DECEMBER 2018

INSIDE THE ISSUE

opinion 4 4 opinion

feature 7

sports 15

a&e 9

the bull’s eye NEWS

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OPINION

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FEATURE

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DECEMBER 12, 2018 VOLUME XXXVII, ISSUE IV ONLINE AT DBBULLSEYE.COM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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SPORTS

Justice ON A POSITIVE NOTE teacher ends patrol

Brahmas inspire in TEDx speeches

Jim Salyer to retire from DBHS after more than three decades of teaching experience.

18 students gave personalized 'Talks' in DBHS theater on Nov. 28.

RENEE ELEFANTE ASST. news editor

CATHERINE LIU BUSINESS MANAGER After many years of being part of and teaching about the criminal justice system, Jim Salyer will retire from Diamond Bar High School this month.

“Administration of Justice was similar to being a patrol officer. Instead of catching people breaking the law, I had a chance to prevent them from considering breaking the law,” Salyer said.

The course, which Salyer started teaching in 1985, explores the history and philosophy of the U.S. criminal and civil justice system.

Salyer, who retired from the CHP years ago due to a car accident, sustained an elbow and hip injury from a ladder fall during second semester last year, received a re-

RETIREMENT ON P. 3

AMELIE LEE

From left, sophomore Allison Santogrossi and senior Emily Yang, who both portrayed Claudia McFadden in this year's fall play "Suite Surrender," sing "Happy Days Are Here Again" during their Winter Sports Rally performance last Friday.

Walking in principal's shoes Reuben Jones describes what a typical day on campus looks like for him.

CAMILLE MCCURRY STAFF WRITER Most students at Diamond Bar High School recognize the name Reuben Jones as that of their principal. However, few are famil-

iar with what he does behind the scenes. Although his main tasks include attending meetings and overseeing administration on campus, Jones does much more.

“That’s the job... it’s relationships, it’s talking to people... connecting with people and kind of being the face of Diamond Bar High,” Jones said in an interview.

No two days are the same for Jones. One day could be spent in his office and around campus; the next he could be at an off-campus

meeting.

Aside from the meetings and work, Jones also takes time to relax. Two pastimes he particularly enjoys are listening to music and playing chess.

“I have a chess board that, if there’s any student who likes to play chess, I’ll gladly play a game of chess. That’s definitely a relaxing thing for me,” Jones said.

see timeline of PRINCIPAL's day ON P. 3

After receiving high praise for last year’s first Wellness Centerhosted TEDx Talks, the event returned this year, featuring student speakers who discussed topics ranging from fake news to accepting oneself.

In periods one through six on Nov. 28, teachers who signed up to attend the TEDx talks brought their classes to the theater to hear three presentations each period.

The most talked about speech was presented by junior Salma Rashad, who spoke to her third period audience about fake news. During her TEDx talk, she presented two poems written around two years ago: “So Blind,” which she composed for a competition, and “The Truth,” which she wrote with her

TALKS ON P. 2

New leadership to take over campus USB fills 30 commissioner positions for next year's student government team.

Jin applied to USB because he wanted to be with individuals who share his goal of promoting the overall energy for their peers.

In the past, Jin said he noticed that most students were more willERIN LI ing to show support for their class than to show school spirit. asst. OPINION EDITOR “I want to be able to encourage others to have a strong sense of The same week most students school pride and to be proud of bewere busy anticipating their ing a Brahma,” Jin said via FaceThanksgiving break plans, dozens book Messenger. “Most importantof Diamond Bar High School stu- ly, I want to be able to get rid of the dents were also anxiously awaiting stigma that you [can be] ‘too cool’ their USB admission results. for school spirit.”

Out of these applicants, 30 newly Meanwhile, sophomore Emrecruited USB ily Garcia, cocommissioners commissioner of “I want to be able to were notified of athletics, looks encourage others to their positions forward to imfor the upcoming proving aspects have a strong sense term that starts of athletics such of school pride..." next semester. as Senior Night, a BRIAN JIN Until then, sport’s last home they will be game for the seabrainstorming son dedicated to new ideas to help the student gov- the senior players. ernment improve campus life.

Garcia also said she plans to adSophomore Brian Jin, co-com- dress the insufficient support faced missioner of spirit, plans to incor- by certain sports such as tennis or porate more school and class spirit golf. by offering more incentives for stuCOMMISSIONERS ON P. 3 dents who participate.

SAMYUKTHA VELLAIYAN

From left, juniors Eunice Sim, Jennifer Nie and Carina Wu pose for a picture before a rainbow backdrop in the upper quad.

Creativity on campus highlights happiness throughout week DBHS's second Visual Arts Week showcases colorful student-designed artwork and backdrops.

JOSH KIM ASST. A&E editor Taking the opportunity to showcase their work, Diamond Bar High School students submitted original

pieces of art as part of the school’s second annual Visual Arts Week.

Held at the end of November during lunch in the upper quad, Visual Arts Week offered multiple pieces of art with the theme of happiness, which each artist interpreted differently. Among the categories of art included were acrylic paintings, photography, calligraphy and Hydro Flask painting.

The event was non-competitive, aiming simply to open an opportunity for anyone to display original

artwork on campus.

“I’ve always loved painting, and when they had the opportunity to have a Visual Arts Week—because they usually never have stuff like that here—I wanted to showcase something that people could actually see,” senior Tristen Baca said.

Baca took inspiration from the movie “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” to create her acrylic painting, which depicted a boy in the

VISUAL ARTS ON P. 2

2

NEWS

DECEMBER 12, 2018

THE BULL'S EYE

Finding success at FBLA Shark Tank once again Last year's winners emerge victorious, this time for their cooking innovation.

CAMILLE MCCURRY STAFF WRITER Last year it was PugMug; this year, MyChef. Diamond Bar High School sophomores Anoushka Bhat and Anna Chen scored a deal in the Shark Tank for the second year in a row—this year adding Sriya Ponnaganti to the team—taking home a $100 prize for their efforts.

The Amazon gift card prize was not what motivated the team, however. Instead, they said they participated in the competition for the experience—especially Bhat, whose dream is to enter the real Shark Tank television show as a budding entrepreneur one day.

“I’ve always wanted to be on Shark Tank… so I think this is a great opportunity,” Bhat said.

Future Business Leaders of America’s third annual DBHS Shark Tank competition gave entrepreneurial students the chance to pitch their innovations to judges,

who decide which teams will move on.

The competition, open to all DBHS students in groups of up to five people, had two rounds last month.

Each of the six groups had two to three minutes to explain their idea to a panel of FBLA officer judges— junior Ryan Lou and seniors Heidi Luo, Aishwarya Rane and Kenneth

“I 've always wanted to be on Shark Tank... so I think this is a great opportunity."

ANOUSHKA BHAT Chen—in the first round.

One of the three advancing teams was senior Wesley Lu and his idea, “The Orange,” which he described as a “multi-industry wholesale corporation built on the model of proving anything and everything orange—the fruit, color, style, etc.”

The idea by seniors Serena Yeh, Loretta Chang and sophomore Junjae Shin for a medical vending machine also advanced, but fell

CORRECTIONS The headline of an article last issue stated that Team Sprocket had won Beach Blitz.

They made it to quarterfinals. The print issue of the story also misimplied that Beach Blitz scores affect OC Regionals (the two are unrelated), and misstated that Regionals are held at UC Irvine (they are held at the OC Fair and Event Center).

BLUE WAVE SWEEPS UP DISTRICT 39

Democrat Gil Cisneros narrowly beat Young Kim in District 39 after provisional ballots were counted.

A STRONG FINISH IN MATH MADNESS

DBHS' math team made it to the nation's top 16 teams in the Math Madness competition before losing.

RESTAURANT REVIEW: HELLO KITTY CAFE A Bull's Eye writer reviews the sweets and pastries served by the Hello Kitty Cafe in Ontario, one of four cafes in California.

GOODBYE, ARCADE— HELLO, INTERNET

Wreck-It Ralph and Princess Vanellope, along with other familiar Disney characters, explore the World Wide Web in this latest sequel.

TEDx Talks highlight experiences

the staff Editors-in-Chief

Amelie Lee, Amy Miyahara

News Editor Asst. News Editors

Angela Yang Renee Elefante, Elizabeth Peng

Opinion Editor Asst. Opinion Editors

Ted Yarmoski Grace Lee, Erin Li

Feature Editor Asst. Feature Editors

Cindy Liu Kristen Sanchez, Kate Zheng

A&E Editor Asst. A&E Editors

Amelie Lee Josh Kim, Maggie Liu

Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editors

Amy Miyahara Ryan Lam, Johnny Wang

Photo Editor Asst. Photo Editors

Amelie Lee Victoria Artale, Tiffany Lee, Samyuktha Vellaiyan

Business Managers Asst. Business Managers Web Editor Asst. Web Editors

short in the end.

“I appreciate the QuickAid usefulness, but couldn't get over the [$6,000] price point,” explained Kurt Davies, one of six faculty judges.

But the team that came out on top was “MyChef,” pitched by Chen, Bhat and Ponnaganti. Bhat and Chen, inspired by their success in last year’s competition, teamed up with Ponnaganti to invent their product, an automated all-purpose pot that can make entire dishes.

“It’s a programmable pot, so you don’t actually have to do anything,” Bhat said. “You just place the ingredients in the containers… and then you program it on the app that comes with it. I was thinking if you do this, then you can have dinner ready when you come home.”

Before the second round, students had one night to elaborate on their original ideas and prepare supplementary materials such as powerpoints and posters.

The judges this round were DBHS faculty members Davies, Patrick Murphy, Jon Hurst, David Lopez, Ty Watkins and Sabrina Ruiz-Emmons, who scored the advancing teams’ five to 10-minute presentations.

“Trying to… reword the script in time [was hard] because we also had a lot of homework at that time,” Ponnaganti said. “And then, it was also managing our time and basically… splitting the work. We all tried our best to contribute.”

Catherine Liu, Cindy Liu Maggie Liu, Nia Mitchell Ted Yarmoski Christina Liu, Samyuktha Vellaiyan

Staff Writers

Emily Koh, Camille McCurry

Adviser

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.

TALKS FROM p. 1 brother, who submitted it for a class assignment.

After hearing a stanza of “The Truth,” the audience was abuzz.

The stanza read: “What’s the point of freedom of speech / If people are too afraid to preach and teach / If people know the truth but don’t let it leak / I beseech them to reach for their bleach and drink.”

“I feel like if you know the truth, if you know what’s happening and you don’t take it upon yourself to spread it, then there’s something wrong with you,” Rashad said.

“The truth is something that deserves to be heard, everyone should be able to hear all of the truth...I’m really really upset that people took it out of context.”

During second period, junior Victoria Wilhelm discussed suicide awareness in her talk “Reducing the Stigma of Suicide.”

Though she has not had any personal experience with suicide, she wanted to inform others about suicide and provide resources such as hotlines and the school psychologist.

“I think it’s just something that isn’t really talked about and bringing a light on it could be beneficial because there probably are students here who are struggling with that, so I kind of wanted to just

shine a light on it,” Wilhelm said.

Sophomore Kelvin Wang spoke during fifth period about his previous addiction to video games and about how visiting his grandparents in China during the summer after seventh grade changed his life.

He overheard his grandfather tell his parents that their son was a “disgrace” because of his constant gaming.

According to Wang, this ignited a fire inside him to not only quit gaming but to prove his family wrong. Wang is currently a straight-A student who is involved in Team Sprocket, the robotics team on campus.

“It’s your job, your right, your destiny to speak up against it and rise up to prove other people wrong, that if they see you in one way, that you can...prove to them that in fact, you are so much more,” Wang said.

Senior Crystal Calero also spoke during fifth period about her struggles with her facial deformities of cleft lip and cleft palate, which are unfinished structures that can be located in the upper lip, the roof of the mouth, or both.

“I just want to let everyone know that it’s OK to stand out and that it’s OK to be different no matter what it may be, physical or not, and just being able to love ourselves for the way that we are,” Calero said.

VICTORIA ARTALE

Senior Vivianna Retamosa shares her experience with anger in a TEDx Talk, hosted by the Wellness Center, on stage during fifth period on Nov. 28.

Students display artistic skills VISUAL ARTS FROM p. 1 back of a truck with his arms out in the wind.

“It’s kind of a realization, a turning point in his life, when he is content with himself,” Baca said. “The scene was really important and I thought it was a cool thing to put on a canvas.”

In the future, Baca said she plans on pursuing art with hopes of becoming a freelance artist.

With a background in photography, junior Saarth Trived saw the event as an opportunity to get involved and let others see his photos on subjects like the stars, a tropical paradise and the city at night.

“What inspired me, honestly, was my family, because I learned photography from my dad,” Trived said. “It was about two or three in the morning, and we took two separate photos of the stars and cars and everything. We then blended

them together in Photoshop and that was the end product.”

When thinking about how to approach the theme of happiness, senior Megumi Yamamoto wanted to paint something that was unique.

“I took the meaning of happiness into a more abstract concept and I used colors that convey happiness like orange, yellow, red and drew a scene in a city where people are having fun and it is festive, in a way,” she said.

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

NEWS

3

BARR NOMINATED ATTORNEY GENERAL

Former Attorney General William Barr, who served in the George H.W. Bush Administration, may make a return to the seat he held for one term. Nominated Friday by President Donald Trump, the Republican lawyer holds strong beliefs in the expansion of executive power and has publicly criticized the ongoing Russia probe.

U.N. POST TO CHANGE HANDS

AMELIE LEE

From left, seniors Yuwen Wang and Daniel Mansour, junior Ryan Lou and senior Heidi Luo prepare for L.A. regional finals.

Mock Trial makes county finals Despite loss, DBHS teams have best showing in competition since 1999.

TIFFANY LEE Asst. PHOTO editor It was 19 years ago that the Diamond Bar High School mock trial team was last crowned Los Angeles County champion. Since then, no DBHS team had earned a spot in the finals, until last week.

Over the past few months, the school’s more experienced mock trial team, Team B, made it to the finals after six rounds of competition, ultimately finishing second in the L.A. County mock trial competition. Team A made it to the quarterfinals. Team coach Latitia Thomas and assistant coach Margaret Ku decided to divide the team this year because there were so many students who tried out.

“Our team consistently performed amazingly throughout this competition, which was only possible because of each person's dedication to mock trial,” junior Courtney Chan said.

Last Wednesday, Team B competed as prosecution during the

finals, losing to Chaminade High School team from West Hills, the same school that defeated Team A in the quarterfinals.

At the awards ceremony that night, Team A attorney senior Yuwen Wang was awarded the Alan L. Rothenberg Outstanding Student Prosecution Pre-trial Award out of all the competitors in the county, with senior Hamzah Daud receiving honorable mention.

“I was certainly surprised [when

“Our team... performed amazing... because of each person's dedication."

COURTNEY CHAN I received the award], as it was my first year participating in mock trial,” Wang said. “I am very grateful for Ms. Thomas and Ms. Ku for providing me with the opportunity to play a pre-trial attorney—a role that has honed my public speaking and critical thinking skills under a high-pressure environment.”

Although Team A lost to Chaminade in the Nov. 28 quarterfinals,

the students were applauded by the scoring attorneys for their performance and sportsmanship.

The DBHS mock trial team studies a case that involves two legal counts. This year, the first one was a criminal case regarding a person who had filed a false emergency report, “SWATting” another individual. SWATting is used as a tactic to deceive emergency services by sending them to another person’s home. The second count addressed criminal threats and constitutionally protected free speech. The teams were scored by volunteer attorneys who awarded points based on the quality of the performances.

Throughout the season, DBHS students have consistently received high scores, with Daud and Chan receiving perfect scores in some competitions. In the finals, senior Heidi Luo was named Most Valuable Player as an opening prosecution attorney. Closing attorneys Patrick Ma and Amelie Lee were chosen as MVP for semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively.

“They went to the county championship and I think they are exceptional. Both team were very talented,” Thomas said, “I will do the exact same [practice and process] every year.”

New USB commissioners chosen COMMISSIONERS FROM p. 1 “A lot of other sports don’t have that support from students on campus, so I definitely want to make sure all athletes get that recognition,” Garcia said via Messenger.

While most members of USB have partners, the attorney general is the sole representation from

DBHS during school board meetings with the district.

Junior Ryan Lou decided to apply because he also wished to surround himself with individuals who had similar mindsets as his.

“The opportunity of being a part of like-minded passionate students like myself within the school was very appealing,” Lou said via Mes-

senger.

Lou said he hopes to help students and effect change by representing DBHS at district meetings.

To accomplish this goal, Lou plans on increasing the transparency between the district and the campus to ensure that students’ ideas are reflected in board meetings.

Salyer plans to focus on family, travel after retiring this month RETIREMENT FROM p. 1 placement for his elbow and treatment for his hip injury.

Throughout the three months of his time in the hospital, Salyer's wife, Winnie, took continual care of him.

Although he was able to return for this fall to teach, Salyer said that he came to a realization that he wanted to spend more time with Winnie.

“What we went through took our love for each other to a level a lot of people never get to,” Salyer said. “I decided that I was going to retire in December so that I could spend my time with my wife.”

Salyer has also taught state required courses such as health, safety, and driver education class,

World History and U.S. History at DBHS. He spent 24 years as a full-time employee and another nine years part-time.

Salyer said that he will miss teaching without question, but plans to focus more time on his family.

“I have friends [who] teach at other districts and other areas and some of the problems they run into, we don’t see that here,” Salyer said. “Overall, we got a really good bunch of students and it’s enjoyable to come in and teach.”

Salyer emphasizes 10 rules that his students must follow in his class.

Some of the main morals that Salyer tries to teach his students is responsibility, honesty and persis-

tance.

“I really try to make them realize that they need to be responsible adults and think about their consequences for things that they do in the future, how it can impact their life and be honest and always be truthful about things,” Salyer said.

Salyer plans to spend his retirement by traveling with Winnie, with a trip to Africa booked next September.

He also said that he plans to go on more cruises to places such as Alaska, Europe and Asia.

“I know she likes to travel, I love to travel, so you know what, I’m at an age [of] 72 years old, and I don't think that I got a lot of years left [so] why not devote that to her and my enjoyment together,” Salyer said.

Soon to take over U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s position will be former Fox News anchor Heather Nauert—a selection by President Donald Trump that stirred controversy regarding Nauert’s lack of foreign policy credentials. Once Haley steps down in December, however, the post will no longer be a Cabinet-level appointment. Nauert will instead report to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

ARREST HINDERS TRADE WAR TRUCE

Talks this month between Washington and Beijing suggested a move toward reconciliation in economic relations between the two world powers. But amid these negotiations, the arrest in Canada of a prominent executive of Huawei—one of China’s major tech companies—threatens to infuse renewed tension into these tentative proceedings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump, who has demanded numerous trade concessions from China.

7 a.m. - Arrives on campus.

8 a.m. - Around this time, he often has a meeting. When he meets with a parent or staff member, usually it is to hear a complaint.

Sometimes, DBHS alumni drop by and Jones will catch up with them or give them a campus tour.

“Wednesday of last week, there was a Diamond Bar graduate that I had coached when I was a coach. He just came by in the morning… so I was able to visit with that former Brahma and give him a quick tour around campus.”

9 a.m. - According to Jones, he tries to walk around the campus and visit classrooms at least once a day, either in the morning or in the afternoon. Sometimes, he spends this time in his office checking emails and saying hello to staff and passersby.

10 a.m. - At this time, the administrative staff at DBHS—all four deans, the vice principal, and Jones himself—hold a stand-up meeting, one that is not held in a meeting room, on campus for five to 10 minutes to see what each department is doing. The rest of the hour is usually spent on other one-on-one meetings with staff and parents.

11 a.m. - Jones usually spends this time traveling from the school to the district office, where lunch meetings are frequently held.

12 p.m. - At these lunch meetings, Jones and the district staff discuss topics such as campus projects, parent complaints and staff employment.

1 p.m. - By this time, Jones is usually back at school and ready for more meetings, or a teacher observation. “A teacher who said they’re doing an activity on Westward expansion [might ask], ‘Please come and watch my fifth period class perform a skit.’”

2 p.m. - This time is spent on a variety of things--meetings, walking around campus or catching up on emails.

3 p.m. - On days with special events such as performances, sports games or meetings, Jones goes home 30 minutes after the bell. When the time of the event comes, he returns to campus to watch the performance or attend the meeting. “I could leave at 3:30 and make it back for the concert by 6:30... It’s a couple hours where I can go, and visit with my kids, and be home for a few hours before coming back for the 7 event,” Jones said.

4 p.m. - If there is no event, however, Jones stays on campus to read and write emails, as there is often not enough free time during the school day for him to complete this task.

5 p.m. - By this time, he leaves campus and goes home for the day. If he has not finished reading and writing his emails, he continues to do so at home.

4

OPINION

THE BULL'S EYE

EYE EDITORS

DECEMBER 12, 2018

OF THE

OPINION: English classes at DBHS are not on par with STEM classes in preparing students for college.

W

hile many Diamond Bar High School students enter college having finished both Calculus AB and Calculus BC, many of those same students are entering higher education having never read an assigned novel, choosing to watch movies or skim SparkNotes for the last four years.

Despite the intensity with which students approach advanced science and math classes on campus, English and other humanities are often regarded as mere afterthought, with DBHS graduates lacking the necessary critical writing and reading skills to compete with the top students in college.

Ranked as one of the top 50 schools

in California by U.S. News and World Report, the school’s fervor in higher level math and science is impressive.

Many students choose accelerated courses, taking the college-level course MACH 5 their sophomore year and finishing Calculus BC by junior year. Students pack their schedules with AP sciences, with some overachievers even taking more than one college-level science in a school year.

When it comes to English, that enthusiasm isn’t exactly mirrored in the way students approach reading classic literature and writing analytical essays. While this might be chalked up to DBHS having more STEM-minded students than humanities students,

this gap in engagement should be addressed.

Students, seemingly, don’t realize that in college they will be expected to analyze and discuss developed ideas after reading hundreds of pages of assigned reading.

In most English classes on campus, that same expectation is entirely unrealistic. In many regular and honors English classes, too much of class time is spent watching movie adaptations and doing meaningless worksheets. Skimming over general themes of a novel and spending a week watching a movie seems like a waste of class time, lacking the rigor that students expect from the lectures and quizzes in math and sci-

ence classes.

While more AP teachers on campus have started incorporating modern connections and developed discussion into their classrooms, the English program as a whole still isn’t approached as seriously as STEM. At all levels, English teachers need to encourage similar discussion and analysis that might take place in a university classroom, actively looking for new ways of discussion and testing that might draw students away from simply reading the Cliff Notes version of the assigned novel.

At the same time, Diamond Bar students need to take their English classes more seriously to succeed in critical

thinking and analysis in college.

Students seem to procrastinate most often on English homework, ignoring simple writing assignments in lieu of studying for a math test a week away.

Reading chapters of an assigned novel is often seen as optional, and discussions in class often lack serious thought, with students unwilling to engage with teacher offered questions or analysis.

Despite the STEM focused culture and the common majors that end up on college applications, Diamond Bar students need to understand the importance of humanities, striving to work just as hard writing essays for AP Literature as they would studying for tests in AP Biology.

From the Brahma Perspective The Bull’s Eye conducted a survey of 235 students about their perception of humanities and STEM classes at Diamond Bar High School.

68%

Are STEM classes prioritized over English classes at DBHS?

Are you planning to pursue a STEM career in the future?

said yes

37%

Are English classes on campus less challenging than STEM classes?

said yes

Social media feeds pseudoscience

Y

camille mccurry staff writer

ou may have heard of Donald Trump’s disbelief in global warming, or maybe about the legion of parents, known as anti-vaxxers, who are against vaccinating their families.

Though in the past, outliers and deniers might not have mattered, social media has allowed these pseudo-scientist minorities to become prominent enough to damage their surrounding communities and the world at large.

These echo chamber-like groups on such large scales would not be possible without social media.

Algorithms are designed to show people what they want, which is fine when considering what genre

of TV shows show up in one’s feed, but not when reinforcing false information.

The harm of the anti-vaxx movement, which has spread via Facebook recently, is tremendous.

Both unvaccinated and vaccinated children could become incredibly sick with preventable diseases, and measles outbreaks have returned. Although students are required to have certain vaccinations, the anti-vaxx minority has become more vocal, advocating against this requirement. This has also led to an exponential increase in the movement’s following, leading to an even larger unvaccinated population.

Despite the clear damage of this movement, Facebook still allows its commentary on the platform.

In fact, anti-vax groups and their propaganda are actively promoted on the site—they are the first results in vaccine-related searches.

Another relatively large pseudoscience group are those who do not believe global warming is real. Its recent growth could be attributed to Trump’s disbelief in the scientific evidence, which

he spreads through his Twitter account. Although the majority of these people do not have the power to help slow climate change, Trump can. With people in charge who do not support efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the U.S., regulations have begun to be repealed.

Many of those who believe in pseudoscience begin as regular users of social media who do not necessarily doubt science. However, they end up seeing a post “explaining” how modern science is misleading us that is pushed to them by the platform’s algorithm.

This can lead to them joining a Facebook group or becoming a member of a community of people on Twitter or YouTube that advocates for their misconception.

We, as the users and supporters of these social media platforms, have the voices that can push these platforms to change their policies.

Beyond that, it is our responsibility to scrutinize new information online as we do in our everyday lives. Only then can we cut off the spread of pseudoscience communities.

The finals countdown

Cartoon courtesy of NICOLAS KIM

STEM classes require a lot more work than English classes do. For me, the topics in STEM classes are a lot more dense.

ABIGAIL NAKAISHI (12)

Tedy

52%

said yes

L

STEM is more important, because in the future, most job opportunities are going to revolve around the four main topics of STEM. CHRISTOPHER LAI (11)

Human rights over space exploration

ted yARmoski opinion editor

anding the InSight rover on Mars sounds amazing, but the $830 million price tag laughs in the face of migrant crises, global warming issues and millions of starving children here on Earth.

If I have learned anything, it’s that we have limited resources.

I have limited time to do homework, we don’t have unlimited coal and our government has a limited amount of money. While exploring the universe might have made sense during the Cold War, modern space exploration goes against logic and uses an extraordinary amount of resources—human, natural and otherwise—toward what are, at best, abstract benefits.

Don’t get me wrong, my friends all know me as a “space nerd” for being obsessed with space fiction and games. I’m just not a fan of using money for space travel instead of human suffering. While it’s a wonderful spectacle to bring a man to the Moon or land a rover on Mars, are these things much more than just bragging rights and shows of power?

Let us consider the Mars rover, Curiosity. It landed in 2012 and cost NASA about $2.5 billion. Although this may be relatively small in terms of other government spending, it is not an amount to be laughed at.

After a year of exploration, NASA provided us with an exciting statement on the benefits reaped from the journey: “Examination of loose rocks, sand and dust has provided new understanding of the local and global processes on Mars.” If I had $2.5 billion, I definitely wouldn’t use it to examine sand and dust.

Space technology can be extremely useful. For example, satellites and GPS are intertwined into our daily lives and can increase the quality of life immensely. However, space innovation and exploration are separate things. Something that has very little measurable benefit should not be heavily invested in.

Those that argue that this exploration may lead to future colonization or other long-term prospects fail to realize that these goals will most likely never be met due to the problems here on Earth. Discovering ways to inhabit other planets would require great coordination and prosperity among nations of the world, something unattainable without great changes in today’s world. Even now, with many people fleeing from war or suffering from poverty, exploring space simply because we can seems like nothing more but a needless extravagance.

Imagine if the more than $600 billion spent by NASA according to the National Science Foundation were used on alternative energy research, testing cures for major diseases or developing cheaper ways to produce food and feed the hungry.

We would no doubt be in a better position to function as a society and potentially even conquer other problems to make space exploration a realistic priority.

Sure, there are spin-offs that have resulted from NASA work such as phone cameras and baby formula, but these inventions could have been achieved faster and at less cost if society intentionally looked for improvements directly. Also, many products are wrongly believed to be developed by NASA. Can you guess which of these—velcro, microchips or cordless power tools—were developed by the space organization?

The answer is none of them.

Living in America, many of us are ignorant to the great problems facing the world. If we continue to strive to live in a science fiction novel, our lack of prioritization of more pressing issues will come back to haunt us in a future that is less bright than it seems.

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

Successfully disappointed

A

Kristen Sanchez ASST. Feature editor

mong the many ways Diamond Bar High School students keep up their gold standard reputation they are so famous for includes more than just their hard work, drive or time management skills. They also possess the exceptional ability to tear themselves down emotionally.

Self deprecation is one of many attributes gained from a successful high school career and DBHS has yet again proved its excellency in this aspect of education. Keeping the standards high and competition higher, a truly exceptional student and future leader of this generation would be nothing without the constant expression of their own rightfully directed self pity.

A borderline A minus may be enviable to some, but actual good students must express to those around them how much they hate their life because this was barely an accomplishment. It is absolutely necessary to complain as much as pos-

sible to express how disappointed they are at those low scores. A 90 percent is significantly lower than a 100, which would mean that they clearly are not an accomplished student.

Laughing at their own misery is a surefire way to keep their sanity as well as their reputation among their peers. There might be some people out there who have it way worse than them, but it’s not like they are showing off. In fact, DBHS students are so good at this that many go as far as to never even accept a compliment. They are so

humble that instead, they will exhort the naked, ugly and only mildly exaggerated truths about why they are undeserving and truly dead on the inside.

Rather than accepting the grades they have received for what they are, they go that extra mile of deprivation by dealing with the tedious task of asking their peers what they scored on every test in order to properly rank themselves.

It’s good for them to constantly reinforce the truth that they’ll never get into college after scoring a 91 percent on their recent Calculus

Cartoon courtesy of JAMES TSAO

OPINION

SOLEMNLY SATIRICAL BC exam.

While some may deem this seemingly negative attitude as a poor choice, it is important to recognize the positive support system these students are building with each other. It is so great to see all these promising young men and women lifting each other up by ensuring that they have it way worse than one another. The comradery shared by comparing how much of a disappointment they think they all are forms a meaningful bond that cannot be broken.

However, academics isn’t the only aspect of a successful high school; students are remarkable at expanding this self deprecation into their social lives and extracurricular activities. The expression of their desire to “end it all” when they see a couple roaming the school hallways, reminding them that they are incapable of love and will probably die alone is exactly the kind of esteemed well-rounded mentality DBHS prides itself in.

It is important for teenagers to really understand the concept that potentially everything they touch could be turned into shambles but everything will be OK because nothing matters anyway. Being reinforced that no matter how hard they try, someone will always be better than them is exactly the kind of outlook teens should be striving for.

Private counselors: an inauthentic advantage institution they’re aspiring for.

The prevalence of college counseling culture is on the rise, so it’s important to consider whether the products of this new industry, one whose revenue relies on the American atmosphere of cutthroat college competition, will truly be up to par.

With college counselors on call to tell students which classes to Angela Yang take while ushering them toward News editor corresponding internships, they magine a world in which it’s are stripped of the opportunity to normal for your nation’s youth showcase genuine initiative and to lay down legal tender just to merit of their own. In fact, as a boost their chances of earning acreceiver of such pricey services, ceptance into the school of their it’s likely even their scores were dreams. Oh, wait. attained with the help of preparaCome senior year, many stutory courses. dents—especially those in environIf a student gains acceptance ments as competitive as Diamond to Princeton as a result of being Bar High School—have already tugged in all the right directions been working to mold their profile by a professional who knows how with private counto play the sysselors because it’s tem, how can “If somebody cannot become apparanyone—parcompose a sufficiently ent that any edge ents, schools, appealing profile by counts in this even counselors their own hand, they Darwinian prothemselves—be will be unlikely to thrive cess called college sure that this at universities.“ admissions. is a school in These menwhich he really tors perform a variety of services belongs? ranging from matching clients to Some counselors, of course, are internships to making copious ednot involved to this extent. They its on college essays. Some even insimply help a student put togethfluence the student’s school search er an application that highlights by steering each student toward alstrengths while minimizing weakternative top colleges populated by nesses. They work to ensure the a lower percentage of their demostudent manifests an attractive graphic. Under advisers’ instrucpersonality in essays and says the tion, hopeful young people can be right things during interviews. But molded into the exact type of apeven this is inauthentic to what plicant most coveted by whichever they themselves can do.

I

Meanwhile, low-income students without access to such resources are left in the dust, overshadowed by the peers who can rely on this sort of help. Counselors at public high schools often engage with hundreds of individual applicants, each with unique desires and circumstances, and are thereby unable to provide the level of guidance appropriate to those who need it most—especially as students from less affluent households are also less likely to have college-educated parents to turn to.

Opposing opinions insist it is ultimately a student’s ability that se-

cures an acceptance letter, regardless of outside counseling.

But if that’s indeed the case, then there is all the less reason to cough up a small fortune for this private guidance, whose effects could be replicated through the efforts of students themselves.

If somebody cannot compose a sufficiently appealing profile by their own hand, they will be unlikely to thrive at those universities that would accept them only for the false persona they’ve created. Once on campus, there will be no parental pressure and no more post-acceptance counseling to rely on.

More on the Web SOCIAL MEDIA’S NEGATIVE IMPACT

A Bull’s Eye writer delves into the negative effects of texting and social media culture on students.

BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION A contributing writer discusses the numerous benefits of taking Kinesiology, based on her experiences with the course.

Cartoon courtesy of SARAH SEIF

5

Stressful festivities of Christmas season

Nia Mitchell Asst. business manager

C

hristmas is often referred to as the most wonderful time of the year, but for many, it has evolved into the most stressful time of the year. Having to buy gifts on a budget, making sure that your gift matches the price of the gift you receive, Christmas music on repeat and the societal expectations surrounding this holiday create more stress than fun.

Gift giving has become a major stressor during the holidays, as stores start pushing holiday gifts early in November. Suddenly, every relative goes into the holidays expecting expensive gifts, the price becoming a reflection of your relationship with the other person. No one wants to be re membered as the one who gives cheap gifts.

Another problem with holiday gift giving is the stress of trying to figure out if someone is going to give you a gift, and if you are expected to give them in one in return. The worst feeling is when an acquaintance gives you a present and you do not have a gift to give back. When it is someone’s birthday, you know that you can give them a gift just to be safe, but during the Christmas season it’s hard to be safe. How do people begin to classify an acquaintance from a friend? How to you prepare for this awkward and stressful encounter?

This is just an added pressure that you have to worry about during this gift giving season.

In addition, people worry over how their gift will be received. The pressure to find perfect gifts for everyone on your gift list adds to holiday stress.

The cost of decorating your home is yet another reason to stress. From $100 Christmas trees to a new set of Christmas lights— every year there’s a new design out on the market—most of your holiday shopping money is spent on these Christmas necessities.

According to a study by the American Psychiatric Association, 61 percent of Americans experience stress during the holiday times. The false picture that you see around the holiday season, with families sitting around the fireplace looking jolly, is the opposite of what most people experience during the holiday season.

This expectation is reinforced

by Christmas music, which offers a cliche picture of the holiday. According to Linda Blair, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, repetition of music can be damaging.

“Music goes right to our emotions immediately and it bypasses rationality,” she told Sky News.

Blair also mentioned that hearing Christmas music in stores can begin to cause mental irritation as the same songs are repeated dozens of times.

The goal of having a merry Christmas is what we should strive for, so we shouldn’t let gift giving and nonstop music get in the way. Let’s not forget that the true meaning of the holiday season is to spend time with family and friends or celebrating religious beliefs.

6

FEATURE

KRISTEN SANCHEZ Asst. FEATURE EDITOR

DECEMBER 12, 2018

THE BULL'S EYE

POSING FOR THE PERFECT PHOTO

CAMILLE MCCURRY STAFF WRITER

Striking a pose under the studio lights, senior Kyndall Tenace shows her creative edge to the cameras through her work in the modeling industry.

Since signing with Nous Model Management, one of the top agencies in Los Angeles, at age 15, Tenace has attended more than 50 fashion and commercial castings.

After three years of modeling, she’s now a Nordstrom Fashion Ambassador and a Teen Vogue It Girl. Tenace hopes that these opportunities and connections built will one day transcend her into working in the realm of the fashion and retail world.

With the holiday season approaching, gift-giving can stretch budgets thin, especially for students. Thus, dollar stores present an enticing offer: quality products for lower prices. Here are some interesting products you can find at three of the most popular dollar stores—Daiso, Dollar Tree and the 99 Cents Only.

Shiba page TABS ($1.50) Kyndall Tenace poses giving a photoshot in Los Angeles on January 16th.

“Commercial modeling allows for so much more liberty...”

KYNDALL TENACE

Tenace was first exposed to modeling at age after being scouted by a Disneyland photographer while posing with a Disney Princess. She again considered modeling at age 10 after a recommendation by an ex-model for Nous at a family photoshoot. However, it wasn’t until she was 15 when Tenace’s true interests in fashion led her to step into the modeling world with a goal of eventually becoming a fashion designer.

“Modelling and acting were the closest thing I could do to get exposed to the business,” Tenace said.

Tenace takes her modelling inspiration from cultural icons like Bridget Bardot and Twiggy since she is most often compared to them by the people she works with. Exploring castings and auditions for commercials, movies, print and ecommerce, Tenace said she enjoys commercial modeling the most.

“When I model, I want to be creatively engaged,” Tenace said.

Photos courtesy of KYNDALL TENACE

The teen model has been modeling ever since she was 15 years old.

“Commercial modeling allows for so much more liberty and you get to be doing a fun activity instead of just standing in front of a white wall for hours, constantly doing outfit changes.”

However, the modeling industry is not all glamorous. Tenace sometimes struggles with the pressure and challenges—such as going through a dry spell of jobs or keeping up with traditional beauty standards—that the work can bring.

“I feel like a lot of people really want to do modelling or something in the entertainment industry, but because it’s a more unstable field that’s very competitive and intense, you run a big risk of being impressionable and falling under that pressure of expectations, especially at a young age like myself,”

Tenace said.

Despite the demanding industry, going out to casting calls and modeling trips in LA has become a family event for the Tenaces. She said that the strength in her support system starts with her parents’ and grandfather’s motivation to help her continue modeling.

Her mother, DBHS English teacher Stacy Tenace, said she has been impressed how her daughter has balanced school and modeling.

“I was worried in the beginning but Kyndall is really on top of her schoolwork,” she said. “I would ask her what homework she had to do and I was shocked that sometimes if we were stuck in traffic on our drives out to LA she would write essays on her phone.”

Tenace’s agency has offered her the opportunity to fly to Japan for six months to work full time for small clothing companies and gain exposure after she graduates. Despite the encouragement from her agency to go straight into the workforce after high school, Tenace said she’d rather pursue a higher education.

“A lot of girls don’t go to college; they just do modeling for as long as they can and go from there just hoping all works out but for me, I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life,” Tenace said. “ I love modeling but for me, is more like a hobby that I get the chance to be paid for.”

Alumna finds home in courtroom as DA ERIN LI Asst. OPINION EDITOR With 12 jurors about to decide the fate for her case, Diamond Bar High School class of 2002 alumna Noelle Brown draws on her five years of experience as a district attorney as she presents her argument to the court.

As a district attorney in the felony trial unit for Los Angeles County, Brown appears in court on a daily basis dealing with felony cases. She preps cases for trial, holds preliminary hearings, argue

motions filed by the defense, handles evidence and conveys offers to settle cases. Brown also checks if the officers, witnesses and victims involved in the case are ready for trial and have been subpoenaed, which is a request for a witness to testify in court.

Throughout Brown’s time at UC Riverside, she was torn between going into law or medicine for graduate school.

“I decided to become a DA because I wanted to spend more time in the courtroom and get jury trial experience. I also wanted to help ensure justice was served and help

Photo courtesy of NOELLE BROWN

Noelle Brown strikes a pose in the courtroom after her jury trial experience.

both victims and defendants in hopes of reducing crime and incarceration rates,” Brown said via email.

Because she enjoyed public speaking and wanted to take advantage of the vast number of specialities in law, Brown began studying for the Law School Admission Test.

“I was a Psychology and Law major in college. I believe the study of psychology helped me better understand the thought process of jurors, victims and defendants.

Understanding their thought processes can be beneficial in trial,” Brown said.

She passed the bar exam on her first try and started her first job as a lawyer after studying at Johnson & Johnson, LLP, a boutique law firm in Beverly Hills. However, Brown realized that she wanted to pursue a more hands-on career since her work mostly consisted of research and writing.

“Although the subject matter was interesting, I longed to be writing less. It was while I was working at that firm that I applied to the DA’s office,” Brown saidl.

While attending Loyola Law

BROWN ON P. 12

Shiba Inu dogs are undeniably adorable, and so are these page markers. The differing designs of each marker make it possible to color-code marks on pages as well.

Giraffe FIGURINE PEN ($1.50) This metal-coated giraffe figurine is the perfect minimalist decoration for your desk. Not only does it look cute, its neck comes off and can be used as a pen.

CALLIGRAPHY BRUSHES ($1.50) This pack of two calligraphy brushes is perfect for any calligraphy artist. They are also the right price for beginners who are not sure whether they are ready to commit. Daiso also sells ink and paper for calligraphy at the same low price.

Succulent (99 cents) Succulents are a trendy interior decoration option, but can require specific conditions to keep growing. These hanging succulent planters are artificial, providing the same aesthetic without the burden of watering or caring for it.

Ugly christmas sweater mug (99¢) Although they have “ugly” in the name, these mugs, paired with some hot cocoa mix, would make a cute gift for friends.

As the cup’s “sweater” wrap is removable, the mug can be used year round.

Neon cactus decoration ($5) This neon wall light is a way to brighten up your room while staying budget-friendly. Its unique style allows it to match well with almost any room.

1000 piece puzzle ($1) Puzzles are a great way to unwind during the holiday season, and this 1000-piece set is a cheap way to do so. This puzzle features an oil painting of a canal. It could also be glued together and framed to use as decoration.

Window marker ($1) These colorful window markers can be used on any occasion to express yourself. Whether you want to wish your friend a happy birthday or add a cute doodle to your car window, the window markers offer versatile uses.

Lavender bath bombs ($1) Bath bombs are always a great way to unwind. However, they can be pricey if bought from stores like Lush. These lavender-scented ones from the Dollar Tree provide an inexpensive alternative.

FEATURE

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

7

'Tis the season to be ugly FIR

LACE SWE P A E

TREE SW AS M T

TER EA

Decorating blank sweaters with holiday-inspired felt cutouts is a great way to put together the perfect festive sweater. Turn a plain white sweater into a snowman face by cutting out two large black felt circles for eyes, an orange felt triangle for a nose and six small black felt circles for the smile. Glue the pieces on with fabric glue or a hot glue gun. Another option is to decorate your sweater with a felt cutout of a reindeer silhouette. Then, glue on pompoms and beads for additional detail.

CH R IS

Deck your outfit with Christmas cheer by turning your sweater into a Christmas tree. This popular style of ugly sweaters involves combining a green sweater with tinsel and mini ornaments. To make it, simply wind a colored tinsel around your sweater, glue it down and hang ornaments periodically throughout the tinsel. This Christmas-tree inspired ugly sweater will help you stand out from the crowd and get into the holiday spirit.

R TE

SN

MAN SWEA W

R TE

O

With Christmas right around the corner, it’s time to snuggle up with ugly sweaters. Instead of buying expensive sweaters in stores, save money by making your own. Incorporate these three ideas into your winter-wear to show off holiday spirit.

WRITTEN BY: CINDY LIU

Keep warm with this cozy fireplace mantel look. To start, gather a blank red sweater, small stockings, fabric paint and felt. Use white fabric paint to paint brick designs on the sweater. Then, trace and cut out a fire shape. Glue it on a rectangular sheet of black felt as a background to make the fireplace. Finish it off by attaching two small stockings on the underside of each sleeve with glue. Simply raise your arms parallel to your shoulders to transform into a Christmas fireplace mantel.

Gaining from the gaming EMILY KOH STAFF WRITER

Photo courtesy of MARISSA SINGH

The Wellness Matters Club shows their enthusiasm during the club meeting.

Wellness group spreads word

RENEE ELEFANTE Asst. NEWS EDITOR

ics such as feeling identification, where they teach members how to cope with and manage their emotions.

When Diamond Bar High School In the future, Kwon hopes to students find themselves stressed cover controversial topics such as from academic demands or extradrug abuse, dating violence and curricular activities, the Wellness self-harm.

Matters club seeks to educate its Senior vice president Marissa members about the importance of Singh hopes to discuss grief and emotional well-being. ways to process it individually or Wellness Center advisor Sanhelp others with it. dy Davis originally proposed the After educating its members, idea for Wellness Matters in early the club hosts activities and September as a way to branch out games such as a mood-based verfrom the Wellness Center and Peer sion of Four Corners that suppleCounseling. ment the topics covered.

“Our club’s Later in the mission is bayear, the club “Our club’s mission is sically to eduhopes to albasically to educate cate and spread low students and spread more more awareness to help out awareness...” about emotionin the upJANICE KWON al and physical coming DB wellness for Forum event our students,” senior president and the Kindness Week camJanice Kwon said. paign.

Emotional wellness focuses on Kwon and Singh expected 20 to stress management and also the 30 members, but were surprised management of one’s emotions. when 50 to 60 students signned up.

Physical wellness applies to sleep They consider this to be a chaldeprivation and its effects on stulenge and accomplishment. dents.

“We weren’t originally expectAccording to Kwon, the club difing that big of an outcome, so it fers from both the Wellness Center surprised us because we weren’t and Peer Counseling in that the prepared for it, but we’ve gotten Wellness Center offers one-on-one used to it and we’ve adapted to it,” counseling for students while Peer Kwon said.

Counseling prepares its students to Kwon hopes the Wellness Matdevelop the skills to counsel someters club will help students realone. ize that there is a place they can Meanwhile, Wellness Matters go to for support. provides opportunities for its “I really hope for the Wellness members to get involved in helpMatters club to grow in indepening out the various events planned dence...and become a huge big by the Wellness Center and Peer thing and be just as equal to the Counseling.

Peer Counseling program and During each general meeting Wellness [Center] program, as held twice a month in the Golden opposed to being a sister,” Singh Horseshoe, the club discusses topsaid.

After playing League of Legends and Overwatch for six years, Timothy Wu has found his passion in gaming and now hopes to become a gaming professional.

The Diamond Bar High School junior specializes in playing League of Legends, a multiplayer game where players fight against each other on various battlefields, and Overwatch, a first-person shooter game where teams compete against each other. Wu has won $500 in an online League of Legends competition.

Wu began gaming in middle school and started to play competitively between freshman and sophomore year. He saw the rising

popularity of eSports, which are video game based competitions, and began to compete for cash and in-game currency.

“I love gaming because it’s just fun to me. When you win something big it feels great because you practiced for it,” Wu said.

Wu is at the master tier in

League of Legends, ranked in the Top 800 in North America; he’s also ranked in the Top 500 in North America for Overwatch.

He is a part of a freelance team known as UKP or Unknown Player.

The team used to consist primarily of Vietnamese players, but the team has now reached out to other countries to create a new roster.

Wu had to reach a top rank just to try out for the team, which is only open to top-tier players.

“For me, being on [this team] will help build up my background, so if I do want to play professionally I have a competitive background,” Wu said, “If the opportunity presents itself I will try to go pro, but if I can’t get into a pro team immediately after I graduate I’ll probably

GAMING ON P. 12

Christmas at Logan's KATE ZHENG Asst. FEATURE EDITOR What better way to celebrate the holiday season than to visit a festive candy cane store? Logan’s Candy Canes in Ontario has been a source of holiday cheer since 1933, with homemade candy cane recipes and with freshly made candies and chocolates.

I showed up at the shop around 20 minutes before the candy making demo. I was immediately met by a large crowd gathering around the store’s viewing window, waiting for the candy-cane making session to begin.

The store is extremely small, yet very cozy, and I immediately noticed the antique vibe. The interior design has a 1970s-inspired look, which makes the place feel all the more traditional. Pictures of family members, rich with history, are hung on the walls with a gigantic 30-pound candy cane on display. There are many rows of candies, chocolates, cakes and ice creams behind glass booths, all the treats releasing sweet aromas that waft throughout the small shop.

As candy cane making demo started, the owner of the store, Jerry Rowler, came out with a mic. He explained the candy cane making process as he demonstrat-

ed the activity behind a glass wall.

It was extremely interesting to watch as he pulled out a large glob of liquidy brown sugar and slowly kneaded it into a more condensed form of hardened candy. Then, he split the dough-like figure into three parts before adding red and green color paste to two of the three sections.

After thoroughly mixing the colors in, the owner placed the two finished sections in front of a heater, keeping the candy warm and malleable. He then took his last section of golden brown candy, added cinnamon oil into it, and stretched it on a hook until it became a bright white color.

Afterwards, he laid all three

KATE ZHENG

A worker in the candy shop shapes one of the freshly made candy canes.

parts of the candy together and rolled it out before twisting it to create the striped candy cane look.

The overall process took about 20 minutes, and after cutting the long strip of candy into smaller lengths, he passed them to his co-worker, who bent the head of the candy to form a cane shape and sent it to the final packaging station.

The process was mesmerizing, and I was craving a freshly made candy cane after the demo ended.

After waiting in line for around 10 minutes, I purchased a cinnamon and peppermint flavored candy cane; each was only $1.85.

The candy was truly unique, with a creamier and much less artificial taste than normal storebought canes. The cinnamon flavor had a nice and spicy kick to it, and it was still warm when I recieved it.

The peppermint was on the sweeter side, but also had a nice creamy texture to it, differentiating it from any other candy cane I have tasted.

Besides the candy canes, the store sells homemade fudge, chocolate and ice cream.

Another interesting addition includes exotic candies such as chocolate covered crickets or scorpion lollipops.

If one is in the mood to join the holiday spirit, I would recommend a visit to this shop since the candy is delicious and the demos are free to watch.

8 FEATURE

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

Holiday Entertainments The weather turns chilly, familiar carols blast through speakers and red and yellow lights blink merrily, signalling the start of the Christmas season. Here are some engaging activities across Southern California that will make your holiday a bit more festive.

Skating Under the Stars Glide across the ice while breathing in winter air at Skating Under the Stars, an outdoor skating rink at the Irvine Spectrum Center.

For $18 per person and an additional fee of $2 for skating rentals, you can have fun with friends and family at this rink, which is open until Jan. 6. Adding on to the winter spirit, Skating Under the Stars also has Themed Thursdays, where participants can skate dressed in a weekly theme, such as “Ugly Sweater” or “New Year’s Sparkle,” to get $5 off. Once you finish your 75-minute skating session, you can go to the nearby Irvine Spectrum shopping center for some last minute Christmas shopping.

Winter fest OC Channel your inner child by attending Winter Fest OC, held at Orange County Fair & Event Center. Starting at $10, tickets cover numerous activities, including unlimited tubing down Snowflake Summit, Festival of Lights, Santa’s Petting Zoo and a Snow Play area. In addition, you can marvel at the nightly Christmas tree lighting that is paired with fireworks, snowfall and a holiday parade. This festive winter wonderland is open from Dec. 20 to Jan. 6, with Santa making a special visit on Christmas Eve by flying with his reindeer over the fairground.

Walt Disney Concert Hall Get into the holiday spirit by singing Christmas carols at Walt Disney Concert Hall sing-alongs, which are part of the Deck the Hall Festival, a series of Christmas and New Years-related concerts hosted by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. On Dec. 23, audience members can belt out tunes from "White Christmas" while watching the 1954 film and following the lyrics on a screen.

For more song variety, another sing-along event will be held Dec. 22, where you can listen to and sing along with the Angeles Choral. If you don't know the lyrics to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" or "O Come All Ye Faithful," fear not—lyrics will be handed out. Tickets for each performance start at $34 and can be purchased at the Los Angeles Philharmonic website.

WRITTEN BY: GRACE LEE DESIGN BY: KRISTEN SANCHEZ PHOTOS BY ALLEN LING, WINTER FEST AND LA PHILHARMONIC

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

Written by Emily Koh Design by Amelie Lee

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Appreciating the Father of Superheroes

Thor, Black Widow, Ant-Man and Daredevil are all iconic characters in the comic book world, and the man responsible for creating them was Stan Lee, who died Nov. 12. He changed the entertainment industry and will be remembered by generations to come as the man in dark sunglasses who created an era of imperfect superheroes.

At the age of 17, Lee became an office assistant at Timely Comics, now known as Marvel Comics. According to Detroit News, his career took off after he co-created “Fantastic Four” with comic book artist Jack Kirby in 1961.

Lee took audiences by surprise, as the four characters were flawed, unlike any other superheroes at the time. Because they were defined by their personalities instead of only by their supernatural abilities, the Fantastic Four were multidimensional and captivated the world of comics.

Writing comic books wasn’t all he accomplished-- Lee influenced the public through multiple platforms. He had a column known as “Stan’s Soapbox” at Marvel, which he used to discuss social issues during the 1960s such as racism and general ignorance. In 2008 Lee published all of these columns in “Stan’s Soapbox: The Collection.” Lee continued to incorporate these topics when he started to write comics. He portrayed African Americans as heroes and gave them major roles such as the characters Falcon and Black Panther.

Lee went on to co-create countless other comics such as “Iron Man,” “Spider-Man,” “Doctor Strange,” “Hulk” and “X-Men.” The majority of these comics have been adapted into major blockbuster films by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Lee making a cameo appearance in each one.

Marvel was able to have more control when producing movies such as “Iron Man,” the first movie released by the franchise in 2008. This was the same year that Lee won the In 2001, Lee created an entertainment company National Medal of Arts for his impact on with Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman known as the comic book world.

POW!Entertainment. It includes several television shows featuring Lee and has grown to become a multimillion dollar company.

Lee’s legacy will live on forever through his works and contributions to society. Lee made Marvel what it is today by rejecting conformity and forging a new path that included superheroes that readers could relate to and connect with. Instead of shying away from controversial topics, Lee integrated them into his work and consequently built an empire that will be held in the highest esteem for generations to come. Although Lee has passed away, his legacy and all that he created never will.

photos courtesy of marvel studios

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10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

DECEMBER 12, 2018

THE BULL'S EYE

Mi-Hyun Suh She won the DBHS concerto competition and will perform tonight

SAMYUKTHA VELLAIYAN

Color guard members practing with flags during after-school rehearsal

Flags raised for the new season Samyuktha Vellaiyan asst. Photo EDITOR After successfully ending parade season with their fifth consecutive sweepstakes at the Arcadia Band Review, Diamond Bar High School color guard team is now twirling their flags in preparation for winterguard season.

Unlike parade season, where the team competes alongside marching band, winter season requires color guard to choose their own song and choreograph movements with not only flags, but also rifles and sabers.

According to junior Markella Simmons, winter guard is more challenging than parade season.

“Parade has only flag but winter has flag, rifle, saber, dance and even more,” Simmons said. “Even though there are more aspects to cover this season than the last, I think we have been trained well to cope with the routine.”

The color guard team hopes to participate in seven competitions this year, the biggest being the World Championships in Dayton, Ohio from April 2-7.

Earning a trip to the championships depends on the outcome of their performances at the preceding competitions.

At each competition, the teams are evaluated with a scoring rubric. The rubric has four catego-

ries: vocabulary, execution, movement and equipment. Vocabulary includes the choreography of the performance, execution is how well the choreography was performed in relation with the theme and routine of the show, movement is the dance itself and equipment is the various props color guard uses in their routines, such as rifles, sabers and flags.

In preparation for this season, coaches Rob Jett, Brent Dunlap and Madison Vanderbrake have been training the team to master arduous and challenging tricks, such as double catch behind the back and a parallel catch between their legs.

They have also been giving the team portions of the choreography to piece together once the music is fixed.

Color guard’s biggest obstacle this season is the significant loss of members to graduation.

“This year our color guard only has 16 people, when on average there should be around 24 people, so we are an unusually small color guard,” senior Kelly Chan said.

“We are kind of struggling with that now because we actually only have six returning varsity members from last year, so there is a big gap in experience.”

The Brahmas will be competing at the West Coast Winter Guard Riverside City College Premiere Show on Jan. 27.

Amy Miyahara Editor-In-Chief From banging away at the piano in her preschool daycare to becoming one of Diamond Bar High School’s most accomplished pianists, sophomore Mi-Hyun Suh’s hard work ethic and dedication to the piano has carried her to success in the field.

Suh, one of the winners of the DBHS concerto competition, will be performing alongside the DBHS Symphony Orchestra in their concert tonight in the DBHS theater at 7 p.m. She will be playing the Chopin Piano Concerto in E minor, which she was inspired to play after hearing South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho perform the wellknown piece to place first in the 2015 International Chopin Competition.

“I heard [Cho’s] recording of the Chopin Concerto by Frederic Chopin and I fell in love with it, and I just started crying when he played it,” Suh said. “My teacher told me that how much you love your music is how much your audi- e n c e is going to love your music. That means that he loves his music so much in order to make me fall in love with his piece.”

Suh said she has videos of her playing the piano all the way back in preschool, a n d screaming at the top of her lungs w h i l e pounding on an

Sophomore Mi-Hyun Suh practices the piano daily for 4 to 5 hours. upright piano in her home. When she was only five years old, she started studying and practicing the piano more seriously, and now religiously practices 4 to 5 hours on school days, and 8 to 12 hours on vacation days.

Suh has placed high in multiple piano competitions over the years.

When she was 13, she won the Diamond Bar/ Orange County MTAC Theme Festival despite being the youngest in her category. More recently, Suh was a part of a trio that won second prize and the Andrew Cook Beethoven prize at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music Chamber Music Competition.

The trio played “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires – IV. Invierno Porteño” by Astor Piazzolla, and each member of the team won $1500.

Suh, in addition to playing the piano, is a talented flute player, having won first prize at the LANSUM International competition and at the Southwestern

AMELIE LEE

Youth Music Festival. She also won the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra concerto competition as an eighth grader.

“I went against seniors that were really good, so [winning] was pretty shocking,” she said.

DBHS music director Steve Acciani attributes Suh’s great success in playing piano to both her hard work ethic long with her exceptional ability to understand music on a deeper level.

“She has an innate musicianship and an understanding of what music’s trying to express, so she goes beyond just notes and rhythms,” Acciani said. “In addition to that, she has an incredible work ethic, so she’s able to get her skill level to match what’s inside her, and that’s very unusual at her age.”

In the future, Suh hopes to attend a top music conservatory and pursue a career as a piano performer, teacher and college faculty member.

“Music is something that should be also for like the next generation,” Suh said. “I do music to share the beauty of it with other people.”

Keeping their culture alive through dance maggie liu asst. a&e editor With drums, scarves, swords and fans, junior Cassandra Jeon and her sister, freshman Carissa Jeon, tell the story of their ancestors through traditional Korean dance.

The pair started pursuing traditional Korean dance when Cassandra was 10 years old and Carissa was eight after being exposed to other styles of dance.

“I used to do dance like ballet and tap when I was young so, with dance already in my interest, Korean dance seemed interesting to try,” Cassandra said.

Originating thousands of years ago, traditional Korean dance is about telling stories through movement. The girls explained that Korean dance began as performances in the royal court during Korea’s dynastic period.

In addition to movement through body, Korean dance incorporates various props that add unique style to each performance. Along with unique

props, Korean dance requires dancers to wear special costumes that contribute to the aesthetic of the dance. “[We wear] a variation of traditional Korean dresses called Hanboks along with various accessories,” Cassandra said.

The sisters said that the many accessories and costumes can be a burden to their dancing at times.

“Even though the behind the scenes can be stressful with all the makeup and heavy costumes, I do enjoy once we are done and we are performing,” Cassandra said.

Cassandra and Carissa are a part of the Korean American Youth Performing Artists group.

They have performed in different places around Los Angeles, from senior centers to the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

The sisters said that they spend many hours outside of school perfecting their art, practicing about three times a week.

Each practice session the duo attends lasts for at least two hours.

Their schedule is even more strained by other extracurriculars such as marching

band. The sisters feel a need to carry on the tradition of Korean dance to connect to their heritage.

“As a proud Korean American, Korean dance is a way for me to connect to my culture and share my culture though all of my dances,” Cassandra said. “With not being fluent in the Korean language, Korean dance is important to me because it’s a way [for me] to connect [with] my culture more.”

Cassandra is motivated to continue dancing for a multitude of reasons, naming the revival of traditional Korean culture and validation from the audience as her reasons for continuing.

Carissa expressed another reason to dance. In the Korean performing arts group, once performers reach a certain grade level they are offered officer positions, which Carissa hopes to obtain. ”My inspiration comes from the motivation that I’ll be able to uphold a leadership position in the future,” she said.

The most important part of dancing for Cassandra how it enables her to carry on tradition.

“It is important to keep your culture alive amongst generations,” Cassandra said. “It is important to uphold traditional aspects of Korean culture as a Korean American.”

Photos courtesy of CASSANDRA JEON

Junior Cassandra Jeon, above, performing a live story dance. Below, Cassandra and her sister, Carissa, playing the traditional korean drums.

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

11

A comparison of music services

The Apple Music app can be downloaded on both Android and Apple devices. It has over 30 million songs. Apple Music requires consumers to pay a subscription fee of $9.99. Not every song on iTunes is included with an Apple Music subscription. One upside to Apple Music is the ability to import music from your computer to listen to songs . The service provides recommendations from music experts.

Apple Music has a family plan priced at $14.99 and allows users to download albums and songs to listen offline.

While Spotify and Play Music can be played on Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices, Apple Music can only be played using Siri.

Written by Tiffany Lee Design by Josh Kim and Maggie Liu

arts & Eics

Celebrities’ ‘civic duty’

spotify

Google play

Apple Music Player

Whether jamming to nostalgic songs from past decades or singing along with every line of the latest rap song, having a reliable music streaming service is a must. Here are a few of the best ways to stream your favorite songs.

Google Play Music offers more than 35 million songs. What makes Google Play Music so unique is when the listeners buy the service, they also get a complementary YouTube Red subscription.

Listeners can upload songs into their collection and use this streaming service online and on both Android and iOS devices. Those who are thinking about getting premium get two months of a free trial, before having to pay $9.99 per month. Like all the other music streaming services mentioned, there is a family plan which costs $14.99. For the paid service, listeners get access to all 35 million songs and no limitations on the number of skips.

Amy Miyahara editor-in-chief

S

Spotify Premium offers an ad-free, limitless listening experience, enabling users to download music and play it offline on both mobile and on PC. Priced at $9.99 per month, Spotify offers deals, such as a family plan priced at $14.99.

Spotify currently has over 40 million songs and podcasts. Spotify uses listening history to make personalized playlists and is partners with Genius, bringing the “Behind the Lyrics” program to users, allowing lyrics and information to be seen about songs.

While Spotify is free, there are downsides to not being a Premium member. On the free version, the sound quality is 160 kbps compared to 320 kbps. On mobile, songs can only be played by shuffling the playlist, and skips are limited. Users are interrupted by advertisements.

DB musicians in tune with teaching Christina Liu ASST. Web Editor After putting a three-year hiatus on a program that links Diamond Bar High School’s commercial music program and district middle schools, commercial music director Daryl Hernandez revived the musical connection this year.

“It was a matter of timing—my time after school—and being full time now, having 5 commercial music classes, allowed me to be able to go to the middle schools and offer this program,” Hernandez said.

The program allows middle school students interested in commercial music to work with more experienced students from DBHS. When Hernandez first offered this program six years ago, it was only available to Chaparral Middle School’s Rock Music Band students. However, this year the program is now offered at South Pointe Middle School as well. Currently Hernandez visits the middle schools with three of his DBHS students, seniors Jackson Otero, Samantha Hersh and Ryan Shah.

“Knowing how much it helps students being able to teach the things they were learning in the class—I had a teacher who said

that if you can teach it then you know it—I tried to extend that to my students,” Hernandez said.

The program started in the first week of October with a lesson once a week. After school, students from commercial music visit South Pointe on Tuesdays and Chaparral on Thursdays, providing all of the necessary instruments. In the one hour sessions, Otero oversees the guitarists and bases, Hersh instructs the vocalists and Shaw works with the drummers. “‘It’s easier to relate to somebody that is closer to your age than maybe an adult, so I thought it would be cool for me to help other kids like that,” Otero said. “[The students] are pretty outgoing and it is pretty easy to get along with them.”

During practices, the DBHS students help students go over the rock music composed by Hernandez, then play together at the end of every session. The program has about 25 students at CMS and seven students from South Pointe.

“The focus is to introduce students to popular commercial rock, pop and R&B music in this academic setting to get them to play some songs and have some fun,” Hernandez said. “Hopefully we can show them what we do here at Diamond Bar.”

Photo courtesy of DARYL HERNANDEZ

DBHS students visit Chapparal Middle School to help students in music.

AMELIE LEE

DBHS Chamber Choir and Diamondtones sing “Hanukkah, Oh Hannukkah.”

Holiday spirit put to music

Victoria Artale Asst. Photo Editor To welcome the holiday season, the Diamond Bar High School Choir Department showcased holiday songs during its annual winter concert last Thursday and Friday.

The concert began with the upbeat “Step Into Christmas,” performed by all the choirs. As they hit the high notes, they filled the stage as well as the front rows, introducing the audience to their jolly ride of a show.

Junior Taylor Moore and sophomore Rhiannon Tran soon began a memorable performance of “One More Sleep,” originally sung by Leona Lewis in 2014. The performance was exceptional, growing from a solo by Moore to a powerful duet with Tran.

After a polyphonic performance of “Winter Wonderland,” sophomore Aiden Nelson soloed on the heart throbbing “Cold December Night,” with girls pretending to fight over him as he sang. Family classics were then brought to the stage, with Diamondtones singing “Run, Rudolf, Run,” followed by

“All I Want for Christmas” by Solitaire and “Where are You Christmas” by Chamber Choir.

To end the first act, Marquis gave a comical performance of “Hot Chocolate” from the 2004 animated film “The Polar Express.”

The concert then shifted to religious songs such as “Would You Imagine a King,” sung by senior Kayley Tomaya.

One of the most hard-hitting, emotional performances was the duet of “Heaven Everywhere” sung by sophomores Esther Lim and Chloe Chung. They projected an impressive feeling.

Even though most of the concert focused on Christmas, Chamber Choir and Diamondtones recognized another holiday when dressing in blue and white singing “Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah.” As the second act continued, senior Maggie Delgado, the DBHS Choir Department president, sang “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve.” The concert ended as the stage turned dark and was then lit by fake candles. All of the choir came together to sing the classic “Silent Night” to end the remarkable concert.

ix years ago, Taylor Swift told Time Magazine: “I don’t talk about politics because it might influence other people...And I don’t think that I know enough yet in life to be telling people who to vote for.”

As many know, her views have since changed. After years of remaining apolitical, Swift took to Instagram back in October to endorse Tennessee senatorial candidate Phil Bredesen and House of Representatives candidate Jim Cooper. She has received unwarranted criticism on both ends of the spectrum--some said that she should have been brave enough to voice her opinions sooner, while others have argued that she shouldn’t have said anything at all.

This incident has sparked a general debate over whether or not celebrities should be voicing their political opinions or endorsing candidates. While the opinions of public figures often hold more weight than they should, there is no reason to stop these figures from speaking out, as long as audiences are wary of the one-sided approach that many celebrities take.

Anything can be interpreted as political, but there is a difference between sharing an experience and endorsing a candidate or a party and audiences need to recognize this. An actor or actress sharing an experience with sexual assault, for example can provide valuable insight on social realities. This is different than a celebrity telling their followers to vote for a certain candidate or platform, as the latter leads to bandwagoning with no real research on the audiences’ end.

Public opinions should not be formed by what celebrities say, but by thorough research and self-evaluation of one’s own morals. However, celebrities are people, and just like any other individuals, they have the right to choose between speaking out or staying silent. It is definitely not any celebrity’s “moral responsibility” to make their opinions known or use their platform to stand up for what they believe in, but if they choose to do so, they shouldn’t be attacked.

The reality is that celebrities do have a lot of influence over the opinions of their followers. While this is not ideal, it is not the fault of the celebrities that the press publicizes everything that they say, nor is it a celebrity’s fault that uneducated members of the public turn to them for political insight.

Regardless of whether or not Swift made the right decision in her post, the hate that she has received from Republican fans is unwarranted. Fans must realize that, just as it’s possible to like the cake a baker makes without agreeing with the baker’s politics, it’s possible to enjoy a song an artist has written or a movie that they’re in, without agreeing with the person.

As with anything, there are limits--if a celebrity is blatantly offensive, then it makes sense not to support them--but in general, intertwining entertainment with politics perpetuates unnecessary polarism in an industry that’s supposed to unite people more than it divides them.

Amelie Lee and Amy Miyahara write the Arts & Entertainment column on alternating issues.

12 BUSINESS

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

A career in the courts BROWN FROM P. 6

Maggie Liu ASST. A&E EDITOR Drama will be showcasing the history of Broadway at its annual fundraising performance on Friday, named the “Broadway Review Show.”

The set list, chosen by drama director Jared Kaitz, includes songs from productions the history of Broadway such as 1957’s “Cinderella” to more recent productions such as 2017’s “Mean Girls.” “[It is] meaningful because it actually will teach the audience a bit about Broadway through the times,” senior Emily Yang said.

“Hosts will be giving fun facts [about Broadway] throughout the show.”

The show is ran and directed by students, and it includes performers from all three levels of drama.

The “Broadway Review Show” is also a fundraiser for the drama department. Proceeds from the show will support the department’s activities later this year.

“We’re going into the musical, ‘James and the Giant Peach,’ next, which has really crazy costumes and will need a lot of funding,” said Yang.

Classic Broadway hits like “Been a Long Day” from “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha” and “Your Fault” from “Into the Woods” will all be performed. All the seniors will be featured in the song “I See Stars” from “Mean Girls.”

“I’m most excited about the senior song because...it is very pretty and inspirational,” Yang said.

In addition to “I See Stars,” Yang will be featured in “Mama I’m a Big Girl” from “Hairspray” and a solo, “I Love Play Rehearsal,” from “Be More Chill.”

Senior Jeremiah Reyes will be in “I See Stars,” and “Your Fault.”

He performed in last year’s showcase and is returning due to how rewarding the first one was.

“I really enjoy the feeling of having the spotlight on your face and having everybody watch you,” Reyes said. “It’s just an amazing moment to get into character be in somebody else’s shoes be in somebody else’s life and create their story.”

The show will be held at the DBHS Theater Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the Golden Horseshoe. The show includes a dinner and will cost $15 for students and $20 for adults.

School at Loyola Marymount University, Brown spent time clerking for the Court of Appeals, working for the law firm Geragos & Geragos under well-known attorney Mark Geragos and interning for Air Quality Management District in Diamond Bar. Throughout her extensive career working in law, Brown has been involved in cases including murder, attempted murder, vehicular manslaughter, armed robbery, animal cruelty, assault with a deadly weapon, distribution of child pornography, among other

major crimes.

Recently, she was able to convict a man guilty of assault with a deadly weapon after the man engaged in a fist fight. The defendant had a concealed weapon and stabbed the victim multiple times, which resulted in two punctured lungs and a ruptured intestine.

Other cases that Brown found impactful during her time as an attorney include her experiences stopping the distribution of youth pornography and her time holding a trial for a hit-and-run incident, involving an elderly man who was killed in the incident.

With five years of experience

as a DA, Brown hopes to work on more murder trials and become a trial judge in the future.

As a student at DBHS, Brown was active in show choir, singing in Diamond Bar Singers and later advancing to Solitaire then Marquis in her later years.

“I often analogize the show choir stage to the courtroom during a jury trial because I have to put on a show for both,” Brown said. “The courtroom gives me a similar adrenaline rush as the show choir stage did. Winning a jury trial feels as rewarding as winning a show choir competition.”

Finding his niche in gaming GAMING FROM P. 7 probably go to a college and join their collegiate team.”

Colleges have already been in contact with Wu about joining their gaming teams.

The majority of these outreaches have come from out-of-state schools such as Randolph-Macon College in Virginia and Central Methodist University in Missouri, but locally, he has been talking with UCI about becoming part of its team.

“I have gotten school offers from colleges across the nation. I’ve been talking to UCI to try and join.

They said that my background was good enough. All I need to do is maintain my GPA,” Wu said.

Wu is also a part of the DBHS League of Legends team, which

“I prefer to play as a team because most of the games I play require a lot of communication, and [your teammates] can give you information and help you around the game,” TIMOTHY WU has earned a spot in the national tournament and is currently competing, and the school’s Overwatch team.

Both the Overwatch and League of Legends tournaments are hosted by the High School Esports League, an organization that creates gaming tournaments for high

school students.

“I prefer to play as a team because most of the games I play require a lot of communication, and [your teammates] can give you information and help you around the game,” Wu said.

Wu said he is spending his weekends practicing for the upcoming season of League of Legends.

Since Wu is the youngest and only high school student on the team, his teammates try to adjust their practice game schedules according to Wu’s busy school schedule.

“When I joined the freelance team, it was cool because we would all have fun talking and hanging out with each other. My favorite part about gaming is probably how you [can] make new connections through it,” Wu said.

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

SPORTS

13

Real siblings share the winner’s podium In the Poomsae World Championship, Karyn and Ryan Real placed third in their individual categories.

Johnny wang ASST. sports EDITOR

AMELIE LEE

Junior Karen Shao drives to the basket during the first game of the season against Valencia. DB won the game, 56-25.

New plays on the hardwood GIRLS BASKETBALL Firstyear head coach Hughes adds new playbook to the experienced team.

Ryan Lam ASST. Sports editor Although the Diamond Bar High School girls basketball team had to adjust to a new playbook, they have adapted well and shown some success in the preseason.

“We worked on it this summer and the girls really picked up on it. Since the season has started, they’ve been getting better and better at it and it’s worked out well for us,” head coach Marcus Hughes said.

This is Hughes’s first season as varsity basketball head coach, though he has previously served as a coach for both the JV and freshman teams.

He replaced coach Tony McCabe, who coached girls basketball for a total of 22 years. Hughes’s transition has been eased by assistant coach Erica Younge, who continues to play a major role in helping the team grow and become successful.

“One of the main reasons I took the job was because we have a really good assistant coach…

ga, shooting 57 percent from the and I knew that as long as I had three-point line with 12 points from her, things would be an easy and beyond the arc. smooth transition, and it has been With an experienced starting because she’s basically like anothlineup that had plenty of playing er head coach,” Hughes said. time last year, both the coaches The Lady Brahmas began the and players expect to turn around season with a win over Valencia, the 1-9 record they had last season 56-25. in the Palomares League.

Senior Angela Hung led the The experience at the tournaLady Brahmas with 11 points while ment also gave the team a better juniors Juliana Callasan and Karidea of what their strengths and en Shao trailed with 10 and 9 points weaknesses are. respectively.

“One of our strengths is the However, at the annual Wilson chemistry we have with each other. tournament, they fell to Arroyo Some of us played with or against Valley 84-40 and Rancho Cucamoneach other in ga 47-43, but demiddle school feated Nogales, or we were on 35-17, and Wil"I think the girls have the same NJB son, 57-17. been working hard (National JuHughes has and they’re confident. nior Basketball) been satisfied team,” senior with the team’s I expect them to do captain Kayla perfor mance, very well going into Hunt said. especially in league," According to the close game MARCUS HUGHES Hunt, the team against Rancho has had trouble Cucamonga, with commuwho they previnication on defense. However, she ously had trouble with last season. said that she expected it to be fixed “We played Rancho who was a since they work on it every day at very good team, and with two minpractice. utes left we were actually beating “I think the girls have been them by three, but we ended up working hard and they’re confilosing by four, but I also think it dent. I expect them to do very well gave our girls a lot of confidence,” going into league,” Hughes said.

Hughes said.

The Lady Brahmas’ next home Shao ended the game with 20 game is Dec. 14 against South Hills. points against Rancho Cucamon-

After years of perfecting their Taekwondo Poomsae, the Real siblings each brought home a bronze medal from the junior individuals section of the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championship held in Taipei, Taiwan.

Senior Karyn Real competed in the junior division for the U.S. team, tying with the Danish competitor for 3rd out of the 40 girls who competed, beating the crowd-favorite and top-seeded Korean competitor for her spot on the pedestal. Sophomore Ryan Real also competed in the junior division for the U.S. team and placed 3rd out of the 37 boys.

“I definitely did feel pressure…

Since we had to win team trials to get to go to worlds, there’s kind of that unspoken pressure from USA competitors who are watching to see how I perform,” Karyn said.

Karyn also participated in the Junior Pairs competition, but she and her teammate lost to a team from Taipei by .1 points, scoring lower in the first form they performed.

Ryan’s individual matches, on the other hand, beat competitors from Ireland in the quarterfinals in a very close match, winning by .01 points to secure the third place spot. However, he lost to a Vietnamese competitor by .1 points due to his first form marks.

“I felt that my energy in the final rounds was less than it should have been and that is partly due to me being so focused on the competition and what I needed to do next that I negelected to eat and drink as much as I should have,” Ryan said.

In the championship, both Reals performed the same forms for the round. In the first round, they performed taegeuk 7, a form that symbolizes mountain. They would have to show balance in their back leg as well as stability in their movements.

They also performed taebaek which means bright mountain, performing actions similar to that of taegeuk 7.

In the second round they would perform taegeuk 6, a form that symbolizes the water. The movements are smooth and flowing, slashing both arms for a low opening block as well as moving quickly for a fast high roundhouse kick.

Their second form in the round was koryo, meaning a learned man. The form contains knife-like strikes as well as low and high side kicks symbolizing the will of those in the face of adversity.

In the quarterfinals they performed taegeuk 8, which means earth. It includes a couple jump kicks that and a special mountain block. They also had to perform koryo again.

In the semifinals they performed taegeuk 5 and Keumgang, which means wind and diamond, repectively.

Taegeuk 5 features a sweeping hammer strike as well as a leap into a cross-legged stance, the first in the taegeuk forms. The strikes should be quick, gentle, and strong; depicting nature’s wind.

Keumgang transitions from palm jaw strikes into a crow stance with diamond block. The form symbolizes hardness and strength showing how their defense is impenetrable.

Both Reals spend 15-20 hours a week to perfect their poomsae forms. However, they lack the freedom that representatives from other countries have, because other competitors have schools dedicated for physical education where they practice their form on a daily school basis. To make up for that, the siblings practice with former world champions and Olympians from many different countries.

“I don’t have the luxury of training every day so I have to be extra attentive and motivated,” Karyn said.

Overall, both of the siblings want to improve and remain on USA’s national team. Karyn will move into the senior division once she turns 18. In four years, the Reals will have another chance at representing the country in the World Championship.

Brahmas look to surpass previous CIF run BOYS BASKETBALL Summer league competition has readied the team for Mt. Baldy.

Johnny Wang ASST. sports Editor Starting yet another season strong, Diamond Bar High School boys basketball team has been blowing through their opponents, compiling an early 7-2 record.

Though the boys have yet to play a league game, they have been playing in seasonal tournaments.

They went 4-0 in the San Dimas tournament, where they won the title against Los Osos. However, in their season opening rivalry game, they lost to Walnut by 16 points, 5741. In the El Rancho tournament, the boys went all the way to the championship game but lost in a close triple overtime game, 75 -74.

“The Walnut game aside, I think we are playing decent. We have a talented senior riddled team so expectations are relatively high,” head coach Henry Frierson said.

Against Walnut, the team shot 38 percent from the field, with se-

SAMYUKTHA VELLAIYAN

Junior Noah Del Campo and the team practice drills to prepare for their next games in the recent El Rancho tournament. niors Mike Gao and Justin Herrera the only players to sink above 50 percent of their shots. The team also had 22 turnovers, losing many of their possessions due to miscommunication. However, after the Walnut game, the boys learned from their loss and found their rhythm.

“I think as a team we learned to value possessions, execute at a much higher level, and to not let our emotions get the best of us,” Frierson said.

In all four games of the San

Dimas tournament, at least two players were able to score more than 10 points. Senior Myles Corey dropped 24 points in the victory against Barstow, and Gao had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

In the San Dimas title game, the boys took the game in the second half. They started the half down by two but finished with a 12-point lead.

In the El Rancho title game, senior Casey Pua scored 21 points off the bench with 72% from the field,

but the boys lost due to their 21 turnovers.

“It’s our first step onto our season and we have hope of this season, so it’s a good start. Whatever it takes,” said Gao. This season, the boys starting backcourt consists of seniors Corey and Amir Hunter, with seniors Gavin Clements as small forward, Bryan Reyes playing power forward and senior Gao at center. Frierson plans to focus on the team’s shooting to prepare for the tougher defensive teams as well as tune his

players’ characters.

“Well I think first and foremost my goal is to help in the development of character and confidence in our young men,” Frierson said, “A back-to-back league championship and CIF birth are not far fetched.”

The boys improved their game from last year by competing over the summer. They competed in the St. John Bosco Summer League, where some of the toughest SoCal teams compete. Some of their opponents were Compton, Santa Margarita and St. John Bosco, which ranks 40th nationally.

“This summer we intentionally threw the boys into the fire by playing the best talent Southern California has to offer and they rose to the challenge,” said Frierson.

Frierson said he expects the most out of them due to their competitive spirits and their perseverance, performing like they did in the San Dimas Tournament.

“I think I am extremely fortunate to have a group like this one,” Frierson said. “Even more impressive than their level of skill is how tough they are,” The Brahmas play at 7:15 p.m. tonight against the Azusa Aztecs on their homecourt.

14

SPORTS

DECEMBER 12, 2018

THE BULL'S EYE

Taking their sports careers to the next level Many of the students began playing as a hobby, later building a stronger love for the sport.

eight years old.

According to Vargas, his initial expectations involved nothing more than to have fun. It wasn’t until age 13 or 14 that he considered the possibility of pursuing the sport in college. Currently, he swims with a club team and pracangela yang tices every day, totaling 30 hours a news editor week.

Three days out of seven, he’s in While many seniors are still racthe water by 5 a.m. to train until ing to meet application deadlines, 7 a.m., then follows with another seven Brahma athletes officially evening session from 4 to 7 p.m. wrapped up their college search on All other days, he practices either National Signing Day as they comsingles or doubles. After a decade mitted to continuing their respecof dedication, Vargas will reap the tive sports at a university of choice. fruits of his exertion when he travSwimmers Kevin Vargas and els to the opposite coast next year.

Dylan Hou, soccer players Jaida “I look forward to being with Wilson, Elisa Kolek, Samantha Pathe team. It’s a great group of guys dilla and Brooke Innis, and golfer that I got to know because on colKailie Vongsaga lege recruiting all committed to trips, they ba"Then as I started to universities. sically let you progress, it just beVargas comhang out with came more of a pasmitted to the the team and let University of you experience sion than a hobby,” Florida, selectwhat it’s like to DYLAN HOU ing the school be on campus,” for its academic Vargas said. “I record as well met some of the as athletic achievements. The Diviprofessors, and they seem really sion I school placed high last year down to earth. They don’t shy away in the NCAA championships in from working with their students.” recent years and has produced a Staying more local will be Hou, number of Olympic swimmers. a club teammate of Vargas’s. Hou Vargas was first introduced to chose Pomona College for its small swim as a precaution; his parents community and close-knit campus wanted to teach him the survival culture. skill early in life. Splashing into the At seven years old, Hou first rewater at age five, Vargas dove into quested to enroll in his brother’s competitive swimming at about club team out of boredom. Three

Photo courtesy of DBHS

From left to right, seniors Kailie Vongsaga, Kevin Vargas, Elisa Kolek, Samantha Padilla, and Brooke Innis have signed with different universities to continue playing their sport at the collegiate level next fall. years later, he found himself beand opportunities to play around of top schools including Stanford, ginning to take the sport seriously the country.

UCLA and Northwestern throughafter making Junior Olympics.

“Golf is a really hard sport menout her four years, Vongsaga ulti“Honestly, I think it was just mately signed to the University of tally and physically and I feel like more of a hobby, and then I started Arizona. that really challenges me as a percompeting and meeting different “I think weather is something son,” Vongsaga said. “I love that people at these meets,” Hou said. that’s so important to me. As a you can get better every single time “And then as I started to progress, golfer, I don’t want to golf in rain you get out there. Even if you’re it just became more of a passion or snow,” Vongsaga said. “But I really, really good, there’s so many than a hobby and I got more inthings that you can still improve also definitely loved the coaches volved with it.” at Arizona, they’re amazing and so on.”

Recently, just before the last seaBesides aspiring to eventually supportive. I definitely felt a conson in his high school swim career, nection with them, so I felt much at go professional in golf, Vongsaga Hou qualified to join the Scholastic plans to pursue sports managehome in Arizona.”

All-America Team by competing at ment or communications during Raised in a family already heavJunior Nationals last week in Texily involved in golf, Vongsaga grew her studies at Tucson. as. He plans to continue his athletic up around the sport.

In addition, Wilson committed endeavors while majoring in ecoto Cal State Fullerton, Kolek to the Although she began competing nomics upon entering the Pomona at about seven years old, she said University of Las Vegas, Padilla to campus.

Hope International University and she did not expect the sport to manHaving turned down a variety ifest into a life of constant travel Innis to Cal State San Marcos.

Kicking off the season strong with RYAN LAM and JOHNNY WANG

Lakers start playing like a contender

A

fter a disappointing 2-5 season start by the Los Angeles Lakers, fans started to believe that the team was all hype.

However, since then, the Lakers have gone 13-4, climbing to fifth in the Western Conference and becoming a little more cohesive with each game.

The last time the organization experienced this kind of start was six years ago when their Luke Walton was a Laker player, not the head coach.

Offensively, the purple and gold rank tenth in the league, averaging 112.7 points per game due to superstar Lebron James. Their current starting five has given young players like Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma the opportunity to become top Lakers scorers, with both of them averaging over fifteen points a game.

With Moritz Wagner getting the green light to play again, the Lakers plan to develop him into a solid role player easing him into the NBA scene.

Defensively, Tyson Chandler, who was acquired at the start of the season, and JaVale McGee have held down the post for the Lakers.

Their defensive assets have been important for the team, with Chandler blocking potential game-winners and McGee averaging almost three blocks per game.

Not only is McGee’s presence felt on defense, but also on offense, where he is the fourth leading scorer on the roster.

A current problem that the Lakers have is finding a starting shooting guard that fits the starting lineup. Most recently, the coaching

staff has assigned 6-foot-10 Ingram to the position in hopes of fixing the problem. But because of his slower speed and limited experience with the position, his defense against smaller players has been subpar, allowing open pull-up shots or easy drives to the lane.

One example of this were the Lakers’ games against Portland.

The Trail Blazers’ shooting guard C.J. Mccollum has scored over 20 points per contest against the Lakers. For the team to become stronger, Ingram must adapt to the guard position or the team should have Josh Hart start as shooting guard. Hart has been a consistent shooter (55 percent field goal, 8 ppg) from both the two and threepoint range.

Also, because of the Lakers’ emphasis on offense, the team has allowed small things to ruin their games, leading to a couple of losses over one or two scoring possessions.

This could potentially bite the Lakers later on in the season, but improving free throw shooting and decreasing turnovers will allow the team to quickly rise in the standings.

Though the team needs more work, their performance in the highly competitive Western Conference has had fans celebrating— especially over James, who became fifth in the NBA’s All-Time scoring and is on path to pass Michael Jordan later this season.

The veteran has become the backbone of the team, supporting them with his leadership skills and establishing a strong offense for the Lakers.

GIRLS SOCCER Coach Franco hopes to avoid injuries as team moves to “aggressive” league. christina liu ASST. WEB editor

Since injuries have been an issue for the past few years for the Diamond Bar High School girls soccer team, head coach Matt Franco decided to address the problem early on.

To deal with this problem, Franco has focused on muscle training during the preseason. “[The players] haven’t had any major injuries and all of them come back from club in pretty good shape so hopefully it’s worked out,” Franco said. Many of the players train for and play soccer for off campus clubs.

The team started strong, winning its first season match against Wilson, 3-1, with goals scored by se-

nior Jordyn Beaulieu, junior Madison Bernardino and sophomore Emily Le. The team tied in their second match against Roosevelt, 1-1, and suffered its first loss in their third match against Huntington Beach. In their fourth match against Bishop Amat, Diamond Bar tied in a score of 1-1. The team also played against Edison and Claremont and will play against Los Altos High School tomorrow.

“We are really young, but I think our strength is [that] our players are fairly equal to each other [in skill],” senior Samantha Hong said.

With the team moving from the Palomares League into the Mt. Baldy League, Franco said he wasn’t thrilled with the quality of soccer in the new league since the prior league presented more of a challenge for the team.

“We played our same style—this league will be a little scrappier, a little more aggressive,” Franco said. “That hard nose type of play if they lack some of the skill that we are used to against other teams.”

Although the team lost their starting goalie Sam Blazek and outside back Jaclyn Marinez, Franco said that senior Alexis Nguyen and sophomore Megan Nadal have stepped up to fill that gap. Since the team consisted of a young roster last year, many of the returning players are expected to return to the starting lineup this season.

“I want them to communicate quite a bit and just move the ball, get to know each other get comfortable with each other, understand our strengths and weaknesses as individuals and as a team,” Franco said.

According to Franco, the team will be led by seniors Beaulieu, Olivia Valdivia and Sarah Mansur, with half of the team consisting of underclassmen. “[My goal for the season is] consistency, having our girls play our game our style no matter the level of competition,” Franco said.

“Making sure that we stay calm and composed—as I said play our game—without getting rattled by other styles of play.”

Senior Jordyn Beaulieu looks to make a pass during a DBHS scrimmage against Diamond Ranch.

SAMYUKTHA VELLAIYAN

THE BULL'S EYE

DECEMBER 12, 2018

SPORTS

15

Tie against Walnut begins the season WRESTLING Coach Bonafe expects a league title and multiple CIF individual placements.

Bonafe expects the Brahmas to win the league title and compete as individuals in the CIF playoffs.

“We definitely will have multiple people going to CIF. I also expect to have few breakthrough to the CIF Masters tournament,” Bonafe said. “We have some hopefuls for Victoria Artale CIF State tournament too, so I’m asst. photo EDITOR excited and want to push my team to make sure these things happen.”

After losing just one senior to The team has risen from being graduation, the Diamond Bar High a young team with a majority of School wrestling team is hoping underclassmen last year to having its experience pays off in results seniors that are expected to set a on the mat. standard for the team.

In the first match of the year, “Some of the older guys are doseniors Christopher Perez, Moises ing a good job of setting an example Gomez,Vivek Kandhari and sophofor the rest of the team, and some more Gabriel Martinez won matchof the freshman and sophomores es to help the Brahmas tie the Walhave started speaking up in a posnut High School Mustangs, 39-39. itive way which makes me excited One of the deciding factor in for the years to come,” Bonafe said. the match was the Brahmas’ lack Bonafe believes that wrestling is of wrestlers in 100 percent an inthe 220 lbs. and dividual sport. He "When on the mat it’s above weight puts a lot of presyour will against your classes, which sure on the athopponent, who will forced DB to letes to do what’s break first," forfeit two best for them permatches. sonally.

ANDRE BONAFE Head coach “When on the Andre Bonafe mat it’s your will has worked on against your opimproving the athletes’ aggression ponent, who will break first, who is and persistence to increase their hungrier and just wants it more,” confidence in matches. said Bonafe. “All of the athletes’ He has also added more intense hard work shows up on the mat conditioning and weightlifting to and you can really see who the their schedule. hard workers are, they have to “They are the most dedicated learn how to push when you have and are willing to do what it takes absolutely nothing left in the tank. to better themselves,” Bonafe said This sport takes heart and that is via email. “They are the hardest something you can’t be taught.” workers in the room and keep putThe Brahmas have a home conting in work outside of school.” ference game against Ontario High With eight returning seniors, School tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

SAMYUKTHA VELLAIYAN

Senior Priscilla Franchino surveys the field for an open teammate in the rivalry season opener win against Walnut, 9-8.

Learning from preseason losses WATER POLO The team’s inexperience is an obstacle they hope to overcome when season begins.

Grace lee asst. opinion editor Despite few returning players, the Diamond Bar High School girls water polo team is looking forward to a successful season in the new league.

In the preseason, the Lady Brahmas narrowly won a game against Walnut High School, 9-8, but lost the next three games to Montebello, Poway and Valhalla in the Claremont Tournament. They defeated Warren High School in the final game of the tournament but lost their next two games to Milikan High School and Santa Ana Valley High School.

“Our records are not very strong right now. We’ve started off with some very tough games. But...it’s

going to benefit us down the line anyway,” coach Devin Hunter said.

In the match against Walnut, the Brahmas were down by four goals for most of the game and came back in the second half to take the game by one point.

“It showed a lot of resilience from the girls, showed a lot of effort, despite us not playing to the best of our ability,” Hunter said.

“It being the first game of our season, I was very impressed with how the team went out and finished the game, especially to get the win.”

To prepare for the season, the team practices every day except Sundays and game days. Each practice is broken up into three segments. For the first hour, the players work on offensive individual skills such as shooting, passing and driving drills. Following the technique training, they focus on team drilling. To finish off the three-hour practice, the girls condition with various swimming sets.

One obstacle that the team faces is the loss of many experienced players, as graduating seniors

made up most of last season’s team.

However, the girls are committed and willing to put in the time to improve. According to Hunter, the players that have shown the most potential are seniors Kristina Mariani and Natalie Marron and junior Katelyn Arauz.

“Although it is a weakness not returning many of those skilled players, we do have a lot of girls that want to get better,” Hunter said. “And we’re going to get better towards the end of the season.”

The team’s main goal is to win the league title for the first time in school history. Hunter believes that moving to a new league, which is not as well-known for aquatics than the previous Palomares League, will allow the team to make this historic mark.

“With us being in a new league this year...we should have a good chance to win league for the first time,” Hunter said. “If we win league, it’s an automatic [pass] into playoffs, so I think we’re in good position to do both—to win league and to make the playoffs.”

Students practice a different kind of art Brahmas’ talent in the martial arts leads to success in tournaments.

ELIZABETH PENG ASST. NEWS Editor Poomsae. Sparring. Acrobatics.

Forms. For a handful of Diamond Bar High School students, these are crucial elements of their lives, part of their martial arts practice.

Among students who have competed in national and international tournaments include junior Juston Chien and sophomore Joseph Nakaishi, who both practice taekwondo, and sophomore Jennifer Lai, who studies Shaolin kung fu.

Currently a fourth degree black belt, Chien has participated in various tournaments.

In the 2018 National Championships, he ranked 24th out of 68 competitors in poomsae and in the 2018 Presidential Cup, he ranked 9th out of 25 competitors in the same cat-

Photo courtesy of JENNIFER LAI

Jennifer Lai performs the shaolin straight sword form this year at San Jose.

egory.

Chien started practicing taekwondo when he was six. He goes to Chin Woo Quan Taekwondo Academy in Temple City, where he works on cardio, strength and techniques in three-hour sessions. “[From taekwondo,] I learned about the various types of personalities from interacting with my teammates and how to manage them so the team could be productive during training,” Chien said.

Nakaishi is a third degree black belt and has competed twice in the

Binational Games in Tijuana for a team called “ME.” To qualify for the team, Nakaishi won the California Challenge competition in sparring.

The sophomore also competed in sparring at other competitions, placing third at the 2014 USA Taekwondo National Championships and second at the 2017 California State Championships.

He started practicing at YIC Taekwondo in Chino Hills when he was six because he needed to learn to calm down and his mother liked

Photo courtesy of JOSEPH NAKAISHI

Joseph Nakaishi lands a backspin hook kick to his opponent.

what the dojang offered.

During classes, he starts out with stretches and then practices poomsae or kicking drills, and during practice, he conditions the first hour and spars for thirty minutes or more.

“I’ve learned many things that have helped me in my life today like self-control, focus, and respect,” Nakaishi said. “If it wasn’t for taekwondo, then I wouldn’t be the same person I am today because of those qualities I’ve obtained from it.”

Unlike Chien and Nakaishi, Lai practices Shaolin kung fu, which originated from the Shaolin Temple in China’s Henan province.

She has competed at the 2017 International Chinese Martial Arts Championship, where she placed second in hand form, long weapon and short weapon.

As a member of her kung fu studio’s performance team, Lai has performed at various places including the Asian American Expo, UCLA and the San Gabriel Playhouse.

When Lai was nine, her mother’s friend recommended Shaolin kungfu to Lai and her brother.

“At first, my mom wanted my brother to go and that I go with him for the first few times since she thought he would be more interested. After a few classes, I got hooked to it,” Lai said.

Lai attends the Shaolin Kung Fu Chan Academy in Rowland Heights and is currently a black belt, which is the fifth belt out of 10. “[In kung fu,] I learned that it can take a lot of practice just to master one form,” Lai said. “Even though it may feel like it’s perfect just weeks after learning a new form, there is still much room for improvement.”

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Upcoming games @Chino 12/18

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2018-2019 BASKETBALL SEASON STATS

les core

y

My

The senior has played in many elite tournaments while becoming a DBHS basketball leader.

Ryan lam asst. sports editor Growing up in a basketball-orientated family, Diamond Bar High School senior Myles Corey was destined to be involved in the game at some point. It didn’t take long, and by age three, he and his older brother were introduced to the sport by their father.

What was once a recreational sport for Corey soon became a passion for competing and winning.

Corey moved on from playing at the local gym with his brother and father and continued to better his skills at Prodigy Basketball Club, an organization that prepares student-athletes to play at a higher level.

“I developed the heart and the competitiveness growing up [because] of my older brother who I always wanted to beat and say that

I’m better than. But ultimately, my brother has shaped me and taught me a lot on and off the court,” Corey said.

This past summer, Corey attended CSU Fullerton’s elite basketball camp, which featured top high school athletes in the area.

Then, in July, Corey and his club team went undefeated in their division at the Las Vegas Classic, a tournament known for high-level competition.

“The Vegas tournament was all about the experience with the guys I played against and the team I had.

Playing with older veterans taught me a lot and the leadership that was on the team lead us to the tournament [title] that we hoped and dreamed for,” Corey said.

Corey has also found success with DBHS boys basketball team.

He played a major role in helping the Brahmas become Palomares League champions in the 2017-2018

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season and making CIF quarterfinals.

Averaging 12.8 points per game, he was named to the All-Palomares League first team at the end of his junior season.

“Making the first team was something I wanted ever since I was a freshman. I made the second team my sophomore year but I wasn’t satisfied with that so I stayed humble and finally got it,” Corey said.

He’ll continue to lead the Brahmas in his senior year as the team’s point and shooting guard.

“Myles is definitely the leader of our team. While not overly outspoken, he never fails to lead by example with his play on the floor,” head coach Henry Frierson said.

“He definitely raises the level of practice with his competitiveness, it doesn’t matter what drill or what stage of practice, he wants to win.”

Not only has the senior learned from his older brother, but also his parents.

“The role my parents have played in this long basketball journey so far has impacted me greatly,

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points per game

Assists per game

Rebounds per game

with the work ethic, the humbleness, and the pure heart I have for this game,” Corey said. “My dad introduced me to it and my mom carried out with this great dream to make it big.”

Throughout his basketball journey, the senior has found a role model in former NBA MVP Derrick Rose.

“I look up to Derrick Rose because we have similar play style and athleticism, but also how he still manages to make an impact on the [NBA] league today, despite all the injuries he had,” Corey said.

Although Corey hasn’t had any college offers for basketball yet, he said that colleges have shown interest in him.

AMELIE LEE

Corey shot 43% from the field and accumulated 383 points in his junior season.

Season begins with goal: Making the playoffs BOYS SOCCER Team posts 4-2 record in preseason as Brahmas prepare for the league. josh kim ASST. A&E Editor Ready for a new season, the Diamond Bar High School boys soccer team is shooting to make a deep run in playoffs and is willing to work hard to get there.

The team is currently 4-2 in the season and played La Canada on Monday.

In preparation for the season, the team has done conditioning, practiced drills and scrimmages against other teams as well as past DBHS alumni. In addition to physical training, the team also mentally prepared themselves by going over strategy and positioning, according to head coach Kemp Wells.

“The game against the alumni, some players played pretty well, and we had a lot of chances to score even though we only put two away,”

Wells said. “We found out how hard it was to play defense against players who might have a little more touch and more speed than we do, so we have to improve in that area.”

Wells said that the boys were able to use this knowledge in their game against Walnut, which they won 1-0.

“Against Walnut, much better

game all the way around. That one, we never really thought they were very threatening offensively.”

Since most of their games are on Wednesday and Friday, the team plans to practice conditioning and basic touch drills on Mondays and prepare for their upcoming opponent on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

As of now they are working on

passing and making runs off the ball.

“We don’t know much about the teams in our league, but we have heard they are all good teams and it is likely there will be no easy games for us in the league,” Team Captain Zachary Daniels said.

Wells said that he believes the team has a good chance of going

Photo courtesy of WILLIAM FOLEY

Senior captain Dwight Ritchie attempts to clear the ball in a rivalry game against the Mustangs, where they won 1-0.

deep into the playoffs, but is focused on the team getting to the playoffs first.

“We need to finish at least third in league. So goal one really is, make the playoffs. Goal two is to win the league [and] goal three would be to go as deep into the playoffs as possible. Since we are in division five, we have a shot at going pretty deep if we can get there, it’s just that our league is incredibly strong,” Wells said.

As the season rolls around, the team is depending on returning players to step up and perform exceptionally well.

“We always have quite a few that we are really trying to count on,” the head coach said. “We have Dwight Ritchie, who is a returning starter, he’s just moving positions.

Chris Honda, hopefully will have a good year on the backline as well along with Irwin Chen and Nathan Lee. If those four can come together, we can be fairly strong defensively.”

Offensively, Wells expects to rely on younger players, such as sophomores Jaden Sanchez and Justin Bortis.