Issue 8

VOL. XXXVIII ISSUE 8 May 25, 2018

HITTING THE RIGHT NOTE Peninsula jazz band travels to New Orleans to experience the city’s music STUDENT LIFE PAGE 9

Save the Date

Joining the Ranks

Turning Over a New Leaf

District makes adjustments to 2018-19 school calendar

Boy Scouts allow girls to be a part of their troops

NHS, cheer and grade apps undergo changes

NEWS PAGE 3

OPINION PAGE 5

FOCUS PAGE 6-7

(2)

ads

Minji Jeun and olin osborne iii Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) recently approved a new calendar for the 2018-19 school year. The new schedule results from negotiations between the Palos Verdes Faculty Association (PVFA) and PVPUSD. The PVFA initially proposed a change on Feb. 4 that would start the school year after Sept. 3 which would result in a later end to the school year. However, the Board of Education stated that such changes would leave students with too much class time following Advanced Placement testing and instead proposed a continuation of the same calendar.

“The biggest issue actually became the fact that we wanted to take a week off for Thanksgiving,” PVFA President James Meade said. “However, [the district] did not want the school year to end any later, which meant we had to start earlier. That was where most of the contention came from.”

Following this, a tentative agreement was reached between the two parties to either return to this year’s calendar for the coming year or use a calendar that would begin the school year earlier in August and have a week off for Thanksgiving break depending on the results of a survey conducted by the faculty association. The PVFA found that a majority of its members were in favor of a calendar that included a week for Thanksgiving break, leaving board approval as the final step. The resulting calendar with the school year starting on Aug. 22, which gives students the entire week of

To-do list: make school start on aug. 22 Make Thanksgiving break a week long Make school end on June 6

District implements new safety policies

Olin osborne III

Kristen Lu

Following an official vote on May 22 by the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Board of Education, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) Superintendent Don Austin will be leaving PVPUSD to join PAUSD as their new superintendent. He plans to enter under a three-year contract with the new district. Austin has been the PVPUSD superintendent since Aug. 11, 2014 and has helped adopt a new math curriculum and new textbooks, create online options for students and create the “Facilities Master Plan,” which allows live viewing of PVPUSD plans in progress and their associated costs.

During his time as superintendent, PVPUSD has earned California School Boards Association’s recognition for strategic planning, a Golden Bell award, recognition for multiple Gold Ribbon schools and top rankings in the nation.

According to Palo Alto Online, PAUSD was impressed by Austin’s resume. His experience with PVPUSD helped him gain the qualifications required for the position.

While Austin has not stated his reason for leaving the district, in a statement released by the PVPUSD Board President Anthony Collatos, it is not strange for officials to be recruited by other districts because of PVPUSD’s reputation as a highperforming district.

Following the shootings at high schools in Florida and more recently in Texas, the necessity of school safety precautions has become an increasingly critical priority for school districts nationwide, including the Palos Verdes Peninsula School District (PVPUSD). Schools across the district have already scheduled safety drills and installed tinted window film and shades in many of their classrooms. The district has also recently scheduled a live simulation of an active shooter event to be held in August for teacher training, and plans to work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify potential threats as well as provide informational workshops for parents. Additionally, PVPUSD pledged to be more attentive to possible threats made over social media, which the district believed was widely neglected preceding the events in Florida.

After witnessing the social media threats directed toward Peninsula and seeing results of gun violence across the nation, World History and Advanced Placement European History teacher Don Frazier believes reforms are necessary to prevent more acts of violence.

“Nothing has changed, and [shootings] keep happening; it is ridiculous,” Frazier said. “We need better enforcement of gun ownership, easier ways to [provide] help [to] the mentally ill and [harsher penalties] for those who even make a threat.”

Freshman Will Brach emphasized the increased attention to mental health on campus, stating that it would be the most effective preemptive measure against school violence. “[I believe] the best course of action is reforming mental health treatments [since that is] the cause of most shootings,” Brach said. “Students are marching and protesting for mental health, and while is a good start, more has to be done. [However], the district reforms [offer] more protection against shooting events, so I do feel better.”

The Palos Verdes Estates Police Department (PVEPD) has also taken additional measures to ensure students’ safety, primarily through having school safety training on campuses and creating comprehensive School Site Plans for each campus. The department is also considering adding PVEPD office space to each school campus. PVEPD Captain Tony Best believes a prepared police force is a necessity in the presence of an active shooter on campus.

“School violence can occur at any school,” Best said. “It is for this reason that law enforcement and schools must maintain a constant state of readiness. This is achieved through strong partnerships, training, outreach and education. We work closely with the school district and each school site to ensure that we have a visible police presence to deter any acts of violence.”

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING rachel liu / The Pen

Austin leaves pvpusd

Thanksgiving off and ends the school year on June 6, was approved with a vote of 4 to 1 by the Board of Education on April 25. Amidst the approval, both sides of the negotiating table were still split on whether this was the correct decision.

“The calendar we have now is a compromise [with PVPUSD] and the vote to move forward with it was very close within the PVFA,” Meade said. “A small majority wanted to go through with the current calendar and there are many still not satisfied with it. They feel as though we are still starting too early.”

Additionally, PVPUSD and the PVFA were unable to keep parents and students up to date on the possible calendar changes, which led to further frustration about the changes within the community.

“Under normal circumstances, I would not have minded the changes, but now that I have to miss the first three days of senior year, it has become a problem,” junior Phoenix Stout said. “My family and I have been planning to travel in late August for the past few months and we cannot really cancel it. They should have notified us at least a year in advance if they were going to change the calendar for the next school year.”

Normally the school calendar is negotiated in segments of three to five years. However, due to delays in the negotiation process, only the 201819 school year was finalized and new negotiations will be initiated in the coming year to establish the calendar moving forward.

alex yoo / The Pen

PVPUSD Approves new calendar

news (3)

opinion

THE PEN PALOS VERDES PENINSULA HIGH SCHOOL 27118 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Zoe Willoughby Stella Yoo MANAGING EDITOR Phoebe Borsum DESIGN EDITOR Connor Tumelty NEWS EDITORS: Jordan Chang Ana Willoughby WRITERS: Talon Casey Minji Jeun Kristen Lu Olin Osborne III Shenaya Yazdani OPINION EDITOR: Nina Li WRITERS: Joshua Kim JungIn Kim Gigi Wargin FOCUS EDITORS: Liana Korotzer Anne Lee WRITERS: Nicole Khalil Saffy Laurio Ailun Shi Fiona Yang STUDENT LIFE EDITORS: Alison Kim Emily McGinn WRITERS: Diego Cardona Zeke Dee Sam Herrmann Elissa Luce Christine Youn SPORTS EDITORS: Rianne Aguas Christopher Chien WRITERS: Christopher Guanzing Aiden Lieb Sarah Liu Erin Okada Asumi Shuda GRAPHICS Rachel Liu Jenna Yamada Alex Yoo BUSINESS & ADVERTISING Sung Gyung Lee Elana Ho ADVISER Jaymee Johnson “The Pen” is the student newspaper produced by the advanced journalism students of Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. It is published eight times per year. Advertising inquiries may be directed to Advertising Manager Sung Gyung Lee at (310) 377- 4888 ext. 652. The Pen editors appreciate Letters to the Editor, which are accepted up to one week before publication. You may submit them to H52 or to Jaymee Johnson’s mailbox.

Copyright © 2018 Cover by Connor Tumelty Joshua Zeitlin

Social media allows platform for gun threats editorial staff Social media has recently become a prominent way through which students have communicated threats of gun violence. Many of these threats, though not carried out, have negatively affected the mental health of students and staff on campus. Due to these harmful ramifications, we should not utilize social media to spread fear among others in school, as it creates a threatening environment inadequate for learning.

On April 26 and 27, multiple posts showcasing guns were circulated among Peninsula and Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) students through the use of various social media outlets. After a PVHS student posted a threatening video via Snapchat, the school was forced to go on lockdown.

The next day, there was a noticeable police presence at Peninsula in response to an

connor tumelty / The Pen

(4)

Instagram post displaying a photograph of guns accompanied by a threatening message.

These posts demonstrated the possibility of a dangerous situation on campus. However, despite the prevalence of gun violence, some students still believe posting videos with these messages is acceptable. They may not view their actions as serious but hiding behind this shield of anonymity adds a level of uncertainty in determining the intended nature of their posts. We must take advantage of the voice social media offers and use it as a positive platform similarly to how the Parkland students began the #MarchForOurLives movement.

Social media and its impact on youth is an issue across the nation. According to Santa Maria Times, on Feb. 16, about 300 students were sent home from Santa Maria High School after pictures of a pistol replica circulated on Snapchat, prompting parents to become concerned for their children’s safety. Patch reported that last year on March 13, students in Monrovia had posted pictures of themselves holding BB guns as a joke, unaware of the serious repercussions. In each of these instances, parents and students were afraid that a violent incident could occur at school.

Too often we do not

consider the possible reactions that our actions could elicit. We must keep in mind that what we display online can offend people or cause people to feel unsafe regardless of what we believe the post communicates.

When we see threatening messages online directed at schools, it deters us from wanting to attend class and makes us question the security of our campus and the value of public education in the present climate of our nation. Because of increased online gun threats, we have become more paranoid about coming to school. This mentality can distract us from our studies and create a school experience focused on fear and a lack of safety instead of learning. Ultimately, walking down the halls and constantly looking over our shoulders is not a feeling that we should have to face.

Before clicking share, we should think about the content of our posts, the possible perceptions of them and the potential consequences of our online presence.

Although we have the right to freedom of speech, we must avoid promoting ideas that can be seen as offensive and that communicate harmful messages. While we alone do not have the power to end gun violence on school campuses, we do have control over how much it affects our mental health and how we go about navigating our daily lives. Given social media’s immense influence over us, we must take responsibility and respect the true intentions of these sites by thinking before we post.

2018-19 calendar may lead to financial loss Josh Kim The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) Board of Education approved changes to the 2018-19 school year calendar. It would remove three days from the end of summer break and add them to the previously two-day Thanksgiving break, making it a week long. Revisions to the calendar will now have school start on Aug. 22. PVPUSD and the Palos Verdes Faculty Association (PVFA) formed and presented the new schedule to the general public on April 25 after negotiations. With this alteration to the calendar, Peninsula will see significantly more student absences and in turn, even greater losses in state funding. If the district wants to avoid even more financial losses, it should reconsider the schedule changes, if not for the 2018-19 school year calendar, then for future school years.

“I absolutely think that Peninsula will see more students absent because of the change to the calendar,” attendance clerk Denise Ball said. “Even with the original calendar, I saw so many students simply not present and with more absences due to the new calendar, the district will no doubt see a loss of funding.

Generally, the first days of school are when the most students are not at Peninsula.”

There are not exact projections regarding

the number of student who will not be at school, but Peninsula has recently seen the financial ramifications of mass student absences. According to the Principal’s Update published on April 1, there were 324 students absent on the day before Spring break, resulting in $16,000 lost in state funding. If the number of absent students at the beginning of the school year is even close to the numbers from March 30, the absences would entail significant financial consequences.

Although both students and staff will be given a full week of Thanksgiving break, students are still not completely sold on the new schedule and the negotiation process due to the lack of voice they had on the matter.

“I am hesitant about the new calendar overall,” junior Jisung Lee said. “Even though we are gaining three days of Thanksgiving break, I do not believe that those days are being reallocated correctly. I think that the board of policymakers and PVFA should have been consulting the calendar changes and negotiations with the community.”

According to the Daily Breeze, many parents have expressed their severe displeasure with the change to the calendar.

These parents feel that PVPUSD simply overlooked the community during the process and passed an imperfect calendar. The board assured the PVFA that they would approve the

calendar the teachers voted on via a survey conducted by the association. In addition to the absence of communication regarding the board and the public, another source of the parents’ frustration was the sudden changes that PVPUSD had proposed to the schedule.

In spite of the prolonged break, parents are still rightly dissatisfied by the abruptness of the calendar change.

“I like the idea of giving students the week of Thanksgiving off and having school start earlier, but there was not enough warning that this would happen in the 2018-19 school year,” Rancho Palos Verdes resident Shelley Pogorelsky said. “My husband and I are taking our grandson on a trip of a lifetime, and he will miss the first week of his start of middle school. This should have been implemented in the 2019-20 school year.”

Although there would be some benefits to the change in regard to the consistency of breaks, the disadvantages from shortening summer break obviously supplant the possible advantages. The main allure of the calendar modifications is the extension to Thanksgiving break, but students and parents alike must recognize the financial repercussions from the change. These monetary consequences come at a severe inconvenience to the district and policymakers should anticipate future ramifications due to hastily made choices.

opinion (5)

PATCHING UP THE DIVIDE

Boy Scouts of America welcomes girls in order to be inclusive saffy laurio

Audrey Bogosian

*According to U.S. News & World Report

Boy Scouts of America has been working over the past few years to make its program more inclusive. In 2014, the organization removed their ban on openly gay members, and in 2017, they allowed transgender boys to join troops. Later in 2017, Boy Scouts of America also decided that they would be allowing girls into their organization.

To help the girls feel more welcome, Boy Scouts of America announced on May 2 that they will be officially changing their name to Scouts BSA effective Feb. 2019. This change has caused controversy, but providing girls with the same opportunity to seek out new experiences with Boy Scouts of America will ultimately be beneficial.

Girls who want more rigorous wilderness training have begun showing an interest in Boy Scouts of America rather than Girl Scouts of the United States of America. Girl Scouts of the United States of America does offer difficult volunteerbased projects, but their outdoor activities are not as strenuous as those offered to Boy Scouts.

“While both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts participate in outdoor and service activities, Boy Scouts do more campouts and hikes, and from what I have heard, girls want [to do these activities] too and I see no problem with it,” senior and Eagle Scout George Ozawa said. “It is good to encourage joining co-ed organizations for the betterment of social development for generations to come.”

Making Boy Scouts of America co-ed will help girls and boys feel equally confident in their abilities.

“I think it is really important that organizations are teaching kids that boys and girls can collaborate to make the world a better place,” Girl Scout and junior Audrey Bogosian said. “I think [all kids] will benefit because they will learn the values of working with others who are different [genders] from themselves.”

With boys and girls in the same troops, they may be able to teach each other different values and skills they otherwise would not be exposed to.

According to The Guardian, Girl Scouts are not given as much accessibility to science fields as Boy Scouts. Now that both genders can be in the same troop, they may be able to collaborate and expand their opportunities in these fields.

While the decision to allow girls into the organization is progressive, some boys might fear that the dynamics of their troop will change when girls join.

“Some older people might feel like the boys may have to act very polite in front of the girls, which they should,” Boy Scout and sophomore Lucas Arico said. “They [might] feel like Boy Scouts is the last place where ‘a boy can be a boy’, and they [might] think that now that girls are coming they are going to have to change some things about Boy Scouts.”

However, the current Boy Scouts should be more open to the girls who want to join. They should not feel that they need to change the way they act and welcome the girls as they would any other Scout.

Those who are against the name change are concerned that Boy Scouts of America may also lower the difficulty of their activities to accommodate the new female troop members.

However, if troops were to make their programs easier for the girls, not only would it be insulting to their capabilities, but it would also prevent both boys and girls from getting the most out of their experiences.

Boy Scouts also receive more recognition for their accomplishments than Girl Scouts. The top honor a Boy Scout can receive, becoming an Eagle Scout, is often viewed as having a higher value than the Girl Scouts of the United States of America equivalent, earning the Gold Award. However, the two are fairly equal in their difficulty to accomplish and both awards require a great deal of commitment to make a change in the community.

Many girls want to be able to become an Eagle Scout and should be given that opportunity.

The switch to gender-neutral groups is the natural evolution of scouting organizations.

Although it is difficult to foresee how Boy Scouts of America will continue to change, becoming inclusive is ultimately the end goal.

“The separation of scout groups into boys and girls is very old school,” Ozawa said. “Times are changing with a push for gender equality and respect for transgender and other nontraditional male-female sexes. Organizations must keep changing to adapt to the changes in society; otherwise, they will die off.”

Connor Tumelty / The Pen

(6)

focus

GRADES APP makes way for aeries mobile portal app AILUN SHI The Grades for Parents & Students app, more commonly known as the Grades app, has been regularly used among Peninsula students for several years. The app syncs to Aeries, a student information system that the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District uses as an online gradebook. The Grades app’s features include the ability to check grades, calculate mock grades to see how overall marks are affected by hypothetical scores on assignments and assessments and notify students when new assignments are posted.

On April 18, the app’s creator Adrien Truong released a statement announcing that it would be discontinued on April 30. Users who had the app were still able to view their grades following the discontinuation. Although Aeries has stopped syncing with the app since it shut down, some users are still able to see updated grades on the app. However, the majority of students claim that the app no longer works.

The simplicity of the Grades app

A

y lex

oo

/

ep th

and its overall efficiency led to its success. Therefore, Peninsula students were surprised and disappointed by its abrupt discontinuation, partly due to its convenience in score calculation.

With this change, many students expect more difficulty in checking and calculating grades on mobile phones.

Although the Grades app has been discontinued, students can access the Aeries Mobile Portal, the official mobile version of Aeries, which was released five months ago. Like Truong’s app, it shows the percentage and grade for each class, sends notifications and includes a grade

calculator. However, its grade calculator is less accessible, and many students are unaware of the feature. There are also complaints with it glitching and lagging, resulting in an overall dislike of the app.

Currently, the Aeries Mobile Portal has an app store rating of 1.5 stars and has not seen widespread use like the Grades app. “[The Grades app allowed] me to predict the grades I needed to maintain a certain average within each class, [so I was disappointed when it was discontinued],” sophomore Mishal Syed said.

Although the majority of students

“[This] could certainly lead to positive impacts [such as increased communication between teachers and students].”

-statistical analysis, algebra 2 and essentials of algebra teacher john buda

favor the Grades app, others, like junior Dokyung Rhee, feel that the Aeries Mobile Portal is adequate for checking grades and is content with the features it provides.

“I did not use the Grades app when I had an Android phone, and I used the Aeries [Mobile] Portal just fine,” Rhee said. “[However], I liked the Grades app, [and] I continued to use the app until it closed down.”

The termination of the Grades app has an impact beyond students. Statistical Analysis, Algebra 2 and Essentials of Algebra teacher John Buda feels that the ending of the Grades app may affect teachers as well as students due to increased inconvenience.

“Students may ask us more questions, [like] ‘what do I need to get an A?’ instead of having the app to calculate it themselves,” Buda said. “[This] could certainly lead to positive impacts [such as increased communication between teachers and students], but it definitely would be more efficient if we still had an app that could answer these questions for us.”

en

T R A N S F O R M ATIO

focus (7)

BORSTEL BECOMES NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETY ADVISeR nicole khalil English and Reading and Writing Skills teacher and Literary Magazine, California Scholarship Federation (CSF) and National Honors Society (NHS) adviser Betsy Okamoto has confirmed that she will be resigning this year from her position as the adviser of NHS, an organization that recognizes students’ academic excellence and service. Due to the sudden increase in members in both the school’s CSF and NHS organizations, Okamoto stated that she was having a difficult time managing both programs.

According to Okamoto, NHS originally started with about 75 members and currently has 327.

Over the 11 years that she has overlooked NHS, Okamoto feels that she has been touched by the hard work and dedication of the members.

“I have learned so much about the change that [our students] will make in the world and the passion they all have to make it a better place for everyone,” Okamoto said. “I am always on my toes when I hear about the crazy things some of the students [achieve].”

Although she admits that she will miss meeting and getting to know her students through the program, Okamoto looks forward to seeing Chemistry 1 Honors and Physiology and Anatomy teacher Paula Borstel as the new adviser.

Okamoto is confident that Borstel is

ON

a perfect candidate for NHS adviser because of her passion to preserve traditions and make a difference in the community.

“I am really thrilled that I was given this position because it is an honor to be the adviser for NHS,” Borstel said. “I admire how hard-working the students are.”

Borstel had never considered becoming the adviser for NHS until she heard that Okamoto was stepping down from the position.

She wanted to make sure that the tradition of NHS would continue on.

“As I start, there will be a very steep learning curve and a lot of [students I will need] to meet and be introduced to,” Borstel said. “My goal is to run the society as well as Okamoto has so far.”

Senior and NHS member-at-large Sophia Jensen was saddened when she found out about the adviser change last summer while

organizing candidate information packets for the 2017-18 school year. Although she is confident that Borstel will lead NHS efficiently, Jensen will always look back fondly on the caring and cooperative environment Okamoto fostered in past years.

“Despite how large Peninsula’s NHS chapter is, Okamoto seemed to know every student individually, which made the chapter seem small and allowed students to build connections with her,” Jensen said.

“I was upset that future NHS members might not get this experience.”

According to Jensen, Okamoto was a kind and supportive mentor whom she felt she could talk

“I think Borstel will make a great fit because she is a very warm and approachable teacher who is [admired] by all her students.”

to about anything. Jensen hopes that Borstel will offer the same support for her students.

“I think Borstel will make a great fit because she is a very warm and approachable teacher who is [admired] by all her students,” Jensen said. “When I met her, I noticed that she was taking notes, and from that I believe that she seems both organized and determined to get tasks done, making her a great fit for the position.”

-senior sophia jensen

CHEER prepares for a new COMPETITION TEAM SAFFY LAURIO Despite being a sport offered at almost every high school, it was not until the beginning of the school year that cheerleading was recognized as an official CIF sport. This means that the team will be able to compete against other schools. Kim Stoneman, head coach of Peninsula’s varsity and junior varsity cheer team is excited for her teams to be able to display their hard work at competitions in the coming years.

“The girls work very hard at supporting the teams we cheer for,” Stoneman said. “I am very excited for them to have the opportunity to compete for themselves and feel proud from competing. Showing off all of their hard work is going to be very gratifying.”

A few minimal changes will be taking place on the cheer team now that it will be participating in competitions. Beginning next year, applicants must audition for either the sideline team, which will mainly cheer for Peninsula’s sport teams, or the competition team, which will take routines to compete

against other schools. While sideline cheering is primarily focused on bringing spirit to a crowd, competitive cheering is more about the performance itself, particularly focusing on stunting. As a result, the competition team will not use pom-poms or have an emphasis on vocal cheers. At competitions, the team will perform its routines in front of a panel of judges, who then rank their stunts and tumbling abilities.

Junior and next year’s varsity co-captain Haylie Colaruotolo believes that the change in styles may initially feel odd, but is confident that the competition team will eventually benefit from the adjustment.

“The changes that come with cheer becoming a CIF sport limit [our vocal cheers] but also [will] help us perfect the stunts we are allowed to do,” Colaruotolo said. “Our team is going to work hard to make sure we look our best at competitions.”

Junior and varsity co-captain Morgan Maes feels that cheering in front of judges will be an exciting change from cheering for a crowd at a sporting event. While there will be added

pressure at competitions, she feels that the team has the focus to be unaffected by it.

“Performing in front of judges will be much more nerve-racking because we are performing in front of people whose jobs are to critique the team,” Maes said. “Performing in front of a crowd is more relaxed. [However], I think the team will handle the change from crowd to judges very well. We are always focused while performing, which will only benefit us during competition.”

While the future competitions have not yet been finalized, Stoneman plans on remaining fairly local for the first few events in which they compete and has the team scheduled to compete from January to March. Stoneman feels confident in her upcoming team’s dedication and passion to make the 2018-19 season great.

“I will be so happy when we are finally ready to compete,” Stoneman said. “We have grown so much in the past few years. I see that everyone at school recognizes how much [the cheer team has] improved. We are only growing stronger.”

(8)

ads

student life (9)

jazzing it up

Peninsula Bands and Orchestra travel to New Orleans christine youn During spring break, 50 students from the Peninsula Concert Band, Jazz Band and Orchestra visited New Orleans. According to Jazz Band, Orchestra, Concert Band, Marching Band and Color Guard instructor Fred Steiner, the trip was an opportunity for Peninsula’s student musicians to learn more about the culture and history of the city and the origins of jazz. The musicians were also given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills by performing in front of the crowd.

“There is a lot of cultural importance [in a] place like New Orleans,” Steiner said. “Having the experience of all the cultural activities we did was [beneficial] for everybody.”

The trip was provided for by a student travel company called WorldStrides. It was organized by Christine Baumberger, the mother of guitarist and junior Colin Baumberger.

In New Orleans, the students visited Preservation Hall where they listened to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (PHJB). Established in 1961, Preservation Hall aims to honor the culture of New Orleans jazz by keeping the performance venue small and only selling tickets at the door. According to the PHJB website, they play traditional as well as original music inspired by the Afro-Cuban genre in order to maintain the jazz style.

“My favorite part of the trip was definitely [visiting]

rachel liu / The Pen

Preservation Hall,” tenor saxophonist and junior Gabriel Nieves said. “That is where the music was [most authentic] and just being in the place where so many famous musicians have played was incredibly inspiring.”

Violinist and senior Paul Lee believes that the New Orleans trip helped him explore a new genre of music.

“Getting to play with the people there and learning from them was almost like a history lesson. Music is history. We have to learn that.”

-junior gabriel nieves Lee aims to further experience the various types of music he discovered while traveling.

“During the trip, I had the opportunity to listen to a

lot of different musical styles I would not normally listen to on my own, such as jazz, ragtime and blues,” Lee said. “Listening to new music live in both professional and street settings only made the experience of hearing new styles of music that much better.”

According to bassist and senior Andrew Lai, the New Orleans trip was also an opportunity that allowed the students to establish stronger bonds with one another.

“I did not spend that much time with the people in jazz band [before],” Lai said. “The New Orleans trip really allowed me to meet a bunch of new people [from other music classes].”

The students performed jazz music for the crowd on the wharf located in front of the famous ship called Steamboat Natchez. The students also performed patriotic music in the streets near the National World War II Museum.

Witnessing firsthand where jazz began to flourish was a new experience for Nieves. He feels that his time in New Orleans has taught him to utilize music as a way to communicate with others.

“The music [and] the soul of the music we all love comes from there,” Nieves said. “Getting to play with the people there and learning from them was almost like a history lesson. Music is history. We have to learn that. We have to figure out a way to express what we want to say through music.”

(10)

sports Liebig inducted into the wrestling hall of fame Sarah Liu

Wrestling coach Mike Liebig (right) is awarded a Lifetime Service Honoree plaque in a ceremony held at the Laguna beach community center. ­He has been a coach at peninsula for 20 years.

Following a successful wrestling season, varsity coach Mike Liebig was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on April 15.

His accomplishments as a wrestler, coach and member of the CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS) Wrestling Advisory Committee were recognized and celebrated in a ceremony dinner at the Laguna Beach Community Center. He was named a Lifetime Service Honoree, a title given to those who have shown years of dedication to help develop youth into leaders through wrestling.

“He teaches us life skills that cannot be taught in a classroom or from a textbook,” wrestler and junior Daniel Ahn said. “He turns boys into men. That is his defining trait. He received the Lifetime Service award but he exceeds that title.”

Among those who attended the induction ceremony were Ahn and fellow wrestlers juniors Zack Denney and Diego Sheng. Over the years, they believe that Liebig has come to be a supportive figure in their lives and feel that they have benefited greatly from the knowledge he has shared with them.

Their bond continues outside of the ring through activities such as fishing and hiking trips.

“He is one of the most humble people [whom] I am fortunate to know,” Denney said. “You will never hear

him talking about his accolades. He is one of the most down-to-earth coaches I have ever met, and he is not just a coach, he is a friend.”

Liebig began as a student wrestler at El Camino College in 1963 and started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Leuzinger High School. Over the years, he has also worked as an assistant coach at Duarte High School and Torrance High School. He was then promoted to the position of head coach at Torrance High School before becoming Peninsula’s varsity head wrestling coach for the past 20 years.

Liebig has served the wrestling community for decades in a variety of ways. He was a member of the CIFSS Wrestling Advisory Committee, an organization in charge of making recommendations for locations of playoff matches and rule changes, for 23 years and was a liaison between coaches and the CIF-SS. Liebig was responsible for a number of changes within the CIF-SS, such as increasing the number of medalists in CIF-SS Divisional competitions and reviewing competition rules to ensure fairness in the sport.

Above all, he believes that the most significant contribution he has made is his dedication to teaching the sport. “[Being a Lifetime Service Honoree] means that I am recognized by my peers for making a contribution that is worth recognizing, [which I believe] is pretty special,” Liebig said.

courtesy of mike liebig

alex yoo / The Pen

ads (11)

Want to advertise with The Pen? Contact us at thepen.business@gmail.com for more information.

(12)

ads