Aquila February 2023 (Vol. 12, Issue 2)

“sorry, I HAve

From tHe editors-IN-cHieF

ILLUSTRATIONS AND DESIGN BY SHREYA CHOUDHURY • PHOTO COURTESY OF AMY ULUG

With a cover that came together 6 days before this issue was sent to the printer, articles almost entirely from first-time reporters, and Aquila’s first Spanish article, Volume 12 Issue 2 is definitely one for the books. Throughout the process of production, we saw first year students grow into full-fledged reporters and editors.

In the article “Students Petition for Advanced Courses at UPA,” reporter Samita Golla shares her research into UPA’s system of adding new classes. Golla discusses how AP Physics 1 was adopted into UPA’s course catalog and how Digital Art hopes to do the same. Read the article on pages 5 and 6.

Reporter Lena Nguyen dove into the world of creativity with her profile of artist Aimee Salazar. In “Her Starry Night,” Nguyen explores the concept of perseverance when creating art, and the challenges that come along with pursuing a career in the arts. You can read the article on pages 9 and 10.

Aside from creating art, UPA students have a variety of hobbies. Reporter Nadia Hamilton documents the passions of Ryn Ryan, Fern Woertink and Axel Lehtinen in skiing, cosplay and fencing respectively. Read “Gear Up!” on pages 13-15.

One of the unique challenges faced by our staff this issue was writing Aquila’s first Spanish article. Reporter Isaac Rios’ article “Y nosotros, ¿qué?” is a comment on UPA’s resource accessibility to Spanish-speaking parents.

To accomplish this purpose, we decided to write and print the article in Spanish, translating it into English for the rest of the UPA audience. The process included a complete overhaul of our editing system, switching out copy editors for Spanish-speaking reporters and using a Spanish journalistic grammar guide we requested from a professor at San Francisco State University. You can read “Y nosotros, ¿qué?” in Spanish on pages 17-18. The article is available in English by scanning the QR code on page 18 or by searching “What About Us?” on our website.

Reporters in Aquila also voiced their concerns regarding the maintenance of bathrooms on campus. As an editorial board, we ranked the restrooms, separating them into girls’, boys’ and gender neutral bathrooms. Students’ upkeep of the restrooms has been poor and this editorial is our call for a change in behavior as a student body. Read “Stop Peeing on the Floor!” on pages 19-20.

Continuing to examine UPA’s student body, reporters Angel Froumis, Sneha Madan and Samira Madden decided to dig deeper into how student athletes manage their sports schedule and schoolwork. “Sorry, I Have Practice”

chronicles the experiences of a basketball player, volleyball player and swimmer and how they sometimes struggle to balance their school, athletic and social lives. Read the article on page 21.

In “Where in the World is Ben?” Reporter Ben Meyer shares his experience being a foreign exchange student from Germany. Meyer compares the culture of the two countries, from how education is structured to why German students rarely have drivers’ licenses. Read “Where in the World is Ben?” on page 24.

From artists to student athletes, and foreign exchange students to Spanish-speaking parents, Volume 12 Issue 2 is a slice-of-life magazine. As you open its pages, we hope you learn about the lives of people part of the UPA community: students you walk past in the hallways and the parents who pick them up after school.

We traveled to St. Louis, MO for the 2022 Fall Journalism convention, our first in-person convention since 2019.

vidyA AcHAr

The Aquila staff poses in front of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO on Nov. 12, 2022.

AkHilA AyyAdevArA

AquilA stAFF

Vidya Achar Editor-in-Chief

Kyla Ulug Multimedia Manager

Nadia Hines Team Editor

Shayna Tran Team Editor

Abhishek Mynam Sports Photographer

Chloe Luu Team Editor

Ria Pandey Copy Editor

April Nguyen Copy Editor

Akhila Ayyadevara Editor-in-Chief

Isaac Rios Team Editor

Haylie Yee Managing Editor

Shibani Ghosh Team Editor

Kathryn Gong-Guy Adviser

Zainab Shaikh Team Editor

Taylor Nguyen Publicity & Web Manager

Jordan Mathew Reporter

Nadia Hamilton Team Editor

Angelica Froumis Reporter

Aubrey Phung Reporter

Ben Meyer Reporter

Beza Mitachew Reporter

Chris Park Reporter

Karen Heng Reporter

Katrina Tran Copy Editor

Lance Peraza Reporter

Lena Nguyen Publicity & Web Manager

Samita Golla Copy Editor

Vishaka Anand Team Editor

Tobie Charbonnet Reporter

Matthew Tapia Reporter

Sneha Madan Reporter

Rajeev Devanath Reporter

Lorenzo Almario Reporter

Samira Madden Reporter

Olive Luong Reporter

Shreya Choudhury Reporter

ABout AquIlA MISSION STaTEMENT

Aquila is a student-produced, student-edited high school newsmagazine. It serves as a designated public forum for student expression. We aim to reflect the diversity of our community and build unity through true and accurate reporting, in hopes that each of our readers will find an article they can connect with.

“SOaRING TO NEW HEIGHTS”

From the shift of a black and white newspaper to a vibrant newsmagazine, to a broadcast channel and an active Instagram presence, we continue to innovate the way we tell stories and elevate our publication to new horizons. We do this not just because we are student journalists but because reaching for success is what it means to be a member of Aquila.

SHaRE aN IDEa

Have a story to share? Scan the QR Code to submit your suggestions or email us at aquila@upatoday. com.

ON THE COVER

The front cover, illustrated by Vidya Achar, shows a student athlete spiking homework over a volleyball net. Shot by Kyla Ulug, the cover features school work from the Editorial Board’s backpacks and the silhouette of Akhila Ayyadevara. See “Sorry, I have practice” on page 21 to learn about how student athletes balance commitments and their mental health.

Aquila Broadcast @upa_aquila upaaquila.org

Aquila Podcast upaaquila

tABle oF coNteNts

tABle oF coNteNts

design by lena nguyen

studeNts petitioN For AdvANced courses At upA

ARTICLE BY SAMITA GOLLA • ILLUSTRATION BY VIDYA ACHAR • DESIGN BY JORDAN MATHEW

Advanced courses have always been a part of UPA’s graduation requirements. Throughout the years, when students are interested in a new course, the proposed classes are put through the process of entering the UPA course catalog.

AP courses are added through student interest, but in certain cases, when a new AP course is updated or created, a teacher can put in a request for UPA to offer that new class. Then, if sufficient interest is shown, the course idea will be run through the specific subject department, according to Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jean Mastrogiacomo

“There are a lot of factors when discussing a [new] course, like: how many kids are interested?” Mastrogiacomo said. “What graduation requirements would it meet? And who would teach it, and who would get the training?”

If a teacher is willing to teach a class, a course request form is sent out to ensure that there are enough students willing to join that course.

“The teacher then has the option to sign up for AP summer training,” Mastrogiacomo said. “[The training] is quite long and lengthy, but you learn so much.

When

The next step is to register the course on CollegeBoard and submit an application on a portal called UC Doorways which officially approves UPA to offer the course and exam.

AP Physics 1 went through this process in the 2021-2022 school year, and the course eventually went on to be added to the UPA curriculum.

During the 2020-2021 school year, science teacher Matthew Bourbeau was approached by a student about teaching AP Physics 1, and at the time, Bourbeau did not feel ready because that was his first year at UPA. He wanted experience teaching a class in person before moving on to teaching a more complex course. During January and February of 2022, the science department had another discussion about offering AP Physics 1, and Bourbeau agreed because he felt confident in teaching AP Physics 1 after a year of teaching in-person physics classes.

“The staff or the adminis tration was willing to offer [AP Physics 1] to students, provided that I was also willing to teach it,” Bourbeau said.

When it comes to the curriculum, courses follow the standard College Board curricular requirements provided by the AP Course Audit which outlines the curricu-

you walk out, you feel like you have learned so much, and you are ready to teach.”

lum of each course and gives teachers the guideline for what their class should cover.

Multimedia Arts teacher Cameron Seibly is currently involved in a similar process with the creation of a new arts class at UPA called Advanced Digital Arts. Advanced Digital Arts is not

Advanced Digital Arts’ hopeful addition is based on student interest.

Seibly was approached by a group of students wanting him to teach a version of a digital arts class.

“I thought maybe I would get a handful of kids interested, but when they came up to

“I don’t know as of yet if I can make it a true AP course, but I could make an advanced program that would give students information on classes they would take in college,” Seibly said.

What makes an art class AP is that students need to meet the demands of a specific curriculum and create a portfolio to be submitted for review. But if Seibly can not make the class AP, he has an advanced program idea for the class where students will make portfolios but not submit them for review and keep them to showcase for college.

Seibly believes that adding Advanced Digital Arts benefits students with an interest in an art career by preparing students for a college

high school to prepare me for it so everything I learned in college was new.”

For the Digital Arts curriculum, Seibly plans to mimic a college environment where the projects he assigns would show students’ range of skills.

“[College] is a forever changing field, and having the Advanced Digital Arts class would be great for students so when a student goes into college, they would know what to pursue and be a lot more prepared,” Seibly said.

“tHere Are A lot oF FActors wHeN discussiNg A [New] course, like: How mANy kids Are iNterested? wHAt grAduAtioN requiremeNts would it meet? ANd wHo would teAcH it, ANd wHo would get tHe trAiNiNg?”

—JeAN mAstrogiAcomo

Bourbeau uses the flying pig to demonstrate centripetal force.

cAtcH me At tHe cluB . . . meetiNg

Officers of UPA clubs share their approaches to cultivating club culture and organizing events

ARTICLE BY KAREN HENG • DESIGN BY NADIA HAMILTON

originally UPA clubs were academic-related, but over the years, these clubs branched out to include students’ interests and hobbies. Since there are a variety of clubs, different officers have different methods of organizing their club, which leads to many students wondering: “How do clubs keep consistent?”

Senior Naomi Abtew, president of the Black Student Union (BSU), feels that being surrounded by a community with a shared passion creates unity and a sense of belonging, and clubs at UPA make it a goal to achieve this. Even though Interact attracts many new and recurring members, president, Belinda Ho, believes that it is hard to keep members consistently coming to meetings.

Keeping a club running year-to-year at UPA can be difficult, although clubs such as BSU, LatinX and Interact have been able to achieve this consistency. However, Ho feels that gathering interests from underclassmen— whether or not they are a

member or officer—is the main importance for keeping a club together.

Carefully choosing club officers is crucial, and the current president and one of the founding members of LatinX, Salma Rivera Almanza believes that this is an important aspect to help keep a club running. She and her sister started this club to share more about Latin culture. Rivera started off as a secretary in LatinX’s first year in 2020, and became president this year after her sister graduated.

“We choose roles based on who’s more involved in a club or who seems more involved in the club,” Rivera said. “Like they are interested in the club, they come to all our meetings or events, they ask questions, are involved and they help us with our festivals, volunteering and everything.”

As for Ho, she joined the club as a member in her freshman year with the interest of learning more about the club. Interact not only allows students to develop leadership skills, but provides the

opportunity to make a change in one’s community, and this sparked motivation for her to apply as publicist officer her sophomore year. In her junior year, she rose to the role of vice president and became president this year. Interact officers are chosen by their president asking if a member or officer wants to move up

how they can help strengthen the black community.

To keep members returning and spark more students’ interest, clubs have to captivate their attention through meetings, fundraisers and events. Hosting fundraisers or events at school helps promote clubs by spreading word and allowing them to

or stay in the same position. Ho finds that having officers that know about the club’s mission and how to run it is integral to running a club.

Alternatively, BSU uses Google forms to select officers. On the form, applicants are put in certain scenarios, giving them space to communicate how they would react to that scenario and what ideas they have for the club. They look for people who are passionate about BSU and

fundraise simultaneously. In the 2021-2022 school year, BSU and LatinX held a collaborative event—the Multicultural Festival—which helped the UPA community learn more about Latino and African culture.

“Our club did a BSU x LatinX festival,” Abtew said. “And that was super, super successful, we had a huge turnout, and I think a lot of people really enjoyed it.”

Admission was free, and

BSU Officers from the 2022-2023 school year selling Krispy Kreme donuts during the Harvest Festival on Nov. 17, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Naomi Abtew.)

“INterAct is Not oNly mAkiNg AN impAct iN tHeir commuNity, But Also oN AN iNterNAtioNAl level.” -BeliNdA Ho

the clubs provided homemade tacos, Mexican sweet breads and activities such as hitting piñatas, a basket raffle and a cheer performance. The event brought a large gathering and helped both clubs gain more visibility.

“We just want to be open to more cultures and show everyone that not everyone has to be Latino to come into a club that’s open for anyone,” Rivera said.

Rivera felt that the Multicultural Festival was a hit and is hoping to hold more events where people can come to have fun and learn more about Latino culture.

On the other hand, Interact is a service club that allows students to develop leadership skills while being able to serve their community. It is arranged into areas and districts, and UPA is a part of Area 7, and it is in District 5170. There are levels of Interact: club, area, district and international.

One of Interact’s district-level events such as the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) are held outside of school. FLC is a district-wide event where participants learn to strengthen their leadership skills and interact with other people from other areas. Interact’s club-level meetings held by the Interact club are held at

coming back from quarantine, Interact was able to hold a fundraiser this school year at the 2022 Harvest Festival selling pizza. The money goes towards funding for club supplies and their international project this year called the Ripple Effect (that provides clean and affordable water to those in Honduras.)

“Service events and leadership opportunities keep members interested in continuously attending club meetings while keeping them engaged with the club and its mission, and fundraisers help prepare for future events as we can use our budget when we need to,” Ho said.

Ho’s motivation to run In-

teract comes from being able to transform her community and making someone’s day while making new friends. Similarly, Rivera saw the amount of people showing up to LatinX’s events and enjoying it.

“At our past event I saw people dancing on the floor who weren’t exactly Latino and I was like, ‘I’m so happy,’” Rivera said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, they actually enjoy it!’”

In the future, she hopes to host more events and continue the mission of the club.

“We started this club so people could come in and feel safe in this space and I want the future presidents,

school. UPA’s Interact Club has hosted activities such as card making for children in hospitals which count toward community service hours.

In addition, Ho believes that fundraising has helped Interact grow and gain attention.

“Fundraising draws attention to our club goals and attracts potential members interested in making an impact in our local and global communities,” Ho said.

Interact’s fundraisers are held by selling food mostly during school festivals. Since the fundraisers for Interact require volunteers, they needed to be put on pause due to quarantine. Although

LatinX’s officers and members from the 2021-2022 school year pose for a photo on club day in Sept. 2021. (Photo courtesy of Salma Rivera Almanza.)

Interact members and officers at their second meeting making cards for children in hospitals on Oct. 5, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Sana Purdhani.)

“seeiNg How mANy people sHow up illustrAtes to me [tHAt] people cAre ANd tHey ActuAlly reAlly love comiNg to tHese meetiNgs.”

-NAomi ABtew

Her Starry NigHt

Aimee Salazar explains her connection to creating art

ARTICLE BY LENA NGUYEN • ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF AIMEE SALAZAR • DESIGN BY APRIL NGUYEN

How many people are able to commit to making a new art piece every day for one month? Inktober, a challenge that takes place in October, asks precisely for this. Junior Aimee Salazar has had a passion for art ever since her childhood years, and is one such person who had taken on this challenge. Inktober has helped Aimee maintain consistency in making art, and she now aims to draw everyday or as much as she can in her free time.

Salazar originally took up art around the third grade because of her friends. Seeing them carry sketchbooks around and watching them draw motivated Salazar to do the same in hopes of becoming even closer to them. Salazar often drew things requested by her friends and allowed them to draw in her sketchbook since she loved to have little reminders of them and make them happy through her art. However, art quickly grew meaningful in her life in other ways as well.

“[Art] is an easy way for me to connect with people,” Salazar said. “If I’m really overwhelmed with something, I just start drawing what I feel or whatever gets me excited at the time … then it will help me calm down and feel better.”

Salazar considers her hobby an escape from her problems, but her art also serves

as a way to organize and put her thoughts on paper. To her, it is an irreplaceable part of her life: something that she cannot stand taking a break from. Without her form of escape, Salazar found her mental state deteriorating as her mind became “cloudy” and difficult to sort through.

Even so, despite her love and passion for art, Salazar occasionally struggles with loss of motivation.

“For a time, in my old sketchbook, I didn’t touch it for half a year straight,” Salazar said. “Whenever I tried to, I would just be so angry and upset with whatever I made because it wasn’t good enough in my mind.”

When she is unable to replicate her vision in her art, Salazar finds it hard to continue drawing. She feels that what her mind expects and visualizes is above the level of skill she is able to recreate by hand.

Determined to not let this discourage her, Salazar found ways to overcome this internal roadblock.

By splashing color randomly on a page before she starts drawing, Salazar reduces the pressure of making an art piece “perfect.”

“The only way to really get over [this] is to make a mess … That way, the infuriating white page isn’t as intimidating,” she said.

Letting go of expectations isn’t easy for her, but in those times, Salazar feels that drawing based on emotions rather than thoughts makes it manageable.

But regardless of whether she draws by emotions or thoughts, each page of Salazar’s sketchbook is special to her in some way.

“If you poiNted out aNy page iN my SketcHbook, I could tell you SometHiNg about tHe day.”

- Aimee Salazar

a a a

“If you pointed out any page in my sketchbook, I could tell you something about the day…or what I was feeling while I was making that piece,” Salazar said.

One recent art piece she has been working on was made to reflect her mental health. Salazar started the painting when her state of mind wasn’t the best and continued it when she felt happier. She is glad to say that the painting is nearly complete now. In addition to using art as a way to express herself and getting rid of all the things filling her mind, Salazar also uses her art as a way to share a part of herself with others.

Salazar has an Instagram art account, started in 2018, and a TikTok art account, started in 2021. Her videos have gained up to 315K views, which Salazar was surprised about, but grateful for nonetheless.

“I love sharing my work with other people,” she said. “If I post it somewhere and I get even just one happy comment … I’ll get super happy and driven for the rest of the week.”

The people surrounding and encouraging her inspire Salazar to continue art and stay motivated. This is especially essential due to all the negative stigma regarding doing art professionally for a living. For Salazar, some of her family members prefer that she does not pursue art, mainly because of the stereotype of “starving artists” — the thought that artists do not make enough income to sustain themselves.

However, Salazar does not let this discourage her. Although she is not yet sure which career path she’d like to take, Salazar believes that there are many options. By practicing a little bit of everything, including animations, character design and much more, Salazar is hoping to first improve her overall skills and see where that takes her.

“[Art] is a very competitive field. You have to have something that people are looking for,” she said. “However, for me personally, I have people who come back every single time I show something and because of people like that, I know that even if my parents don’t think I’m successful, I’ll be okay … It’s just about finding your niche and seeing what other communities you can build off of that.”

Salazar’s digital art depicts a scene of a witch visiting a friend’s grave, a concept she came up with after she drew a tree her father challenged her to draw. The scene is meant to symbolize how friendships continue even after death.

a a a

Salazar’s digital art, intended to be a “dreamlike illustration,” portrays a girl looking out a window where clouds are coming in. Salazar’s message through this art piece is about welcoming the world into one’s home or personal space, and to encourage others to begin adventures.

a a a aa a a a

Inspired by one of her dreams, Salazar’s digital art depicts a person whose face is concealed from the viewer.

RIGHT ON CUE

Behind the scenes of the UPA Theater Department

ARTICLE BY LORENZO ALMARIO • ILLUSTRATIONS & DESIGN BY OLIVE LUONG

here are multiple steps and processes just to get shows at UPA’s theater started. These first steps are taken by Head of UPA Theater Department Cayleigh Coester. Coester has a management team who helps her with running the Theater Department. It is made of upper-classmen: Sarah Cayabyab as a stage manager, Timothy Austin as the technical director, and Alisa Tran as a stage manager and assistant director.

Once a show’s direction is decided, the next step for Coester and her team is auditioning and casting. Depending on the show, choreography, and the number of nights the show will run, audition schedules can vary. In previous years, auditions have taken one day each, which was the case for “Much Ado About Murder” and “Clue.” Others, such as the upcoming spring musical auditions, take two days: one day for vocal auditions and one for dance auditions.

TAfter auditions, there are callbacks. This process typically takes about a week before they come to a decision. During this week, Coester and her team take up to two days to look over all the auditions, seeing how the skills people bring can be used for the show. If UPA’s theater department is casting for a dramatic play and someone uses a comedic monologue for their audition, Coester and her team can figure out what funny character in the play fits the actor.

The UPA Theater Department used to put on two shows each year, but this year, they are doing four. Coester’s goal with more shows this year is bringing more awareness to and expanding the theater department to a wider audience.

“Even if it is just for one day, just having more visibility and having more people get interested in the theater department just so we have more people, we could do bigger casts shows,” Coester said.

The UPA community is a large part of the UPA Theater Department’s longevity. Expanding the department brings more people to the shows. For those who worked on the shows, seeing how the audiences enjoy all the work that was put in is powerful. Cayabyab personally enjoys the audience’s reaction to all the effort put into each show.

“I feel, in theater, seeing the work we put in all come together during the show and seeing how everyone enjoys it, is very rewarding,” Cayabyab said.

The cast of “Noises Off!”, the Fall 2021 play, poses for a photo during a dress rehearsal. With shows lined up back to back, multiple actors had to play the same character, leading there to be two casts that alternated for each show.

The community reaction uplifts the cast and crew, inspiring them to be better at the next show. Having more shows and visibility also inspires the community to help support the UPA Theater Department, whether that be through joining as an actor or part of the crew or through attending the shows and supporting everyone. Tran enjoys how

UPA theater is a community where everyone is cheering each other on and how it is a very open space where everyone is welcomed.

“It’s just the community, like people are so nice and welcoming,” Tran said. “[It] makes you feel comfortable to be real around them.”

“I kind of liked [drama], and [Performing Arts teacher] Ms. Catherine said that I should audition for the musical and so I did. Ever since then, I just kept coming back,” Tran said.

The new play titled, “Outdoor Store!,” is written by Tran and was originally inspired by Coester. When Tran was in seventh grade, it was Coester’s first year directing at UPA, and she mentioned that it would be cool for a student to write a play. Tran kept it in the back of her mind throughout the years until last year, when she was a junior, and she began writing it on and off for a few months. “Outdoor Store!” had its auditions on Dec. 12 and 13 and will be performed in April.

The UPA theater is distinct compared to other schools’ theater because of the size of the Horton stage.

“The stage in Horton is not that big so, more recently, Cayleigh has been doing a lot of [arrangements] with levels, like having different platforms to kind of make the space even bigger,” Tran said.

The community is important but another aspect of theater is the tech team. Theater tech is anyone that is not an actor, and it is broken up into three groups, props team, lighting team and sound team. Tech could also be general stage hands. Austin helps coordinate between all of tech and the director, Coester.

The first group consists of the main technology aspect: lighting and sound. The two teams run lights and sound effects for the shows.

The second group manages all the physical elements on stage, including props, sets, and costumes. All the props for the shows are found and created by the props team. The costume team takes care of designs, creating and finding costumes. The sets, which are backdrops, chairs, tables etc., are designed by students of the sets team, other students involved or by Coester then, the whole second group puts the sets together.

The third group is stage tech, which UPA’s theater does not have as many of due to being short-staffed. Stage tech are the people who are on the side of the stage and help change sets in between scenes during shows. Stage managers are on the

sides during shows directing what needs to be done in between scenes. This occurs however, not to the extent it used to be.

Due to being a school production with a small pool of students, UPA’s theater focuses more on the actual aspects of theater and the people rather than major set pieces.

“I went to see a production of ‘Oklahoma’ at Valley Christian, and they had the whole stage turn and had these big sets built up on the side. We do some of that, but we focus more on the theater and the people,” Austin said.

UPA’s theater aims to help students learn and develop as both people and as actors. Coester’s favorite part of the theater program is being able to see students who do not normally interact create lasting friendships even if they are in a different grade level.

“The entire cast and crew got a message from a senior that graduated last year [to] break a leg on the show,” Coester said.

“Just these truly lasting friendships…were created through the theater program.”

Austin (11) as Captain Lombard and Gabriela Zurek (10) as General MacArthur perform a scene in the spring production of “And Then There Were None” on Apr. 22, 2022.

“It’s just the community, like people are so nice and welcoming [it] makes you feel comfortable to be real around them.”

-Alisa Tran

gear up!

Skiing down large slopes; getting dressed in costumes; preparing for competitions. Juniors Ryn Ryan and Fern Woertink and eighth grader Axel Lehtinen’s hobbies are a way to destress and be themselves. Regardless of the time commitment or the motivation to keep working to get better, each hobby represents a piece of these UPA students.

Spending over 16 hours every weekend in Reno, Nevada, junior Ryn Ryan considers skiing her main hobby. Skiing is a sport that uses a pair of flattened sticks attached to the skiier’s feet to glide down a snowy mountain. Ryan leaves after school ends every Friday

and drives for five to six hours to Mount Rose Ski where her coach and team meet weekly to practice their skills for upcoming competitions.

Rather than competing with her team, Ryan learns and trains with them and eventually competes against people from other teams, racing in pairs. Ryan’s team members are usually supportive and offer constructive criticism. If her posture is incorrect or she needs to lean more into a turn to complete it more effectively, her teammates will let her know. Her favorite part of skiing is the liberating sensation that it brings her when she is practicing and competing.

“It’s like freedom,” Ryan said. “Just flying down those hills and feeling the wind on my face.”

She first decided to pursue skiing because her mom signed her and her sister up for lessons at 12 years old, with the initial intent of an athletic outlet that happened to “just stick.” She skis with her sister weekly and

often receives offers from extended family to come to Reno with her. Ryan’s family also brings their dogs, Luca and Matty, to Mount Rose on occasions.

She starts her day at 6 a.m., begins practice at 8 a.m. and ends her day of skiing at 4 p.m., glad to have not hurt herself or broken any bones.

While she enjoys skiing and spending time with her family, Ryan tends to miss out on activities such as school dances and birthday parties. Sometimes, it is upsetting that she cannot participate, but she remembers that she is fortunate to be able to ski as she feels it’s an amazing sport. Along with having to balance her sport and social life, at times, she has to stay up as late as 2 a.m. to finish school assignments that she is not able to complete in class. Additionally, paying for both the passes to the ski resort and the team itself creates challenges; however, she receives a lot of financial support from her family, who

article by nadia hamilton art and design by zainab shaikh

Ryan poses with her sister in their ski gear on Mar. 12, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Ryn Ryan.)

The unique hobbies of UPA students

also positively reinforces her.

Ryan encourages everybody to try skiing as she feels it is extremely fun. She advises beginning skiers to watch out for faster skiers and snowboarders who are not very observant of passersby. Although she has been hit many times, she always gets back up. One of the greatest problems that she encounters when skiing is that she is very hesitant to try new slopes.

“I’m a very cautious skier,” Ryan said. “People have told me

Woertink was inspired by different fandoms and media that they enjoy when initially picking up cosplaying as a hobby. Seeing one of their friends and other people online dressing up as their favorite characters sparked interest in the activity. Woertink dressed up as many different characters including “The Penguin” from “Gotham,” and characters from “Our Flag Means Death” and “Danganronpa.”

“It’s really easy to find a character that you like a lot and then try to portray them,” Woertink said.

has to balance school work and social activities when finding time to cosplay, always trying to find time to do so because they enjoy it so much.

“I see [cosplay] as an escape,” Woertink said. “Whenever I’m feeling stressed, it’s one of those things that I can go to.”

that I am a ballerina on skis.”

She makes sure to view failure and success objectively. Ryan may make mistakes such as letting her nerves get in the way of a good run or achieving success, like winning in a competition against a more experienced competitor. At the end of the day, she aspires to work through failure and stay humble in the presence of success.

Junior Fern Woertink enjoys cosplaying in their free time. They may have been seen around campus in cosplay, especially since they won Best Individual costume on Oct. 28, 2022, during UPA’s “Halloween Costume Day.”

“It’s kind of like Halloween but whenever you want,” Woertink said. “You take your characters from a TV show or a movie or a game or anything really.”

Woertink shares videos and pictures of their cosplays on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok where competition is a part of the cosplay experience. They struggle with seeing other creators who can put more time or money into their costumes and makeup. On social media, they occasionally find themself comparing the amount of likes or views they get for their content to others.

Woertink finds using trial and error helps when working through parts of their cosplay that they do not like. They once cosplayed a character from “Danganronpa,” a Japanese video game series, three times, each a year apart, learning from experience as they became increasingly more pleased with the result of their work each time.

“It’s one of those things that you can progress over time,” Woertink said. “You can definitely see the shift [in style].”

Typically, Woertink takes about an hour to dress up and do their makeup each time they cosplay. They repeat the process with different characters around eight times a month. Woertink

Despite always finding pleasure in their hobby, the financial spect is challenging for Woertink at times. The pieces and clothing items needed to complete a cosplay becomes an issue in terms of cost. They try to thrift their outfits or buy them on Amazon, using their delivery feature for convenience. Luckily, they receive lots of support from their family both financially and verbally. Woertink is grateful for the approval they receive from their family and friends, but they understand that not everyone experiences the same admiration that they do.

“As long as you’re doing [cosplay] the way you want to and you feel great, what anybody else says doesn’t really matter,” Woertink said.

For anyone that wants to try cosplay, Woertink thinks it is an easy hobby to try because any item in the closet could be used for cosplay.

“It’s not one of those things where it has to be perfect,” Woertink said. “Since it’s an art form, it never has to be perfect. There’s not one way to do it. As long as you’re happy with the way it looks, then you’re do ing it just fine.”

Fencing is another sport to add to the list of extracurriculars at UPA.

Eighth grader

I’m a very cautious skier, people have told me that I am a ballerina on skis.

— Ryn Ryan

Woertink cosplays Oswald Cobblepot from the television show “Gotham”. (Photo courtesy of Fern Woertink.)

Lehtinen actively fences weekly.

The main objective of fencing is to jab at an opponent with a long, thin sword, receiving one point each time the fencer touches the opponent. After each touch, the players pause and reset at their en garde lines, where they stood at the beginning of the round. The winner of the bout, or round, is the first person to score five or fifteen points, with a five point round lasting three minutes, and a fifteen point round lasting nine.

Lehtinen describes fencing as an intellectual match, rather than strength-based, which is an aspect of the hobby that he feels makes it well-suited for him. It is not about who is faster or stronger since dexterity and coordination are needed when fencing. It is also important to be able to understand your opponent to be able to react to their actions.

“You really have to relate to [your

opponent] a lot,” Lehtinen said. “So, it’s a conversation when you’re fencing with a different person.”

Lehtinen first began fencing at 10 years old because his mother, who did fencing herself, encouraged him to sign up. He practices for about one to two hours a week for three days. However, the recommended time for committed fencers is 10 hours per week. While Lehtinen considers fencing as one of his main hobbies, he does not fully commit himself the way that someone trying to fence in college or the Olympics might.

Although levels of commitment and competitiveness vary, finances are included in the spectrum of factors to consider. Lehtinen uses a variety of equipment including, but not limited to: electrical protective gear for his torso and face and multiple blades for his weapon and shoes. If someone is very committed to fencing, they can buy their own equip-

ment, but Lehtinen pointed out that clubs will often offer free equipment for those who do not desire to compete because personal equipment is needed for a tournament.

When Lehtinen competes, he sometimes finds difficulty navigating where and when he needs to be positioned. Sometimes competitions are chaotic with the amount of people and coaches yelling at competitors. He thinks that some fencing clubs are too competitive, and treat their students too harshly as they are learning. He described six-yearolds being yelled at by their coaches during competitions. Despite the overwhelming aspects of fencing, he enjoys developing his technique.

“If you take a step back from [the stress] and just look at what you’re doing, and the practice and everything, that’s a lot of fun because it’s like a skill you get better at,” Lehtinen said.

Lehtinen practices lunging at one of his weekly lessons on Dec. 14, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Axel Lehtinen.)

Hola, Clase

UPA Spanish Department welcomes Jarjour Hernandez

ARTICLE BY OLIVE LUONG • DESIGN BY LANCE PERAZA • PHOTO COURTESY JARJOUR HERNANDEZ

From “Star Wars” to coffee to the dog breed Shiba Inu, Spanish 1

Hernandez has always believed that learning languages are gateways to new bedded in

Los Angeles

Hernandez poses for a picture by the Snoqualmie River in WA.

Y nosotros, ¿qué?

ARTICLE BY ISAAC RIOS • ILLUSTRATIONS AND DESIGN BY VIDYA ACHAR

Desde que yo recuerdo en mis años de niñez, mi madre siempre leía los anuncios de cada escuela que atendía en español. Siempre se me hacía raro e irónico porque ella me exigía tener buena comprensión en español y se aseguraba de eso por hacerme practicar mi lectura en español. Aún así, ella leía las versiones de los anuncios originales en inglés porque era la mejor opción y comunicaba la información mejor.

“Todos [los volantes y anuncios] que leo son traducidos a medias”, dijo mi madre, explicando su

racional de escoger las versiones de los anuncios originales en inglés. “[Es] como si no les importara mucho sobre la exactitud de la traducción”.

UPA tiene un problema similar. No hay suficientes recursos en español para la comunidad hispanohablante como anuncios, volantes, pósters, etc. traducidos con exactitud en español. La comunidad hispanohablante no puede estar bien informada si la información que la escuela comunica no es comprensible.

Casi todos los anuncios de UPA

se pueden encontrar en Schoology o ParentSquare—una plataforma que los padres usan primariamente para comunicarse con maestros de sus hijos. Casi todos están en inglés aunque existe una comunidad hispanohablante y los anuncios que están traducidos en español no están traducidos con precisión. Un ejemplo de inclusión que vi fue cuando alguien tradujo con precisión los pósters de “Parent Guidance Series” para padres al español, especialmente uno que vi en el centro de las oficinas de las consejeras

académicas. “Parent Guidance Series” es un programa desarrollado por terapeutas donde dan presentaciones durante el año escolar. Es virtual, interactiva y diseñada para ayudar a los padres a apoyar a sus hijos. “Parent Guidance Series”— Serie de orientación para los padres, en español—es un programa necesario y valioso que creo que beneficia a los padres para tener mejor relación con sus hijos. Actualmente, el póster en español ya no está ubicado allí.

Al contrario de las traducciones precisas en el póster de

La comunidad hispanohablante de UPA falta aceso a recursos

“Parent Guidance Series”, vi bastantes errores en un volante de ParentSquare. Unas partes del volante no fueron traducidas en español así que algunas palabras se quedaron en inglés. La gramática no es consistente en donde algunas palabras son mandatos o son infinitivos. La selección de palabras es cuestionable y no todo tiene sentido.

correos electrónicos sobre información que solicitan.

Además, unos padres no saben cómo usar Schoology bastante bien para navegarlo. No hay muchos tutoriales, instrucciones o volantes—como el de ParentSquare—en español. En verdad es difícil saber a quién preguntar por ayuda sobre

amplia responsabilidad de enseñarle a navegar por Schoology o cómo usar cualquiera de los sitios web y recursos estándar que no están traducidos. Sería mejor si hubiera un tutorial en español de cómo navegar Schoology y que puede ser fácilmente accesible. Asimismo creo que debería haber más recursos en español para ayudar

encuentro con un padre hispanohablante cuando solicitan ayuda, hago un hábito de presentarme y hacerme un recurso para ellos”, dijo Frausto.

Aunque a ella le gusta ayudar a los padres con sus sentimientos, siento que no es su responsabilidad completamente ser la única persona en ayudarlos. Ella siente un peso de ser la única disponible a ayudar a otros.

Me hace pensar que la traducción fue copiada y pegada en un servicio de traducción como “Google Translate” que es conocido por ser poco confiable. ¿No sería mejor pedir ayuda a los maestros de español que revisen el volante antes de publicarlo, distribuirlo y ayudar en el proceso de traducción? Estos errores en la gramática y traducción podría confundir a los padres hispanohablantes que no hablan inglés con fluidez. Además, hace sentir que los encargados de los volantes no le ponen mucho empeño a dar información y anuncios correctos con la mejor traducción posible para servirles. Es frustrante porque ¿cómo quieren que los padres se mantengan bien informados si los encargados no traducen la información con precisión? Reconozco que tal vez el encargado no habla español y tampoco puede leer y escribir. Entiendo que no es posible traducir un idioma a otro que no alguien no puede hablar. Sin embargo, es lógico pedir ayuda a los maestros de español de UPA. Aún más pueden ser una ayuda para los padres para que le manden

esta plataforma o recursos españoles si inglés no es el primer idioma de un individuo. ¿Quién es el/la encargado/a? ¿Quién me puede dirigir a la persona correcta que me puede ayudar? ¿Cómo me puedo comunicar mis preguntas, dudas y deseos precisamente? También hay una opción en ParentSquare para cambiar el idioma utilizado en el sitio, pero también es un poco defectuoso y no proporciona información efectiva a los padres que hablan el idioma. Aunque no es culpa de una persona, se puede hacer un esfuerzo para revisar el software utilizado para traducir en el sitio. Sé que no tienen la culpa de la traducción defectuosa.

Mi madre no sabía que Schoology es un sitio que usamos, por lo que no tiene acceso a mis calificaciones. La mostré y la ayudé con el sitio. Ella sabe un poco más sobre mi progreso académico porque la ayudé. Tuve que sentarme con ella para explicar las características de Schoology. Fue un peso para mí y me estresó, y me imagino que muchos otros estudiantes pasan por el mismo problema. Me agobié y no quería tener la

en el proceso de aprendizaje y minimizar el estrés que me causa a mí y a otras personas que ayudan a sus padres de habla hispana de manera consistente. Muchos se dirigen a la recepcionista Angelica Frausto porque ella habla español y tiene récord de ayudar a los padres hispanohablantes. El otro día la encontré ayudando a un padre con Parent Square y Schoology. Le enseñó cómo navegar y cómo comunicarse con los maestros de sus hijos y revisar sus calificaciones. Contó que el padre recibió correos electrónicos en que decían que checara Schoology. Sin embargo, las instrucciones para acceder a Schoology no fueron traducidas, así que tuvo preguntas. Frausto explica que padres se van con ella porque ellos se avergüenzan y ahora ya conocen a Frausto como la recepcionista que habla español.

“Cuando me

Creo que la administración debería crear una lista de padres que prefieren recibir sus anuncios y otra información importante en español. De esa manera se puede tomar en cuenta el número de personas que tienen esa preferencia y mandarles información en español. Además, si es más fácil se puede crear un grupo en Schoology para los padres que quieren su información en español. Los maestros de español pueden ayudar a traducir la información necesaria antes de mandarla a los padres. Si los maestros de español no están disponibles, yo estoy dispuesto a ayudar a traducir. Quiero que la comunidad hispanohablante sea incluida en nuestra comunidad escolar. Ellos son parte de la comunidad y es tiempo de tenerlos en cuenta.

To read this article in English, on our website, scan the QR code below or visit upaaquila.org.

“Fue un peso para mí, me estresó y me imagino que muchos otros estudiantes pasan por el mismo problema.”

Reviewing UPA’s bathrooms

ARTICLE BY EDITORIAL BOARD • ILLUSTRATIONS & DESIGN BY HAYLIE YEE

Girls’ Bathrooms

We LOVE how clean it always is in there! The bathroom stalls are kept in great condition with little mess. However, it is often out of paper towels. It doesn’t smell too much like anything in there, and the sink counter is fairly dry most of the time. Since only a few classes are close to this bathroom, there is never a wait, making this the best girls’ bathroom on campus.

3. downstairs Horton

As one of the main lunch and afterschool bathrooms, it is usually in polar opposite states: either great or horrible. It can be the really clean, spacious bathroom that is nice to use, or there can be toilet paper across the floor, stalls crowded with students, cockroaches having their own party, stained toilet rims and unflushed toilets. In general, the entire bathroom usually has an odd, unpleasant stench.

This bathroom has the best lighting by far, and it’s usually clean here too! Unfortunately, the menstrual product dispensers are always empty, and the door handles are oftentimes wet to touch. The air fresheners are definitely at work in the morning, leaving the room with a floral, citrus scent, but by lunchtime, it ends up smelling like a mix of lemon and sweat.

Such a crowded bathroom! Many students use this bathroom to change, so we’re always seeing dance, cheer, P.E. and athletics trying to get ready here. This is one of the most easily accessible bathrooms during lunch, but that leads to food clogging the sinks and getting all over the floor. Half of the stalls are unusable since the door to the large stall is broken, and the door to the stall next to it can’t close. Overall, quite a messy bathroom with a weird smell.

Gender Neutral Bathrooms

1. Upstairs office

Although it is quite the walk up the stairs to get to this bathroom, it is definitely worth it. It is possibly the cleanest bathroom we have on campus since very few use it. Menstrual products are not stocked here, however, so we would always need to have one on hand. As a single bathroom that is upstairs, it is separate from all the noise and chaos, making it a very private space.

2. downstairs office

Not very many know about this single bathroom because it is often confused for the staff bathroom beside it, but it is one of the two gender neutral bathrooms for students. It is quite clean, and this was the office building bathroom for boys when the downstairs office boys’ bathroom was closed for repairs.

4. downstairs office

1. upstairs Horton

2. Upstairs flc

boys’ Bathrooms

1. upstairs horton

Since this bathroom is relatively unused, it is the cleanest boys’ bathroom on campus! Honestly, the other bathrooms in this school can’t even begin to compare to this one. It usually smells good, and it is always empty. The lighting is also great in this bathroom. Our biggest issue is that the paper towel dispenser is often empty, and the paper towels are on the floor instead. We’ve also seen water everywhere on numerous occasions.

3. UPstairs FLC

Why is the door always open? From the weird smell, to unflushed toilets, broken toilet seats, to urine on the floor, to the lights constantly being turned off, the bathroom experience is terrible. Paper towels are always overflowing from the trash bin, and the soap bottles from under the sink have gone missing on occasion. For how small of a bathroom it is, it is constantly crowded, and many fights have broken out and been broken up in this bathroom.

How can you change this?

2. downstairs HORTON

This is the most standard of all the boys’ bathrooms in our opinion. It’s quite clean since lunch is the only time that people actually use it, and we appreciate the random bench found in this bathroom. The largest issue with the location of this bathroom is that it is a hangout spot for a number of students during lunch, and it gets quite crowded and noisy. A lot of food from lunch ends up in this bathroom as well which contributes to a really odd stench.

4. downstairs office

In terms of bathrooms, this one is terrifying. Without dividers between urinals, it is an extremely uncomfortable bathroom to use. There’s nothing we have not seen here: paper towels all over the floor, puddles of urine, cockroaches, broken stalls, toilets left unflushed and holes kicked and punched into the wall. This bathroom also has a distinctly strong smell of Axe body spray that is rather unpleasant.

We implore you all to do better. Each night, our facilities team works so hard to clean our bathrooms so that they are nice and usable the next day. At the very least, we should be able to keep it usable by the end of each day. Everyone should be cleaning up after themselves: flushing the toilet, making sure paper towels make it into the trash and washing your hands. If that’s not too much to ask, please consider others. Do not overuse paper towels, toilet paper, or menstrual products. Take your hanging out and strong fragrances outside. Treat the bathroom itself with respect.

We are fortunate to have so many clean bathrooms for the size of our school. Don’t run our bathrooms to the ground. And please, please, stop peeing on the floor.

sorry, i have practice

Student athletes balance commit ments and their mental health

ARTICLE BY ANGELICA FROUMIS, SAMIRA MADDEN & SNEHA MADAN • PHOTOS & DESIGN BY KYLA ULUG

Senior Symphony Malone finishes school, comes home for a quick nap and attempts to complete a little bit of homework before heading back to school for volleyball practice. After a long practice, she still has countless assignments ahead of her. Feeling stressed, she stays up late, trying to stay caught up on assignments, and glances at the clock to see that it’s already 1 a.m. She feels drained. This challenging schedule is a reality for many high school student athletes at UPA.

Symphony Malone

Being a student athlete, while having its rewards, does come with sacrifices for girls’ varsity volleyball player Symphony Malone, particularly when it comes to time constraints with college applications.

“The college application deadlines started coming up faster, and I wouldn’t really have time to write essays, and I was panicking and freaking out because I’m like, ‘Am I gonna get it done?’” Malone said. “It was really stressful.”

With daily practice and up to three games a week, Malone feels like there are no breaks, which makes it difficult to find time for college relat-

ed work, compared to other seniors who may have more free time.

Additionally, Malone made the varsity basketball team shortly fol lowing the volleyball season.

“It’s sport after sport, and with college coming up right now, I would say it’s been a little bit of a rough patch,” Malone said.

In balancing numerous responsibilities, Malone experiences additional stress and struggles with motivation and energy. Even though volleyball season has come to a close, picking back up with basketball right away gives her no time to take a mental health break to reset.

While Malone experiences many struggles as a student athlete, the court has also had positive effects on her mental health.

“[Volleyball] actually helps me a lot. I feel like volleyball is a safe space for me to be able to just go out and not have to worry about school or anything,” she said. “I can just go onto the court and focus on the sport that I love.”

Her teammates and the bond they share give Malone a sense of closeness to those who share her passion for the sport, creating an overall benefi-

experience.

Karyn Tran

Unlike other UPA athletes, freshman competitive swimmer Karyn Tran competes outside of school with year-round seasons and feels like the experience is both rewarding and challenging.

With time off only on Sundays and two additional weeks off throughout the year, Tran has to manage her commitments to swimming and school to achieve her personal standards, such as straight A’s and respectable swimming times. She must also balance this with time to hang out with friends and family.

“Most of the time, when it comes to things like [swim] meets, I'm like, ‘Oh, I can't hang out because I'm swimming,’ or sometimes, I’m just too tired,” Tran said.

The time restrictions aren't the only struggle as a student athlete; Tran explains that an unproductive day at school may linger in her mind, restraining her ability to focus on swimming. Days like these may negatively impact her mental durability.

“Sometimes, if I'm distracted about stuff from school, and I don't try as hard as I could, Kevin [swim coach] yells at me, and I'll be pretty upset about it,” Tran said.

Tran tries her best to give her all to both school and practice despite the outcome of her day, but sometimes she fails to pursue this goal due to her mind becoming occupied with added responsibilities.

Tran heavily considers a doubt of many student athletes: whether the time and effort is worth it in the long run. How will sports play a role in

their future if at all?

Tran might not continue to pursue her passion for competitive swimming throughout her college years as she feels like her time can be better spent pursuing new interests like her dream of play ing the violin, but she will continue to swim in college to keep in shape. However, the reason that keeps Tran actively interested in continuing this lifestyle is the development she sees in her athletic and academic performance. Although she may not see results each day, Tran enjoys the hard work that goes into balancing her schedule.

For Tran, a reward can be anything from moving up a level or qualifying for Sectionals or Futures [senior swimming championships]. Although Tran has a different outlook from some other swimmers, she explains how swimming in itself is a reward for her as it is one of her

biggest passions.

“It is a little difficult, but it's worth it because it's really fun. It's rewarding to do well and to see your friends do well.” Tran said.

The progression of those around her experience is not the only benefit Tran has acquired since swimming. Tran has also expanded her skills for balancing her schedule and building her levels of communication. She believes swimming has helped her stay consistent with her time management as well as maintaining a healthy balance with her mental

ances his commitments to basketball, academics and other activities such as volunteering at local health centers.

One of the biggest motivating factors that student athletes like Perez experience is their team. Having teammates who are close friends in and out of practices is a large form of support and encouragement for him.

“I'm able to play something that I very much enjoy with my friends so not only do we better each other, but we're able to joke around and have fun,” Perez said.

With four classes, two of which are AP courses, Perez typically comes home at night after late practices and nearly daily games with roughly two or more hours of incomplete work, unable to finish it earlier. Wanting to just crash in bed and rest but having so much to do can be a large struggle for him.

“There's some days where I'm just like really, really tired, really beat, [but] I know I gotta keep moving,” Perez said.

However, Perez also shares some advice on how he thinks others should balance their commitments and sports. He found it helpful to go through his class workloads and make a schedule before the start of the season and he believes this could also help others.

Tran (9) performs a backstroke during swim practice at 8 a.m. on Saturday Jan. 14, 2023. Despite the pouring rain, practice still continued as usual.

“The memories and the enjoyment that you will have…outweighs the stress by a lot, so my advice [is to] just go for it,” Perez said. “If you really want to do it, do it. Because, trust me, looking back you won't regret it.”

According to Perez, if one chooses to pursue a sport, there are many

Makenna Welch

To prevent burnout, Makenna Welch, a mental health counselor at UPA, elaborates on the importance of keeping a schedule and ensuring that there is time between various day-to-day assignments for breaks.

“Don’t ever underestimate the power of Google Calendars,” Welch said. “Honestly, just so that way, you can kind of see where your time is being allocated and what time you have left.”

resources that contribute to minimizing the burnout while enjoying the good parts as well as keeping a stable balance with responsibilities. Nevertheless, having been on the team for both years of middle school and this year as a senior in high school, Perez has never once regretted his decision to join.

Welch explains how there are only so many hours in a day, and there is only so much that one person can complete, which is why budgeting time is essential. She also adds that scheduling small brain breaks can keep students in a calmer mental state to work through all their responsibilities more effectively and with more motivation. Being a student athlete comes with its moments of triumph and challenge as shared by these athletes, and it is essential to keep a healthy life balance with the support of others kept at the forefront.

“It could be with a trusted friend, it could be with a trusted adult,” Welch said. “It could be with a teacher you have a good relationship with, your coach, or even your academic counselor. But, just make sure that you’re talking to people, so that way, you don’t feel isolated.”

" There's some days where I'm just really, really beat, [but] I know I gotta keep moving."

- Christian Perez

Where in the World is Ben?

German exchange student details his experiences living in the United States

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY BEN MEYER • DESIGN BY RAJEEV DEVANATH

Everything began two years ago. My sister’s friend went to the U.S. and had a good experience making new friends, spending time with a new family and creating a second life. Ever since I heard about this idea, I’ve never wanted anything more. To start an exchange year, I had to do a lot of paperwork: obtaining the visa, deregistration of the school in Germany and also the gather ing of personal documents. Af ter the technicalities were fig ured out and my suitcase was packed, I finally flew off to my year abroad in California.

In Germa English les in school, because COVID-19, lan guage gaps formed, especially in my vo cabulary. In my first few days here in the U.S. the gaps in my English were al ready noticeable, due to the way I pronounce words and my vocabulary. But as time went on, understanding and speak ing English became easier for me. The most difficult thing for me is the pronunciation be cause it is very different from the German pronunciation. An example here would be the “th” in words like “thousand” or “the.” Since we were taught in school that we should pro nounce the “th” by putting our tongue between our teeth, the sound often comes out sound ing more like an “s” or “d.”

Another difference to my home country is the school system. Here in the U.S., you

go to elementary school, then middle school and finally high school. In Germany, you also go to elementary school, but then you have a choice of three schools, which are divided into different levels of difficulty. They are called “Community school,” “Secondary school” and “Gymnasium.”

Graduation at the school with the highest level has the biggest value at the end. It de

subjects, there are three to five subjects you can choose and the rest you have to take. At UPA, I take 6 classes, which are four core classes and two elective classes.

In the U.S., high school sports are abundant, with basketball, volleyball, football, cheerleading and more. In Germany, we do not have school sports because everything is privately regulated and costs

rants, which are based on traditional German, Italian, Greek or Turkish food. But none of them are fast food restaurants except for one McDonalds. You can’t imagine that here.

The food portion sizes are much larger here in the U.S. compared to Germany. A good thing is that you have a more diverse choice. For this reason I got to know Mexican cuisine and it immediately captivated me. But at the same time, of course, I miss the food from my grandma, mom and dad: Swabian and Bavarian cuisine, which are regions in Germany. I especially miss the dish “Maultaschen,” which is a kind of large meat-filled dumpling a potato salad. While at school, I see dents my age driving cars. Here in the U.S., it is quite common to have a driver’s license very early and the price of getting one is lower compared to Germany. Back home, I have to complete up to 40 mandatory hours with a professional driving instructor. It is clear that this increases the price to $2000 on average. That’s why many German teenagers cannot afford to drive.

All in all, I don’t regret doing this exchange year because I got to know a different way of life. In addition, there are the new friendships and experiences that I won’t forget so quickly. If another student asked me if they should do a year abroad, I would definitely say yes over

TRUE TO YOUR SHELF

What makes a great movie adaptation

Movie adaptations are considered to be either hits or misses and spark large controversy. I don’t necessarily believe one is greater than the other, but as someone who is an avid film enjoyer, there are important elements in movie adaptations that give a more raw and entertaining feel.

Cinematography is crucial in movies, especially in movie adaptations of books, because compared to a book, there isn’t as much dialogue. Directors are able to create visually striking scenes that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

One such case is the movie adaptation “Emma” (2020). Directed by Autumn de Wilde, based on a screenplay written by Eleanor Catton, “Emma” is a modernized adaptation of the novel by the well-known writer Jane Austen. The movie follows a young and naive woman from England, who is trying to balance friendship and romance.

ARTICLE BY AUBREY PHUNG • ILLUSTRATION AND DESIGN BY SHIBANI GHOSH • PHOTOS COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS

The cinematog raphy is absolutely captivating and jaw-dropping. Shot by cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt, he was able to fabricate a soft, yet elegant look that provided a sort of angelic feel. Blauvelt focused on the scope and scale of Emma’s environments in the form of Victorian styled architecture and the English countryside. Small details that Autumn de Wilde put in are tiny but significant. I remember when I first watched the movie it was like being transported into the early 19th century, and becoming the titular character through Anya Taylor Joy’s acting.

Another tool directors use is music. Film music progresses the story and invokes emotions in the viewer, creating a

so much emotion, causing a viewer to suddenly be in a puddle of tears.

Movies immerse the audience into the characters’ world, which is the reason we empathize with them so much. Along with the character’s actions, their costumes add to the overarching aesthetic of the film.

deeper understanding of the plot. Movies have the ability to capture moments that perfectly represent the character in a single scene, such as an emotional gut-wrenching scene.

The actions of the characters are everything. A single scene can show

I’m not even sure where to even begin with the costumes, but let’s just say Alexandra Byrne is one of the best period drama costume makers to ever exist. With Alexandra Byrne’s astonishing costume wardrobe, “Emma” received two Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 93rd Academy Awards. Anya Taylor Joy, playing the character Emma Woodhouse, donned spot-on, accurate costumes that seemed like they were pulled out from a painting of the 1800’s.

But why are historically accurate costumes so important? Because it tells viewers what time period they are in, without having to describe it, or straight out tell the audience.

If you look at some of the costume details, they are authentic and

historically accurate to outfits from the Regency Era (1811-1820). Almost every garment, hairstyle and piece of clothing are precise to the time the movie takes place in.

In the movie, viewers see soft and pastel colors throughout scenes and costumes, creating its own exquisite color palette. This adds the ethereal feeling that Blauvelt was striving to create. Sometimes, there is a pop of vibrance in the character’s costume, such as Emma’s signature bright yellow pelisse that matches with the frames. This yellow coat fits with the background paints, streets and wallpapers, while simultaneously making Emma stand out.

The movie’s plot is also essential in the making of a great movie adaptation. Because movies can take anywhere from an hour to three, that can be a dramatic contrast to reading books. Depending on the reader, it can take days to

being confusing. This is why I like longer-paced movies because it gives the director more time to play out the plot, without being lost.

Though the movie and novel are similar, the movie isn’t completely loyal to the Jane Austen book. The main difference between the two is that director Autumn de Wilde decided to add her own twist of light comedy into the movie. In my opinion, de Wilde’s personal decision to make Emma more of a comedy, rather than just a sweet romance, gave the movie much more depth, and it was refreshing.

Watchers also feel a sense of vulnerability to the characters. Mr. Knightly, the male lead in Emma, is shown crying multiple times throughout the movie even though is

the movie adaptations are better, they get shut down and told they’re wrong because it’s an unpopular opinion. I think that an overarching reason why general audiences favor books over its movie adaptation is because movies have a certain time limit, which can cause a movie to end up being rushed.

Audiences can feel that the movie just wasn’t well thought out, and was created only to make money. However, with books, authors can take their time with a slower ending because they don’t need a big budget to write.

finish reading a novel. When you spend more time consuming a piece of media, such as a book, the plot almost comes to life and the characters start to seem almost real.

Directors have only so much time to tell a story, so they have to figure out how they will tell the whole story in a matter of a few hours. When movie adaptations are shorter, the plot can move too quickly and the viewer starts to lose sense of the complexity of the plot. Key elements of the book’s plot may be cut out of the movie, and the movie can end up

supposed to be this know-it-all uptight man. Or the moment when Emma gets a nosebleed when Mr. Knightly confesses his love to her. The audience is able to see the vulnerable and human man underneath all of his protective armor. I really appreciate the film for putting that modern twist to fit today’s societal audience.

Typically when people state that

But that doesn’t mean there can’t be an amazing adaptation of those novels. Using breath-taking visuals and composed audio converts a story from fantasy to reality. Directors have the power to play to the audience’s emotions and connect with them through those characters. Essentially, they are able to turn a fictional character into a real person who people can relate to and love.