater San ground-level ozone, which can trigDiego Science and Engineering Fair (GSDSEF), ger respiratory problems. According to Chaudhuri, March 12-14, all essential to earning awards, qual- VOCs can also serve as test compounds for nerve ifying for higher levels of competition and gaining agents. connections within the scientific community. “[The sensor’s purpose] is to very accurately de“[With] all of the other judges it was more re- tect a broad range of VOCs by a change in refraclaxed and like talking to a colleague at a lab or at a tive index of the sample,” she said. “Theoretically, symposium,” she said. “But that initial interaction my sensing mechanism should be able to detect was just super intimidating.” anything with a unique refractive index and other Chaudhuri first began her research freshman year parameters like reactivity with a specific test comwhen taking AP Chemistry. After discovering that See GSDSEF, page 3

Editor in Chief

“

Dance Troupe traveled to Anaheim, March 16-17, to compete against approximately 40 schools in the United Spirit Association (USA) Nationals.

The team swept the competition in both their small lyrical and extra-small dances, winning a Grand Champion title for each.

During that weekend, they performed their pieces alongside each other for the last two times of the 2019 competitive season.

Because Westview hadn’t won a title at Nationals since 2016, co-team captain Alyssa Ciemiewicz (11) said that the team’s work ethic going into the season was stronger.

“We just continuously practiced and worked and listened to everything that the judges told us [from early competitions],” Ciemiewicz said. “We also listened to our coaches and other critiques so that we could continuously become more successful throughout the season, making Nationals our best yet.”

According to Ciemiewicz, the team started off with a stronger level of performance than usual, receiving higher scores than previous years from their very first competition.

“We won first in a couple of divisions

News in Numbers

Campus Counted...

38th

Place out of 200—Megan Heflinger's (12) final standing at the 2019 National Air Rifle Championships.

See Marksmanship, page 5

Do your parents explicitly say the words “I love you” to you often?*

$22k

Was raised by Jenny Shadowen (12) and Adrianne McWilliams (12) to fund leukemia and lymphoma research projects.

See LLS, page 6

70

Percent of Americans view the police as increasingly dangerous, according to the Pew Research Center.

See Police, page 10

Yes No Why?

See Bokka, page 6

Dance Troupe wins grand champion titles at USA Nationals Competition

Students present findings, place first at the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair Andrea Chen

of their product.

“It’s kind of like Shark Tank,” Bokka said.

“You come in with a product that you’ve really worked a lot on and think can really change the way people do things. But even if you have a great product, it won’t matter if you can’t present it well.”

It’s all fun and games to watch popular shows like Shark Tank, but according to Bokka, it’s a completely different story when you are the one up there making the pitch.

“My partners and I were really nervous,” he said. “You have all these bright and talented people watching you and you have judges critiquing what you say and interrupting you to ask questions you might not have have prepared for.”

During their presentation, Bokka ran into some issues.

“When I started, I couldn’t help but find

Courtesy of Karen Moore

Dance Troupe performs their small lyrical dance at USA Nationals, March 17. Approximately 40 schools competed in the event. right at the first competition,” she said.

“We were motivated to keep working to stay at that level rather than having to build and work our way up.”

This hard work paid off for the team— after a season of constant practicing, revision and cleaning, all the team dances qualified to compete at Nationals.

Dance Troupe competed with each of their dances in the preliminary round during the first day of the week-

end event. Their prepared dance styles ranged from lyrical to hip-hop, contemporary, and jazz.

Four of their six group competitive pieces were selected for the final rounds, where they competed against the top four teams in each division.

But the pressure of team finals wasn’t all that dancers Ciemiewicz and Jade Bucci (10) had to face. The two were

See Dance Troupe, page 2

46% 54% *Poll sample of 300 students

“My parents don't say ‘I love you’ much because they show me that they [love me] in various ways, especially when they make important sacrifices for me,” Ailani Toledo (11) said.

See “I love you,” page 10

Students host booths at the Culture Exchange Obioma Anyanwu (12) and Ekene Okolo (9) give snacks to Nena Lockhart (10) and Selma Williams (11) at the Nigeria booth, March 22. See No Place for Hate, page 3

Blake Parker

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April 12, 2019

Alper attends MUN conference, rebuilds Harry Potter universe Alice Chen Staff Writer

Courtesy of Karen Moore

Alex Andrada (10), Jade Bucci (10), Alyssa Ciemiewicz (11), Emma York (10) and Alexis Weldner (10) perform their dance in the small lyrical division at the USA National Championships. The performance earned them the Grand Champion title in this division.

Dance Troupe wins national titles From Dance Troupe, page 1

also representing Westview in USA’s solo divisions.

The preparation for their performances began back in the summer of 2018, when the two began collaborating with professional choreographers for their solos.

Bucci said that she and her choreographer began by brainstorming song choices. They tried to hone in on a specific style of music that would resonate with both of them and ultimately complement Bucci’s style of dancing. “[The choreographer] started by giving me a list of song options to choose from,” Bucci said. “She played the song that I’m going to be dancing to so we could get a feel for the different accents in the music and the emotional content of the lyrics.”

After choosing the song “Escalate”

by Tsar B, Bucci and her choreographer began creating the basis of the solo by assembling an outline of the different moves that Bucci was to perform at the competition.

“I gave her my input on what tricks and moves best suit and highlight me [as a dancer],” she said. “Then, we

tried adding moves onto that, little by little, until we felt like it flows and it felt good. If there were any issues, we rewinded and addressed them to try to improve the flow.”

Though the solo is only around two minutes long, Bucci said that it took a few hours just for her and her choreographer to finish the first draft of the dance.

“It has to be two minutes or under, and that’s not a really long time,” she said. “But in that amount of time, you’re just trying to showcase yourself in the best way you can and show that you’re comfortable dancing [with your own style] in your own solo.”

According to Bucci, her solo took on a life of its own from there. Bucci adds her own stylistic interpretations into the choreography given to her. “[My choreographer] gets to see how her choreography looks on me, then I try different ways to [perform] her choreography,” Bucci said. “It’s a process that involves work from both of us until we can get a solo that really fits.”

Bucci’s hard work resulted in her placing first in the second best division at USA Nationals. Ciemiewicz found similar success in placing fourth out of

a pool of the best solo dancers in the champion division.

Though they competed in different solo divisions, Ciemiewicz and Bucci both moved onto the finals, something that Ciemiewicz said she wasn’t expecting.

“There were between 40 and 50 soloists that I competed against,” Ciemiewicz said. “On Saturday, they announced the top 10 and I actually made it in. I recompeted that night, and then they announced the top five and I made it again. Being in the top five, I got to perform in the big arena the next day, which was something I never thought I would get to do.”

According to Bucci, solo dancing also aided in team morale and fostered support between dancers, especially after a successful competition. “[Winning] was an unexpected feeling, but I was reassured because I knew I worked hard for it,” she said. “It only made me more excited to keep dancing and competing in finals with the rest of the team.”

Co-team captain Sofia Lopez (12) said that she also felt fulfilled, having pushed Dance Troupe to its first win since her freshman year.

“Winning first place at nationals for the first time was like a dream come true,” Lopez said. “I would always look up to the other amazing teams winning at nationals and it made me push myself and Westview to [place at nationals].”

Lopez said she felt that she and her co-captains, Ciemiewicz and Megan Braun (11), did as much as they could to contribute to the team’s success this year.

“Myself and the other officers [tried to] support our team as much as possible by giving them pep talks right before we go on stage and making practice and competitions as fun as possible,” Lopez said. “I think we all led each other to success by being there for each other and supporting one another.”

But ultimately, Bucci said that it was the idea that they might never perform their dance again that gave them the extra push to win their Grand Champion titles.

“You keep working and keep training your dances until you feel like you’ve practically perfected every single move,” Bucci said. “[At Nationals], you never know when it’s going to be the last time you’re performing your dance.”

Harry Potter’s story is one of courage, love, hardships and magic. When the last scene closed and the villainous dictator Voldemort was defeated, it’s safe to say that many readers experienced a bittersweet whirlwind of emotions. But as the dust cleared, another question was unearthed: what would happen to the war-torn wizarding world when it didn’t have a leader anymore?

Author J.K. Rowling leaves this question unanswered and her readers wondering, so at the Laguna Beach Invitational Model United Nations (MUN) conference, March 23, a committee was held to address this problem. MUN delegates from high schools all over Southern California attended to represent various Harry Potter characters and find a way to rebuild the wizarding world.

“After the epilogue of the Harry Potter books, there’s not really any government,” delegate Sydney Alper (10) said. “The goal of this committee was to find out who we want to be the next Minister [of Magic].”

Alper said that since she was representing the evil character Grindelwald, she decided not to work together with good characters like Dumbledore and the Weasleys. In order to play her role accurately, she needed to understand what her character’s motives were in the book series.

“Grindelwald is super, super anti-Muggle, which means I want to enslave all Muggles,” Alper said. “So I was coming up with plots based on using the Imperius curse to put [Muggles] under my control.”

According to Alper, MUN delegates are encouraged to think outside of the box. Because of this, there was a lot of creativity at the conference. Alper plotted to make Grindelwald a dictator so that at the end of the conference, no one else could be voted to lead the Ministry of Magic.

“I decided to start a nuclear war,” she said. “I took over the Muggle prime minister and put an Imperius curse on him, and had England launch nuclear weapons at Russia. The Muggles getting rid of themselves means fewer problems for me.

[During] all the chaos, I used my dark magic to make the Ministry my puppets, and took over the entire wizarding world.”

Alper said that even though she had to go against the protagonists of her favorite book series during the conference, she didn’t feel any shame for using evil to accomplish her character’s goals.

“I’m not a mean person, and I don’t like hurting people, but sometimes it’s nice to be a little vicious for a day,” she said.

“Especially when I get to be a villain in my favorite world ever created.”

Alper said that since she loved the book series so much, she didn’t have to do a lot of research. Most of the other delegates possessed extensive knowledge of the fictional universe, which, according to Alper made the conference amazing to participate in.

“It’s not often I meet people with the same level of enthusiasm for Harry Potter,” she said. “Everyone in there was as passionate as I was, and we all had so much knowledge about the books. We were all so ready to play [our] parts. It was an awesome experience.”

Theatre Company competes at Fullerton, wins three events Zara Irshad Staff Writer

Looking around at the sea of booths and swarms of fellow theatre students around her, Gabbi Diaz (12) walked around Fullerton College soaking up the lively atmosphere like a sponge.

According to her, the annual Fullerton College High School Theatre Festival, which the Theatre Company competed March 22-23, is the most exciting aspect of being in the program.

This year, the Theatre Company’s costume, hair and makeup, and set design departments placed in the final round of the competition.

In addition, their musical cut, monologue and tech designers made it to the finals. Around 50 different theatre companies from across Southern California, competed in a variety of categories ranging from musical theatre to tech design to improv.

According to theater student Gabbi Diaz (12), Theatre Company competed in four monologue categories, four scene categories, four tech design categories, two tech olympic categories and a musical theatre category.

“Each person or team that is competing competes only for about 3-5 minutes each day, and the same goes for finals,” Diaz said. “But the competitions take place

throughout several hours on both days.”

She said that preparation for the tech olympics inDiaz said that they spent weeks prior to the competi- volved going over tool usage and knot-tying skills, as the tion preparing for the events. The improv team rehearsed competition itself was a relay race. The tech olympics different games, and actors practiced and perfected their students were split into two teams of five and had to commonologues with the help of Theatre Director Robert plete one task each, such as hammering a nail or tying a Townsend. knot, as fast as they could.

The category that required the most preparation, how“Both tool usage and knots are timed events,” Bui said. ever, was the musical theatre competition, as it involved “So you’re scored by time, with time deductions for aca larger group of people. curacy.”

The Theatre Company spent While the event is quite competi There is something tive, weeks rehearsing a number called Diaz said that she enjoys watch“Show People” from a musical for everyone, there is enough ing the other schools perform, as she called “Curtains,” which required the competition categories that feels that she learns a lot about difactors to learn lots of choreography ferent techniques and performance which took a few weeks for them to there is something for every- styles from it. get down.

The competitions are held in difone in theatre.”

Diaz said that Townsend hired an ferent rooms based on their catego—Gabbi Diaz (12) ry, and the rooms are left open for outside choreographer to teach the students and that the actors spent a students to observe all the different lot of time learning harmonies for the musical portion as categories in action. well.

“My favorite thing is to go watch all of the musical Ashley Bui (12), the president of the Theatre Compa- theatre entries” Diaz said. “From watching different ny, competed in the tech olympic section which focuses schools, it can really influence your choice about what on the more intricate details of the set, not to be confused sort of musical number you might bring the next year, or with tech design category which focuses on the larger the kinds of aspects, such as costumes and design, you scale components of production. want to focus on.”

“

The festival attracts hundreds of students, which makes it difficult to place in a competition.

In past years, Westview Theatre Company has had only one or two categories advance to finals, so according to Diaz, having so many categories make it this year, on top of having some place in their competitions, was a big accomplishment for the group.

“What is nice about competing against a pretty large number is that you see a lot of variety in the types of pieces that get chosen for performance categories,” Diaz said. “It can be nerve-wracking and make you feel like you have a very slim chance, but at the end of the day, if you’ve worked hard and made good choices, you can go far.”

Having attended the competition for the past four years, Diaz said that her last time at Fullerton felt bittersweet. She said that the competition, which is open to all students, is an amazing educational experience that she would encourage other students to take advantage of and get involved with.

“There is something for everyone, there is enough competition categories that there is something for everyone in theatre,” Diaz said. “Basically anyone in theatre can compete and even if you don’t, there are enough categories [so] that it can be really entertaining to just watch and support your friends.”

News Stand What's happening around campus...

Today

... and around the world.

Astronomy Club is showing the movie “Interstellar” tonight in room J-118 6:30-8:30 p.m. There is no admission fee, and food will be provided.

“We are in this difficult situation because the prime minister left things until so late in the day.”

YVETTE COOPER, member of the UK Parliament, de-

Fashion Club is holding its second show of the year, “Rerun,” in the theater at 7 p.m, April 26. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for adults.

May

1

April

26

Theatre Company’s One Act Festival is May 1 at 7 p.m. in the theater.

Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for adults.

fending the bill she devised to prevent the UK from exiting the EU with no deal. Cooper’s bill passed its final stages in the House of Lords, April 1.

“The Israeli public has had their say! These elections have a clear winner and a clear loser.”

BENJAMIN GANTZ, leader of the Blue and White party

and winner of Israel's parliamentary election, April 9, announcing his definitive win against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud party leader and prime minister.

“We have seen what we thought was unseeable. We have seen and taken a picture of a black hole.”

SHEPERD DOELEMAN, astrophysicist at the Har-

vard-Smithsonian Center, describing the first-ever capture of a black hole. The image was taken by the Event Horizon Telescope and released, April 10.

“Our freedom of expression online is too precious to be wasted as ammo in a corporate battle.”

JULIA REDA, member of the European Parliament, ar-

guing against the Directive on Copyright in the EU, or Article 13. Although negotiations halted January 2018, the process of enacting the law is back in motion.

Compiled by Alice Chen

Nexus

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April 12, 2019

No Place For Hate Week fosters discussion, encourages inclusion Alyssa Van Waas Staff Writer

Students and teachers huddled together, exchanging answers to fill out their bingo cards. With a Board and Brew sandwich on the line, idleness was not an option for the participants.

“Who’s gay?” someone shouted in the crowd.

“I am!” another replied.

As part of ASB’s No Place for Hate week, March 18-22, the “Human Bingo” event facilitated open conversation about topics like inclusion, sexuality and religion.

“It was cool [to see the] interaction [between everyone] because that conversation that’s normally really awkward and would have just been uncomfortable for everyone was super open because everyone just wanted to get a blackout,” ASB Culture Commissioner Kaitlynn Bernardino (11) said. “It was an easy space for students to open up about who they are, by sharing to each other.”

Nika Shlopov (11) participated in human bingo and thought it was a fun way to meet and interact with new people from around school.

“I got to learn a lot of new people’s names, and just some random fun facts about them, like ‘Oh, my parents are born in a different country,’ or ‘They speak two languages,’” Shlopov said.

During the week, ASB’s main goal was to find a way to bring up topics that are usually hard to discuss.

“We wanted to be able to, in a way, sur-

Blake Parker Black

Random Acts of Kindness Treasurer Ethan Baskerville-Bridges (11) and Ermina Ashaa (11) offer free hugs at the Culture Exchange, March 22.

face some topics that are difficult for many people [to talk about], such as racism, discrimination, sexism and homophobia,” Bernardino said. “[We want to bring these] topics [up] so that we can have them openly discussed on campus and prevent hate.”

On March 19, students were able to listen to Holocaust survivor Rose Schindler. Bernardino said Schindler’s story is a powerful one.

“It’s so hard to comprehend [the effects of the Holocaust in your textbooks or in movies] but when you hear it from someone who was in the camps or someone who experienced it, it’s pretty harsh,” Bernadino said.

“If she’s able to talk about that, then everyone around us should be able to talk about bullying, homophobia and sexism in order to prevent it from occurring more.”

Similar to Schindler, ASB hosted a student and staff panel during lunch, where seven panelists opened up about their personal stories.

Benjamine Marie Garcia (11) talked about her experience coming out to her friends and family. “[At the panel,] I had talked about growing up in hiding my sexuality and gaining the courage to finally speak up about it,” Garcia said. “I encouraged honesty and open-mindedness, and shared stories about my experiences with being pansexual and growing up in a strict Catholic household.”

As a result of the panel, Garcia saw a shift in environment almost immediately: people in the audience began to talk about the issues raised in the panel.

“I noticed there were some people moved by what we spoke about on our panel,” Garcia said. “There were a lot of students actually curious and involved in our conversations as we answered questions submitted from students themselves.”

Similar to how Garcia talked about celebrating diversity, the Culture Exchange, March 22, gave students a place to promote their clubs.

Random Acts of Kindness Treasurer Ethan Baskerville-Bridges (11) said it was eye-opening.

“My biggest takeaway [of the Culture Exchange] was gaining a deeper understanding of the various cultures and classmates around me,” Baskerville-Bridges said. “It was amazing to learn about the [different aspects of each culture].”

Baskerville-Bridges said that taking part in activities like the Culture Exchange can lead students to better understand and sympathize with their peers.

“I think it is very important to have these types of events because it is all too easy, especially at Westview, to forget to take time off of studying in order to truly understand our peers,” he said.

As a result of the No Place for Hate week, many students said they were able to feel included and more open to talk about difficult topics together.

“Once the conversation is flowing, it doesn’t make students uncomfortable,” Bernardino said. “We can [then] notice what’s going on so that we are able to fix it and prevent the hate [from] spreading around.”

March For Our Lives SD hosts 'Art for Our Lives,' showcases student artwork Devanshi Tomar Final Focus Editor

“Each day we hear of more shootings. more suicides. more bombings. School is no longer safe. Each day we worry: will we be next? Will I live to see tomorrow?”

The San Diego chapter of the “March for Our Lives” organization hosted the “Art for Our Lives” event at Waterfront Park, March 23, featuring art, music and poetry from local artists.

The main organization, run by survivors of the Stoneman Douglas shooting, asked every chapter nationwide to have an art-themed event commemorate the tens of thousands who attended March for Our Lives rallies to protest gun violence.

As a member of the local chapter for March for Our Lives and head organizer of the event, Shira Griffith (12) connected with artists and other organizations to share their work or speak at the event.

“The March for Our Lives movement is student-run, so everything revolves around students,” Griffith said. “Having student work just shows how impactful this epidemic is on students.”

The “epidemic” Griffith is talking of is gun

violence, a matter that many at the event chose to address. “[Speakers talked about] how gun violence has impacted their lives,” Griffith said. “Some spoke about how it got them involved in different movements.”

These speakers included politicians and members of organizations such as Women’s March San Diego, San Diego Registrar of Voters and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Jocelyn Mi (10) attended the event and said that one particular speech touched her.

“One thing that resonated with me was one of the performers sharing her emotional story bravely to the crowd, and her experience with the death of a close friend due to a school shooting,” Mi said.

Griffith said that, along with scheduled speakers, individuals read their poems aloud to attendees. One of the individuals that Griffith reached out to was Sydney Alper (10), who submitted her poem, “Tomorrow?”

“I really wanted to get my voice and opinion out there,” Alper said. “This [event] gave me the opportunity to showcase my work and speak about a topic that directly affects me. I think gun control is a really important and a

very serious matter, so I was honored to be able to share.”

Alper said she was inspired to write her poem after watching a news story about gun violence.

“It made me really upset because it was around the time of the Parkland shooting and so many other tragedies and threats at schools,” Alper said.

Alper said she hoped her poem helped spectators better understand why gun control is an urgent issue for students like her.

“It was a poem about how I was scared about life in general and how upsetting it was that no one was doing anything about this big problem,” Alper said. “Gun violence isn’t just something far away on the news, it’s close to home and directly affects me as a student.”

While individuals were speaking and reciting their poems, attendees were free to visit tables and artists featured at the event. Among these tables were local chapters of other national organizations such as Women’s March San Diego. Griffith said that the work to reach out to artists and organize the event was worth it.

“Even if I wasn’t a member, I still would have gone because it is important to me that people recognize that the gun violence epidemic isn’t getting any better,” Griffith said.

Jocelyn Mi

Shira Griffith (12) informs attendees about March For Our Lives’ mission, March 23. Griffith was the head organizer of the art event.

Chaudhuri, Gurram, Wu present research at GSDSEF, win awards From GSDSEF, page 1

Within these divisions are categories such as Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Medical/ Health Sciences, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Energy/Transport, Computer Science and Physics.

Projects can win awards and qualify for other science fairs through the judging system. Scientific organizations and companies also attend these fairs and award their own monetary prizes.

Sumanth Gurram (12) and his partner, David Wu (12), placed first in the Bioengineering category and won a qualifying spot ot the California State Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF). They also received a top award from the Professional Engineers in California Government, the Society for In Vitro Biology Award and the Yale Science and Engineering Association Award for their work with electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and their effects on cancer cells.

“We wanted to see whether a fluctuating magnetic field, which induces ion movement,

could affect cell health by interrupting fundamental cell processes,” Wu said. “When you have a fluctuating magnetic field, Lenz’s Law describes how there will be an electric current produced that counteracts the changing magnetic field. What we found is that with strong enough EMFs, cell proliferation could be inhibited.”

Since there hasn’t been much work published on the subject of their research, Gurram and Wu designed five different experiments to test each aspect of their project.

“We had to figure out many things on our own in terms of experimental protocols and the general scientific thought behind what we were investigating,” Gurram said.

They’ve also created what Gurram calls an “Internet-of-Things EMF apparatus” by combining their AP Physics knowledge with CAD/3D printing, Raspberry Pi electrical setup, integrated sensors and smartphone-based controls. With it, they were able to test that EMFs could be localized to better target cancer cells.

“We discovered novel therapeutic proper-

ties of EMFs in cancer, assessing that EMFs at certain strengths can inhibit multiple types of cancer [with over 90 percent cell-death] and not cause damage to healthy cells,” he said.

Similarly, Chaudhuri qualified for the CSEF and placed first in the chemistry category, earning $500 in awards and gaining networking opportunities within professional societies like the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Office of Naval Research and General Atomics.

“I have never participated in high school science fairs before, so it was a great experience to meet so many other passionate students and teachers from all around San Diego who are invested in STEM research,” she said.

Chaudhuri also wrote a paper on stabilizing porous silicon, which is currently in review for publication with the ACS. She still works at Sailor Lab on porous silicon projects, mentoring new lab members and showing them how to use the lab equipment.

“As a full-time group member, it can also

be stressful to manage my lab responsibilities [like] writing grant proposals, paper revisions, data analysis, group meetings with school and extracurricular activities, but it’s always so worth it,” she said. “The Sailor Lab is a home away from home. It has been such a transformative experience and my lab members are like family now.”

Meanwhile, Gurram and Wu are continuing their research on EMFs and cancer cells.

Gurram said their project has two main purposes: finding a more effective and affordable cancer treatment and drawing attention to EMFs and their potential applications.

“Current cancer therapies are too expensive and lack full effectiveness in treating cancer [in terms of] localization, selectivity towards cancer, side effects,” he said. “That’s why we wanted to explore whether EMFs have potential to be deployed as a much more effective and affordable treatment strategy.”

But though EMFs are classified as safe, they are extremely controversial in research and widely debated in public health, according to Gurram and Wu.

“EMFs are one of the most unexplored fields of biology,” Gurram said. “We wanted to draw attention to the interesting biological properties of EMFs as part of a broader public health and environmental initiative.”

As such, both he and Wu are looking forward towards finding more implications of the effects of EMFs on biological systems.

“Our project’s main conclusion was that EMFs need to be researched more,” Wu said.

“Our project shows that EMFs are capable of influencing biological systems, therefore the human body can potentially be affected

by EMFs.” Despite the fact that more research still needs to be done, Gurram said he and Wu have learned immensely from the experience.

“Working [on] something this intellectually stimulating and deeply fascinating was just a lot of fun,” Gurram said. “I think both of us are very proud of what we have achieved and hope that our project inspires most students to do research, especially research that combines various disciplines to bring forth new solutions.”

Science Olympiad places sixth at state competition Julie Zhu Staff Writer

Science Olympiad anxiously watched as competitor after competitor walked up to the stage and claimed their awards. Finally, the announcer quieted the crowd to announce the overall team results.

When Westview’s name was called, the team erupted in cheers. “[Science Olympiad was] ecstatic when we found out that we had placed sixth,” Science Olympiad President Cameron Lu (12) said. “From what I can tell from Science Olympiad records, this means we also tied with our best performance at state in Westview’s history.”

On April 6, Westview attended the Southern California State Science Olympiad Tournament at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), placing sixth out of 32 teams in their division.

In Science Olympiad, members compete in events centered around topics such as physics, chemistry, and biology. Some events are build events, where competitors create a device beforehand and test it against other teams. Other events

are study events, where competitors learn about their event’s topic beforehand and answer timed questions on their knowledge of the subject. Each event is scored based on event guidelines provided

by Science Olympiad.

Going into state, Westview's team had strong members who placed in the top five for many of their events at regionals and were expected to perform well at state. One of their team’s best competitors, Robert Lee (11), placed sixth in Protein Modeling, fourth in Astronomy, and third in Boomilever. He also placed second in Fermi Questions, a new event that he competed in for state. Lee said he especially enjoyed Boomilever.

“For Boomilever, it’s mainly just build, test, analyze, and repeat,” Lee said. “I personally love Boomilever, so I think it’s much better than other events because you get instant feedback and your score is just one number so it’s easy to see your progress.”

After his performance at regionals, Lee said he had high expectations prior to the state competition.

At state, Lee said he initially felt nervous and encountered some problems. Still, Lee said he was

able to put it all aside for his build event.

“For Boomilever though, it went perfectly,” Lee said. “[My partner and I] held the maximum weight, so we did the best we could, and [our project] broke perfectly at the end and it was spectacular.”

Despite feeling confident in his performance, Lee exceeded his expectations at the awards ceremony.

“I saw some really good schools get their placements [for Fermi Questions and] I was like, ‘Oh I’m not gonna get placed.’” Lee said. “And then when second came, when they said fourth and third I was like, ‘Oh there’s no chance.’ And then when they called [us] for second, it was insane. It was kind of surreal.”

Although Westview didn’t qualify for nationals, which only accepts the first place school from each state tournament, Lu said that their performance this year gives promise that Science Olympiad will only continue to improve in the coming years.

“Many of the juniors in our program are very talented and hard-working,” Lu said. “If they continue to participate next year, then I think we have a solid chance of setting a new record for Westview’s placement in the next state competition.”

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4 Features

April 12, 2019 In My Feelings Medium Waffle Fries and a Side of Existentialism Lina Lew

Rhea Jogadhenu

Jacque Wenger (10) assumes the start position during swim practice, April 1. As a competitive swimmer who has advanced to the 2019 Future Championships level, Wenger’s fastest backstroke times are 1:01:67 for the 100 meter and 1:52:81 for the 200 meter.

Wenger swims towards national ranking Rhea Jogadhenu Staff Writer

For Jacque Wenger (10), the water has always been a second home. After over 10 years of participating in competitive swim programs, he has advanced to the 2019 Future Championships level of competitive swim, just two cuts below becoming a nationally ranked swimmer. Wenger qualified for the Futures Championships by reaching swim cuts, or required times, for the 100 backstroke event in under 1:00:07 and the 200 backstroke event in under 2:11:89 minutes.

At 4 years old, Wenger was introduced to the sport.

He began participating in competitive meets just one year later. Although he was involved in other sports throughout his youth, he decided to focus primarily on swim when he reached high school, becoming a varsity swimmer his freshman year.

“When high school came around, I went to practice every day and started training year-round, which eventually helped me get a lot faster,” Wenger said.

Wenger also began swimming for the Rancho San Dieguito Club team early in high school, taking on a more serious training schedule. He is involved two competitive club seasons per year, in addition to swimming for the school team. The short-course season runs from August to March, where he practices in 25-yard pools. The long-course season follows for the rest of the year, where he trains in a 50-meter pool.

Each day, he attends three-hour swim practices in addition to early morning practices to improve his speed.

He also attends monthly meets where he represents his

club, as well as larger competitions that occur towards the end of the season.

“Compared to high school swim, my club swim practices are a lot longer and our sets are much harder,” Wenger said. “We also do a lot more yardage and sets in the practice time.”

Wenger also works on swim dry-land exercises including running, core exercises and weight lifting, to develop his strength. Through this intensive practice schedule, Wenger was able to significantly decrease his swim cut times and qualified for the Future Cuts Championships level in December.

“Making these cuts took me one step closer to my long-term goals and it definitely made me more motivated to continue swimming and improving,” he said.

Currently, he is taking steps to reach the Junior National Championships level. In order to do so, Wenger must reduce his swim times for each event, something he said has become especially challenging for him.

“Around 10 years old, I started declining in speed,” Wenger said. “I wasn’t making any progress and it stayed that way until last year when I started making bigger time cuts.”

Because the time difference between each cut comes down to a matter of a fraction of a second, Wenger has focused on using smaller techniques to advance his times.

“I’m watching a lot of people from higher levels and seeing what kinds of techniques they use,” Wenger said. “I’ve been observing what kinds of tips and tricks they use to get some advantage.”

One trick that Wenger has learned to use is his ad-

vantage of holding his breath for long periods of time.

This has significantly helped him reach cuts faster than his competitors.

“I’m able to hold my breath underwater a lot longer than most people,” he said. “In swim, the fastest part is when you go underwater kicking, before beginning the stroke. Being able to do that a lot longer than other people makes me faster.”

However, such advantages only go so far, Wenger said, which is why practice is so important to him.

“Ultimately, [practice] is the only way to get faster,” he said. “It’s important to be determined and go to practice every days, even when you don't feel like doing it.”

Wenger often finds this motivation from his teammates and his goal of reaching the national level.

“There is a big team aspect to swim because in training, your teammates push you to be faster and have races to motivate you to improve,” he said. “Although the swim meets are more individual, it’s good to work with friends who are swimming with me and understand the struggles I go through with improving my times.”

Wenger said his main focus is cutting his times to qualify for Junior National Championships and hopes to continue swimming competitively at the collegiate level and earn an Olympic cut in the future.

“Swimming has always been my main priority because it’s a good way to relieve my stress,” he said.

“The relief of getting the cut that you want is an amazing feeling, and I hope that I can take that step in the future with a National cut.”

“It’s a wonderful day at Chick-Fil-A, how may we serve you?”

This is a phrase I’ve come to anticipate—come to know and love—every week, twice a week before work, since the start of school. Those eleven words guarantee all things good in life: crisp waffle fries, incomparable sauces, frosted coffee.

But here’s the catch: the omnipresent “How may we serve you?” is the impersonal introduction of a larger corporation at work, not an individual. Time and time again, Chick-Fil-A has lured me into their perfectly rehearsed trap, their false sense of security and intimacy. And though I know what’s coming time and time again, I oblige. I let myself fall victim to Chick-FilA’s warm—and false—embrace every time.

They never get my name right.

A simple one-time mistake might’ve made for a good laugh, but this has happened every time, every week, twice a week, since the start of school. First I was Gina. Then Dina. I tend to repress this particular instance, but once I was called Sheena.

Another time, I had grown so sick and afraid of being misnamed that, when the drive-thru operator introduced herself as Melissa and asked me for my name, I feigned surprise and called myself Melissa too.

When psychologist Erik Erikson defined the stages of an identity crisis, Chick-Fil-A drive-thrus didn’t make the cut, and yet here I was, questioning my entire identity as Lina because they didn’t get my name right.

I ask myself why I always come back, and besides their waffle fries, and it always comes back to being recognized.

Like every existential play I’ve ever read in AP Lit, with meaningless characters waiting for something that will never arrive, each week I felt like I was waiting for acknowledgement that never came.

It’s as if, just once, I wanted to be seen, to be known. To be picked from the crowd, acknowledged for my efforts, for the three dollars I was spending on waffle fries.

But life pushes back when you feel the most secure. It reminds you that, like every other person in the drive-thru line, you are one car in a line of many easily replaceable, easily forgettable customers.

And it happened to me, over and over again, until the 54th or so time I was called Gina or Linda or Dina, that I realized that some things will never change—that this is one of the many fleeting moments between employee and customer that, outside of these two-minute interactions, hold no real meaning in my life, or their lives either. And life doesn’t wait for me to fret about the wrong name on the receipt—by the time I finish being internally mortified, my fries will have gotten cold.

So instead of letting their weekly misidentification send me spiraling into an existential ball of flames every time they get my name wrong, I’m comforted that, in a couple minutes I will drive away from this particular drive-thru operator and get on with my life. And in the days between my Chick-Fil-A escapades, the days of my life that truly matter, I’m reminded of who I really am outside of which sauces I choose.

Now, I’ve come to anticipate my new character every time I pull into the drive-thru, making it a guessing game with my friend sitting next to me in the car—will I be Gina today, or Dina? Will I make up a new name entirely?

Maybe this is what the existentialists meant all along—in a world filled with mundane actions, I’ve grown to laugh at the meaningless interactions between customer and employee—and between Dina, Sheena, and Lina—that come with it.

Tu elected to CASL board, facilitates public speaking, leadership workshops Alyssa Van Waas Staff Writer

With encouragement from former Capital Area Student Leadership board member Nathan Xia (’18), Audrey Tu (10) decided she would consider turning in an application for the same position.

The mission of the Capital Area Student Leadership (CASL) is to “equip and empower students to be effective future leaders of the world through local, regional, and statewide conferences,” according to the CASL website.

“I got the courage to ask [Xia], and he told me that it was a statewide leadership thing,” Tu said. “You totally get to hone in on your presentation skills, your networking skills, and connect with different people from across the state. I was in eighth grade coming into freshman year and [thought it could be] something I could do maybe [for a few] years.”

So, Tu decided to take the next step and go through the application process. The application consisted of both an essay and short

answer portion. Some of the questions were ‘You have a blank piece of paper, take a risk,’ and another was ‘how do you feel about Wednesday?’

“I thought [the application process] was really cool because it really tested your creativity and your individuality,” Tu said.

Tu soon found that she was a finalist in February 2018. The next step in her application process was to go through rotations with students who attended the annual CASL state conference held in April.

Each school votes on the canidates in an interview like setting.

“The [students] ask you [questions] like, ‘You’re put into this situation, what do you do?’ and you only have about two minutes to respond,” she said. “The delegates get a feel for your leadership style and who you are.”

Once elected as one of the 21 board members for CASL for the 2018-19 year, Tu’s first job with her co-directors was to come up with a word, tagline, and theme for the entire year.

“Our word this year was ‘Shared Ownership,’ the idea of having everyone on your

team, creating the culture that everyone [is fully] being invested,” she said. “Our tagline is “Lean in together,” and then our theme is the CASL rapids: [it’s the idea that] everyone is on a little lifeboat and they’re all leaning together.”

As a board member, Tu presents and facilitates three different types of conferences: state conferences, regional or area conferences, and Leadership Development Days (LDDs).

In area conferences, Tu gets to present a personally made workshop. A workshop is a session based on teaching an idea, concept or skill of leadership to delegates. Tu’s workshop, “Walk It Like I Talk It” focuses on public speaking, how to think on your feet with impromptu speeches and how to confidently communicate to an audience.

LDDs are local conferences and happen very frequently.

They are mainly run by the CASL board advisors who watch over all of the student directors.

Tu and the other student directors are primarily there to facilitate and support the

activities the board advisors present and connect with the students who are attending.

The state conference is held for students across California to learn what it takes to be a good leader. Current board members teach the curriclum.

One of the ideas that Tu brought from the state conference back to Westview is the idea of shared ownership.

“We’re trying to cultivate with shared ownership that it isn’t only about supporting [your own job description], but also going outside of your job description and stepping outside of your role [to help with other roles],” she said. “To be like, ‘Hey we’ve never done this, but let’s take a risk and lean in together [to achieve that common goal].’”

Tu said that some of the things she appreciates the most about being on the board are the connections she has made throughout the year.

“For me, being on the board, it’s definitely a privilege and an honor because it’s such a cool organization to be a part of,” Tu said.

“I get to travel all over the state, meet new people, and create connections.”

Krasnyanskiy reaches new heights as aerial silks performer, finds artistic expression in unorthodox medium From Aerial Silks, page 1

within the performance.

“Each level is a different part in the story and we try In order to look graceful in the air, Krasnyanskiy to make moves to tell a story,” Krasnyanskiy said. works on her core and arm strength by doing ab workTo connect the routine with the music, aerialists let outs and pull-ups. the tempo of the music determine what kind of moves “You have to hold yourself up by your arms but you will be added to fit the story line. also need a lot of center strength like abs. It’s a combiFor instance, when the tempo is fast during a robbery nation of everything,” Krasnyanskiy said. chase and the beat drops, the aerialists will also drop in She also does V-ups, which are another kind of core that moment. strengthening exercise, to condition On the other hand, when the her body. music tempo is slow and relaxing, “During V-ups you pull yourself aerialists will perform splits or The feeling of flying together, which strengthens the arms twirl in the air. and legs,” Krasnyanskiy said. “Hav- makes your heart flutter for a Aerialists also work on facial ing strength helps connect moves expressions to reflect the scene. and hold yourself up and wrap your second and you feel so alive” For example, when Krasnyansarms around the silks to make it the —Victoria Krasnyanskiy (10) kiy chased the Queen of Hearts, routine pretty.” she put on a worried and frantic After Krasnyanskiy and her class expression when climbing the practices different aerial silk moves, silk. they begin to perform with music to prepare for the anOther than performing in the annual dance studio nual show. show, Krasnyanskiy does not compete as an aerialist Once a year, Krasnyanskiy’s dance studio will put on but uses the sensation she feels in the air from aerial a show for families and friends to come watch what silks as stress relief from anything else going on in her the aerialists have been working on and how much they life such as school. have improved.

“I feel like a graceful monkey,” Krasnyanskiy said.

Aerialists of different levels all work together to “The feeling of ‘flying’ makes your heart flutter for a prepare a routine on a centralized theme and storyline second and you feel so alive.”

“

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Tu’s belief that leaders should empower other leaders is one of the reasons why she believes it is so important for there to be student leaders.

“A good leader doesn’t create followers,” she said. “A good leader creates leaders and cultivates people who can be proactive about their own lives and the way that they approach things. Instead of just being like, ‘Hey everybody, follow me and do this,’ it’s like ‘Hey everybody, I’m going to teach you how to be a better leader and a better individual.’”

Tu said she is thankful for the time that she has been on the board and treasures all of the memories and the bonds she has made with her co-directors and delegates.

“No matter how different our backgrounds are, or the schools that we come from, we [the directors] all have a very similar goal and coming together under that common goal creates a sense of community between us,” Tu said. “There’s so much deeper of a connection between us as people [because] we’ve bonded more as a board and gone through [such] similar experiences.”

Nexus

Features 5

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Review

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April 12, 2019

Bad Habits Album

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Evan Buckland

Jessica Lin

Megan Heflinger (12) practices by aiming at targets placed across the JROTC room, March 26. Heflinger participated in her last national marksmanship competition, Feb. 8, ending a four-year run.

Heflinger competes at marksmanship championships as sole JROTC shooter Alice Chen Staff Writer

Megan Heflinger (12) stood on the thin black line 10 meters in front of her target, yet the only thought going through her mind was to stop thinking. Surrounded by people she didn’t know in Anniston, Alabama at the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) National Air Rifle Championships, Feb. 8, Heflinger had to make every shot count. “[Marksmanship] is a purely mental sport,” Heflinger said. “When you’re thinking about something, your heart rate rises and it’s really hard to keep the rifle steady. So I [had] to stay calm and not think about anything.”

Marksmanship is also known as competitive rifle-shooting, where points are awarded for accuracy of the shot on a bullseye target. According to Heflinger, in this sport, hand-eye coordination and focus matter more than physical conditioning. Heflinger has competed in marksmanship since her freshman year, and she said that in her opinion, the path to success is continuous dedication.

“I’m very driven to win, so I just kept practicing, starting from my first day,” Heflinger said. “When I was new, it was difficult and I didn’t always want [to continue], but I had a huge support system from the rest of the team.”

Heflinger’s hard work paid off when she placed first in the state competition, Jan. 19, qualifying for nationals as one of 13 shooters from California and Arizona. This marked the third time that Heflinger had gone to nationals, and the second time that she

went as the only shooter from Westview. Heflinger said that marksmanship has always been a team sport for her, so going to the competition alone made it more stressful. “[At nationals], I would look to my side and everyone else was my competitor,” Heflinger said. “The best thing about being a team is that when you’re on the line and you’re struggling, you can always look to somebody next to you knowing it’s a familiar face.

It’s really hard to have a supportive environment without my team.”

Heflinger and her brother Jason Heflinger (10) usually shoot together at regular competitions. She said being alongside him helps her recover quickly after a bad shot.

“When I shoot a bad shot, I look at Jason and we'll be a little silly on the line,” Heflinger said. “If I let the shot get to me, I’d get really frustrated and continue shooting bad shots. But when we laugh on the line it helps us forget and not let the bad shot get to us.”

According to Heflinger, her scores used to fluctuate a lot depending on her mood, especially during her first year. Heflinger said that letting her stress get to every part of her life has always been one of her biggest challenges, and learning to focus better to improve her shooting has also helped her outside of the sport.

“School used to get to me all the time, but when I’m on the line, I push it to the side and it doesn’t even matter,” Heflinger said. “[Marksmanship] forces me to relax and forget about things. By forcing myself to push out that stress when I’m shooting, I can push out that stress any time now [in] daily life.”

In preparation for regular competitions, the marksmanship team meets three days a week to practice, 2.5 hours per day. But in order to prepare for nationals, Heflinger had to practice every day. She said there were specific ways she practiced to improve her technique. “[Practice] isn’t always just firing shots,” Heflinger said. “I did a lot of dry firing, which means shooting without a pellet inside so you don’t get a score.

That helps you not focus on the score. You focus on your calmness and go back to the basics, which really helped me improve my shooting overall.”

According to Heflinger, not being able to confirm the accuracy of her shots forced her to put more trust in the basic technique of her shooting. Heflinger also made sure to practice shooting without her teammates and her coach, so that she could simulate what nationals would be like.

“I knew that I had to get used to not having that support system,” Heflinger said. “I knew my coach wouldn’t always be able to help me on the line, so I had to practice being able to problem-solve by myself.”

At the end of the competition, Heflinger placed 38th out of 200 competitors. Although she still sees room for improvement, she said she enjoyed her last national competition overall.

“My biggest takeaway is just to have fun,” Heflinger said. “I definitely enjoyed meeting all those people from other places. I know I was alone and it was a little hard, but when I remember the fun parts of [marksmanship] and keep it in mind, I stop getting upset with myself and I love the sport again.”

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When it was revealed that Nav’s new album was titled, “Bad Habits,” many people—myself included—were hopeful that this meant his album would be purged of the traits that generally hold him back—monotone flow, uninspired lyrics, and a nagging affinity for copying his peers.

However, on his newest release, Nav unfortunately proves true the adage that old habits die hard, especially the bad ones.

Many Nav fans were expecting some grand return after he pledged to quit the rap game following Lil Uzi Vert’s unprecedented departure back in January of this year. Many thought that we would be listening to a new Nav, a Nav who sings about deep, introspective topics and produces fresh and cool beats.

However, nothing he did culminated into a decent product.

Nav fails to break any of his bad habits in “Bad Habits.” The album opens with “To My Grave,” and already, the audience is introduced to the same trite characteristics of a typical Nav single.

He does his best Travis Scott impression, while droning on in an auto-tuned falsetto about how expensive his watch and his diamond-covered rings are.

In terms of his flow, Nav seems to have found a formula that is merely good enough to recycle over and over again in order to make a sizeable profit. Nothing seems to be motivating him to change his style as his sales numbers steadily increase with each album released. It’s allowed him to fall into a pattern and it’s made his music cliche and repetitive with tracks like “Taking Chances” and “Tension” sounding alarmingly similar.

The lyrical content is sadly nothing revolutionary either. Nav’s music is supposedly labeled as “vibe music,” yet the whole time, he sounds unsure and timid about the things he talks about. It’s also quite apparent that he is heavily influenced by artists like Future, Travis Scott and Lil Uzi Vert, so much so that he tries to mimic their lyrical approach without showing any self-awareness or alluding to a deeper meaning.

One positive of the album is the fact that it’s produced by Nav’s record label head, the Weeknd. With its pop elements, many of the beats are quite catchy and entertaining to listen to. The song, “Price On My Head,” which features the Weeknd, is a deservedly favorite track of many fans, and became Nav’s second most popular track on Spotify. While the Weeknd’s high falsetto mixes great with the track, Nav’s verse makes him sound like he’s a passenger on his own album. He shows no boldness or charisma and he doesn’t seem to care that he is being upstaged by every artist that he brings to feature on his album.

The one song where Nav actually decides to give his audience some introspective storytelling is on the track “Why You Crying Mama?” which is dedicated to his mother. However, rather than saying anything interesting about his relationship with his mom, the only message that Nav gives is that he can now buy his mom an endless amount of gifts because of his newfound wealth.

Nav really does have some positives as an artist though. I truly believe he has good musical taste and there is evidence of this in “Bad Habits” and even his earlier albums. His producing is quite advanced, with many of the tracks containing catchy and melodic sounds, but some of his ideas seem to have gotten stale. If Nav wants to establish any sort of longevity in hip hop however, he needs to push the boundaries lyrically and show us more about who he is rather than relying on the same old formula.

Chowdhuri preserves Hindustani classical music with 'PhonoNet' Lina Lew

Opinions Editor When Sauhaarda Chowdhuri (11) listens to Hindustani classical music, otherwise known as Indian classical music, he not only hears the notes, but sees them visually in front of him—the frequency of C notes, the transitions from one note to another.

He notices the slightest difference in pattern changes, the specific features of a song that make it unique.

But Chowdhuri isn’t a musical prodigy and hasn’t taken music theory classes. Instead, his expertise comes from his self-made computer system, PhonoNet, which identifies a song as a certain raga, a specific array of melodic structures that provides the basis for Indian classical music.

According to Chowdhuri, Indian classical music is completely improvised, and ragas are key in choosing which specific notes to sing.

“When a singer gets on stage, they have no idea what they’re going to sing,” Chowdhuri said. “They’d improvise just like you’d do in jazz with a certain set of notes or patterns defined in a raga.”

Ragas provide a clear framework of specific notes a musician can use for improvisation, focusing on melodic and rhythmic complexity to develop a certain mood.

Chowdhuri’s experience with Indian music only began his sophomore year when he chose to analyze an Indian movie for his sophomore thesis in Honors Humanities.

“After listening, analyzing, and commenting on the music, I got so interested in Indian classical music that I started listening to it more on my own at home,” Chowdhuri said.

Chowdhuri eventually went beyond just listening and started attending Indian classical singing lessons once a week to practice and get feedback on his singing.

But for students like Chowdhuri who go to school full-time, learning the various types of ragas can be difficult because they are typically passed down orally. Many dedicated Indian classical music learners devote their time to guru-shishya, a traditional teaching method in which students live with their music instructors in order to learn full-time.

In terms of learning music, Chowdhuri was a relatively late bloomer—without guru-shishya, there were hundreds of ragas he had not studied.

Chowdhuri said that every year, ragas disappear at a fast rate because they are learned through oral tradition, not written down in a concrete form. Because of this, information gets lost as it gets passed down from generation to generation.

“This year, a few great masters of that became the foundation for his Indian classical music died in India PhonoNet system. By inputting these and they didn’t have any students, so hour-length raga performances as his all of the knowledge that they car- data and labeling them as certain ried just died with them when they ragas—raga yaman, raga puriya— left the world,” Chowdhuri said. Chowdhuri taught his system tech“There’s a raga called Ahiri that we nical differences between ragas, and know exists, but nobody knows what it eventually predicted which raga it sounds like because there’s no re- was being played when given certain corded sample of that raga and it’s notes. His computer system learns just disappeared over time.” what specific transitions or notes are Given Indian classical music’s associated with the inputted data—in extensive history and its intangible Chowdhuri’s case, ragas. means of preservation, Chowdhuri “I thought, why not use my priknew there was or knowledge still much left and apply it to I feel like the system for him to learn this problem, about both his has given me the eyes or the and help myself culture and the understand and ears of a master of Indian existing ragas. learn more about So, with his classical music.”

Indian classical newfound apmusic?” Chowdpreciation for —Sauhaarda Chowdhuri (11) huri said.

Indian classical But while music, ChowdChowdhuri exhuri brainstormed ways to preserve celled in computer science, he was the bit of Indian culture he had dis- limited in his understanding of Indicovered and grown to love. an classical music and its rich histoHe came up with an unconven- ry. To fill the gaps in his knowledge, tional approach to preserve the arts Chowdhuri reached out to profesby utilizing his background in STEM sionals across the globe, as well as and eventually created PhonoNet. other Westview students who’ve Chowdhuri had prior experience been singing since they were young working with a type of machine and his local San Diego Hindustani learning called deep learning, which classical music community. Piece by required data. He acquired data sets piece, Chowdhuri’s idea of Indian of ragas from a professor in Spain classical music became clearer with

“

every new bit of information he discovered.

“At the end, I had a more comprehensive picture of the structure of Indian classical music and how it actually works,” Chowdhuri said.

PhonoNet isn’t limited to only Indian classical songs. Chowdhuri’s work transcends the capabilities of existing systems by implementing transpositional data augmentation.

This feature transposes audio to different keys, which allows PhonoNet to apply other world music.

This was a major breakthrough for the music world, where computer systems had originally not been able to capture musical notes as accurately as PhonoNet. After hearing an audio sample, PhonoNet can predict the raga with 98.9 percent accuracy, the highest recorded in the Hindustani musical data set online.

By using PhonoNet, the notes of old and fading ragas become clear and precise. Like taking a screenshot of India’s musical history, PhonoNet captures specific transitions and rhythms, features of ragas that were previously hard to quantify with traditional guru-shishya teaching.

Learning to sing became easier for Chowdhuri and others interested in Indian classical music—now, students can see which specific notes are important in singing a certain raga, giving them a better guideline

for improvisation.

“I feel like the system has given me the eyes or the ears of a master of Indian classical music,” Chowdhuri said. “The system has been listening, analyzing and interpreting these different songs much more than I have.

By using its vision, its lens of understanding, I can augment my own understanding of the music as well.”

By documenting this information, PhonoNet supplements guru-shishya by preserving old ragas as well as adding new facets of information to what was only thought possible through oral tradition alone.

“You can understand more about the nature of the raga and which certain transitions are common to that raga that you use when you’re improvising,” Chowdhuri said.

As someone who’s only spent a year learning about a history that stretches back to ancient eras, Chowdhuri said he still has lots to learn, hundreds of ragas that he hopes to one day organize and preserve.

“Extinct ragas are gone and can no longer be preserved, but fading and existing ragas may be preserved so they do not meet the same fate,” Chowdhuri said.

But with newly fine-tuned eyes and ears, Chowdhuri’s understanding of his culture gets a little clearer with each day, with each song he hears and every note he sings.

Figueroa jams out in Balboa Park jazz sessions with ‘Young Lions’ professional musicians Jocelyn Mi Staff Writer

On Wednesday nights, Sawyer Figueroa (11) wraps up his saxophone and collects his share of tips, leaving Panama 66, a restaurant in Balboa Park with the slow melodies of jazz.

Figueroa is a member of the Young Lions, a jazz conservatory that offers an in-depth study of jazz music by well-known musicians.

“There’s a bunch of famous people that go there, like Christopher Holiday, Gilbert Castellanos, who is the founder, Joshua Whites, Rob Thorsen, Tyler Patel, and they’re all jazz players who play around,” he said.

Castellanos, the founder and director of the Young Lions, originally created the organization to educate rising jazz musicians. Now, the organization hosts paid gigs and jam sessions.

“Basically, it’s [the jam sessions] just like you go to [the stage] and you can call up whatever

song you want and people just improv; it’s really spontaneous,” he said. “The jam sessions are a part of the same program at Panama 66 but not really since you can attend without being a member. All the professionals will be there and you can play along with them.”

Usually during jam sessions, Figueroa would go up with his tenor saxophone and play the songs that Castellanos would direct him to play.

“The best musicians know all the tunes but there is such a wide variety of music that could be played so for non-professional players it is definitely a challenge,” he said.

Not only do members display their talents at jam sessions but, the Young Lions is also known for their active presence in several music festivals.

“We have all ensemble shows, which was at UCSD at the Loft,” he said. “Some players auditioned for the Monterey Jazz Festival, and there is one band that made it in. We’ve also had an opportunity to play at Fullerton College.”

To be a part of Young Lions, musicians have to enroll in the program and are given audition instructions with a tuition plan. Though tuition is costly, Figueroa said the program has led him to reach out to a variety of talented players and has given him a fulfilling experience.

“As far as Young Lions goes, I'm very grateful for the opportunities it has provided me with and all the people I've met through the program,” he said. “While there is much merit in the material being taught, nothing beats the experience of playing like professional musicians.”

Figueroa’s appreciation for jazz culture has increased due to his time with Young Lions, finding the program to be a creative way of expressing his love for the music.

“Jazz is a more free form of expression compared to other styles of music and really allows for more creativity,” he said. “I just love being able to create my own ideas and incorporate them into music in a cooperative band setting.”

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Huang competes in USTA, commits to Harvard Kevin Lu

News Editor

Shadowen, McWilliams raise money for LLS Jessica Lin Photo Editor

There is one thing Jenny Shadowen’s (12) grandfather always loved about her: her attention to detail. By thinking of creative fundraising ideas to promote the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), Shadowen knew her grandfather would have been proud of her attention to details.

Shadowen and her family would see her grandparents every year. She said she had a close relationship with her grandfather and especially enjoyed how they tested each other’s wit.

“I would always make sure that I corrected him when he said something that wasn’t specific,” Shadowen said.

Her clearest memory with him was when she told him that her dress was turquoise, not blue. It was little moments such as that where Shadowen loved to have that friendly banter with him.

Because of the admiration she had for grandfather, Shadowen said she felt like she needed to be as intelligent as him.

“He was so smart and I felt like I need his smarts to kind of figure out how to solve my own problems,” Shadowen said.

As the years went on, her grandfather faced an increasing number of health issues and passed away from B-cell lymphoma a few years ago.

It was an unexpected tragedy for Shadowen and her family, and she knew she didn’t want anyone else to feel the sudden loss they experienced.

“I felt like I was doing right by him [by participating in LLS] because he affected real change [in his life] and I just wanted to do the same,” Shadowen said.

Shadowen’s best friend, Adrianne McWilliams (12), introduced her to LLS last year, and together, they decided that they wanted to be candidates of the seven-week fundraising event.

Shadowen’s grandfather’s passing gave her the drive to raise as much money as she could to contribute to research that could ultimately cure the diseases and help out patients and their families.

“It’s that kind of thing where you step back and think: this child has been through so much and I want to raise as much money for [the patients],” Shadowen said.

McWilliams drew her inspiration from their honored hero, who are faces of campaigns; they are people, often children, who had been diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma.

This year, McWilliams and Shadowen had the privilege to be able to share some moments with their honored hero, Charley.

“Meeting Charley and her family always reminded us that LLS can play a very influential role in the lives of patients and their families,” McWilliams said.

One particular memory McWilliams treasures is seeing Charley and her mother at the Grand Finale Gala, a celebration at the conclusion of the seven-week fundraiser this year.

As Charley’s mother spoke of her diagnosis and how they fought through her disease as a family, McWilliams felt inspired to do more for LLS. “Seeing Charley standing next to her [mother] really painted us a picture of a real family that may seem ordinary the first time you meet them, but have this incredible and complex backstory from Charley’s diagnosis to her recovery,” McWilliams said.

McWilliams and Shadowen wanted to make sure they were able to raise as much money by paying attention to the little things.

In the beginning of their senior year, they wanted to appeal to their peers and host senior portraits sessions in which all the profits would go to the campaign.

After seven weeks of raising money, their funds totaled to about $22,000, which goes towards funding different research projects.

But what made it particularly special for McWilliams and Shadowen was that the money would also be able to help out Charley and other families.

“Learning from the families of the honored heroes is a very humbling experience and the work that we do will only help the cause that we are fighting for,” McWilliams said.

For Shadowen, she said she knew that her grandfather would have been proud of the work she had put into the campaign and the awareness she brought LLS. She was thankful that she and her best friend were able to provide the funds for the patients and their families that had been put in a situation Shadowen experienced.

“If some family doesn't have to go through that loss with the work that we’ve done, that makes up for what I experienced,” Shadowen said.

Jocelyn Mi

Starting from the age of 7, Amy Huang’s (11) elementary school schedule was packed with tennis. She would drag herself out of bed at 6 a.m. and head to the courts at the Rancho Peñasquitos Tennis Club with her father before going to school. In the afternoon, Huang would be back at the courts, trying to perfect her game.

She devoted all her energy towards tennis, dropping out of other hobbies such as ice skating and piano.

“I decided tennis was the sport I was going to focus on and stick to,” Huang said. “So those were pretty big sacrifices.’”

Even now, she practices six days a week for at least two hours a day.

Currently, Huang is ranked 40th nationally for the class of 2020 and plays at the international level for junior tennis Earlier this year, Huang played at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southern California International Tennis Federation (ITF) Tournament in Irvine, an event she has played in for the last two years.

“I’ve never gotten far enough to actually get points for a [international] ranking,” she said.

“But this year I got to the quarter finals, so that was pretty big for me.”

When the college recruiting season began, Huang was interested in going to an Ivy League school, so she introduced herself to Harvard College’s womens tennis coach, Traci Green, through email.

But when the coach failed to reply after a brief exchange, Huang persisted.

“I was like ‘Oh no, what am I going to do?’”

Huang said. “But in November of last year, [Green] came and watched me play after I asked my friend’s coach to contact her again.”

After reaching out to other colleges such as Dartmouth, Columbia and Yale, coaches expressed interest in recruiting Huang. At the

USTA National Winter Championships last December, Huang said she felt the pressure to perform as coaches watched every movement, every point. “[Playing in front of the coaches] was really nerve-wracking,” she said. “But I played my game really well and stuck with what works for me on the court.”

Despite her elimination in the singles bracket, Huang’s competitive spirit convinced Green to recruit her. After each match, the coach texted her, complementing her play.

“I called [the coach] after I lost, and she said ‘We would love to commit you early,’” Huang said. “It was like, ‘Wow, all my hard work has paid off.’ There were so many times in the past few years where I didn’t know if I wanted to continue playing tennis because it was just consuming my life.”

Her stress came to a head when she suffered a wrist injury last summer. Consequently, Huang’s rankings dropped to an all-time low.

“I was losing to girls that I probably shouldn’t have lost to and that was right before I could start talking to college coaches,” Huang said. “In the end, I just had to keep playing and never gave up.”

The prospects of playing for a prestigious college kept her motivated to continue tennis despite its solitary nature. Huang said that players need to have a strong mentality to succeed and that it is often challenging to focus on the game.

“You can only do your best but you can’t control the outcome,” she said. “If someone is just better, you can’t do anything. There’s no coaching during the match, so it’s kind of stressful.”

But even if she isn’t performing well, Huang said that she tries to prevent the stress from affecting her game.

“I just let it go,” she said. “I just try not to show any emotion when it’s not working out, but I know there’s something I can always do better.”

Despite the challenges she faced throughout her journey, Huang continued to find ways to overcome obstacles to her growth.

According to her doubles partner, Julia Haynes, Huang’s creativity and work ethic is the reason for her success.

“It’s really fun playing with [Huang],” Haynes said. “She is always excited to try new and unusual strategies.”

When Huang was suffering from her wrist injury, she positioned herself to hit only with her backhand.

Not only did this mitigate her wrist pain, but it also confused their opponents.

“Even if I was serving on the [left] side, she would stand to the left of me and it threw opponents off sometimes,” Haynes said.

Though she still continues to compete in tournaments, Huang said securing a spot on Harvard’s tennis team has lifted a large burden off her shoulders, now able to fully enjoy a balance between social life, sc+24hool work, and tennis.

“In the past, I could rarely hang out with my friends or go to birthday parties,” Huang said.

“Instead of stressing through junior year, I’m able to hang out with friends more and go on a few road trips.”

In addition, Huang was able to experience college life at Harvard during a visit in February.

Huang said that the most memorable moment was when she watched the team play Boston University.

“It was my first college tennis match experience ever,” Huang said. “It was really cool to watch it and support the girls and know that it’s going to be me next time on those courts.”

Though she still has a little more than a year until she attends college, Huang is eager to be a part of the team.

“I was able to live in the dorms with one of the girls on the team,” Huang said. “I love all of them and I’m really looking forward to playing tennis with them.”

Bokka creates stress-relieving candy for students From Bokka, page 1 myself stuttering a lot,” he said. “It’s ironic because I had never been more stressed out in my life and yet I was promoting a product designed to relieve stress. But eventually, as the presentation moved forward, I pulled myself together and we felt satisfied by the time we finished and walked off.”

In that moment, Bokka said he couldn’t help but think back on everything that had led up to this moment.

It all started one afternoon in Bokka’s sophomore year as he slumped on his bed after coming home from school. Overwhelmed with schoolwork and extracurriculars like ASB, he tossed and turned on his bed, his mind clouded with frustration and stress.

“In my head, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into,” he said. “I just wanted to find a way to get rid of all my stress or at least cope with it so I could get on with the work I had to do.”

Bokka would soon find his solution in a hobby he had recently taken to.

The summer before his freshman year, Bokka gained an interest in entrepreneurship after conversing with his father about previous business ventures.

“My dad would talk about his brief experiences as an entrepreneur,” Bokka said. “He moved on to a different career, but whenever he talked about it, he always seemed excited. It got me excited too. I’ve always liked to design things on my own and challenge myself to come up with new ideas.”

Because of his interest, Bokka signed up for the TYE Global Youth Entrepreneurship program. In his first year with the program, Bokka tried to promote a back support device for elderly people, but was unsuccessful. However, he wasn’t discouraged, pushing forward and soon finding entrepreneurship as something more than just a hobby.

“I see this issue all too much at West-

view where so many kids are so hy- ing components of their product— per-focused on getting into prestigious magnesium and tulsi—they were aluniversities and careers like engineer- ready somewhat familiar with them. ing and medicine,” Bokka said. “That’s “Some of our family members were why I’m an advocate for alternate paths consuming tulsi as a part of their diet,” like entrepreneurship and trade school. Bokka said. “Tulsi is actually an anEntrepreneurship, especially, embodies cient herb that Indians have been using my beliefs as it allows me to innovate for centuries to connect the mind, body and make my own way in life without and soul. So in a way, it’s kind of cool relying on a paper that says I graduated because we are bringing something from a certain college.” from our culture and implementing it Bokka said he believes this fixation into more mainstream society.” on getting into college can create a lot While everyone worked together, the of stress for students. team split up into assigned roles after “Stress is a huge problem with stu- the initial research stage. Bokka served dents not just at our school but schools as the chief marketing officer, compilall across the U.S.,” he said. “I knew I ing the team’s work together, producing wasn’t the only one stressing out from their promotional video and managing school. In fact, I knew so many people connections through social media outthat had taken on way more classes and lets like YouTube. The rest of the team activities than I did.” estimated profits and required funds, So, Bokka decided to take action. created the the product itself and com“Being in ASB, municated with the I was wary of the program’s officials.

I just wanted to find a way issues students Because the U.S. faced and was to get rid of all my stress or at least Food and Drug Adseeking ways to ministration does address them,” cope with it so I could get on with not classify tulsi he said. “So I the work I had to do.” as a drug, the team thought, ‘What able to test the —Akhil Bokka (11) was better way is effectiveness of there to address their product on a the issue than with what I was passion- sample of students, immediately. ate about like entrepreneurship?’”

The team was also supervised by Bokka teamed up with his long- adult mentors from the program. One time friend from Scripps Ranch High of them, Dr. Rob Fuller, an internationSchool, Srikar Talagadadivi, to reach ally recognized expert on entrepreneurout to participants in the TYE program ial ventures and a professor at UCSD’s who were interested in helping develop Rady School of Management, played a a product to reduce stress for students. crucial role in the project.

They were able to add Mira Paranjape “Dr. Fuller provided feedback and from Rancho Bernardo and Prajna taught us all the various principles of Shreedar from Mt. Carmel. entrepreneurship and marketing,” BokAs the four students researched ka said. “He also served as a judge in ways to create their product, they de- our practices. We are indebted to him cided they wanted to make it in the and wouldn’t be here without him.” form of a chewable candy as they said The team left the final competition they believed such things were popular empty-handed. However, Bokka firmamongst their classmates. When they ly believes they took away something came across the two key stress-reliev- much more valuable than a trophy.

“

“It’s always nice to win some kind of award for your efforts,” he said.

“But that’s not the only reason I came to the competition. It’s about getting feedback. It’s about seeing the work of other bright people from all around the world. It’s about taking those intangible things and bringing them home to make our product and our team better.

Because now we are at a point where we want to take the next big step towards forming an actual business.”

This summer, the team plans to take this step by finalizing the chemical components of their product and running certified tests that measure the product’s effectiveness by examining saliva samples rather than using the survey responses of test subjects. They must also begin to purchase ingredients and sell their product on a large, commercial scale. This requires a significant amount of money, but the team has just what they need.

“Many of our family members and professionals who reached out to us after seeing our product on YouTube and at various competitions are willing to invest in us,” Bokka said. “We also gained the interest of a director of development in the U.S. Department of Defense that we met at our hotel in Washington and a psychologist in health and wellness, who served as one of our judges at the global competition.

They will provide us more with professional and corporate connections.”

In the end, one of the most important things Bokka gained was something that he says will go along with him much farther in life than anything else.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Bokka said.

“I’ve learned about independence and making my own path. The other thing is that in business you experience a lot of failure. It forces you to learn from your mistakes. And the beauty of it is that you always have the opportunity to bounce back and when you do succeed, you appreciate it that much more.”

A-MEER ANALYSIS

Forbidden love, fries, and lies You don’t have to live on the streets of fair Verona to feel the intoxicating hopelessness of forbidden love. And while I have yet to experience a human relationship of emotionally charged, clandestine proportions, I too am madly, clumsily, shamelessly in love something that I can’t, in good conscience, have: Chick-fil-A waffle fries with zesty buffalo sauce.

My friend and I work at a center that teaches children math and reading. We spend close to four hours on Mondays and Thursdays surrounded by 6-year-olds, with little opportunity to take a break.

Our official shift begins at 3 p.m., but, as we’re still hard at work at Journalism things in L104 at three, our boss lets us push it—a little. So, as any dedicated student workers would, as soon as the clock strikes 3:10, we dutifully zoom off to 4S Ranch. But something we’ve refused to admit to anyone in the last seven or so months, is that, even though we’re technically late before we’ve even left Camino del Sur, we always make time for a stop at Chick-Fil-A. We try to rationalize our weekly transgressions.

We say it’s because we know we’re really good at our jobs and therefore being 10 minutes late isn’t hurting anything but our own paychecks. Or it’s because we’re growing teens and feel entitled to the extra 460 calories twice a week. Or maybe we have an offer for a free cookie that expires today

and it would really be disadvantageous to let that go to waste. But no matter how we try to frame it, it seems that the whole world doesn’t want me and the fries to be together. My boss doesn’t want me to be late. My newspaper adviser doesn’t want us to leave early. My lifelong vegetarianism, backed by countless documentaries on the horrors of the fast-food industry, resents my patronage of a franchise that encourages everyone to eat more chicken. I can’t, without breaking rules, get what I want.

We shouldn’t, according to everyone, keep going back. But we do. That’s the power of the forbidden relationship; in the face of judgment and secrecy and rules, they somehow grow stronger. According to cognitive dissonance theory, when we put a lot of effort into achieving a certain goal—like trying to figure out the best way to smuggle a large ChickFil-A frosted coffee into work without attracting the attention of 50 starving 6-year-olds—we tend to overvalue the achievement of that goal. Because if we’re going through this much effort for potatoes, we better convince ourselves that it’s worth it. Me and my fries, our time together is fleeting, limited by the unfeeling school schedule, my merciless work hours, and so I value it that much more.

There’s also the side of us that feels the need to assert our free will when it appears to be threatened.

The refusal to submit to the forces that would seek

Ameera Kumar to keep us hungry makes it exciting. The secrecy makes it exciting—in fact, I suspect the moment this publishes, some ofthe appeal will be lost, the stealth ruined, the excitement gone. The secrecy of forbidden relationships gives the illusion of intimacy, that this person, this thing, this experience is something special, something that can’t be shared, can’t be understood, something only for you.

And so I think the real danger of forbidden relationships isn’t about breaking rules, disappointing teachers or angering bosses, but about blurring the line between secrecy and intimacy, mistaking excitement for love.

Because while my fries might glisten with fat in the sunlight, the salt clinging to the crunchy exterior, the inside remaining light and fluffy, they are just fries. The reality is that I’ve idealized them, convinced myself that it’s something special, made the experience more valuable than it should be. I recognize that it’s not the fries themselves, but the feeling that we’ve learned to attach to them—the feeling of freedom and excitement and rebellion— that keeps us going.

I’m not going to stop chasing after the things I can’t, or shouldn’t have, because despite the risks, despite my guilt, despite the wrongness of it all, those are the very things that add just the slightest, but most necessary bit of excitement to my life.

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Editors in Chief Andrea Chen* Tiffany Le* News Editor Kevin Lu* Features Editor Lydia Zhang* Opinions Editor Lina Lew* Sports Editor Mark Troftgruben Final Focus Editor Devanshi Tomar* Photo Editor Jessica Lin Managing Editor Evan Buckland Staff Writers Sydney Alper Rohin Awasthi Emily Batten Alice Chen Alec Felderman Zara Irshad Rhea Jogadhenu Grace Kim* Ameera Kumar* Jocelyn Mi Brynne Paiva Blake Parker Kevin Pert* Isabelle Ritter Alyssa Van Waas Michelle Wang* Deepali Yedulapuram Julie Zhu Adviser Jeff Wenger Assistant Adviser Stephanie Tanaka

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Staff Editorial School should implement long-term high school transition programs to help freshmen, connect students

For hundreds of incoming freshmen, the transition into high school brings an increase in responsibility, but also a decrease in direct supervision and support in school. Freshman year can set the precedent for students’ next three years, making it, in part, the school’s responsibility to help freshmen establish healthy academic habits and develop meaningful interpersonal relationships with their peers.

Link Crew already offers a variety of programs and events throughout the year specifically geared towards freshmen to help foster a sense of community and support on campus. However, many of these fall short in that they are either not adequately publicized, have low participation, or lack continuity or lasting impact. Furthermore, most of this support provided by school organizations ends after freshman year without giving students time to develop strong relationships with upperclassmen and peers. As a school, we need to do more to help students—from freshman to senior year—receive the support they need to navigate through the anxiety-riddled, academic and social obstacle course that is high school.

On the first day of school, freshmen are assigned a Link Crew Leader, placed in a group of around 10 other freshmen and led through a variety of bonding activities and tours. Link leaders are meant to be mentors to their assigned students, to guide them through their first year. The official Link Crew program is structured around 4 events: high school orientation, academic follow ups, social follow ups, and leader initiated contacts. But it seems like much of the focus is placed on the first day of school; after Link Leaders have shared advice and stories and talked to the new students within a two-hour time period, their job is done. They are encouraged to check in with those students throughout the year, to get their contact information and stay in touch.

But many, due to other commitments, don’t.

There is so much emphasis on getting freshmen through that first day and not enough on what happens next, on the obstacles that will come up in the next nine months, or even the next four years, like struggling in a class, dealing with pressure and constant competition, making—and keeping—friends. All 4 priorities of the Link Crew program are essential, not just the beginning of the year orientation.

Prospective Link Crew members should join the program knowing they have a responsibility to help freshmen not just on the first day of school, but throughout the year. They should be willing to visit their freshmen in homerooms at least a couple times throughout the year, to make a conscious effort to stay in touch and be there for them.

Along with increasing the number and impact of services available to freshmen, organizations on campus can do more to provide support to students of all grades. Unity Day, required for all sophomores, is one example of an event that attempts to tackle issues like mental health and bullying while bringing the class together through open discussion. Some of Unity Day’s success over the years can be attributed to the fact that the event is mandatory for all sophomores; regardless of whether or not they initially wanted to go, it’s a shared experience. If we could have more organized events that are guaranteed to have a large turn-out, it becomes easier to reach more students, to connect them through commonalities. We need more required, all-class bonding events, beyond sophomore year, to connect students and make sure they stay connected.

Over its 17 years, Westview has taken strides to become an inclusive, supportive campus with a deep sense of community instilled in the student body. But through long-term programs that go beyond just freshman year, we can, and should, always strive to do more.

The Nexus Mission Statement The Nexus is an open forum for student expression that aims to provide information to the public, following ethical standards of accuracy, truthfulness, and professionalism. The Nexus aspires to be a source of news, opinions and entertainment for its readers while showing enthusiasm through in depth 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.

April 12, 2019

Brexit requires national attention Blake Parker Staff Writer

“America first”— that’s what we’ve been told.

It’s been preached by President Trump in multiple speeches, emphasized in his inaugural address, and made a driving statement in his affairs with foreign nations.

But this philosophy only gets America so far when it comes to global issues that have indirect effects on our nation’s wellbeing. Foreign events like Brexit become even more potentially threatening when we focus on our own prosperity.

Brexit is the United Kingdom’s plan to leave the European Union (E.U.) because to Britain, the benefits of leaving outweigh the benefits of staying.

To start with the basics, the E.U. is a political and economic partnership among 28 European countries. The purpose of the E.U. is to establish frequent trade between its member countries, the idea being that countries who trade together are more likely to stay at peace with each other.

These 28 countries have the major benefit of trading freely between each other, meaning there are no tariffs or restrictions on any goods they trade. Money, goods, and services are all able to flow freely within the single market supplied by the E.U. But being part of the E.U. comes with drawbacks. All countries have to pay a membership fee, which is around 8.5 billion pounds over (11 million U.S. dollars) per year for Britain. The E.U. also sets strict price guidelines for trading among these 28 countries, prohibiting countries like Britain from raising their prices and optimizing profit.

There are many reasons why Britain wished to leave the E.U., but the most persuasive factor was more control. Though the countries who are part of the E.U. do have some say in trading and humanitarian policies, the E.U. is ultimately the central source of government. They hold the power to make laws regarding trade, environmentalism or foreign security, and member countries are bound by these laws and regulations.

But despite the valid reasons for Britain to leave the E.U., the process of doing so has been rather complicated.

On March 29, 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that, after a vote in favor of Brexit, Britain was to leave the E.U. in exactly two years.

Since, Britain has been stuck in a two-year tran-

sitional period. During this time, May drafted and sought approval for an agreement of the E.U. and Britain’s future relationship terms with Britain’s Members of Parliament (MP). But May has had no luck—MP has denied every one of these agreement drafts in search of alternatives that can’t be agreed on, the most recent denial taking place March 31.

With the date of Brexit now pushed back to today, tensions are growing. If May isn’t able to get an agreement passed with the MP, Britain will face a “no-deal Brexit,” meaning that they’ll be forced out of the E.U. with no establishment of the future relationship between the E.U. and Britain.

Though May is attempting to get a deal passed before Britain is forced to leave the E.U., her failure to do so will have dire consequences—and not just for Britain. What’s most concerning about Brexit is the potential effects it can have on the rest of the world economically. For America, Brexit is likely to have detrimental effects on our economy.

The Economist speculated that, with the U.S. being the largest country of investors in British business, we’ll face reduced investing because of the diminished business growth in Britain.

Due to the World Trade Organization rule that demands inspections with each ferry that enters a British port, companies in the U.S. will also find it more difficult to move goods between our own country and the U.K. This will leave businesses waiting longer for supplies as the minutes of delay with each product begin stacking up.

Johan Gott, a principal at management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, said that the best solution to this is to better emphasize Brexit’s importance.

Though this attention can’t necessarily solve the issues of Brexit altogether, it would’ve allowed business owners to proceed with investments with this in mind.

But at a time when global attention on Brexit is urgent, the U.S. government is setting a cultural standard, one that values self-preservation and gives little acknowledgement to the importance of foreign relationships.

In office, President Donald Trump has focused on imposing steel tariffs on other countries, but not a single one of the leading academic economists at University of Chicago said that this will affect U.S. revenue, according to AP News. Trump endorces policies that encourage the idea of “America First,” focusing on tax wars and building a stronger economy for America.

But what he missed is the giant red flag that

has presented itself beyond our borders. The only statements Trump has released on Brexit fail to pinpoint any real conversation with American businesses. Instead, he expresses support for Brexit because he claims the E.U. treats the U.S. “very unfairly” when it comes to trade, failing to acknowledge the indirect impairments that this decision will bring upon the U.S. This perpetuation of the “America First” attitude is what allows many Americans to feel comfortable without educating ourselves on foreign affairs. It’s what allows us to ignore the webbed nature of economics and assume that another country’s loss might be our win.

According to NBC news, 72 percent of a sample of 1,500 Americans weren’t even aware of Brexit.

We’ve been told that there’s no need to educate ourselves on issues that don’t involve us with this mentality, which fails to recognize the ties between multiple nations.

But if we were truly putting America first, Brexit wouldn’t be treated as foreign news. Our president would regard the matter with more than just dismissive comments that end conversation.

And now, on April 12, we stand in front of two paths, a deal or no-deal with Brexit. At this point all we can do is educate ourselves and others on this issue, and prepare for the crisis that might be on its way.

Well-intentioned student ‘voluntourism’ backfires Lydia Zhang Features Editor

Each year, thousands of high school students nationwide travel abroad to foreign countries on service projects or missions. Students embark on these trips with good intentions, hoping to “make a difference” by spending their breaks volunteering in underprivileged communities teaching English or helping build homes—another extracurricular on college applications doesn’t hurt either.

But a single trip to a foreign country without other follow-up volunteering excursions would reasonably be met with skepticism from any college admissions officer.

“It’s not a good idea to engage in something [like a service trip] because the student or family believes it will augment their ability to get in,” Richard Shaw, Stanford’s Dean of Undergraduate Admission said.

Furthermore, Augustine Garza, former Deputy Director of Admissions for the University of Texas at Austin has a similar viewpoint.

“Just having gone is not enough.

That they took the opportunity given to them and made something of it, and how they tell us about it, is important,” he said.

Essentially, colleges encourage students to show a consistent dedication to the public service related

to the trip they participate in. Wheth- plore: Privilege, Power and The Parer that means fundraising on their adox of Voluntourism”, the constant own or raising awareness in other cycle of foreigners coming in and ways (such as volunteering at a lo- out of local communities can lead to cal homeless shelter if their cause is attachment issues in children while world hunger) , their service abroad also perpetuating a savior complex needs to be only one part of a cohe- amongst well-developed countries. sive narrative that illustrates a pasThe reality is, unless a student volsion and understanding for the cause. unteer has a specialized skill in fields The merits of trips abroad are such as medicine or engineering or is unquestionable; these can certainly planning to devote an extended perioffer enriching experiences, expos- od of time (at least several months) ing students to cultural differences, to learn about a country’s culture different stanor environment dards of living and through organibroadening their zations such as What starts as a desire for per- the Peace Corps worldviews. But these trips tend to sonal growth and altruism ends or other extendbe expensive, cost- up simply fueling an industry ed programs, ing at least $1,000 their work, albeit known as “voluntourism.” well-intentioned, for week-long trips and upwards of may not have $10,000 for trips much of an imthat run for a month or two. And pact. In fact, an inexperienced, unwhat starts as a desire for personal specialized volunteer could actually growth and altruism ends up simply cause more harm than good for the fueling an industry known as “volun- economy, the people they’re trying to tourism.” help, and the community as a whole.

Voluntourism is a form of tourShort-term (a week or two) volunism where a traveler participates in teers are only able to perform simple charity or service work in a foreign tasks. This includes teaching English country. When executed well and or math to students—the equivalent effectively, overseas service projects of having a different substitute teachcan have a positive effect. But, vol- er every week; or, distributing food untourism can also pose detrimental when locals can do it themselves. effects to a community’s local econ- Both tasks leave a superficial impact omy and resources. And according to at best. Construction, another comPippa Biddle, author of “Ours to Ex- mon form of volunteer work, often

can actually cause a negative impact.

Even with instruction, an unseasoned volunteer with no skill or experience in construction will, logically, build poorly crafted buildings.

Biddle’s testimony demonstrates as such. In high school, she attended a two-week $3,000 service trip to Tasmania to build a library at a local orphanage. Every night, after she and her team worked, the local workers would redo their work.

“The men had to take down the structurally unsound bricks we had laid and rebuild the structure so that, when we woke up in the morning, we would be unaware of our failure,” she said. “It was likely that this was a daily ritual.

The money these volunteers spend on their trips could be better spent funding pay for local workers or hiring highly skilled workers there for the long-term. That way, the money spent provides income and stimulates the local economy as well.

A single service trip abroad can undercut the very reasons why a student goes on the trip in the first place. The short-term contributions made by students who do not intend to pursue a career in global welfare, public health or generally lack real dedication to a cause ultimately prove shallow, and these students would be better off aiding in more effective ways that don’t involve the illusion of “making a difference.”

Nation fixates on college admissions scandal culprits, overlooks systemic flaws within admissions process Deepali Yedulapuram Staff Writer

On March 12, CNN broke news of a “national conspiracy” about 50 wealthy, well-known public figures who were part of a college admissions scheme orchestrated by William Rick Singer, CEO of a college prep company, The Key. Singer’s strategy included cheating on their SAT and ACT tests and bribing school officials and college coaches to accept students as athletes, even if they had never played the sport before.

Television actresses, corporate executives, hedge fund managers, a university professor, the chairman of a law firm—these are all wealthy people who paid anywhere from a quarter to half a million dollars to get their children into prestigious universities such as USC, Georgetown, Stanford, Yale and Harvard.

This scandal made headlines across the nation, as outraged political figures commented on the unfairness of the situation. Republican Senator of Louisiana John Kennedy addressed how, regardless of how much money you have or how many connections you have, cheating your way into college is not acceptable.

“This college admissions scandal is some of the most odious, vile, repugnant, reprehensible conduct I’ve seen in a long time,” Kennedy said. “I don’t care how many movies you’ve made. I don't care how much money you’ve made. Right is still right, and wrong is still wrong.”

But this most recent scandal isn’t something new that shows class inequality. People have been

using their wealth and influence to gain an unfair advantage with back-door acceptances, and in fact, colleges themselves are the ones to condone and encourage this behavior.

In 2009, the University of Illinois was accused of accepting students who were less academically qualified than the applicant pool but had connections to important political figures. University officials even acknowledged that they tracked politically connected applicants and classified them as “Category 1,” where they were prioritized over far more qualified applicants.

And according to a 2015 survey held by Kaplan Test Prep, 25 percent of admissions officers say they have “felt the need to accept an applicant who didn’t meet their school’s admissions requirements because of who that applicant was connected to.”

Whether it be with money or status, affluence and political connections, colleges look for factors in their applicants that help the campus.

Time and time again, there has been, and at this rate will continue to be, a monetary advantage that wealthy people use in order to pass more qualified, but less noteworthy applicants. Because some colleges look for specific things from their applicants, favoring ‘Category 1’ students with political connections and influence, people with wealth and prestige have the upper hand.

And although their actions

are still morally inexcusable, the fault doesn’t lie completely with the people involved in these scandals. There’s also the component of the admissions officers’ willingness to accept bribes.

The college admissions process at large perpetuates a sense of inequality between applicants, this idea that parents need to spend millions of dollars to get their children into college—that’s what is more upsetting than the scandal itself.

In the end, college admissions has become a game of how much an applicant stands out— whether it’s diversity, a high SAT score, a ‘Category 1’ student or affluence. Colleges look for applicants who benefit their reputation, and unfortunately, that’s what drives these parents to take extreme measures in order to get their child into a reputable college. And instead of focusing on just the 50 people who got caught, maybe it’s the admission system as a whole that needs to be revised.

Nexus

Opinions 9

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April 12, 2019

Coachella attendees indirectly support, fund controversial political organizations Zara Irshad Staff Writer

It’s official—spring has sprung! The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and just as the monarch butterflies are beginning to migrate west, thousands of millennials are crawling out of social hibernation and flocking to Indio, California. Coachella season has begun.

Characterized by overpriced snacks (if I’m going to pay $10 for a slice of pizza, it better be the size of my face) and culturally appropriating outfits (it’s not like bindis and headdresses have cultural significance or anything), how could one not want to attend?

The festival boasts an audience of around 250,000 each year and, according to Billboard, makes around $100 million in profits annually. Overlooking how it rips off music lovers, I’ve got to admit, it’s a thoughtout money-making machine. With three types of premium passes, and nearly 10 lodging options, Coachella has managed to pull out nearly every stop to maximize their profits; from parking spots to glamping tents, they’ve got festival-goers covered.

The mastermind behind this well-oiled machine, and perhaps the most problematic aspect of it, is none other than Philip Anschutz, the organizer of Coachella. According to Forbes, he is the 35th richest person in the America, and is consequently one of the most powerful. Since 2017, right as the festival’s lineup was announced, reports from sources such as The Washington Times have surfaced regarding conservative causes he has used his millions to fund. This year was no different.

As a devoted Republican, Anschutz has donated $138,000 to the National Republican Senate Committee, and around $6,000 to politicians, such as Cory Gardner, who are spearheading the pro-gun movement, as well as groups like Family Research Council that aims to outlaw

abortion and same-sex marriage. Of course, Anschutz is allowed to have his own political opinions. But when such a large portion of festival-goers as well as performers hold contrasting political views but attend Coachella regardless, they dismiss the severity of Anschutz’s political motives by funding those views themselves.

This disregard for Anschutz’s views is also quite alarming; usually the media is quick to criticize public figures for even the smallest steps out of line. But it’s been three years of unsavory reports on Anschutz’s donations, and there has been little to no public reaction. In fact, attendance has risen since the reports about Anschutz first surfaced in 2017.

In a society that’s often quick to condemn corrupt influencers and celebrities, why can’t we recognize the hypocrisy that Coachella is built upon?

Perhaps eager music lovers don’t want to acknowledge that their money is going towards causes that go against their views because they want to enjoy themselves without worrying about the consequences.

Now, I love a good concert as much as the next person, but Coachella condones the spending of Anschutz and in turn, the causes that he supports, and it needs to be re-evaluated by the public. Not enough entertainers are speaking out about Anschutz, let alone taking action against him and his beliefs. Countless artists, such as Ariana Grande, are continuing to headline the festival despite their public support for the LGBTQ+ community. Serving as role models for many younger fans, these artists’ lack of concern toward Anschutz’s beliefs is hypocritical. Driven by money, many of the artists set to play at this year’s festival are sending the wrong message to fans by putting profit (about four million dollars per performance) before their values.

The few who have taken a stand against Anschutz have managed to do so in a respectful and informative fashion, like

Cara Delevingne who took to Instagram last spring to explain why she planned to boycott the festival.

Delevingne stated that she refused to go to a festival that is owned by someone who is anti-LGBT and progun, making many of her fans aware of Anschutz’s hidden political agenda. Similarly, after finding out about Anschutz’s donations before her 2017 Coachella set, singer-songwriter Mitski acknowledged that it was too late for her to pull out of the show but urged fans to protest it.

This is the public reaction that more liberal artists and influencers need to take. Of course, there will be those who support the causes that Anschutz donates to. But seeing as the festival takes place in Democratic California, and is aimed at millennials who, according to Pew Research Center, are the most liberal generation, a majority of those in attendance and performers hold views that conflict with Anschutz’s.

Celebrities need to look past their desire for the fame and money that performing would bring them, and focus on where the money that they generate is going.

Not enough is being done to acknowledge the controversial ideals that Coachella funds. When festival-goers and performers continue to attend Coachella, they forego their political views and indirectly support causes against what they stand for. There are bound to be people unaware of Anschutz’s donations to conservative organizations, but that’s why it’s so important for artists to raise awareness. This controversy can’t keep fading in and out of the public eye while the festival continues to make millions of dollars. There are more than 50 music festivals in California that don’t partake in backdoor donations toward conservative causes, so music lovers are not going to lose out on the fun by standing up for their beliefs. Coachella-goers and performers need to stop turning a blind eye to the controversial beliefs that the festival is built upon, recognize where their money is going and raise awareness about the issues at hand.

Please stop locking the Juulers out of the bathroom—they’re the only thing counteracting the smells.

-Lina Lew Only a senior-year racquet sports class could make me wish I played a sport in high school.

-Lydia Zhang How is our generation supposed to vote in 2020 when our student body can’t even collectively decide on pants or shorts when it gets warm?

-Blake Parker The possibility of college rejection may prove to be a better marketing campaign for SBAC testing than the adoption of a puppy.

-Devanshi Tomar 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.

April Fool's Day underappreciated, deserves greater acknowledgement, larger festivity Blake Parker Staff Writer

I’ve never been one to engage in practical jokes or gags. Despite the occasional clever or cynical comment, I don’t even feel like I have a notable sense of humor. Nonetheless, I feel sorry for April Fool’s Day and its underappreciation in America.

As this April 1st approached as modestly as it has in the past, there were no April Fool’s Day sales in stores, no mass April Fool’s Day commercials on TV or decorations in homes. The day wasn’t attempting to appeal to consumers or being used for marketing.

I wasn’t surprised by this—from what I’ve seen, April Fool’s has always been an underappreciated holiday among the many others in the year.

But for other nations, April Fool’s Day holds cultural value and is celebrated by many.

In France and Italy, the day is called “April Fish,” a day when everyone enjoys fish-shaped chocolates and tapes paper (or real) fish to people’s backs without them knowing.

In Russia, professional comedy is celebrated and comedians often book themselves in clubs that night, as it’s popular for people to go out and watch them on that day.

But I haven’t witnessed much more than the occasional pop quiz prank by a middle-school teacher. It seems that there’s not much regard for the holiday in America.

This was reinforced in a survey conducted by the Harris Poll, where 46 percent of people agreed that

Christmas made the title of America’s favorite holiday. America’s next favorite holiday was Thanksgiving, with 27 percent less popularity than Christmas alone. Following behind these two holidays are Fourth of July, Halloween, and Easter, all of which are under 10 percent popularity.

April Fool’s Day wasn’t even recognized as a holiday on this list.

Even Labor Day, a day off of work in celebration of American economic achievement, was included toward the end of the list. Without traditional festivities, America still appreciates holidays like these simply because they serve the purpose of a day off.

But April Fool’s Day deserves more celebration—it can be a day of fun jokes and pranks to bring people together in the midst of daily stress, especially at a time where, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans are working longer days, taking fewer vacations, and even retiring later than any country in the world.

So embracing the celebration of April Fool’s Day just might be what we need—simple pranks or jokes that could help relieve us of our stress and bring classmates, business partners and employees closer through a bit of humor. Even if it’s just one day out of 365, the day could still offer a quick mental break from the constant work we do, just as a day off or a vacation does.

In examining the other, more popular American holidays, there’s a major factor that they have in common: getting something.

On Christmas, we’re flooded

with the pleasure of giving and receiving gifts. Thanksgiving results in excessive eating, food comas, and stuffed stomachs. Children often gear up their extra-large pillow cases to get away with as much candy as possible on Halloween.

We’re practically expecting to receive material items on holidays like Christmas, risking us feeling hurt if we don’t get anything.

But on an understated holiday like April Fool’s Day, we receive nothing more than a nice laugh or fun moment to share with others.

We won’t feel unfortunate if we don’t have one of these moments.

The American Physiology Society has come out with multiple studies supporting laughter as one of the best medicines. It’s been shown to release endorphins, which reduce stress and continuous worry, and play a large role in strengthening social connections.

The long-lasting benefits of stronger bonds and relief from stress deserve just as much attention and anticipation as the presents and food you’d receive on larger holidays. In reality, laughter can contribute to our long-term happiness, allowing us to be more content in our daily life.

And it doesn’t necessarily take away from the holiday if no one makes jokes or plays gags on us— it only adds to the day if someone does.

This is the importance of such a casual holiday. There’s no agenda of what to do and how, no dinners or gifts to make and buy.

We can bring people together simply by being witty and crafting a clever joke or prank.

Made in Ameerica by Ameera Kumar

It’s what you make of it: social media offers inspiration, opportunities to seek passion at risk of defining self-worth Alyssa Van Waas

What started as a way to connect and interact with my friends slowly became a place where I felt the need to appear perfect all the time.

Happiness comes to me in all different forms—hanging When people posted photos about what they were doing out with my friends, writing, listening to music, perform- and where they were, I felt like I had to live up to these ing and dancing. standards of how people perceived me, taking photos on But it was only about a year ago when I began exploring a Ferris wheel or posting aesthetic photos. I didn’t realize my passions to find what makes me happy. And in a way, I that, just as I tried to post only the highlights of my life, have social media to thank. the people I saw on Instagram also cherry-picked their best On Instagram and Pinterest I saw a seemingly perfect moments. version of life: highly saturated photos, people posting It was nice to feel connected to the world outside of my their favorite moments. To me, these platforms depicted own, but looking to it for happiness in myself, my body the ultimate lifestyle. I thought if I were to look like them, and my relationships was something that became detripost like them, dress like them and act like them, I would mental to my well-being and self-confidence. become just as happy as they appeared online.

After a while, I began asking myself questions like, Social media was a source of inspiration for me at first. “Why am I still scrolling if I don’t find any enjoyment in When people posted about their acdoing so?” Focusing on aspects of complishments, their lifestyles, and life that I love—performing, expeshared their aesthetic taste, I felt What started as a way to connect riencing new things and being with like I could someday get there too. the people who make me the happiThrough viewing other people’s and interact with my friends slow- est—made me more aware that there lifestyles on social media online, I ly became a place where I felt the is so much more to life than what I found what I liked and what type of saw from social media. person I wanted to become in the need to appear perfect all the time.

I learned that it wasn’t about future. It was a way for me to learn likes, how people perceive me, or how to express myself in my daily how eventful and interesting my life, at school, and at home by giving me an example of feed looked. It was about finding that inspiration or that how I could live my daily life. enjoyment I used to find in following food accounts or cute Social media allows us to have the entire world right in dog accounts. our hands. We can snorkel in Hawaii, drink coffee in LonFocusing on those little things that make me smile and don, and hike in the Grand Canyon. make me feel inspired to try new things, and straying away But as I spent more time scrolling through Instagram from the aspects that made me look down on myself, has and watching YouTube videos, I realized that I was com- helped me realize that social media is only as good or as paring myself more and more to the people I followed. bad as you make it.

Every time I saw people posting pictures at the beach or Now, I post photos if I want to share a moment just to hanging out with a group of friends, I saw expectations of share it, not to gain a certain number of likes or to compare how my body should look or who I should be hanging out my life with other people’s. with. I started to feel the need to live up to these expectaSocial media doesn’t have to be a negative aspect of tions that I saw through social media. your life. Now that I have focused on the things that make Social media became a place where likes and self-worth me happy and delved deeper into the things I love outside were some of the only things that I thought about. If I of what’s in my feed, I have started to look at social media didn’t have enough likes, I felt a need to delete the photo in a new light and stopped worrying about all of the little simply because I felt something was wrong with it. things that, in the end, really don’t matter.

Staff Writer

Big Wang Theory by Michelle Wang

the

10 Opinions April 12, 2019 Nexus Premise of young adult novels inspires Concerts offer teens, ignites change in real-life politics sense of unity, Devanshi Tomar Final Focus Editor

Our generation has been raised on a diet of books— about archers and wizards, demigods and vampires, friends and heroes.

According to The Statistics Portal, 49 percent of teenagers aged 15 to 17 have read the Harry Potter series as of 2016. Scholastic recently announced that almost 28 million copies of The Hunger Games have been sold worldwide. It’s safe to say that dystopian novels, novels about a society where there is great suffering or injustice, have been a hit, millions of teenagers reading them worldwide.

Children have gravitated towards novels like these because authors like J.K. Rowling or Suzanne Collins speak to the reader in a way that not many parents, guardians, or teachers can often articulate—a way that makes sense.

Franchises like Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Star Wars are so influential because the premise of dystopian worlds and powerful, outspoken characters resonates with millennials and Gen Z. The novels we read often place heavy emphasis on heroism and rebellion, the characters faced with brutality and controlling governments. Arguably, these novels have become a reflection of the present-day U.S., once a fantasy premise that has transitioned into an exaggerated modern-day reality—a reality in which we face our own call to action.

For nearly two decades now, younger generations have grown up believing that we and our friends, too, could make a difference, just like Harry, just like Katniss. We grew up believing that now was the time to apply this mentality to the real world, which is in a dystopian state of its own—complete with violence and persecution. Many of those in the millennial generation became adults in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, struggling to find jobs in the economy’s state at the time.

Everyone faces the very real threat that climate change poses, our global climate tipping to irreversible and drastic points in another 12 years. Yet, we are the generation that ultimately must deal with the consequences, that will inevitably have to clean up the mess.

But to the rest of the world, we aren’t seen as grown enough to fight for our own rights. In a recent Fox News interview, our president marked our generation as too “young” and “idealistic.” Despite the urgency of student-led campaigns like March for Our Lives, Gen Z’s protests for stricter gun laws and sustainable use of resources are often not acknowledged in political discourse.

Swedish 16-year-old political activist Greta Thunberg mentioned in her TED talk the inability of older generations, like the Baby Boomers, to do more than commiserate, expressing her discontent about living in a society “where everyone keeps saying climate change is an existential threat and the most important issue of all, and yet they just carry on like before.”

According to political journalist Chuck Todd, a worry of those who value young voices in politics is that “Washington and politics are not exactly inviting” to younger activists who “don’t see government being the best place to enact change.”

As such, the discreditation of young voices has led to a decreased faith in U.S. politicians for many in our generation. Many young people view America’s political system as highly partisan and gridlocked, and unsuccessful in attending to issues as grave as the ones they face today. This frustration is understandable.

When our jobs, our futures are at risk, there is an increased sense of urgency, a feeling that dismisses traditional politics as a way to implement fast and effective change.

In the novels we read, governments like that in Panem or the Ministry of Magic do not make progressive change or consider the futures of the young. Instead, it is protest, resistance, fighting back that worked in those novels. The rallies in Washington and the worldwide school strikes are life imitating art.

The novels serve as an all-purpose metaphor, the desire for younger generations to shed the bleakness and baggage that has been put onto our shoulders, and with begin anew, less debased by under-the-table politics and latency. They tell us that if existence and voices are ignored, then protest and resistance should be expected.They offer hope that there is a solution to the state of our current era, that in the face of adversity, good will rise from the ashes.

Awareness of rights important against police injustice Lina Lew

Opinions Editor In a world where the police are meant to represent civil authority and maintain public safety, it’s disheartening to see that 70 percent of Americans view the police as increasingly dangerous, according to the Pew Research Center.

And given the prevalence of police brutality and misconduct in the news, this notion isn’t completely baseless.

A majority of police officers have been known to commit official misconduct or abuse the powers that their job entails.

According to studies by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), police officers are arrested about 1,100 times a year—the most common violations included simple assault, driving under the influence, official misconduct, violation of oath and violent intimidation.

The study only covers 2,830 law enforcement agencies nationwide—a fraction of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S.—and this doesn’t even count the thousands of other instances that go unreported. The federal government doesn’t collect data on most police officer arrests—after all, this would require agencies to self-report their own officers of their crimes, which doesn’t speak too highly for their reputation.

Unfortunately, police officers are le- serious abuse that has been directly obgally allowed to utilize tactics of intim- served by fellow officers. idation, bluff, or lies in order to get susEighty four percent of police officers pects to talk, according to the American said that they have directly witnessed a Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Without fellow officer using more force than was being reported, this lack of police offi- necessary. cer regulation gives them the freedom to The list goes on, but it’s clear that commit misconduct against individuals, police officers are allowed a certain both on and off the job. courtesy within their own field. This “A significant portion of off-duty overwhelming lack of professionalism is crimes lies within the context of police demoralizing, especially since it comes work and the perpetrafrom an organitor’s role as a police zation that’s inofficer, including in- In an encounter with the tended to keep the stances where off-duty peace, not perpetofficers flash a badge, police, we still have rights uate fear and coman official weapon, that can protect us from po- mit misconduct or otherwise use their against citizens. power, authority, and tentially harmful situations. At this rate, pothe respect afforded lice misconduct is to them as a means to simply a common commit crime,” the NCJRS study stated. part of the system, and under intense Police officers are able to legally use intimidation and sometimes brute force, these tactics and, for the most part, get many people may feel pressured to anaway with it. Reports by the U.S. De- swer every and all questions thrown at partment of Justice reveal the shocking them. culture of America’s police system and But in the face of institutionalized inits leniency towards its own officers. justice, we as citizens are not completely Fifty two percent of police officers re- powerless. In an encounter with the poported that it’s not unusual for law en- lice, we still have rights that can protect forcement officials to turn a blind eye to us from potentially harmful situations. the improper conduct of other officers.

Foremost, and perhaps the most imSixty one percent of police officers portant because it’s the most overlooked, stated that they do not always report is the constitutional right to remain si-

lent. While it is best to stay calm and polite, you always have the right to remain silent, you cannot be punished for remaining silent, and this can potentially avoid instances where the police suspect you of a crime and aim to use your word against you.

You also have the right to refuse consent to a search. Though police may conduct a ‘pat-down,’ they cannot legally go any further with a search without consent, a warrant, or valid probable cause.

Also, police officers need either consent or probable cause in order to proceed with search and seizure. According to the ACLU, this consists of the “knowledge of facts sufficient to support a reasonable belief” that criminal activity is likely taking place, that you have been involved in a crime, or that you have evidence of a crime in your car.

In other words, probable cause must be more than a police officer’s hunch or gut feeling—the police officer needs grounded, specific evidence of illegal activity to search or make arrests.

These facts alone may not surmount the inherent corporate power that some police officers feel entitled to.

But especially in this day and age, when police injustice and brutality seem to fly under the radar, knowing your basic and fundamental rights as citizens is the first step in defending yourself.

shared excitement among crowd Brynne Paiva Staff Writer

After a night of moshing and yelling lyrics to my favorite songs, I usually wake up on a Saturday or Sunday morning with a terrible gnawing feeling in my chest: post-concert depression. I lay in my bed, yearning to be back in the crowd again, singing along to lyrics of the artist I’ve been listening to for years and dancing with the friends I made last night.

I know that the concert is a one-night event and that I will never see that artist or feel the energy of that same crowd again. As a regular concert-goer, this wistful feeling hits me hard and often, but when I think back on the anticipation and excitement of the night before, the gloom of the morning after is certainly worth it.

Ultimately, the biggest reasons for why I go to so many concerts are to appreciate the music and support artists. However, there’s something unique about a concert setting that’s incomparable to simply listening to music on your phone, or even watching a video of an artist performing live—it’s the sense of community.

Especially with the ubiquity of social media in our generation, tight-knit communities build up around popular art and artists. This is evident in the dedicated fan bases of TV shows, movie and book franchises, and— my personal favorite—music.

These communities, however, exist primarily online in the form of Instagram and Tumblr fan accounts. Despite the fact that these people have a lot in common and support the same people or art, they don’t have frequent opportunities to interact much in real life.

Concerts provide one of the only places where music lovers can meet and bond over their shared interests in a high-energy atmosphere with packed crowds and collective anticipation.

I feel unbelievably cheerful at concerts because everyone is similar to me, everyone is excited to be there, and everyone shares a desire to appreciate the music.

The feeling of dancing with a room full of people, singing every lyric to the songs that I know by heart because they play in the background while I drive, get ready for school, or do homework—this is what creates the sense of unity in the crowd that I find to be completely unique to concerts.

During concerts, I am thrilled to be in the same room as my favorite band or artist, and this feeling is only intensified by the fact that I know everyone else in the room feels the same way.

Mosh pits and crowd surfing emphasize not only to the community feeling at these concerts, but the trust within them.

Even though mosh pits seem incredibly dangerous because of how easy it is to lose your balance, I have never once fallen in a mosh pit without someone immediately helping me back up.

The same goes for crowd surfing; I rarely see crowd surfers get dropped. The only way to join in mosh pits or crowd surf is to trust and feel the same energy as everyone else in the room, and this is made so much easier because of how similar everyone is.

I always take a moment at concerts to step back and appreciate the raw youthfulness of it all and everyone’s ability to be their true and complete self in an environment so comfortable to them.

Unity amongst the crowd is present at both big venues like Valley View and smaller venues such as the House of Blues or SOMA. While big venues are high-energy and make me feel like a part of something bigger, small venues are intimate and foster a stronger connection with the artist.

Leaving the smoky, crowded room of the House of Blues at 11 p.m., feeling hyper yet exhausted, and having made some of the best memories of my teenage years, leaves me with a sense of euphoria and youthfulness I have yet to find anywhere else.

I could listen to music on my phone any time of day, but it’s this exuberant feeling that I chase when I go to concerts: knowing that I’m a part of a community, and experiencing the simple joy of singing and dancing in a crowd. And after the night is over, I’m always looking at my phone for the next concert to go to. My verdict: post-concert depression is definitely worth it.

'I love you': a phrase felt, not explicitly said in reserved Asian culture Studies have found that the majority of Asian-Americans believe their parents show love through actions rather than words Tiffany Le

Editor in Chief My parents will undoubtedly end me if they ever find out I wrote this, but in accordance with my teen-rebellion phase, I’m going to do it anyways.

To say the least, my parents are entertaining to watch. They’ve been married for almost 21 years, and I’ve finally come to the realization that my love for love—grand gestures, rom-coms, stunning bouquets—was most definitely inherited from my dad.

My parents are avid gardeners, and on any given weekend, you can find them, together, tending to the plants in our backyard. On one particular day, however, my mom came inside to wash some freshly-picked apples while my dad stayed outside.

A few minutes later, he came into the kitchen with a wide smile and a single rose in his hand.

He approached my mom and told her, “It’s for you, honey.”

My mom’s response?

Not a thank you, not an I love you; instead, she chastised him for cutting our flowers.

This is typical within my household: my dad will buy my mom chocolates, she’ll tell him that he doesn’t need to waste money like that; my dad will try to kiss my mom on the cheek, she’ll squirm like a first-grader afraid of catching cooties; my dad will tell my mom she’s beautiful, she’ll make a sour face and shrug it off. It’s not that my mom doesn’t care for my dad, rather, my dad is quite the anomaly in Asian culture.

The majority of Asian-Americans like myself would probably concur that the way we express

love is a complicated, convoluted matter, best embodied by one common experience among Asian families: the struggle to say “I love you.”

“I love you”—it’s a phrase that I so easily and so flippantly throw around with my friends, to my pets, even to the random girl I just met at a party. Yet “I love you” is a saying deemed unnecessary, ungrounded and unusual in Asian culture.

From my experience, telling my family “I love you,” without awkwardness, has been a continuous, lifelong struggle. It’s something seldom said because we’ve been conditioned to accept that actions and results outweigh the emptiness of words.

This mindset, according to the Children, Youth, and Families Frances McClelland Institute, can largely be accredited to cultural influences such as philosophy. For example, Confucian practices emphasize emotional restraint, devotion to parents, the importance of education and respect for authority.

So any time I try telling my parents that I love them, it’s often dismissed as a disingenuous statement. And the thing is, I’ll admit that it just doesn’t feel right to say it out loud to my parents either. See, I’ve been taught my entire life that not explicitly proclaiming love or gratitude for another person in no way means that the love itself is nonexistent.

Novelist and contributing opinion writer Viet Thanh Nguyen said it best in his New York Times article, “Why We Struggle to Say ‘I Love You’”: “so many of our Asian parents have struggled, suffered and endured in ways that are completely beyond the imaginations of their children born or raised in North American comfort.”

My parents have already shown me the ulti-

mate gesture of love—they dropped everything they had and knew in Vietnam to start anew in America.

They starved, learned a foreign language, scraped together a better life out of essentially nothing. That was their “I love you” to me without having to say it.

In turn, I’m not expected to say it either. Rather, I’m expected to show my gratitude through my actions, through listening to my parents, through obeying their wishes.

“Our parents, for the most part, told us to get a good education, get a good job and not speak up, things they had to do to survive,” Nguyen wrote.

“They have encouraged, or forced, many of us to become doctors, lawyers and engineers, and to feel ashamed if we did not.”

However, this mindset leaves sons and daughters similar to me in the middle of a seemingly never-ending tug-of-war between fulfilling parental expectations and chasing their own dreams.

And too often, this push-and-pull in family relationship results in children compromising their own dreams in hopes of satisfying their parents’ wishes because that’s how we’ve been taught to show our gratitude.

Somewhere along the way, the idea of love blurs with the idea of sacrifice.

In a Frances McClelland Institute survey of more than 900 high schoolers that studied the relationship between sacrifice and parental support, the reports showed that an overwhelming majority believed their parents “showed acceptance and care through instrumental support (tangible actions with tangible results) rather than verbal expressions (e.g., I love you).”

As a result, we become engulfed with the feel-

ing of obligation, with the feeling of guilt that we shouldn’t be so selfish to make decisions without considering what our parents want. Because if they sacrificed everything for us to have this life, why couldn’t we sacrifice everything we can for them?

We grow convinced that our ultimate gesture of love to our parents is to take the classes they want us to take, to go to the school they want us to attend, to pursue the career they deem most successful.

Most would agree that this is unhealthy and toxic, and to an extent, it is. Yes, our parents just want us to have a stable life, but it’s also vital to remember that they did not come to America only for us to live our lives for someone else.

It’s important to recognize that sacrificing for love and sacrificing to prove ourselves are two different things. People see and show love in different ways—for some it’s pursuing med school, for a few it’s picking a rose from a garden, and for others it’s saying the words “I love you.”

But perhaps the greatest form of love is being able to see where another person is coming from and remembering that there is not one set form of love.

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12 Sports SCOREBOARD THE

April 12, 2019

2-1

Badminton 3/13: Loss vs. Serra, 9-8 4/3: Win vs. University City, 11-6 Next Match: 4/17: vs. Hoover, 3:30 p.m. (Away)

7 - 10

Baseball 4/6: Loss vs. Rancho Bernardo, 15-3 4/9: Win vs. Mt. Carmel, 7-0

Next Game: 4/15: vs. Scripps Ranch, 3:30 p.m. (Away)

5-6

Boys Golf 4/4: Win vs. Del Norte, 200-206 4/9: Win vs. Poway, 220-225 Next Match: 4/22: vs. Torrey Pines, 3:30 p.m. (Away)

5-7

Boys Lacrosse

Brynne Paiva

4/5: Win vs. Mt. Carmel, 11-3 4/9: Loss vs. San Marcos, 11-5

Ekene Okolo (9) receives a baton from her older sister and teammate Nene Okolo (12) during practice for the 4-by-400-meter relay, April 4.

Although Nene inspired Ekene to join the track program, the two sisters constantly push and motivate each other during track meets.

Okolo sisters bond through track

Next Game: 4/23: vs. Del Norte, 7:45 p.m. (Away)

Girls Lacrosse

4 - 8

4/4: Loss vs. La Costa Canyon, 14-6 4/8: Loss vs. Cathedral Catholic, 21-14

Isabelle Ritter Staff Writer

Next Game: 4/15: vs. Coronado, 4:30 p.m. (Away)

Softball

0 - 12

4/2: Loss vs. Patrick Henry, 20-4 4/3: Loss vs. San Dieguito Academy, 11-0 Next Game: 4/16: vs. West Hills, 3:30 p.m. (Away)

4-6

Boys Tennis 4/4: Loss vs. Del Norte, 12-6 4/5: Loss vs. Classical Academy, 13-5 Next Match: 4/16: vs. Mt. Carmel, 3 p.m. (Home)

Boys Volleyball

19 - 5

4/6: Loss vs. Francis Parker, 2-1 4/9: Win vs. Mt. Carmel, 3-1 Next Game: Today: vs. Del Norte, 5 p.m. (Away) Records as of Tuesday Compiled by the Sports Staff

In a flash of silver, Nene Okolo (12) passed the silver baton to her younger sister, Ekene Okolo (9), their spikes ripping up the track as they vied for the lead in the 4-by-400-meter relay against Rancho Bernardo, March 28.

Although their team ended up placing second in the race, the rush of adrenaline and the satisfaction of a successful handoff was a different kind of victory, and served as a bonding experience for the sisters on the team.

Aside from running relays together for the track team, the Okolo sisters have always been close.

From surviving their move to San Diego from Pennsylvania in 2015, traveling to Nigeria to visit family and connect with their heritage, or just getting through “Murder Mondays” at track practice, the two are constantly providing support and motivation for one another.

“Our bond is pretty strong since we’re always hanging out with each other, whether it’s filming dance videos, singing songs, or making jokes,” Nene said. “If we get in an argument, it doesn’t last long and we usually end up laughing again in an hour max.”

Ekene said she also feels a strong connection to her sister.

“Our bond is pretty secure since we’ve

been with each other through everything from sharing toys to opening college acceptances,” Ekene said. “She always tries to stay mad at me for the things I do, but we both know that we love each other too much to hold a grudge.”

Yet, becoming teammates for the first time on the track team added a new layer to their relationship, even as their time living together under the same roof comes to a close, as Nene, who will be attending Johns Hopkins University in the fall, prepares to leave for college.

“I really like us running the 4-by-400meter relay together, especially when I hand off the baton to her because in a way, it’s me handing off the Westview track experience to her as I get ready to graduate,” Nene said.

The girls have run several relays together, their personal record being four minutes, 18 seconds for their combined time.

In addition to the relay, both Nene and Ekene train with the sprints team, and motivate each other during grueling practices.

“Our workouts can get very difficult, so it gets tempting to give up,” Nene said.

“During the laps, if I see Ekene slowing down, I give her a little nudge on the shoulder and say something like, ‘We’re almost there, 10 more meters.’”

Additionally, both girls also run individual races, Nene typically running the 200-meter and 400-meter races at competitions, and Ekene running the 400-meter

and 800-meter races.

However, the two weren’t always so experienced in the field of track events.

Nene originally discovered her interest in track and field during her transition to Black Mountain Middle School, after moving there in eighth grade from the East Coast.

“I always thought I was pretty fast in elementary and middle school,” Nene said.

“Then my P.E. coach in eighth grade encouraged me to do track, so I decided to join the track team in my freshman year and I’ve loved it since then.”

Following Nene’s example, Ekene joined the track team when she entered high school this year. She said she had always looked up to Nene, and continues to do so as an athlete.

“Nene inspired me to pursue track,” Ekene said. “I feel like I’ve always followed directly in her footsteps in everything she does, so I took on track and ended up really enjoying it.”

She said that Nene helped her adjust to the new and stressful environment of high school and track, showing her the ropes as a sprinter.

“It’s pretty cool having Nene on the team with me because I feel more at home on the team considering that I actually have someone from my home on the team,” Ekene said. “I love it because she always pushes me to do my best. I don’t know what I’m going to do next year with-

out her.”

However, Ekene is not the only one who finds these benefits; Nene also said she enjoys having a sister on the sprint team with her.

“Playing sports with a sibling is really fun because you have someone around you who understands you better than anyone else,” Nene said. “When [Ekene] feels pain, I feel pain too because she’s my best friend.”

Nene said she tries her best to keep her sister motivated during nerve-wracking races.

“The most challenging part of track is managing my nerves and not letting them overwhelm me before my race,” Ekene said. “Your whole mindset can make the difference between victory and defeat.

Having a sibling on the team is really cool because she’ll talk me out of my fears and doubts, and I’ll go into the race with a clearer mindset.”

The support is mutual, as Ekene also motivates Nene, running alongside the track with Nene during races and cheering her on.

“After running my races, despite my own tiredness, I always make sure to run the races on the sidelines with my teammates to encourage them to fight through the pain,” Ekene said. “For me, hearing my sister cheer me on makes all the difference and gives me that extra kick the last 100 meters.”

Pan steps into badminton captain role, strives for CIF Lydia Zhang Features Editor

Kyle Pan’s (10) early years on the junior badminton circuit were marked by loss.

“For the first three years, I always lost,” he said. “I had no wins. I honestly considered quitting because I kept losing and it just didn’t feel good.”

Kyle and his brother, Bryan Pan (’18) started playing badminton in the summer of 2014, but didn’t seriously train until 2017. During Kyle’s first few years playing badminton, his affinity for the sport allowed him to play at high-level competitions despite his inexperience. But this same inexperience also led to him regularly losing against more experienced athletes at the higher level.

Despite feeling discouraged, Kyle, with the encouragement of his coach, still played in the 2017 Junior Nationals—an event that doesn’t require any qualifications. At Junior Nationals, Kyle broke his losing streak with his first big match win. This win proved to be

a turning point for Kyle.

“Because of that win and how everyone else was like, ‘Oh you’ve gotten better,’ I started [being motivated to] train even harder,” he said.

Since his win at Junior Nationals, Kyle’s badminton career has continued on an upward trend.

This year, Kyle has placed in big tournaments, earning first place in the Super C men’s singles at Los Angeles Badminton Club Chinese New Year Tournament, fourth place in Under-17 boys singles and third place in Under-17 boys doubles at the United States Badminton Development Foundation SoCal Closed Regional Championships.

At these tournaments, he competes in all three badminton’s events: singles, doubles, and mixed (co-ed) doubles. Kyle said he hopes to qualify for the Junior International Trials (JIT), the second largest junior national competition behind the international Pan American Badminton Championships, which he also eventually hopes to compete in.

Though Kyle has his own successful competitive career outside of school, he still chooses to represent Westview by playing for varsity.

“I see other people in Westview playing for the school and so I want [to be a part of that] and give back to Westview,” he said. “I also just do it for fun.”

For high school badminton, Kyle competes in just two events. He currently has an undefeated record of 3-0 for singles, and a 2-1 record for mixed doubles with his partner, Krystal Pothilat (11).

As his brother graduated last year, Kyle became the most experienced member on Westview’s team this season. Although Kyle is only a sophomore, and leadership, he said, doesn’t necessarily come naturally to him, he knew he had to step up this year and lead as team captain.

“It’s not really me to go out and tell people to do something; I’m not like my brother who’s super extroverted,” he said. “But I try to play a more active role because I’m

considered one of the best. I try my best to help people out, my coach out and help them figure out what would be better to do to improve.”

According to Stephen Shen (12), Kyle acts like a second coach by leading the team in drills every practice, organizing team bonding events, and offering encouraging advice during practice and matches.

“If you ask him a question in regard to how you should more effectively play the game, he will have some for your in terms of things like positioning and technique,” Shen said.

“He also definitely sets an example in terms of level of play because he’s really good.”

Wesley Wang (12) agrees. According to him, Kyle’s leadership helps create a comfortable group environment that encourages friendships and camaraderie.

“We all respect him,” he said. “Kyle lets his skill speak for itself so his age doesn’t matter. He organizes most team hangouts and he really helped me come out of my shell. I was still close with my friends in the program

but he helped me get to know everyone else there.”

Fostering that strong sense of community is important to Kyle because the badminton community is small.

“Since badminton is not popular, if you can find a good group of people, you feel an immediate connection,” he said. “Everyone else understands what we’re going through, like some people outside of badminton will think, ‘Oh, it’s such an easy sport,’ but when you start playing it, you understand how hard it is.”

Last year, the team made it to team CIF’s but lost at the first round. But, this year, Kyle anticipates that the team will advance further.

“I think it’s very possible of getting into the CIF semifinals and as a team,” he said.

“We almost beat the second best team in the league [this year], and we beat the third and fourth best school, so the chances are in our favor [to win CIF’s]. But just making it to the semifinals as a team is good too, since it’s a step up from what we achieved last year.”

Roberts excels in 400-meter as freshman Alec Felderman Staff Writer

Cheyenne Roberts (9) didn’t expect to be on the track team, let alone varsity track her freshman year. Initially, Roberts’ club soccer coach suggested that Roberts look into track after demonstrating her speed in suicide sprints.

“My coach was impressed because the other forward on our team was notorious for [winning suicides], so when I beat her, my coach said I should do track,” Roberts said.

After some consideration, Roberts decided to join based on her club soccer coach's recommendation and her past experiences on Westview’s volleyball team.

“I wanted to try [track] because I loved being on the volleyball team,” Roberts said. “I had so many amazing experiences and met awesome people.

[Track] was also a chance to build up my stamina.”

According to Roberts, she joined the summer track program with an idea for the event she wanted to specialize in, but was pulled in multiple directions when tryouts came around.

“I had my mind set on hurdles,” Roberts said.

“But after the high jump coach, George Maze, talked to me and the distance coach, Amanda Trujillo, saw me run the time trial for the 800-meter, I never really got into hurdles.”

Along with the high jump, 800-meter, and 400-meter races, Roberts also picked up sprinting.

“I wasn’t going to do it [sprints] because I was going to be a high jumper and didn’t have to,” Roberts said. “But I wanted to [try sprints] just to see what I could do.”

Having the fastest time on the track team for the 400-meter, 62.31 seconds, Roberts showed that she had the ability to compete with the varsity team, causing head coach Jamal Felton to recruit her for sprints later in the season, setting her up to compete in three varsity events. During the first meet of the season, Roberts was slated for varsity in the high jump and 400-meter, but performing at the varsity level in her first meet made Roberts feel unsure in her abilities, as she didn’t have a lot of experience in track.

“Before the race, I was very doubtful and didn’t know what to expect, considering I had never par-

ticipated or done any training for the 400-meter,” Roberts said. “When we were lining up on the starting line, my coaches were telling me what to do at each mark and what position my body should be in.”

However, Roberts flew in the face of inexperience, and went on to win her first 400-meter race and placed second in the high jump in Westview’s first meet against Mira Mesa High School, solidifying her place on the varsity roster and giving her confidence.

“Winning my first race was amazing,” Roberts said. “Now I expect a lot more of myself and push myself even harder to keep beating my past times.”

Since then, Roberts has finished top three in meets for the 400-meter and high jump consistently, having personal records of 62.31 seconds in the 400-meter run and 4’10’’ in the high jump. Even with her current records, Roberts said she plans to improve her running and high jump.

“I want to put in the work so that I can run faster and jump higher,” Roberts said. “It would be really cool to get 60 seconds or even less, and I plan to jump 5’0’’ by the end of the season.”

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April 12, 2019

The Balance Beam: 1. Series

Adrianna Ngo (12) performs her beam routine at a home meet, March 5. Three moves a gymnast must execute are a series, turn, and dismount

SIG NIFICANT FIG URES

Bird: 11 kills

Back-Walkover

With accurate hits and strong teamwork, Westview dominated its game against Del Norte, March 26. Halfway into the second set, outside hitter Slater Bird (12) led the Nighthawks into expecting a hard hit, then made a soft volley instead, leaving his opponents scrambling for the ball. Westview won that set, 25-21. Eventually, Bird’s hits and smart plays gained Westview the upper hand, helping his teammates tremendously. Overall, Bird’s 11 kills led Westview to a 4-1 victory.

Back-Handspring

2. Turns

Brynne Paiva

O'Brien: 8 strikeouts

Squat Turn

3. Dismount

Breaking Down the Routine

In the top of the fifth inning against Del Norte, March 27, pitcher Jack O’Brien (12) faced loaded bases with only one out.

O’Brien struck out a batter and made a second one pop up to center, closing the inning and cutting off the Nighthawk offense.

“It was a relief mostly,” O’Brien said.

“I wasn’t necessarily fired up about it but I knew I executed the pitch."

O’Brien went on to strike out eight batJessica Lin ters in Westview’s 3-1 win.

1. To receive points for a series, two acrobatic skills must be connected. A connection occurs when a gymnast successfully transitions from one skill to another without pausing, wobbling, or falling inbetween. One of the series Ngo executes during her beam routine, pictured in figure 1, includes a back-walkover and a back-handspring.

2. A gymnast must include at least one 360-degree turn per routine. In figure 2, Ngo executes a squat turn.

“You need to have enough strength in one leg to hold your entire body in the squatting position, and enough strength in your other leg to keep it balanced and horizontal the whole time so you don't hit the beam,” Ngo said.

3. To finish her routine, in figure 3, Ngo executes a gainer layout to dismount from the beam. This move requires Ngo to lift one leg up, and flip off the beam in a flat layout position.

Gainer Layout

Written by Jocelyn Mi and Alec Felderman

Photos and Design by Tiffany Le

BLACK & GOLD

Jocelyn Mi

FANN GOLF

Brandon Fann (12) always strives to be a better leader for his teammates. Stepping up this year as captain, Fann has prioritized the wellbeing of his teammates.

“Helping each other grow [in golf] is crucial and being captain this year, I have to set a good example on the course and at school,” Fann said.

Arjun Kumar (10), a teammate, expresses Fann’s commitment and professionalism as captain.

“Brandon always has a good golf etiquette and always keeps his head up, even when he's playing badly,” Kumar said.

Alec Felderman

Grace Kim

Deepali Yedulapuram

Kevin Lu

DECOTTIGNIES

UYEDA

JOYCE

BADMINTON, Singles

TENNIS, Doubles

SOFTBALL, Shortstop

TRACK AND FIELD

Unlike most players, Allison Bourd (11) doesn’t use her strength to smash the birdie towards the ground.

“I’m not good at clearing the ball, so I just hit a high shot that drops off in the distance,” Bourd said. “My shots are usually good enough so that it’s hard for my opponent to return it.”

Although Bourd is ranked third on the roster, she said that she still has room to improve.

“There’s a lot of technical aspects to the game I’m still working on,” Bourd said. “It’s a lot of repetition and playing people who are better because I kind of learn by losing.”

As a two-sport varsity athlete, Alex Decottignies (12) faces the high stress that comes with tennis and cross country.

“Tennis is a sport with an individual focus upon it—it’s like a battle against yourself and can really stress you out,” he said.

But, Decottignies realized that staying mentally strong and confident is important for both team and individual success.

“After all, it is your individual performance that contributes to the overall outcome,” Decottignies said. “I [received] the Sportsmanship award my junior year, and it reflected my devotion to the team’s success.”

Kaila Uyeda (12) constantly looks for ways to improve her softball skills, especially ones that require mental strength, such as alertness, while playing on the field.

“You really have to know about anticipation and understand the different types of pitches the pitcher’s throwing,” Uyeda said. “You have to think, ‘If the ball is to hit me, what would the runner do?’ and based off of that, ‘What would be the best way for me to align myself so I can get out?’”

With a high batting average, Uyeda uses her strong mentality to perform well on the field.

Dayen Joyce (11) has been on his game, having won his past three 110-meter hurdle races.

Still, it hasn’t been easy for him to keep this performance level.

“You have to graze the hurdle and float over it, not jump,” Joyce said. “I have to stay low but also stand tall while running.”

Despite the intricacies of a good form, Joyce has the best 110-meter time in Westview's track program at 16.42 seconds.

“I want to break the time of 16 seconds and make state because although my work is starting to pay off, my journey to be successful isn’t over,” he said.

BOURD

Rhea Jogadhenu

GORMAN

LACROSSE, Midfielder

At first, lacrosse didn’t come easily to Kelly Gorman (12), who struggled with the fundamentals.

“I couldn’t cradle for a whole year,” she said.

With time, however, Gorman learned to play to her strengths rather than weaknesses within the sport.

Two of these strengths— clearing and one-on-one defense—are especially evident in her play. In Westview’s 15-14 win over Canyon Crest Academy, March 12, Gorman took the ball upfield for a goal in the fourth quarter, tying up the game.

Nexus

the

14 Final Focus

April 12, 2019

Embracing Failure Students redefine failure as bumps on the road, not a dead end

Sydney Alper Staff Writer

The letters glared up at Kailin Storms (11) from her report card. Her 4.0 grade point average (GPA) had been tainted by something lower than an A. In her mind, that first B blocked the road to success.

Although Storms was only in seventh grade at the time, she and her parents became concerned about her academic career.

“I freaked out,” she said. “I cried for at least a full day, and I think I dropped into regular math after that because I was so terrified of not doing well in math again.”

It was more than just being afraid of getting a B— Storms said she also felt pressure from her parents to maintain perfect grades. Coupled with the expectations she had set for herself to be perfect and the looming pressure of college, this one B led to a fear of failure that would follow Storms throughout high school.

A fear of failure involves its own set of problems beyond just being anxious about a mistake. Psychotherapist Tina Gilbertson said that fearing failure can become what she calls a self-fulfilling prophecy, meaning that people might unknowingly make decisions that sabotage their success because they fear the possibility of messing up.

“When you’re learning to drive, the instructor tells you to keep your eyes on the road ahead of you,” Gilbertson said. “If you worry too much about hitting the curb or going off the road, you’ll be looking at where you don’t want to go instead of where you’re going.

Fear of failure is like the curb. If you focus on the fear instead of your goal, you’re more likely to head toward failure.”

Nathan Wang (12) faced a similar situation where he did not live up to his own expecta-

tions. He tried out for the freshman basketball team, but was cut. After playing recreational basketball and participating in the school run basketball camp the summer before, Wang said he had expected to make the freshman team. When he didn’t, he said he felt that he had failed.

“It was like everything I expected to happen didn’t happen,” Wang said. “It basically just told me that I was worse than all these 16 or 17 people who actually made the team.”

Gilbertson said that fearing failure is a learned behavior, something we pick up from the adults in our lives. She said that if adults react poorly to failure, the children will see it as something to avoid.

“If Mom or Dad gets angry, disappointed or even just goes quiet when we fail, we learn that failure is unacceptable and carries a social cost,” she said.

“We see how adults behave when they fail, and they act like it’s the worst thing in the world.”

Storms said that when she grew up, her parents praised her intelligence more than any other feature, and equated this intelligence with her grades. But when she got her first B, she said that both her and her parents perspectives changed, and they learned together that grades don’t determine someone’s character.

Gilbertson said that support like this is invaluable overcoming a fear of failure.

“Surrounding yourself with people who understand that the opposite of success isn't failure but inaction lends you the courage to try,” Gilbertson said.

“Not only that, but the right people will applaud you for taking action, and encourage you to stay in the game.”

Amongst the other basketball coaches, varsity basketball coach Kyle Smith is in charge of making the difficult decision of cutting people like Wang from the team. Despite the fact that students may feel that being cut is a failure, Smith said that people should not give up on playing a sport just because they didn’t make the team.

He also said that one of the best ways to prepare for failure is to make a plan ahead of time. He said that this plan should be to see failure not as something that will beat one down, but as something to help one grow.

Wang followed Smith’s advice and kept playing basketball, moving forward on the road towards embracing failure. He developed his shooting and dribbling skills by continuing to play recreational basketball. During the summer, he played in weeklong basketball camps run by Westview, and when the school year started, he went to morning workouts with through the school basketball program.

His hard work was rewarded when he made the JV team his sophomore year, defying the expectation that one had to play freshman basketball in order to play at the next level.

Wang said that playing on the JV team boosted his confidence immensely.

“It meant that you’re worth something to someone, and now you’re playing on the team with other people,” he said. “You’re good enough to be here, you deserve to be here, you’re supposed to be here.”

After his season on JV, he continued to train and improve his skills. However, the next year, juniors were only allowed to try out for varsity and Wang, once again, was cut. This time, he decided that his basketball career at Westview would be over.

Wang said that when he was cut his junior year, he felt as though the goal he set out to accomplish hadn’t been achieved.

“I wasn’t thinking about what happened two years ago, I was just thinking this was another failure and that I should’ve done better,” he said. “I just started thinking about so many things that I could’ve done better, where I could’ve improved, where

I could’ve put in more work.”

Wang compared his abilities to other basketball players, which led him to feeling worse about his inability to make varsity.

Such comparisons, according to Gilbertson, lead to false definitions of success, which extended the problem failure seems to present.

“It doesn’t make sense to feel like a failure just because you can’t beat the fastest runner in school,” she said. “That’s why in sports it’s often said that you’re really competing against yourself. The best you can do is always a success if you’re comparing yourself against your own previous achievements.”

Storms said she also felt the need to compare her work to others and analyze her mistakes. She began to procrastinate on her work because she was afraid that it wouldn’t be good enough.

She said she began focusing more on her more difficult English class, but left her Spanish class behind, causing her grade to drop. She knew that she was falling behind in her work, but she said that she didn’t want to reach out for help out of the fear that her parents and teachers would be upset. Gilbertson said that procrastination like this is a physiological reaction to failure.

“You might stop studying before you’re ready for a test, because the act of studying reminds you of the possibility that you’ll fail,” Gilbertson said. “The resulting lack of preparation can bring about the very failure you fear.”

This procrastination eventually led Storms to receiving a B in two of her classes. She said she didn’t want to let down the people around her with poor work, so she ended up not doing the work at all.

“I felt really alone, even though I know that everyone in this school has had the same experience, but I felt that there was no one to help me,” Storms said.

“I was just worried about everyone else’s reactions, rather than how is this affecting my future, and how is this going to affect me eventually.”

At first she felt upset about her grades, but then Storms had a conversation with her parents. They worked together to understand that getting a B wasn’t a problem and didn’t define her. Receiving those Bs forced Storms to realize that she was still doing better than the national average, even though they weren’t necessarily the grades she wanted.

“I still have just below a 4.0, even with the few Bs that I've gotten,” she said. “I've never gotten a C before, which a C is technically considered average.

For me, a B is still better than average. It's better than what people expect.”

With the help of others, she stopped viewing a B as a failure. She began to see that it was okay to not be perfect and that she did not need to have perfect grades to still succeed in life.

She said that her Honors Humanities teacher, Stephanie Tanaka, helped her to put her life in perspective and realize that she was not characterized by her GPA. From there, Storms began to comprehend that as long as she was trying to put out her best work, then getting Bs was still an acceptable result.

Gilbertson said that it is necessary to realize failure’s potential as a stepping stone for success.

“Once you realize you’ve failed and didn’t die from it, you learn that failure isn’t the end of the world,” she said. “Failure is a necessary step on the path to achievement. Not reaching goals is part of the process of reaching them. We can only learn what doesn’t work, what we don’t want, etc. by trying things. Trying involves failing. That’s why it’s called trying instead of doing.”

Wang saw his “failure” as a fork in the road, an opportunity to do more in other areas of his life.

He said that instead of only being a basketball player, he could now devote more of his time and energy to other activities, so he wouldn’t have to only do academics.

His senior year, he joined Mock Trial and Theater. Wang said that Mock Trial filled the competitive aspect that he missed in basketball with a similar dynamic of coaches, teammates, practices, and games. He said that in basketball he gained many friends, so join-

ing the Mock Trial and Theatre provided the camaraderie and friendship he was missing from basketball that year.

“Being a part of [The Addams Family] and being able to be on stage alongside some of my best friends and some of my new friends that I made is an awesome experience,” he said.

The path to accepting failure was rocky, but in the end, both Storms and Wang realized that what they perceived as failure wasn’t really failure after all.

Wang continued to play the sport he loved, just at a recreational, not competitive, level, and embraced his new activities.

“Nothing will make me forget the fact of ‘hey, I didn’t do my best or I didn’t try my hardest,’” he said. “Those things will always nag me. That’s never going to go away. It’s about accepting [being cut] and saying, but you’re not trying to get over it, [you’re] trying to make the best of your situation.”

Storms learned that at the end of the day her grades don’t define her and what really matters is how she treats other people.

“I think everyone I’ve met has agreed that numbers don’t equate to failure,” she said. “But I think especially it was my family telling me that ‘you are not a failure for these grades and that you are not a failure for not doing as well in something as you expected.’ It was also teachers telling me that ‘you are not a failure for this grade that you got in class.’”

Viewing failure as a step to success can help prevent it from leading to insecurity in one's own ability.

“You’ve got to see failure as part of the process of achievement if you want the confidence to keep trying,” Gilbertson said.

In the end, it isn’t about seeing failure as a dead end, but accepting it as just another bump in the road to success. So no longer are those Bs distressing or not making the team ache. Instead, their journey goes on.

Art by Alice Chen