March Issue 2022

students, teachers, and members of the community contribute to making a postive impact on Paso robles

Paso Celebrates mlk day

PRHS and the City host two separate events to honor MLK and continue his message

away wIth roe v. wade?

The future of the landmark case is uncertain as it returns to the Supreme Court. See Crimson Podast.

wINter Cats IN aCtIoN

Winter athletes face and overcome obstacles during their seasons

PASO ROBLES CELEBRATES MLK DAY

by Malia Gaviola, Editor-in-Chief

Paso Robles celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday with two events, one on Jan. 15 and the other on his birthday, Jan. 17, in order to spread the message of kindness and unity in a town plagued by social-political division and a pandemic separating neighbors and friends.

On Jan. 15, Paso Robles High School hosted a tutorial event where performances by the Advanced Drama, which preached coming together despite differences, and Advanced Dance, which danced to MLK’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech” and “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers, were given as well as speeches preaching MLK’s ideals.

“His message is something everyone can learn from and has touched so many different communities regardless of ethnicity, religion, etc.” Kelen Macharia, President of the Black Student Union at PRHS, said. The senior gave a welcoming speech and helped organize the event.

As Dr. Denise Isom prepared for her keynote speech for the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Walk on Jan. 17, she found tears springing to her eyes, physically and emotionally moved by the Reverand’s words.

“The words he says and the ideas he presents literally affect me to the core,” Isom, the Interim Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at Cal Poly, said. “The ideas, the spirit, the content of those words that I feel I am responsible for helping share with others.”

With this faith, out of a mountain of despair, We can hue a stone of hope rev. Martin luther king jr.

Despite Paso Robles having a 1.1% African American population, according to the United States Census Bureau, community members from all backgrounds and ethnicities came to the Jan. 17, MLK Walk at Paso Robles’ downtown park. Notable figures include: Councilmember Fred Strong, PRJUSD Superintendent Curt Dubost, PRJUSD Board of Trustee Chris Arend, and Lovella Walker, a key organizer in the PRHS event as well as the walk.

As an employee of the City of Paso Robles for 35 years, Walker was able to see the MLK walk evolve from the first event in 1990, when an African American resident asked the Director of Recreation see more representation in city events.

“I would just like to continue to see the event grow, continue to see people come out and support it so that we can make Paso Robles known for being a unified community. A community that supports one another and shows love towards each other,” Walker said.

Isom would give a speech centered around the MLK quote, “With this faith, out of a mountain of despair, we can hue a stone of hope.”

The professor at Cal Poly addressed social divisions in Paso Robles such as the fight for Ethnic Studies in 2021, the defecation of the Pride flag at Paso Robles High School earlier in the school year, and controversy regarding mandates under public scrutiny.

Despite the weight of the topics, Isom remained hopeful.

“We can dream. We can be the standard bearers of justice, the huers of hope, and take on the mountain,” Isom said. “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose radical hope. “

Despite rain pouring down on their shoulders, and a winter chill numbing their fingers, the community members that came to the MLK walk, to continue spread the Reverand’s message, cheered as Isom finished her speech. They would later walk around downtown Paso Robles.

With a mountain of despair in front of them, they continued on, huing hope with every step.

From a tutorial event to the continuation of an annual walk, Paso Robles hosts two events to honor MLK

OMICRON OUTAGE

by Conner Rocha, Photography Director Editor

Classrooms are becoming desolate, both students and teachers forced to stay at home for days or even weeks on end. This is not something new, but rather a resurgence of something we’ve all seen before, this time in much more severe numbers than before. With the emergence of the latest variant of COVID-19, known as the Omicron, this virus sees much higher rates of transmission than previous variants of the virus.

The Omicron variant was first seen in the United States in early December, and the virus took only a few weeks until it started to have a major impact on the population. Cases had been averaging between 34,000-265,000 per day, and had not really spiked until the holiday break had begun. At the beginning of January, cases had spiked to upwards of 1.4 million cases on Jan 14. The spike resulted in over a 500% increase in covid cases compared to before the variant was introduced into the United States.

This is amid a rising number of people in the US receiving full vaccination against COVID-19. According to the CDC, over 60% of the country, more than 210 million people, have received both doses of any COVID vaccine. Omicron is a special variant, in the fact that the standard vaccine does not have full immunity against the virus, as seen in a study performed by Harvard. Therefore, a special booster has been recommended for those looking for omicron protection. So far, only 86 million people have received the booster, which represents only about 41% of the fully vaccinated population, according to CDC statistics.

This is why Omicron has been spreading across the United States

so exponentially.

“I have to go to Google Classroom and see if there is anything new to do,” junior Michael Brown said. “It’s sort of a mix, I can do some assignments out of school, but it is hard because you have no teacher to talk to.”

Student and teacher life has been hard on those who have caught the virus, as they have been subjected to miss days to weeks of school.

“It has been extremely difficult. It was a complete change up of what I knew teaching to be, how I taught, how students learned, and required an extreme amount of reliance on technology,” Amanda Lincoln said, a science teacher at PRHS. “I have had to rely substantially more on technology than I ever have before. I have also had to learn how to get creative with labs. Science is a hands-on subject which is extremely difficult to do at home.”

Students have also been forced to quarantine for up to weeks on end, whether they have caught the virus, or have simply just been exposed to it. According to the CDC, most incubation periods for the virus are within two weeks, and symptoms for the virus also last around two weeks after the first sign of symptoms. Students are having to stay home for days or weeks, due to exposure to the virus, and this time is harming students and teachers alike.

“I need to be able to give work to my present students as well as my students who are absent due to being sick,” Lincoln said. “Before, only a few kids were out of class in a whole day, but after coming back during covid I have an average of 4 kids out every period.”

It has been extremely dIffIcult for my scIence academy 1 class. We do a lot of labs that have to be modIfIed and often I have to make a “present” assIgnment and an “absent” assIgnment.

AmAndA LincoLn

Lincoln

Students and teachers are both suffering from the effects of the new highly contagious Omicron variant

Amanda

A PURPOSE TO

When imagining the future, it is tempting to assume the worst. Some of us at times might even find it hard not to picture an abyss, swirling, ink-black, and empty.

Students face personal unknowns: dread from college and careers, turmoil with family and friends and all the stresses permeating the halls of our school, thickly, but predictably. They are all staples of the ever-fleeting adolescence of teenage students.

Further, though, there is a new, undeniable fear: It whispers that the political divide is too severe to save, that the troubling headlines we see from our phone screens and in our real lives is the inheritance of this 21st century. It speaks in a language that knows only violence, selfishness or sloth. It promises a legacy of taking, and nothing more.

It wonders: Are there any truly good people left?

We think the answer is yes.

And we think we don’t have to accept bleak prophecies. Leaning over an abyss with nothing but darkness to fill one’s vision. We think it’s worth looking up and past its eyes filled with light and with the hope humanity needs to survive.

Good, hard working people exist most everywhere. Both sides of a divide give and inspire everyday, in ways both big and small. We implore you to look for these people, and let them be your focus and your influence.

Editors In Chief

Malia Gaviola

Rayvin Wulfing

Ashley Paulsen

Directors

TJ Rothbauer News

Ashley Paulsen Sports

Serentiy Wulfing Social Media

Malia Gaviola In-depth

Rayvin Wulfing In-depth

Editors

Kalani Gaviola Op/Ed

Liliana Voorheis World

Zoey Rainey People

Miguel Muniz Poli-Sci

Kalista Peterson Health

Emily Rogers PopCulture

Reily Lowry Sports

Asusena Uribe Carmesi

Emily Neri Carmesi

Elise Mathers News

Reporters

Sienna Ramos

Chris Cisneros

Braydon Hoier

Cadance Eastep

Brooklynn Healy

Photography

Connor Rocha Director

Rogelio Molina

Kayla Degnan

Web

Bricen Chitty Director

Michelle Rosas

Design

Maicah Cabello Director

Jocelyn Lopez

Adviser

Jeff Mount Website

www.crimsonnewsmagazine.org

You can witness the benevolence of humanity, everyday if you simply look. And you can become part of the benevolence if you just try.

We don’t claim that the world is perfect. We know it’s not. As journalists, we often must look straight into the underbelly of society, and try to be as unflinching and objective as possible. But we still continue and these stories in this issue are what we find. It’s easy to do nothing. To watch on and let that sense of impending doom take you over. But the best things in life take effort, and this mindset is one of them.

We implore you to appreciate those around you who do good, and follow the lead of those featured in this issue

If you are spending more than 9 hours on your phone, like many members of our generation, you have free time to help others. You have free-time to take care of yourself. Do the things you love, help others do what they love, and you will see change.

A bleak destiny is not written in stone. Life may be unfair and bad things may happen and despair may bubble up inside- but the only way to improve is to push through. Whatever your purpose may be, make it something that makes you, and those around truly and undeniably happy.

Exchange your spotty ink for bright, undeniable color. Fill your void with things you love. And, above all, fight the abyss and serve others.

Crimson, an open forum for the exchange of student ideas, is an independently funded newsmagazine produced by the journalism class at Paso Robles High School. Crimson reflects the majority opinion of the staff and does not necessarily reflect the views of Paso Robles High School, its faculty, administration, or students. All stories, graphics, typesetting, and layouts are completed by Paso Robles High School students. We are happy to talk with you further about our content, subscriptions in U.S. Mail, and advertising on our pages.

READY FOR THE NEW YEAR?

by Michelle Rosas, Web Assistant

When it’s a new year, the catchphrase “New Year, New Me” is commonly said. A new year means a fresh start for most people. It is common to make goals to get better grades, get a healthier lifestyle, or learn new things. According to Forbes, 75% of Americans don’t bother with making new year’s resolutions. An article from Skilled at Life argues that the disappointment people feel from failing to achieve their unrealistic resolutions outweigh benefits. However, this doesn’t mean new year resolutions are useless. They are a great way to get motivated. For some people, the new year is a great opportunity for them to forget about the past year and become someone new. A study from YouGovAmerica says of the 25% of Americans who make new year’s resolutions, 20% complete them.

This information shows that new year’s resolutions aren’t for everyone, but that also means they are for some.

Sophomore Gandhi Anastacio-Olivo says he’s lost sense of new year’s resolutions. Although Anastacio-Olivo didn’t make resolutions this year, he has made some before. A couple years ago, his goals were mainly centered around better grades. And he’s not alone in this desire. An article from Herzing university about goals students often make says 6 out of the 10 goals made are school related, making it very common for students to make these types of goals.

Despite the fact that Anastacio-Olivo thinks new years resolutions “are personally not” for him, he says that he understands why people make them.

“I understand why people do it because it’s like symbolizing beginning and starting a new thing,” he said.

An Article from Tony Robbins says that “setting no New Year’s resolutions is actually the most reliable way to achieve your goals for the upcoming year.” Which might already be resonating with adolescents- When 10 students were asked if they had new years resolutions, only 1 out of 10 said they had made a couple.

Ultimately, Anastacio’s point is a reasonable one, claiming that new year resolutions aren’t the only way to get motivated or to accomplish new things. “It is definitely okay to make new year’s resolutions because for some people they are helpful,” he said, “But it’s (also) okay to not have any.”

Sophomore shares opinion on whether the tradition of New Year resolutions are fruitful or futile

I UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DO IT BECAUSE IT’S SYMBOLIZING BEGINNING AND STARTING A NEW THING. GANDI ANASTACIO-OLIVO, 10

“

ANDEMIC ETSP

Students seek comfort from four legged friends

As COVID trends forced us into quarantine, a new trend rose: pandemic pets. People forced to stay in their homes suddenly found themselves with a lot of time on their hands and not sure how to spend it or how long it would last.

The ASPCA estimates around 23 million American households chose to use this as a time to adopt a pet. They could stay with it and get it adjusted to their home and trained by the time they had to go back to work. Freshman Alexis Hickey adopted two dogs into her family during the pandemic. “Having a pet has improved my life by helping my family bond with each other and work together to take care of our dogs.”

Whether they got their pet from a breeder or adopted it from a shelter, around 1 in 5 American households chose to become pet parents according to the New York Times. Bringing a pet into their home helped a lot of people feel less isolated during a time when they were separated from society. They found comfort in cuddling with their furry friend. Sophomore Brielle Burt said that coming home from a bad day at school to her goofy dogs always helped her.

Studies have shown that there are several health benefits to adopting man’s best friend. Besides the increase of physical activity which can help your heart health; those doggy smiles can reduce stress, lower your blood pressure, ease loneliness and depression. Johns Hopkins Medicine

Fun Facts about

by Brooklynn Healy, Reporter

says, “simply petting a dog lowers the stress hormone cortisol, while the social interaction between people and their dogs actually increases levels of the feelgood hormone oxytocin.” Hickey definitely appreciates the benefits of her furry friend, “when coming home from a bad day whether it was with friends or because of a bad grade, Stella is always her goofy self and she puts a smile on my face no matter how bad my day was.”

I ThInk ThEy can SEnSE whEn I’m Sad or havIng a bad day and ThEy wIll alwayS comE InTo my room and do SomEThIng To makE mE laugh.

Brielle Burt, 10

With millions of pets being adopted during quarantine, it was a concern that the animals would be surrendered once people returned to their daily lives and felt being responsible for a pet was too much to handle with them being gone a lot more.

The ASPCA President and CEO, Matt Bershadker, released a statement showing those worried were barking up the wrong tree because, “the vast majority of these households still have that pet in the home -90 percent for dogs and 85 percent for cats- and are not considering rehoming their pet in the near future.” Burt says, “getting those two over quarantine was probably the best and worst idea. They make the biggest messes but bring the biggest smiles to our faces and I don’t know what my life would even look like without them.”

1 2 3

having a pEt has bEEn provEn to improvE your physical and mEntal hEalth

EvEry 1 in 5 housEholds has a pandEmic pEt

around 23 million amErican housEholds havE adoptEd a pEt during thE pandEmic

TAP

Senior Waylon Abernathy shares his devotion to the vigorous martial art, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

by Reily Lowry, Sports Editor

It’s a cold Wednesday night, the school day has ended and senior Waylon Abernathy heads home eager to throw on his black gi (a thick robe that Japanese Samurai wear) and tie his honorable blue belt around his waist so that he is ready to grapple and dominate his opponents with his skills in the Brazilian martial art of Jiu Jitsu. He enters his local jiu jitsu academy, Paragon, and begins to run laps around the mat warming himself up for the battle he is about to face. He then chooses a partner and reviews different moves and maneuvers with his instructor. One moment leads to another and Abernathy finds himself rolling with his partner at full intensity grabbing, throwing, and strangling each other in an attempt to make one tap out. Abernathy then takes his opponent to the ground and sinks in his favorite move, the “triangle choke.” Like a boa constrictor, he wraps his legs around his opponent’s neck with one arm stuck between them and puts pressure squeezing their own arm into the other with all his might. With each breath the choke becomes

THE TRIANGLE CHOKE

tighter and tighter. As a last resort his opponent lets out a brief tap with his hand and Abernathy reigns victorious in this round as he releases him. They then resume the battle for another eight minutes. With combinations of joint locks, chokeholds, and other submission holds, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a dominant martial art that focuses on the technique and skill of taking an opponent to the ground, controlling one’s opponent, and gaining a dominant position to force oe choke them into

submission..

“But jiu jitsu isn’t about being able to inflict that onto someone. Even when knowing all these threatening moves and techniques, I never plan to use them, only in life threatening situations.”

THE REAR NAKED CHOKE

“BJJ is one of the most lethal martial arts out there. You have the power to choke someone out to the point of collapse and the aBilitY to Break arms, legs, wrists, and ankles,”

Waylon abernathy, 12

Starting as a white belt when he was just seven years old and living in Malpais, Costa Rica at the time, Abernathy was influenced to start Jiu Jitsu by his father, Aaron Abernathy who holds an expert level of technical and practical skill in BJJ as a black belt.

“We had a Jiu Jitsu place at my surf shop in Costa Rica when we lived there and Waylon was always on the mats messing around with us and all that.

now holds the blue belt which symbolizes a core competency in Jiu Jitsu and grasp on fundamental moves, philosophy of BJJ, overall knowledge of basic techniques, and strong defense and escape skills. He spends up to 15 hours a month on the Paragon mats.

“When I turned 16 I was finally awarded the blue belt. To get that belt it took many years, and it was a constant fight. Moving up in belts is not about how long you’ve been doing Jiu Jitsu; it’s about how consistently you do it and progress,” Abernathy said.

Although BJJ is known for its unique self defense style, it is also widely respected for its challenging belt system.

“People reach plateaus in jiu jitsu and they feel they aren’t really progressing in between belts. It takes around two to four years in between each belt which feels like a lot of time since there are only 5: White, blue, purple, brown, and black,” said Waylon’s father. “It’s the hardest martial art to get a belt in and a lot of people reach a certain level and they just get over it and stop. It takes a while, but getting a black belt is really rewarding and it’s a good discipline to learn.”

“EvEryonE thinks you havE to bE big and strong to bE ablE to dEfEnd yoursElf, but in rEality anyonE can lEarn to do

Waylon’s just always been around Jiu Jitsu since he was a kid,” said Abernathy’s father.

Perfecting his self defense technique for around nine years and spending up to 15 hours a month at several different BJJ academies, he now rolls at the Paragon Academy located in Paso Robles. Abernathy has already progressed his way through six of the youth belts (white, gray-white, gray, gray-black, yellow, and yellow-black) where he

With goals of earning the black belt like his father, Abernathy plans to continue the martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu throughout his adulthood and master the skills of what it takes to become a true “black belt.”

“Jiu Jitsu to mE is a way of lifE. it’s brought up my confidEncE, it’s rEally fun, and i fEEl safE knowing i can dEfEnd mysElf in a lifE thrEatEning situation at any momEnt.”

Waylon abernathy, 12

ental Healt attersM

Occupational therapists and psychologists address increasing mental health concerns among teens

by Zoey Rainey, People Editor

Globally, The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 7 (14%) 10-19 yearolds experience mental health problems. Adolescence is a crucial period for developing social and emotional habits important for mental wellbeing. These include adopting healthy sleep patterns; exercising regularly; developing coping, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills; and learning to manage emotions. Protective and supportive environments in the family, at school, and in the wider community are important. This is especially apperant with today’s youth, there is a need for further help concerning mental health.

Many students don’t feel seen at PRHS and value being heard, “Very rarely will you find a teacher or a counselor that cares. Schools say that they care about mental health but in reality they don’t. They don’t even understand it. Teachers don’t read the cues of teens obviously not doing okay or they don’t realize that their loads of schoolwork do not help and make it a lot worse. Schools just think we are lazy and it doesn’t help with us. It’s just really hard because the most important thing a teen can hear from a teacher, counselor, their own parents is; I’m here for

you,” Senior Carson Reneau said. This also relates to what Junior Madalyn Williams had to say, “You never know what is going on in someone’s life and personally I am extremely busy as I balance a job, sports, school, and then home/family life it is hard. Having teachers not understand that or not give any slack because of that just causes rush and anxiety. In summary, I think that school definitely plays a stress and anxiety factor in my mental health. School is a place where we are supposed to learn and grow, students shouldn’t be getting anxiety, depression, etc. when trying to learn.”

WHat do tHeRapists & psyCHoloGists do?

They Provide

-Mental

-

-

“If [mEnTaL hEaLTh] ISn’T nORmaLIzEd OR bROughT TO LIghT, ThEn PEOPLE wOn’T bELIEvE [hELP] IS an OPTIOn, duE TO fEaR Of judgmEnT.”

PRHS offers occupational therapists and psychologists on campus for further counseling services to Bearcats. While this may seem unproductive because of the pre-existant school counseling, school sounseling and psychology are distinctly different, with different degree paths, training, licensure requirements, and services provided. Another major difference is that counselors offer services to about a thousand students in their designated grade level, while therapists and psychologists meet with anyone and manage a smaller count of students that come into their office. So, who are the therapists and psychologists that are on campus?

They Support

-Struggling

-

137 BeaRCats WeRe asked “HoW is youR CuRRent Mental HealtH on a sCale of 1 (GReat) - 10 (teRRiBle)”

-

Reccomended Ratio:

1

MICHELLE DIASPARRA (School Psychologist)

Michell Diasparra grew up in New York She’s been a psychologist for 12 years and has been at Paso Robles high school for the last six years. Diasparra has a background in forensic psychology, as it was her major in college, and went to John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. While doing her training she was doing research on serial killers and school shooters which inspired her to become a school psychologist, “I remember we were doing a case study on a kid from Oregon who was a school shooter, and looking at all the case files and the home videos and just all of that information. I remember asking one of my professors, how do we get that kid help before they become that kid? And that’s when another professor of mine stepped in and said, You need to be a school psychologist because you’re going to get to those kids before it ends in tragedy,” Diasparra said.

Her focus on campus is special education students, she does psychological evaluations, which include different types of processing, cognitive evaluations, and social-emotional assessments to see if kids need counseling. She also meets with kids individually for counseling along with counseling groups. She works with students who are in crisis and helps them get resources with somebody outside if that’s what’s needed. She’s available for all kids. Generally, kids will go to their counselor first, but when kids need more help because of their social-emotional well-being, they go to a psychologist to look for a special education referral. Diasparra has been focusing a lot at the moment on returning to school pertaining to the anxiety and depression that’s coming with having been at home for a year and a half. Many students have been having a very hard time getting through the day making it through the entire day without getting extremely anxious.

During sessions Diasparra tries to make sure kids feel safe and comfortable talking to her, “ I find that kids want to talk and they want to feel safe and they want to feel like somebody is hearing them and I very easily connect with them. I don’t use a lot of clinical terms. You know, I kind of try to talk like a normal person which is how I talk anyway, it’s very relaxed in here. So kids curse it’s, they don’t get in trouble for that kind of thing. Like, you know, they can be a little bit more open in here because it is just us.” Diasparra said. “One of the things I think that’s the most valuable about having me here, that I’m here full time five days a week, I don’t have any other schools in the district. And the fact that I’ve been consistently here for six years, I think has helped because I’ve really gotten to know the kids I’ve really gotten to know the parents, the families, the community. And for me, I just I absolutely love working here. I love the people I work with. I love the kids,” Diasparra said.

LAURA ESQUIVEL (School Therapist)

Laura Esquivel was born in the Mexican town of San Juan Nuevo and is bilingual in Spanish and English. She was raised in Paso, attending kindergarten through 12th grade. She moved back to Paso with her two children 7 years ago to be close to her family after over 13 years of living in Santa Barbara, Oregon, Okinawa, and Gilroy. As a therapist, she has worked at a military counseling center, a nonprofit for intensive community-based services, County Behavioral Health, and overseeing the Therapeutic Learning Classrooms (K-12) for special education at Atascadero Unified. Esquivel is the mental health therapist for PRHS and the alternative education programs, which include Liberty HS, Independence HS, and the homeschool program. She provides individual therapy, group therapy, and as-needed family therapy to students in the general education setting. She had planned to be a teacher. However, while working as an aid at an elementary school near UCSB, she saw how being a teacher is more than teaching math, science, English, etc., and had to make her first report of child abuse. She wasn’t sure anymore if she wanted to be a teacher. A friend suggested she volunteer as a crisis counselor at the local rape crisis center, which she did for almost two years. Being a crisis counselor made her realize she wanted to become a therapist. She has found value in being a therapist, “The most valuable aspect about being a therapist is creating and holding a safe space for students to show all parts of who they are and the struggles they are experiencing without judgment and by affirming who they are and their personal strengths,” Esquivel said.

At PRHS she has found that creating a safe space and making students comfortable has helped students open up and seek help, “My number one tool in therapy and to help students feel comfortable talking to me is being genuine and not hiding behind my title as “therapist.” I have a laidback, let’s be real approach and use humor when appropriate. I also model honesty and share about myself when it’s appropriate. Students have enough judgment from others and don’t need a therapist who will do that, I’m non-judgemental. I meet students where they are in their journey for wellness,” Esquivel said. The main way to reach out to Esquivel is through school counselors who can send referrals for further assistance. The most important thing Esquivel wanted everyone to take away from therapy is, “You matter, your mental health and wellness matters! Seek out support if you are in need.”

JANICE BRYANT (School Psychologist)

Janice Bryant grew up in Southern California and lived in Visalia. She loves the ocean and boating, she used to vacation in Morro Bay living in her boat with her sons and she fell in love with the Central Coast. While raising my sons, she had a really large home in Visalia and they didn’t use all of their space. Bryant wanted to show her kids that they were fortunate and could help others. They began fostering children and she opened a home for developmentally challenged children. Her sons and one of their foster children were very close so she ended up adopting him. He had an IEP (individualized educational plan) at that time, which was a whole new perspective for her. Bryant would go to the IEP meetings where she got in touch with the school psychologist. She had never heard of a school psychologist before but saw how helpful it was for her sons. She has a bachelor’s degree and a Bachelor of Science degree and is also a respiratory therapist. She has a master’s degree and a PPS credential. ABA. She is also working on receiving her BCBA, or board certified behavioral analysis analyst. She does counseling for students that are in general at the general education classes as well as special education.

First and foremost, the thing that she is most passionate about is connecting with kids. Connecting with students is the most important thing to her so that they feel safe to know that they can always come to her if there’s anything that they need. School psychologists do reports on students that are struggling, they attend IEP meetings, SSTs (socioemotional selectivity theory) to discuss whether students need more help. Bryant has noticed that a lot of students are currently struggling with social emotional issues, such as depression, anxiety, and we’ve had an increase in suicide threats, “It’s really, really hard to see kids struggle like that. I’ve also had some students come in and talk with me that were struggling because of their sexual orientation. And they feel threatened or bullied. And there’s also a lot of racial tensions on campus, which really really saddens me. I mean, we’re all human and we should all love each other and not be mean to each other because you know, students have enough problems and issues in their lives with everything that’s going on. And not not coming together as one is really disheartening to me,” Bryant said.

When students are struggling they would need to go into the counseling office or they can go directly to Bryant for assistance, “If a student is also needing to just speak to someone, if they’re having a bad day, anything like that, they can always come in here, and they can find me by the yellow signs that I put on the door.” Bryant is usually on campus in the early mornings, between 7:00 and 7:30, in the old career center near the attendance office. While students should try reaching out to their counselor first if they need help Bryant is always here to help, “Please know that I empathize with you. I want you to feel safe and make sure you’re supported. I’m always here. My door is always open.”

14 Days of LOVE

Georgina & Connor

Sophmores Connor Bowman and Georgina Abreu have been dating for over a month. However, their relationship is put to the test when they must draw a self portrait of the other. Watch as these amateur artists compete in the name of love in episode two of the series!

Maddie & Sebi

Junior Maddie Hurstak and Sophomore Sebi Radojevic team up for a game of chocolate roulette on day one of the quest for true love. Watch as the duo hilariously tries to guess which chocolate is which flavor and bond along the way!

Erin & Trevon

Senior Trevon Bridewell and Junior Erin Murphy join us on the love couch to decorate some sweetheart cookies! Watch to see who is the better cookie decorator of the iconic duo!

Izzy & Reily

The leadup to Valentines day each year always has bearcats buzzing with excitement (or dread) desperately trying to find a bae before the big day. But this year, we decided to take it to the next level with 14 days of love; Let’s get to know some of the couples on campus and set up some potentials as we watch to see if their relationship can pass these challenges. Love is in the air PRHS, come see who got hit by cupids arrow!

Seniors Reily Lowry and Isabelle Stemper are set up to take on the challenge of poetry. They must write the other a love poem in two minutes! Enjoy as the hilarious waterpolo stud and charming girl next door team up and create a work of art.

Ashley & Evan

On the fifth day of February, seniors Evan Swettenam and Ashley Paulsen join forces to play a game of Guess That Love Song. The two compete to gueses each song first and have lots of fun.

Gracie & Jonah

With the bubbly personality of cheerleader Gracie Nelson and funny Jonah Rankin they make the perfect couple. But when they play couple superlatives we get to really find out!

LA MAGIA EN LA FAMILIA

La nueva película, Encanto, de Walt Disney, captura la cultura colombiana y más

by Serentiy Wulfing, Social Media Director

Gente de todo el mundo se reúnen en el cine con palomitas en la mano para ver la nueva película, Encanto. Se publicó en los cines el 24 de noviembre y se estrenó en Disney plus el 24 de diciembre. La película recaudó más de $223 millones en todo el mundo y se convirtió en la segunda película animada más taquillera de 2021. Es la historia de una joven colombiana, Mirabel Madrigal qué no está segura de donde pertenece en su familia sobrenatural. Toda su familia incluyendo tías, primos y hermanas tienen poderes mágicos pero ella es la única qué no tiene un regalo.

“Podría relacionarme con Luisa en el sentido de sentir que eres la más fuerte y puedes resolver todo. Es impresionante como Luisa carga con todo aun cuando está luchando” dijo Hector Aguiñiga

La madre de Mirabel, Julieta, puede curar a cualquiera con comida, su tía Pepa controla el clima y su tío Bruno puede ver el futuro. Sus primos incluyen; Camilo puede cambiar formas, Dolores que escucha todo y Antonio que habla con los animales. Finalmente su abuela Alma es la guardiana de la vela. Esta vela es la portadora de los poderes de todos y Abuela Alma es quien perturba los poderes entre la familia.

Entonces, cuando llegó el momento de Mirabel de encontrar cuál era su regalo, la vela la rechazó y su abuela también. Abuela Alma no pudo ver el verdadero potencial de sus nietas y Mirabel lucha por tener que complacer siempre a los demás. Su Abuela solo buscó culpar a Mirabel por todo lo que había hecho y llegó a la conclusión de que Mirabel fue quien destruyó a su familia. Al final de este musical, su abuela se da cuenta de que se necesita una familia comprensiva para construir sus cimientos y mantenerse fuerte.

“El mensaje final para mi fue que debemos aceptar a la gente por quienes son” dijo Mariyah Putman.

Los creadores de Encanto son Jared Bush, Byron Howard y Charise Castro Smith. La música de la película encabezó la lista Billboard 200 de EE. UU., una lista récord que clasifica los 200 álbumes de música y EP más populares en los Estados Unidos.Howard y Bush comenzaron a discutir el tema de la cultura latina porque tenían experiencias similares con una familia extendida. P. Rendón y Osma son colombianos..

People from all over the world gather at the cinema with popcorn in hand to see the new movie, Encanto It was released in theaters on November 24 and premiered on Disney plus on December 24. The film grossed over $223 million worldwide and became the second highest grossing animated film of 2021. It is the story of a young Colombian woman, Mirabel Madrigal, who is unsure where she belongs in her supernatural family. Her entire family, including aunts, cousins and sisters, have magical powers but she is the only one who doesn’t have a gift.

“I could relate to Luisa in the sense of feeling that you are the strongest and can solve everything. It is impressive how Luisa carries everything even when she is struggling,” said Hector Aguiñiga

Mirabel’s mother, Julieta, can heal anyone with food, her aunt Pepa controls the weather, and her uncle Bruno can see the future. Her cousins include: Camilo, who can shapeshift, Dolores, who has super-human hearing, and Antonio, who talks to the animals. Finally, her grandmother, Alma, is the guardian of the candle. This candle is the source of everyone’s powers and Abuela Alma is the one who distributes this magic amongst the family.

However, when it was Mirabel’s time recieve a gift, the candle rejected her and so did her grandmother. Abuela Alma was unable to see the true potential of her granddaughter, causing Mirabel to struggle with always having to please others. Her Grandmother only sought to blame Mirabel for everything she had done and came to the conclusion that Mirabel was the one who destroyed her family. At the end of this musical, her grandmother realizes that it takes an understanding family to build her foundation and stay strong.

“The bottom line for me was that we should accept people for who they are,” said Mariyah Putman

The creators of Encanto are Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith Music from the film topped the US Billboard 200 chart, a record-breaking chart ranking most popular music albums and EPs in United States. Howard and Bush began discussing the topic of Latino culture because they had experiences similar with an extended family.

Mariyah Putman, 10

Hector Aguiñiga, 10

Graphics byMaliaGaviola

WE SEE

ON TV

by Michelle Rosas, Web assistant

WARNING: This artcle contains mentions of addiction, death, eating disorders, and other similar things

From light hearted comedies to powerful action films, what screens on TV has changed drastically throughout the years. In the late 1920’s to early 1930’ the first television statement came to life. Everything was in black and white and what was being shown were comedies and drama in acts. However, now there are so many new genres and new audiences that have been discovered. The first teen drama to ever come out in America was in between 1965 - 1966. Ever since that moment, younger viewers started watching more shows like these because they found them relatable. On January 25 of 2007 the show Skins came out.

It was about English students living through high school and college. But what made this show more different than others was that instead of Skins ending every episode with a happy ending, it showed the dark sad truth about things that go on in the real world. Skins was not sugar coated at all. The show talked about heavy topics that society or the public did not want to shine light on.Eating disorders, death, addiction, self harm, and many more dark topics were talked about and that started a lot of controversy because parents and commentators thought depressing subject matter isn’t

something that should be shown on TV, especially not for young audiences. Yet Skins became very popular around the world.

After that aditional shows talking about these topics were being shown more on TV and they became very popular. Those shows were shows like Euphoria, 13 Reasons Why, and The Vampire Diaries.

On an article by Culture Trip, 13 mental health professionals were asked how they felt about the popular teen drama 13 Reasons Why. Some of the experts said they thought the show was a great way to inform teens on these topics, and it was a great way to tell them to reach out and that help is out there.

However, some experts thought the show shouldn’t have come out or showed the heavy scenes found in its plot.

Yet on the Culture Trip article, mental health expert David Ezel said that the show 13 Reasons Why is more likely to save a life than take one. The show talks about the aftermath of a young girl taking her own life This professional says that the show is a possible way to help kids decide not to do it. He says the show shows more awareness than anything.

Another professional from the same article says that teenagers are impulsive and impressionable and they might pick up the bad or harmful things that are talked about in this show.

Some mental health professionals think these shows are a good way to help teenagers. Others completely disagree. But what do high school students think about these shows? When asked about the shows Euphoria, 13 R reasons Why , and skins sophomore Isabel Hackett said that she agreed with shows talking about

harsh topics. She thinks it’s important for shows to spread awareness about these things. She also thinks that in the future there should be more shows like these.

Sophomore Chloe Raisback says that these types of shows are not her favorite, but she finds them interesting. Railsback said that she read 13 Reasons Why and watched it, too. But she could not finish it because there was too much to unpack.

Taking a deeper look at what goes on television

“We have a misconception that mentioning the “s” word can lead someone to act on it, when in fact talking about suicide and giving it a name, can reduce shame and stigmatization around the topic.”

AMY E. ELLIS, PH.D. (CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST)

I DON’T INTERESTING

PREFER THEM BUT I THINK THEY ARE Chloe Raisback, 10

IT IS AWARENESS

IMPORTANT TO SHOW FOR THEM Isabel Hackett, 10

WHAT’S ON

YOUR RESUME?

Yarili Rangel

by Emily Neri, Carmesi Editor

PRHS Seniors show us the truth of customer service by rating places they work at

Danny Perez

Rangel has been employed at Fish Gaucho for 5 months. Rangel sees this job as a huge improvement from her previous job at Mcdonalds. “I would definitely recommend it to a friend and if you’re 16 and older, Fish Gaucho is definitely for you! It’s a place of love! Everyone is so accepting, there’s people from the LGBT+ community and everyone is able to express themselves in every way, shape, and form” Rangel said. Her rating is 10/10 and she loves the environment, coworkers, and the food.

Perez has worked at The Neighborhood for 4 months. “I would rate this job a 10/10 because it’s super fun and the environment is amazing. I absolutely love making plant based food for everyone in the community.” Perez said. Perez’s previous job was working at a holistic healing store which is a complete change of pace in comparison to his current job. “I was working retail targeting a specific group of people whereas this job is food and plant based items so we get a lot more people in this job. I still love both but this job has

Mariana Ramirez

amirez has worked at Finca for 9 months. “I enjoy working here so much, they are like a second family to me. I would rate my job right now a solid 10/10. The environment of Finca is a place you go to when you want to relax and have a good time all at once. The finca crew definitely makes this job worth working at and I am so grateful for that” Ramierz said. Her previous job was Famous Footwear and a Boutique shop, both of which cannot compare to her job now. Ramirez would definitely recommend this job to anyone interested.

Diego Ortega

has worked at Sculpterra Winery for 4 months. “This is my best job so far, I’m the host so I am learning how to talk to people. I love working here because my coworkers are my friends . My best memory is when the owners threw a dinner party for the workers” Ortega said. Ortega’s previous job was at Ranch Handyman. Ortega is involved in school so he isn’t able to work very much during the week. “They understand that I am always busy with sports and are very flexible with hours”

Fransico Anaya

Gianna Berlingeri

Anaya has worked at Taste Craft Eatery for the past 4 months. “I applied here because the environment seemed really friendly and welcoming.” Anaya said. He works an average of 10-15 hours a week now that school is in session again. In comparison to his previous job at Pollo Loco, his job now is a major improvement. “I enjoy working here because during the week it’s easy, the weekends are when it gets hectic because of how busy it gets.” Overall, Anaya rates this job a 9.3/10 and would recommend this job to other people. has worked at Comfort American Kitchen a year.

“My best experience working here is being able to build closer relationships with my coworkers so every shift is fun. This job is a 10/10 and I recommend this job to other people because they have flexible hours and good pay” Berlingeri said . At first, working here was difficult for her because she was not experienced, confused about a lot of things, and it was overwhelming when it was busy and understaffed. However, Berlingeri has built up a lot of skills, and thrives in her

WHAT IS PRHS

READING?

Two readers recommend some of their favorite books

by Cadence Eastep, Reporter

In a world full of electronic devices, the act of reading is not as common as it used to be. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people between 15 and 43 years old in the U.S. spend ten minutes or less each day reading, as of 2021. However, the app TikTok introduced a hashtag in early 2021 called BookTok. It brought the young adult book market up 50 percent in the first half of 2021.

BookTok has brought recommendation after recommendation to readers looking for a new story to read. The hashtag has truly skyrocketed: a TikTok search depicts 36.1 billion views of videos featuring the hashtag. A Booktok post often depicts a user recommending multiple books under a specific theme – fantasy, romance, horror. Many books can be seen recommended multiple times by many different users. Some of these titles are: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, and They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.

Cassidy Moses, a junior, is currently enjoying a novel called Skeleton Crew by Stephen King. The thrilling and horror genre of this book is something that she is often drawn to in novels. The book encapsulates 22 short stories written over the span of King’s career. It was originally released on June 21, 1985 and helped to cement King as one of the most prominent horror writers in the United States.

“I really like all of the imagery he uses,” Moses said. “I can see everything that’s happening in my mind. It keeps you on the edge of your seat.”

One of the stories, “The Monkey,” follows a haunted windup monkey toy as it ceaselessly bangs its cymbals together and haunts the main character Hal Shelbourn. He discovers this toy has been haunting his family for generations, killing them and their loved ones. He attempts to get rid of the monkey to protect his family from its lethal tendencies. The rest of the novel shares stories of this same nature – thrilling and frightening – with titles such as “The Mist” and “The Jaunt.”

Moses highly recommends the novel because she finds the tone to be harrowing and engaging, and full of suspense. She’d rate the book 8/10.

DON’T LOOK UP

A review on a film that brings up issues on climate change

by Chris Cisneros, Reporter

Ava Friedling, a freshman, identified her favorite book as Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

“It tells a really compelling story about a difficult situation, and it displays high school in a way that is true. Some authors are like ‘oh, people put you in lockers’, but this one is true, and it’s a very sensitive story,” Friedling said.

Speak follows 13-year-old Melindo

Sordino as she struggles with being attacked by a boy over the summer before her freshman year. She faces bullying and depression as she remains scarred from her encounter. The story captures how hard it is to speak up and stand up for yourself, especially in situations where you feel petrified and alone. Friedling would give a rating of 9/10 to the story.

The multitude of BookTok recommendations includes critics: not everyone is going to like every novel. Friedling counts herself one such critic: she read They Both Die at the End and didn’t have as high of an opinion as Booktok users who recommended it.

The book features two main characters Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio. They meet through an app managed by a company that informs people that today is their last day to live. They develop a deep bond and help each other grow because it’s the last day that they can.

“It was good, but it didn’t live up to my expectations, and the end wasn’t very satisfying. But, it was still a good book,” Friedling said. However, this novel was a very popular one at the peak of BookTok. In the first half of 2021, They Both Die at the End was the best selling US young adult novel, selling 300,000 copies.

BookTok has helped to bring reading back into the world for a shrinking reading sector. Some novels might not strike the fancy of some people as much as they do for others, but there are plenty of options.

on’t Look Up is a political satire comedy with a message and call to attention about climate change. This movie is about two low level astronomists that soon discover that a meteor the size of Mount Everest will hit earth in a little over six months. The only problem, besides the meteor, is that no one really seems to care about their impending doom. So Dr. Randall Hearst (played by Leonardo Dicaprio) and Kate Dibiasky (played by Jennifer Lawrence) go on a campaign and start a social media sensation urging people to “just look up” and make people aware of the near extinction of the human race.

DMany people are praising this movie for its message about the greed of humanity and corruption of governments all around the world. This movie is also a call to attention about climate change, the social aspects of this movie are very interesting. In a lot of parts of the story many of the high ranking officials sort of play down the fact that an asteroid the size of Everest is about to hit earth. The fact that a billionaire tech mogul has unlimited access to all aspects of the White House since he is the largest donor to the president’s campaign. The cinematography in the movie is but it could have been better at some points of the film. The ending of the film showing that the earth is in pieces and there’s debris flying and strewn all over the place does make the movie a bit better so I would give the cinematography of the movie a 8.5/10.

HELPING

Students, teachers, and members of our community contribute to making a positive impact on Paso Robles

by Rayvin Wulfing, Editor-In-Chief

Amidst the seemingly never ending divisiveness that plagues our community such as racial tensions, COVID-19 policy controversy, and the tendentious actions that lead to the Coming Out Against Hate Forum at PRHS, there is irrefutable proof of a strong, connected, and loving community in Paso Robles, joined by students, teachers, and all members of our community.

This in-depth section will illustrate the juxtaposition of divisiveness to the many great powerful acts of service seen from students, staff, and other members of our community. This includes Freshman Brandon Nguyen who dedicates over 65 hours of his time volunteering, ACT club that actively pursues the rights of students on campus, and JOOI, an entire club dedicated to bettering the community by organizing events like road cleanups or participating in toy drives.

On top of the clubs and students, there are also a number of faculty members who dedicate their time for the community.

Tim Gearhart is a school board member who teaches chess to elementary school kids, Ivan Huff, a cross country coach who has been coaching since 1986, Jennifer Bedrosian who instructs six separate subjects, and Bob Mahoney, a campus assistant who has been volunteering at PRHS for 17 years.

Lastly the dedicated community members like Brandon Stier who informs citizens through the PRotect Paso Facebook page, or a clinical psychologist Susana Lopez and former bearcat who was one of the first members of the pastoral Youth Commission, and Juanetta Perkins a member of the diversity committee, BSU, and a coach of two different sports.

One may never know the true impact of their dedication to serving others. Even the smallest actions can create the largest change in any community. These people don’t do it for the praise, but hopefully this in-depth section will shine a light on only a small number of community members who have given the greatest gift of all-- their time and service to the ones who need it most.

doing community Work not only makes our toWn better, it shoWs everyone What compassion is and it’s a good feeling to help other people

GETTING IT BRAN-DONE

Freshman class president commits himself to his community, one hour at a time

by Kalani Gaviola, Op-Ed Editor

To give, truly, is to contribute more than one takes and exceed expectations in doing so. And as Brandon Nguyen journeys through his first year at PRHS, he does exactly that.

Nguyen, despite only being a freshman, has dove head-first into his school extracurriculars; he runs freshman class decisions as president, participates in Leadership, and has amassed over sixty-five volunteer hours through his first semester while juggling the work of his four honors courses. For context, his leadership class only requires 30 hours for an A+, making his numbers double the necessary amount.

On a larger scale, this information means that Nguyen qualifies for the Bronze President’s Volunteer Service Award for teenagers, a nationally recognized and respected award, and is on his way to complete the over 100 hours in the one year time frame that the Gold award requires.

“I just love to help my community,” Nguyen said. “It makes me really happy and fulfilled (to know) I put a smile on somebody’s face.”

INTERACTING WITH JOOI

From volunteering at a quilt auction at Trinity Lutheran to the Annual Christmas Light Parade, Nguyen has left his mark all over Paso Robles.

In my 17 years of teaching Leadership (14 at Lewis and 3 at PRHS) don’t think I have had a student rack up so many community service hours,” Leadership teacher Jennifer Martinez said. “Every time a community service opportunity comes my way he is the first to jump at it, without asking questions or wondering what is involved. He just does it.”

And though the second semester promises more challenges regarding time as he begins his Boys’ Volleyball season, he still sees volunteering in his future: “I’m just going to (continue) going with the flow… but don’t worry! I will always try and find time to help people.”

“He is definitely a role model that others should follow. The world would be a better place if everyone had the drive to volunteer to help those in need. Brandon sets the bar high for his peers as well as adults,” Martinez said, and indeed Nguyen has proven himself to be one to watch in years to come.

ACT-ING TO MAKE A CHANGE

ACT club president spearheads campus change

by Maicah Cabello, Design Director

Every Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. Senior Melissa Gonzalez is planning ways to bring our campus together. As the president of the Activist Coalition for Tomorrow club (ACT) she has been leading events that promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

“Our goal is to make it normal to celebrate different cultures and to spread awareness on the fact that we are trying to eradicate hate in our community,” president Gonzalez said. In the first semester the club has put together a lunch event for Hispanic Heritage month, collaborated with Paso Robles ECHO shelter and other activist clubs at PRHS, and is now working to put on a baile in March. The baile’s goal is to show the 51% Hispanic/Latino community at PRHS that they matter and will be celebrated.

She is a part of the subcommittee that focuses on motivated hate on campus, but also finds ways to positively impact Paso’s community through her AVID class. Gonzalez has been able to volunteer at her old middle school, Lillian Larson, and help out with their sports programs. She also volunteers at her church to help them put on events.

Melissa Gonzalez, 12

“If we did more unity walks and cultural fairs downtown, it would really show our community that we care for them because that is what community service is: letting others know we got them during difficult and unknown times,”

it makes me really happy

While many may feel the world is progressing into turmoil, senior Solana Fairburn president of JOOI club, and sophomore Lyrika Cross president of Interact club, lead their fellow club members in being the silver lining of the community.

JOOI club (pronounced joy) stands for Junior Optimist Octagon International. “To reach out to our community, we work with the Paso Robles Optimist Club composed of many different volunteers of different backgrounds who have graciously presented us with potential opportunities to reach out,” Fairburn said. So far this year, the club has held monthly street cleanups on Creston, held a spelling bee for our local third graders, helped out the Toy Bank, and more. Fairburn believes these events are especially important at this time as, “Right now, our community and beyond has suffered the immense impact of COVID-19, political division, and plausible economic/environmental devastation - depending on who or where in the world you are, “ Fairburn said. “Everyone seems to be on high alert or is in search of a glimmer of hope. If helping out our small community could make at least one person smile, then think we’ve done our job.”

A major part of the JOOI club reputation was Bill Pluma a senior community member who put much of his efforts towards children and teens in the community. He sadly passed away Dec. 12, 2021. During his time serving the community, he raised $3,000 to help keep the career center open, awarded thousands of dollars in annual scholarships for high school students, organized the annual spelling bee for elementary students, organized the yearly Day of Giving for the Toy Bank, and was nationally honored and recognized for his community service and organizing efforts in Paso Robles. As fellow colleague Robin Smith reminisces, “... Bill believed that volunteerism is a vital investment in our

community and the people who live in it.”

Interact club works with Rotary to aid the community. The Rotary club defines themselves as, “an organization of business and professional persons united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world,” according to the International Rotary Club website.

“So far we have done a quilt auction, river bed clean up, bell ringing for Salvation Army, and we shopped for a family in need,” Cross said. Cross feels empowered by her work because, “If I can help someone in any way even if it doesn’t benefit me and can just put a smile on their face then I’ll be happy for the rest of the day.”

According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor, people aged 16 to 24 are the least likely to volunteer. However, both JOOI and Interact club show the contrary. Cross encourages her fellow peers to get involved because, “Some people might be like ‘oh community service how boring’ but it’s honestly really fun. You get to do good out of the goodness of your heart and make and hang out with friends along the way.

I’d say that’s a win win for me.”

We have funded scholarships and helped elementary school students have cool experiences and find passion in learning. the fact that high school students are able to bridge this gap is amazing.

Seth Draine, Jooi Club aDviSor

MeliSSa GonZaleZ, 12

Brandon Nguyen, 9

Solana Fairburn, 12

Lyrika Cross,10

Despite all of the divide and tension this year has brought, students were able to face this adversity with service towards their community

by Emily Rogers, Pop-Culture Editor

and fulfilled (to knoW) i put a smile on somebody’s face branDon nGuyen, 9

to me community service means giving back. i’m glad to be able to do anything i can to help this club.

linDa MiDkiff, interaCt Club aDviSor

NO MORE FLUFF WITH

Cross Country and Track coach Ivan Huff continues leading a legacy of involvement and hard work

by Kalani Gaviola, Op-Ed Editor

Not many can say they’ve done anything without pause and with such acclaim for over three decades. Luckily, PRHS Cross Country and Track coach Ivan Huff isn’t most people.

Huff has been coaching Cross Country since 1986 and Track since the 90’s. Through his time, he’s also balanced being a professional athlete, supervisor, and father.

Huff has notably qualified for the Olympic trials three times, and was induced in the Bearcat Hall of Fame for his athletic accomplishments.

Huff, currently, dedicates so much of his time towards coaching that he can’t pinpoint how many hours per week he spends with his athletes, but is known for leading practice after school during weekdays and on Saturday mornings for his particularly motivated runners.

“I’m addicted to running,” Huff said, “I love the whole idea of trying to push yourself to get better and better. I like seeing that improvement and how people do more than they think they can.”

Competition, however, remains one of Huff’s major goals, and he has channeled that by leading a multitude of his teams to great physical heights, most recently coaching

BUSY

Leadership and Dance teacher

Jennifer Bedrosian serves community one student voice and dance step at a time

by Rayvin Wulfing, Editor-in-Chief

Whether it’s planning a canned food drive with her students in leadership, or coordinating a dance performance to advocate for social justice with her dance classes, Jennifer Bedrosian serves her community in a way that impacts everyone around her.

“Jen is one of those people that make our community a better place by promoting student work to the community and showing the community all the positive things that happen at PRHS,” said Jennifer Martinez, who has been co-teaching the leadership classes at the high school with Bedrosian for 3 years.

Bedrosian has been a teacher at PRHS for 14 years and is the only teacher on campus who teaches 6 separate classes: Beginning Dance, Intermediate Dance, Advanced Dance, Leadership, Advanced Leadership, and Link crew (a class meant for upperclassmen to provide support to new freshmen).

senior Charlotte Castelli and junior Sydeny Moore to positions first and eighth respectively at the CIF Division II race.

Other cross country and track participants swear by Huff’s adeptness at coaching, too: Freshman Tony (Nhan) Van notes the incredible growth he’s seen since starting running under Huff.

“He pushes us to where we thought we couldn’t achieve… He’s helped the whole team a lot through the season and I’m glad he’s our coach,” Van said.

Xochilt Luis Lopez shares similar sentiments. “Coach Huff is one of the most encouraging, hardworking, and dedicated coaches I’ve ever had,” she said, “He has definitely helped create a family in our team.”

Huff is one of tHe most encouraging, Hardworking, and dedicated coacHes i’ve ever Had Xochilt lUiS lopez, 12

This sportsman’s dedication to this community has made an impact in the lives of countless teens, strengthening legs along with resolve; going the distance as team bonds strengthen and success continues.

“From constantly supporting her students in their personal needs to helping with community impact events such as the can food drive to even just saying hello when you pass by her in the halls she always manages to put a smile on your face,” said senior Sarah Krumme who has been a leadership student of Bedrosian for 4 years.

As a leadership teacher, Bedrosian teaches her students valuable lessons about leadership --one of which is how to serve your community. Leadership students are required to log community service hours each semester, and they coordinate various events to help out our community such as annual canned food drives, and blood drives.

As the dance teacher on campus, Bedrosian helps teach and inspire her already talented dancers to become more skilled dancers. She and her dance class believe in supporting their community through their creative expression. This school year they have performed for two social justice events: the MLK memorial event at PRHS on Jan. 13, 2022, and the Coming Out Against Hate Forum Event at PRHS on Oct. 20, 2021.

“By using the arts to speak for social justices, Mrs. Bedrosian has contributed in creating a better community for all,” said senior Reese Hartley, who has been a leadership and dance student of Bedrosian for 4 years.

Many of Bedrosians students admire her hard work and dedication for her classes. It can sometimes take a full day to prepare for lessons and when she is preparing for an event such as a school pep rally or a dance performance she spends countless hours preparing for it in the weeks leading up to the event.

“There are so many ways to serve, but when there is a cause that is important, reach out to the organizations that you can support,” Bedrosian said. “High school is the rehearsal, the practice for knowing how to get involved as an adult.”

Xochilt Lopez, 12

Reese Hartley, 12

Campus Assistant Bob Mahoney makes a meaningful impact on students in the 800s quad

by Rayvin Wulfing, Editor-In-Chief

As students walk through the quad surrounded by the 600 and 800 buildings at PRHS they are sure to run into a friendly and well known Campus Assistant, Bob Mahoney

If you see the famous Mahoney, you will recognize his iconic outfit including a crimson shirt, a Bearcat hat, and an earpiece and walkie talkie on his belt, ready for the hustle and bustle of student life. For 17 years, PRHS has been blessed to have Mahoney as a Campus Assistant. He is an essential piece in the well being and safety of students at PRHS.

Mahoney walks between 5-7 miles everyday between 9am to 2pm with a goal to say “hi” to every student in his quad at least once during nutrition, A or B lunch, or passing period so students passing through or congregating near the math wing are sure to be greeted with a grand smile from Mahoney and then the comforting question; “How are you doing today?”

“I try to talk to every student in my quad everyday,

or twice a day,” Mahoney said. “I enjoy the interaction with them, it’s the best part of my day.”

Juniors Alan Lara and Jose Olvera hang out in Mahoney’s territory most days and appreciate Mahoney’s presence on campus as well.

“I see him every day, he’s pretty caring and he always asks how we’re doing,” Lara said.

“Bob is very caring and is very nice to us,” said Olvera. “My favorite thing is how he always asks how we’re doing and he checks in on us and if we’re having a bad day he tries to support us and helps us out.”

Before working as a Campus Assistant, Mahoney was a police officer for 30 years, but says working with students is his “favorite job.” He enjoys watching the student’s progress and hopefully see them graduate one day.

“It’s enjoyable to see the growth of a student between their freshman and senior year and to see them graduate,” Mahoney said. “To watch them on

PUTTING HIS IN IT

Board member Tim Gearhart teaches chess to elementary school kids

by Kalani Gaviola, Op-Ed Editor

the stage and receive their diploma…*moment*”

I tell you it’s the best thing to see their parents glowing, and usually their mothers will have a tear in their eye, because they know

To many, Tim Gearhart is a board member, long-standing local presence, and a former teacher of thirty-six years. But to over thirtyeight children attending Paso Robles elementary and middle schools, he is a coach, and not the traditional sort either: Gearhart worked in our district for twenty-one years and since his second year here, he has dedicated about 2 hours of his free time each week to teaching chess to the youth of our community, and the results are as cute as one would imagine.

Though he has a history in Kiwanis, Paso Cares, and youth soccer, Gearhart fully dedicated himself to instilling a love of chess in adolescents all throughout his career. When he first transferred to Lewis, he helped raise money for chess sets by collecting alumniation cans, talking to ASB, and lending own personal sets.

Presently, Gearhart helps at Winifred Pifer Elementary School and Daniel Lewis Middle School on Monday, after school, and Wednesday during lunch respectively.

“The kids were up and running right away,” Gearhart said. “What’s really exciting too is all the types of kids in (particularly) the Pifer club… We have kids in special ed and regular ed. Girls and boys. All talents levels through grades... (For example,) there’s a second grader who’ll just knock your socks off.”

And, as with most things, skill definitely plays a factor in teaching, and Gearhart accommodates for that as he guides his mentees along, employing key learning methods with all students.

“When they want to learn something new, we play and then address any weakness. Or, take one of their strengths and show them different ways of using that kind of attack. (With this approach,) everything is modified to fit the needs of the student,” Gearhart said. “It’s really easy in chess to use differentiated instruction.”

When asked about why he has continued on this path for so long, Gearhart didn’t have to think for long.

“I’ve been doing this for quite a few years now… one of the reasons why is, not only do I enjoy the game of chess itself, but you can (also) see the chess players grow, change, and expand, with their math score going up (as well.)”

This idea is also supported by the study “Mathematical Problem-Solving Abilities and Chess: An Experimental Study on Young Pupils” by PhD student, researcher, and professor Giovanni Sala, Alessandra Gorini, and Gabriella Pravettoni, who found that there was a strong correlation between chess-playing and mathematical abilities through a series of experiments on young people.

Looking to the future, Gearhart has plans of developing a chess program that includes pay for the teachers that volunteer to coach after school.

“I’m still going to have my groups, but at the same time, I want to support more chess clubs throughout the district. So that’s what I’m doing now,” Gearhart said, ensuring that this game that has been such a staple in his life helps guide others’ intellectual and personal journeys as well.

Bob Mahoney, Jose Olvera (11), Alan Lara (11)

MEDIATING

Professor, psychologist, community member, and former Bearcat, Dr. Susana Lopez influences those around her

by Jocelyn Lopez, Design Co-Editor

Ranging from teaching multicultural psychology at Cal Poly to her activism in the community, Dr. Susana Lopez mediates her way through SLO County.

“Dr. Lopez is a wonderful human being of which I’m glad to have connected with. She’s always willing to help students and create open and safe environments for us,” senior Kelen Macharia said, who has worked alongside Lopez.

Lopez owns a private practice in Atascadero where she focuses mostly working with families and adolescents, ranging from various ages. She similarly applies her knowledge working part time for UCLA doing family-based intervention research: looking at how an intervention reduces the rates of recidivism and improves mental health in youth involved in the juvenile justice system. She is involved in doing cognitive, IQ, and autism assessments, assessing those that meet the diagnosis criteria. If they can’t get the services and treatment needed, then she helps them with beyond diagnosis.

Lopez’s activism is mainly recognized through her leadership role as the cochair for the Paso Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. A committee that was created by various community members that were ready to create change, shortly after George Floyd’s death in spring of 2020.

Lopez grew up in Paso Robles, CA. She attended Georgia Brown Elementary School and graduated from Paso High School. Attending PRHS she felt out of place at times, trying to navigate her bi-cultural identity while involved in classes that were predominately white. However, through her involvement in the Avid program, MECHA, and leadership she had great experiences and opportunities that she looks back at and reminisces.

Lopez was a first generation student and through her curiosity, she was

PASO

Owner

by Asusena Uribe, Carmesi Co-Editor

one of the first members of the Youth Commission in our area. The Paso Robles Youth Commission is an advisory board to the city council that is youth-led and collaborates with local government, which seeks to provide opportunities and representation for youth. She joined it because it was advertised as “your voice will be heard by city officials.”

Lopez has recently begun assisting in creating a Field Studies Collaborative (FSC) on Multicultural Studies. Where a team of 12 high school students will be looking at experiences of microaggressions in students in the high school, through a qualitative community based research framework.

“My goal is that it’s not just about publishing this research, but really, making it something where it can come back to the community, and be useful in some way,” Lopez said.

As a mother of three daughters, their future, and the youth, she

Empowering citizens to make lasting positive impacts in their communities,” creates the motive for the organization of PRotect Paso in accomplishing their goal of serving their community and their members.

Brandon Stier has changed community involvement with this creation of keeping Paso safe and informed, with local news being reported 24/7 on the page.

Stier is a 35 year old Paso high graduate from the class of 2005, who has been native to this town. He owns multiple businesses including Stier Events and has two children.

Protect Paso initially started in 2020 during the riots and protests that occurred around the whole country. With his regard of keeping his town safe, he created this organization in order to support local business, police officers and later use it as a way to benefit his community.

When PRotect Paso was initially established it gained over 6,000

community members in less than 24 hours. Currently this organization consists of over 11,000 members constantly receiving over 335,000 engagement notifications monthly.

“Almost all of our members are very, very active and engaged which is what makes this group so successful,” Stier said.

In the beginning first year of PRotect Paso they were able to raise over 250,000 dollars for local officers, families and the homeless in the crisis of the California Fires. They then created a “Tsunami or Flood” campaign to help local businesses struggling to boost their sales . A small tax increase then provided 10 million dollars a year to Police, Firefighters, and roads with PRotect Paso playing a major role in passing the Measure J-20.

“I’m a firm believer that it’s our civil duty to serve and give back to our community. If we don’t have a strong community, we don’t have a strong future. Our community is made up of many different cultures, backgrounds, skillsets, talents, business owners, leaders, problem solvers, and pioneers,” Steir said.

In Dec. 2021 Steir concluded his second annual Christmas At The Steir’s Event, which was a toy and food drive that raised over 1,000 dollars, 700 pounds of food and a trailer full of toys for children battling cancer.

They partnered with Along Comes Hope and Loaves and Fishes to create this event.

“Everything I do is solely for the love of Paso Robles and its citizens, and to set examples for our youth to hopefully learn from, follow and become more innovative than myself in building a future for our city. It’s going to take all of us,” Steir said.

of PRotect Paso, Brandon Stier, gives insight on his achievements in contributing to the community

ATHLETE, COACH,

Juanetta Perkins makes an impact with each of her Paso Robles roles

by Malia Gaviola, Editor-in-Chief

It’s the lasting impact that drives Netta Perkins to keep going, keep coaching. It’s the ability to see the basketball athlete or track star years later still call her ‘coach’. Yet, her role as a track and basketball coach is just one of the many that Netta Perkins, born and raised in Paso Robles, has taken. Through her constant involvement in this community, Perkins is a Bearcat graduate of 89’, an athlete, coach, vice president of Paso Cares, a member of Paso People’s Action, a volunteer, mom, leader, activist, and giver.

Once an athlete, now she is the assistant coach for varsity girls’ basketball and the head coach for triple and long jump in track and field. Through this position she seeks to be the role model that her coaches were for her.

“I was influenced by some great coaches in High School. I mean, I was this poor, lived in Oak Park, kid that didn’t have a lot but I excelled in sports and I guess I showed him [my coach] that it was worth him putting time into me,” Perkins said. “I saw that [relationship] and wanted to be what he was to me and to other kids. So I always wanted to be a coach. I wanted to mold young people into being good citizens.”

to us,” Perkins said. “We want to help the families that don’t qualify for the help or they don’t trust the system. And definitely we want to build that trust with those people that they can start reaching out if they need help.”

Perkins serves the community through Paso Cares, advocates for equity through Paso People’s Action, speaks out for those whose voices go unheard, and advocates for representation in education through Paso’s Diversity Committee. Perkins stated that she seeks to make Paso Robles a better place for her daughter.

“At one point I didn’t know that my voice was important. Or that I even had one. But, PPA is there to be that voice for people who are scared or or don’t want to use their voice.” Perkins said, an active member of Paso People’s Action, a group entirely made up of women that either graduated from or were born in Paso. “I have a

“I have a chIld In thIs school dIstrIct and In thIs commun rIght now my goal In anyth

Is to make sure that I lead by example. I want that example to show that I have compass mIstakes, and I’m w

Perkins went to Georgia Brown Elementary, Flamson Middle School, and PRHS. Though she started playing when she was 5, it was in sixth grade that she began calling herself a competitor as her basketball career began. At the high school she competed in volleyball, basketball, and track and field, winning CIF for volleyball in 1988 and CIF for track and field in 1987, 88, and 89. Perkins solidified her place in Paso’s history books when she was selected as Athlete of the Yyear in 1989, and she was later inducted into PRHS’s “Hall of Fame” in 2015.

Akasha Asberry, a junior at PRHS, has known Netta Perkins since she was two years old and competes under Perkins as a basketball player and jumper in track and field.

“She could be like a hard coach because she knows what you can do, even if you don’t. She always wants to push you to that next level. You know what her expectations are for you,” Asberry said. She has been able to witness, first hand, the passion that Perkins holds for coaching.

Perkins has sought to improve the lives of youth in Paso Robles through coaching as well as through her involvement and leadership in the Paso Cares Foundation, Paso People’s Action, and Paso Robles Diversity Committee.

Perkins is the Vice President of Paso Cares and helped remodel the organization after taking it over from just feeding the homeless and providing shelter to actively reaching out to the people that don’t usually go to Echo shelters.

“We want to be able to serve the community, those people in the community. We go to them, we don’t wait for them to come

Juanetta Perkins

B E ARCATS ON BEIJING

The new year began with a resurfacing of COVID-19 and its varying strains, showing no regards to the fast approaching Winter Olympic games. The games are scheduled to occur from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 with 19 days in between set aside for 15 of the most chilling sports. In the last few months of 2021, the National Hockey League (NHL) stated that none of the current hockey players would participate in the Beijing Olympics solely based on increasing COVID concerns. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and American Hockey League (AHL) athletes will have a chance to participate for the USA team alongside many other countries. With the Olympics being held in Beijing, discussion of safety protocols has been paramount to whether or not countries send their athletes due to exposure with the Omicron and Delta variants.

The guidelines for the 2,900 athletes have changed since the Olympic games this past summer in Tokyo, Japan, from July 23 to Aug. 8 2021, though several of the same rules are in place for the athletes, coaches, and media who are to be in attendance at the events. The rules include some type of isolation period after the arrival to Beijing, as well as required testing daily in order to participate and/or be present for the events. Athletes traveling to China do not have to be vaccinated in order to partake in the Olympics; however, they will have to be in isolation for a three week period after leaving the “bubble.” The “bubble” is an area that the city of Beijing has set aside for the people taking part in the Winter Olympics, which is solely for Olympic personnel.

Foreign exchange student Willa Wroldsen-Rolland gave her thoughts on the precautions for Covid-19, along with how she feels about her home country’s engagement in Beijing.

“I fully support countries for taking out their athletes, but for now Norway plans on sending their athletes as long as they’re vaccinated,” Rolland said. She is from Bærum,

Norway.

While Rolland has been in the United States, she has started to experience the different guidelines present for the Covid-19 variants. Having been dreaming of the states for 8 years of her life, finally being able to enjoy the “American dream” has been enlightening, but different from her current guidelines in both countries. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), Norway is in level 4, which is considered the highest level on the current scale, for COVID-19. Some of the guidelines for Norway are similar to those in the US, with face coverings required and the quarantine measures in place for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Along with similar testing measures to those being used for the Olympics, rapid tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are being offered for those traveling.

Last winter OLympics in 2018 we [nOrway] wOn 14 gOLds, 14 siLvers and 11 brOnze medaLs.

According to the CDC, the world average of Covid cases have fluctuated with about 21,820,541 in a weekly period, with Norway being 32 and the US being one on the most recent list. Rolland is also an athlete, and she competes in show-jumping activities that are the equivalent to the summer Olympic sport of Team Jumping. She is excited for the start of the games, but is still very concerned for their personal safety. Rolland is in a situation with her home country and the US, with Norway being offered to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. The financial burden was only part of the decision made by Norway. The Norwegian people have had opposition to the idea of the games with the pandemic still raging, especially with Omicron and Delta variants transmission rates becoming higher as each new day arises.

Some of America’s well known athletes will represent the country during this chaos. Snowboarder Shaun White and men’s figure skater Nathan Chen are two of our athletes to go head to head for the gold. White is set to go to his fifth winter Olympic games to defend his 2018 gold medal win in the men’s half-pipe. However, he will face one of his biggest rivals in the coming days with Ayumu Hirano, a Japanese snowboarder who beat White during the LAAX competition this past year.

Chen is set to bring home a higher medal this upcoming Olympic than the one he brought home in 2018, a bronze. He has been training proficiently for the past four years, continuing to hold his world champion and his US national champion titles. Yuzuru Hanyu is the two-time defending Olympic champion who will be coming back for his gold medal in Beijing against Chen.

For the upcoming days, the eyes will be on both White and Chen to bring home Olympic gold for the US against their toughest competition. Some of the other sports to keep watch on include pair skiing, bobsleigh (Jamaica), and the ice hockey teams.

The competition will start early with curling and ice hockey competing on Feb. 2, a day prior to the official opening ceremonies. Though COVID has not been the only worry amongst some countries, the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia are examples of the diplomatic boycott towards China. The civil rights debate that China has been facing over the past two years helped make the decision for foreign diplomats to not personally attend the games in person.

“We’re not sending any political representation because of political differences, such as concentration camps and LGBTQ+ views,” Rolland said on the current diplomatic boycott.

Willa RollandWilson,1 2

With the 2022 Winter Olympics in focus, PRHS students share concerns made by various countries on COVID-19 and participation

by Kayla Degnan, Photographer

by Elise Mathers, News Editor

Coronavirus has continued its spread and tripled since 2020 CORONAVIRUS COMPARING 2020

Throughout 2021, the coronavirus pandemic that began in early 2020 continued its worldwide spread. As of Jan. 30, 2022, California has seen 8,213,694 million confirmed cases with San Luis Obispo County being responsible for 46,951 of those cases (SLO County data from 1/28/22).

On Jan 25, 2020, California saw its first case of COVID-19 when a man from Orange County tested positive for the virus. The following day, a second California resident tested positive, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the United States to five. By the end of January, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global emergency. On March 18, 2020, San Luis Obispo county adopted shelter in place policies, along with six other counties. It was only the next day when a shelter in place was issued across the entire state. Cases in California continued to rise, with the records continuously breaking themselves.

By the middle of June, certain businesses were given the go-ahead to open up. What seemed to be the beginning of the end was quickly shaken as those businesses were ordered to close again by mid-July. The more-contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 found itself infecting people in California. The state continued to break its own records, and the Fall 2021 school year began behind screens. Restrictions continued to intensify and then be put at ease, with the first vaccinations arriving in December of 2020. By the end of the year, California reported 2,367,492 cases and 31,338 deaths related to COVID-19.

In the beginning of January 2021, California set a goal of vaccinating 1 million people within a ten day period. Eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccination started to increase, and the cases did as well. On February 24, 2021, California surpassed 50,000 deaths related to COVID-19. In the first week of August, the state surpassed 4 million cases. This was an increase of just over 1.6 million since January. By December, over 5 million cases had been reported, and 76,690 deaths.

CALIFORNIA

CASES: 27

DEATHS: 0

SLO COUNTY

CASES:

2021

CALIFORNIA

CASES: 3.465 M

DEATHS: 40,908

SLO COUNTY

CASES: 17,887

DEATHS: 177

CASES: 20,975

DEATHS: 172

CASES: 83 DEATHS: 0

CASES: 3.735 M

DEATHS: 52,194

CASES: 20,522

DEATHS: 256

CASES: 113,006

DEATHS: 4,251

CASES: 271

DEATHS: 1

CASES: 3.839 M

DEATHS: 62,454

CASES: 4.065 M

CASES: 500,130

DEATHS: 9,224

CASES: 1,840

DEATHS: 15

DEATHS: 64,000

CASES: 21,327

DEATHS: 261

CASES: 22,229

DEATHS: 266

CASES: 813,687

DEATHS: 15,888

CASES: 3,649

DEATHS: 31

CASES: 4.728 M

DEATHS: 70,119

CASES: 28,208

DEATHS: 324

CASES: 1,225,189

DEATHS: 19,211

CASES: 6,345

DEATHS: 38

CASES: 5.066 M

DEATHS: 73,822

CASES: 30,504

DEATHS: 365

AWAY WITH ROE V WADE?

by Bricen Chitty, Web Director

The United States is the most pro-choice it has been in our entire history. 56% of 18 - 29 year olds are in support of abortion compared to only 39% of 50 - 64 year olds are pro-choice according to Gallup.

Despite this, 50 years after the famous Supreme Court Decision Roe v. Wade was ruled in favor 7-2, making state regulation of abortion unconstitutional, it is once again fidning it’s way traveling up the Supreme Court stairs at the mercy of the nine Justices. When the original ruling was made, it was determined that abortion fell under the Fourteenth Amendment, “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”.

This case law has seen a number of revisions throughout the years, most notably Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey which established that restrictions on abortion that place an “undue burden” on women seeking an abortion before the fetus is viable is unconstitutional.

However, in recent years the case law has been challenged several times. In May 2021, Texas adopted a new law, S.B. 8, that banned practically all abortions beyond fetal cardiac activity, which occurs between six and seven weeks after pregnancy when the fetus first develops a heartbeat. Two days before this law went into place, an emergency request was filed to the Supreme court to block the enforcement in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, and just three days later the court ruled in favor of Jackson 5-4 allowing the law to stand.

It was decided that since the law wasn’t being enforced by the state, but rather gave the power of enforcement to the private citizen, it isn’t unconstitutional. This law allows any private citizens to sue anyone who performs an abortion after six weeks, and if they win the legal battle they are awarded $10,000 on top of all legal costs that must be paid by the defendants. The law makes no exceptions for rape or incest.

In 2018, Mississippi adopted a law that banned

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nearly all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. This law was enacted with the sole purpose of going to the Supreme Court to challenge Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court agreed to review the case in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, answering whether all pre-viability abortions are unconstitutional. “The state chose to pass a law it knew was unconstitutional to endorse a decades-long campaign, fueled by national interest groups to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.” said Judge Carlton W. Reeves

In response to the looming threat of Roe v. Wade being overturned in a Supreme Court that’s majority republican, President Joe Biden has appointed a commission to consider the overhaul of the Judiciary Branch structure. This could include a number of changes, but the most advocated change has been to increase the number of justices from nine to eleven according to the New York Times.

nOr SHaLL any STaTe dePrIve any PerSOn Of LIfe, LIBerTy, Or PrOPerTy, wITHOuT due PrOCeSS Of Law united states Constitution

If Roe v. Wade is overturned the access to safe, legal, and affordable abortions will be removed from effectively 22 states. Contrasting this, 75% of abortion patients are low income and more than half are people of color according to Guttmacher Institute. This Supreme Court decision could drastically impact disadvantaged communities, making it one of the most influential Supreme Court decisions in recent years.

Check out more podcasts at crimsonnewsmagazine.org

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(3:55 - 4:06)

After nearly fifty years, Roe v Wade is back in the Supreme Court and experts are uncertain what the future holds for millions of women

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Pro-Life Protest: Woman holding sign at a pro-life ralley saying “Abortion... One heart stops another heart breaks”

THE AMERICAN FLAG;

UNITED WE STAND OR FALL

Discussing controversial opinions on the American Flag

by Braydon Hoier, Sports Reporter

Questions about the American flag’s meaning recently have raised the topics of race, politics, and identity. In the summer of 2020 incidents such as BLM related these topics to the flag. Since then, the meaning of this country’s flag has brought controversy and division among the people. According to a poll by NPR in October 2020, “Many white Americans who described themselves as more conservative said they still see the U.S. flag as fairly simple and unifying”; on the other hand, many of the 1,800 people NPR interviewed, especially those who lean more liberal said “it’s not that simple… the American flag comes with baggage that can’t be ignored”. Some African

Americans felt like the relation of BLM to the American flag made them take down their flags for some time. NPR interviewed Kevin Lopez, a Microsoft worker from San Pedro, California. “‘It was pretty disheartening for a little while, with the way our people we’re being treated,’’ Lopez said. He explained to NPR why his family decided to take down the American Flag, but they didn’t want to let the flag feel like the confederate flag did for their parents. With all the controversy around the American Flag, to most Americans it is still seen as a sign of Unity for all people no matter your race, identity, or beliefs.

Bearcats answer the question:

“The American Flag is a symbol of our country’s persistence and ability to persevere through issues that greatly affected the world. It shows the sacrifice people make to protect us and it shows that America is stronger when we stand united”

Courtney Taylor,

“To me, the American flag is a symbol of freedom, justice, unity, and liberty. I believe in standing up for the flag and everyone who has served for our country. The sacrfice, bravery, and courage of all of those who fought for our rights and the ability to live is what the American flag means to me”

“I feel like the American Flag brings out the worst in some people and it represents the freedom we fought for”

“The American Flag meaning to me is Patriotism, Freedom, Pride, Unity. Patriotism meaning love and support of my country. Freedom meaning I have the ability to say as I feel, go as I please and think as I want. Pride meaning I feel proud of my forefathers who fought and died defending this country so that I can have the ability to be free in this nation”

9

Kade Mitchell, 10

Allison Hernandez, 12

Kellen Scharlotta, 10

“To me the American flag is a symbol of what it means to be an American. The flag means the right to freedom. We are so blessed to be living in this country and that wouldn’t be possible without the people that fight for this country everyday. The flag is part of honoring those who have fallen and those who are still fighting”

Kylie Stroud, 11

“WHAT DOES THE AMERICAN FLAG MEAN TO YOU?”

BIDEN AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Biden’s environmental policy is impacting Bearcats with decisions concerning climate change

President Joe Biden is entering 2022 facing controversy over his plans, or lack thereof, to combat climate change.

When President Biden first stepped into the White House, he outlined four main priorities to address during his presidential term. One of these priorities was climate change, along with battling the pandemic, strengthening the economy, and addressing racial inequality. As he enters his second year of presidency, concern has arisen over when he will deliver on his guarantees for improvement, dropping his approval rating to 41% (Pew Research). Biden has proposed the “Build Back Better” bill, which will direct over a trillion dollars to various causes, including climate change, expanding child tax credits, granting American workers four weeks of paid leave, and making housing and elder care more affordable.

Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, the executive director of

by Liliana Voorheis, World Editor

the Children’s Environmental Health Network, said that “This will be one of the biggest opportunities we’ve had in my two decades of public health work.” The bill would grant schools billions of dollars for improvement to their facilities.

However, the air quality outside of school is causing issues as well. Students in areas with high levels of air pollution and heat, like schools in LA and Bakersfeild, have lower graduation rates and test scores. People living near coal and power plants are more likely to be exposed to greenhouse gasses, as well as mercury and arsenic. Here in California, we have two power plants- Diablo Canyon and San Onofre. In 2018, California’s leaders decided to have these both closed by 2025, passing a bill which would obligate California to be carbon-neutral by 2045. The editorial board at The Washington Post believes that this is actually a step in the wrong direction, and that “closing

Diablo Canyon would make the state’s energy transition costlier, longer and more chaotic.”

Sophomore Avrum Kline believes that what Biden is doing in opposition to climate change isn’t making enough impact. To help with pollution, President Biden has shut down the Keystone Pipeline. However, Americans are still getting their oil from different sources. “We’re getting our oil now from Europe through boats, which is polluting the atmosphere. Boats aren’t a very efficient form of transportation.” Kline believes that shutting down a pipeline is “not going to stop the whole world from still fracking, from still mining, and still doing these things that are destroying our world… All that did was simply raise the price of gas for Americans and make a worse quality of life for Americans.” As Kline said, “we’re in a sticky situation right now.”

Photosby CreativeCommons

SNOOZE OR LOSE

Instagram accounts run by PRHS students ostracize peers for being

by Ashley Paulsen, Editor-In-Chief & Sports Director

The classic jokes of drawing on peers or tying their shoes together while they take a snooze in math class have evolved at PRHS and other schools in the county with the rise of social media: one student has started publicly humiliating those getting their beauty sleep. The instagram account @prhs.sleepers has recently gathered attention from over a thousand by posting pictures of students caught “lacking” with their eyes shut in class, on the bus, or other school affiliated activities. The account runner posts pictures submitted from other students.

“What made me start this account was to make people laugh, you know, and just honestly

keep Bearcats on their toes, gathering a following of 1,402 (as of March 9). Although some of the pictures of students are staged, such as a photo of one “sleeping” on a car or taking a snooze in the middle of the basketball court, some are very genuine pictures of Bearcats getting some shut eye during English class or on the soccer bus.

One unlucky snoozer, freshman Liam Murphy, has been caught on camera and posted to the account multiple times by his peers, just one of the 800 students featured so far.

“It’s English class. So I was pretty bored. I was pretty tired. And you know, tucked my arms into my shirt and I was just out like a light. You know?” Murphy said. He had no shame in his mid-class naps, adding “I fall asleep in almost every class… sometimes my teacher wakes me up, or I just sleep until the end of the class period.”

grown to having numerous posts the day that

With countless after school activities, homework assignments, and sports games, the typical teenager only gets about 6.5 hours of sleep per night, when it’s recommended to get between eight and ten full hours. This leaves an average PRHS student a little drowsy, sometimes attempting to make up those lost hours during class time.

Murphy gets about six or seven hours of sleep per night, so it’s no wonder why he catches up during the school day. While the new account posting pictures of students sleeping may seem like it’s shaming them for getting shut eye, most publicized find it humorous.

“I want to make this account PRHS history,” the creator said. Continuing on with dozens of posts per day, the account is sure to eventually feature most students here at Paso Robles High School.

“caught lacking”

HITTING THE HAY (PRHS) : Freshman Liam Murphy caught on @prhs.sleepers catching a snooze during English class by one of his peers

I FALL ASLEEP IN ALMOST EVERY CLASS. SOMETIMES MY TEACHER WAKES ME UP, OR I JUST SLEEP UNTIL THE END OF THE PERIOD LIAM MURPHY, 9

BAlANciNG to Be A

MUSTANG

Junior Tacey Bivin commits to Cal Poly for soccer, while also meeting her goals overseas

Cleats pressed firmly on the cold wet grass with the sting of the morning fog on her face and determination in her eye, Junior Tacey Bivin is ready to take on her opponent on the soccer pitch. Recruited as a junior, and experienced in playing soccer internationally, her skills are enough to finesse against another player as well as secure her a spot on the 2024 Cal Poly Women’s soccer team.

Bivin has played soccer for thirteen years, with the majority of them as a Mustang on the Central Coast United Soccer Club (CCU) on the girls 04 team. They collectively have taken over nine championships in tournaments around the state, along with many other finalist spots in prestigious competitions.

Although she only got to play for the Bearcat team her freshman year (due to COVID sophomore year and the opportunity to travel junior year), Bivin pursues her passions on her own and with her club which totals about twelve hours a week, all year round.

“[Soccer] has taught me some character traits that I feel like you can’t really develop anywhere else like, facing adversity is definitely a big one that I learned from soccer and sports in general. When you lose, it sucks, but you learn to lose gracefully and you learn to lose respectfully,” Bivin said.

On February 3rd, Bivin announced she was going to stay a Mustang after club soccer ends-- she committed to Cal Poly for Women’s Soccer. Poly’s head coach, Alex Crozier, found Bivin through her club team sending a recommendation, and recruited her to join their team after she graduates in 2023.

“Tacey has an incredible work ethic and refuses to give

HEAD(STAND)ING INTO A NEW CHAPTER: Tacey made a new year’s resolution to take a picture doing a handstand everyday of 2021, and it is now a niche of her that her friends know her for. She still keeps up with this tradition, taking pictures of herself during soccer tournaments, at school, and everyone she goes.

up even when injured. She is honestly one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met. She is extremely dedicated and if she wants something, she will get it,” Dot Nickel said. Nickel is a senior at Morro Bay High School, and has known Bivin for more than a year and half through playing on CCU together.

Prior to announcing her commitment to Cal Poly, Bivin traveled to Barecelona, Spain to train at Tovo Soccer Academy, leaving the USA behind for the entire month of January 2022.

“I went to an academy over there basically just to play and meet people from all over and play a different style of soccer. It’s a bit different here in the US than it is over there. So I learned more about the game internationally,” Bivin said.

The three and a half week program consisted of daily training sessions, spanish class, and academic studies with advisors to assist in keeping up with her schooling in Paso. Also, students were given opportunities to visit the city of Barcelona, tour the famous Futbol Club of Barcelona, cultural events, and Sitges Festivals. She was given the opportunity to practice soccer and learn about another culture all in one: an opportunity that most don’t get.

After returning, Bivin was happy to announce her commitment to Poly and hopes to further develop her skills in soccer and education, by majoring in either kinesiology or psychology. As for post-college, Bivin aspires to coach soccer at the collegiate level.

Tacey has an incredible work eThic and refuses To give up even when injured. she is exTremely dedicaTed and if she wanTs someThing, she will geT iT Dot Nickel, 12

by Ashley Paulsen, EIC & Sports Director

PLEDGING TO POLY (lNSTAGRAM): “I’m very excited to announce that I have committed to continue my athletic and academic career at Cal Poly! Big thank you to my family, friends, teammates, and coaches who have always supported me! Go Mustangs!” Bivin wrote in an Instagram post on Feb. 3

SENIOR SHOWDOWN (PRHS)

All four seniors pose after their last matches of the season, helping earn the Mountain League Championship for the Bearcats.

WINS LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING

The undefeated varsity wrestling team grapples and destroys their competition throughout the season

by Reily Lowry, Sports Editor

Beginning their first dual meet, the Bearcats made their mark and set their intentions high by defeating the rival Atascadero Greyhounds, 54-25 on Jan. 5, 2022.

Continuing their dominance on the mat, the Bearcats then faced one of the toughest competitors in their league, the Righetti Warriors. Battling and clashing together in a tight dual, the Bearcats prevailed and conquered the Warriors, 39-37 on Jan. 19, 2022.

“It’s been 7 years since the last time we became league champions and 7 seven years since we’ve beaten Righetti,” Assistant Coach Chris Monteiro said. “Me and Coach Nate knew we had an opportunity this year and after beating Righetti there wasn’t a doubt in my mind we were going to lose the League Championship. Now I’m predicting we are going to be CIF Champions if everyone stays healthy.”

After the team placed 4th in the Dinuba Invitational Tournament (Jan. 10, 2022), several wrestlers tested positive for Covid-19 which resulted in the Arroyo Grande Dual Meet to be rescheduled. The Bearcats then competed in a “Double Dual” against AG and Pioneer Valley for their annual Senior Night on Jan. 26, 2022.

there wasn’t a doubt in my mind we were going to lose the league Championship.

ASSISTANT COACH,

“This has been an extremely successful season we’ve had so far. Our team chemistry is really great, and it makes us all want to be better,” Leo Kemp said, who wrestles in the 220 pound class. “Even though we’ve had some setbacks with Covid, coming off a great season of football and then flowing into a successful year wrestling is really cool.”

Ending league with a slam, the Varsity Bearcats pinned down the Pioneer Valley Panthers, 60-9 in their home gym, dueling as well the Arroyo Grande Eagles 55-21. The climactic day ended with numerous Bearcat match wins and the title of undefeated league champions of the season.

The Bearcats headed to Monache High School to compete for the CIF Championship on Feb 12, 2022. Coming out victorious, the Paso Bearcats won the Division 2 CIF Title against 16 other teams in the central section. As a result, twelve of the fourteen Paso wrestlers placed and moved onto the Masters Competition where senior Peyton Kilber, senior Reily Lowry, and junior Leo Kemp won 1st place in the finals for their weight division winning CIF individually and as a team.

Carrying their winning streak to Bakersfield for the StateQualifiers (Masters Tournament), Peyton Kilber placed 5th along with junior Joe Ciccarelli, Reily Lowry, Christian Davidson, and Leo Kemp all placing 9th in their weight classes and each qualifying for the California State Championships.

“going forward, my mind is set on the state Championship and taking our wrestlers to the highest level they Can Compete at. if everything goes well, i see six of our varsity wrestlers qualifying for state,”

HEAD COACH, NATE YBARRA

Reily Lowry

Peyton Kilber

ChrIs MoNteIro

Trevon Bridewell

SPORTS COVID &

The cruel effects of COVID on student-athletes and winter sports

by Serenity Wulfing, Social Media Director

Stepping onto the court, mat, or field, athletes are ready to take on their opponent. With the new COVID variant, Omicron, and over 7.18 thousand positive results in Paso Robles, PRHS athletes’ ability to compete is being threatened. In the month of December, outbreaks have struck Girls Basketball, Boys Wrestling, and Girls Soccer teams. According to Tori Loney, Sports Director at PRHS, 100% of student-athletes have been affected by Covid, but about 25% of student-athletes have been affected physically. If an athlete is in close contact and unvaccinated, but tests negative and shows no symptoms then there is no need for them to remain quarantined, according to new guidelines. If the athlete shows symptoms or tests positive, they must quarantine for 10 days and show a negative test result before returning to campus. With winter sports concluding there will be fewer contact sports. One thing may change and that is spectator status.

“We’ve had wrestling tournaments that our team is attending and the tournament directors have said no more spectators, so I could see something like that happening before sports were shut down,” Loney said. With different guidelines being released every week, athletes are still struggling academically at home when they are quarantined. Students are getting no breaks as they must do school work, participate in their sport, and stay cautious to remain healthy.

“It gave me flashbacks from last year. It just felt like I was doing online school, and then I got really behind. And I had a lot of make-up work because I was too tired during the day to actually do (anything),” Riley Milder, a sophmore, said. Wrestling is a high-contact, inside sport and two games have been postponed due to a COVID outbreak prior to the teams league championship win last week. “Covid, in general, has affected our team because if someone tests positive, the people on the team that has been around them have to quarantine as well, which causes us to lose less practice time to make us better,” Senior Trevon Bridewell said.

Another aspect to COVID is the athletes’ academic struggle. “Not being in the class (meant) I couldn’t listen to the teachers’ lectures

and I started to fall behind,” Bridwell said.

PRHS women’s varsity soccer team quarantined a total of four athletes over the course of their season.

“It was definitely difficult to find someone to take my spot, and also just trying to work people into different positions to be able to fill that one spot was definitely hard,” left forward Maddie Van Pelt, a sophomore, said. Due to a combination of positive tests and injuries, Women’s soccer brought three JV players up for a game against Righetti High school to compensate for their reduced roster.

When these athletes were at home they noticed their grades slipping and it became difficult to catch up.

“It just made me have a lot more stress, especially because I had to come back and get back into the zone from being out for a week and a half. It didn’t affect my grades, but I think it affected my mental health a lot more,” Van Pelt said.

Women’s basketball had three athletes who were quarantined for 10 days during their season: sophomore Riley Milder, sophomore Madi Hall, and senior Ashley Paulsen.

“It’s like we’re missing 10 days on the court with our team. It’s not like we’re missing 10 days of practice and missing games too. I didn’t even touch a ball for 10 days and so it felt really weird coming back,” Hall, point guard, said.

As PRHS departs from Winter Sports they head into the Spring season with Track, Boys Volleyball, Swim, Softball, and Baseball. With only one indoor sport, the likelihood of Sports being shut down is slim and the lack of contact from these sports show a good sign that PRHS athletics will continue this year.

Maddie Van Pelt, 10

Riley Milder, 10

Trevon Bridwell, 12

Madi Hall, 10

Tori Loney

WINTER CATS IN ACTION

WRESTLING WINS CIF ADVANCES TO STATE

Bearcat wrestlers had an outstanding season this year, placing first in CIF and first in Mountain League. “The team is doing really good, we all have really come together since the beginning of the season and perfected things that needed to be fixed,” senior Ian Rodriguez said. Rodriguez weighed in at 138lbs, and went 3-1 in league and 15-6 overall. Proving to be a dominant force this season, Dominic Marquez has stepped up to the mat this season. As just a sophomore weighing in at 115lbs, he went 4-0 in league, and 25-9 overall. The team went on to compete in state against top programs throughout California. “State this year was really hard,” Senior Riley Lowry said, “We had a rough journey. Most of us had to wrestle the top kids in our weight class.” Junior Leo Kemp performed the best in state, winning

two matches and losing two. Overall the program did really well and making it to state is a massive accomplishment, our wrestlers are hoping to keep this momentum going into next winter season.

“There were some seTbacks where The whole Team had To quaranTine aT one poinT and Then some people having To quaranTine ThroughouT The season buT we were able To push Through These obsTacles” . Ian RodRIguez, 12

WRESTLING 4-0 RECORD LEAGUE CHAMPS

BOYS BASKETBALL FACE

A REBUILD YEAR

BOYS BASKETBALL 1-23 RECORD 7TH PLACE IN LEAGUE

To the court! The boys team faced a challenging season going 1-23 under new head coach Chris Lopez. In league the Bearcats are in 7th place with an 0-10 record. Their one win this season was against Foothill HS, 59-28, a great victory for the Bearcats. Early in the season, shooting guard Omar Acevedo was injured with a broken toe, but he has still been on the bench cheering for his team doing everything he can. Halfway through the season, the boys got reinforcements: four Senior baseball players, shooting their shot at one last season of basketball. Elliot Hawe, Conner Neall, Tony Garcia, and Bryson Hoier have worked hard to fit in, and help lead this basketball team through the end of the season. Describing the feeling of playing his last season of highschool basketball, senior Elliot Hawe said, “It’s crazy, it feels like yesterday it was my first game of freshman year, and now it’s over.” Glad he played his senior season, Hawe has played well at center. At 6-foot-4, Hawe has

developed a strong finish at the rim and the ability to rebound over his opponents. The basketball team mostly filled with juniors will continue to improve during the offseason and come out strong next winter.

ThroughouT The course oF The season, we have learned From losing and have goTTen valuable

eXperience.

daLLon SCoTT, 11

PINNING DOWN (PRHS) : Senior Ian Rodriguez uses his great strength to drive his opponent to the ground.

CHALLENGING THE RIM (Atascadero tournament):Junior center Dallon Scott attacks the rim with the ball and scores over his defender.

Photo byRayvinWulfing

Photo by SerenityWulfing

Winter athletes face and overcome obstacles during their seasons

GIrLS BASKEtBALL 5tH IN LEAGUE

To the court! The Lady Bearcats had a decent league season with a 2-8 record in league placing 5th, and a 14-13 record overall. “Our biggest win this season was against Righetti”, Sophomore Power Forward Nevaeh Dyer said. The Bearcats pulled away with a close win, with a final score of 51-47. Dyer has made big improvements this season, as a Power Forward she can shoot like a Shooting Guard and can finish through traffic like a Center. Dominating the court Dyer has been a big influence on the Lady Bearcats positive

win record. “Our next goal is to go far in CIF” Dyer said. The girls will give their best effort in CIF and hope to stay healthy throughout the rest of the season.

by Braydon Hoier, Sports reporter

We Were able to determine our strengths and Weaknesses to continue to improve our game. nevaeh Dyer, 10

BoYS SoCCEr 6tH IN

GIRLS BASKETBALL 14-13 rECorD 5th pLACE LEAGUE

LEAGUE

We have all gotten to knoW each other a lot better and play as more of a team.

9-12-2 rECorD 6th pLACE LEAGUE BOYS SOCCER

Cameron King, 11

Going from the court to the field, we have boys soccer. The boys have had a great playoff run making it to the semi-finals of CIF and beating their greatest opponent Arroyo Grande in the first round of CIF. Their overall record was 11-14-2 and 1-9 in league. The boys are 6th in league going on an 8 game losing streak as of January 30, 2022. The leading scorer for the Bearcats, Senior Ricky Navarro has scored 6 goals in 17 games this season. At Goalie, Sophomore Jayden Ruiz and Junior Jordan Turton have 91 combined saves. Ruiz saved 44 shots on goal and Turton saved 47 shots on goal. “Adrians performance has stood out the most this season. He is our best forward, scoring plenty of winning goals,” Junior Cameron King said. Junior forward Adrian Cornejo got pulled up to varsity for the most recent games against Pioneer Valley, and has been playing his heart out, scoring a lot for the boys. “We have all gotten to know each other a lot better and play as more of a team,” King said. The boys had a great season and are hoping to come out strong next winter.

GIrLS SoCCEr 5tH IN LEAGUE

Off to Girls soccer. In overall games they are 5-9 with a league record of 0-5. At home they are 3-4, and 2-3 on the road. Hannah Bourgault and Jasmin Solorio are leading scorers for the Lady Bearcats with 4 goals. “My biggest highlight this season was the teamwork between Reese and myself, when she crossed the ball to me for a perfect header goal,” Freshman Hannah Bourgault said. “It was overall a good game. We played as a team and worked hard for that win against Ridgeview.” Locking down the goal, Seniors Roni Hinson and Solorio have 101 total combined saves with 124 opposing team shots on goal, 77 saves tallied to Henson and

24 tallied to Solorio. They have a combined save percentage of 0.8%. In a 19 games season, every single player has had some form of injury, plaguing the team with very little amounts of subs each game. The Ladies have had a strong season and are looking forward to improving even more next season.

it Was overall a good game. We played as a team and Worked hard for that Win against ridgevieW hannah Bourgault, 9

7-11 rECorD

GIRLS SOCCER 5th pLACE LEAGUE

CREATING A PASSING LANE (St.JoeHighSchool) : Sophomore Nevaeh Dyer looks for a skip pass across the court and over her defenders.

PUSHING PAST THE DEFENDER (War Memorial Stadium) : Senior Ricky Navarro dribbles the ball past his defender and pushes towards the opposing goal.

DRIBBLING UPFIELD (War Memorial Stadium) : Focused on the goal upfield, Freshman Hannah Bourgault pushes the ball upfield to set her team up to score a goal.

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: DRIBBLING

EYES UP:

Having her eyes up lets Hall see her teammates and the defense to determine her next move; driving to the basket, giving her teammate the ball, or stepping back and waiting for a better opportunity to score

The Varsity Point Guard’s Guide to Offense

MADI HALL

by Ashley Paulsen, Sports Director & EIC

Eyes up and ball down, sophomore Madi Hall controls the offense as the starting point guard for the Girls Varsity Basketball team when dribbling the ball up the court. Playing the game since first grade, to now dedicating over 14 hours a week practicing, playing games, and helping coach youth basketball camps, Hall has had plenty of time to get a grip on the game of basketball.

“Basketball has shown me how to work well with others, coaches and teammates, as well as make a bond with them and I have created some of my best friendships through it,” Hall said.

Joining the Varsity team as a freshman last year, and now being one of 5 starters as a sophomore, Hall has had to fill some large shoes. During the 2020-2021 season the girls basketball team took second place in CIF, and Hall is projected to continue to contribute strongly to the success of her team this year. With an average of 29 minutes worth of playing time out of the 32 min games, Hall handles the ball throughout the majority of the game. In the 26 games she has played in this season, she averages 2.5 steals, four rebounds, and has played a huge role in the Bearcat ladies winning record of 16-12 thus far.

“She is an unselfish player who is constantly looking to do whatever she can to help the team. She is a great ball handler and stays under control even in times of tough pressure and stress” sophomore Riley Milder said. Milder is one of Hall’s teammates and her best friend, playing together for over nine years, and is also one of the starting guards for the Bearcats.

Although only a sophomore, Hall hopes to continue her basketball endeavors in college and hopefully bring the Girls Varsity team to a league Championship before she graduates.

ARM BAR:

Putting the opposite hand up keeps the defender from reaching in and getting the ball, adding extra protection

BALL DOWN:

Keeping the ball on the opposite side of the defender allows Hall to keep it in control when dribbling down the court