December 2016

feature 6

INSIDE THE ISSUE

a&e 10

GUACS REVIEW

opinion 5

the bull’s eye NEWS

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OPINION

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FEATURE

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CALVIN RU

Sophomore Hamzah Daud prepares to speak at the podium to the crowd of attendees at the Aug. 27 District of Choice rally which he helped organize.

Student fights to enact change

District of Choice has been a much-discussed issue this school year among Walnut Valley Unified School District students, but one Diamond Bar High School sophomore has taken his involvement a step further than mere discussion by actively campaigning to revive the school choice bill.

Hamzah Daud was among those who organized the Aug. 27 DOC rally at Maple Hill Park. After the bill was held up in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, he

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SPORTS

Wellness Center welcomes Thursday therapy dogs noor naji asst. opinion editor

amy miyahara asst. a&e editor

DECEMBER 7, 2016 VOLUME XXXV, ISSUE IV ONLINE AT DBBULLSEYE.COM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Since it was introduced, the Wellness Center continues to provide resources to Brahmas.

Sophomore Hamzah Daud helped organize District of Choice rally and pushes for new bill.

sports 14

Since its opening last year, the Diamond Bar High School Wellness Center has become a support outlet for many DBHS students and a center of improving emotional wellbeing.

Sandy Davis, adviser for peer counseling and founder of the Wellness Center said that it has been “doing surprisingly well.”

They’ve had over 240 student visitations since the beginning of the

current school year and over 400 student visitations since opening on Feb. 1.

Recently, the Wellness Center announced that therapy dogs will be on campus every Thursday. Davis said that research has shown that dogs calm people who are stressed. One of the school psychologists, Lori Lowe agreed with that assessment. “[Therapy dogs] are a way to get people to open up and relax, and dogs have unconditional acceptance. People feel accepted by them and therefore relax,” Lowe said.

Lowe, who has been working in the district for 25 years as a psychologist, thinks that the wellness center is “something that’s been needed for a long time” and an “added resource.” She believes that the Wellness Center allows

stressed students to “process with their peers” instead of immediately being referred to a school psychologist.

The Wellness Center was initially created as another venue for students to express their stress. Moreover, Davis also says that stressed students might find talking to a peer less intimidating than adults.

“That’s what the Wellness Center was all about, giving students another layer of support...I feel like we’re making a difference. Student by student, by making kids feel more confident,” she said. “[In the Wellness Center] you actually talk about what’s bothering you, and then we brainstorm with our resources, on how to go about coping with your problems better.”

WELLNESS ON P.3

worked with a WVUSD parent, Teruni Evans, to plan the rally.

He helped with reaching out to supporters online, making banners and arranging for parents, teachers and students to speak.

Daud said that while there was initially about 10 to 20 people who planned on attending the rally, the final turnout was about 500 people.

“For us, locally, it’s an important issue […] because our entire district depends on DOC students [and] the whole financial backing is from half the students that are DOC,” he said.

The District of Choice bill expired on Aug. 31.

Another bill was presented to allow high school students under DOC to graduate from their current high schools, but it failed to pass.

HAMZAH ON P. 7

Junior peer counselors Daisy Tseng and Michelle Shen work in the Wellness Center with Cape, a therapy dog.

Starbucks preps students for Newman trumps seeking future employment Chang for Senate Coffee-maker's managers set up mock interviews to prepare students. catherine zhang feature editor Aiming to give students insight on the job application process, Diamond Bar High School career education teacher Sally Jarvis hosted the third annual Starbucks Mock Interview on Nov. 16 in the school library.

Five managers from nearby Starbucks locations volunteered to hold casual group interviews with hand-picked junior and senior special education students, who were in Jarvis’ career and life skills classes, in her advanced career education development class or recommended by other special education teachers.

Five to six students were placed

at each table, with a manager interviewing each group. At the end of the roughly 30-minute interview, they gave bags of Starbucks treats to the students.

“It helped them gain experience and get comfortable with real interviews. A lot of these kids want

to get jobs at the end of the year, so it's in preparation for them,” math teacher Morgan Galeener, who assisted in the event, said.

Following the event, the students all wrote thank-you letters to the

STARBUCKS ON P. 2

Photo courtesy of SALLY JARVIS

Students participate in mock interviews with Starbucks managers in the LINC.

State Senate candidate Ling Ling Chang's loss put the fight for District of Choice at risk. angela yang asst. news editor

Despite remaining too close to call on Election Day, the results of the November election for California state Senate have now rolled in, with Democrat Josh Newman edging out Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang for the victory.

Although Chang was in the lead by a narrow margin on Nov. 8, former Sen. Bob Huff was finally succeeded by Newman as final results were called by the Associated Press on Nov. 28.

Although Chang won in Orange and San Bernardino counties, Newman defeated her in Los Angeles County.

Chang’s loss, by less than 3,000

ERIC HONG

votes, presents a new obstacle for District of Choice supporters.

Chang was an avid supporter of the bill during her campaign and had promised to continue the work of Huff if she were to be elected to office.

In an informative session on Oct. 22, Chang said she would have to be elected to “continue carrying the torch” previously held by Huff.

According to Walnut Valley Unified School District Superintendent Robert Taylor, Chang had planned to contact Assembly colleagues to expedite the process of creating a new bill.

Although Chang was the more heavily supported candidate among District of Choice advocates, Newman, according to staffers, has also expressed his support for the issue.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon issued a statement on Newman’s win. “He will bring bold ideas, independent thinking and boundless energy to our Caucus and our State Capitol,” he said.

2 NEWS

Thundering Herd claims three-peat The DBHS marching band won overall Sweepstakes and took home four trophies on Nov. 19.

BRIAN CHANG NEWS editor The Diamond Bar High School Thundering Herd ended its season on Nov. 19 with a three-peat victory at the Arcadia Festival of Bands, taking home the overall Sweepstakes and music Sweepstakes.

Senior Rebecca Kimn won first place in the military drum major division, while color guard also took home Sweepstakes.

Color guard was judged on the vocabulary, or content, of its routine, as well as its execution, showmanship and marching.

It earned an overall score of 96.5, the average score between two judges.

“A lot of the preparation was individual, mostly just getting into the mentality,” color guard captain Patrick Tran said. “Our main goal overall is to score higher in each division, and towards the end of the season, that’s when we start getting really nitpicky, like what exercises are we going to do, what exercises can we do to make sure we’re performing at every moment.”

Senior Rebecca Kimn claimed first in her category, with a score of 94.50, the highest score at the competition. She is also the first drum

Photo courtesy of ELIANA LONTOK

Senior drum major Rebecca Kimn leads the marching band through the streets. major to win the Arcadia Festival three years in a row.

Since it was her final competition, she tried “to make every moment special.”

“Surprisingly, I felt really calm, and this was the first time this whole season that I wasn’t nervous.

In fact, I was trying to make memories at each moment of the day since I knew that it would be my last ever competition,” Kimn said.

Earlier this month, the Thundering Herd had placed first at the Chino Band Review and claimed Sweepstakes at the Chula Vista Band Review. Information on other competitions earlier this year can be found at The Bull’s Eye website, dbbullseye.com.

Band directors Steve Acciani and Marie Sato were pleased with the season overall and said that the Arcadia Band Review was an appropriate end to the season.

“Even though it is our championship, we tried to stay really

consistent as far as our rehearsal technique goes. We didn’t go super intense just because it was championships, and I think ‘consistency’ was the key word for the whole season,” Sato said. “[Before the competition] Mr. A and I talked about whatever the outcome of the championship, that should not reflect how our season was. It’s still a celebration no matter what since we had such a great season.”

Color guard began its winter season on Nov. 22, while the marching band has ended its season.

However, Acciani and Sato have already begun planning for next year and while they will need to fill in spots left by current seniors, they look to keep the level of performance the same.

“We’re so consistent at what we’re doing right now that we want to maintain the approach, the attitude, the whole feeling of how we do things to stay as consistent as possible,” Acciani said.

Math team closes season with loss The team narrowly lost in the second round of the competition in Division I.

Senior Benjamin Chen, president of the Math Club, breezed through Math Madness, achieving a perfect score every round. He is the only DBHS member who managed to do so, with his performance cindy liu being ranked 17 out of 21,377 students nationwide. staff writer “Math Madness is something I do for fun,” Chen said. “It’s not The Brahma’s Math Madness really serious for me. I know a lot season came to an end with a narof people there take it really serirow loss to Irvington High School ously and pride themselves on getof Fremont, California last month. ting perfect scores, as they should.

During Math Madness, high But as for me, I’ve been doing math school math teams gather to comcompetitions since I was in fourth pete in a 30-minute test comprising grade, so Math Madness is easy.” of seven to eight Chen said his questions. longtime expeThe top five rience in math "Math Madness is members of competitions is something I do for each participatone of the reafun. It's not really ing team with sons why he did serious for me." the most numso well. ber of correct He, along BENJAMIN CHEN answers are with other recorded; the members of the winner of the Math Team, also round is the team with the highest participated in the recent Caltech cumulative score. In the event of Harvey Mudd Math Competition, a tie, the team that spent less time where Chen placed seventh in the answering the questions is the winindividual competition. The Brahner. mas, as a team, did not place within The Diamond Bar High School the top ten.

Math Team was placed in Division Other top performers for the I this year, the most competitive Math Madness season include division, after placing first in Divijuniors Qinhong Chen, Matthew sion IIE last year. In the Brahma’s Ho, Felix Su, William Shao, Justin last round against Irvington High Feng, Jasmine Yang, David Lai, School, the DBHS Mathletes were Fangcheng Wang, seniors Peyrin defeated by one point. DBHS enKao, William He, Wavin Hong, Sitered the competition ranked 20 in las Wong, sophomores Christine the nation, and Irvington entered Zhou, Michael Wu and freshman ranking 14.

Howard Meng.

whipping up funds

the staff Editors-in-Chief

Bernard Chen, Michelle Ki

News Editors Asst. News Editor

Brian Chang, Hannah Lee Angela Yang

Opinion Editor Asst. Opinion Editors

Eric Hong Stuart Kusdono, Noor Naji

Feature Editors Asst. Feature Editor

DECEMBER 7, 2016

THE BULL'S EYE

Michelle Ki, Catherine Zhang Amelie Lee Emily Jacobsson, Pauline Villegas Amy Miyahara

A&E Editors Asst. A&E Editor

Ryan Chae, Emily Kim Sophia Kim

Sports Editors Asst. Sports Editor

Eric Hong, Calvin Ru

Photo Editors

Emily Jacobsson Tess Guan

Business Manager Asst. Business Manager Web Editors

Bernard Chen, Tess Guan

Staff Writers

Ingrid Chan, Cindy Liu

Advisor

Doug List

contact us Diamond Bar High School, Room 563 21400 Pathfinder Road Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Phone: (909) 594-1405 x33563 Email: eye.editors@gmail.com Business Inquiries: thebullseyebusiness@gmail.com

editorial policy The Bull’s Eye is a public forum that welcomes the views of our readers. Letters to the Editor and Op-Ed pieces will be accepted only if they are signed. The author may, however, request anonymity. The staff reserves the right to edit letters without changing content. You may forward letters to Room 563 or submit them online at dbbullseye.com.

AMY MIYAHARA

Alumnus Shawn Chae smashes pies in the faces of seniors Melanie Ho and Casey Chen in the event hosted by Red Cross.

Preparing for upcoming careers STARBUCKS FROM P.1 managers, who had volunteered during their time off.

“I teach my students it’s important to write thank you notes at the end of any interview or anytime someone does something nice for you. They wrote notes to thank Starbucks for coming here and providing an opportunity because this isn’t something they have to do,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis and Galeener are planning on holding more mock interviews in the future, and they are currently reaching out to Disney to coordinate a behind-the-scenes work tour. Last year, Jarvis was contacted by the Starbucks company vice president of operations a few weeks prior to the second mock interview. Jarvis proposed her goal

of expanding the event to other districts and she was asked to teach other district managers this past summer to get involved.

Although Galeener assisted with the event as a co-teacher of Jarvis’ advanced career education development class, the interviews were mainly headed by Jarvis, who first created the idea. Prior to the event, Jarvis reached out to multiple managers, hosted a “bootcamp” to teach the students interviewing skills and tips and sent students reminders to dress formally.

The interviews originated three years ago when Jarvis, a regular customer of a nearby Starbucks, built a relationship with one of the managers, who later expressed his wish to volunteer and give back to the community. Jarvis recommended the idea of holding mock

interviews for special education students to help them gain interview experience. In the first year, the event was limited to just students in the special education program and the second year’s interviews were broadened to include Pathways students as well.

To the students, the interviews helped them gain confidence for and insight into the job application process.

“Starbucks is about spiritual growth in a way to make people more comfortable and welcome everyone,” senior Katherine Zambrano said. “The managers brought that to the table and let us be ourselves. I had a bad experience the first time I had a job interview, so this event opened my eyes. I learned what to say and prepared well for the interview.”

NEWS

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 7, 2016

NEWSBITS CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA

Two hundred fifty houses in Fresno experienced a power outage for a few hours on Nov. 22, while Fat Boy the cat was being rescued. The cat had been stuck at the top of an electrical pole for nine days. He first ran up the 45-foot pole because he was scared by a dog and stayed put through wind and rain. After the fire department refused to help retrieve Fat Boy, linemen from Pacific Gas and Electric helped bring him down.

In California, snow is rarely a concern. Foam, on the other hand, apparently is. After the fire suppression system of an industrial building was accidentally set off, fire retardant foam filled the building. It then began spewing out into the surrounding streets until it seemed like a several foot high foam blob was taking over the city, swallowing cars and street signs. The foam was not hazardous to people and gained popularity on social media with the hashtag #foamnado.

CANADA In an attempt to avoid a n unidentified object, a Porter Airlines aircraft swerved clear of the “UFO", resulting in two flight attendants sustaining minor injuries. Unsure of what the object was, the pilots believe that it was either a balloon or a drone. This incident has motivated the Canadian government to consider legislating new laws to address the steady increase in drones and prevent future accidents from occurring.

FLORIDA After a Florida man claimed he was denied service at Starbucks for being a Trump supporter, other Trump supporters began to show their indignation by putting a small twist when getting drinks at Starbucks.

Known as the #TrumpCup movement, customers tell the barista that their name is Trump, so that the employees call out “Trump” when their order is ready.

Encouraging mental wellness in Brahmas Principal Reuben Jones traveled to Facebook headquarters last OctoFifteen more students have been ber to receive the award. trained as interns for the Wellness However, despite its success, DaCenter. vis stated that all of this came with Wellness interns are required to several challenges. have at least a year of peer counLast year, she was both teaching seling training and must also be full time and developing the Wellinterviewed by Davis herself, to ness Center. be Peer Counseling adviser, Albert However, by Fall 2017, Davis will Lim and school psychologists Stacy be involved with the Wellness CenWoodward and Lowe. ter full time.

Applicants must also have two In an attempt to raise money staff recomfor the Wellness mendations and Center, Davis commit to sumhas taken DB “Things are just falling mer training.

Forum, usually in place and things The Wellness held twice a year are happening so Center has beon campus, “on quickly..." come increasthe road.” She ingly involved plans to serve SANDY DAVIS in campus acas host of the tivities, as it has ticketed event multiple events at Valencia High coming up.

School in January.

It received the Inspired Change“I’ve always had high expectamaker award sponsored by Yale tions [for the Wellness Center], but University, the Center of Emowhat I didn’t anticipate was that tional Intelligence and Facebook, it was going to happen so quickly. which recognized DBHS as one of Things are just falling in place and the top ten schools nationally for things are happening so quickly..." their efforts in relation to emotionshe said. "It’s not bad that we’re al well being. growing too fast, I just want to Davis, senior Brandon Tang, make sure that we’re doing a qualPresident of Peer Counseling and ity job."

WELLNESS FROM P.1

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NOW SHOWING: "FANTASTIC BEASTS"

Brothers to participate in Rose Parade celebration Junior Ji Ho Kwak and sophomore Se Ho Kwak will perform in the Jan. 2 event. eric hong opinion editor An assembly of 300 high school musicians from across the United States will march a five-and-a-half mile stretch down the streets of Pasadena as part of the Rose Parade’s annual Tournament of Roses on Jan. 2.

Joining them will be junior Ji Ho Kwak and sophomore Se Ho Kwak, who have been selected to participate in the 126th Rose Parade as part of the Bands of America Honor Band, which performs every four years.

Se Ho and Ji Ho Kwak, who are also in Diamond Bar High School’s marching band, will be playing the trumpet and saxophone, respectively.

The Honor Band, which is based in Indianapolis and represents all 50 states, is one of 21 marching bands from around the country, Japan and Mexico taking part in the New Year’s celebration.

Other participating groups include Los Angeles Unified School District’s All District High School Honor Band, the Arcadia High School Apache Marching Band and color guard and the U.S. Air Force Total Force Band.

ERIC HONG

Ji Ho Kwak (left) and Se Ho Kwak (right) will being playing the saxophone and trumpet respectively in January's Rose Parade.

The brothers applied last December and submitted video recordings of scales and one of five pieces they would be playing in the parade.

Two months later, they were notified of their acceptance into the 2017 Band of America Honor Band by email, according to Se Ho Kwak. “[I look forward to] gaining leadership skills for next year’s marching season,” Ji Ho Kwak said.

“Whatever we learn [at the Rose Parade], maybe we can pass it on to

marchers here and share our experience.”

Since September, they have continued submitting video recitals of the pieces they will be performing.

Four years prior, their sister, alumna Miso Kwak, who is currently at UCLA, had also participated in the 125th Rose Parade as a flutist with the BOA Honor Band.

“We wanted [being a part of the BOA] to be our Kwak tradition.

That’s why Se Ho and I joined,” Ji Ho Kwak said.

Showing off for the sharks of DB FBLA organize event for students to pitch ideas based on a popular TV show.

CALVIN RU PHOTO editor Adapted from the popular television series “Shark Tank,” Diamond Bar High School’s Future Business Leaders of America club challenged students to pitch an invention to a board of sharks, or judges, in hopes to obtain a $100 prize. Despite coming up with the idea mere days prior to the event, the officer board and advisor Ty Watkins were able to pull off the two-day competition without a hitch.

The competition held on American Enterprise Day, an FBLA holiday, was modeled after a similar contest held at Leadership Development Institute, an annual event in November.

“Originally we had a different workshop planned for American Enterprise Day but we wanted something more interactive. It was midnight and Watkins was like ‘let’s do Shark Tank’... and we planned everything out that night,”

co-President June Lin said.

Teams, composed of three to five members, had three days to develop a product that would be worth investing in. While time did not allow for the creation of physical products, each team had a poster and a presentation explaining what their idea was and why the “sharks” should invest in the device.

On Nov. 15, the first round of FBLA Shark Tank was held in Watkin’s room, with senior co-Presidents Lin and Vinay Bhupathiraju, Vice Presidents Ameer Alameddin and Shannen Barrameda and exofficio Jessica Zhang serving as the sharks.. Each team pitched its idea to the sharks, and its product was graded on a rubric based on several items: theme, realism, uniqueness, description, target market, terminology, answering questions and appeal.

“It was a very different experience because last year, I was one of the presenters at LDI. This year, I’m the shark and it’s cool to see different perspectives,” Lin said.

Among the nine teams, only four advanced. The Fantastic Five, seniors Jodie Lu and Cyan Vong and juniors Jefferson Chang, Rajvir Dua and Ryan Trinh, designed the “iMat,” a mat that would double as an alarm clock and require the user to stand on it to turn it off.

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter franchise lives on for another adventure in the 2016 movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

FACEBOOK FALLACY

An alarming amount of false news is being reported on the social media site Facebook.

A VIEW FROM THE CORNER: CAKE FACE

A Bull's Eye writer shares her perspective on the social pressures regarding makeup.

VISIT DBBULLSEYE.COM

3

CALVIN RU

Juniors Clarissa Hui, Kaitlyn Lee and Jacky Chen present their winning "Clubhouse" app idea to a board of "sharks" who judged their proposal.

Sophomores Karyn Real, Aishwarya Rane, Jodi Nguyen and Mason Pan and freshman Sahil Patel thought of a luggage system, “Follow Me,” that would allow travelers to have their baggage follow them on a Bluetooth connected cart.

Sophomore Calvin Tang and freshmen Calvin Ung and Andrew Han, also known as Team Imaginovation, created the Pen Pineapple Apple Pen, a pen that burns trash to release a scent allowing the user to remain awake during class. The pen is environmentally friendly and powered by any biodegradable material.

But the winning group was Team PentaJunias, which is composed of juniors Clarissa Hui, Jackie Chen, Kaitlyn Lee, Rishil Pansuria and Ashvini Bhupatiraju. They created the “Clubhouse” app to compile all clubs and activities into one app that would be accessible by both students and teachers at any time, while administrative properties would remain with officers and advisors.

“I’ve been in the perspective of the sharks, criticizing ideas, but when you’re actually presenting, it’s a whole other position. I realized how hard it is to come up with an innovative idea, and it taught me that to be successful, you have to go out and think beyond the box,” Chen said.

The second round was held in the gym, but rather than having officers be the sharks, Principal Reuben Jones, Tech administrator Randy Thomas and teachers Latitia Thomas, Patrick Murphy, Kurt Davies and Mary Gaxiola sat in for a chance to question the presenters.

“I was really impressed with the students, the creativity, the thought that went into it on such short notice. To think of a creative idea and present it to staff and administration really meant a lot.

This was definitely one of the most exciting events I’ve done this year,” Jones said.

4 OPINION

DECEMBER 7, 2016

THE BULL'S EYE

EYE EDITORS OF THE

WV BOND: The district has been granted a $152 million bond, with a large portion of the bill given to DBHS.

T

he residents in the Walnut Valley Unified School District voted to pass Measure WV, the $152 million general bond, to upgrade 15 schools throughout WVUSD, including Diamond Bar High School, in November.

Among the projects planned for the money include turning the 500 building into a Science Technology Facility, building a new Library Media Center and renovating the band facilities. The editors of The Bull’s Eye, expecting that there will be a few million dollars left over for miscellaneous spending, would like to offer a few proposals on behalf of the students at DBHS.

Restrooms: With the exception of the ones in the Math building, the restrooms across campus are in desperate need of renovation. With one of the hand dryers being out of order since last year, the quality and hygiene levels of the restrooms are low.

Many students do not even use the restrooms during school hours due to their poor conditions.

Better maintenance and an overall upgrade of these essential facilities (already on the district’s planned repairs) must be implemented, especially with $152 million at hand.

Expanding parking lot:

Any student or faculty member who has ever left school at 3 p.m. or anytime for that matter, would have experienced seeing cars clogging up both lanes in and out, students scattered everywhere, and an overall cramped mess.

There are also problems regarding the safety of students as they walk in front of cars without much caution. An expanded and better organized parking lot would increase safety and decrease the stress level of parents, staff and students as they leave DBHS at the end of the school day.

Solar panels: The future of energy in this coun-

try and around the world is solar, that offers huge money-saving and environmental benefits. As DBHS becomes more technologically advanced, adding solar panels in classrooms and parking lots would also save about $2.7 million each year, according to SEIA.org.

In addition to its economic benefits, using solar energy conserves natural resources and significantly reduces emissions of pollutants that threaten human health and the environment. Solar panels in the parking lot and on the roof of every classroom would overall increase the quality of the school and environment.

Cafeteria: Though California does not get much rain, whenever it does, students quickly scatter in an unorganized manner, taking over building hallways and crowding teachers’ classrooms to stay dry.

A cafeteria would be put to good use not only when it rains, but also when temperatures crawl up to three digits, which is not that rare during the school year. Both teachers and students will have better environments to stay cool in the summer and dry in the winter.

The building would also serve as another spot for club meetings and other school activities.

From the Brahma Perspective...

Mary Gaxiola (Econ)

“Hopefully, they can improve the [underfunded] areas so that the actual atmosphere of the classrooms is a little bit more equitable across all of the school.”

Sally Jarvis (Career Ed)

“Our school needs to be updated…So, I honestly think what the [district] has chosen already is where the money is appropriate.”

Janeen Yamak (12) “I think band deserves [the funding]. We don’t have enough room, but with a new band building we can be more efficient and have more space for supplies.”

ELECTION 2020

“This funding is going to make a new band room. It’s very important because our band room is a little outdated and we could use a little more up-to-par equipment.”

Declining the call to deport rYAN cHAE sPORTS eDITOR

W

Cartoon Courtesy of MEGAN LEE

Ethan Bautista (9)

hen Donald Trump became the Presidentelect less than four weeks ago, millions of Americans were sent into a frenzy.

During one of his speeches, Trump pledged to deport two to three million immigrants as soon as he takes office in January. In response, school districts and universities have stated that they would not support this hunt for illegal immigrants.

The Los Angeles Board of Education recently approved a policy that would not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents onto school campuses without the approval of the district’s lawyers and superintendent.

The board also stated that they will continue to protect the data and identities of students, family members and school members who could be affected by future policies.

Currently, these ICE agents do not enforce searches in schools and churches, but the Board’s main message is that schools should be safe havens for students and workers whether they’re documented or not.

“We interpret that to make sure that all schools are safe places and safe zones and that ICE agents, or any immigration action, does not

take place on our school sites,” LAUSD board president Steve Zimmer said.

Colleges around the nation have also denounced Trump’s deportation plans by signing a statement that supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an immigration policy passed in 2012 that protects children from being deported if they had entered the country before their sixteenth birthday.

Over 200 colleges signed the statement, including the University of California.

“We felt it necessary to reaffirm that UC will act upon its deeply held conviction that all members of our community have the right to work, study and live safely and without fear at all UC locations,” UC President Janet Napolitano stated.

Many will say that schools and universities should be assisting ICE agents in searching for undocumented students.

There’s a belief that these students are using up taxpayers’ money and taking away opportunities for those who are legal citizens.

However, universities and schools should provide an environment for students to grow and develop. College attendees and high schoolers expect security and a safe learning environment.

This is not to say that illegal immigration should not be dealt with. It is one of the biggest issues in America, but it’s not something that schools should be responsible for.

Their jobs are supposed to educate and protect students, not helping federal agents hunt for immigrants.

OPINION

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Protesting Trump’s policies PRO Pauline Villegas A&e Editor

F

or the past couple of weeks, millions of people across the nation have taken to the streets to protest the controversial president-elect Donald Trump.

These very protestors are the diverse America—the America that is scared that their future president won’t stand up for them.

These gatherings are not meant to be disruptive, but allow for a space for people to express the way that they are feeling about our future president. The fear they feel does not stem from nowhere, it comes from the disgusting, horrific rhetoric that Trump has offered throughout not only his campaign, but also his entire career.

They are protesting so that all Americans are reminded that this is not normal. A man who is endorsed by the KKK and is so blatantly racist and sexist should not have been the Republican nominee.

Many media outlets have tried so hard to normalize the supremacist thoughts of Trump. Leaders of Neo-Nazi groups are even being given their own spotlights in the Los Angeles Times. We cannot allow our focus to be centered on groups of people that only believe in hate. These protestors believe they must fight to move forward in history instead of moving

backward.

Many Trump supporters who were upset about this outbreak of protests. Do these rejecters forget that the very reason we no longer read “no coloreds allowed” over restrooms and restaurants is due to protest? We see change by fighting for change. Change is not given, it is earned.

When a future president promises to build a wall to keep away the Mexicans (you know, the raping, murdering, drug-dealing hombres), there has to be a call for change. Trump supporters say that he “isn’t serious” about these claims, but if so, why would they have voted for a candidate who doesn’t follow through on his promises?

The protests are filled with groups of people that have been oppressed for generations. They are protesting so that the rights their ancestors fought so hard for are not abruptly taken away.

Instead of sitting around accepting their fate, they are fighting for a different, better future.

Being a woman, AfricanAmerican and Mexican-American, I fully support every individual’s right to stand up for the things they believe in. So yes, I stand behind all the nasty women and bad hombres that are protesting the bigot that is Donald Trump.

CON Bernard Chen Editor-in-Chief

S

ince Donald Trump’s surprising victory on Election Day, protests have plagued urban cities all over the country.

Flags have been burned. Freeways have been blocked.

But now is not the time to be engaging such extreme demonstrations. Rather, we, as U.S. citizens, should acknowledge the winner of the electoral college as part of our pride in our country and democratic system.

I have to say, I do not support Trump or the majority of his policies, yet these protests seem silly, foolish and impractical at best. This country is largely built upon democratic ideals and though not entirely a true democracy, we must come to terms, as citizens, with our country’s governing system.

Photo courtesy of TODAY.COM

Expressing disappointment and disapproval toward the election result is quite understandable.

The actions of several groups of anti-Trump protesters are not.

In Los Angeles alone, the 710, 10, and 101 freeways were blocked by aggressive protesters in the past month. Not only is this illegal, but it also paints protesters poorly in the already overwhelming postelection season. The outcome may be disappointing but it’s still something we must accept.

Yes, Trump won, fair and square, in fact, but he does not take office until January. What exactly are these anti-Trump protests rallying against? Such protests against the mere idea of a Trump presidency is absurd, especially after he’s already won the Oval Office.

We shouldn’t be protesting what’s to come, but what’s already in place. Give him a chance and protest when there are actual policies to protest. When legislation is passed that violates a group’s civil rights, then by all means protest.

More appropriate would have been for these protests to have occurred prior to Election Day, when they would have made a difference. Such large displays of activism surely would have influenced the outcome of the election, but protesting now won’t change anything as there isn’t anything to change.

It was best said by Hillary Clinton in her concession speech: “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.”

It may not have been the outcome some of us were looking for, but we must respect the system and its dependence on a peaceful transfer of power if we want to continue to preserve American ideals of equal rights and freedom.

Post-election retreat to Canada bRIAN cHANG nEWS eDITOR After a long, hard-fought campaign of mudslinging, the dust and dirt have finally settled, and unfortunately, the devil incarnate himself has risen to the top of this once-great country. I don’t know about any of you, but I am absolutely bent on packing my bags for the fabled “land of the free” and “home of the brave”−Canada.

I shall be joining the thousands,

perhaps millions, of other Americans who have pledged on Facebook to move to the New World, the veritable promised land, that is Canada. We know it shall be impossible to live under the iron fist of the dictator those uneducated white racists in the Midwest elected, and so we’re taking matters into our own hands and making the move north to Liberty Land.

Ah, I can see it now−the exalted leaf and stripes fluttering in the crisp wind overhead in all of its red, white and red glory as the bells of liberty chime in the background, calling us to Sunday mass. Oh, how proud to be Canadian we shall feel, when we salute our leaf-spangled banner on the First of July!

Why move? Well, that should be obvious! It makes no sense to try

and promote Democratic ideals when the evil Republicans are cavorting in the nation’s capital, drunk on their recent victory.

Why stick around and attempt to fight for equality and the end of discrimination when we can sip cocktails up north and watch the country go up in flames? How could Clinton’s supporters have any power to intervene and band against intolerance when they are the majority? It’s clear that the only course of action for the Democratic party is to uproot and find a new home in Canada, a less xenophobic country than their current one.

Why Canada? Well, that should be obvious! One can never trust all of the malicious drug cartels and gangsters that have taken over Mexico and made it unsafe.

It is also a memorial to the days of

our ancestors; we are migrating in order to escape the persecution of those evil right-wing supporters, whose sole thought must be the utter removal of all our persons from their land.

So come one, come all! Join me in my migration to Canada, except, of course, if you are one of those nasty, discriminatory bigots that voted Republican this past election.

It’s safe to say that the simple act of moving to Canada will solve all of our problems; we will never have to deal with the crazy man who is soon to occupy the White House, because how could any of his policies affect us if we don’t live in the U.S.? God bless Canada, the Land of Opportunity, and its golden coasts, and I do hope you’ll consider joining me in the West’s greatest power.

Cartoon courtesy of MEGAN LEE

5

The ironic freedom to demonize

Stuart Kusdono Asst. Opinion Editor

T

hough it was rejected out of hand by Los Angeles Unified School District, an after-school Satan club is being promoted across the country by a woman who runs a satanic website.

Should such a club be allowed in a school setting?

According to the club’s official website, afterschoolsatan.com, the “satanism” part of the club can be interpreted as a metaphor, not actually meaning the worship of the devil himself, but rather, the worship of “free inquiry and rationalism.”

The founder of the club, 44-yearold Lilith Starr, argued that because of the existence of afterschool Christian clubs, a club directly countering religion should be allowed. Satanist clubs, she argued, are also protected by the First Amendment of free speech and religion. She has proposed starting clubs in elementary schools.

Starr, along with other supporters of the club, is, of course, correct in her argument that the First Amendment guarantees free speech (though those protections are less clear in a school setting).

The main problem concerning the implementation of a satanist club, however, isn’t so much the existence of the club itself rather than the purpose of its existence-that is, the counter of religious clubs that promote Christianity.

The question, then, is not whether a satanist club can be the school, but rather, whether it should be in the school.

For one, it is blatant hypocrisy by the club to claim to promote a society that is accepting of all religions, a central idea it advocates, when it was formed in direct counter to a specific religion.

On the website itself, there literally is a statement that asks readers to help fund the club to oppose the spread of evangelism.

A satanist club, then, would serve no other purpose than to spread bigotry and alienate those students who do follow Christianity.

The club ironically promotes the opposite of that which it claims to serve, namely the promotion of a more open-minded society that can be accepting of others’ beliefs.

And what of religious clubs, one might ask? Don’t they, as well, spread bigotry by teaching students a specific set of beliefs?

Not quite. Simply put, bigotry means an inability to understand and accept others’ beliefs. The consequence of bigotry, as such, is severe polarization, whether it be views in politics, economy or society.

In the case of the satanist club, the club’s existence in the school would inherently create divisions between atheist and theist students, for one club would directly oppose the existence of the other.

Hence, the purpose to promote free-thought by teaching against a religion is self-defeating in the sense that it ironically promotes the opposite of free-thought and acceptance.

6

FEATURE

DECEMBER 7, 2016

THE BULL'S EYE

Slushies make Guacs worth a visit amelie Lee asst. feature editor Newly opened Guacs Mexican Grill has taken up residence in the former location of KFC in the Diamond Bar H-mart Plaza. Equipped with slushies and overwhelmingly friendly customer service, the Chipotle-style restaurant provides typical Mexican food.

Guacs offers their customers the choice of tacos, tostadas, nachos, quesadillas, a bowl, a salad or a burrito base, all for $9.95. Different meats, as well as a vegetarian choice with grilled vegetables, are available to fill the base, including as chicken, different types of pork and steak, and even salmon.

Brightly lit with a simple decor and accessible seating, the restaurant made it easy to relax and find seats. While not crowded, the restaurant had its share of customers, many of them students from Diamond Bar High School looking to eat after class. As it was recently opened, the store was extremely clean, and the ambience of the restaurant was cheerful.

I ordered the same thing I always get when presented with Mexican food: a barbacoa burrito, with almost every topping possible, such as salsa, guacamole and onions.

My friend ordered carnita tacos, which was served with the rice and beans on the side. The staff

THE Bull’s eye CORRECTION In the October issue of The Bull’s Eye, junior Zaina Siyed's, the founder of the nonprofit robotics program FemSTEM, last name was misspelled.

Photos by ERIC HONG

Guacs Mexican Grill opened this year in place of the Kentucky Fried Chicken in the H-mart plaza on South Diamond Bar Boulevard. The Mexican Grill restaurant serves a wide variety of Mexican food choices similar to Chipotle, including burritos, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, bowls and tostadas. behind the counter was extremely approachable and amicable, offering samples of their slushie drinks, advising us and recommending their favorites.

The slushies were tempting, swirling around in giant dispensers, and I sampled a few of them before choosing the seasonal Pumpkin Pie flavor over the tasty cinnamon Horchata and the fruity lemonade choice, all $3.75 for a small and $5.25 for a larger size.

Overall, my burrito was satisfying, it was filled with more than enough to ensure that I was full.

The corn in my salsa was very fresh and sweet, and the tomatoes and cilantro in the salsa paired nicely with it.

However, for the price of almost $10, my burrito did not quite measure up to the addicting, fresh flavors of Chipotle, where I could have purchased the same thing for a dollar less. The barbacoa was not as flavorful or tender as I hoped it would be, and the salsa was overly salty. I could barely taste the sour cream and guacamole in my burrito, despite asking for extra.

Yet the drinks at Guacs surpass

anything Chipotle has to offer, with choice after choice of blended slushies, lemonades and sodas.

My Pumpkin Pie slushie was delicious, reminding me of a lighter, decaffeinate, and much tastier pumpkin spice frappuccino from Starbucks and paired well with my meal.

Overall, Guacs’ convenient location in the student filled Hmart plaza, the wide variety of delicious drinks and slushies, and my ardent love for Mexican food will bring me back for more visits to see what else is in store.

DETAILS

CUISINE: Mexican ADDRESS:

2709 S DIAMOND BAR BLVD, DIAMOND BAR, CA 91765 PHONE #: (909) 444-0545 YELP RATING:

reenacting War history cindy liu staff writer As kids, playtime meant dressing up with whatever items were on hand, whether that meant crudely taped together paper crowns or plastic Nerf guns from the basement. However, Diamond Bar High School juniors Thomas Yip and Jerry Su have taken it a step further with their fascination with World War II. The two own many WWII uniforms—every detail down to the badges, buckles and medals are historically accurate—as well as various models of airsoft guns modeled after the actual ones used in the war. The uniforms are just one part of their WWII-inspired hobby; they also avidly partici-

pate in acting out reenactments of WWII battles.

Every month, the duo join other WWII enthusiasts to reenact various WWII battles. In front of crowds of around 200 to 300 spectators, two teams of 45 to 60 people, all dressed in WWII gear, spread out across either a field or forest that serves as a mock battlefield for the day.

Based on the briefing and instructions given by the command officer moments before, the two sides fire blanks at each other as the announcer introduces the scenario and background to the audience.

Later, as the mock battle takes place, the announcer explains the events happening on the field and the significance of the battle.

Yip usually wears his German

Photo courtesy of THOMAS YIP

Diamond Bar High School juniors Thomas Yip (left) and Jerry Su posing in their battle gear with their airsoft guns in a film shoot at Coppermine.

Photo courtesy of THOMAS YIP

CALVIN RU

Yip shows off his historically accurate German army machine gunner set up in a battle reenactment in San Diego.

Yip (right) and Su are fascinated by WWII ammunition and uniform.

uniform and carries a blank fire K98 rifle for reenactments along with most of his German airsoft guns.

“I like to do a lot of hands on stuff,” Yip said. “Most people build plastic models and stuff like that, but you just don’t really get hands on with how it feels like. So while the models are fun to look [at] and draw, with the equipment, you can actually check the function, history and shape.”

Yip has been fascinated with WWII since he learned about the subject in fifth grade, which sparked his interest to research the equipment, uniforms and vehicles used. He then assembled his first uniform, a Soviet uniform, in the eighth grade and later bought his German uniform in his freshman year.

Since then, Yip has expanded his vast collection into the equipment and uniforms from various other countries, with his field of spe-

he said. “I remember I lent my uniform for a class, and the teacher remarked, ‘this is the best’ since everyone else was making helmets out of tinfoil.”

On the other hand, Su just recently delved into WWII after his friend Yip introduced him to it last year.

“It gives you a new face to put on, so you’re like an actor,” Su said.

As a relatively new enthusiast to the world of WWII uniforms and reenactments, he mostly joins Yip in reenactments and activities.

Although Su only possesses a Chinese Kuomintang tunic, he owns around 14 airsoft guns; Yip owns roughly 20.

“Usually, my friends call me the Nazi since I have the German uniforms, but I just kind of see it as a joke,” Yip said. “I mean, no one really takes it seriously. I don’t have any political views on my uniforms; I just do it to show it off and educate people on the subject.”

cialization focusing on authentic German and Chinese Kuomintang style uniforms.

“The Germans have the most iconic uniforms,” Yip said. “We’re always talking about the Americans, but the Germans are always portrayed as the bad guys so you don’t know the [history] behind it.

Usually, when people see me in a German uniform, you could always assume that there’s the negative aspect of the history behind Germany, but it’s always been that I fight for the uniform, not for the politics.”

Yip recalled wearing his uniform to his AP European History class for a presentation and how impressed his teacher, Emily Clark, had been.

“Sometimes, if there are history projects or presentation, it’s always nice to bring in uniforms to get into the part rather than everyone else trying to throw in the clothes that would look like [the real thing],”

DECEMBER 7, 2016 6 FEATURE

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 FEATURE 7

THE BULL'S EYE

L o o k i n g b a c k at t i m e i n o f f i c e Ingrid CHan Staff Writer As seasoned veterans of handling all sorts of tasks, Diamond Bar High School office assistants Elsie Garcia and Shellie Spicer take great satisfaction from their jobs, their greatest joy being “the connection they have with students.”

But after having spent 21 years and 19 years at the school, respectively, Garcia and Spicer have decided to retire when the semester ends.

Every day, their schedules consist of diligently arriving at school at seven in the morning. Garcia can usually be found typing away in the guidance or main office while Spicer spends her time working in the finance and attendance offices.

“Just being able to communicate with the kids makes me very happy,” Garcia said. “I enjoy the interaction, the different types of people here at DBHS, and the fact that I can get through to them.”

Garcia handles most of the school’s disciplinary actions, as she often deals with a multitude of student referrals, suspension details, schedules detentions and Saturday school.

She was born and raised in Hawaii, finishing her college education there before moving to California. She wished to broaden her horizons, since she knew that Hawaii only encompassed a small part of the many people and cultures of the world.

“I wanted to explore, see new things, and California seemed to be a nice place to go,” Garcia said.

From the start, Garcia was a cosmetologist by trade, a person who specializes in beauty treatments.

However, she never really put it to use, since the many jobs she worked in America never required her beautician skills.

She first worked for a bank before moving on to the aerospace industry. Within the aerospace industry, Garcia landed a job in the

INGRID CHAN

Diamond Bar High School Office Assistants Elsie Garcia (left) and Shellie Spicer are retiring at the end of this year after working for about 20 years.

DB’s Advocate for DOC Bill HAMZAH FROM P. 1 There is a possibility of the proposal of a new bill when the legislature meets in December or January.

Walnut Valley Unified School District currently has over 3,400 DOC students enrolled. The end of DOC might require that these students return to the schools in the districts they live in.

In addition, the end of DOC will cause WVUSD schools to lose $28 million in funding due to the decrease in students. Daud believes that DOC is an important issue because of how it will affect all WVUSD students.

Currently, Daud is working on lobbying the State Assembly Appropriations Committee, which approves all bills that affect the state finances.

Daud said he believes that his

experience advocating for DOC illustrates the importance of perseverance when working toward a specific goal.

“I think [my experience] helps you understand that you can start small, but if you’re persistent, if you have the right messaging, and if you know how to get your word out, you could probably get any issue you’re passionate about or that you think needs to be heard out to the public,” he said.

Daud has high hopes that District of Choice will be renewed. Although the final decision could go either way, Daud is confident that the advocation in favor of DOC will have an impact on the results.

“We don’t want to just have a compromise. We want [DOC] to be a lasting thing for other incoming students into Walnut Valley, so we’re really hoping we can get the whole thing through.”

Photo courtesy of HAMZAH DAUD

Diamond Bar sophomore Hamzah Daud with the WVUSD superintendent Robert Taylor pose at the first DOC rally.

contract departments, handling negotiations and documents and continued to work there for a decade. Afterwards, she had several odd jobs, such as working in a dry cleaning office and starting a repair business with her husband, before finding a job at DBHS. Although many people often harbor thoughts of traveling after retirement, Garcia herself has no big plans after leaving DBHS and only hopes to relax as much as she can.

On the other hand, Spicer grew up relatively nearby in Hacienda Heights before getting married and raising three children. She later decided to go back to work, applying for the job of an office assistant at DBHS. “I enjoy working with kids, talking with their parents and the many different people you get to see. I also happened to know some people who work here, so I decided to go for it,” Spicer said.

While in the finance office, Spicer works with USB funds, handles checks and orders purchases.

When she is in the attendance office, she attends to the students and parents who drop by in addition to answering phone calls.

Spicer and her husband plan to move to Idaho after she retires so that he can start a business on the property they own there. The land is about ten acres and the two plan on living there in order to keep their business close to home.

“I’m going to miss the people and students I work with. You just develop such close relationships with them all, it’s going to be like losing your family when the time comes.”

Photo courtesy of OC WINTERFEST

Orange County Winterfest offers a variety of holiday activities including a snowglobe attraction, an outside ice rink, and snow play for kids.

Winter break well spent Catherine Zhang Feature Editor Catherine liu contributing writer A white, snowy Christmas is the type of holiday that many dream of. Yet in California, we are considered lucky to even see rain. Thankfully, with the winter season rolling in, there are many events being held that can provide a semblance of such a holiday.

A place offering events with fake snow is the Winterfest of Orange County. From Dec. 16 to Jan. 1, for $10, students have the chance to participate in a 130 foot hill to ice tube down, winter house bounce house and a snowfall ceremony.

There will also be a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. each night and an area to walk in to see festival lights. There are also captivating attractions on display, including the world’s largest rocking horse. For people who love to ice skate, there will be an outdoor ice rink for an additional cost.

To see marching bands perform, lighted car drives and other attractions, visit the Pomona Downtown Christmas Parade on Dec. 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. This year’s event theme is “California Christmas.” From youth groups, to car clubs, drill teams and floats, the parade will begin at Shaun Diamond Plaza and continue downtown.

For an event nearby, ride the annual Brea trolley, which is decorated with Christmas ornaments and decked out in festive red and green colors. Taking attendees through the brightly embellished downtown shops and Eagle Hills community, a neighborhood renown for its outstanding array of Christmas decorations, the trolley runs from Dec. 1 through Dec. 16 and lasts for a duration of 45 minutes.

In addition, attendees can view the array of old-fashioned carolers and small bands and choirs performing on the sidewalks of the downtown shops, Thursday through Sunday nights. Tickets can be purchased for $7 at the Brea Community Center.

Club Corner

Painting across campus Cindy liu staff writer What used to be an unassuming storage bin near the 400 buildings on the Diamond Bar High School campus is now a work of art, thanks to the Da Vinci’s Hub Art Club. As a relatively new club, this was the first major project it undertook— a mural of a Brahma pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle, with contrasting colors on each piece painted against a grey background.

“We’re all different, but we come together to perform in one big picture, which is Diamond Bar High School,” club President Jotsaroop Singh said.

The inspiration behind the club’s name, Da Vinci’s Art Hub Club, originated from the diverse talents of the Renaissance man that Singh wanted the club to reflect.

“Da Vinci wasn’t just an artist. He also made sculptures, cool devices — he did these things, so that’s why we chose Da Vinci. He was a versatile artist,” Singh said.

The club started in Singh’s sophomore year as the previous art club on campus, Doodle Club, was inactive. Singh made the club with a few of his friends with the intention of creating a fun place for students to come together to make art.

“Art is a familiar subject for a lot of people, and there’s a lot of artists in our school,” Singh said.

“There’s a lot of people who are passionate about it but they don’t have any outlet so this club is to create that outlet for people to express their art.”

However, the club had an unclear purpose and members drifted away, which spurred Singh to orga-

ERIC HONG

Diamond Bar High School’s Da Vinci’s Hub Art Club members painted the mural of the Brahma on the storage unit next to the 400 building. nize a major project to attract more members. He then organized his ideas for painting the storage bin mural and took a job over the summer to make enough money to buy the supplies needed to paint the mural during the school year.

For five days, Da Vinci’s Hub Art Club members worked on it daily after school for two hours, applying primer during day one and later sketching the outline of the design, filling it in with colors and refining the details.

While the project started out with just a few of the Da Vinci’s Hub Art Club members, more students joined in as they noticed the work in progress.

“Each day, there was different people. There were some regular people, but each day, we had different people who weren’t even part of the club. They just decided to join that day,” said Singh. “It’s a casual club. There’s nothing fancy, there’s no paperwork involved.”

On the last day of the project, students who worked on the storage bin mural were invited to sign their names. Seniors Singh, Jeffrey Chang, Connor Wu, Timmy Liu,

Khang Phan, Vincent Huang, Chris Chang, Samuel Lu and junior Hannah Gao signed their names in the empty space next to the mural.

For permission to paint on the storage bin, Singh received approvals from Activities Director Janna Van Horn, Assistant Principal David Hong and former Operations Manager Doug Mefford. He then had to make the decision regarding the location of the mural.

Singh chose the area between the 400 buildings and the lunch area, saying that despite the difficulties of painting the bin with the awkward position of bushes and the rocky ground there, it would have a chance to be seen by students.

“I was impressed with their idea and how ambitious they were to complete it so quickly. You need a lot of communication to do something like that,” said art teacher Vianney Hwang, advisor of the club.

The Da Vinci’s Hub Art Club plans to do another project soon, especially because their first venture into a big scale project proved to be successful. Singh mentioned the possibility of painting another mural on the DBHS gym.

8 FEATURE

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Devin Moore, Junior “My whole family’s birthday is in December, so we celebrate with them and buy presents. I can spend time with my family for Christmas for the holidays, and I get to bake for them.”

Sahil Patel, Freshman “My family color codes the day of Christmas. We all dress in the same color, and our presents are all the same color. It brings us all together, and we feel united. We take a lot of pictures.”

Humans of Diamond Bar High Lauren Chang, Sophomore “I love decorating the Christmas tree with my family. In elementary school, we made Christmas ornaments every year, and when I look them it brings back memories and makes me feel old and miss those days where we didn’t have stress.”

Leonardo Mireles, Junior “I go ice skating with my friends and spread the Christmas spirit. I hate it because I always fall but it’s been a holiday tradition for years for us.”

9

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 7, 2016

...Tis the season When the holidays come around, the ideal day consists of curling up with your favorite Christmas film. If you’re looking for something to watch to get into the holiday spirit, these films will do the trick.

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10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Now Showing:

Disney’s Moana explores a different culture through its characters and catchy soundtrack Amy Miyahara ASST. A&E Editor The long-awaited arrival of Disney’s newest princess is finally here, and Disney lovers won’t be disappointed. The company’s latest film, “Moana,” brings an intricate yet intriguing storyline, a set of unique characters and a number of unforgettably catchy songs.

The film revolves around Moana, the teenage daughter of Tui, the chief of the Polynesian island Motunui.

While Moana is expected to stay in the village and carry out her duties as the next chief, she longs to voyage past the island. When a curse hits her island, Moana learns from her grandmother that the only way for the village to be saved is for Moana to restore the heart of Te Fiti, which was stolen by the demigod Maui a thousand years prior.

Despite her father’s disapproval, Moana sets off to find Maui and return Te Fiti’s heart. Moana and Maui journey across the sea together, facing numerous obstacles, the biggest being their own self-doubt.

Moana is Disney’s first Polynesian princess and the fifth nonwhite princess. Disney has made

notable progress in its efforts to present more cultural diversity in its characters.

Moana, who has a body shape that doesn’t conform with Hollywood norms, also strays from the prior model of stick-thin Disney princesses with unbelievably slim waists, a welcome relief from unachievable standards set for little girls in the past.

Photo courtesy of WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

#Internetfame The nature of the internet has changed an unbelievable amount of things, from communication to self expression. It has even changed one of the most traditional concepts: fame.

It’s not hard to come across someone on your timeline, on any given social media platform, who has earned the label, “internet famous.” Often, these people don’t necessarily deserve their large following.

Unlike famous actors or singers who work day in and day out honing their craft, internet stars get by simply by posting a selfie a day.

Of course, it is unfair to make generalizations about internet celebrities. Many Youtubers spend hours filming and editing, using their channel as a way to both express themselves and reach out to their viewers.

Their videos contain actual creative content and use Youtube as a platform for their thoughts to be shared. Sadly, the same cannot be applied to most of the others who have achieved fame via social media.

For example, stars on the wellknown music app “Musical.ly” have millions of followers just for lip syncing to a popular songs.

These videos are less than 20

major film star, and his recognizable voice matched his character perfectly.

The film featured songs from the acclaimed Lin Manuel-Miranda, whose hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” has become a global phenomenon.

Those who are familiar with the musical will recognize Manuel-Miranda’s clever lyrics and up-

Moana and Maui, voiced by Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, journey across the ocean together to return the heart of Te Fiti.

TAKE TWO Pauline Villegas & Emily Jacobsson A&E Editors

“Moana” features the vocal talents of Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson (better known as “The Rock”) as Maui.

At 16 years old, Cravalho was chosen out of hundreds of others who auditioned to play Moana. While this is her first major project, her stellar singing and voice acting ensures that it won’t be her last.

Johnson, on the other hand, is a

seconds long and often incorporate arm movements that barely pass as dancing. This platform has largely become a joke across the internet, but still many of its popular users have gained huge fanbases.

One of the best known Musical. ly users, Jacob Sartorius, rose the fame on the platform and has even started a singing career from it, though any talent he has beyond lip-syncing into his phone is debatable.

Likewise, on Instagram, all it takes to become famous is to have an attractive face and an aesthetically pleasing feed.

This trend applies across most platforms. It is the best looking people, rather than those with something valuable to say or actual talent, who have the biggest audiences. The high follower counts give these “celebrities” more than just popularity. They are given access to opportunities such as record deals and clothing lines.

A whole career can be developed from just being popular online. The ease at which they achieve their fame devalues real celebrity.

While the internet is something we should be extremely grateful for, as most of the time it gives people a platform to express themselves and learn about new things, it’s worth evaluating, as a society, the negative effects of a platform that allows someone to rise to fame on no basis.

beat melodies through the “Moana” soundtrack. “How Far I’ll Go” showcases Cravalho’s vocal talent beautifully, and “You’re Welcome” is a fun introduction to Maui’s prideful personality.

The animation was also gorgeous, with vibrant, colorful ocean scenes and grand islands that appeared breathtakingly realistic. An immense amount of detail went into the creation of every scene, making “Moana” an extremely aesthetically pleasing film.

While Moana and Maui are welldeveloped characters, the relationship between Moana and her father Tui could have been explored further. A part of Tui’s backstory is revealed at the start of the film and his disapproval of Moana’s passion plays a pivotal role at the beginning of her journey, but his character is not mentioned much after.

“Moana” is ultimately a film about staying true to your heart and believing in yourself. While this message is one found in many films, the adventure that “Moana” showcases presents this theme in a way unprecedented by Disney’s past releases.

“Moana” is an entertaining film that will tug at the heartstrings of adults and children alike.

Dance Teacher Displays Ink on Instagram Tess Guan Web Editor Diamond Bar High School teacher Kari Simonson doesn’t just find art on the dance floor, she finds it in calligraphy, the strokes of ink, as well.

As DBHS’s dance team coach, Simonson expresses her creativity daily. However, she became interested in calligraphy last fall, and took an introductory class to learn the art.

“Growing up, I’ve always been one to play with my hand writing and try different styles, I’ve always been that kind of type, and I think that just led itself to handwriting and calligraphy,” she said.

After her first class, Simonson became absorbed into the world of calligraphy. Since then, she has become a self taught artist and started an Instagram account, @ the.lettered.owl, to document her progress and journey.

“I love the account because not only is it showing my art with other people, but it’s a documentation of my growth--I can scroll all the way back and look at where I started,” Simonson said. “As an artist, and as a person, just being able to see the growth that you have in something that you love and something that you enjoy doing--that’s the biggest reward.”

Within the online calligraphy community, Simonson has become friends with other well-known us-

Photo Courtesy of KARI SIMONSON

Kari Simonson’s calligraphy Instagram account has gained nearly 20,000 followers.

ers, such as @poppyandmintdesign and @piecescalligraphyl; she credits them for sparking her passion of hand lettering.

“I always suggest when you first start learning to watch other people, watch what they do, watch their styles, emulate their styles without copying them. You want to be able to develop your own style,” she said.

In regards to her own style, Simonson finds connections between calligraphy and dance, despite the notable contrasts.

“I think having that experience as a dancer and choreographer and being able to see visually what the lettering can look like-in terms of of balance and use of space--helps aids my calligraphy,” Simonson said.

Simonson was able to develop her own calligraphy style by first observing and copying writing examples she found online, afterwards playing around with traditional and different letter forms.

After achieving proficiency of the technique, she began experimenting and developing her own style, a modern calligraphy style.

“It’s a slow process. One word can take me a minute to write in real life, so it’s all about a slow process, muscle memory, and developing the style and letter forms,” she said.

Currently, most of her work is in English. However, she has written Spanish lettering as well and hopes to experiment with Chinese and Korean characters in the future.

CALLIGRAPHY ON P. 12

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 7, 2016

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: RYAN KIM

Since age six, senior Ryan Kim has been mastering the art of piano SOPHIA KIM ASST. sports Editor After 11 years of dedication to playing the piano, Ryan Kim has accomplished more than most pianists twice his age have: he has performed at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

The Diamond Bar High School senior participated in his first piano lesson as a preschooler after his mother noticed his interest in the instrument. Ever since, he has been taking lessons with different teachers to learn new skills that could improve his abilities.

“My past teachers encouraged to find other teachers and learn new things as they felt that I had learned everything that they had to offer,” he said.

Throughout Kim’s piano career, he passed all 10 CM levels and received honors in each test. In addition, he received recognition in the

panel level of the CM test, which is an extra level that a pianist can participate in after completing all the standard levels.

Utilizing the skills that he’s obtained over the years, Kim won first place at the Southwestern Youth Music festival last July as well as three years ago at the same festival. He also won the Winter Chopin festival his freshman and sophomore year. Kim was invited to two state-wide piano conventions in which he performed for teachers and parents as a sophomore and junior.

Kim stated that one of his greatest accomplishments was when he performed at Carnegie Hall last summer. After submitting a video of his piano performance, he was one of the few hundred chosen out of nearly 10,000 submissions to have an opportunity to play at the prestigious concert venue. He performed “Diabolical Suggestion”

by Prokofiev, a piece in which he

Photo Courtesy of RYAN KIM

Senior Ryan Kim has been perfecting his piano technique since he was in preschool.

dedicated a year to practicing.

Twice a year, Kim participates in his teacher’s recitals to showcase his improvement. Despite his accomplishments and abilities, Kim feels that his dedication to practicing is what got him to where he is today. Balancing school work and piano has always been a struggle for him, as he hopes to achieve the most out of both.

“Many times, you're discouraged to stop because your workload is a lot but I feel that once you overcome those challenges, it’s worth it in the end,” he said.

Kim stated that he feels gratitude towards his teachers for helping him develop his interest in piano. He believes that piano has opened up another world for him where he is able to express his emotions.

Although his parents would sometimes tell him to quit and focus on his studies, his teacher’s passion and his love for piano overcame the hardships.

“My teacher motivates me to keep going and explore more about piano to see what I can do with [it] in college,” he said.

In addition to playing the piano, Kim is also a part of Diamond Bar High School’s symphony orchestra and plays the violin. Though he has played the violin for six years, Kim stated that he is concentrating more on piano, and hopes to minor in music in college.

“He is a person that is very hardworking and also very humble [which] makes him a very good musician,” Ryan’s piano teacher, Linda Antonelli said. “I hope he continues with music and be able to express himself through music.”

MARQUEE SINGS UP A SNOWSTORM Ryan Chae Sports Editor With the holiday season just around the corner, there is no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than enjoying the sounds of the season. Marquis prepared their audience for the holidays with their annual Winter Winds concert last Friday and Saturday, with two more concerts this week.

Marquis began the show with an energetic opening to wake up the crowd. Dressed in festive attire, they sang and danced to“It’s Christmas Time” and “Christmas Card.”

After performing as a collective group, they sat around on stage and watched as members individually performed Christmas-themed solos. Marquis members sang a medley of 21 different songs ranging from a powerful rendition of “Must Have Been the Mistletoe,”

by Kaitlyn Lee to a soothing duet of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” by Vince Nguyen and Ryannkaye Reyes.

As the solos came to an end with a hauntingly beautiful performance of “Once Upon A December,” by Danielle Sy, the mood of the theater was lifted as all of Marquis performed the fast-paced “We Need a Little Christmas."

Lee came out on stage after, dressed in Southern attire, and asked the audience to join her at the bar for a Christmas party. The rest of Marquis joined her on stage and performed songs like the live-

ly “Country Christmas,” and the hilarious “Up on the Housetop.”

When intermission ended, Marquis came on stage in more formal clothing In these outfits, they performed the ballad “Candlelight Carol.”

The concert returned to a more joyful mood with performances of “Frosty the Snowman,” which featured a comedic dance number by Michael Paredes, and “Real Live Lady,” which had Henry Wang enthusiastically wishing for a girl to love for Christmas.

Marquis capped off the night with a bang as they attempted to fit as many holiday songs as they could in 30 seconds. As their final number drew to an end, Marquis was greeted with loud applause.

However, the holiday cheers doesn’t stop here for choir, as the entire department will have another concert this Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m.

CALVIN RU

Sophomore Nastassia Marantz sang

"Once Upon a December" at Winter Winds.

11

HAIRSPRAY LIVE! Amy Miyahara ASST. A&E Editor Following the recent trend of turning Broadway musicals into live television specials, NBC’s newest adaptation is ready to brighten any bad hair day. Broadway fanatics can now look forward to “Hairspray Live!” which will be broadcasted tonight, December 7.

Based on writer-director John Waters 1988 film of the same name, the original “Hairspray” first hit the Broadway stage in 2002. It won eight Tony awards, including best musical.

A film adaptation was made in 2007 starring Nikki Blonsky as the main character, Tracy Turnblad and Zac Efron as Tracy's love interest, Link Larkin.

The musical takes place in 1960 Baltimore and focuses on Tracy Turnblad, an overweight yet lighthearted teenager.

Tracy lands a spot on “The Corny Collins Show,” but is despised by the show’s producer, Velma Von Tussle, who criticizes Tracy’s weight.

Tracy faces prejudice both firsthand and secondhand from a racist, degrading Velma and from a society that still sees segregation as acceptable, and must ultimately fight for what is right.

“Hairspray Live!” will feature some of the biggest names in the

entertainment industry today, such as pop singer Ariana Grande as Penny Pingleton, dancer Derek Hough as Corny Collins, Disney actress Dove Cameron as Amber von Tussle and singer and actress Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle.

Other notable cast members include Kristen Chenoweth, known for originating the role of Glinda in the hit musical “Wicked,” as Velma Von Tussle, and Harvey Fierstein, who will be reprising the role of Edna Turnblad, which he originated on Broadway’s original “Hairspray.”

But among a cast of major stars, the lead role of “Hairspray Live!” has been claimed by Maddie Baillio, making her debut television performance. Baillio was chosen out of over 1,000 other girls who auditioned to play Tracy Turnblad.

This is not NBC’s first attempt at remaking and live broadcasting a musical. The studio first came out with “The Sound of Music Live!” in 2013, and have since done “Peter Pan Live!” and “The Wiz Live!” A remake of “Bye Bye Birdie” is also scheduled for 2017.

Fox has caught on to the live TV musical trend as well and released the highly successful “Grease: Live” this past January.

Based on their recent success, this trend of live television musicals is here to stay.

HA M I LT O N

AMELIE LEE ASST. FEATURE Editor With tickets sold out until August 2017, Tony Award winning hip-hop musical “Hamilton,” about our nation’s founding fathers, has won the hearts of a generation. Written by the man portraying Alexander Hamilton, the lyrics in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical have been memorized and obsessed over by fans across the country, myself included.

When Miranda announced that he would be supplementing his beloved musical with a self-arranged mixtape of the songs, fans eagerly anticipated the Dec. 2 release of the album.

Reworking the Broadway success to fit the tones of pop music, Miranda arranged his songs to be sung by famous artists, including The Roots, Kelly Clarkson, Wiz Khalifa, Ingrid Michaelson and Chance the Rapper. Miranda adds to the repertoire with a new wave of original songs, such as “Wrote My Way Out” sung by Nas and the thrilling “Cabinet Battle #3” that was cut from the original “Hamilton” soundtrack.

Like always, Miranda does not

hesitate to stir controversy with his quick-witted and relevant lyrics. Leaked only a few days after the presidential election, the original song “Immigrants” features artists K’naan, Snow tha Product and Riz MC & Residente, rapping in both English and Spanish about how far immigrants have come.

The lyrics--“it’s really astonishing that in a country founded by immigrants, ‘immigrant’ has somehow become a bad word” and “Peter Piper claimed he picked them, he just underpaid Pablo”--struck a chord with me and hit close to home in light of recent events.

From the point of view of Hamilton’s sister-in-law Angelica Schuyler, “Congratulations” sung

by Dessa gives every fan the missing track they have yearned to hear. The song’s striking lyrics and familiar perspective gives us a chance to explore parts of the musical brushed over in the original soundtrack.

While the remakes of “Helpless” and “It’s Quiet Uptown” fall short compared to the breathtaking originals, Usher’s cover of “Wait For It” and John Legend’s cover of “History Has its Eyes on you” bring an upbeat

R&B version of the “Hamilton” soundtrack. Their deep iconic vocals paired with Miranda’s catchy melodies encaptured me and left me replaying them for hours on end.

Winner of a Pulitzer, Emmy, Grammy and Tony, and composer of the “Moana” soundtrack and the musical “In the Heights” (Diamond Bars Drama’s spring production), Miranda does not disappoint with his spellbounding addition to “Hamilton.” The new tracks as well as the remixed and covered versions of the original album will leave both fans and newcomers satisfied, as the artists belt their hearts out to songs about the founder of our country’s national bank.

12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

Expressing life through calligraphy CALLIGRAPHY FROM P. 10 Simonson is in the progress of developing her own font and font worksheets for her Etsy shop.

Named after her daughter, Shelby, the font will be available for anyone to practice writing with.

“I find that the font is like my daughter, graceful yet bouncy, and a little edgy,” she said. Simonson expects the font to be developed by late winter.

Over the months, her account has grown in popularity, hitting 10,000 followers in the spring. As of now, she is followed globally by nearly 20,000 people.

With her wide audience, Simonson has received online commissions and art requests for her calligraphy writings.

Aside from Instagram, she also sells her work, including decorated wooden signs, on Etsy. Occasionally, she also receives pens and

markers from stationery brands and pen companies.

“Yes, it’s turned into a small business for me, but I am not in it to make money--I’m in it because I love doing it,” she said. ”I love creating stuff for other people; it’s forever, it’s special, it’s an honor for me to create stuff for other people like that.

Photo Courtesty of KARI SIMONSON

Dance teacher Kari Simonson letters decorative signs for display at home.

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DECEMBER 7, 2016

FEATURE

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13

The final COUNTDOWN

alumni advice

GABY DINH FORMER web ediToR

HIGH SCHOOL vs. COLLEGE Since I’ve come to college, I’ve heard people admit that they made it through high school by coasting by on shoddy study habits, but college is a different kind of beast, so you should not use the same methods here. This is especially true if you end up attending a college with a quarter system. Studying smarter doesn’t mean that you should hole

YUSHENG XIA FORMER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

FINALS IN COLLEGE ​It is my first semester in college. I never really took high school finals seriously, as I often procrastinated until the night before and then briefly skimmed over a semester’s worth of information for whatever class I had a borderline grade in.

This will not work in college due to a majority of reasons. First, the finals in college are worth a whole lot more than the ones in high school. For example, my Math 16B final accounts for 45 percent of my total grade. So, it would not matter if I had 100 percent in the class (I don’t), I would end up with an F if I bombed the final.

Second, the finals in college cover a whole lot more information

yourself in the library every day and come out once many hours have passed. Quality beats quantity. That means rereading your notes over and over means nothing if you can’t commit it to memory. Write it down.

Have notecards. Say it out-loud so it becomes meaningful.

Have small, obtainable tasks. For example, it’s better to study with a concrete plan in mind instead of ‘do-everything’ marathons. Don’t be vague about what you know. Finally, gather your study materials early.

I spent too much time before midterms making study guides while I was supposed to be studying. After the midterm, I began to prepare earlier. As soon as I finished reading a chapter, the material fresh in my mind, I began my notes right after. I feel a lot more relieved now as I study for finals. than the ones in high school. This is because a full course in college (for Berkeley at least) is crammed into one short semester and if I were to attempt cramming everything for the class in one night, I would end up discombobulated. ​Take good notes throughout your class periods. Every weekend, review your notes thoroughly to help get the information encoded into your long term memory. Actually do the readings and homework assignments assigned so that you know what is going on.

Two weeks before the final, get plenty of sleep each day and make sure you eat multiple well-balanced meals. Review a bit of information for each class each day a week leading up to each test.

Do not cram. Follow those steps and it won’t matter whether the test is a high school final or college final, you are bound to ace it regardless. If it seems impossible this semester, do it next semester and in all the semesters to come. Because, doing well in a class is a long term commitment.

There are no shortcuts.

Goodluck!

LILLY BALL FORMER editor-in-chief

SENIORS: LISTEN UP The greatest annoyance of my senior year of high school was the inner conflict between my severe case of senioritis and the amount of work I was still being expected to complete. For the DBHS class of 2017, senior year may be half over, but as finals approach, you must repress your laziness in order to survive.

Don’t worry, though. You are more capable than you think.

I cannot emphasize enough how

SARAH MARKIEWICZ FORMER asst. opinion editor

FINALS IN HIGH SCHOOL When the final exam comes I sometimes ask myself, what did I ever see in this subject? Many of us are desensitized to the necessity of finals, and would rather be thinking about anything else. Well, we probably don’t want to think about our futures, either.

In high school it can be frustrating to have a test every week, but at least it’s practice. On the other hand, in some college classes, the only grades that really matter will be for the final and the midterm.

No matter if it’s a popular or unpopular opinion, your ideas are valuable as long as you can back them up.

much a designated work area will stabilize your routine. If you are still attempting to study for finals with all your papers scattered about your bedroom floor, it’s time for a change of scenery.

The Diamond Bar library has individual study rooms and work tables that will surely help. The lack of distractions will also force you to complete your tasks, and by the time you’re done, you can return home to a bed that isn’t covered in textbooks.

Seniors, May will come quickly, and you’ll soon find yourself in an embarrassingly purple graduation gown. Before it starts again in college, attempt to relax and cling on to what little “teenager” freedom that you still have--just make sure to keep your grades at an acceptable level.

In high school I didn’t prepare for tests. My apathy might have helped me to stay calm during questions I knew, but backfired with what stumped me. We can learn by doing, watching, listening, reading and writing, but the single most important thing about learning is thinking. If I go through practice tests, readings or equations without questioning what I’m doing wrong, then I’m not going to be willing to adapt during a test. Even though teachers don’t recommend this, it’s a good idea to go through notes right before the test, if your mind can stay clear.

This isn’t very practical advice, and it’s really cliché, but I think being positive is the most important part of finals week. It keeps morale up, and if you feel like you bombed a final, then it can feel like the class was a waste. When I go through finals, I find it’s helpful to think of someone who inspires me, and try to channel that energy. Also, thank your teachers, so that you can at least finish a class with grace.

DECEMBER 7, 2016

THE BULL'S EYE

T F H O E E M T E

2015-2016 BASKETBALL SEASON STATS

H ONT

ATH L

14 SPORTS

STEALS PER GAME

JU

LIA

OA

REBOUNDS PER GAME

Senior Juliana Gamboa wasn’t always one of the best on the basketball court. In fact, Gamboa didn’t start playing on a basketball team until she was in the sixth grade at Chaparral Middle School.

In her freshman year, Gamboa became what is known as a “tweener,” which is when someone plays on both varsity and junior varsity.

She started whenever she would play with JV, and eventually became the starting point guard on varsity in her sophomore year despite only five years of experience.

Gamboa said that playing basketball has taught her many things, including how to be a leader. As both a starter and one of the three captains, Gamboa flourished as a leader with the help of head coach Tony McCabe and other assistant coaches.

“When I began playing I would just boss people around, but my coaches helped me through it and now I can talk to my teammates respectfully,” Gamboa said.

Teammate Candace Black, a senior, has played with Gamboa for three years now. They have both learned how to use their leadership skills to communicate well with their fellow players.

“Juliana is one of the best players we have on our team and since we are both captains and starters, it makes it easier to play well, communicate, and have fun on the court,” Black said.

While maintaining her grades and her involvement with basketball, Gamboa also began playing with the travel team Cal Sparks, based out of Long Beach, in her junior year.

Gamboa has continued to play basketball for not only her love of the game, but also the dedicated work she puts into getting better.

4.0

POINTS PER GAME

NA GAMB

pauline villegas a&e editor

2.3

Her competitive mentality allows her to constantly push through any obstacle in her way.

“When I first came to Diamond Bar, the coaches really wanted me to get better, so I fell in love with the process of getting better. I’ve realized that is what keeps me going” Gamboa said.

Basketball is a large part of Gamboa’s life. She is currently signed with Hobart and William Smith College in New York, a Division III school.

Although she didn’t receive a scholarship, she said she believes that continuing her basketball career is important.

In the upcoming season, Gamboa looks forward to all of the challenging competition throughout league and during tournaments.

“The competition in league is going to be great this year. It will be a very close game every single night,” Gamboa said.

After she moves on from Dia-

12.5

CALVIN RU

Senior Juliana Gamboa (right) has been a part of the team for over three years. mond Bar, she hopes that she will inspire her teammates to continue playing hard next year.

“I hope they see how much pas-

sion I play with and they maintain that in the upcoming years. I hope I inspire them to always want to win and get better.”

Underclassmen’s time to take charge BOYS SOCCER Last year’s strong junior varsity group ready to step up and contribute to varsity. emily kim sports editor Junior Monique Yim attempts to grab the ball from her opponent in a scrimmage against Alta Loma.

ERIC HONG

Team led by junior captains GIRLS WATERPOLO With a young starting lineup, the Lady Brahmas look to improve on last year’s losing record. emily kim sports editor Following the boys water polo team’s CIF quarterfinal season ending, the Diamond Bar High School girls water polo team is hoping some of that karma passes to them.

With only two seniors on the varsity team, the Lady Brahmas’ underclassmen will be leading the team. The team’s starting lineup has six juniors and one sophomore, led by junior captains Ashley Yoo, Monique Yim, and Phoebe Tsui.

“We graduated three key seniors, who all the girls respected and looked up to. It has been difficult to adjust and fill the void, but

I believe the team selected three captains that will step up to lead this year’s team,” head coach Alexander Matal said via email.

Key players include juniors Jenny Kim, Tsui, and Yoo. As the top three scorers last season, the girls combined earned a total of 168 points.

“One of the strengths this year is having a high number of returners on all levels,” Matal said. “It allows for the program to grow and establish a pipeline of players to step up after each graduating class.”

Starting their preparation over the summer, the girls competed in as many games as they could.

They hoped to gain experience and strengthen their young team, according to Matal.

Several players also committed to off-season training alongside a club to progress their skills. New member sophomore Kristina Mariani practiced in Croatia and also played in a club over the spring and fall. Juniors Hannah Murray and Yoo competed in the National Ju-

nior Olympics.

“We have several players who committed to an off-season training regime in a club environment and those players were able to progress their basic skills and experience to compete at a higher level,” Matal said.

After developing a strong basic skill set foundation in its first two years, the team will move on to learn more advanced team offense and defense schemes, according to Matal.

The team looks to not only improve on last season’s overall record of 7-22 but also to finish in the top three teams for league and move on to CIF. He plans on moving the girls into more tactical practices and focus on defense over winter break before the start of league matches.

The Lady Brahmas won their first game on Nov. 29 against the Montclair Cavs 13-4. They hope to keep the ball rolling in their next match on Dec. 5 against Sierra Vista.

After last season’s 17-6 overall record, the Diamond Bar High School boys soccer team lost several key seniors to graduation. However, head coach Kemp Wells does not expect a drop in team strength.

“We have such a good group coming from junior varsity that will fill in just fine. There are always a handful of players that I always say, I wish we had that guy back,” Wells said.

One strength of the team this year is the player balance and versatility. Having multiple players that can be placed in numerous positions will be beneficial to the team, according to Wells. In addition, the team is faster than it has been in the past few years.

A weakness Wells sees in the team is the lack of size. The team does not as many tall players as they had in past seasons, which results in a lack of height in both the defensive third and the back line.

“Gauging whether or not you can handle balls in the air is not always predicated on height however it is a nice bonus,” Wells said.

Key players on the offensive end include senior captain and second year starter Ryan Hernandez and first year varsity player junior

Seong Min Kim. Kim led the junior varsity team last year in scoring with 15 goals. With all of the defense-orientated seniors graduating last year, the team looks toward junior Peter Larcheveque to help fill in the gap.

“Although we do have some varsity guys who are returners that were on our bench, sometimes playing every minute for JV and being the focal point of their offense could end up being more important as a varsity starter,” Wells said.

Wells also foresees a strong underclassmen team of juniors leading the Brahmas. With young players such as Kim and junior captain Nicholas Wong, Wells believes that the juniors will merge well with the seniors and display a great amount of skills that will carry the team through league.

“We have been pretty strong for about six years and even though we lose players that we don’t want to lose. I don’t think we will have any problems,” Wells said.

The coaches will also be preparing alongside the players for the upcoming league matches after winter break.

“A lot of times it is helps to go see and scout out other teams, which I try to see every team play at least one half. So we can see what they are capable of doing,” Wells said.

The Brahmas will compete in the Carter Tournament starting Dec. 5 and in the Ontario Christian Tournament over winter break. They will compete in their first league game in a home match against Glendora on Jan. 6.

SPORTS

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Sophomores and juniors step up BOYS BASKETBALL In their first five preseason games, the team is 3-2 and placed fourth at the Bosco Tech Tournament. eric hong opinion editor Since its disappointing 55-24 loss to Rancho Verde in the first round of the CIF playoffs last season,the Diamond Bar High School boys basketball team has grown older and more experienced, and the progress has shown.

Despite a tough start, going 12-18 in the Rowland-San Dimas summer league, the returning team members have displayed improvement.

The team earned a 4-3 record in the fall league and continued its momentum to preseason, starting off 3-2 and finished fourth out of 12 teams in the Bosco Tech Tournament (the team finished ninth last year). The Brahmas secured wins with leads up to 48 points against Arroyo High School.

Last year, the Brahmas went 3-7

ERIC HONG

Senior Malik Corey drives to the hoop in a match against Diamond Ranch. in the Palomares League and finished in third place. The boys are expected to perform better than last season, with eight seniors making up almost half of the roster. In the previous year, the team had just three seniors, centers Damien

Flores and Evon Shubin and shooting guard Peter Valencia.

“It’s really just the level of confidence that we have from a system standpoint, and, individually, the kids are playing really well,” head coach Henry Frierson said.

However, with former centers Flores and Shubin gone, sophomores centers Mike Gao and Bryan Reyes have been left to fill the post—last year’s strongest position. Gao leads the team in rebounds, averaging 6.8 a game.

“They both have really picked up where we left off last year,” Frierson said. “I think this year, we’re a stronger team.”

Senior co-captain and point guard Malik Corey, who earned a spot on the All Tournament Team, currently leads the Brahmas’ defense, the “glue of the team,” averaging 4.8 steals and 3.2 deflections per game.

The team also forces an average of 18.6 turnovers. Corey also leads the team in scoring, averaging 22.8 points per game.

“Offensively, I think we’re doing a lot better than last year,” Frierson said.

With the Brahmas averaging 66.8 points a game, improving the team’s offense is not as high a priority as it was the previous season.

“Our goals are a bit different this year,” he said. “We’d like to win at least one to two of our Christmas tournaments.”

15

MORE ON

THE WEB: Wrestling team adapts to new coach With a switch in head coaching, the Brahmas will lean on the seniors to lead them through future games.

Girl’s golf player makes history with high score

Junior Crystal Wang places second at the CIF State Championships, the highest record achieved by any Brahma.

VISIT DBBULLSEYE.COM

IN HIS GLORY DAYS REUBEN JONES Before pursuing a career in education, DBHS’ principal was a walk-on for Cal Poly Pomona’s basketball team, playing for two years. emily jacobsson a&e editor Even though he knew he was working toward a career in education, future Diamond Bar High School principal Reuben Jones found time in his busy schedule as both a student and a student teacher to play the sport he loved and lead Cal Poly Pomona’s basketball team.

At four years old, Jones knew little about basketball except that he had fun playing it with his friends.

Though he also played baseball and football growing up, he decided that he had the most success in basketball, leading him to commit to the sport in his freshman year at John Muir High School in Pasadena.

“Basketball was just something

that sometimes you and your friends that you grow up with all like to play. For the most part it just was fun,” Jones said.

Jones made the varsity team his junior year, which was when he was recruited by GLC Kevin Patterson, who at that time was the basketball coach at Cal Poly Pomona.

However, in his senior year Jones suffered an injury that seemed to end his chances of playing beyond high school. He attended Cal Poly Pomona with the intent of strictly studying business marketing.

The sport he had always loved found a way back to him during his second year of college in 1992.

After speaking with the coaches and players on the team, he was encouraged to become a walk-on player. Jones previously played as a guard or a forward, but would

Photo courtesy of REUBEN JONES

Principal Reuben Jones made the varsity team his junior year after being recruited by the basketball coach at the time.

play any position the team needed as a walk-on.

“I loved to play, it didn’t matter what position as long as I was playing.”

However, playing as a walk-on soon proved to be difficult. Jones was part of the team and attended practices and workouts just as the other players did, but he often did not play games or travel.

“Just enduring those two years gave me a lot of perseverance and helped me understand the value of hard work. If you keep working hard at some point it will pay off so it was a great life lesson to start my junior year and to become captain and to be a decent contributor to the team. It was a great success to look back on now,” Jones said.

Quickly becoming an important part of the team, Jones earned a scholarship to continue playing basketball during his third year and became a captain in 1996.

During his last year playing for Cal Poly Pomona, Jones was also a student teacher at DBHS. It was often difficult for him to manage his schedule during that time, as he was required to ask for permission to miss several days to play in tournaments.

Jones was selected as Defensive Player of the Year during college as well as honorable mention for best players in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. However, Jones stresses the value of a good team over the importance of awards.

“I’m not too big on awards. Personality wise I’ve always liked teams. We didn’t win any championships so the team atmosphere stands out as most important.”

Though he looks back fondly on his time playing basketball, Jones’s career with the sport ended after college, deciding it wasn’t worth pursuing professionally. He instead chose to take a job at DBHS as a history teacher.

“You see a lot of guys try that and think it not a good use of your time so I made the choice to spend time on my educational career,” Jones said. “I’m so thankful for that.”

Photo courtesy of WILLIAM LIANG

Junior William Liang has been skiing competitively since the age of 13.

Brahma finds his passion on the slopes Junior William Liang skis competitively with the Mt. Alpine racing team and is ranked as a Junior Olympic qualifier. hannah lee news editor After skiing since he was four years old, Diamond Bar High School junior William Liang decided to take his pastime to a more competitive level. Influenced by his father, who also skis, Liang began skiing competitively at 13.

Since then, he has been skiing with the Mt. Alpine racing team in the general category of alpine skiing, while also competing in the giant slalom and super-G (super giant slalom). Super-G requires a single run, while giant slalom requires two runs and combines both times for a score.

During the season, Liang travels over two hours every weekend to Stone Summit, his main mountain for training.

There, he and his team work on physical training, as well as setting up courses and repeating runs to work on their speed. The skiers are judged solely on speed during their run.

Every course is set up differently, even if it is held on the same hill.

The skiers are only allowed to view the course a single time an hour before the race.

After his two years of competitive skiing, Liang is currently in the top 30 in the USSA national league in the Far West League,

along with being in the top 20 as a Junior Olympic qualifier.

“It’s the feeling of knowing you had a good run and all the training and focus had paid off,” Liang said.

Because of the time-consuming nature of the sport, Liang finds difficulty juggling his school life along with skiing.

Along with his academic life, Liang also runs on DBHS’ track and field and cross country teams.

He looks to take skiing into consideration when applying to college, and plans to continue competing with a team if the school offers it.

Photo courtesy of WILLIAM LIANG

Liang travels up to two hours to his practice mountain to work on both conditioning and practice runs.

16 SPORTS

DECEMBER 7, 2016

THE BULL'S EYE

SEASON SCORES girls waterpolo 12/9 VS Walnut 1/3 VS Nogales 1/5 VS Glendora

wrestling 12/8 VS Walnut

boys soccer 12/7 Centinnial Tournament 12/10 @ Aliso Niguel Tournament

girls soccer 12/8 @ Long Beach Tournament 12/9 VS Diamond Ranch Tournament

boys basketball 12/9 Don Lugo Tournament

girls basketball 12/7 - 12/10 Wilson Tournament

Looking to repeat its winning ways GIRLS BASKETBALL After last year’s CIF team, a faster, younger group looks duplicate the same success. angela yang asst. news editor After finishing last season with the best record since 1996 and reaching the CIF semifinals, the Diamond Bar High School girls basketball team is preparing to face off once again against the top schools in the division. Starting off on the right foot, the Lady Brahmas defeated Valencia last week, 56-32.

“I’m pretty confident but I know every night is going to be challenging,” senior captain Juliana Gamboa said via Facebook. “We’ll fight through and hopefully come out on top.”

Currently participating in the Wilson tournament, the Lady Brahmas will compete in the San Dimas tournament next week and the Don Lugo tournament over winter break, then continue to play several non-league games until

league begins on Jan. 10. in the gym and are just trying to Many Current players have build chemistry with each other stepped up to take the positions since we’re such a young team,” left by last year’s senior starters.

Gamboa said.

Senior captains Gamboa, Candace The team has made a major adBlack, and Lauryn Del Campo are justment this year regarding its expected to lead the starting linedefense. The Lady Brahmas will be up. implementing man-to-man defense “The sophomore class has a lot rather than the zone defense they of good players so they’ve kind of have used for the last four years. come up in the field a little bit,” McThis change was due to the loss Cabe said, namof previous ing sophomores years’ larger, “We’re very quick and it Angela Hung, taller players looks like we’re going to Kayla Hunt and in exchange Joanne Mize as a for smaller but have some depth in the few players who quicker playbench." have stepped up ers.

TONY MCCABE this year.

“This year’s The Brahmas team could have prepared be one of the by playing in the summer and fall fastest teams in years. We’re very leagues, against some of “the best quick and it looks like we’re going teams in Orange County” in the to have some depth in the bench, Valencia League before the season not just at the top,” McCabe said. began, according to McCabe.

Gamboa and Black are returnIn addition to the games, the ing All CIF players, while Del Camteam has been working in the po was an All-League selection weight room and on the track, aclast year. Junior Jessica Barrera is cording to assistant coach Erica back as a starter for the third year.

Younge. The girls have also been “We’re in a very tough division focusing on the 11 Man Drill, which so we hope to do as well or better,” mostly involves three-on-two pracMcCabe said. “But it’s much toughtice, as well as one-on-one drills. er than it was last year, and it was “We also went over a lot of plays tough last year.”

CALVIN RU

Sophomore Joanne Mize steals the ball from a Mustang during a scrimmage.

LAKERS: MOVING ON FROM the MAMBA K

obe Bryant? Sounds old. But D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson? Now those are some fresh names. Watch out world, Showtime is back, or at least on the path to it.

From the catastrophe known as the 2012-2013 Lakers superteam to the multiple season ending surgeries from Kobe, the Los Angeles Lakers have had their fair shares of woes over the last four years.

However, it seems that with the retirement of the Black Mamba, the Lakers have shed their old skin and grew a new layer.

As of now, the team is 10-12, and rising in the West. It might not look impressive, but compared to last year’s team, it’s quite amazing.

The ten wins are more than half of the total victories the team had last year, a year in which the Lakers also surpassed their franchise

loss total with 65. Now, they’re now serious contenders for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

This didn’t just magically happen all in one offseason. It started in the drafts when Randle and Clarkson were taken in 2014 while Russell was selected second overall in 2015.

For the young Lakers to really grow out of their shells and mature, the team had to move on from the past. The retirement of Kobe and firing of Byron Scott showed that they were ready to move on.

The departure of Kobe allowed for the younger players to step up and freed up a ton of cap space for the team, but it was Scott’s firing that was the catalyst for this success.

Scott was stubborn and cold toward younger players like Russell and Clarkson. He was prevent-

ing the future cornerstones of the franchise from developing and was killing the Lakers. And as much as I dislike the Purple and Gold, it was a travesty to see one of NBA’s greatest franchises kill itself.

Thankfully, Scott was fired this past summer and replaced by the most logical fit: Luke Walton.

Yes, Luke Walton. Yes, the guy that was known for his bench warming skills back when he was a player. But as a coach, the man should not be underestimated.

Walton has been surrounded by basketball geniuses his entire life. His dad is Hall of Famer Bill Walton and some of his coaches were Lute Olson, one of the greatest developmental coaches, and Phil Jackson, who is arguably the greatest coach in the history of the game.

The rookie head coach displayed

his capability when he coached the Warriors for the first half of the 2015 season and led them to a record-breaking 24-0 start. Along the way, Walton was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for September.

If you still don’t believe me, just look at the way the Lakers play this year compared to last season.

The ball is finally moving around. The players are actually smiling. Nick Young is actually productive! The team is playing smart and fun basketball, something I haven’t seen in the last few seasons.

What’s even more interesting is that they don’t even have any players averaging above 20 points, and they’re still seventh in the league in points per game.

Their leading scorer is sixth man Lou Williams, who is averaging 17

points a game.

Speaking of bench players, the Lakers have the best bench in the league and it’s not even close. The bench is averaging 52 points a game and the second team on that list is behind by nine points.

The Lakers have also put up some impressive victories over some good teams like the overpowered Warriors and the new look Chicago Bulls.

With all the early success of this year’s team, it’s scary to think that the core players are so young. Russell is only 20, Randle is 22, Clarkson is 24, and this year’s number two overall pick, Brandon Ingram, is only 19.

If the management can keep them together, with Walton captaining the ship, the Lakers could have more than just 16 banners in the future.