February 2021

INSIDE THE ISSUE

opinion 4

feature 8

a&e 11

the bull's eye news

opinion

feature

sports 15

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 VOLUME XXXIX ISSUE VI ONLINE AT DBBULLSEYE.COM

arts&entertainment

sports

Orator inspires at virtual assembly Inspirational speaker Dee Hankins shared personal experiences and anecdotes with students.

Lauren cheng contributing writer Motivational speaker and Walnut High School alumnus Dee Hankins spoke to Diamond Bar High School students in this year’s first virtual all-school assembly which was held on Feb. 17 via Zoom.

Hankins, who graduated from Cal State Long Beach and earned his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, now aims to inspire others through his story as an African American adolescent raised through the foster care system.

Hankins told students that he had to leave behind his family due to issues at home.

“My mom became this certified drug addict,” Hankins said. “And I remember one day, she had this mental breakdown and my dad woke up and was like, ‘I didn’t ask for this.’ So he left her with a bunch of kids, mentally unstable, and my mom ended up losing all of her kids to foster care.”

Hankins explained that jumping from home to home throughout his childhood was difficult because to Hankins, it seemed that every time

he got adjusted and comfortable with his new family, he was moved to another foster home.

In hopes of breaking this pattern, he decided he would stop telling his parents he loved them in order to avoid getting emotionally attatched.

Hankins explained that his troubles at home began to affect his attitude in school.

However, a conversation with his vice principal helped him understand and come to terms with his situation which ultimately relieved some suppressed frustration and anger Hankins said he was experiencing.

“I look at my vice principal and say, ‘Why don’t you just send me home?’ My vice principal walks up to me. She gets down on my level, she looks me right into the eyes, and she says, ‘Because you have potential,’” Hankins said. “She did three amazing things. First one was, she got down at my level. Second thing is, she made eye contact with me. And last thing was this: I was always in her office, meaning she never sent me home, which showed me that she cared.”

With the knowledge that his vice principal not only believed in him, but also cared about him and his wellbeing was enough to teach Hankins the importance of being resilient in life no matter

ASSEMBLY ON P. 3

Photo courtesy of MIKE BROMBERG The new 500 building was designed with teacher input in mind and is expected to be opened for use by early 2022.

A new home for science The refurbished 500 building is expected to reopen in September. somiya jajieh asst. feature editor Even though Diamond Bar High School students attended classes online this year, construction on the 500 building has been continuing and is scheduled to finish in time for next school year. Additionally, the plans to create a new and improved 400 building is set to begin later this year.

Construction on the 500 building, which will house 18 new science classrooms, is expected to wrap up in September despite a brief period of manufacturing and vendor delays due to the pandemic. DBHS Operations Manager Mike Bromberg said that aside from those issues, progress on the building has been going smoothly. Everything inside the building has been removed and the walls are being built, with the current focus being on implementing better air conditioning and electrical networks for the building.

The goal of these renovations was to modernize the 500 building, which formerly was home to

English and history classes, and build state-of-the-art science classrooms in their place. One of the new additions is a collaborative center, which is a lab that classes can use to carry out projects and experiments. It will be located in the middle of the building for all classes to share whenever there is group work. Part of the reason this room was added is to encourage communication between different class periods.

“The collaboration space is when a class can go into a space--or multiple classes---and do an activity, experiment, or whatev-

Construction on p. 3

USB reopens door to admit new clubs DBHS aims to promote engagement this year through a new Club of the Year competition.

Hardy Brown invited his former student Joshua Allen, (bottom), to share his journey of becoming a NASA employee.

Historian highlights Black history Museum instructor Hardy Brown shared artifacts with students to educate them on slavery. steve qu asst. news editor For years, historian Hardy Brown has dedicated his time to sharing with others the struggles of people whose skin color meant

more to society than their character. On Feb. 10, he shared this history with Diamond Bar High School students in the first of three virtual lectures, “Historical Empathy, Foot Steps to Freedom.”

Last February, Brown visited the campus with his mobile museum to share a message of historical empathy with the student body, delivering interactive presentations to English, history and journalism classes as well as some DBHS faculty. Brown is also a familiar sight for members of the DBHS Black

Student Union, who visited one of his exhibits off-campus in 2018.

In this year’s virtual presentation, Brown featured the Gore Collection, which consists of artifacts ranging from historical documents to shackles used on the enslaved.

Historian Jerry Gore curated this collection to help people achieve a greater understanding of those that were subjected to injustices.

After Gore’s passing, the collection was passed down to the Brown fam-

speaker ON P. 2

leadership skills.

The deadline is Friday.

“Another challenge is coming up with new ideas for clubs that we don’t already have,” USB adviser Janna Van Horn said via email.

“With over 80 active clubs, USB will only pass clubs that offer a tiffany lee unique and new opportunity to our asst. photo editor student body.”

However, with the limitations set by quarantine, new clubs canAfter almost a year, the Dianot meet in person and are finding mond Bar High School United it difficult to reach the ten-member Student Body has reopened club threshold. applications, albeit with several Despite this, several student ormodifications, ganizations have and is holding already applied a new competito become offi“If we won the tion to promote cial clubs. monetary prize, we existing clubs.

“Clubs were would probably use In addition to eager to submit it to fund our next officers and an applications… I adviser, clubs had some applievent...“ are now recations turned BREANNA YANG quired to have in the Friday at least ten [Jan. 29] they members. Clubs were made availalso have to fulfill one of three able,” Van Horn said. purposes: Giving students an opAlong with new club requireportunity to further a special interments, USB also introduced the est, providing service to the school Club of the Year competition this or community or offering students CLUBS ON P. 2 a specific opportunity to develop

2

NEWS

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

Orientation goes virtual Live event replaced by website containing presentation videos.

Marcus hsieh asst. news editor While students and parents may not have been able to visit campus in person this year, they got a bird’s eye view of the school through a virtual, aerial campus tour filmed by drone and piloted

by Diamond Bar High School junior Alan Zhang. This is just one of the methods DBHS employed to bring to life the annual Eighth Grade Parent Presentation and Open House Showcase, presented virtually on Feb. 10.

The event featured the numerous academic, athletic, musical and artistic programs at DBHS. With multiple sports groups, choir, drumline and dance returning on campus in cohorts, plans were made to include live performances and activities.

Incoming freshmen were instead directed to a website containing pre-recorded video presentations due to constraints set by the pandemic.

Several other aspects of the

event were tweaked due to similar issues. For instance, in previous years, visiting eight graders participated in a campus tour and engaged in competitive activities.

In the virtual format, no live activities took place and the campus tour was done by video. Open house will be followed by a similar event in early May, the Freshman Orientation, plans for which

“We are hopeful that we can provide a positive, fun and informative experience...”

JANNA VAN HORN still include several live video components.

“USB is still discussing and planning, but…there will be a pre-recorded presentation featuring our various programs and groups on campus,” USB Activities Director Janna Van Horn said via email.

Despite expected difficulties with social distancing during showcases, no DBHS organizations backed out of the event.

“We will work with our performing groups to feature them,”

GLOBAL REPORT SNOWSTORM LEADS TO STATE-WIDE CRISIS After being hit with a snowstorm, Texans are faced with major power outages and a lack of food and water. Businesses and churches have converted to warming shelters while officials have asked residents to boil tap water before use or rely on bottled water due to the circumstances.

TEXAS MONTHLY

NASA SPACECRAFT ARRIVES ON MARS On Feb. 18, the Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars after completing its nearly 300 million-mile journey from Earth. The spacecraft made history as the first helicopter flight on another planet, the first to record sound and search for ancient life on Mars as well.

CNN

JAPANESE POLITICAL PARTY SILENCES WOMEN

THE GUARDIAN

To demonstrate their commitment to gender equality after a sexism dispute that forced one of their former prime ministers to resign, Japan’s LIberal Democratic party proposed to allow small groups of women to attend key meetings. The plan faced backlash after it was exposed that the women were expected to remain silent and only observe during these gatherings.

u.N. PRObES DiSAPPEARANCE OF DubAi PRiNCESS The release of several videos of Princess Latfia al-Maktoum speaking directly to the camera and claiming she was being held hostage in her family villa and was in fear for her life prompted the U.N. to investigate said allegations. They have since asked the United Arab Emirates to release video/photo evidence proving the princess is alive, which they failed to provide.

NBC NEWS

Honoring African Americans’ past

the staff Editors-in-Chief

Josh Chou, Camille McCurry

News Editor Asst. News Editors

Anika Yatawara Marcus Hsieh, Steve Qu

Opinion Editors Asst. Opinion Editor

Camille McCurry, Reyna Wan Rachel Lee

Feature Editor Asst. Feature Editors

Emily Koh Somiya Jajieh, Kelsey Wu

A&E Editor Asst. A&E Editors

Van Horn said. “Some groups are starting cohorts as we speak, so we hope to be able to work with program directors to show off the amazing programs that we have on our campus.”

USB has also worked to include special events for the occasion to replace traditional ones done in-person.

“I think the element that we will miss the most is the campus tours. We [will] collaborate to get footage with a drone and 360 camera to provide a comprehensive virtual tour,” Van Horn said.

USB also hopes to host in-person campus tours to incoming freshmen prior to campus return in the future.

“I think many 8th graders are excited and...nervous to attend high school,” Van Horn said. “I’m hopeful that we will provide them a fun and engaging presentation that will make them feel welcomed to our Brahma Family!”

A concern during this time is a lack of engagement due to the event being held virtually.

“We hope to work with middle schools to hopefully use class time to promote the orientation,” Van Horn said. “We are hopeful that we can provide a positive, fun and informative experience for our incoming freshmen.”

Josh Chou Natasha Chang, Marykate Palaris

Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editors

Victoria Artale Deesha Pathak, Charles Tam

Photo Editor Asst. Photo Editors

Victoria Artale Tiffany Lee, Kelsey Wu Ryan Chan Connor Cho

Business Manager Asst. Business Manager Web Editor Asst. Web Editor Staff Writers

Reyna Wan Natasha Chang Kyle Hong, Lyndon Kaneko Edward Kim, Vera Wang

Adviser

Doug List

speaker from p.1 -ily’s nonprofit organization known as the Black Voice Foundation.

Pictures of the artifacts were shown while Brown delivered a live lecture explaining the history behind each item.

Throughout his presentation, Brown recounted several stories not just of long-forgotten historical figures, but even some pertaining to his own family and their past in America. He explained that he shares such stories with the intent to immerse people into the perspectives of those who have faced such hardships, and hopes for them to view these figures of the past not just as slaves, but as people who were enslaved.

Within five generations, Brown’s family went from being enslaved and therefore legally prohibited from learning to read or write, to gaining the highest form of education America has to offer.

“These are five siblings, eight

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used by NASA This NASA engineer graduated high school with a 2.4 GPA and was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. He only found out about his passion for engineering in college after he suffered an injury that made him give up on a basketball career.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do out of high school. It took a lot of time and many mistakes for me to figure out my strengths, my weaknesses and my skills,” Allen said. “And remember, you only need one skill to be successful.

Skills are what’s going to separate you from everybody else” He said he hopes to inspire others with his journey, which defines him.

Throughout the lecture, Brown challenged his listeners to consider a sincere question about themselves and their futures.

“What do you want history to say about you?” Brown said. “I don’t care which side you choose.

But understand that there are so many people’s lives that you can impact and make a difference.”

Clubs to compete for monetary prize Clubs from p.1

contact us

degrees, four HBCUs, one Ph.D., one professor, attorney, eye doctor, engineer, educator all in one family,” Brown said. “That is the power of us having the resilience and knowing we can make it through any other time.”

HBCUs is the acronym for historically black colleges and universities. They were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to primarily serve the African American community, but their diversity has increased over time.

“I have never hid from my kids the fact that I wasn’t a good high school student. But in life, I turned around and became a scholar later on,” Brown said. “I don’t hide that from them because I want them to know that it’s okay to fall, but you can be resilient and get up.”

The story of resilience is continued in his second lecture, Brown invited one of his former students from a HBCU, Joshua Allen, an award-winning computer engineer at NASA. Allen was one of the founding engineers of a multi-million dollar data system

year to reward clubs that have consistently hosted activities despite distance learning. In order to apply for the award, each club must submit an application including documentation of their activities and events. The winning club, which will be announced at the end of second semester, will receive a $100 transfer to its account and a trophy that will be displayed at the front of the school.

“We are hoping to reward the clubs for their commitment and dedication, especially during these limiting times,” Van Horn said.

DBHS Sunshine, which raises awareness for pediatric cancer patients, is one of the participating clubs. Most recently, they documented their Valentine’s Day event in which members brought in desserts and handmade cards to hospitals and their guest speaker events. Club president senior Bre-

anna Yang said that the club holds virtual meetings and events every month to maintain engagement and volunteer activity.

“If we won the monetary prize,

we would probably use it to fund our next event and given that the prize is awarded towards the end of the year, it will likely fund the first event in the next year,” Yang said.

ANIKA YATAWARA

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

NEWS

THE BULL'S EYE

3

Administration cancels PSAT SAT will replace the exam for the National Merit Scholarship qualifications.

Ryan Chan business manager Despite the best efforts of Diamond Bar High School administration to hold the PSAT on campus this year, it was announced last month that the exam slated to take place in January would be cancelled. Because of this, hundreds of DBHS sophomores and juniors will not be permitted to take the PSAT, as there will be no makeup exam dates.

The termination was announced on the DBHS website, where administration clarified that the Jan. 26 alternative PSAT testing date would be cancelled

due to the coronavirus. All students who signed up were also mailed a refund check.

Juniors are expected to be the group most impacted by this, as the PSAT also functions as the National Merit Scholarship Qualification Test.

As they will not be able to take the exam, they will have to make use of one of the National Merit Scholarship corporation’s alternative entry methods.

Instead of submitting PSAT scores, students must submit an alternate entry form, which can be found on the National Merit website, by April 1, then take an SAT exam before June 2021. Applicants must then send their official SAT scores to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation before Oct. 15.

The sudden adjustments made to the application process poses an obstacle to juniors looking to

become National Merit Scholars.

“I was kind of disappointed since I had studied quite a bit for the PSAT already,” junior Allen Wang said via Text. “I also think that other students will be discouraged because of all the uncertainty surrounding the scholarship.”

Other students foresaw the cancellation based on the school’s prior unpreparedness and opted not to study.

“I did not really prepare for the PSAT as I had a feeling that it would be shut down,” junior Bobby Zhu said via Text. “Instead, I prepared for other exams and did online volunteer work which is more doable in this covid situation.”

Zhu sympathized with students as he believes many may feel intimidated by having to take the SAT rather than the PSAT, as the SAT is a more difficult exam.

District plans for reopening Elementary schools will be the first to resume learning in-person. marcus hsieh Asst. news editor In an email to parents last week, Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services Matt Witmer announced the possible reopening of elementary schools.

“We are working on the timing and possibility of a Spring 2021 reopening with in-person instruction for elementary schools,” Witmer said in the email.

If this does occur, students and parents will have the option to continue with distance learning.

There remain multiple steps before reopening, all of which the

district is currently exploring.

“To best prepare, we will be pulling together small groups of teachers and employees to discuss best practices and models for a possible reopening,” Superintendent Robert Taylor said in an email.

Given that the school year will end on May 27, the district is analyzing the feasibility of reopening. WVUSD is also working to ensure that educators have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“While… there is currently no mandate for educators to receive the vaccine, we do agree that it should at least be made available to all of our employees,” Taylor said.

As most teachers are in vaccination Phase 1B, which may open as soon as March 1, mid-April would be the earliest date for reopening. California’s color-tiered

system provides guidelines for schools to reopen by ranking counties from minimal risk (yellow) to widespread risk (purple).

With roughly 14 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people daily, LA County is currently labeled as a purple county.

“While we still remain in the Purple Tier, the state has shifted to a less restrictive system that requires a county to drop below 25 COVID cases per 100,000 residents for elementary schools to reopen,” Witmer said.

Previously, counties would need to be classified at or below Substantial Risk (red) with less than seven new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people daily. Meanwhile, WVUSD-run summer programs will move forward with in-person instruction, although accommodations will be made for students with health conditions.

Renovation of 400 starting later this year Once the 500 building is completed, science teachers will move there from the 400 building, leaving it available for the next round -er,” Bromberg said via Zoom. “It’s of work to begin. Teachers are exdesigned so the teachers are more pected to move into the portables interactive with each other.” by this summer.

Chemistry teacher Teresa HerThe 400 building’s construction bert had the opportunity to be a is predicted to start between late part of the construction project 2021 and early 2022, and will last by touring Portola High School in around a year and a half. It will Irvine with other DBHS science house 24 classrooms for English teachers to gather ideas for what and history. features she’d like to have in the The building will have a simi500 building. She lar setup to the said the science 500 building, al“The real benefits teachers decidso including a ed they wanted c o l l ab o r at ive are when they do to have a more center. Unlike a modernization… spacious room the collabora[construction] makes to hold lectures tive centers in everything new again.“ and labs in the the 500 buildMIKE BROMBERG same room. ing, though, the “We’re going 400 building’s to have 10 lab centers will prostations in one part of the room vide a more versatile space. For but the rooms are large so they’re example, AP History classes are in different parts,” Herbert said. expected to host future collabora“So I can have a lab setup in the tions, like the annual APUSH plays, back, and then when we’re ready to there. do the lab we can just move to the Bromberg expressed his exciteback.” ment for the newer and more polAside from being more spacious ished look the buildings will have than the previous science class- after construction is completed. rooms, the new building will in“The real benefits are when they clude new features such as vacu- do a modernization… [construcum lines. tion] makes everything new again,” This will allow teachers to per- Bromberg said. “Because right now form demonstrations that were those two buildings are original to previously too dangerous to do in a the school—so, 1983, 1984—[and] poorly-ventilated room. they’re all worn out.”

construction from p.1

Guest speaker Dee Hankins shared his story of moving through the foster care system throughout his childhood and how he managed to overcome his personal struggles by continuing to practice resilience and learning to stay positive

Motivating with stories of resilience assembly from p.1 the obstacles one may have to face.

Despite having to deal with the transition from one foster home to another starting from a young age, Hankins said he managed to persevere due to his resilience.

“Resilience: the ability to bounce back. Each and every one of you has this ability. Each and every one of you possesses resilience. As a matter of fact, you wouldn’t even be here right now if you didn’t display some type of resilience in your life,” he said.

For some DBHS students,

Hankins’ speech served as inspiration.

They said it taught them that they could also overcome any challenge life may present them with.

“I loved Mr. Hankin’s speech. I loved the energy he shared, all the stories he told, and I loved the lessons he taught,” freshman Nyansu Chen said. “Half the time, I was torn between laughing at all the jokes he was saying and tearing up at the emotional stories he was telling from his own personal experiences. I feel like the next time something difficult comes around for me, I will be reminded of his message and I will be able to tell

myself, ‘I have to have resilience and I am going to bounce back from this.’”

Freshman Aayati Sangal said his words not only resonated with him but also reassured him.

Sangal stated that he felt Hankins’ speech validated his own struggles and feelings.

“He helped exemplify the fact that it’s okay to be human and experience certain emotions and go through pain and experience life,” Sangal said via audio Messages.

“His speech was one to be remembered and one that I hope will continue to inspire people all around the world.”

4 OPINION

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

- OPINIONGLCs are not doing enough to support seniors during the pandemic.

A

s the end of the school year draws closer, attention has once again shifted to the graduating seniors. Rather than acknowledging that our highly awaited senior year has been taken away, we are being told to “stay positive” by our GLCs as they downplay what has been undeniably the worst school year for many of us.

There is no doubt that this year was a major letdown for all seniors. We have been working toward this final year of high school since we arrived at Diamond Bar High School, only to have it go down the drain. The anticipation for our last homecoming, senior sunrise, grad night, senior breakfast, senior ditch day and prom was all for nothing in the end. So when we’re told to not “get caught up in feeling sorry for yourself,” it’s only fair that we might be frustrated at the lack of understanding from those around us.

Guilt-tripping seniors about how “not everything is terrible” and that we have “a lot to be grateful for” while we miss out on an irredeemable milestone in life serves only to invalidate and

alienate the feelings of the senior class.

While the class of 2020 received countless amounts of sympathy and efforts from the staff to make up for the few months of their senior year that were lost, the class of 2021 is sent messages such as “smooth seas don’t make skillful sailors.” Instead of recognizing that our senior year has been even worse, class of 2021 GLCs say that it has been “an unpredictable senior year for us.” I would counter that “awful” is a much better word to describe it.

I understand that the GLCs have our best intentions at heart and want us to finish our high school career strong, but what they need to realize is that at this point, seniors have little attachment to DBHS. With nothing to look forward to—given that most events were canceled—the motivation to “keep our foot on the gas” is nonexistent.

It is difficult to keep pushing forward when there is no incentive at the end of the road. We are mentally exhausted, staring at our computers day after day with nothing to break up the monotony or to look forward to, just trying to es-

cape this year with passing grades and a college acceptance letter.

Although the efforts from our GLCs to uplift our spirits with inspirational quotes and letters of encouragement may help some, most seniors are in need of a different solution. It would be relieving for faculty to concede that this year was a major disappointment rather than pretending that free donuts and senior spirit days are a replacement for every lost experience. The strong push for optimism makes it feel as if our senior year is just another obstacle for the faculty to push past and forget about.

While for staff this is just another year at work, for us it is a year of missed opportunities and irreplaceable memories that we’ll never get back.

While there are numerous claims that the school is doing everything possible to make this year an unforgettable experience for seniors, as of now, they are all just verbal promises with nothing to back them up. Despite knowing ahead of time that this year would most likely be entirely virtual and not in-person—unlike the sudden shift the class of

“

2020 experienced—the only senior activities that have passed the idea stage are a virtual Senior Olympics event and a senior Minecraft server that can only accommodate for less than half of the senior class.

Aside from this, seniors have only been vaguely told of plans that may or may not be in the works, but little else is known. If the goal is to get us enthusiastic for the end of our senior year, let us know what ideas are up in the air.

Give us hope that we have something to work toward and get excited about because just mentioning the chance of a graduation ceremony is not the most comforting statement.

This article is not written with the intention to accuse or insult the class of 2021 GLCs—its purpose is to offer insight into what is going through the minds of DBHS seniors. We hope to communicate that the constant message to be positive is not an entirely effective solution for the senior year we were robbed of, and to offer suggestions of how to better approach the situation.

...hopefully we will have some activities. Although it may not be prom [...] I think we can still have fun and make the most of it.

ASHLYNN WOO (12)

“

I was looking forward to graduation, a final sendoff for me and the people I’ve gone through school with for the past 7 years.

PETER CHANG (12)

“

I feel like there weren’t a lot of activities but even if there were, I appreciate people’s efforts to make them happen.

BETHANY CHANG (12)

” ” ”

Friends with academic benefits EDWARD KIM STAFF WRITER

S

ince the beginning of online learning, I’ve started disregarding my schoolwork and asking people for answers to assignments instead. This is a method I would really recommend if you are struggling in school, since it saves tons of time. You can just get the answers instead of having to spend time and effort actually trying to figure them out yourself.

Many claim that this is a bad habit, as it makes you lazier and likely to fall behind in schoolwork.

Contrary to popular belief, you actually take in more information when you copy down other people’s answers. It makes you learn even faster, and it won’t even make you lazy because it takes five whole minutes to write down the answers, greatly increasing overall productivity.

The only downside is how irritating and repetitive it gets to copy down answers. These irreplaceable

minutes can be used on activities that are actually important, like watching Tik Toks to exercise your creativity, or playing video games to improve your coordination. Fortunately, there is a perfect solution—asking other people to do the assignment for you.

If the person you ask is a true friend, they’ll definitely agree, since everyone is willing to help a friend in need. If they disagree, they’re just a fake friend forcing you to waste your precious time on pointless homework.

On the off-chance that none of those methods works, simply sub-

mit the same assignment as your friend. Since assignments are online, if they send a picture of their work, you can easily screenshot and upload it.

You don’t even have to bother copying down the material and worrying about getting caught. After all, if you are, you can just say they copied you. The only grade that really matters anyways is your own, so you shouldn’t worry about others’ anyways.

The only problem I usually encounter is when people say no, pretending they don’t have the homework or say they haven’t done it

SATIRICAL secretively

yet.

This is simply ridiculous because what reason would you have to not send the answers? If you’ve already completed the assignment, it doesn’t hurt anyone if you take two seconds out of your day to help a friend.

Not sending your work to those who ask is extremely selfish and only harms others, and why would you not want to help out someone else in need and raise his or her grade?

Cartoon Courtesy of KATHERINE CHEN

Zoom takes its toll D

NATASHA CHANG ASST. A&E Editor

ue to the monotonous nature of distance learning---five to six hours of computer usage with breaks after every 40 minute interval--school days are now duller than ever. With the mind-numbing nature of the way we go about our school days and the lack of effort from students, some of the more passionate members of the DBHS teaching staff have been facing challenges as well.

Many teachers, including most of my own, have coped with the difficulties of online learning by assuming the worst and, in turn, giving students an increased workload. Teachers are also quick to assume that the decrease in student engagement is directly in relation to the increased technology usage.

What they forget, however, is that it takes two to tango.

Despite being over halfway through the school year, one of my teachers is still completely unaware of my gender, much less my English name. The same said teacher also starts off the day with check-in prompts, and, when they go through them, almost always hints at how their distant learning struggles are worse than ours— at one point even deflecting blame when I subtlety tried to correct his misgendering of me.

However, there are teachers that genuinely do their best to alleviate the extra stress of online learning, despite their own struggles.

Some of my teachers have made it a point to make lessons more athome friendly— opting for handson reviews and at-home scavenger hunts relating to the lessons, while juggling with their own issues.

While teaching in-person can be difficult at times, online-learning has proven to have its own set of problems, ones that many teachers are ill equipped to deal with.

Having to be judge, jury and executioner with students over late attendance and technical difficulties in addition to teaching material in the limited time frame given, times have been stressful for both parties. A few of the more understanding teachers have since opted for more hands on lessons with the help of interactive software and set up extra tutoring sessions with students on top of tutorial time to accommodate students and virtual learning.

At the end of the day, most of us are trying our best and have different ways of coping with our current predicament. It’s understandable why teachers have doubts when it comes to trust in students and treat us like grade school children, but the demeaning way in which most go about schooling us leads to a no-win situation. The more we’re treated like toddlers, the less we’ll feel inclined to help in any way to alleviate their work burden.

With our rushed schedules and unpredictable Wi-Fi issues, it would be nice if some teachers were a bit more understanding with the mountain of work they toss us, but for the ones that sympathize and do their best in adjusting to help us, the effort should be better appreciated.

Virtually robbed

U

Cartoon Courtesy of HANNAH ZHOU

5

Traders trigger scrutiny Marcus Hsieh ASST. NEWS EDITOR

OPINION

THE BULL'S EYE

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

nder the guise of combatting Wall Street hedge funds, thousands of retail investors on the social media site Reddit mobilized in late January to make misbegotten investments into electronics retailer GameStop.

Members of the subreddit r/ WallStreetBets group triggered a cultural movement known as the Reddit Rally, which only created instability in a recovering market.

The community’s core goal of disrupting Wall Street hedge funds was ultimately unsuccessful, with only temporary setbacks created for heavily entrenched institutions.

The movement was instead counterintuitive, setting a precedent of the dangers of crowd-sourced investments. Luckily, the Reddit Rally drew the ire of investors and politicians alike, which is likely to diminish the possibility of similar

phenomena in the future.

A particularly egregious perpetrator of GameStop shorting, an investment strategy that drives down a stock’s price to make the investor profit, was the hedge fund Melvin Capital. While short selling is widely seen as harmful to the market, it can actually confer benefits by exposing overvalued stocks. However, Melvin Capital accepted an irresponsible degree of risk in taking this position, hoping to capitalize on the slow demise of GameStop.

In addition, Melvin Capital dug its own grave as it continually doubled down and sank more capital into the venture even as prices continued to rise.

This risky gamble allowed r/ WallStreetBets traders to trigger a short squeeze by aggressively purchasing shares and forcing stock prices above the initial shorting price. This led Melvin Capital and other hedge funds that had shorted GameStop to buy more shares in an attempt to cover the losses of earlier shorting.

One Reddit user became a widely-hailed Internet hero during this exhilarating time, growing the value of his investments to $48 million from a $50,000 initial investment in June 2019. He became the leading figure of a r/WallStreetBets mob

whose constant cajoling of readers to hold GameStop stocks likely played a significant role in dragging in more investors, as their mob mentality emotionally influenced others’ decision-making.

Despite the fact that GameStop has fallen back to earth after its stratospheric rise, the stock is still widely considered to be overvalued despite entering a partnership with Microsoft. It was trading at less than $5 in August, after reaching $483, was down to $45 as of Monday.

The lasting legacy of this monumental movement will likely not be a valiant attempt to take down Wall Street hedge funds. Instead, the Reddit Rally will forever be associated with the regulatory scrutiny that arose with the GameStop bubble as prominent lawmakers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ted Cruz and others called for investigations related to trading brokerages manipulating the market by restricting trades. In particular, the FTC is launching an investigation into popular mobile trading app Robinhood, which many retail investors use. While this may not have been the intention of these investors, drawing the involvement of regulators and lawmakers was far more important than the attempt to take down hedge funds.

It’s all about the workload

Camille McCurry Editor-In-Chief

E

very time mental health comes up at Diamond Bar High School, many are quick to blame the school’s toxic, competitive atmosphere for much of the stress students face. Attempting to mitigate the damage this has on students’ mental health, the administration has promoted mental health through events like Wellness Wednesday and Wellness Weeks.

However, none of these palliative treatments actually help any of the students who truly struggle with self esteem or stress. If the school administration truly wants to improve the overall mental health of the student body, it needs to lessen students’ workloads by tightening prerequisite requirements for AP classes and coordinating directly with teachers and GLCs to change curricula and course loads.

When you ask a student why they’re stressed, the usual answer will be that they have piles of work, clubs to attend and tests to study for. Few people will tell you that they’re stressed out because they think their peers see them as an underachiever; this isn’t the direct cause of pressure on students.

The true harm of the infamous DBHS atmosphere is that it causes students to take harder classes than they can handle. As a result, they’re stuck with impossible workloads. However, students stick around and stay silent about their grades in hopes of flying under the radar—in the eyes of one’s peers, dropping a class is worse than just taking an easier one from the start. No amount of social media complaints, petitions or wellness events will change this.

The school could create a difference if it enacted measures to limit the course loads of its students. For example, more stringent prerequisite grade requirements for AP classes would ensure that students

are ready for the classes they’re taking. Sure, some students would be unable to move on to higher level courses, but those who do would likely not have succeeded to begin with. And while the school may not be able to outright stop students from taking higher level courses, a stricter prerequisite would at the least deter the majority.

However, there are many who end up drowning in mountains of schoolwork despite taking classes that they are adequately prepared to handle. This is indicative of a fundamental flaw in several high-level DBHS courses: They’re laden with redundant and inane assignments. Though not the case for many courses, enough have more assignments than necessary to make an impact on many DBHS students. After all, it only takes one or two homework-heavy courses to overwhelm a student’s schedule. And while it’s clear that certain assignments are beneficial to students, many aren’t and could be removed without sacrificing the quality of education received.

As for the infamous DBHS math department, I’m sure anyone who’s taken the AP Calculus AB test after the course itself would agree the curriculum is overkill. The level of difficulty in some courses taught at DBHS is entirely disproportionate to that of other schools, let alone the AP test.

Of course, this has led to a higher pass rate than just about any other school in the country, but if it’s at the expense of our students’ mental health, it shouldn’t be con-

sidered an achievement at all. Other courses on campus suffer from similar issues: In an admittedly well-intentioned attempt to help students pass AP exams at a higher rate, many are pushed beyond reasonable limits. So by asking teachers to make slight adjustments in the overall curriculum, the administration could greatly reduce much of the stress at Diamond Bar. So, why doesn’t the administration enact any such changes?

Aside from the fact that they’re overburdened with work to begin with, my guess is that the backlash they would receive from teachers and parents simply isn’t worth it to them, let alone that they would never be able to enforce any changes, as teachers often ignore instructions the administration doles out.

During distance learning, teachers were asked to be more lenient in assigning workloads this year. Haven’t noticed a change? Me neither.

In the end, the school is simply accustomed to the suffering of its students. Despite all of its attempts to make a difference, they’ve never stricken the problem at its core, and never will because hosting motivational speeches is easier than doing a curriculum overhaul.

And while it may be idealist to expect any better from a group so blatantly overworked to begin with, I hope that change will come regardless—if not for us, then for the future generations of high school students who are soon to enter the cycle of stress that, for the past decade, has only gotten worse with time.

Illustration Courtesy of FREEPIK STORYSET

Recall represents statewide setback

A

JIANLAN BUSTEED CONTRIBUTING WRITER

fter watching Congress’s second attempt to convict former president Donald Trump, Californians are now facing an issue much closer to home: deciding whether Gavin Newsom should be recalled from his position as California governor. Although some of his decisions may be frustrating, Californians must remember that, difficult choices are needed in crises.

Gov. Newsom’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic is the main reason that 1.4 million Californians signed the recall petition led by the Californian Republicans. However, none of his decisions truly merit recall, especially since California is facing many problems that are out of his control.

As the governor of the first state to lockdown in mid-March, Newsom’s quick thinking saved countless Californians. But, his inconsistencies—closing, then abruptly reopening nonessential businesses—during the December lockdown and lack of public communication has disappointed many. Lifting the restrictions when we were so close to the finish line undid a lot of the progress we had made.

One of Newsom’s main points during the pandemic was that he would listen to science to make informed decisions. However, when it comes to school reopenings, the

science is disputed, with each reopened school having very different outcomes.

Now, Newsom faces a very difficult dilemma of balancing the social and emotional wellbeing of students with the risks of students and teachers getting and transmitting the coronavirus, neither decision a win.

Many of those supporting the recall cite the negative effects the lockdown has had on small businesses as a reason to sign the petition. However, Newsom has done a decent job balancing the health and economic interests of Californians, even, in January, setting up a grant of $575 million for struggling small businesses and nonprofits.

In addition to distributing grants, Newsom has also worked to get the most out of California’s limited vaccine supply. His vaccination distribution program, with little guidance on the national level, got 12.8 percent of the population over the age of 16 vaccinated.

Additionally, he made difficul decisions regarding who should first receive the vaccine, all while addressing concerns on all sides.

If the petition does get the required signatures to begin a recall election and Newsom is replaced, whether Republican or Democrat, they would not even be sworn into office until late 2021 to early 2022.

This would leave a new governor with only a few months before the regular California election, wasting $100 million in taxpayer money.

Overall, Gov. Newsom has done an acceptable job dealing with all the challenges that the pandemic has thrown at him. While he has made a few mistakes navigating the new territory of the pandemic, he is doing what he thinks is best for California, both its people and economy.

6

FEATURE

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

Fried chicken warrants return charles tam asst. sports editor

Photo courtesy of DIAMOND BAR HIGH SCHOOL Alumnus Elizabeth Chang is being welcomed as the assistant principal by Principal Rueben Jones, where she received the job last summer.

Chang returns to DBHS

kelsey wu asst. feature editor Often when students graduate from high school, they are keen to completely leave behind the community in which they grew up. But that isn’t the case for Diamond Bar High School class of 1997 alumnus Elizabeth Chang, who now serves as DBHS’s assistant principal.

As a student at DBHS, Chang didn’t realize she wanted to go into education until her senior year. In July 2020, she was welcomed back to her childhood community as part of the school’s administration.

Growing up in Diamond Bar with immigrant parents, Chang said that her high school experience was an important time of growth and development. She participated in various extracurriculars that she said all had one thing in common: they taught her how special it felt to be a part of a united community.

“I loved exploring different aspects of school from band as a saxophone player to cheerleading,” Chang said via email. “I loved the energy of a large group of peers and community who came together to root for the good ‘ole purple and gold.’”

Toward the end of her time in high school, Chang said she had started to question herself on how she wanted to impact society, and it was through a friend’s suggestion of joining a community service activity that she found her answer. She realized that the

work that was most meaningful for her was helping studentser able to grow thanks to DBHS teachers who helped develop her confidence and find her identity.

“I was humbled by the people I served in my community service,” Chang said. “They had such joy and ability to influence a positive experience that I wanted to continue extending that experience for others.”

After high school, Chang attended UC San Diego for her undergraduate studies, where she majored in Human Development, and then onto Cal State LA for her credentials and masters in education. She started out as an instructional aid, and then transitioned to becoming a teacher for elementary to high school students. She taught for 15 years in the Walnut Valley Unified School District before becoming an assistant principal at Chino High School. Last summer, she joined the Diamond Bar community to become DBHS assistant principal, replacing Matt Brummett.

“Diamond Bar offered me so many opportunities that I’d love to give back to the community that raised me,” Chang said.

Chang said she applied to be the assistant principal owing to the fact that the position gives her the opportunity to provide guidance to students during pivotal moments of decision making. According to Chang, she enjoys forming relationships with students and teaching them resilience and strong life character.

“Another favorite part of my job

is in student guidance, when working with students we can collaborate on problem-solving and the hidden curriculum of life skills,” Chang said. “To be able to assist a student beyond the moment’s scenario and reach beyond for a second chance is something that is special in my role.”

Chang has 19 years of experience in the educational field and she says she feels great being back on her high school campus, working to maintain and uphold the beliefs and standards of the Brahma institution.

As assistant principal, Chang’s day to day responsibilities include checking in on student’s safety and wellness, working closely with the GLC team, attendance and scheduling.

“My favorite part of my job is getting to know the students and staff that I serve,” Chang said.

“The unique facets of each person’s stories allows me to grow and give back with individual names in mind.”

Moving forward, Chang said she hopes to continue being an educational leader who effectively listens so she can grow in correlation to the ever-changing needs of education. She said she is honored to be supporting the teachers who had once helped her become who she is today. Her least favorite part of her job is the current situation of being distanced from students and staff members, but she says that she looks forward to the crowded hallways and Brahmas on campus once again.

If you are looking for Korean style fried chicken, Kokio Chicken, with locations in Koreatown and downtown Los Angeles, offers quality chicken and sauces in the Diamond Hills Plaza Shopping Center.

With a clean and modern interior, the restaurant has a pub-like design and aesthetic with LED beer signs. There are enough tables for about 10 parties. The shop was relatively empty, as I entered during the early hours and it remained closed for in-store dining.

Kokio Chicken offers a large variety of chicken dishes including wings, drumsticks, tenders, bowls and whole chickens. To go with the chicken, there are 10 signature sauces to choose from, including the original sauce with no spice, the cajun sauce with mild spice and the hot crispy. The side dish options include fries, onion rings, cheese sticks, rice cakes, kimchi and radish.

My order took about 15 minutes to be ready after ordering in-person. The food was packed neatly, with the sauces and napkins wrapped with a rubber band.

I ordered the combination plate of wings ($11), which consisted of five wings with a side of salad and French fries. The signature sauce for the wings that I chose was the

honey bee flavor that had a mild spice flavor to it. A thick, sweet dressing was also paired with the salad to make the bland side more tasteful.

The honey bee wings impressed me as the sweet and spicy taste of the sauce was pungent with flavor, while not being overwhelmingly spicy.

I was also pleased that the chicken was juicy, while being perfectly crisp to my liking. Every bite was a satisfying experience.

The side salad was nothing special. The sauce had an odd consistency and was too sweet for a salad. The side of French fries was also average, with no special seasoning that took it to the next level. Although there were a few soggy pieces, the fries were mostly crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside, which complemented the Honey Bee wings.

Along with the plate, I ordered a raspberry iced tea ($2.50). I was disappointed with the lack of beverage options as they only served soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.

For its fairly high-quality chicken, the price of the wings is reasonable. On the other hand, the beverage was overpriced since it was just a Brisk raspberry iced tea, which costs less than a dollar a can.

Overall, Kokio Chicken lived up to my expectations with its flavorful food. I will most likely be returning to give other signature sauces a try.

CHARLES TAM Kokio Chicken, located in Diamond Bar, has fried chicken dishes like drumsticks and wings.

Following his passion for modeling

vera wang staff writer

From Gerber Baby to It Model Managements, Diamond Bar High School senior Andrew Zambrano has been in the modeling industry since he was a toddler. It was not until early last spring, however, that he began exploring its potential as a viable career.

Initially, Zambrano said that he had been indifferent to the idea of continuing to work as a model.

Disregarding the constant encouragement from family and friends to pursue it, he instead chose to focus on school, aspiring for a future occupation in the medical field.

“I truly never became interested in modeling, it was [ just] put in front of me as an opportunity and I took it,” Zambrano said.

“I never had a moment where I sat and dove into the idea of modeling.”

Yet one night in the early days of quarantine, the op-

portunity presented itself during dinner with a friend.

“I know the owner of the makeup brand, Too Faced, and [we had] dinner together,” Zambrano said. “He texted me the next day and I had interviews with a couple modeling agencies and the rest is history.”

With

his help, Zambrano attended several auditions, submitting photos and meeting with different executives to be evaluated for measurements. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, collaborations are also difficult to arrange, as all members must receive negative tests in the weeks prior.

“I’ve had to tape my own auditions; it’s been more slow than usual from what I’ve been told, and being on set seems to have less people than I imagined,” Zambrano said. “[But] all in all, it was a fairly simple process, as long as they found what they

were looking for in your photos, they already wanted to hire you.”

Eventually signing with IT Model Managements, Zambrano now has his photos taken professionally with the agency.

“I model because I believe that I don’t live up to the crazy beauty standards our world has today, and

I’m representative of the more realistic person for whichever brand I’m modeling for,” Zambrano said.

Balancing his career with school, Zambrano finishes his classes by 10 a.m., which gives him the flexibility for modeling work later in the day.

He credits his efficiency and tenacity to his older brother since he looked up to him for his work ethic even though there’s a big age gap.

“One of my biggest role models is my brother,” Zambrano said.

“There was a large age gap between us and I never got to really hang out with him a lot, [but] as I got older I saw his work ethic and how he always made things work out. I feel I’ve taken that trait of his and applied it to all aspects of my life.”

With a growing passion for modeling, Zambrano said he looks forward to seeing what it holds for him in the future and how he can continue his passion.

“One thing I’d like to say is, take the risk,” Zambrano said. “Whatever you want to do, don’t let fear hold you back, it might just lead to the best experiences of your life.”

Photo courtesy of ANDREW ZAMBRANO

FEATURE

THE BULL'S EYE

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

7

Students make sweets for a cause Homemade Takeout

By Tiffany Lee

Noodles with a spicy kick

S

ince I was eight years old, my family and I have been going to Brea Mall, not only to shop, but to eat the spicy, mouth-watering noodles from Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill.

The restaurant has a built-in bowl buffet system offering a variety of vegetables and meats to be stirfried over an open fire.

Although this copycat recipe that I have modified from “Seasons and Suppers” website is far from the original dish, it has the same spicy taste and serves as a nutritious meal. For this recipe, I added in jalapenos and meat, took out the carrots, and lowered the amount of soy sauce and ginger needed for this recipe. This recipe also substitutes udon noodles for the Mongolian noodles served in the restaurant.

Ingredients for the Stir fry (4 servings): 4 servings of frozen udon noodles 1 medium onion sliced 1 jalapeno sliced 2 cups green onion sliced diagonally 6 cups baby spinach 1/2 a bell pepper 4 servings of meat of your choice (I used pork) For the Sauce: 2-4 tsp Sambal Oelek (Asian Chili Garlic Sauce; you can add more or less to deepen the spice level) 4 cloves garlic minced ½ tbsp fresh ginger minced 4 tbsp white sugar 4 tsp vinegar ¼ cup soy sauce 2 tsp sesame oil Optional for garnish: red pepper flakes Instructions: To start off, mix all the ingredients for the sauce into a small bowl and set it aside. After, prepare a pot of boiled water and add your noodles. Cook according to the instructions on the package or until al dente.

Strain the noodles. Lightly rinse them with cold water and set it aside for the water to drain.

After the vegetables are prepared, place a large frying pan or wok on the stove at medium heat.

Add in jalapenos and stir occasionally for a minute or two. The following is optional, but for those who enjoy more of a spicy kick to their meals, add a pinch of red pepper flakes during this time.

Add onions and stir occasionally until they are soft and start to caramelize. Next add the green onions and stir for a minute. As you are doing this, occasionally add in the sauce 1 tbsp at a time.

Add the drained udon noodles and stir for a minute. Next, add the baby spinach on top and stir for another minute and mix all of the ingredients together.

After removing the finished stir fry noodles from the stove, you can plate and garnish with some more red pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Chef’s Tip: One tip is to dip the meat and vegetables with Siracha which complements the dish.

Lyndon Kaneko Staff Writer As a way of giving back to the community, Diamond Bar High School juniors Joana Jenzel and Jessica Swisher managed to raise nearly $2000 for charities during two separate fundraisers that ran through fall.

To raise the money they made chocolate-covered strawberries and cake pops given that the treats were easy to make, package and deliver, while simultaneously promoting their cause by posting on their personal Instagram accounts @joanajenzel and @jessica.swisheroj.

Before beginning to plan their

fundraisers, the girls researched the credibility of the organizations they wanted to donate to, checking their relevance and resonance. The two organizations they chose are the National Suicide Prevention Organization and the Food on Foot Incorporation.

Seeing as National Suicide Prevention Week took place in the month of September, the two decided to raise awareness and help those in need through donations by selling chocolate-covered strawberries. The fundraiser ran all of September and was primarily marketed to high school students, friends and family.

“We wanted to let everyone know that there were people out there who cared about them, even those

Jessica Swisher, with the cakepops the two sold to raise money for causes they supported.

Marykate PaLaris ASST. A&E EDITOR During this year’s schedule of competitions, Diamond Bar High School organizations will be competing from the confines of students’ homes, providing a different experience for all members.

The general structure of competitions hasn’t changed—students still have various events to participate in, such as tests, or an event that has judges. Senior Erin Zhou, the student leader of Distributive Education Clubs of America, said that the biggest contrast between online and in-person competitions is the social aspect.

“Usually the best part of the competitions is being at the conference with your friends and exploring the city, but that can’t happen online,” Zhou said via Instagram.

Starting in December and ending in January, DECA held meetings to discuss how to attend the meeting virtually and how to upload items in order to ensure efficient test-taking. To prepare for tests, students study for their respective subjects using resources like textbooks or online videos; DECA officers composed Google Drive folders with previous tests taken for competitors to reference.

This is similar to the way that competitions were prepared for the previous years.

Clubs don’t need to distribute physical materials to students since they only need simple test-taking materials such as a pen

and paper. However, installing a third-party proctoring software in order to simply monitor students’ activity while taking the exams is mandatory for most clubs, along with a webcam.

Since in-person tests were previously taken in a quiet environment, some students may face challenges due to their unorthodox conditions.

“It’s sometimes harder for students to focus on the exam when, say, their little brother is yelling at his video games in his room,” senior USABO student leader Luke Zhou said.

For USA Biology Olympiad, competition season began this month and lasts until April.

Photo courtesy of JOANA JENZEL Jenzel and Swisher used funds to fill a box with school supplies to send to the Philippines.

that chose not to seek help or those who aren’t comfortable talking about it,” Jenzel said via Instagram.

With the success of the first fundraiser raising over $1200, the approaching holiday season inspired the duo to give back to those who couldn’t partake in the festivities.

Their concern with the pandemic affecting the lives of the homeless encouraged them to donate to the Foot on Foot charity by selling cake pops. The organization helps homeless and low-income residents in LA county with meals, housing, employment and clothing.

Since the fundraiser’s cause would be to help homeless people, constant probing of the cause’s site, foodonfoot.org was essential

to check for updates on what the organization was doing to deal with the pandemic. The main problem that the two faced was that neither had baked cake pops before.

“The beginning was kind of stressful but as we received more orders we got more used to the process of baking, packaging and delivering,” Jenzel said.

The second fundraiser raised $600, inspiring the girls to continue to raise money for different causes.

Despite not knowing what to donate to next, the two are leaning toward selling cookies.

“Given the success of both of our fundraisers so far, we plan on holding more in the near future to help various causes,” said Jenzel via Instagram.

However, for those who attend the international Olympiads, it ends mid-summer.

Though it’s difficult to find any positives in a situation that is less than ideal, some club officers have found that working in a home environment has the ability to be beneficial. Some resources such as online folders are easily accessible on a computer to study. However, seeing as the aforementioned environment isn’t always suited for test-taking, it can also be seen as an obstacle.

“You’re in the comfort of your own home, an asset that can either help or hinder you,” Zhou said.

Similarly , Health Occupations Students of America competitions

are adjusted to fit an online environment, and events this year are focused on testing as opposed to more interactive activities, like hands-on teamwork events.

“We offer study sessions during which you can collaborate with others or just study in peace,” senior Nitin Murali, club officer of HOSA, said.

The club’s goal is to simply try its best as they compete through March 7 and into the rest of their competition season.

“If everyone does their due diligence and gives a solid attempt at both their studying and events, I think we will be happy, regardless of the quantitative results,” Murali said.

Photo courtesy of DBHS HOSA With competitions moving into a virtual format, DBHS students from all grades are experiencing online competition for the very first time.

8

FEATURE

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

figures in black history After a summer of Black Lives Matter protest across the country, there is a growing interest in the important people who have been central to African Americans’ struggle for equal rights. While everyone celebrates the life of Martin Luther King Jr. during Black History Month, here are some other significant Black figures in American history who have left their mark on the movement.

Story by : Rachel Lee, Designed by: Kelsey Wu and Somiya Jajieh

Phillis Wheatley: 1754 - 1784 Born in 1754 and enslaved after being kidnapped from her home in West Africa at the age of eight, Phillis Wheatley rose to fame as the first African American woman and third woman in America to publish a book of poems. At a young age, Wheatley was educated by the Wheatley family, a white family that purchased her as a personal servant. After taking her in, they recognized her intelligence and literary talent. Many of Wheatley’s works were elegies about important English and colonial figures, including the poem that propelled her to fame. Wheatley’s “An Elegiac Poem, On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield,” published when she was just 16, garnered national attention, due to her sophisticated language and ideas, even though the structure of her poem was fairly standard. Wheatley is also known for having written a poem praising George Washington, for which she received great praise and an invitation to Cambridge for tea. Wheatley would go on to receive international recognition when she published “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” the first book to be written by a Black woman in America.

Her poem “On Being Brought From Africa to America,” published in the anthology, is one of her most famous works that touch upon the topics of race and slavery, and it is now covered in literature curriculums across the world.

Benjamin O Davis Sr: 1880 - 1970 If it were not for Benjamin O Davis Sr., the integration of the U.S. Army would have taken much longer than it did. Davis, who would become the first African-American brigadier general in the Army, began his military career during the Spanish-American War in 1898 after completing cadet training in high school. In two years, he was promoted to sergeant major and commissioned second lieutenant, where he was later stationed in Liberia and the Philippines teaching military science in an attempt by higher-ranking military officials to bar him from receiving any promotions that would give him higher authority than any white troops or officers.

In 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt promoted him to brigadier general. During World War II, Davis was assigned to a special unit in Europe where he was in charge of mediating racial conflict and making sure that other soldiers of color would not be looked down upon due to their racial or ethnic background. His promotion of racial integration policies, later on, led to his assistance in a successful diversification and integration program with the European Theater, in which he served as an advisor on race relations. In 2019, the U.S. Air Force Academy’s airfield was named in his honor.

Malcolm X: 1925 -1965 Alongside Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X was one of the most high profile figures during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. He was born Malcolm Little to a family of civil rights activists. Years after his house was burned down by the Ku Klux Klan, Malcolm X was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1946 for robbery, where he would begin his study of the Islamic religion and eventually change his surname to ‘X’ to represent his lost African heritage. Often taking a more extreme approach than King, Malcolm X rejected the nonviolent approach in his messages of Black equality and Black nationalism. His doctrines are known to have advocated ideas of racial separatism, based on the idea that African Americans must create their own communities. He felt that the African American community could not rely on any other communities for assistance. However, after his exit from the Nation of Islam and pilgrimage to the Mecca in 1964, he abandoned this stance in favor of a more moderate view of “a working unity among all peoples” that still centered around the self-reliance of the Black community.

He continued to promote equality for Black people and other minorities with the creation of the Organization of Afro-American unity later on in 1964, and advocated that African Americans should be educated about their history until his assassination in 1965.

Photo Coutesy of biography.com Fighting Words, and Creative Commons

Jane Bolin: 1908 - 2007 From an early age, Jane Bolin worked to address the social injustice commonly faced by repressed minorities throughout the country. Known for her trailblazing social advances during the Civil Rights movement, Bolin is recognized as the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, to join the New York City Bar Association and become a judge in the United States. Bolin was a lawyer for four years and worked for New York City before she was sworn in as a judge by New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in 1939. During her years on the bench, Bolin managed to make two critical changes to the way the New York government handled subjects dealing with race and ethnicity. Her most well known achievements are managing to put an end to segregation in child placement facilities, and stopping discrimination based on race and ethnic background in the assignment of probation officers to cases.

Claudette Colvin: 1938 - Present Although many people credit Rosa Parks for being the first to defy bus segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat to a white man, Claudette Colvin was actually the first to stand her ground nine months earlier in 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama. Colvin, who was 15 at the time, said in an interview with BBC that she felt the hands of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth pushing down on her shoulders and preventing her from getting up, inspiring her to declare that since she had paid her fare, it was her constitutional right to stay seated. Though she may have been dismissed in favor of an older icon during the Civil Rights movement, she was not completely forgotten. One year later, in 1956, Colvin testified with four other women in the U.S. Supreme Court at the request of the NAACP in the case that abolished bus segregation laws across America. Colvin’s name was finally recognized in detail for the first time in 2009 when writer Phillip Hoose published “Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice,” which chronicled Colvin’s life as one of the main fighters in the battle to end segregation.

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

9

Art of the Anatomy

story by Anika Yatawara design by Natasha Chang

W

hile most artists’ canvases consist of paper or linen, Diamond Bar High School alumna Priscilla Gomez translates her designs onto a less conventional surface: skin.

The class of 2018 graduate said she only recently discovered her passion for tattooing after deciding to minor in art while attending California State University of Fullerton.

“My sketchbook was full of random designs and little chunks of Renaissance paintings done in pointillism,” she said via Instagram. “It wasn’t until then [that] I actually thought about tattooing and my professor was all for it.”

Gomez said she purchased an athome tattoo kit during quarantine and began practicing on areas that, once tattooed, would fade quickly, like her feet.

“People started saying they’d pay me to do it [tattoo] on them and in a month I quit my job and paid off my lease,” she said. “After three months I moved myself to Hollywood and eventually got myself into an all female shop, and got myself a nice apartment downtown.”

Throughout her middle school and high school years, Gomez said she studied hyperrealism and became somewhat of a perfectionist when it came to her art.

“I would paint or draw portraits and they would look to [a] tee like the person,” she said.

Despite her initial plans to attend a fine arts academy, she decided to

attend DBHS, opting for a more traditional high school experience.

“I didn’t take any art classes in high school, I was actually kind of a film kid. I used to do interviews for the Vans Warped Tour and sit in the video room and edit during any breaks I had,” she said.

Gomez said she gained most of her experience in film while attending DBHS. At the time, she was busy applying for press and going on tours to take videos or record interviews with various bands.

“I wanted to do music videos because I always felt such a strong connection to music but could never make any music myself,” she said.

While attending CSUF, Gomez was a part of Titan Radio, where she had her own weekly show called New Perspective in which she interviewed bands. “ The music and the film industry is really toxic, especially for women, so I just decided to kind of do my own thing [tattooing] and I’ve been pretty happy since then,” Gomez said.

Before securing her spot in an official tattoo shop, Gomez started out as a freelancer.

“I ran a mini shop out of my living room. This is what you call a scratcher and it’s really looked down upon in [industry on pg 14]

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

Sky's the limit with songwriting Kelsey wu asst. feature editor

less alone,” Mejia said. “At least this song . . . may be somewhat familiar to people because they can find a way to relate it to what Musicians and artists often start they’re going through.” their careers very young to gain Mejia said that she has always as much experience in the field been in love with music. Whether as they can. Such is the case for singing for others, playing instruDiamond Bar High School junior ments or covering other’s songs, Jolleen Mejia, who recently made Mejia has been around music for her debut as a singer and songwritmost of her life. She uses Youtube er with “Cotton Candy Sky.” and Instagram to promote most of With the quarantine giving stuher work. Her song “Cotton Candy dents additional free time, Mejia Sky” is also available on all major made use of it to begin writing her music streaming platforms and sosong. The entire process of writing cial media platforms, such as Spothe lyrics and tify and TikTok. finding chord Mejia also dipro g ressions rected, produced “Beautiful moments to make the and edited a mumelody took sic video to go in time can pass away her a month. along with the as quickly as they “‘Cotton song. appeared.”

Candy Sky’ is “I wanted to JOLLEEN MEJIA a general song, film a music vidabout a speeo so that I would cific feeling,” have an excuse to Mejia said via Instagram. go out and frolic under pretty Mejia said that the song is a sunsets and also give people a viway to let all of her conflicting sual of what I am singing about,” emotions regarding COVID-19 and Mejia said. quarantine out. She uses “cotton She said that she recorded the candy skies” as a metaphor for how music video with the help of her quickly the beauty of life was takmother at two different locations to en from everyone when COVID hit. depict what she was singing: how “Just like beautiful sunsets, you could have a beautiful sunset beautiful moments in time can in one moment, and have it disappass away as quickly as they appear in the next. peared,” Mejia said.

“While editing my music video In writing the song, Mejia said I made sure to have the visuals that she intended for the message match the tempo of the song... of the song to be open to interpreduring a more upbeat part of the tation, knowing that every listener song, I would have the video clips would find personal ways to relate switch from one to the other quickit to their own experiences. ly, but during the slower part of “The whole point of writing the the song, I would have one video song is to be able to help people feel clip for a longer duration,” Mejia

A&E Commentary Fresh starts for late-night comedy Josh chou editor-in-chief Meija wanted to produce a video along with her song to give visuals of her singing, so she had her mother record her at two locations to symbolize how a beautiful moment can pass.

Photos courtesy of JOLLEEN MEJIA

said.

Mejia said that her dream is to be a professional singer-songwriter and perform her songs for others. In the future, she said that she hopes to collaborate with some of her favorite artists and perform

her songs at concerts.

“If you want to write your own songs and make that your career, it is never too early to start...so don’t be afraid to start, because there isn’t any better time than now,” Mejia said.

Drama practicing to perfection kyle hong staff writer In the same vein of their Zoom rehearsals from the past year, the Drama department is still using a virtual format in preparing for their upcoming performance of “The Wedding Singer,” a romantic comedy that will run from April 23 to 25.

The production has the support of two choreographers, dance department teacher Kari Simonson and professional choreographer Dominique Araiza. Auditions, which were held during the first week of the second semester, consisted of students sending in videos of themselves performing scenes and songs for the characters they wanted to play.

Rehearsals for “The Wedding Singer” began during the second week of January, right after auditions wrapped up. Senior Diego

Tamayo said that it was a quicker transition than normal, but it was fun because performers got to explore their characters right away.

“In comparison to our Fall Play “Get a Clue!” from the previous semester, the practices for sure are smoother because the cast members understand the protocols for digital rehearsal better,” said Tamayo. “The rehearsal runs of our first fully digital show was rougher, however now with the past practice, we’re now consistent with learning our songs, choreography and scenes.”

Freshman Elizabeth Tenace said that drama director and teacher Jared Kaitz has been managing practices and helping guide students through any inconveniences caused by the new methods of practice.

“Practices have been going very smoothly,” said Tenace. “Mr. Kaitz helps a lot with the different parts, showing them to us and playing

““The Wedding Singer”” is a romantic comedy play that will run online from April 23-25.

Photos courtesy of DIEGO TAMAYO Because of the issue of lag, students individually record themselves singing and compile it.

them on keyboard for us to hear as new format out of necessity.” well as posting different tracks on Tamayo said that one of the main Google Classroom with our differobstacles to the current format ent parts on them.” is the inability to sing as a group Due to practices being held over due to lag on a Zoom call. To remZoom, performers have to deal edy this, each member has been with lag and practicing indiother connecvidually so that tion issues on once filming takes ““The natural flow of occasion. Tenplace, they can ace explained stitch individual the characters will that this can voice recordings be able to truly tie cause issues together to create everything together.” when learning a mix that sounds DIEGO TAMAYO parts in songs like a group perand other performance. formances, “Based on how but Kaitz helps out with this by r e h e a r s - als have been, I’m cueing when different parts start overall pretty optimistic about our during practice. show’s completion.” said Tamayo “The adjustments are still diffi“However, I do think we can imcult because of how vastly differprove on our character connecent these new methods of practice tions once we improve our scene are from our traditional rehearsal work, songs and choreo. After we approaches when the drama room have these technicalities improved, and stage were available,” said Tathe natural flow of the characters mayo. “However, with rehearsals will be able to truly tie everything each week since early January, we together and create a fantastic have eventually gotten used to this show.”

It’s worth saying: “Saturday Night Live” has seen better times.

The major turnover of the cast in 2013 left many fans disappointed at a new generation that seemed unable to match the synergy of prior icons like Bill Hader, Kristin Wiig, Fred Armisen, Andy Samburg and Tina Fey from the previous core cast. And while breakout stars like Kate McKinnon or veterans like Kenan Thompson partially helped to fill the void, I’d argue there was one singular event that made “SNL” relevant again, even if it was unable to reach the peaks of previous eras: the election of Donald Trump.

Starting with Kate McKinnon’s impression of Hillary Clinton singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at the piano following the election, almost every single “SNL” cold open breathlessly recounted and satirized the political rollercoaster of each passing week. Every Trump administration blunder provided fresh comedic cannon fodder for skits and Weekend Updates. Viral clips of “SNL” skits skyrocketed in popularity across Twitter and YouTube, which increased the show’s following across younger generations. While occasional episodes still flopped here and there, the show’s reputation was on the rise all along.

Other late night-shows--Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, among others--similarly became tunnel-visioned by coverage of Trump’s antics to varying degrees. Seth Meyers and John Oliver in particular offered comical yet necessary political insight through segments like “Closer Look.” While Stephen Colbert faltered at first in the Trump years, he too eventually found his stride with mass audiences. The only show that didn’t see success from becoming more Trump-centric might be Jimmy Fallon’s, whose more positive style of comedy didn’t mix as well with covering a tumultuous political scene.

As anyone could have predicted, though, audiences eventually tired of the gimmick. Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of Donald Trump did not get any better in “SNL’s” cold opens, which were quickly becoming a vehicle for random celebrity cameos. While I remain in the camp that believes political comedy has its place in informing the public on crucial political events (albeit through a leftist lens), from an entertainment standpoint it’s clear that we’re tired of the same rut.

The Biden Administration signifies many things, but I’m interested in seeing how late-night shows adapt and respond to a relatively stable political future. While Trump brought it back to prominence, hopefully late-night comedy can continue its momentum in new directions and find a more palatable balance of political satire in the process, allowing America as a whole to move on and find closure from the Trump years.

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

tune in:

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

11

Embracing hip-hop

The highly anticipated album, “Querencia,” let fans see another side of K-pop artist Chung Ha. reyna wan opinion editor K-pop phenomenon Chung Ha might have delayed the release of her debut album to Feb. 15, but “Querencia” was well worth the wait, showing a new side to Chung Ha that’s anything but basic. Taking inspiration from every style of pop music, she seamlessly fuses together mainstream American pop with K-pop and Latin music, even weaving in hints of R&B. Starting her career as a member of girl group IOI, Chung Ha went solo in 2017 and built her way up to become one of the top female solo artists in Korea. And, upon my first listen to “Querencia,” it’s clear why Chung Ha holds that title.

Her album is divided into four chapters, each one demonstrating a different theme of Chung Ha’s artistry—Noble, Savage, Unknown and Pleasure. Despite the dramatically different mood in each, the common thread tying the chapters together is Chung Ha’s angelic voice, making each of the 21 songs a standout piece.

The album opens with “Bicycle,” a dance-pop track featuring English, Spanish and Korean lyrics.

Bold and filled with attitude, the lyrics, vocals and backing track are

Photo courtesy of LUCAS O’BRIEN

Freshman Lucas O’Brien, playing the trombone for the new improv jazz band.

Photo courtesy of CHUNGHA

Chung Ha’s “Querencia” was delayed to Feb. 15 , its initial release being Jan. 4 in such flawless tandem with each other that it makes “Bicycle” the best track on the album. What enhances this song even further is the creative visuals and choreography of the music video. An essential part of all K-pop songs, the music video took the song to the next level, showing off how much Chung Ha has grown artistically.

Chung Ha continues the Noble chapter with stand-outs “Masquerade” and “Flying on Faith.”

The former is one of the catchiest tracks on the album, fusing the vibrance of K-pop with Latin Pop—a combination heightened by Chung Ha’s vocals. The latter, sung entirely in English, returns to an early-2000s style with guitar and EDM backing.

Savage shows a side of Chung Ha that’s more risque, embracing hiphop and K-Pop in an interesting

combination. “Stay Tonight” and “Dream of You” start out this chapter, which was expected as both were released prior to the album.

The one surprise favorite, however, is “Chill,” a simple yet intriguing pop song. It starts out like any typical K-pop track with a distorted intro and light backing vocals before growing into a full-blown pop song.

As basic as the backing track is, Chung Ha’s impressive range and artistic additions made it a song worth a second listen.

The third chapter, Unknown, is filled with collaborations, primarily with rappers. Songs like “Demente,” featuring Latin rapper Guaynaa, and “Play,” featuring South Korean rapper Changmo, were done with a combination of rapping, vocals and a supporting track of various musical styles ranging from contemporary R&B to rap.

Chung Ha departs from the upbeat vibe of her other chapters in Pleasures, rounding out the album with the chill sounds of Korean R&B. As relaxing as “All Night Long” or sweet “Come N Goes” was, “Everybody Has” was one of the top songs of this chapter, if not the entire album. A ballad holding hints of electronic music and piano, Chung Ha’s full range comes out, demonstrating the power of her voice.

Between the vocals and interesting mix of styles, “Querencia” proves how much of a musical powerhouse Chung Ha truly is, transcending the boundaries of K-pop and creating an unfiltered version of herself.

Changing tempos with a jazz band marykate palaris asst. a&e editor

jazz concepts and provide useful exercises to help improvise and such,” O’Brien said.

The freshman said that before the band was formed, Acciani Taking a break from its usual reached out to his colleagues and classical style, Diamond Bar High even contacted some alumni to School now has a club dedicated to seek input on how the jazz band improv jazz, started by freshman could operate.

Lucas O’Brien.

Instruments typically not asPrior to attending DBHS, O’Brien sociated with jazz such as French had considered attending Walhorn, flute and viola were also nut High School because, unlike able to join the band because AcDBHS, it has jazz music groups. So ciani wanted anyone interested to O’Brien took matters into his own be able to particihands, emailpate. ing DBHS MuDuring each sic Director “Improv has a mix of practice, Acciani Steven Acciani both creative decisions chooses a student to ask if he but also fundamental to play a certain could form a piece while the playing patterns.” jazz band. rest of the class “Mr. A. reLUCAS O’BRIEN listens. The band, sponded with still being new, is great enthusicurrently focused asm, and this on learn- ing the fundamendream of a jazz band actually tals. started to become reality,” O’Brien “We aren’t really working on said via Discord. pieces right now,” sophomore BryThe ensemble is still in its inan Chiu, a member of the band, cipient stage, with only a handful said. “It’s mostly just learning the of students in the band. There is new style.” no current student leader, but as The group is learning from the the ensemble expands, it’s likely to ground up about how improvigain one, according to O’Brien. sation works in music, which is After tutorial period on Tuescentral to jazz, and entirely condays, the small band practices virtradictory to what classical music tually. Students are learning about players are accustomed to. jazz styles like swing, and studying “Good improv has a mix of both the style of notable jazz musicians. creative decisions but also funda“Currently we have a few songs mental playing patterns... listening Mr. Acciani found for the group, to professionals’ improv styles and and he also got us some jazz methchoices [is critical],” O’Brien said. od books, which basically explain

A shallow sitcom Lyndon kaneko staff writer Marvel Studios and Disney+’s first collaboration, “Wandavision,” unable to capitalize on its unique approach to character development, fails to stand out from other Marvel’s television series.

The series takes place in a reality where Vision (Paul Bettany) was never killed by Thanos and lives with his romantic partner Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) in the idyllic suburban town of Westview, New Jersey.

For those that don’t remember, Vision couldn’t be revived during the events of “Avengers: Endgame” due to him dying before Thanos’ snap halved the galaxy’s population, so for the show to start with his return is an intriguing premise to begin with. What makes the beginning more interesting is the idea that the two star in this show without any memory of the events that took place previously in the MCU. Their realization that their lives are falsified comes after the two are asked about their past before moving to Westview by neighbors.

Disappointingly, this reveal takes With no narrative context as to place during the pilot, while the why the two are seemingly stuck in rest of the show seems more cona 50s sitcom eight episodes into the cerned with its excessive referencnine-episode series, it’s fair to ases to classic TV sitcoms. sume that a large portion of the auThe writing team’s appreciadience would be confused at such tion for and references to nostalgic a spontaneous choice. Regardless, shows such as “The Brady Bunch” the setting is a refreshing change are made obnoxiously apparent from the action-dominated Marvel throughout the series, to the point Universe. The couple are allowed that every minute detail comes off to experience romance instead as some sort of being locked of Easter egg. into the gritty, While lead battle-heavy uni“As it stands, the actors Olsen verse of “Avenggeneral trend of the and Bettany, ers.” series has created along with the For those that many unanswered supporting are already inquestions.” cast, are capavested in Wanda ble of creating and Vision’s overrelaxed scearching story, it narios filled with humor, it’s a may be worth it to continue shame to see them practically sidefollowing the show. But everyone lined by the allusion-defined show. who’s new to the Marvel CinematAnother glaring problem is the ic Universe and looking for a new show’s overreliance on repetitive show to get into it, they’d be better gags. For example, Vision’s incomoff waiting to hear if the show ends petence at living a normal human in a concrete manner. Because as it life is a running joke throughout stands, the general trend of the sethe series that quickly begins to ries has created many unanswered feel stale. It’s difficult to overlook questions and may leave viewers the slow progression of the story confused and unsatisfied. as every episode becomes a different vehicle for the same, trite joke.

FINAL VERDICT: s k i p i t

Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch

Vision, formerly the AI J.A.R.V.I.S.

Photos courtesy of MARVEL

Wanda, in Episode 1, makes dinner for Vision’s boss and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Hart.

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FEATURE

Pre-pandemic average sleeping times

Average sleeping times during the pandemic

12:03 12:45 AM

6:2 1

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

AM

6:39

AM

AM

We surveyed 47 Brahmas on how the pandemic affected their sleep schedules:

133% 2x 6% Increase On average, students’ naps increased by 1 hour (133%).

Naps Double in Occurrence

The percentage of nappers increased from 29.8% to 62.5% about twice as many students napping during the pandemic as before.

There was a 24-minute (6%) decrease in the amount of sleep people get each night

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

This creates a cycle of sleep deprivation that’s grown increasingly common as of late, as students take naps to alleviate their sleep deprivation, but are then forced to stay up late in order to get their homework done.

“I am usually not a person to take naps unless I am super tired or sick but during online learning, I have taken more naps in one semester than I have taken... from the start of 6th grade to the end of 8th grade,” sophomore Jocelyn Wang said.

“At night I have a hard time sleeping and am overwhelmed with how much homework we get. I don't fall asleep until it's around 1 a.m. Then I wake up way too early and can't go back to sleep at 5 a.m.

My teachers say you have to get a good night's sleep but all I can question is how is that possible over mountains of homework each night?”

Other students have found that the year has actually been quite beneficial, as they’re able to go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier, while also taking shorter naps to boost their concentration in a healthy way. “[I’ve] got[ten] more sleep because of stay-at-home learning. [I’m] performing better academically because my brain is more awake each day and I have more energy throughout the day,” junior Bobby Zhu said in the survey.

Many students have a different explanation, though: the stress and homework from school this year has increased dramatically, causing them to stay up late in order to finish their work. story by Camille McCurry, design by Josh Chou photos courtesy of Scope Blog, Tomorrow’s World, Matress Firm and Westclox

FEATURE

13

Sleeping through night and day

T

he pandemic has brought a variety of interesting changes to students’ day-to-day life—some positive, some negative—but it’s undeniable that one of the biggest impacts has been on students’ sleep. The Bull’s Eye surveyed 47 Brahmas on the details of their sleep schedules both before and after the pandemic to see exactly how it has affected their slumber.

Before distance learning, the average student slept from 12:03 a.m. to 6:21 a.m., packing in a total of 6 hours and 17 minutes of sleep each night. While this is far from ideal, students are getting less sleep now that we’re home all day. Now, students rest for a mere 5 hours and 54 minutes on average, and both go to sleep and wake up at later times: From 12:45 a.m. to 6:39 a.m. It makes sense that students are waking up later, considering that they don’t need to commute to campus, but the later bedtime isn’t so easily explained.

One explanation involves the rise in napping among students. The percentage of students who take naps has doubled this year from 29.8 percent to a staggering 62.5 percent—not to mention that the average nap is longer this year, too, having grown from a little over an hour to nearly three. So while students are sleeping less at night, they are getting more rest overall.

So why is it, then, that the majority of students believe the amount of sleep they are getting has been reduced compared to last year? Well, the answer may lie in human biology. Naps can’t actually replace the rest students get at night, and often can interfere with the ability to rest peacefully. Following an afternoon nap, many wake up in the middle of the night, and wake in the morning less rested.

THE BULL'S EYE

14 BUSINESS

THE BULL'S EYE

Applying art on a new canvas industry FROM P.9 the industry,” she said. “Once I moved to [Los Angeles] I was doing house calls for a lot of actors and underground rappers.”

Through her freelance work, Gomez met the owner of a popular woman-run tattoo shop known as Little Annie Motel Tattoo Parlor who agreed to take Gomez in as an apprentice.

“Now this [was] a big deal because the industry is male dominated and super gatekept,” Gomez said.

Gomez explained that although most apprentices need up to six months of training before they are entrusted with a tattoo gun, she started taking clients after only a week of apprenticeship.

“I was fully booked the month of January and made almost three times more than my front desk job,” she said.

Despite her work as a tattoo artist, Gomez described herself as

more of a collage or multimedia artist. She explained that a lot of her artwork is more eclectic and usually inspired by music.

“I just feel a certain way about music and since I can’t make music I express myself through visuals,” Gomez said.

Although Gomez said she tends to express herself through a more polished artstyle, she still appreciates artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat who create much more eccentric pieces.

“I respect him [Basquiat] because his ideas are so strong that his skill doesn’t even need to be present,” Gomez said.

In terms of her tattoo designs, Gomez said she is still exploring and defining her style but that her work so far is most similar to a gothic art-nouveau style.

Though she works at an established tattoo parlor, Gomez said she considers herself to be running her own business, as she is in charge of booking her own clients,

restocking her supplies, managing finances and decorating and maintaining her room in the shop.

“I have no idea how I [have pulled] any of this off really. I really just go through the motions,” Gomez said. “But I guess the saying is true, when you do what you love you don’t work a day in your life, right?”

Although her work as a tattoo artist has just begun, Gomez said she plans to further her career in the arts and pursue other fields as well. She explained that she currently attends Santa Monica College after having dropped out of CSUF due to the pandemic. She is now looking to transfer schools and continue her education.

“Tattooing isn’t the end of my artistic career [so] to speak,” she said. “I’m going back to school in the fall. I plan to attend Otis College of Art and Design and study product design [but] my true goal is to just travel and make beautiful art.”

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

THE BULL'S EYE

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

SPORTS

15

Former DBHS student wins fifth PGA Tour Kevin Na finds success and has climbed to No. 17 in the latest U.S. Ryder Cup standings.

His recent wins have moved him to No. 17 on the prestigious Ryder Cup rankings, ahead of such notables as Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods. Although Na is ranked 26th in the world with $34,580,445 in career earnings, he was not always in the spotlight.

ETHAN RO At age 17, he and his parents CONTRIBUTING WRITER agreed on his decision to drop out of high school in 2001 and turn pro.

PGA Tour golfer and former Di“That’s what I chose to do, no amond Bar High School student matter what other people say,” Na Kevin Na secured his fifth career told the Los Angeles Times at the PGA victory at the Sony Open in time. “Other people have their own Hawaii on Jan. 17. opinions, but my parents and I be“I felt like Wai’alae is a golf lieve this is the best route for me to course I really have a chance at, take.” and there’s not too many of these Na began playing on the Asian left anymore, so I have to take adTour, securing himself a win at vantage of it,” Na said during his the 2002 Volvo Masters of Asia. At post-win press conference. “What a the time, that victory made Na the great feeling to win at a golf course youngest ever winner on the Asian I really feel like I can win at.”

Tour. However, the record has The 37-year-old started his final since been broken and is now held round just shy of the outright lead,

by Phachara Khongwatmai. sitting at 16-under par. After makDespite turning pro in 2001, Na ing a par the first hole, Na “walked didn’t secure his PGA tour card in” his birdie putt on the second until 2004. From when he turned hole to put himself within one shot pro, Na didn’t hold a trophy for a of the lead, held by Brendan Steele. camera on the PGA Tour for 10 Na proceeded to par the next sevyears until Oct. 2, 2011 at the Justin en holes until the par 5 ninth hole, Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for which he birdied.

Children Open. Na secured his first By the 14th hole, Na caught up to PGA Tour victory in his hometown leader Steele when he sank a birdof Las Vegas, carding a 65 in the ie putt to gave him a co-lead. On final round for a total of 23-under the next hole, a short par 4 with a par. helping breeze, Na teed off with a After his first win in 2011, Na fairway metal for optimal positionwent under the radar for another 7 ing for his approach. years until a 2018 tournament, A His approach shot from the midMilitary Tribute at The Greenbridle of the fairer, where he seway from just cured his second shy of 140 yards career win with “Other people have out landed right a final score of their own opinions, over the top of 19-under par. Albut my parents and the flagstick to though Na was I believe this is the a few feet, givnever able to best route for me to ing him another lift a trophy for take.” great look at a himself in those birdie. Na sank 7 years, he had KEVIN NA the putt, giving 36 top-10 finishhim the outright es. lead in the tourStarting from nament at 20-under par. his second win, Na’s victories On the 18th hole, a beautiful began to become more consischip shot from just off the green set tent. The very next year, Na won Na up for a very short birdie putt to the Charles Schwab Challenge secure the win. at the Colonial Country Club in Na played a 5-under 65 for a colFort Worth, carding a collective lective score of 21-under and his 13-under par and winning by four first PGA Tour victory since the strokes of second place finisher 2020 Shriners Hospital for Children Tony Finau. Last weekend, Na finOpen. ished tied for 38th with an even par

S

even-time Super Bowl champion. Three-time Most Valuable Player. 14-time Pro Bowler. These accolades speak for themselves – Tom Brady is not only the undisputed best quarterback in history, but also the greatest football player of all time.

As the 199th pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, Brady has defied all odds in achieving this level of acclaim. Scouts said he had a “poor build” and lacked mobility and strength. Despite these challenges, in his 20-year tenure with the Patriots, Brady led the Patriots to 17 AFC East divisional titles, 13 AFC Championship Games and six Super Bowl titles out of nine Super Bowl appearances.

But the moment that truly solidified his status as the greatest of all time was when he led the Patriots to a 25-point comeback against the

Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 Super Bowl, winning 34-28 in overtime.

But even as he aged and many speculated that his career was done for, Brady wasn’t done yet.

Last year, Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a fresh start after the previous season, in which Brady and the Patriots were defeated by the Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card round of the postseason.

Many critics said Patriots coach Bill Belichick was the reason behind Brady’s success, and his haters called him “washed.” Joining the Buccaneers was his opportunity to prove his doubters wrong.

In his redemption season, his first with the Buccaneers, a 43-year-old Brady led the team to an 11-5 regular-season record and ultimately to Super Bowl LV. As underdogs, Brady and the Buccaneers faced defending champions Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas

A flipping disaster

U

Photo courtesy of PGA TOUR

Kevin Na dropped out of DBHS in 2001 to turn professional at the age of 17. He was victorious at the Sony Open in Hawaii, despite having a rib injury.

at the Genesis Invitational held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.

A few months later in October, Na returned back to his hometown in Las Vegas to compete in the 2019 Shriners Hospitals for Children

City Chiefs. Brady went on to win his seventh ring, all while leading the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl victory.

Along the way to his seventh Super Bowl victory, he defeated fellow legendary quarterbacks Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, as well as Mahomes. Meanwhile, his former team, the Patriots, and Belichick failed to advance to the playoffs with a 7-9 regular season record. The Tom Brady effect was in full display.

There is no doubt in my mind who the GOAT of football is. Brady has more Super Bowl victories than any NFL franchise. He is now among the GOATs of all-sports in my opinion. And despite what any critics may say, it’s evident that as he enters his 22nd season, Brady still has plenty left in the tank; he is capable of accomplishing even more.

Open, where he won in a playoff against Patrick Cantlay. During his brief post-win interview, Na gave an emotional speech in Korean dedicated to his fans in South Korea thanking them for believing in him.

Photo courtesy of JEFFREY BEALL/CREATIVE COMMONS

Tom Brady on the Patriots in 2016.

SA Gymnastics, the national governing body for the sport, is no longer known for the gold medals or the athletic stars that represent them. The organization is now known for scandals and bad decisions that have led them to bankruptcy.

The most notable event in the history of USA Gymnastics was when more than 200 gymnasts accused athletic doctor Lawrence Nassar of sexual assault. The organization offered the athletes $215 million in hopes to settle legal claims among the athletes. Despite their offer, the women did not accept.

The incident not only caught the attention of the athletic world, it also spread like wildfire throughout the media. It even made its way onto Netflix in 2020 with the documentary “Athlete A.” It’s beyond me how USA Gymnastics managed to be oblivious to Nassar’s abuse for years. After hearing about the effects of this scandal, I thought the organization would be more inclined to prevent any sort of abuse from happening again. I was wrong.

Last year, 11 gymnasts came out accusing top coach Maggie Haney of verbal abuse. Haney was previously known for her ruthlessness but USA Gymnastics never went out of their way to control the issue even after the incident with Nassar. According to The New York Times, Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez said that Haney “forced them to train through injuries, mocked them and made an effort to silence their complaints and undermine the girls’ relationship with their parents.”

When it comes to abuse within the organization, incidents seem to be ignored until made public. Nasser had worked for USA Gymnastics since 1986 and his abuse was not recognized until 2016 when the accusations started coming out.

With that, Haney worked under the organization for eight years until accused.

More recently, USA Gymnastics sparked even more controversy when they announced their multiyear agreement with FloSports.

FloSports previously made the mistake of leaking a nude photo of Olympic champion McKayla Maroney when she was just a minor.

Despite this, USA Gymnastics continued to agree to a five-year digital streaming deal with the company.

USA Gymnastics lacks sympathy when it comes to their athletes.

This can be shown in how they continued to trust FloSports even after they humiliated a former athlete.

They have also left a bad impression on their current athletes.

After seeing how USA Gymnastics handled the Nassar scandal, Olympian and survivor Simon Biles has lost trust in the organization.

“There’s still a lot of questions that still need to be answered. Just who knew what, when? You guys [USA Gymnastics] have failed so many athletes — and most of us underage. You guys don’t think that’s a bigger problem?” Biles said to the HuffPost.

The way Biles explains her rage by asking the obvious demonstrates that every wrong step this organization has made could have been prevented. However, USA Gymnastics fails to learn from previous mistakes.

16

SPORTS

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

Students lament uncertainty about fate of sports seasons DBHS athletes reflect on the current situation regarding playing this school year.

Rachel Lee ASST. opinion Editor While virtual training and limited on-campus practice continue, Diamond Bar High School athletes still have no idea when, or if, their competitive seasons will begin.

Nearing the end of the first semester, CIF officials in charge of the Southern Section were hopeful that fall sports would be able to commence at a later date, taking the place of winter sports, which would in turn be pushed back to the spring.

Plans remain in place to extend the fall sports end-of-season dates to late March and mid-April, but CIF playoffs have been cancelled as county COVID numbers have not reached safe enough levels to allow athletes to compete.

“Everyone is pretty exhausted with staying at home,” said Ava Drew, senior co-captain of the girl’s tennis team. “I miss going on long bus rides with the team listening to music and awaiting the next game.”

Similarly, sophomore Amanda Dai, a member of the water polo team, said that she hopes to return to normal practices as soon as the pandemic is over, but prefers the current season to be cancelled.

“I think they should just cancel it [the season] because there are too many sports that have unstarted seasons and not enough time and space for all the teams to start competing at once,” Dai said. “However, I sympathize with my teammates who have kept their morale high and have put in so much effort to stay in shape for games.”

On the other hand, sophomore Katlynn Dominguez, who is on the softball team, said she still hopes that the season will remain uncancelled despite COVID restrictions.

“I still have hope that we can get

back on the field as soon as we’re allowed to,” Dominguez said. “The delay will affect the team in the long run by setting us back with conditioning, but once we get back on the field we will work hard and catch up.”

Sophomore Nathan Chu, who is on the boys tennis team, also said that he hopes the season will continue, although safety and health precautions should take priority.

However, he noted that he is unsure on the official state of the season.

“There haven’t been a lot of notices besides that things are in constant fluctuation. I think the person in charge of athletics for CIF should just make a clear statement regarding whether or not the season will continue,” Chu said.

The reasoning behind their push for extending the season for some upperclassmen comes from the fact that they are in their last years of high school. Junior swim team member Akash George explained that he alongside other athletes do not want to see all the effort they have put into their sports go down the drain.

“I miss the constant drive to improve. It’s harder to stay motivated without an end goal,” George said.

“Some of us have been swimming for more than seven years and

would hate to see one of our last seasons lost.”

Senior Chelsea Wu expressed her disappointment at the prospect of being unable to participate in one last season of basketball.

“I loved getting to take a break from school and the pressures that come with it and play ball; practices have been such a large part of my daily life since I was a freshman that my days feel incomplete without them,” Wu said. “Even if I do not get to play basketball this last year of high school, I hope my optimism and accountability will encourage returning players to work hard at all times, even when it doesn’t feel like it will count.”

The low morale of some athletes due to the delay of the season has even resulted in the downsizing of some sports teams. Head coach of cross country and track and field Malinalli Cooke said that some students chose not to continue their sports for a second semester due to the lack of in-person connection with other players.

“We’re going to need to do some aggressive recruiting, but I also think it will make us appreciate our time together more,” Cooke said. “I hope this shows us that we shouldn’t take our time together for granted.”

VICTORIA ARTALE

Athletes continue to practice, despite knowing whether their season will occur.

Working out solo

by Deesha Pathak

the fallacies of

individual exercise

T

he pandemic has left many athletes with no choice but to work out individually or risk their health to continue working with their teammates.

While practicing individually is the best alternative that athletes can turn to during this time, individual workouts do not offer the level of exercise that team practices do.

One major drawback of individual workouts is the inability to practice with contact, which is a vital part of training for many sports. For example, football players cannot practice tackles. For a sport as contact-heavy as football, not being able to consistently practice tackling will deduce a player’s skill and become a safety issue once back on the field.

While some drills used to maintain physical fitness and agility can be done alone, the most useful ones often involve strategy and cooperation to recreate in-game situations.

If the athletes are unable to practice some of the most important skills of their sports, how can they be expected to succeed in competitions?

Another deficit in the effectiveness of individual practice is motivation. Most athletes agree that it’s harder to self-motivate when you practice alone. During in-person practice, teammates encourage each other, each athlete putting in their best effort and keeping each

other motivated for the general good of the team. None of these factors are present for solo practice.

It can also be hard to stay focused when exercising alone. It is very helpful to have somebody there to guide It’s no surprise that the lack of camaraderie during at-home workouts has led many to quit their teams.

In addition, solo practice lacks immediate feedback or advice.

During in-person practice, coaches can make corrections to an athlete’s form and give them pointers on what to change so that they don’t learn movements the wrong way or hurt themselves while training. However, when practicing alone, athletes must use their own judgement and simply assume they are performing workouts correctly, which could lead to diminished effectiveness, or even an injury.

Exercising alone is not a sustainable option for those in team sports. In order to play any sport, regardless of whether it involves contact, athletes need to be able to practice realistic scenarios while getting feedback along the way, neither of which can occur at an individual level.

It is imperative to get student athletes back to team practices, even if there is little chance for an actual competitive season. This will ensure that their skills are maintained.

Sophomore engages in recreational skating Hannah Pacis has found roller skating as the perfect hobby, for exercise and socializing.

Vera Wang Staff Writer While roller skating has had a recent resurgence in popularity through social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok, Diamond Bar High School sophomore Hannah Pacis has been gliding around long before the trend. Skating for a little over two years now, Pacis’ passion allows her to stay in shape and remain active.

Pacis was first introduced to the activity by her childhood friend and current DBHS sophomore Saraiya Garcia.

“Saraiya was actually the one to get me into roller skating,” Pacis said. “We used to go to this nearby roller rink where I’d rent out rollerblades so we can skate together, and I’ve never had more fun than in that roller rink.”

Taking many scrapes to her knees, skating was not always effortless to Pacis, especially at the beginning.

“When I started rollerblading, I was hilariously bad at it,” Pa-

cis said. “I had to rent out those crutches that kids use to keep my balance.”

Committing herself to practicing daily, it took no time for Pacis to see improvement, and she soon learned how to balance and smoothly shift her weight as she freewheels. As she became more experienced, she established a warmup routine she follows before each skate session.

“I always go through a small warmup, including bubbles, spinning, turning to skate backwards, and figure eights,” Pacis said. “It helps get my legs ready for skating and get myself in the right headspace for harder tricks.”

Now, she finds time to skate between study breaks or on the weekends, coasting around her neighborhood or at the beach.

“It’s the one form of physical activity I don’t absolutely despise,” Pacis said. “I love the rush it gives me, and it’s also an extremely social activity.”

Preferring amicable pastimes rather than competitive ones, Pacis finds rollerskating the perfect fit.

However, despite her recreational take on it, Pacis said she believes roller skating is no less demanding than other sports in the professional aspect.

“I consider roller skating a hob-

by, at least for myself, but there definitely are circumstances where it should be taken seriously as a sport,” Pacis said. “Competitive skating and roller derby are extremely taxing sports that should be respected for the level of skill they require.”

Keeping her active and serving as a wonderful distraction after a day of studying, Pacis recommends many to indulge in their own interests during this time.

“Skating is a really fun and relatively activity to get into,” Pacis said. “Though investing in your first pair of skates can be expensive, there are many cheaper alternatives that are much easier to commit to.”

Photos courtesy of HANNAH PACIS

Hannah Pacis practices her roller skating skills during trips to the beach.