Opinion

Racist imagery in children’s media causes harm, not entertainment

By Nancy Medrano

Books are meant to help comfort ical references to Tiger Lily and the and entertain kids. Some books other Native Americans. are doing more harm than good Not only is there inappropriate imand show racist imagery. They show agery in children’s books, but there are young children illustrations that their also harmful stereotypes in kids’ movparents might have wanted to prevent ies, especially in Disney. Many movies them from seeing. Even some of the used animals to convey a harmful

“purest” books can convey an unwant- message, such as an inaccurate ed message. representation of a specifc culture or As of March 2, six of author Theo- race. This often makes it more difcult dor Seuss Geisel’s famous Dr. Seuss for people to distinguish inappropriate

“books ceased publication due to their behavior. racist imagery. The The books 1970 have been flm “The around since Aristocats,” 1937, mean- directed by ing they have Wolfgang been on bookshelves for 84 Parents shouldn’t have to Reither man, years, before people noticed be worried about what shows Thomas’s the insensitive to show or read to their gang where imagery. Although children. each cat portrays books such another as, “Scram- race. Norbled Eggs mally there

Super!,” “Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “That Cat Quizzer” and “If I Ran the wouldn’t be a problem with this, but Shun Gon, an alley cat, is depicted as Chinese with slanted eyes and Nancy Medrano ”

Zoo” have been publicly called out for even plays the piano with chopsticks. all over news outlets, there are many In the 1955 flm “The Lady and the racist, classic children’s books that still Tramp,” the Siamese cats have slanthaven’t. ed eyes and sing in broken English The original 1964 plot of “Charlie with an accent, mocking East Asian and the Chocolate Factory” by Ronald people.

Dahl included the line, “...from the very When a parent or teacher exdeepest and darkest part of the African poses a young child to diversity, they jungle where no white man had been begin to form an identity that best before.” The book also refers to the refects them and shapes them into

Oompa Loompas as “black pygmies.” someone they want to be. When look-

After much backlash, the Oompa ing for a diverse book, one should start

Loompas were changed into charac- with a book where the main character ters with orange skin and green hair. is a person of color that helps speak

Another classic children’s book, “Peter out when others can’t. The characters

Pan” by J.M. Barrie, makes stereotyp- of the book should also face real-life experiences instead of something fctional.Young adult books, “Holding Up the Universe” by Jennifer Niven and “Calling My Name” by Liara Tamani are good examples of diverse books. Parents shouldn’t have to be worried about what to show or read to their children. They are actually encouraged to use books to talk about heavy topics. Although fnding the right book can be challenging at frst, it can also be benefcial for many right reasons.

Editorial Standardized, AP testing continues for underprepared, stressed students

The one-year anniversary of this pandemic has just passed and although the school year is coming to an end, the stress felt among students has only intensifed because of standardized testing. Last year, standardized testing was put on hold since the pandemic had just begun and many families were struggling to adapt to remote learning. Only a year later, the CollegeBoard deemed enough time had passed for students to get back to regular testing and standardized Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium English and math testing has resumed for all juniors. During a pandemic especially, SBAC testing is not a priority. It is an unnecessary stressor that takes students who already face a lack of interaction with their teachers out of class for even more time. Despite having more experience with online work, students are tired of constantly sitting and staring at screens. Bringing back 3-hour testing just adds to screen time and stress from the virtual classes. Just because COVID-19 case counts are lowering and some students and teachers are returning to campus doesn’t mean that we’re in any less of a pandemic. The ongoing trauma of the past year hasn’t healed and most likely won’t be any time soon. It’s ridiculous to expect a student to sit down for three or more hours for a test when there’s possibility of connection failure, family interruptions and an overall quiet environment. The decision to shorten last year’s AP Exams gave room for fewer mistakes in terms of technological errors and disturbances and is yet another example of the fawed methods of testing returning to normal. These tests are not made to be taken at home and this is obvious in the faults seen in trying to do so. Last year, AP testatkers were plagued by the inability to submit work and their progress was lost. Additionally, the College Board’s decision to administer the traditional exam format comes months before the actual exams take place. This has come as a surprise to AP teachers, who were preparing their students for last year’s version of the exams. Not only did the format help students but teachers as well, it allowed teachers to fully focus on one subject and prepare their kids with what they believed would be helpful. Now, teachers who based their year’s curriculum on analyzing and responding to long response questions face the challenge of covering a year’s worth of other material in just a few months. Review for multiple choice material is now an afterthought despite making up a large portion of the overall test grade. It is extremely hopeful and unrealistic to expect that this change will help students in any way. The standardized and AP tests are now the cause of so much unnecessary stress born from a lack of empathy for students and teachers.

Photo from CCNULL.de A er some debate over whether Advanced Placement and standardized testing should resume as normal despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, both are scheduled to resume in full length. is decision is the source of stress for many underprepared students and upset teachers.

Print editor-in-chief sets new record at DPMHS with five Ivy League acceptances

By Valeria Luquin

After applying to 20 schools with an three honors courses, ve Advanced Placeunweighted GPA of 3.89, Luna was ment (AP) classes and nine college classes. accepted into 18, including ve Throughout the summer going into Ivy League: Harvard University, Princeton her junior and senior year, she took part in University, Columbia University, Brown Uni- various journalism programs, such as the versity and the University of Pennsylvania. Princeton Summer Journalism Program, “I wasn’t that nervous until it was 3:59 that equipped her with lots of knowledge. p.m.,” said Luna, Print Editor-in-Chief for The “To be a competitive student, you Pearl Post. “It’s more nerve-wracking be- need to show that you can handle rigorous cause they all come out at the same time, classes like honors, AP and college-level so I was checking one after the other.” courses,” Torres said. “Itzel was active since Yale University was the rst of the 9th grade and it shows in the way she has Ivies that Luna checked on April 6. She grown as a student and as an individual.” got rejected. Next, she checked Harvard After taking intro to journalism in the and saw the congratulations and confetti ninth grade and enjoying the class, Luna appear on her laptop screen. The next four was inspired to join The Pearl Post sta her schools accepted her as well. Luna was left sophomore year. During that year, she covshocked and completely speechless. She is ered many big stories, such as the United the rst student from Daniel Pearl Magnet Teachers Los Angeles strike. She considers High School (DPMHS) to be accepted into ve Ivy League schools. it one of the highlights of her high school journalism career. After experiencing what Photo provided by Itzel Luna Print Editor-in-Chief Itzel Luna was accepted to ve With this school year being conduct- it was like being on the front lines, that’s Ivy League schools including Harvard University and ed completely through distance learning when it dawned on her that journalism was Stanford University. due to the pandemic, there was a lot of uncertainty and challenges surrounding college applications and admissions. Being the rst to go to college and continue with her education were “ I think that it’s important for us as and de nitely, I will follow her career. I’m excited to see how she’s doing 10 years from now.” As National College Decision Day quickly approaches on May 1, Luna huge motivators for Luna. “It was very nerve-wracking rst-gen low-income has been getting the input of others. Although she is considering all of the deciding to do test optional because there were a lot of conversations about kids to know that we schools, she would say Stanford is going to be hard to beat. whether that would hurt your application,” said Luna, who plans to become have a place at these “As a rst-gen low-income kid, you never really see yourself at these a political journalist. “(Being rst-generation) is a huge motivation to me because it’s setting that precedent for my family and getting my family really excited about it.” Luna has set a very impressive a big passion of hers and something she institutions. Itzel Luna schools,” Luna said. “It didn’t even feel like a posibility that I could ever get into any of these schools. I think that it’s important for us as rst-gen low-income kids to know that we have a place at these institutions.” ” example for her brothers, family and peers. wanted to pursue as a career. She plans From receiving several scholarships Although she is surprised by all of her Ivy on majoring in communications and/or and earning various write-o awards, she League acceptances, her parents had no political science depending on the school points out that her success can be attributdoubt in her. she ends up choosing. ed to multiple people in her life. “Well to be honest with you, I wasn’t “In the tenth grade, I got to know Itzel “I didn’t do this all on my own. I had that surprised. I was kind of expecting that a lot more than I did when she was a fresh- an amazing family that supported me and because I knew how hard she worked for man,” journalism teacher Adriana Chavira I have amazing teachers and counselors,” that,” Luna’s mom, Cecilia Ocegueda said. said. “I saw the responsibility, determina- Luna said. “It’s really, really special and exciting.” tion and maturity that she possesses. I’m Over the past four years, she has taken excited to see where she ends up going Twitter: @13_val__

Club Corner: National Honor Society continues to help out community despite pandemic restrictions

By Delilah Brumer

The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped Cassia Ramelb from volunteering for causes ranging from climate change to public health and racking up over a hundred volunteer hours throughout high school.

“I feel like volunteering is my way to give back and make change where I see t,” said Ramelb, a senior and design editor for Prestige Yearbook. “I feel like, rather than just reposting something (on social media), I feel it’s more meaningful and more impactful if I hands-on put my energy somewhere. It’s very rewarding.”

Ramelb is this year’s president of the Daniel Pearl Magnet High School chapter of the National Honor Society. Photo provided by Valeria Luquin Features Editor Valeria Luquin and her mother, Lorena Luquin, volunteered at the Self-Realization Fellowship Books & Gi s gi shop in Encinitas in September 2020. ey scanned items around the gi shop in order to The National Honor Society is a national update the store’s inventory. service and leadership organization, challenging,” Pevar said. “Even just having said. “I’ve had to navigate more online with more than one million estimated meetings has been challenging.” activities and it’s really hard to get out participants worldwide. The DPMHS class Volunteer opportunities are being there when you’re kind of just away from of 2019 started the DPMHS chapter in provided to students in the club through other people.” order to provide volunteer and academic school events, such as the Meet-the- While COVID-19 has made volunopportunities to students and the club Magnet nights. As well as through teering more challenging, many students has been actively running since then. are making the best of the situation. The club requires all of its 38 members to complete either 15 or 20 hours of volunteer work per year, depending on how long they’ve been in the club. Many students “ I feel like volunteering is my For example, junior Hayden Brewer has been working on a project against racism for his English class. “I just want to help people,” Brewer said. “I’ve actually grown volunteer in order to give back to their communities and show colleg- way to give back accustomed to distance learning.” The last meeting of the club for es their passions. These students, made up of sophomores, juniors and and make change the year is tentatively scheduled for late April. In the meantime, the club seniors, are nding creative ways to ful ll this requirement and overcome the di culties of not being in-person. The club sponsors are Magnet Coordinator Leah Pevar and English Teacher Cynthia Barry Wald. Schoology posts with volunteer ideas. where I see t. Cassia Ramelb members will continue making an impact in their communities. “I’m really proud that NHS has carried on,” Pevar said. “I’m really glad that they are still going strong.” ”

“Coming up with ways for students “I would say (COVID-19) has made Instagram: @delilah_ rose2004 to earn (volunteer) hours has been volunteering) more di cult,” Ramelb