Tiger Newspaper September 2019

Empowering students to think critically and creatively since 1913

VOLUME 106 ISSUE 1 SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

IN THE NEWS

SOUTH PASADENA HIGH SCHOOL 1401 FREMONT AVE, SOUTH PASADENA, CA 91030

Cruz’n for Roses

Fall Sports

AP Exam Registration

The 15th annual Cruz’n for Roses classic car show will take over Mission St. on Sunday, Sept. 15.

Girls’ tennis will face off against Westridge at a home game next Monday, Sept. 16

AP exam registration for “early bird” payment rates is open until Friday, Sept. 20.

CLUB RUSH 2019

STORY LILIAN ZHU PHOTOS KATELYN HERNANDEZ

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tudents from all grades flocked to the SPHS main gym for the annual Club Rush event Sept. 10 and 11. Various club booths filled the gym, each appealing to students interests in academics, entertainment, community service, and culture.

As Commissioner of Clubs, senior Ian Wang demonstrated his capability with his successful organization and execution of the first major club event of the school year.

Wang made an extra effort this year to categorize clubs into their respective categories, such as for academic learning or community service. By keeping similar clubs together, people could easily maneuver around the gym to the clubs that interested them most.

“In past years, all clubs have been spread out [randomly], so people wander and sign up for whatever interests them,” Wang said. “People often sign up for too many, and later commit [to] none. I wanted to prevent that this year.”

A total of 115 clubs were approved this year, exceeding the previous record by 19. These included well-established returning clubs like Teaching and Sharing Skills to Enrich Lives (TASSEL), the Black Student Union, and Urban Sustainability.

In addition to returning clubs, numerous new clubs were created this year. Junior Patrick Latting, who transferred from Waverly High School this year, branched out and started the Creative Solutions Club. The club aims to combine different approaches to practical problem solving, whether it be through engineering or a social approach.

“At Club Rush, we created paper recycling bins from reused boxes to help manage the large amount of wasted paper from the event,” Latting said. “This is just an example of one project, we have many more on the drawing board.”

Although Club Rush has come to an end this year, Wang still has many more responsibilities ahead of him. He will also be organizing Homecoming picnic, the second major club-focused event, which will be taking place this coming November.

Despite his additional responsibility, Wang hopes to continue maintaining the quality of clubs on campus.

“I’m planning on keeping SPHS aware of all the clubs on campus on a weekly and monthly basis through announcements posted around the school and assemblies,” Wang said. “I believe this will share opportunities with students and help maintain club activity throughout the year.”

COMMUNICATION

BERRY OPERA

Amber Chen stresses the importance of students’ accessing school information vital to beneficial opportunities in college and beyond.

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The new South Pasadena café sells beautiful but expensive pastries, yet does not yield the uniquely Frnech or fruity style it markets.

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TIGERNEWSPAPER.COM

CIF X-FACTOR

Cross country, golf, and tennis continue to find success in the Rio Hondo League and anticipate a strong CIF run with the help of several new coaches.

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TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

NEWS

NEWS

BurgerIM brings gourmet fast food to South Pasadena area STORY ELLIE CAMPBELL PHOTO SARAH LEE

BurgerIM announced that it will be bringing its internationally recognized gourmet burgers to the South Pasadena. The Israeli fast food chain will neighbor Blaze Pizza at 1100 Fair Oaks lAvenue.

A multicultural burger restaurant with an Israeli background, BurgerIM aims to diversify the South Pasadena’s culinary scene. Unlike most burgers in the fast food industry, the restaurant adds a Middle Eastern take to the traditional American dish. The gourmet restaurant’s diverse menu includes falafel, spinach, and angus beef patties roughly the size of large sliders. The store also offers over ten different types of patties with vegetarian options, as well as a wide variety of side dishes meant to complement their burgers.

BurgerIM was founded by Donna Tuchner eight years ago, and opened the first restaurant in Tel-Aviv, Israel. Tuchner had the idea of opening a burger restaurant with an Isralie touch while attending culinary school in New York. The Israeli native went back to her home country to open her business and named the restaurant BurgerIM, which translates to “many burgers” in Hebrew, conveys the business’ focus on having a variety of choices.

Tuchner’s concept of variety while dining is carried on by the current owner of BurgerIM, Oren Loni.

They focus on providing customers with different choices of burgers while they eat. This idea is one of the reasons BurgerIM keeps their burgers relatively small so that customers will be able to easily try multiple in one sitting. Loni not only aims to make a diverse menu, but a menu that makes eating quality gourmet food more affordable.

BurgerIM has now expanded beyond Israel, with over 200 operating restaurants around the world.

The first BurgerIM in the United States opened in 2013 in West Hollywood and since then, BurgerIM has opened over 103 locations in the United States.

“I think adding this new burger restaurant to South Pasadena is a plus. Hopefully it will be a success because I think the Israeli-American food twist is awesome,” SPHS student Teja Moe said.

Steve Inzunza, businesss owner of Mamma’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, welcomes the new business and hopes that it will allow local customers to enjoy more diverse food. “[I think it’s an] exciting thing,” Inzunza said. “In South Pasadena, residents won’t have to go out of town to see diversity in food.”

SKILLSUSA STATE OFFICERS led multiple activities focused around testing leadership skills.

SkillsUSA student leaders attend leadership training STORY KIMBERLY HSUEH PHOTO COURTESY OF SKILLSUSA Five student leaders from SPHS attended the annual SkillsUSA California Region Three Leadership Conference at Woodbury University in Burbank Sept. 7. The conference aimed to help the South Pasadena SkillsUSA chapter improve their leadership, presentation, and communication skills.

The SkillsUSA California Region 3 Fall Leadership Conference is a professional development event for chapter advisors and chapter student leaders. The conference gives newly elected student leaders the opportunity to learn more about SkillsUSA and encourages them to attend workshops. Workshops allowed students to practice leadership skills in a group setting, as they led alongside students from other SkillsUSA chapters. “[The Leadership Conference] gives the state officers the experience of running workshops. They’re learning how to lead activities and chapter meetings,” advisor Sandra Matson-Fennell said. “They can bring that back to school and make our local chapter stronger and more effective.”

Chapter President junior Jolene Lee and Vice President junior Mollie Parker participated in workshops lead by the state officers, three of whom are from SPHS. State Secretary junior Alex Mariano, State Reporter senior Ayush Pareek, and Regional Vice President junior Micah Mekhitarian Mariano, Pareek, and Mekhitarian

led workshops involving activities focusing on the SkillsUSA Framework and Chapter Excellence Program (CEP). CEP is a competition based on the students’ activities, also known as Program of Work. The SkillsUSA framework incorporates three core values — personal skills, workplace skills, and technical skills grounded in academics — that give SkillsUSA members a structure to improve their leadership qualities.

“With their experience at the conference, they now know the right way to make sure that everyone’s voice is being heard in a school meeting of over 400 students,” MatsonFennel said.

South Pas’ SkillsUSA student leaders hope to utilize this information to lead their chapter with confidence to success both on campus and competitions.

“I learned how to use different, more engaging activities to teach members about the SkillsUSA framework and its essential elements,” Lee said. “I truly believe that having these soft skills are important regardless of what career you might be interested in, so I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with the chapter.”

With their experience at the conference, they now know the right way to make sure that everyone’s voice is being heard in a meeting of 400 students.”

Parents welcomed at annual Back to School Night Principal Anderson greets parents to a year of ‘be[ing] here now’ STORY HAELEE KIM The SPHS administration and faculty welcomed parents to the annual Back to School Night on Thursday, Sept. 5, allowing parents to familiarize themselves with students’ teachers and schedules. This year, Back to School Night is the only open school event where parents and families are able to visit their student’s classrooms, as SPHS will not be hosting an Open House in second semester.

SPHS Principal Janet Anderson kicked off the night with her opening remarks in the auditorium, stressing the concept of “be[ing] here now” and addressing the need for students and parents to view the high school experience as transformative, not transactional.

BURGERIM will offer its gourtmet burgers to the South Pasadena community, bringing an Israeli taste next-door to Blaze Pizza.

“[Students] should still plan and monitor their goals for the future, but the four-year span at SPHS can be the gateway to a much richer personal growth,” Anderson said. “If the students learn to be present in each moment, taking advantage of the myriad activities, events, and involvement opportunities here, [they can] discover more about themselves and broaden their interests.”

Assistant Principals Janet Wichman and David Speck presented a portrait slideshow featuring all staff

and teachers, while Food Services announced the implementation of the new Korean barbecue line and nitrate-free deli meat. Residents Diane Larson and Therese Molina also introduced the new support dogs — Cora and Poppy — to parents.

Various in-school organizations fundraised and sold products on campus, including SPHS merchandise and the Entrepreneurship classes’ ice cream and junior class merch. SkillsUSA also fundraised money by selling bottles of cold water, See’s Candy lollipops, and five different key chain combinations representing each of the the five different schools in the South Pasadena Unified School District.

ASB officers helped guide parents around campus when classroom visits began promptly at 7:00, each allotted for ten minutes. Teachers gave a brief course outline to on the rules and expectations for students in their classroom a “We really hope that all of the parents get to meet their student’s teachers and counselors and get a taste of what goes on on a typical school day,” Speck said. “I also think it’s great that the parents get to kind of walk the student’s schedule on campus, see where the classes are, and the way they go everyday.”

TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

NEWS

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SPHS parents advocate against youth vaping Parents spoke on the danger of vaping to students at a Tuesday school board meeting STORY ELLIE CAMPBELL PHOTOS SARAH LEE

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outh Pasadena parents expressed concern over student health at a SPUSD school board meeting Tuesday, Sept. 10, stepping up to talk about the threat vaping faces to youth in schools.

SPHS parent Gisella Benitez spoke on the issue of vaping the dangers it poses to young children and teenagers, urging the SPUSD district members to do more to stop vaping in schools.

“I know that there is a process and there are things being done, but so much more could be done,” Benitez said. “We cannot let a death happen in our schools.”

Vaping and e-cigarette usage is a relatively recent trend, but is a deadly pastime.

Studies show that E-cigarette toxins are less harmful than cigarette smoke, however cigarette toxins still pose a threat to the human body.

There have been six deaths in the United States since early September that have related back to vaping, with nearly twenty states in the U.S. having reports of vaperelated illnesses. Vaping and other forms of E-cigarettes can cause irreversible lung damage and lung disease. The Trump Administration is also reportedly preparing a ban on flavored E-cigarettes nationwide.

Benitez hopes that parents start talking to their children and begin to educate them on the dangers of vape. Although Benitez thinks that it’s the parents who should be educating their children, she also expects it to be the school’s responsibility as well.

“I believe that the conversation starts at home. Whole heartedly, we need to talk to our kids,” Benitez continues. “We need to

get into these kids faces and shock them to let them know that vaping kills… it’s the school’s duty to educate students as early as middle school.”

Benitez also believes there are more actions that can be taken on a local level to decrease the amount of vaping that goes on in our community, such as raising awareness of vaping in schools through hosting assemblies.

“I would like to see some of the [South Pasadena Education Foundation] money being appropriated to assemblies specifically on vaping,” Benitez said.

SPUSD currently covers curriculum on cigarettes in health classes. Teachers are required to explain to students the different types of cigarettes, such as cigarettes, and the effects smoking has on the human lungs and body. SPUSD also has a policy regarding cigarettes on the SPHS campus, recommending students found with cigarette paraphernalia for expulsion or suspension.

SPUSD board member Dr. Michelle Kipke responded to the vaping concern after Benitez spoke about vaping on Aug. 13.

SOUTH PASADENA PARENT Gisella Benitez faced school board members, advocating against the threats vaping may pose to youth.

“Thank you for coming back to us and reminding us how important it is that we are thinking about substance use on our campuses,” Kipke said. “Vaping is important. I hope the board does continue

We need to get into these kids faces and shock them to let them know that vaping kills.

Students qualify as National Merit semi-finalists competitive, as the state boasts one of the highest qualifying scores in the nation. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation takes all of the exams and places more weight on the English section by doubling its score. They then set a cut off for the 1.25 percent of students who become semifinalists, which numbered to be 222 in California this past year. Students that are within the next three percent achieve the rank of a commended scholar. “[Earning this award] opens up a whole pool of private universities and colleges which I could not apply to without it,” senior Sarah Zenas said. “I’m interested in studying neuroscience and cognitive psychology, so any finalist status will help me get there.”

NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS from bottom, left to right: Charis Au, Ella Lewis, Sarah Zenas, Jessica Deng, Peter Wang, Albert Zhou, Evan Kowal, Adam Yang, Samuel Clark STORY LILIAN ZHU & NOAH KUHN PHOTO OSCAR WALSH Ten students from South Pasadena High School were announced as semi-finalists for the 2020 National Merit Scholarships on Wednesday, Sept. 11, a year after taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/

National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The students joined 16,000 other seniors across the country, all of whom earned the highest scores among their peers in California and qualified for the highly prestigious academic scholarships.

The journey started with 1.55 million juniors taking the PSAT in October 2018.

Students in California are particularly

The National Merit Scholarship is an opportunity for students of any economic class to earn money, as many other scholarships exclude students who come from a middle or upper class family. It is a great opportunity for students like senior Samuel Clark who can’t afford to attend college without taking out loans and yet is unable to qualify for most scholarships.

“I think it’s refreshing because so many times they are judging personalities but with the national merit, they’re judging statistics and numbers which is very straightforward,” Clark said. “I am very glad that there is a scholarship that I can apply for that is merit-based and not fitting into some personality.”

Several students, like senior Jessica Deng, took the SAT before the PSAT, allowing her to practice and study for both tests at the same time.

“I took a lot of practice tests to prepare for the SAT, which then carried over to the PSAT,” Deng said. “But honestly, I’d say don’t stress about it because a test score doesn’t really define you, and most colleges look at a lot of other stuff.”

Semifinalists will advance as finalists by writing an essay and submitting a counselor recommendation. Then, 7,500 finalists will win a $2500 scholarship from corporate or college sponsors who review the student lists compiled by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The finalist and scholarship winners will be declared this coming April.

National Merit Scholarship Winners by School La Cañada (14)

South Pasadena (10)

San Marino (9)

Temple City (6)

Source: Pasadena Star News

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TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

NEWS

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GBTQ+ resources and education are still growing ideas in the United States, with society only recently beginning to accept and support LGBTQ+ individuals. LGBTQ+ education has made progressive steps across the state and nation, most notably with the mandate of the 2016 California Healthy Youth Act, a state law requiring schools to cover LGBTQ+ content alongside sexual health.

There is no LGBTQ+ curriculum mandated at the state level for elementary schools, but SPUSD elementary school teachers and students can check out books from the school library that include “LGBTQ+ themes.”

Books with “LGBTQ+ content” are just starting to become available for a younger audience. However, these books aren’t focused on LGBTQ+ themes, but the LGBTQ+ characters in them. The book One Family by George Shannon, features a family with gay parents. And Tango Makes Two by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell is about the story of two male penguins adopting an egg at the Central Park Zoo.

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Tiger takes a closer look into the current curriculum, resources, and policies surrounding LGBTQ+ education in the South Pasadena community.

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LGBTQ+ education is currently merged into the sexual health curriculum at a middle and high school level in the South Pasadena Unified School District (SPUSD). However, after parents expressed concern about LGBTQ+ themes and characters in elementary school books at a June SPUSD board meeting, the appropriate approach to LGBTQ+ curriculum and policies has come into question.

LGBTQ+ Education STORY AMBER CHEN, KATHARINE FLORENCE & HAELEE KIM PAGE DESIGN TALULLA CHOW & MADDIE YOO GRAPHICS CHARLOTTE COHEN

“For us, if you want to come and have a safe space, then we’re open to anything. To any gender, orientation, anything like that,” Arrevalo said.

Her plans this year include Models of Pride in Los Angeles, a convention for LGBTQ+ with artists and public speakers.

Arrevalo plans to volunteer at Pasadena’s PFLAG, a nonprofit organization to educate and support families and allies of LGBTQ+ individuals.

Marengo Elementary School librarian, Robin Becker, hopes that more of these books will become available to young children.

“The books introduce these relationships as just being another part of our world. As students grow up will this language they will accept it,” Becker said. “When I read these stories, no one bats an eyelash.”

South Pasadena Middle School teacher Emily Williams works to make Family Life and Sexual Health curriculum as inclusive as possible. She also works with South Pasadena High School librarian Shelee Wilkerson, attending Comprehensive Sex Education Network meetings, helping school districts meet the Healthy Youth Act.

Source: Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

“We try to make sure that the base-line content the kids are introduced to is inclusive, and that the teachers are trained for that,” Williams said.

Current Policy The State of California and the SPUSD have implemented several policies that mandate the teaching of LGBTQ+ curriculum in public schools.

LGBTQ+ resources in South Pasadena remain primarily at SPHS, with the Gay-Straight Alliance club headed by junior Arianna Arrevalo. The club had existed before on campus with varying degrees of success, but Arrevalo hopes to build a strong base for the club to sustain itself in the long term.

Outside of the school community, local organizations such as Planned Parenthood Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley (PPPSGV) not only perform health services, but collate material for LGBTQ+ education and resources. The organization helped pass the Healthy Youth Act, taking a proactive approach lobbying and raising awareness about the necessity of proper sexual health education. For LGBTQ+ patients specifically, PPPSGV delivers quality services, “provid[ing] education, support, and sexual and reproductive health services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex patients.”

Planned Parenthood also offers birth control, STI testing and treatment, HPV and hepatitis A & B vaccines, cancer screenings, and HIV prevention services such as PeP and PrEP. For transgender patients, hormone therapy and trans care are available for ages over 18, while younger patients will be referred to other centers. Counseling, mental health services, support groups, and online services like Roo, a chatbot that gives “Quick Answers To Intimate Sexual Health Questions,” is also readily available.

For us, if you want to come and have a safe space, then we’re open to anything. To any gender, orientation, anything like that.”

The South Pasadena school district passed a policy in 1997 nearly identical to state policy, requiring schools to cover sexual orientations in sexual health instruction.

Board policy 6142.1 enforces sexual health and HIV/AIDS prevention instruction in the classroom to promote “the development of healthy attitudes and behaviors concerning sexual orientation” and to follow the California Healthy Youth Act guidelines.

and materials in grades K-12 must be inclusive of LGBTQ+ students. Instruction must also affirmatively recognize that people have different sexual orientations and, when discussing or providing examples of relationships and couples, must be inclusive of samesex relationships. This requires schools to teach about all sexual orientations and what being LGBTQ+ means at least two times in students’ high school careers. SPUSD completes this requirement by providing sexual health instruction once in middle school science classes and once in high school health class.

The California Healthy Youth Act requires California schools to provide students with accurate and inclusive sexual health education and HIV prevention education.

This act made considerable alterations to the Education Code for HIV prevention education and comprehensive sexual health education, stating how all instruction

SPUSD utilizes recently state-approved textbooks and instructional material in health classes at SPHS. To address LGBTQ+ education in Social Studies, California introduced the Senate Bill 48 to involve political, social, and economic contributions of LGBTQ+ people into curriculum taught to students.

CA Education Code Section 220 already forbade negative bias based on sexual orientation. However, this did not directly apply to textbooks and instructional material until Senate Bill 48. Education Code Section 51501 prohibits certain textbooks or other instructional materials that are not inclusive of minorities. Even though the section already included prohibitions on matter “reflecting adversely upon persons because of their race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin, or ancestry,” sexual orientation was not included until Senate Bill 48. Despite this, “sexual orientation” does not protect the merits and representation of all LGBTQ+ members, specifically those who identify as transgender, non-binary, or genderqueer.

Despite their flaws, these policies are indicative of steps towards progressive change and inclusive education.

TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

THE TIGER ESTABLISHED 1913

CSPA GOLD MEDALIST 2019 CSPA CROWN AWARD 2018 CSPA GOLD MEDALIST 2017 CSPA CROWN AWARD 2016 CSPA GOLD MEDALIST 2015 CSPA GOLD MEDALIST 2014 CSPA GOLD MEDALIST 2013

STA F F ED IT OR IA L

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OPINION

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PRESTON SHARKEY MANAGING EDITORS CAROLINE KIMBEL, Print DOMINIC MARZIALI, Online NEWS ADAM KWOH, Editor OPINION CAT FLORES, Editor NICOLAS LIU, Editor FEATURE LUYANG ZHANG, Editor SPORTS MATTHEW TSAI, Editor DESIGN TALULLA CHOW, MADDIE YOO, Co-Editors PHOTOGRAPHY OSCAR WALSH, Editor COPY CHRISTINE MAO, PETER WANG

Supporting homophobic businesses is hypocrisy

SENIOR STAFF WRITER AANJI SIN STAFF WRITERS SOFIA ALVA, ELLIE CAMPBELL, AMBER CHEN, AUDREY ERNST, KATHARINE FLORENCE, KIMBERLY HSUEH, HAELEE KIM, NOAH KUHN, CLOE MAURER, BRADY NAKAMURA, ZOE SCHLAAK, LILIAN ZHU PHOTOGRAPHERS JAYDEN EDEN, KATELYN HERNANDEZ, ELLA JAYASEKERA, SEAN JIN, SARAH LEE ILLUSTRATORS CHARLOTTE COHEN, NICHOLAS FORMAN, DAVID SOHN, ALICIA ZHANG BUSINESS & ADS HYUN KIM, Business Manager JOSEPH LEE, Ads Manager WEBMASTER ALEX PARRA FACULTY ADVISOR MIKE HOGAN VOL. 106 NO. 1 DISTRIBUTED ON SEPT. 13, 2019.

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Businesses who donate to groups associated with anti-LGBTQ+ create atmospheres that are complacent with homophobia.

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t is both easy and justifiable to criticize someone accused of homophobia. There is no excuse for being homophobic, and no “slip up” is just a one-time occasion. But when the scrutiny moves toward an established institution as opposed to a single person, people suddenly lose the crusading momentum that drives them to condemn homophobia.

This is exactly what happens in South Pas. Many claim to pledge their support to the LGBTQ+ community, advocating for friends and family and bolstering the pride movement. But then they turn around to make thinly veiled insinuations like eating at Chick-Fil-A. SPHS sports teams suggest going to Chick-Fil-A for team dinners; ASB sells it after school and clubs sell it during homecoming picnic.

Chick-Fil-A has an extensive history with anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments.

The current CEO Dan Cathy has been accused of homophobia numerous times, and the Cathy family’s monetary contributions to anti-LGBTQ+ groups are well known. The majority of people seem indifferent to the controversy, while others are very uncomfortable at the thought of dining in such a place.

The issue has become trivialized, alike to hearing breaking news of a mass shooting. Inevitably, this leads to a mindset that the world is unsaveable, and people continue to maintain ties to businesses that display homophobic tendencies. If their favorite fast-food chain promotes harmful stereotypes, turning a blind eye on the problem is assumed to be fine because there are worse things in the world. Their worldview is that injustice will exist no matter how saintly they are, and it is a waste of energy to fight against it.

Increased backlash in the form of boycotts has resulted in these businesses adopting stances that claim to “stand against

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homophobia”. One popular strategy in these displays of atonement is choosing to halt funding toward organizations that have contributed much to their controversy, proving they are not homophobic on paper. But these are meaningless displays of an ugly truth. Their faults cannot be invalidated when the remnants of the past, harsh legacies of conversion therapy, abuse, and intolerance are not acknowledged. When society places importance on these businesses’ empty, gratified actions, it is a clear broadcast to the world that their previous wrongdoings can be dismissed.

The LGBTQ+ community has lost rights under the current administration, including the military banning trans people and stripping funding for legislation directed at LGBTQ+ rights. What is also concerning is how rare publicized reports regarding the copious amounts of funding from corporations to anti-gay politicians are publicized. These companies then try to justify their choices, releasing statements explaining that other values in said platforms happened to align with their own.

Education on these subjects should become a priority, especially for SPHS students eligible to vote in any upcoming elections. Spending money is like voting; people pay for the practices they support.

By exercising this right, students will learn to spend their money proactively, advocating for themselves and their peers. To truly support the LGBTQ+ community, stop listening to the deflecting rhetoric of homophobic corporations. There are so many acceptable substitutes for these businesses that are available nearby, and it does not take much effort to switch.

Chick-Fil-A is homophobic, and there’s no changing this. It is not the only example, nor will it be the last. It is time to become critical of these facts; people must enact change in their spending habits.

Boos & Bravos Tiger ’s cheers and jeers for the month of September.

BOOS

BRAVOS

BOO to the juniors with annoyingly loud lanyards.

We get it, you drive your mom’s minivan.

BRAVO to College Board for making us pay for our AP tests earlier. Smart move from the father of capitalism (Valcorza).

BOO to Ms. Nielsen for hanging up a picture of young Papadakis. How am I supposed to pay attention in class when the handsome homecoming king of ‘77 is looking like a snacc behind me?

BOO to the new phone policy, how am I supposed to text my friends when the drug dogs are here?

BRAVO to the altered cafeteria line, we making change on campus that matters!!!

BRAVO to volleyball for beating FSHA. It’s nice to see supermodels lose at something.

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TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

OPINION

PRO CON : Adversity Score Implementation of College Board’s contextualizing SAT adversity score was halted after backlash in August. Does the current climate demand the score be restored or remain removed?

+ Aiding the underprivileged STORY KATHARINE FLORENCE ILLUSTRATION DAVID SOHN Families of high school students across America recently debated the integrity of the new Environmental Context Dashboard (ECD), more commonly known as the SAT adversity score. The score was dismantled after public backlash from parents who believed their children would not benefit from it.

Their protest was largely rooted in a misconception that ECD was going to alter student’s SAT scores when in fact, it would just provide additional information for the scorers to consider.

The adversities that would have been taken into account include income and family structure, zip code housing statistics, and educational attainability. Students with these backgrounds often require additional resources for an equal opportunity. Despite its cancellation, providing equitable resources is an important initiative for low-income students to access higher education.

This scoring system would have allowed students from low-income areas to compete with their more privileged counterparts when they normally may not have the resources to do so. Underprivileged students often don’t receive added benefits that are taken for granted in more affluent areas, such as tutoring, college counselors, and SAT prep. These advanced

preparations are providing students with information on how to succeed. As low income students are not given access to this information, an immediate class divide is created that prevents underprivileged students from succeeding. The College Board’s presentation of a score that explains a student’s personal circumstances would bring fairness to college admissions by mitigating differences in socioeconomic advantages.

The ECD does have a lot of flaws. Much of the backlash was on the basis that it boiled a student’s experience into a single score instead of exposing a students entire experience when, in reality, the adversity score is extremely comprehensive and takes 31 community and academic socioeconomic factors into account. Despite a system’s imperfections, it is still a better option than failing to account for the difficulty students face at all.

The SAT adversity score was more than a strategy for achieving diversity. It was another step towards giving the disadvantaged a chance in a wealth dominated society. Students are much more than their grades and SAT scores, and the score would provide admissions officers with much-needed context. These small changes will allow students to re-examine and respond to their class-based society. Comparing other factors besides the SAT score itself would give colleges more context about a student and the opportunity to educate a populace that reflects America.

- An indirect resolution STORY CLOE MAURER ILLUSTRATION DAVID SOHN

solution that diverts the attention from the issues at the heart of the college admissions process.

In light of the College Board’s decision to repeal the SAT adversity score, chief executive David Coleman admitted that, “The idea of a single score was wrong. It was confusing and created the misperception that the indicators are specific to an individual student.” Coleman is right. A single computer generated score cannot thoughtfully consider a student’s experience with adversity stemming from their socioeconomic situation.

The adversity score was an attempt to level the playing field of a test that is notoriously biased. Students who can afford expensive SAT prep courses have a distinct advantage over students who self study. Students who have the opportunity to take multiple AP courses might have a wider scope of knowledge that will put them at a test taking advantage. Instances like these are the ones the adversity score was trying to address.

After its repeal, it didn’t take long for the College Board to cook up an equally roundabout alternative: Landscape.

Inequality in the admissions process starts years before students take the SAT; a student’s socioeconomic status affects the quality of their education from the time they enter kindergarten to the time they start working on college applications and beyond. Creating equal opportunity should start earlier, not right before students are about to leave their primary and secondary education systems.

Landscape essentially considers all of the factors that the adversity score is comprised of, but instead of being boiled down to a single score, it is presented to colleges as raw data.

Colleges should have access to this data so that they can determine for themselves how the amount of adversity a student has faced may have affected their high school career.

But, just like the adversity score, Landscape is a temporary

The way that federal funding is distributed systemically puts low income students at a disadvantage from the very beginning of their education. With the exception of the state’s predetermined per student funding minimum, school district budgets rely heavily on property taxes. This is why districts like South Pasadena and San Marino are so well funded. However, policy that keeps our schools reliably funded is the same one that makes sure schools in low income areas never have anywhere near the same amount of resources. To compensate for this gap, the Federal Department of Education needs to relieve a larger portion of the burden off the strained shoulders of state education funds.

Using federal money to fill in the gaps will make for a more equitable public school system that will over time dissolve, at the root, the issue the adversity score and Landscape were designed to improve. Don’t use a Band-Aid when what is really needed is reconstructive surgery.

OPPOSITE OVER HYPOTENEUSE | AANJI SIN

Can I hear it for my freshmen?

Finally being a senior has caused me to do a lot of reflecting on my past three years at SPHS. I remember first stepping onto campus as a timid freshman, excited yet terrified at the prospects of the “best four years of my life.” Unfortunately, most of my memories of freshman year leave a particularly bitter taste in my mouth, stemming from the apparent class system of the grade levels established from the moment freshmen enter campus. I believe that as upperclassmen, we need to bridge the social gap and make SPHS a more freshman-inclusive environment.

This culture of antagonizing freshmen starts as just fun and games; personally, I’ve made a million

freshman jokes as an upperclassmen. It starts from the very beginning: during orientation, ASB officers point to the grassy area in front of the science and English buildings and say, “This is your turf. That is our turf. You stay off. Catch my drift?” Then at the SAC assembly and every assembly for the rest of the year, upperclassmen join in on the deafening “BOOOO!” during roll call that echoes throughout the auditorium. My peers and I laugh about it now, but we also remember how isolated it made us feel during our first year in an already new and strange environment. I’ve realized that the reason I looked forward to my senior year so terribly was because I was waiting for the day that people on campus would actually take me seriously.

I’m not saying that all freshmen should be labeled mature adults (because most of them are definitely not).

But it’s not fair to stick them all under the umbrella of immaturity and harass them over a generalization.

Just because they’re younger than the rest of us and easy targets for verbal abuse doesn’t mean that upperclassmen should be allowed to throw their power around, even for a good laugh.

This year, I’m holding myself accountable for freshman jokes. As a senior on campus, it’s part of my responsibility to set a friendly example for the rest of the school. For the rest of my seniors, leave the poor freshmen alone.

It’s up to us to break the cycle and leave behind catty traditions. They’re intimidated by us enough as it is.

TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

OPINION

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Students’ rights to information SPHS has a responsibility to keep students informed about upcoming events and academic resources STORY AMBER CHEN ILLUSTRATION NICHOLAS FORMAN The dress code, attendance, and cell phone policy were all updated before the 2019 school year started.

However, students were only made aware of the changes after the fact, and many still don’t know about the change in the attendance policy. Though seemingly insignificant, these examples speak to the lack of communication between students and the administration that degrade the quality of education in the community. The administration must alter its practices to include more in-person presentations to classes and an emphasis on students checking school emails, in order to guarantee that all students have access to information.

South Pasadena is an affluent city, and with its affluence comes a stellar public high school with many resources for students to take advantage of — students can attend college visits, apply for internships, and seek counseling from the school psychologist. However, many students are missing out on these opportunities simply because they don’t know that they exist.

Bulletins and flyers aren’t beneficial ways to reach an entire student population; posters are placed sparsely around campus and are mostly blown away or knocked down, and daily bulletins are often drowned out by noise or forgotten about. It is clear that the administration needs to take a different approach to reach all students.

SPHS publicizes essential academic resources in ineffective ways. For example, counselors introduce Naviance resources to students in class presentations only a few times a year. The rest of their communication is done through emails.

But the administration does not adequately stress the importance of checking school emails, which makes it difficult for students to utilize the resource, let alone use it consistently.

The extent of SPHS’s communication issue increases when discussing mental health resources.

The only information about these services are names and emails on the school website. The website doesn’t list services or availability. None of this information is distributed through bulletins, flyers, or emails either.

Counselors needs to schedule in-person outreach for academic and mental health resources a minimum of twice a semester. Students should be able to find mental health resources, listed in greater detail on the school website, and services broadcast in the announcements. The administration needs to enforce email usage and more informative fliers.

SPHS can’t label itself as home to lots of opportunities if all students aren’t made fully aware of them. Publication has to go beyond just posters, bulletins, and unacknowledged emails in order to maximize student welfare and fulfillment.

Pushing problems onto other cities STORY ZOE SCHLAAK ILLUSTRATION ALICIA ZHANG South Pasadena takes pride in being an open-minded, friendly community, with close knit neighbors and progressive views. Yet, South Pas is not doing all it can to help the homeless. The City is open to helping them through supporting food and clothing drives, but that isn’t enough to alleviate the problem.

Subconsciously, South Pasadena has adopted the mentality that homelessness is “not our problem.”

South Pasadena labels itself as predominantly liberal.

However, these beliefs aren’t reflected in its treatment of its homeless population. The City is divided into the “Not in My Backyard” individuals, who don’t want homeless people in their community, and “Yes in My Backyard” individuals, who support projects like shelters in their neighborhoods. The former beliefs have reached the county level, and consequently certain restrictions have been proposed to limit homeless. For example, proposal LAMC 41.18(d) states, “No person shall sit, lie or sleep in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public way.”

Homelessness is hard to eliminate as a whole, but there are ways for cities like South Pasadena to help. Housing and shelters are integral parts of the solution, but it takes a lot of money and planning to provide them. Additional housing however, this doesn’t justify neglect towards

the homeless population. The City of South Pasadena has done the bare minimum to help the homeless. Only a handful of activities have been arranged through organizations: Holy Family Church distributes food and clothing only on Mondays to the homeless, and Saint James has organized a Community Food Locker for those in need, distributing food bags on Fridays.

South Pas could also be using its money to help the homeless, since it is a relatively wealthy community.

If less wealthy cities in Los Angeles are able to provide resources, such as homeless shelters and frequent food drives, then South Pas should at least be able to provide the same. South Pasadena is more than capable of offering services and implementing other cities’ programs.

Money could be set aside to create a new outreach program through the City itself, rather than the police department, which could help homeless individuals recover. This program could also involve supporting local organizations, such as Union Station Homelessness Services, to provide them with the resources and assistance they need that our city can’t provide on its own.

South Pasadena has the mindset that it is not responsible for addressing homelessness. The City’s open-minded, liberal views contradict its neglect and distaste towards the homeless. In reality, there are many ways for the City to help, and it should be doing more to combat an issue that transcends its borders.

There’s nothing normal about anti-Semitism STORY AUDREY ERNST ILLUSTRATION NICHOLAS FORMAN Anti-Semitic content has existed on the internet since its creation, but it has since crept its way onto social media platforms that appeal to younger audiences. It is startling to see anti-Semitic content, typically associated with dark underground groups, on easily accessible mainstream sites. The main perpetrators of this type of content are teenagers, who have recently engaged in this hateful behavior. Last April, students at Newport Harbor High School made headlines after pictures surfaced of students in the Nazi solute with red solo cups arranged in a swastika.

Recently, videos and images have surfaced of students from Pacifica High School, another Orange County school, in the Nazi salute, while “Erika”, a Nazi marching song, plays in the background. This is just one example of Nazi power jokes that are treated lightly amongst privileged teenagers.

Repercussions from the Newport party incident have been proven ineffective, as this behavior is an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed directly. Repercussions only work case by case, but not for the bigger issue, which

revolves around ignorant teenagers uploading their disrespectful pictures and videos to social media. Much of this white supremacist content can be found on social media, posted by uninformed teenagers who see nothing wrong with their actions as a result of poor enforcement of ethics online.

Tik Tok, an app used to upload short videos, serves as a platform for anti-Semitic content to fester. Compared to image boards like 8Chan, sites like Tik Tok try to show content to as many users as possible instead of separating content by interest groups. It provides a space where privileged white teenagers can post blatant hate speech to a wide audience without consequences, exploiting an environment where it’s acceptable to upload offensive “jokes”.

Platforms that try and appeal to a wide audience shouldn’t feature offensive and hateful content. Specifically, when appealing to younger audiences, servers should be wary of the content they are promoting. Sites like Tik Tok need to quarantine and eliminate this insensitive content to break the pattern of normalizing and humorizing antiSemitic behavior.

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TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

HOMELESS CRISIS

HOMELESS CRISIS STORY CAROLINE KIMBEL & DOMINIC MARZIALI

PAGE DESIGN TALULLA CHOW & MADDIE YOO

CONTRIBUTORS AMBER CHEN, NOAH KUHN & CLOE MAURER

ILLUSTRATION MADDIE YOO

GRAPHICS CHARLOTTE COHEN

The Issue at Hand California’s housing crisis is getting worse and the homeless population in LA county is continuing to skyrocket. Some of the homeless have remained in Los Angeles, while others have drifted to other parts of the LA basin, prompting localities to enact policies and regulations to aid the growing homeless population. Other severely affected cities are examining comprehensive policy and regulation to stymie the crisis, in sharp contrast to South Pasadena, which has managed to stay relatively quiet on the issue, in no small part due to the homeless population’s seeming aversion to South Pasadena as a whole.

Compared to nearby cities, South Pasadena’s failure to act represents the city’s removed attitude, leaving community organizations as the sole supporters of the homeless population. For the Sept. issue, Tiger investigated the problem to determine why homeless people avoid South Pas, whether due to the City’s lack of supportive policy and resources, or residents’ attitudes towards the homeless. As part of the spread, Tiger explored possible changes and additions to South Pas’ policy, as well as how residents can better support the homeless not just within South Pasadena but throughout the greater LA area as well.

Current Policies and Available Resources Los Angeles’ homeless population has increased by 75 percent in the last six years. With the cost of housing continuing to rise in California, over 20 percent of residents in the state are living under the poverty line, with 40 percent of households spending more than a third of their income on housing. Being in close proximity to LA, South Pasadena has a responsibility to support the greater area’s homeless population. And as of right now, the city is not doing enough.

Homeless populations tend to gravitate towards cities that provide more resources for them. The lack of homeless people settling in South Pasadena says a lot about how little the city is doing to help aid the homelessness crisis. Although Pasadena’s overall population is only five times larger than South Pasadena’s, its homeless population is 18 times the size.

South Pasadena isn’t doing all that it should be, but there are community programs that deserve recognition. Holy Family Catholic Church provides complimentary lunches for low-income people at the corner of Oak and Fremont St. from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m on weekdays.

Additionally, the program hosts mobile shower units behind the St. Joseph Center every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Although this is a beneficial method to support the homeless population, it lacks the communication and publicity necessary to be useful for all of the people who need it. Based on interviews Tiger conducted, a major problem many cities experience is that homeless people aren’t made aware of available programs.

In Pasadena, the city government has continuously implemented legislation to take pressure off of local

“While we want to be compassionate to our friends living on the street there’s a whole community to think about and residents to keep safe.”

“My goal for future work is to find ways to connect our homeless families/ students in need with individuals or groups in the community (Scouts, service groups, etc.) who are looking for ways to give to those in need.”

organizations. This year, Pasadena is planning to allocate $5.71 million to supporting the homeless population. The majority of the funds will benefit nonprofits that support the homeless; $1.2 million will go towards renter’s assistance programs; nearly one million has been allocated for Union Station, a social service agency that supports low-income people to assist them in rebuilding their lives.

All of these efforts are admirable, but they are not enough, especially considering the current legislation being debated in Los Angeles. Under proposed revisions of the city’s loitering ordinance, no homeless person could sit, lie or sleep within 500 feet of a park, school or daycare center. The city is essentially trying to criminalize homelessness, which is inhumane and will

do nothing to help the problem. Pushing the homeless out of our “backyards” will never address their needs nor fix the affordable housing crisis, but instead will perpetuate the attitude that homelessness is not an important issue. This attitude has also recently manifested into violence: a homeless encampment in Van Nuys was set on fire on Tuesday morning.

In light of the recent event and the proposed legislation, South Pasadena needs to make it clear that it’s here to protect and provide resources for the homeless. The attitude that homelessness is not our problem prevents us from helping them. Not only should we provide more necessary resources, but the City government needs to step up with more concrete legislation to protect homeless people in the greater LA area.

“Measure H is providing some funding to develop programs [for the homeless] on a regional level. That’s where we’re working with other cities in the San Gabriel Valley to identify resources and address homelessness.

Our city in particular has not identified any kind of funding for developing a homeless shelter.”

How to Help

MARLENE MOORE (THE GIVING BANK)

“I feel that community groups and members might be willing to help more if they knew of specific needs of students/ families that haven’t been met.”

“There’s a lot of money spent every year on different things and a lot of it gets classified as city improvements and stuff . . . it comes under the heading of special interests. As you look around, there are bus stops. Each bus stop has trash cans.

Some of them are covered bus stops, some of them are not. Some of them have some trees near them where there might be some shade, some of them are completely open. Half the trash cans are empty and some of them are overflowing with trash falling onto the street. There seems to be no correlation as to who determined this makes any sense, at least to me it doesn’t. Certain things just aren’t considered important.”

The Giving Bank St. Joseph Center 1524 Fremont Ave. South Pasadena, CA 91030 Marlene Moore, Director (626) 403-6141 holyfamily.org/giving-bank/

MAYOR MARINA KHUBERSRIAN

MARINA THOMPSON ( HOMELESS YOUTH SERVICES)

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JANE*

“For one thing, nobody should make any assumptions about anybody else. Certain services should be available regardless.”

“As far as city wide city services for South Pasadena a lot of that sort of seems to be pass the buck. Sort of like go here. They don’t they themselves provide. Some of it seems to be, make an effort only at a certain time the rest of the time act like it [the problem] doesn’t exist.” *Names changed for anonymity

Union Station Homeless Services 412 S. Raymond Pasadena, CA 91105 (626) 240-4550 unionstationfoundation.org Elizabeth House P.O. Box 94077 Pasadena, CA 91109-4077 (626) 577-4434 elizabethhouse.net/ Downtown Women’s Center 442 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013 (213) 680-0600 downtownwomenscenter.org/ Los Angeles LGBT Center 1625 N. Schrader Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028-6213 (323) 993-7400 lalgbtcenter.org/

TIGER

10 SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

FEATURE

FEATURE

Green beans for dinner CAROLINE KIMBEL

Fake representation According to a study done by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, there has been no change in the amount of LGBTQ+ movie characters cast in Hollywood since 2014. What I find disturbing is that the majority of LGBTQ+ movie characters counted were played by straight and gender-conforming (cis-het) actors.

This is a debate we’ve all heard over and over again: should queer roles be reserved for LGBTQ+ actors? To be frank — I most definitely think they should.

When straight people play queer roles, or worse, when cis actors play trans roles, they lack the background knowledge to understand the hardships that LGBTQ+ people have gone through, which just leads to misrepresentation and perpetuation of harmful stereotypes.

BAKING WITH A COMMUNITY FOCUS, Berry Opera is committed to serving delicate, high quality pastries while regularly participating in community events.

Berry Opera offers an elegant but pricey taste of France The newly opened cafe specializes in decadent fruity baked treats

STORY NOAH KUHN PHOTOS ELLA JAYASEKERA

to its fresh and fruity palate profile, which is a let-down for customers looking for something new in a dessert.

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The chocolate croissant echoes a similar message with its lack-luster appeal. It sells for $3.95 but when I tried it, it had a disappointing amount of chocolate and had neither a crunchy texture nor a handcrafted feel. The beautifully glazed fruit tart was definitely delicious, but stayed on the same tier as previous tarts I have eaten.

hristine Oh had dreamed of starting a dessert cafe since she was young as a means to brighten her community with wholesome baked goods. However, her route was not through culinary school. Instead, Oh, who grew up in South Pasadena and has a background in product and color design, recently started utilizing her professional skills to fulfill her childhood dream. After 20 years of working in the corporate world, she brings her design background to her patisserie, Berry Opera, which opened in July 2019 at Cake Sensation’s former location.

The cafe is named after its signature dish, the Berry Opera Cake, which is named after the many rows of a Parisian opera house. The cake originated in the 1950s and features layers of ganache and buttercream sandwiched between almond sponge cake. Oh chose the title in honor of South Pasadena’s eclectic spirit and to represent the pastry’s berry spin on the classic treat.

Customers are immediately drawn to the fresh baked goods as they walk in the front door. Bright colors in the display cases pair seamlessly with the clean white walls, producing an elegant and modern aesthetic. Each dessert is carefully placed behind a tiny placard that lists several of the creation’s ingredients, emphasizing the store’s commitment to consumer transparency.

Unfortunately, these high quality benefits do come with a higher price. A small rectangular portion of the classic Berry Opera Cake sells for $8.50. It delivers an assortment of pleasant textures in one bite, but is slightly underwhelming when it comes to raspberry flavor. The cake fails to live up

While the patisserie is French-inspired, the desserts did not yield a uniquely Parisian quality. However, Berry Opera’s mission is a special feature: the restaurant donates all of the leftover pastries to St. James Church’s food pantry each week. The café also is taking part in SPEF’s Food for Thought fundraiser on Tuesday, Sept. 24th to help raise money for South Pasadena schools.

“I am involving a lot of activity with the city and I love to donate stuff to the community because I like to support schools and other programs,” Oh said. “I try to have a lot of bright, open space and communicate with the customers as much as possible to make everyone feel comfortable.”

Berry Opera allows customers to nosh in comfort, looking out onto the buzz of downtown South Pasadena. The cafe offers exquisite-looking desserts that are yummy, but not worth the price. With some cost adjustments and more fruity flavor fine-tuning, this establishment will be able to earn the wow-factor.

Address: 811 Fair Oaks Ave, South Pasadena, CA 91030 Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Sunday 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Price: $$

In the movie Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto played a transgender woman and was nominated for an Oscar for his performance, in essence being praised for his “work” since it “was probably uncomfortable” and “difficult” to film. Many of the actors who play these roles are given so much credit for making a tremendous difference in LGBTQ+ people’s lives. This sets a bad example for the cis-het community because people will assume that this behavior is okay and that pretending to be in a marginalized group is in any way progressive or beneficial.

Just as straight people are playing LGBTQ+ roles in movies, straight people at this school far too often pretend to be in relationships with their same-sexed peers as some form of amusement. I’ve seen social media posts of people asking if they should “come out” to their parents or if a (fake queer) couple should “just date already.” Likewise, cisgender people are quick to make jokes about the gender they align with, trivializing gender identity and fluidity. This was especially noticeable during pride month; people post pictures for “pride” even though they’re not the people who are actually marginalized for their sexual and gender identities.

Although cis and straight people pretending to be queer may seem harmless at the surface, these fake relationships and identities become problematic when they take over the presence that LGBTQ+ people deserve. This is especially prevalent during pride month, a time designated for people in the queer community to embrace who they truly are. But it shouldn’t just be considered problematic during pride month. LGBTQ+ people deserve a platform to be able to embrace who they are in all months of the year. If you constantly make jokes about being in a queer relationship or identifying as a different gender, you’re making it clear that you don’t take LGBTQ+ people’s existence seriously, which is dehumanizing. No cishet person, whether it’s for an acting role or a fake relationship, should ever pretend that they know what it’s like to be discriminated against for embracing who they are.

TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

FEATURE

11

PERSONALITY PROFILES YUTAE KIM: VOCALIZING PASSION AND ARTISTRY STORY KIMBERLY HSUEH PHOTO ANDRÉS OYAGA

a new passion for music and was more motivated to give the crowd a good time.”

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SPHS alum Joshua Nahm’s beatboxing performance in the 2016 talent show would spark Kim’s motivation to perform his captivating beats to large audiences and enter the high school’s talent show. In 2018, he entered the East LA Beatbox Tournament, where hundreds of people competed; however, Kim was not intimidated. He dominated the stage with his presence and music, beating out seven semifinalists and gaining the championship title.

usical talent runs through the Kim family. Junior Yutae Kim and his older brother, Intae, have both excelled in piano, cello, drums, and guitar. However, what sets Yutae apart from the typical musician is that he also beatboxes: a musical form that utilizes vocals to imitate percussive sounds. Usually trapped in his own world of music, he is often viewed as an extremely introverted person outside of his personal circle of friends. He is, in fact, the opposite. Boisterous and creative, he is always creating a string of beats in his head and collaborating with other musicians in beatboxing productions.

Yutae began playing his first instrument, the piano, in first grade. His parents pushed him to practice everyday, leading him to reluctantly participate in piano recitals and jazz band performances. Kim was largely uninterested in practicing his instruments until he discovered a 16-year-old Korean beatboxer, Hiss, who won second place in the beatboxing world championship on Youtube.

Amazed by his achievements, Kim began searching for videos related to beatboxing.

With his new-found interest in beatboxing and familiarity with additional aspects of music theory — including rhythm — this form of vocal percussion came naturally to him. After practicing his instruments, he would spend hours listening to CDs, albums, or videos. If he heard a unique beat, he would modify it to his liking by combining it with other tracks.

“Before beatboxing,” Kim said, “I was pretty unmotivated and just doing music against my will. I didn’t regard my audience with seriousness and did not put as much effort.

After I discovered beatboxing, I developed

After seeing the crowds react positively to his music, Kim had a goal. He wanted to show his classmates the intricacy of beatboxing and carry on the tradition of having a beatboxer for the annual talent show. The moment he stepped out onto the stage, students were immersed by his high energy and rapid beats. His performance secured him another first place victory and portrayed his inner confidence to the audience.

“Reaching out of my comfort zone to show my art to others have brought me a mesmerizing experience that I won’t forget,” Kim said.

“I’ve gained great courage, and now I am more willing to reach out to be able to learn new things in beatboxing.”

With a desire to perform, he will continue his beatboxing and attend an upcoming tournament in two weeks. He also plans to participate in the upcoming SPHS talent show to encourage his peers to take similar actions: be brave and pursue their passions.

“I love art,” Kim said, “and beatboxing is such unique art that especially shows its light in the stage, and the feeling of explosiveness and electricity that flows in a beatbox performance is too amazing to let go.”

A MUSICAL MASTER, junior Yutae Kim invests hours into mixing beatboxing beats into energetic tracks to share, with hopes of inspiring music lovers to explore their passion.

ANYA BARANETS: UNCOVERING ALTRUISM STORY AUDREY ERNST PHOTO SEAN JIN

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nya Baranets spent her past summer break studying abroad in Argentina. There, she explored the rich culture inside Argentinian cities and countryside settings through an immersion program called Youth for Understanding. The trip had a lasting effect on Baranets, as she not only improved on her Spanish abilities, but her own personal growth. Living with a host family and attending an Argentinian high school in the providence of Córdoba allowed Baranets to fulfill her goal of exploring a new country and fully experience the cultural differences between Argentina and the United States.

“I’ve always wanted to travel somewhere on my own and the idea of doing an exchange, meeting new people, and going to a new place really appealed to me as well… I am also really interested in learning more Spanish and I have a goal of being fluent as soon as I can,” Baranets said.

At first, it was intimidating for Baranets to meet so many new people and start at a new school, but she easily adjusted.

The students were welcoming and Baranets found that many of her peers were willing to walk her to class, include her in school activities and make her feel at home while they asked her questions about what her life was like in America.

EXPERIENCING THE CULTURE in Argentina through an immersion program, the lifelong friendships that junior Anya Baranets formed have shaped the way she will treat others.

Baranets attended school at the local public school in her city of Cruz Del Eje, which is where she stayed with her host family. Her family was incredibly welcoming and treated her as if she were

one of their own. The feeling was mutual for Baranets, and she even considers her host sisters as an extension of her own family.

“I became really close friends with my host family and host sisters because family and friends are a big part of the culture. They immediately accepted me as part of their family and even called me their third daughter. I even met all of their extended family; we would have dinner together and have asado [Argentinian barbeque] every Sunday with the whole family,” Baranets said.

Baranets is still in touch with the friends she made there, and talks to her host family almost every day.

Her overall experience pushed her to be more outgoing and increased her confidence. Although she would love to revisit Argentina and reconnect with the people she met there, she wants to travel somewhere new and experience another country.

“The kindness of strangers is something that I hadn’t experienced before, but I got to experience it in Argentina, which was definitely one of the things I loved the most about my trip. It was actually a bit of a culture shock when I got back to America because we don’t have that culture of general love and kindness.”

Baranets said.

Overall, her exchange trip not only improved her Spanish, but changed her way of thinking. Baranets learned to better appreciated the value of showing kindness and generosity and has decided to make steps to implement that aspect of Argentinian culture into her own life.

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TIGER SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

FEATURE

Ellis Cho

Sofia Novak

Peace Over Violence is a nonprofit dedicated to building relationships free of domestic and interpersonal violence, an effort that sophomore Ellis Cho didn’t pay much mind to until he was presented with the opportunity to apply for a summer internship with the organization. Recognizing Peace Over Violence’s importance, Cho was eager to involve himself with an organization that advocates for such a heartfelt cause.

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE, Ellis Cho trained to be a leader in addressing domestic abuse.

For five weeks, every weekday from 10 a.m. to 4 pm, Cho worked in Peace Over Violence’s East L.A. office as a part of their Youth Over Violence program.

Throughout the course of the program, staff and community experts taught his group of interns the importance of starting a conversation about dating violence and unhealthy relationships, especially in regards to teenagers.

Growing up in South Pasadena's small-business landscape, senior Sofia Novak found herself wondering how small establishments could coexist with the big name brands that currently dominate the fashion industry. Novak discovered an outlet to explore her interests in the SPHS Internship Program, and began an internship at Picky Jane Vintage.

A curated vintage boutique frequented by SPHS students, Picky Jane is owned and operated by wardrobe stylist and fashion designer Simona Sabo. Like Novak, Sabo was drawn to working in a small business environment, but with hopes of promoting vintage clothing and sustainable fashion.

Interacting with customers at Picky Jane on a daily basis helped Novak enhance not only her communication skills, but her problem solving skills as well. Charged with responsibilities like helping customers pick clothing and dealing with patron complaints, Novak learned how to deal with difficulties on the spot. Despite these problems, working at a secondhand shop helped Sofia realize that she enjoys working in a small business setting rather than a larger location.

“By knowing that Picky Jane is a small business run by a single person, I felt inspired because we live in a society that values fast fashion and large corporations. Picky Jane affirmed that it is still possible to run a successful small business even in this society,” Novak said.

Another important aspect of the internship was developing educational tools that tackle spreading awareness about what Cho learned. With the help of community experts and Peace Over Violence staff, he helped create a skit designed to raise awareness about sexual assault’s situational unpreditability.

The five weeks he spent as an intern broadened Cho's horizons more than he could have hoped.

“It was an eye opening and enlightening experience. It really helped me better understand other people,” Cho said.

A BUSINESS-CONSCIOUS INTERN, Novak focused on work in local, small scale venues.

Interning at Picky Jane Vintage not only presented Novak with valuable insight on how a small businness would function, but also inspired her to consider opening a business of her own one day and to continue work involving business well into her future professional career.

Summer Internships STORY SOFIA ALVA, AMBER CHEN, CLOE MAURER, & LILIAN ZHU

PAGE DESIGN TALULLA CHOW & MADDIE YOO

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hile some students’ childhood dreams lead them directly to the career they wish to pursue, the vast majority of high schoolers struggle to find an occupation that feels right for them. Many students turn to internships to

PHOTOS ELLA JAYASEKERA, SARAH LEE, & COURTESY OF SPHS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

gain exposure to the work entailed in their possible professional career choices. Tiger takes a closer look into four SPHS students’ experiences with their internships.

Liam De Villa

Amber G.P.

At the age of nine, sophomore Liam DeVilla discovered his fascination for nature and science. He often entertained himself by learning the names and drawing pictures of different animals that interested him.

When senior Amber Gonzalez-Pacheco learned that the USC Keck Medical Center was looking for an experienced business intern, she decided to apply for the position. She worked there as an intern from January to June 2019.

At her internship, Gonzalez-Pacheco worked at the medical center’s Office of Development, learning about the behind the scenes work that it takes to maintain a college. Since USC relies on money from fundraising, Gonzalez-Pacheco’s job involved finding potential donors by researching alumni through whitepages. She also gathered and confirmed information for alumni reunions by updating student databases.

De Villa's early passion for biology and chemistry inspired him to further his interest through an 8-week internship at the Oak Crest Institute of Science in which he conducted extensive research on cell culture, immunolabeling, and analytic chemistry.

De Villa spent four hours each day with a mentor, focusing on specific topics such as mammalian and cancer cells, which furthered his interest in a science career.

WITH A DESIRE TO LEARN, De Villa's internship reaffirmed his interest in a science related career.

Each day began with a brief meeting regarding the science topic that would be covered, after which interns separated into assigned groups.

Working alongside a mentor, De Villa conducted experiments, performed demonstrations using solutions and chemical substances, and researched the causes behind climate change independently. Engaging in real life scientific processes, such as using a confocal laser microscope to observe certain proteins and antibodies, enabled him to connect with his childhood passion.

However, the internship came with its challenges. Lacking a chemistry foundation, De Villa found it difficult to understand the complex, college-level concepts that were covered in the lectures and presentations.

“At some points, it was hard to keep up with the expectations of the mentors. [For example,] when I was doing tissue culture, the actual culturing of cells is difficult because you have to make precise measurements while maintaining a clean and sanitary work environment.

However, I would feel excited to see the new set of challenges presented to me every day I went to the internship and [I think the challenges] really gave me a sense of what’s to come and how to prepare for it.”

Despite this, De Villa's experience in the hands-on internship has reaffirmed his aspirations to pursue a career in chemistry and biology.

“The internship has broadened my knowledge of science and has taught me what sciences I am and am not interested in,” De Villa said. “I think science is the career that is going to save us from our own demise, and I want to pursue it because I feel obliged to figure out the mysteries of science and planet earth.”

While the highly professional workspace provided GonzalesPacheco with valuable insight about the possible work environments in her future careers, Gonzales-Pacheco sometimes felt that her coworkers misjudged her abilities and maturity because of her youthful appearance.

“People would ask me if I was someone’s daughter and I had to explain to them that I was the intern. It was hard when I had to go to other departments and explain my position, because they wouldn’t believe me.”

Over the course of those six months, the office workers became more accustomed to her presence. GonzalesPacheco transitioned from performing small, tangible tasks, to having access to documents that a worker of seven years would have.

This experience gave her a new outlook on business: “[My internship experience really] made me realize how I could use my people skills to help me out in other areas of business," Gonzalez-Pachecho said.

WORKING IN A BUSINESS SETTING, Gonzales-Pacheco learned the ins and outs of collaborating with others.

TIGER 13 SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

FEATURE

TAAGLAA: The Last Bookstore TIGER’S AWESOME ADVENTURES IN THE GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA STORY AANJI SIN PHOTOS ELLA JAYASEKERA

I

first visited The Last Bookstore four years ago and immediately fell in love.

It is a bookworm’s happy place: two floors containing every book you could possibly imagine. Residing in an abandoned bank on Fifth and Spring in downtown Los Angeles, it is California’s largest new and used bookstore.

Ella, my companion photographer, and I took a trip there on a Saturday afternoon.

Even with its giant weekend crowds, the Last Bookstore manages to maintain its cozy, antique-y ambience throughout the massive store, adding to its unique charm.

Squeezed between the countless stacks of books on the mezzanine level is the Spring Arts Collective, a unique art gallery comprised of the works of five artists with their own distinct styles and concentrations.

Each shop was fairly small, and felt even more claustrophobic with the countless handmade art pieces crammed in along the walls. There were also many pieces providing social commentary from outside artists on display: a tapestry sporting the words ‘I Love Sex’ in cursive lettering, a nest and eggs made of shredded anti-abortion laws, and prints of the Los Angeles cityscape.

Onlookers could purchase any of the pieces or, as one would in any gallery, simply enjoy the art.

The book section of the second floor can almost be described as eerie. The long, narrow pathways are dimly lit and windowless, giving the space a musty, vintage quality. The genres contained on the upstairs floor are seemingly infinite, including books on spirituality, Japanese cookbooks, and a horror vault. Along the walls and between the shelves sat elaborate sculptures made of books and stray pages from damaged or overstocked copies. Some

of them are Instagram iconic, including a book loop and tunnel made entirely out of hardcovers. Tourists crowded around these spots, clamoring to get social media-worthy photos and boxing out an exasperated Ella.

The bottom floor has a more open, sunny atmosphere compared to the claustrophobia that sets in on the second floor. Whereas the upstairs floor contains older, lesserknown books, the bottom floor shows off the bookstore’s newest editions. Customers mill around looking for their Goodreads recommendations, then sit down on one of the comfortable couches sitting in the middle of the space and read to their heart’s content. I was half tempted to grab one myself and plop down into the first open armchair I could find.

The Last Bookstore is first and formerly a bookstore, but also features an extensive vinyl collection. I spent some time by myself looking through the rock section for artists I recognized. I also caught a glimpse of international, jazz, and folk artists a few rows over, each with dozens of vinyls of their own. Some records were priced at 35 dollars, others sold for only 99 cents.

After an afternoon of exploring, Ella and I were reluctant to leave. As two selfproclaimed bookworms and frequent customers of local bookstores, we both concluded that The Last Bookstore’s unique assortment of literature, music, and art was unlike any other bookstore we had visited.

Whether one is a literature fan or not, the iconic The Last Bookstore is truly worth the trip downtown.

Address: 453 Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90035 Hours: Monday – Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., Friday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m., Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 9:00p.m.

Price: $

CALIFORNIA’S LARGEST USED AND NEW BOOKSTORE, The Last Bookstore showcases a unique mixture of literature, music, and art.

CLUB RUSH PHOTOS KATELYN HERNANDEZ, ELLA JAYASEKERA, SEAN JIN, SARAH LEE, & OSCAR WALSH

TIGER

14 SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

SPORTS

PLAYER PROFILES Tiger highlights Thea McCallie’s passion for roller derby and how Nicholas Chau changed his lifestyle to prepare for the 2024 Summer Olympics

THEA McCALLIE STORY KIMBERLY HSUEH PHOTO OSCAR WALSH Junior Thea McCallie always dreamt of flying. The moment she walked onto the derby track at eight years old, she felt a rush of belonging. As she positioned herself on the line, she took a deep, nervous breath. The whistle blew and she found the next best thing to flying: roller derby, a sport that has taught her dedication, leadership, and confidence.

McCallie’s relationship with roller derby began at Moonlight Rollerway, where her family would often leisurely skate. But, it quickly became more than just a fun activity as she fell in love with the sport. In third grade, McCallie joined the Derby Dolls, a local league of over 150 skaters, and eight

years later, her dedication still remains strong as the co-captain of the Junior LA Ri-ettes. The Derby Dolls emphasize community; every skater shows a loving and supportive attitude both on and off the track. The open and friendly environment enabled McCallie to foster relationships and close bonds that have helped her to become more confident on the track.

“Confidence in my skating has been an issue in the past for me,” McCallie said, “but working with my teammates on the track has reminded me that I am in a safe environment to mess up and workshop skills. As a more confident skater, [the sport] is more fun, but most importantly, I have also improved at a much rapid rate from before since I am willing and eager to practice new skills and leave comfort behind.”

Throughout the week, she dedicates around six hours to derby, practicing drills at the Derby Dolls track. Recently, with the hot weather and lack of air conditioning, she has found herself searching for motivation during the long and rigorous practices, but her passion and supportive teammates inspire her to push through these difficult challenges.

“I feel so lucky to have clicked with roller derby, which as an all women’s sport has created a positive environment for girls and women to be taken seriously as athletes,” McCallie said.

KNOWN AS “BLACK AND BLUEBERRY PIE,” McCallie plays as a jammer on the track.

Roller derby has played an important role in her life, shaping her to become an assertive leader. She will carry this interest and experience throughout her life, along with a desire to show the world the beauty of roller derby. Thea McCallie is certain that she will skate with her team down the road of success.

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NICHOLAS CHAU STORY ELLIE CAMPBELL PHOTO COURTESY OF BEN FERIA Sophomore Nicholas Chau isn’t an average athlete. Sports like football, soccer, or track typically come to mind when people think of elite high school athletes. But for Chau, he finds success when hovering over the water. Although SPHS does not offer a diving program at school, Chau placed fifth at the 2019 US Junior Nationals for the one meter dive. With the goal of competing in the 2024 Olympics, his drive for success goes beyond long practices and extra strength training. Chau tries to give himself every advantage possible by maintaining a high level of self-care.

Striving for the Olympics is extremely time consuming, but Chau holds himself to high standards. He practices four hours a day, five or six days a week and returns home at 10 p.m. with just enough time to finish homework. Chau has adapted to his strenuous schedule and still manages to maintain a solid GPA, but what separates Chau from other student athletes is his devotion to a strict diet.

To stay lean and muscular, Chau avoids red meat and instead opts for vegetables such as spinach and collard greens. In addition, Nicholas Chau eats proteinrich snacks like eggs and yogurt to build muscle for diving.

Chau begins his preparation long before a competition. He increases his sleep to seven to nine hours each night the week before a meet. On meet days, Chau wakes up early to mentally prepare.

The 5 foot 7 inch sophomore focuses on his own performance rather than his competitions. While he is competing it is important to stay hydrated and

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DIVING SINCE CHILDHOOD, Chau has big plans for his future. energized; Chau consumes lots of water and chocolates or protein bars to keep his energy boosted.

“I feel that all the work I do now will be worth it. Having the goal of making it to the Olympics and Ivy Leagues motivates me everyday to push through,” Chau said.

Chau has come a long way since his early days of dreaming about competing in the Olympics. His hard work and dedication to his craft have placed him well on his way to getting a shot at his dream. He is determined to break more records, win many more competitions, earn himself a scholarship, and someday hopefully win an Olympic medal.

TIGER 15 SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

SPORTS

CROSS COUNTRY Cross country is one of the most successful sports on campus, with the boys varsity team qualifying for state championships last year and girls team advancing to the CIF Division IV Finals. This year, the Tigers aspire to continue their success under the leadership of new head coach Mike Parkinson, an SPHS alumnus who brings a wealth of experience in both running and physical therapy.

Parkinson, who graduated from SPHS in 1980, has assisted the cross country and track teams for the past 20 years, mainly serving as a resource behind the scenes. But now as head coach, he can be present full time to monitor workouts and runners’ growth. Parkinson prescribes strengthening exercises, like leg lifts, and instructs varsity to workout extra in the weight room or aqua-jog in the pool. He has implemented 100-meter strides as a new

end to the workout, as a method to open up the runners’ gaits, which is critical in the final sprint of a race.

As a former runner whose career was hampered by recurring injuries, Parkinson has proactively kept runners healthy by carefully monitoring foot alignment. This has been beneficial for returning athletes who have struggled with injuries in previous years.

“He asks me every single day how I’m feeling and then suggests different exercises to help strengthen parts where I was getting injured,” sophomore Miranda Liu said.

“His workouts have been really effective this year. Also, we have done many more hills and speed workouts, which help us a lot.”

With all of its new reforms, a stronger and healthier cross country team is primed for another dominant season.

AN SPHS ATHLETICS HALL OF FAMER, Mike Parkinson reached the 1984 Olympic trials in the 1500-m run.

CIF X-Factors SPHS sports teams’ keys to success heading into the league season

STORY NOAH KUHN, BRADY NAKAMURA, & LILIAN ZHU PHOTOS JAYDEN EDEN, KATELYN HERNANDEZ, & ELLA JAYASEKERA

THE REIGNING RHL MVP, sophomore Lauren Calderon is poised to lead the Tigers for years to come.

GIRLS TENNIS The girls tennis team has big holes to fill after the departure of graduated star players Rachel Park and Shannon Huang, pushing younger players into prominent roles both on and off the court. The Tigers have experienced mixed results, beginning the preseason with a 1-3 record.

Junior Carissa Park easily filled Huang’s position, transitioning from singles two to singles one and averaging a 90 percent win rate in the preseason. She is consistently gaining set wins for the Tigers, but most importantly, Park has taken up a mentorship role this year as captain.

“The deficit from losing a lot of our seniors is pretty large,” Park said. “I try to encourage everyone during practice, give last minute bits of advice before matches, and play as well as I can.”

GIRLS GOLF Swinging into its second season in the Rio Hondo League (RHL), the girls varsity golf team is set up for present and future success. The Tigers’ versatile squad of talented golfers, currently holding a 4-1 record, is primed to earn their first RHL title.

However, Park can only do so much, so the doubles teams’ performances will determine the Tigers’ success. Junior Skylar Cornforth and senior Teryn Kum – doubles team one – excel together on the court, but the other doubles teams must step up.

Although doubles two and three have only won five of 24 sets, the team remains optimistic.

Currently, the reigning RHL MVP, star sophomore Lauren Calderon, leads the team with an average of 38.1 strokes per match. Calderon has never shot above 46 in her early high school career and her talent has been infectious. “[Calderon’s] skill inspires others to learn and grow as a better golfer,” sophomore Audrey Biggar said. “[She] helps us play better together as a team and [helps] win our matches.”

“Since we have a newer team, we’ll use that to our advantage because other teams won’t know how we play,” Kum said. “We’ve got a fairly versatile team that can play both singles and doubles.”

Along with Calderon, the team boasts a fearsome sophomore class. Maya Turun consistently shoots in the low 40s and Cassy Huang has the occasional brilliant performance.

Stacked with young talent, the Tigers are destined to establish a dynasty for years to come.

Coach Krista Gale still hasn’t settled on the doubles team lineups and has been shuffling through different players each match. With time, the doubles players should acclimate to their new partners and return to last year’s caliber of play.

A FOUR-YEAR VARSITY PLAYER, Teryn Kum awaits an incoming serve.

Boys water polo loses in overtime to Damien STORY CLOE MAURER PHOTO KATELYN HERNANDEZ

B

oys water polo fell to Damien, 8-7, in an overtime nailbiter Wednesday, Sept. 11. Both sides went back and forth and South Pas was unable to equalize the game in overtime after a late go-ahead Damien goal. The defeat drops the Tigers to 6-2 with two weeks left in the preseason.

Neither team was able to find an offensive rhythm in the first quarter. After a few minutes, the Spartans managed to maneuver their way through the Tiger defense to net the opening goal. Sophomore Lucas Abrahamian quickly responded for the Tigers by taking possession deep in Spartan territory and firing a powerful strike past the Damien keeper to even the score at 1-1.

Led by junior goalkeeper Liam Marcus, the Tigers upped their defensive intensity in the second quarter. Damien controlled more possession of the ball, but the Tigers remained stout in front of goal. The Tigers eventually took the lead when sophomore Owen Imasaki beat the goalkeeper from close range. However, Damien evened up the score before the halftime break.

IN AN INTENSE, PHYSICAL MATCH, the Tigers ran out of gas in the second half and overtime period, losing 8-7.

The Tigers got off to a quick start in the second half.

Sophomore Egan Hadsell-Florin scored a fastbreak goal and junior Eddie Lane-Flanigan added to the lead with

a deadly accurate, supercharged sidearm shot. Although Damien would cut the lead to 4-3, South Pas was playing more organized and making smarter passes. Both sides scored once more before the period’s end.

The fourth quarter opened with senior Evan Kowal rocketing a shot over the Damien keeper’s head to put the Tigers back in front. But, following the pattern of the entire game, the Spartans quickly evened the score with another goal. The Tigers didn’t get any favorable calls from the referee down the stretch and the quarter ended in a 6-6 draw, sending the game into overtime.

South Pas scored an impressive goal in the first overtime period, but Damien responded again with an equalizing goal. In the second period, the Spartans tested Marcus, but he managed to block shot after shot. Once again, the Tigers pulled ahead by one with a goal, but the Spartans scored two unanswered goals late in the game to take an 8-7 lead. Kowal had a good look at goal in the final seconds of the game, but when the final buzzer sounded, the Tigers were left with an 8-7 loss.

“The outcome was disappointing because we’ve been looking forward to this game,” Imasaki said. “We lost pretty badly to them last year so we were looking forward to beating them.”

Boys water polo will continue its preseason against the

TIGER

16 SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

SPORTS

PAPA D’S TSAI MATTHEW TSAI HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL IS A LIE My sister Isabella wanted to watch High School Musical 3: Senior Year on my eighth birthday.

Outweighed by 25 pounds and standing four inches shorter, I had no choice but to obey her. She happily popped in the DVD as I sat on the couch, preparing myself for the two hours of torture ahead of me.

To my surprise, I was immediately hooked, as the East High Wildcats took to the hardwood against rivals West High Knights in the championship basketball game. When Troy Bolton willed the Wildcats to victory while singing “Now or Never,” I knew that I couldn’t wait to do the same for my future high school.

A VERSATILE OFFENSIVE PLAYER, senior Ivan Estrada fuels the Tigers’ offense.

Inside football’s recent success STORY BRADY NAKAMURA PHOTO JAYDEN EDEN The varsity football team is off to a strong 3-0 preseason start this year, silencing the cynics in the crowd and on campus. Third year head coach Jeff Chi has implemented player-specific tactics to compensate for a roster with limited size and depth.

The team’s newfound success began with senior Ivan Estrada. Armed with a dangerous blend of speed and agility, the running back forces mismatches across the field and can create positive plays out of thin air.

Coach Chi has utilized Estrada in a variety of positions with game-changing results; he’s racked up 95 rushing yards, 247 receiving yards, and 185 yards on returns for four touchdowns.

Not only has Estrada stuffed the statsheet, but his versatility has taken pressure off of senior quarterback Samuel Luna-Long. Estrada isn’t the only driving force for the Tigers. Speedy junior receivers Jonathan Stride and Terrence Sweetman give Luna-Long two legitimate vertical threats. With Estrada and LunaLong leading the way, the Tigers’ offense is scoring 28.3 points a game, a massive improvement over last season’s 8.3 average.

Senior left tackle Garrett Washburn will lead the revamped South Pas offensive line. The Tigers’ improved pass protection has enabled Luna-Long to remain calm in the pocket and deliver with accuracy. This year, he is passing at a 63 percent completion rate and has thrown no interceptions.

“We have a lot of guys coming back and we potentially have a few superstars but it’s just a matter of who’s going to step up each game,” Chi said.

The front seven makes up for their lack of size with speed. Chi’s tough 3-4 defense excels against short passes and the ground game. Senior defensive end Raymond Gomez wreaks havoc on the defensive line with two sacks total, while senior middle linebacker Quentin Pithey is a run stopper who leads the Tigers in tackles.

Sweetman spearheads the defensive backs, nabbing three interceptions. Despite the forced turnovers, the secondary struggles with blown coverages and disorganization. If the secondary improves, the South Pas defense will be capable of stopping stronger teams.

After a three year slump, it appears that the Tigers have rebuilt at last. Chi has a sound offense, and a defense that, with some fine-tuning, could help the Tigers obtain a respectable record.

Fast forward eight years and I now realize that High School Musical 3 is a complete lie. Since entering my junior year, I’ve come to find myself in a lovehate relationship with high school basketball.

Coaches always preach, “You get out what you put in,” but despite over 850 hours in the gym, on the track, and in the weight room, there have been no championships, celebrations, or girls singing in the stands saying they believe in me. And there isn’t an easy way out because there’s a societal pressure for athletes to play for all four years.

Freshmen come into high school, optimistic and excited for sports. It’ll provide them with a group of friends, an extracurricular to put on college applications, and something to talk about; sports give students an identity and without them, many wouldn’t know how to proceed. But South Pas athletics isn’t like High School Musical. It’s a demanding life and this social pressure confines students in the sports program, pushing them to play through their senior year just to fit in.

But no matter what it means for their social life, high school is far too short for people to be wasting time on something they don’t have a passion for.

However, I don’t hate sports and I’m not lobbying for athletes to quit. I keep playing because I love basketball and the friends I’ve made through it, but I’m positive that many student-athletes don’t share the same sentiment. People need to place their own desires first and do whatever makes them happy. Don’t just stick to the status quo.

Girls volleyball falls to La Salle in three sets STORY SOFIA ALVA PHOTO SARAH LEE

T

he girls varsity volleyball team suffered a defeat against the La Salle Lancers in three sets on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The lack of communication and chemistry among teammates greatly attributed to their loss, dropping the Tigers to 4-2 in the preseason.

Straight out of the gate, the Lancers’ talented libero and powerful outside hitter dominated and secured an early lead. Junior libero Lindsey Hirano dove across the court, keeping rallies alive, but La Salle’s violent kills overwhelmed the South Pas players. Towards the end of the set, the Tigers fought especially hard, with sophomore Abby Garner delivering a series of impressive blocks.

But eventually, after an errant South Pas serve landed out of bounds, La Salle walked away with a 25-18 set victory.

In the second set, cheered on by their enthusiastic freshman and JV teammates, South Pas tried their best to fight back and tie the game. Consecutive kills by junior Lola Foord helped the Tigers fight back, but they were still not able to keep up with the Lancer’s rapid aces.

Freshmen Ava Dorny and Sofia Reyes provided superb

blocks and sets during the long, strenuous rallies, but South Pas ultimately crumbled under pressure and lost another set, 25-14.

Tired and hungry for a win, the Tigers continued to persevere in the third set. The determining set began with many close rallies. Fierce blocks by sophomore Erin Hughes kept the score tied, although a lack of effective teamwork made it very difficult for the Tigers to maintain a consistent lead against the Lancers. After a Tiger timeout, sophomores Alyssa Sokolow and Kennedy Taylor gained a few points on La Salle, but this late push was not enough. Towards the end of the set, good communication and strategically placed hits allowed La Salle to win 25-12.

“Unfortunately we all seemed to be having an off game today,” Foord said. “The communication was shaky which translated to messy play. Heading into league, we need to figure out how to play as a team and work together better.”

After this preseason loss, the Tigers hope to redeem themselves at home next week against rival San Marino on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

HELD UNDER 20 POINTS EACH SET, the Tigers lost to La Salle in three sets.

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