March 2021

INSIDE THE ISSUE

feature 8

opinion 4

a&e 9

the bull's eye news

opinion

feature

sports 16

MARCH 24, 2021 VOLUME XXXIX ISSUE VII ONLINE AT DBBULLSEYE.COM

arts&entertainment

sports

School to begin in-person tutorial DBHS applying strict safety measures for campus to partially reopen.

Marcus Hsieh asst. News editor

Photo courtesy of LATITIA THOMAS Seniors Harris Daud, left, and Crystal Tsao competed in front of six Duke law students and a room of virtual spectators.

Taking first at Moot Court Mock Trial captures its first win at the Duke competition on March 8. steve qu Asst. news editor Mock Trial made school history by becoming the first Diamond Bar High School team to win Duke University’s National Moot Court Competition.

This Moot Court competition, held on March 8, simulates an appellate court, in which decisions

of another court are reviewed through a Constitutional lens.

In this year’s event, competitors argued for and against both abortion and a physician’s ability to speak to their patient.

“The 10 students that competed in this national Moot Court competition sponsored by Duke were all integral to pushing each other to achieve more and do better,” head coach Latitia Thomas said via email.

Normally, the group would travel to North Carolina to participate in the event. However, because of the pandemic, the competition was

conducted online over Zoom. Members were given the option to go on DBHS campus and compete virtually from there or stay at home.

“The experience was quite different than how it is in person. No longer was courtroom demeanor or body language as prevalent since it was all through a virtual setting,” senior Harris Daud said via Instagram. “However, it was still as challenging and interactive as before.”

The 10 DBHS participants were divided into five pairs, four of

court ON P.2

Marking the one-year anniversary of Walnut Valley Unified School District’s closure on March 16, Superintendent Robert P. Taylor announced via YouTube livestream that the majority of students at Diamond Bar High School will continue with distance learning for the remainder of the 2020-2021 academic year.

The decision was made in an effort to maintain academic consistency heading into AP testing and final exams. However, those students who do wish to attend school on campus will be able to do so through Academic Cohorts, a new support program offering students additional guidance. In addition, it was announced that some form of in-person graduation ceremonies will be held on May 27.

“We’ve worked to provide opportunities for in-person instruction during the primary academic program from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day for academically at-risk students,” WVUSD Deputy Superin-

Jianlan busteed contributing writer The Brahmas managed to secure second place in the Super Sweepstakes due to their high placements during the Eastern Los Angeles Journalism Education Association write-offs last month.

In the first online write offs, Diamond Bar High School’s journalism and yearbook students competed against eight other high schools.

The top ten competitors for each category also participated against 27 high schools in the Southern California region last Saturday, where DBHS tied for fourth place in the newspaper sweepstakes.

“Even though we had a smaller than normal group of students competing, I thought we did well, with three first place winners,” journalism adviser Doug List said via email.

The contest included the categories News, Novice News, Critical Review, Sports, Opinion, Yearbook Design, Editorial Cartoons and Feature.

Competitors listened to a pre-

sentation from a guest speaker, followed by a brief question segment before working on submissions.

Participants in the News, Novice News, Opinion and Editorial Cartoon sections during the ELAJEA write-offs listened to a presentation by Gabby Galvan, founder of LA Donuts, who described her financial struggles as a small business owner during the pandemic.

In the News section, junior Anika Yatawara secured seventh place.

As for the Novice News category, freshmen Maia Pak, Jianlan Busteed and Taylor Joe, all Journalism 1students, placed first, eighth and 10th, respectively. One month later, Pak received an “excellent,” placing in the top seven for the Southern California Journalism Education Association write-offs.

Focusing on inequities of governmental funding distributions in the pandemic, senior Camille McCurry secured first place in Editorial writing. McCurry said she was excited upon hearing about her placement, as she felt unsure about her story.

“The biggest challenge actually ended up being time,” McCurry said via Instagram. “I had to do a lot of a last minute planning and idea formation.”

write-offs on p.3

reopening on p.2

Mesdjian named Wellness adviser

Brahmas rank second in journalism event Both Taurus and The Bull’s Eye do well in several write-off categories.

tendent of Human Resources Matt Witmer said.

Those opting to return to campus for extra guidance would continue to attend classes virtually, but have the opportunity to work in-person with credentialed educators. Academic Cohorts would move in lockstep with the current schedule, with students cycling between classrooms specialized for each subject category, such as a Math or Humanities classroom.

Additionally, beginning April 19, in-person tutorial hours will be hosted four days a week. Taylor and DBHS principal Reuben Jones announced that the designated hours will be utilized for on-campus academic support, science labs and other classroom activities.

DBHS teachers will return to the classroom on April 12, even as they continue to teach via Zoom or Google Meet.

“All interested students may attend in-person with their teachers and their peers during student support tutorial time in the afternoon,” Taylor said. ”Our administration will work collaboratively with counselors and teachers and support staff to build a program between the hours of 1:10 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. that will address academ-

Photo courtesy of AILEEN PARK Senior Philip Ma painted new posters for the upcoming fundraising events.

Raising funds for the senior class Class of 2021 officers have asked for club donations to go toward activities.

Connor cho Asst. business editor While the pandemic has presented numerous challenges to high school students--especially the class of 2021, as many senior activities have been canceled--class committee officers are still hard at work, taking steps to remediate its financial state so they can finish off the senior year on a positive note.

English teacher will take over center founded by Sandy Davis. marcus hsieh asst. news editor

After the loss of its $6,000 prom deposit, the Class of 2021 has been in a financial deficit, and raising money has been especially difficult this year as many of the usual fundraising options have been unavailable.

“Like many other clubs and organizations, our main fundraising events occurred when we had food fairs at school,” Class of 2021 treasurer Aileen Park said via Instagram. “The afterschool boba sales also added to our funds but due to COVID-19 we lost all these fundraising opportunities.”

It wasn’t until February that

Diamond Bar High School English teacher Denise Mesdjian will be taking up the mantle from previous Wellness Center adviser and founder Sandy Davis, who retired last summer.

Since the beginning of campus closures, athletic director and peer counseling instructor Albert Lim has been providing guidance for the center, acting as an interim adviser. The team, with his assistance, has formulated events and activities such as virtual Wellness Wednesdays, which have become one of the group’s main operations during distance learning.

Mesdjian, who will officially be-

seniors ON P.3

Wellness on p.3

2

NEWS

MARCH 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

DB biology team advances Testing platform failures granted new opportunities for all participants.

Vera Wang staff Writer Due to technological failures during the administration of the Open Exam in early February, USA Biology Olympiad administrators have deemed all contestants eligible to partake in the April 9 Semifinal Exams as compensation.

Since the start of distance learning, the Diamond Bar High School USABO club has transitioned to a virtual format, educating peers about the Open Exam, a 50-minute test consisting of 50 multiple choice questions.

“For this year, USABO has been doing virtual lectures and presentations about different topics that could be tested on the open exam, like different human body systems, ecology, and other principles,” co-president senior Luke Zhou said via Instagram.

To prepare members, club officers have offered workshops and virtual lectures with biology teacher Eric Sorensen, in addition to the regular bi-weekly gatherings. Despite the abundance of

resources, many members conducted their studies independently due to this year’s circumstances.

“My impression is that members have found it harder to adapt to the online setting,” Zhou said.

“I find that teaching the material in the amount of time that we have and over this virtual platform is harder just because of that lack of feedback that we usually get from in-person lecturing [and] because of COVID, less people have joined the meetings, pos-

“Most of us felt pretty anxious about competing with people from across the nation...“ LUKE ZHOU sibly due to a lack of incentives to enter a virtual meeting room.”

Contrary to the traditional paper and pencil format, this year’s exam was held on a website called Art of Problem Solving while supervisors proctored the test over Google Meets. Though test takers were initially granted a 20-minute extension due to the technical difficulties, many stated that it

the staff

GLOBAL REPORT australia revives #metoo movement

sbs

After liberal party staffer Brittany Higgins went public last month with rape allegations by a colleague in a minister’s office, several other sexual assault allegations have been made against various members of the country’s political elite.

bill to provide citizenship for “dreamers”

On March 18, the House of Representatives voted for the American Dream and Promise act as well as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. Both will permit unauthorized Americans to gain legal status and eventually citizenship.

UPI

myanmar protesters killed in crackdown

THE GUARDIAN

After a coup on Feb. 1, Myanmar’s military, which seized power, has become increasingly violent towards unarmed protesters. So far, over 200 have been killed in the protests while 2,400 have been detained.

legislation confronts asian hate crimes

Biden urges Congress to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act which aims to increase federal surveillance of such crimes, provide state and local support and make hate crime information more available to Asian American communities.

THE GUARDiAN

Reaping victory in offseason event Teachers welcomed

china to be sanctioned over uyghur rights

Editors-in-Chief

Josh Chou, Camille McCurry

News Editor Asst. News Editors

Anika Yatawara Marcus Hsieh, Steve Qu

Opinion Editors Asst. Opinion Editor

Camille McCurry, Reyna Wan Rachel Lee

Feature Editor Asst. Feature Editors A&E Editor Asst. A&E Editors

proved to be largely insufficient; between glitching questions and blank graphics, the difficulties persuaded the institution to allow a mass retake in the following month.

“The open exam this year bugged out for everyone, questions were not loading, there was constant refreshing, and it wasted a lot of time,” co-president junior Eileen Zu said via Instagram.

“There were time resets but eventually some people weren’t even fully able to submit their tests.”

Refocusing their efforts, officers are now beginning to prepare its students for the upcoming test.

Unlike the Open Exam, the semifinalist round consists of a threepart test, ranging from multi-part questions to short answer ones.

Students scoring within the top twenty on this test receive national recognition.

“Most of us felt pretty anxious about competing with people from across the nation, as this test is fairly important for those who want to go into a biological science field,” Zhou said via Instagram. “[These difficulties] have affected us all greatly, but if this test has shown us one thing, it’s that we’re able to overcome these obstacles and to go forward in accomplishing something even greater.”

Emily Koh Somiya Jajieh, Kelsey Wu Josh Chou Natasha Chang, Marykate Palaris

Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editors Photo Editor Asst. Photo Editors

Victoria Artale Deesha Pathak, Charles Tam Victoria Artale Tiffany Lee, Kelsey Wu Ryan Chan Connor Cho

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

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

Adviser

Doug List

contact us Diamond Bar High School, Room 459 21400 Pathfinder Road Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Phone: (909) 594- 1405x33459 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 459 or submit them online at dbbullseye.com.

TRT woRlD

Court from p.1 which made it into the second round.

Some team members reported that the most challenging part of this competition were the judges’ questions.

“You have to exhibit a really strong knowledge of the case law without getting flustered, and they’ll throw hypotheticals at you,” senior Crystal Tsao said via Instagram. “Basically, we’re only given a [limited] number of cases to use, but the judges can ask you anything they want.”

The competition had several rounds.

On the first day, only teams who had won so many rounds were able to continue with competition.

Out of the four teams from DBHS who passed the first day, only one got out of the single elimination round and went on to the quarterfinals.

The duo, Tsao and Daud, moved on to win the competition.

“Understanding this was my last year, I did have high expectations for myself. I hoped to place at least top 8, but didn’t truly consider winning,” Daud said. “I remember Crystal and I wrote on the board in the room we competed that we would win it all before our first round so it was fun to see that actually play out.”

Aside from the victories themselves, most of the team members said that they enjoyed the experience.

“The experience of being able to speak freely about a topic you have researched on for months is truly liberating and satisfying,” junior Vishnu Nair said via email. “Even though the competition was online this year, the endless number of possibilities on how you may present your argument truly makes participating in the competition worthwhile.”

Due to alleged human rights abuses against the Chinese Uyghur population, the EU decided to issue sanctions for Chinese officials on March 17. Names have not been released as the EU plans to consider the penalties later this month.

back on DBHS campus reopening from p.1 ic needs and opportunities for our kids.”

The district is also implementing technology upgrades on campus in preparation for the influx of in-person students.

Changes include a new wireless access point in every classroom with expanded broadband, headsets for student use and thousands of additional Chromebooks.

Furthermore, DBHS is working on ways for students to socialize safely in-person while on campus.

“We understand the importance of social-emotional learning and for all students to have the opportunity to see their teachers in the classroom,” Jones said.

Currently, extracurricular engagements that will be held at school during tutorial time include class activities and club meetings.

In addition, one day each week will be reserved exclusively for the Class of 2021 to come on campus and participate in events such as senior lunch and class photos.

“We will be able to have an in-person graduation ceremony on May 27, 2021, for our Class of 2021 seniors, knowing that this is something that the L.A. County Health Department has authorized and allowed because of the social dis-

tancing that we can deliver for our students,” Jones said.

All individuals on campus will be required to wear a mask and complete a Health Screening questionnaire every day, but COVID-19 testing and temperature checks will not be mandatory. If a student tests positive for COVID-19, the district will adhere to Public Health guidelines and pursue contact tracing.

“I would say our health and safety protocols you’re going to find reach the highest standard that there is out there,” Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Diane Perez said. “We had an opportunity to have all of our sites reviewed by the Department of Public Health and we passed with flying colors.”

Other safety measures include spreading desks out, increasing hand sanitizing stations, upgrading air filters, closing drinking fountains and increasing the frequency of deep cleaning at all premises.

Additionally, all WVUSD staff have also been offered the opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

“I’m really proud of our district’s ability to provide opportunities for [vaccination] appointments for all of our employees if they chose to do so with our local community partners,” Taylor said.

Superintendent Robert P. Taylor addressed reopening via YouTube livestream.

MARCH 24, 2021

NEWS

THE BULL'S EYE

3

Math Club members participated in weekly Math Madness competitions to hone their skills in preparation for the exam.

DB scores in math exams Sixteen competitors scored in the top 2.5 percent across the nation.

EDWARD KIM STAFF WRITER After scoring in the top percentile in the first round of testing, 16 Brahmas qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, which they took earlier this month.

The 75-minute American Mathematics Competition tests consisted of 25 questions, all designed to challenge students’ problem solving skills while utilizing mathematical concepts only from trigonometry, algebra and geometry--excluding

calculus.

Freshmen and sophomores take the AMC 10 exam, and if they score in the top 2.5 percent of all test-takers, they qualify for the AIME test.

Juniors and seniors have a more difficult exam, the AMC 12, in which they must score in the top 5 percent to qualify. In total, only about 4,000 out of 120,000 test takers worldwide are able to move on to the AIME. The passing students at DBHS included Jue Fang, Emma Fu, Warrick He, Yixian Huang, Hanxu Jiang, Jason Kim, Caleb Lee, Rachel Qu, Aaron Sun, Andrew Tarng, Yuze Wan, Allen Wang, Selina Wu, Jiayi Zhang, Zijie Zhao and Corey Zhong.

Fu, one of the 16 qualifying competitors, talked about her prepara-

tions approaching the exam. Rather than focusing just on the test, Fu also dedicates time to other forms of critical thinking to prepare herself.

“Nearing the testing dates, I solve old [AMC 12/AIME] test questions in order to help practice for the exam,” Fu said. “But in general, I occasionally do math or programming problems by myself or with friends for fun just to think about something.”

Kim, another qualifying student, had similar practices while preparing for these competitions.

“I prepared for the AIME by practicing with and solving previous tests on a time constraint,” Kim said. “I cram a lot of studying

AIME on P.12

Financing end of the year activities

Writers excel at regional contest

seniors from p.1

write-offs from p.1

the class of 2021 was able to start planning and announcing actual events, such as Senior Sunset, Senior Replay and an in-person graduation on May 27. The first of these events, Senior Sunset, will take place on Saturday in the DBHS football stadium.

The Senior Replay which will be held in April will take place at the parking lot and include activities and slideshows at each section of the lot.

In addition, both events will offer giveaways to attendees.

“I am looking forward to attending the Senior Sunset event,” senior Charlton Law said. “I think reconnecting with some friends again would be nice.”

In order to fund these, the class of 2021, with the help of USB, has partnered with local restaurants like Panera Bread and The Habit Burger Grill to hold fundraisers while receiving 20 percent of sales.

In addition to the restaurant fundraisers, the class committee got in touch with clubs such as UNICEF and Key Club to help secure funds. Both clubs contributed some of their current budget to the committee, and UNICEF president Trevor Hwee hopes to organize a fundraiser and help the senior class.

“We were not required to make these donations,” Hwee said via Instagram. “However, looking at this situation with the seniors having their final year of high school completely in distraught DBHS UNICEF wanted to do our part.”

Photo courtesy of DENISE MESDJIAN English teacher Denise Mesdjian was recently appointed to lead the Wellness Center next year alongside her other duties.

A new approach to mental health Wellness from p.1 come the Wellness adviser in August, said she hopes to continue the Wellness Center’s momentum during this transition in leadership.

In addition to maintaining virtual activities, Mesdjian also hopes to streamline logistics and update existing events to better suit DBHS students.

“One of my short-term goals for the Wellness Center is to work with the Wellness Team to create a standardized protocol for when students can visit the Wellness Center,” Mesdjian said via email. “One of my long-term goals is to work with the Wellness Team and the peer counselors to reimagine DB Forum to create a more updated/ relevant curriculum that will help participants to emerge feeling energized and equipped with strategies to tackle their challenges head-on.”

Mesdjian hopes to help the Well-

ness Center become more integrated with the administration in the future.

“Since our school shut down, the administrators, GLC’s and school psychologists had an opportunity to rethink how the Wellness Center could operate,” she said. “Their thought was that the Wellness Center should not be an entity in and of itself, but one piece of the overall puzzle that would help our students to be their best and to achieve their goals.”

The teacher hopes to lead the Wellness Center in creating a comprehensive approach to wellness for students. A few major areas of focus currently include updating the content of DB Forum, streamlining student appointments for the Wellness Center and expanding outreach. “[I hope] to work with the Wellness Team and the peer counselors to design curriculum that the peer counselors could use in teachers’ classrooms upon the teacher’s

request,” Mesdjian said. “Topics could range from overcoming anxiety to choosing between two difficult options.”

Regardless of this new responsibility, Mesdjian will continue teaching English while she leads the Wellness Center.

“When I’m not in the Wellness Center, I’ll be caring for my English students as I’ve been doing for the past 27 years,” Mesdjian said. “[Working] in the Wellness Center will allow me to expand my educational philosophy beyond the four walls of my own classroom.”

The Wellness Team has expressed optimism for the changes Mesdjian will bring and is assisting her with the transition process.

“I’m really excited to see where the future of wellness goes with Mrs. Mesdjian,” Wellness Consultant senior AJ Cembrano said.

“The Wellness Consultants and I are very open-minded with the change and are doing everything we can to set her up for success.”

In SCJEA, she claimed first place again in her editorial discussing Los Angeles’ decision to use tiny home communities to address the homelessness crisis.

For Critical Review, senior Josh Chou earned second place for his piece about Dr. Margaret Salazar-Porzio, the curator of the Latinx culture section of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Additionally, sophomores Rachel Lee and Kyle Hong placed first and 10th in the Feature section, covering humanitarian and musician Nithin Parthasarathy’s efforts to reduce food waste.

Lee later earned fourth place for her feature submission during the SCJEA write-offs.

The DBHS yearbook teams were challenged to design two-page spreads in their ELAJEA submission. Their layouts, which placed second, were submitted separately by two teams. One group included seniors Aileen Park and Samantha Rivera and juniors Catherina Tao and Julia Zhou. The second involved seniors Grace Xiao and Stephanie Pan, and juniors Abby Kottke and Elisha Chung.

Though they did not place first for their SCJEA yearbook submission, yearbook still managed to tie for third in the yearbook sweepstakes in both layout and theme development. Pan, Xiao, Kottke, and Park collaborated on the spread for both events, securing third place in layout and copy and a fourth place tie in theme development and copy.

4 OPINION

MARCH 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

- OPINIONThe administration should take steps to correct policies regarding sick leave and absent work that encourage students to ignore their health and hinder recovery from illness.

I

t’s no secret that Diamond Bar High School students are highly competitive and willing to sacrifice almost anything to succeed. However, one of the sacrifices that often goes undetected is attending school while sick.

Unintentionally, both administration and teachers have grown accustomed to students who attend classes coughing or sneezing. Only with the pandemic have their mindsets begun to change. Now, at least for the few students allowed on campus, the administration must take precautionary measures that require ill students to stay home. These new regulations are the district’s strictest to date, and for good reason. However, if such policies are to be maintained upon returning to campus, as they should be for the sake of everyone’s health, the school must ad-

dress the issues that convince students to attend school sick in the first place.

With rigorous courses and schedules packed with AP courses, it’s safe to say that the DBHS student body is among the most cut-throat. Missing even one day means risking falling behind all the other overachieving students aiming for the top. Yet, this toxic competitiveness isn’t something the administration can change. What they can do, at least to start, is limit the academic impact of missing a few days of school. While it’s impossible to make a seamless transition after forgoing days of class, certain changes could make students feel more comfortable missing school while sick.

Teachers’ absentee work policies are the most important point to address.

Most teachers, especially those teaching AP and Honor-level courses, give

students the exact number of days they were sick to complete all the missing work. That one, two or even three-day workload includes notes, homework and lessons, all of which must be completed independently and with limited guidance from teachers. Worse still, this load is on top of the work they are already assigned on a day-to-day basis.

Apart from homework and lessons, students miss out on extra credit and lab work that, either, can’t be made up or has a difficult “equivalent assignment.” In fact, such overbearing policies are illegal. Teachers in California are legally required to provide an assignment of equal difficulty and worth the exact same points to students who are absent. Thus, not only do some DBHS teachers unknowingly break the regulation, they also limit the opportunities

for students who are sick. Students choose not speak out on it either as they fear the possible repercussions they’ll receive from teachers, a fear that works all too well for the competitive DBHS student body.

All of these opportunities students may miss force them to decide between their health and academic success, a choice no student should be forced to make. However, if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that getting a roughly equivalent education from home is possible. Just as teachers have done during distance learning, materials and information presented during classes can be made remotely accessible. Whether that means posting notes online, recording lectures or making most assignments due online, increasing accessibility across the board en-

sures that students have easy access to schoolwork. It’s important to note, however, that even if lessons are made accessible online, some students need to rest to get better or may be too ill to work. As such, another necessary addition is to create a district-wide policy that extends grace periods for absent work. Those extra days should give students ample time to complete their daily assignments as well as any work they may have missed while sick.

To ensure the health and academic success of DBHS students, the administration must start by both creating and enforcing such changes. By establishing mandatory, district-wide policies, students will no longer need to worry about their education while they’re sick; a fear that should have never been there to start with.

FROM THE BRAHMA PERSPECTIVE

“

When I was sick I had a hard time catching up with my work, but most of my teachers were understanding and extended the due date.

AUDREY PITALLANO (10)

”

The stress behind success

” ” Unified front against racism SAMANTHA MITCHELL (12)

CHARLIE LIN (11)

W

ith the recent 1900 percent boom in hate-crimes against Asian Americans, many Asian Americans have taken to social media to express their disgust and aversion for these horrific assaults.

But, while they are rightfully trying to garner support for their movement, several of their messages are actually doing more harm than good. While many are using social media to address the violence in a respectable manner, some Asian Americans are choosing to breed more negativity by comparing the Black Lives Matter movement to the Anti-Asian Hate Crime movement .

As Gen.Medium.com describes, an extensive amount of “But BLM” tweets have gained a wide amount of attention. These “But BLM” tweets consist of Anti-Asian Hate Crime supporters comparing the

Cartoon Courtesy of KATHERINE CHEN

I went to school with a non contagious stage flu because I had an all-day test... I couldn’t miss class because I wouldn’t be able to make up the test.

Just pushing through the day is better than doing a make-up lab or make-up work, which is usually harder to do without classroom instruction.

KELSEY WU ASST. FEATURE EDITOR

“

“

Asian-American situation to the oppression of Black people.

By doing this, their purpose is to provoke outrage that this movement isn’t being addressed the same way as the Black Lives Matter movement was, spreading their belief that Americans only favor fighting for a particular ethnic group’s rights and freedoms.

“It’s always about us being told to educate ourselves about Black people’s history but never them to acknowledge the history and diversity of Asians,” reads a tweet from an anonymous user that has since been taken down.

What needs to be established is that the Black Live Matter movement and the Anti-Asian Hate Crimes movement are completely separate battles for justice. Supporters of Anti-Asian Hate should not bring in Black people and their experiences as a standard for comparison.

Each side has had their independent battles and to compare the two side by side is as unfair as it is ignorant. However, this irritation that Asians are portraying for America’s lack of enthusiasm for their movement isn’t entirely unwarranted.

Asians have a history of being put on the backburner since they are seen as the “model minority”.

The “Model Minority Myth’’ perpetuates the idea that since Asians are seen as generally prosperous and successful figures in society, that they shouldn’t be considered a minority.

It’s meant that the Asian American community has never felt properly advocated for and, perhaps for the first time, Asians are finally getting to voice their enragement on this matter.

However, that still does not justify bringing Black people into this matter. What these comparisons foster is not support and agreement, but, rather, controversy and resentment.

The more that people keep playing an “oppression olympics,” where each side attempts to prove they have faced more hardship, the more the original purpose of this battle is lost.

Instead of competing for attention with the Black community and complaining about the lack of concern, activists supporting the Asian community should turn to the Black Lives Matter Movement as an ally, not a competitor.

When people decide to bring out the message that Black people are supposedly the more favored minority, we need to wonder if we’re perpetuating the same oppression that we should be fighting.

Photo Courtesy of KORANTIN GRALL/UNSPLASH

OPINION

THE BULL'S EYE

MARCH 24, 2021

5

College Board continues to stumble over COVID

Reopening plans A address concerns

VERA WANG STAFF WRITER

W

ith this month marking the anniversary of nationwide pandemic-forced closures, Los Angeles County has recently transitioned from the purple tier into the red, resulting in less restrictive guidelines for many establishments. Among those clambering to implement new reopening protocols is Diamond Bar High School, where students will be able to choose from three plans starting April 19.

Whether it be those struggling academically or the seniors robbed of their grad year, the options DBHS has proposed cater to the needs of all students, while prioritizing each individual’s safety and success.

An amalgam of ideas from other districts, DBHS’ reopening tactic differs from every other model.

This new plan will allow students to continue attending classes over Zoom from home during the standard 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. schedule.

Tutorial will now be hosted in-person four times a week, and students can use the 1:10-2:30 p.m. time period to work on assignments in a classroom setting, receive help

from teachers and see friends.

Enrollment for in-class virtual learning is another available option. With this, students will attend their online lectures in classrooms supervised by teachers. Although the majority find at-home schooling preferable, those with unstable internet, disruptive household environments, or difficulty focusing at home may find this to be a helpful solution.

In light of decreased restrictions, administrators have also been looking for ways to compensate for the subpar year seniors have experienced. Among the ideas introduced were “Senior Fridays,” dedicated senior-only days on campus with activities and competitions. Class of 2021 GLCs discussed hosting senior lunches, class pictures and a yearbook signing party as well.

Though such efforts are admirable, they may come too late; with only a few weeks left until graduation, the amount of participants is likely to be few. Instead of preparing for small-scale weekly activities, investing more effort into graduation may be time better spent.

After a whole year of repetitive days and mental health struggles, the ability to choose how one would like to finish the school year is welcome news. The WVUSD plans accommodate each student’s circumstances, regardless of whether they’d prefer to learn on campus or at home. As for the senior class, while nothing can make up for the lost experience, the remaining two months may serve to make the most of what little time is left.

Camille McCurry Editor-In-Chief

s we head into the second year of the Coronavirus pandemic, the majority of educational institutions have figured out more sensible procedures than the half-baked plans they implemented last year.

Only one organization appears to remain wallowing in the confusion that characterized the early pandemic: College Board. Following last year’s mediocre online AP exams, many had expected that this year, College Board would unveil a better test-taking system.

However, this year’s AP exams are looking to be quite the opposite—an inequitable mess of testing dates and formats that present many challenges to students and staff alike. Most likely due to differing infection rates across the nation, College Board has decided to offer AP exams both online and in-person.

Each has a variety of dates, ranging wildly from early May to mid-June, and several methods of administration. While the vast array of options appears to give

students and schools more control based on local COVID-19 restrictions, all College Board has really done is shirk its responsibilities.

Rather than choosing just one testing method and date and sticking to it, as has been the practice for decades, they decided to offer a variety of dates and formats that force students and staff to make last-minute decisions.

In reality, the choice of exam administration methods and dates is merely an illusion, at least for Diamond Bar High School administration, who are essentially forced by pressure from parents and students, as well as guidance from College Board insiders, to offer in-person exams to its AP students.

However, the financial and logistical difficulties of pulling off such a feat will be immense.

Aside from keeping dozens of classrooms clean and wellequipped for every exam administration, DBHS would have to hire about 20 proctors for the AP Calculus AB exam alone.

Not to mention that there will surely be complaints about being in a closed room for several hours with 14 other potentially-infected students, regardless of any efforts on the school’s part.

But, were DBHS to only offer online exams, there would be outrage--and for good reason.

Students won’t be able to revisit previous questions and the exams themselves will be harder, supposedly to mitigate the effects of cheat-

Well-deserved wellness day CONNOR CHO ASST. BUSINESS MANAGER

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fter the amazing results of my one-day social media cleanse, I decided that it was time to take better care of my mental health. As such, I made the difficult decision to temporarily abandon all my distance learning responsibilities, which have really been putting a damper on my mental health.

Because school is so stressful, I strongly believe it’s time to prioritize myself over my assignments.

To start my academic cleanse, I uninstalled the Google Classroom app from my phone to avoid the persistent reminders of every bad grade and late homework assignment. How could I possibly relax with all those toxic messages throughout the day?

Because of distance learning, I can take breaks for my mental health, so during my schoolwork cleanse, I made productive use of my time scrolling through YouTube and TikTok, both efficient ways to make myself feel better while skipping classes. But evenwhen I was freed from those annoying Google Classroom notifications, my teachers emailed me about five missing assignments due on my mental health one-day vacation. These rude emails really stressed me out, so I blocked them to better decompress from the pain of academics.

On the same day as this cleanse, I also happened to miss two tests that my teachers had been discussing for weeks, of course by accident. Oops. Oh well. My mental health is still much more important than my grades, which I haven’t checked because I also uninstalled the Grades app--the impulse to check my grades was making me nervous, after all. They’re probably tanking, but I’m sure my teachers will be understanding give me extra credit. Speaking of tanking grades, my classmates were constantly sending me rude messages

about a group project that would hurt their grades if I didn’t contribute. It was extremely selfish for them to interrupt my precious mental health day for the sake of their own grades on this one insig-

ing. These tests will be curved, so the knowledge that students will be compared to individuals who are potentially cheating will incentivize them to do the same.

With such unappealing circumstances, it’s no wonder that DBHS students are almost all opting to take in-seat exams, especially when it comes to math and science, whose online formats would require students to type work using a special keyboard.

However, this solution is unfair to students with vulnerable family members or who are in other countries and don’t have the option to take an in-seat exam. Worse still, the online exam format is believed to be so inferior that students may feel pressured to attend the in-seat exams even if they suspect they’re sick.

Even in the classroom, those who opt for online exams will be hung out to dry, as teachers are likely to emphasize the content and skills that they expect will aid inseat test takers. In many regards, taking the test online is a non-option for DBHS students.

What College Board should have done was devote itself entirely to creating a seamless online testing experience to begin with and choosing one exam date, so that students would all have equal opportunities to succeed. Instead, they dodged the issue and let schools take the heat for making a difficult decision that should have been College Board’s to face.

SATIRICAL studiously

nificant project. So, I muted their messages and went to sleep--as one does on a proper mental health day.

When my 24 hours of relaxation ended, I concluded my mental health break by reinstalling Goo-

gle Classroom and unmuting all other notifications. After looking at my failing grades and all the angry emails, I got stressed again--tomorrow would be a good time for another mental health day.

Cartoon Courtesy of JAMES WU

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ue to the ever-growing toxicity of diet culture and fat phobia, plus-size bodies have been targeted by diet culture and societal stigma as examples of “anti-health.” Those of bigger physiques are blatantly accused of modeling bad health habits and are rudely criticized by the media and cynics to “get into shape.”

Many times, what these people don’t realize is that having a larger body does not automatically equivocate to not taking care of one’s fitness. Our society spreads the harmful mentality that the only goal of working out and eating healthy is to achieve an emaciated and small physique.Recently, nutritionists and popular body activists have created movements such as The Health At Every Size movement in order to bring down this awful misconception and stigma against bigger people. “[The movement] promotes acceptance and appreciation of one’s body, even if you’re overweight,” nutritionist Monica Reinagel said on the Scientific American. “It encourages overweight people to shift their focus from losing weight to other healthy habits, such as eating healthy foods and getting more exercise.”

In the article Reingal continues to explain how weight should not be the sole determining factor when it comes to judging one’s physical wellness.

Many other indicators, such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels and cholesterol play significant roles in determining someone’s health status as well.

“A very muscular person may have a BMI that’s considered overweight or obese, when they are no such thing,” Reinagel said. “On the flip side of the coin, someone with a low BMI may still have a high amount of visceral fat—the socalled “skinny-fat” phenomenon— which increases disease risk.”

The true problem that surfaces due to this dangerous thinking is that it promotes negativity and shame towards people who have more body fat. The message that needs to be promoted is that there is nothing wrong with being bigger. It’s possible to be larger and healthy, the same way that it is possible for someone to be skinny and unhealthy.

While many health conditions have been linked to obesity, a number of studies have shown that those issues are solved simply by just focusing on good habits such as eating whole foods and remembering to move your body daily, not just trying to slim down. Good health is an outcome of our behaviors, regardless of your size.

As the Health At Every Size movement promotes: personal well-being and healthy living are what’s foremost in life, not weight control. Normalizing the acceptance of all types of physiques in health is the first step in tearing down these biased and discriminatory walls. It’s time we start to spread the right message: health comes in all shapes and sizes.

Stepping into his shoe business anika yatawara news editor Wanting to provide an outlet for more exclusive, unisex clothing pieces, Diamond Bar High School junior Chris Mendoza started his reselling business Heat and Hype.

Mendoza buys and resells sneakers and clothes from a variety of well-known brands such as Nike, Yeezy and New Balance. He explained that his business’ name was derived from common words used by sneaker and streetwear fans in order to appeal to customers.

“I sell clothes and shoes to everybody,” Mendoza said via Instagram. “My target audience is people like me who want some of the latest and hottest clothing and shoes, but sometimes want something unique that nobody will

have.”

Mendoza said that he was prompted to jumpstart the trade after receiving encouragement from a peer.

“The inspiration behind my business was a friend of mine who used to go to [DBHS]. He had a business similar to mine now, and he convinced me there was money to be made in sneakers and streetwear,” Mendoza said.

Another key factor in Mendoza’s decision to start Heat and Hype was his lack of spending money. He explained that starting his own small business was the most optimal way to supply himself with those funds.

So far, Mendoza has increased his business from selling shoes and clothing ranging from $90 to $200 to offering those that cost up to $9,000.

Initially, he would buy shoes and garments between $50 to $200. Now, Mendoza said he focuses on bigger

deals involving multiple pieces of apparel and invests between $700 to $1,000.

“The money I earn will almost always go back into buying more stock,” Mendoza said. “Sneakers almost always go up in price over time, so I’m usually in no rush to sell.”

In terms of scheduling restocks, Mendoza typically posts new items more consistently during school breaks, opting for a more relaxed posting schedule throughout the school year. He is most active on his business’ Instagram, @heat_ andhype.

Mendoza said that he uses two prime methods to buy new items in the reselling process: buying directly from retailers on launch days or buying from other sellers and collectors.

However, his preferred method is buying from other collectors such as himself.

“Either [sellers] grew out of it, didn’t like it as much as they thought, or would just prefer having extra money over the shoes,” Mendoza said. “I provide a quick and easy option for them to get money for their expensive clothes and shoes.”

Photo courtesy of CHRIS MENDOZA Mendoza buys and resells unisex sneakers and clothes on his Instagram, @heat_andhype.

Despite the pandemic, Mendoza said Heat and Hype has continued to make a stable income and has not experienced many setbacks other than clothing brands postponing launch dates.

Although managing his own business allows Mendoza to be more flexible with its maintenance, he said a major area he aims to improve in is promoting his new apparel.

“My number one weakness is advertising so I’m not the best at getting word out about my newest items. I make up for this by being on as many platforms as possible,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza said he hopes to run Heat and Hype for as long as possible, but will continue to take a more moderate approach in order to make time for academics and family.

“I plan to continue my business for as long as I have time for it. The sneaker and clothing industry has been very consistently profitable so I don’t foresee the market not being relevant in the near future,” Mendoza said.

Immersion in Spanish culture charles tam asst. sports editor Different from learning Spanish in a class, Diamond Bar High School’s Spanish club provides students more opportunities to immerse themselves in the language and culture through themed presentations and activities. “[Students] can express their love for their culture by sharing traditional dishes with others to appreciate the different tastes,” co-president senior Bella Licea said. “People can learn the traditional dances and listen to the music while having fun and learning about the culture.”

Even though the club has been unable to hold monthly meetings in-person due to COVID-19, they have still managed to meet virtually and show their themed presentations and participating in activities, which has included playing games such as Kahoot. In addition, the club has also watched videos and used breakout rooms to have fun interactions with each other as well.

“Social media is also very important so we can communicate with our members about when we will host meetings and post important documents and announcements to our new club Google Classroom,” Licea said.

Prior to the pandemic, the Spanish club would try new foods together, such as empanadas and yerba mate, and held dances as part of their activities to spread the culture to students on campus. In addition, they also had a booth that

they used to sell churros and other Spanish treats for families to try and enjoy at the DBHS open houses last year.

“We also host fundraisers and take part in school events, such as food fairs, to raise money for our club,” Licea said. “Currently, we do not have any upcoming fundraisers, however, we will continue having our monthly meetings for members to attend.”

About 60 to 70 members attended their “Carnaval en España” themed March meeting, where they held a costume contest to incorporate a carnival atmosphere.

Winners earned a gift card for traditional pastries from Valerio’s Tropical Bakeshop, a Spanish bakery.

“My favorite part of the club is having the opportunity to immerse myself in Spanish culture, since there isn’t really much of a point in learning the language if we aren’t also learning about the various customs and traditions in Spanish-speaking countries,” publicist senior Sri Bondada said via Instagram.

Bondada said he hopes to consistently have over 100 attendees at their meetings. He also said he enjoys hosting monthly meetings on topics relevant to the month, such as holidays that are celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries.

“Spanish club hopes to return back to normal and on campus so we can share Spanish foods to our members again,” Licea said. “I am hopeful that we will continue to spread Spanish culture to the students on campus and that we will gain more members in the future.”

MARYKATE PALARIS Makomae has an area of the restaurant where customers can see chefs cooking the meals.

Food

Review

Makomae falls short of the bar

marykate palaris asst. a&e editor Hidden in a corner on Diamond Bar Boulevard, Japanese restaurant Makomae didn’t seem remarkable at first glance. After getting a taste of their food, I’m inclined to say that my assumption was correct.

Entering, I was greeted with a rustic yet polished atmosphere that had a warm ambiance. A bar was off to the side for customers to view chefs cooking meals. Both outdoor and indoor dining options were not available, so I brought my meal home.

I ordered the sushi and sashimi lunch special ($14.25), the tempura udon ($10.50) and green tea mochi ice cream ($2.50). My order only took a quick 10 minutes to arrive.

The meal came with three tekka maki rolls—small pieces of sushi

with tuna in the middle—which were flavorful and didn’t have an overbearing fish taste. It also came with six nigiri rolls, each containing various types of fish such as albacore and salmon. The nigiri sushi had a nice ratio of well-cooked rice under the fish. Overall, the fish was somewhat bland, but this was fixed with a packet of soy sauce that they had provided.

The udon and tempura were decent but not too distinctive in flavor. The noodles had the right amount of thickness and a sweet yet savory flavor to them. However, the lack of any toppings, such as fish cake, was disappointing, even with the addition of the tempura. The only other add-on was a single shiitake mushroom at the bottom of the bowl. The tempura was less than ideal, with it being mostly soggy deep-fried vegetables

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A History of Women's Rights The United States has gone through a multitude of changes since its inception, with one notable aspect being progress toward gender equality. In honor of Women’s History Month, here are four significant landmarks that kicked off the movement for equality between the sexes:

Expanded Voting Rights

Photo courtesy of Cournell Univeristy

The 20th century brought about many exciting changes for America, and the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote was among the most significant. The suffrage movement was fought for in numerous ways: the National Woman Suffrage Association wanted an amendment added to the Constitution for women’s voting rights, while the American Woman Suffrage Association fought for the right to vote on a state by state basis. It is important to note that the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, only made voting more easily accessible for white women. Native American men and women, however, did not receive the right to vote until 1924. Additionally, the Nationality Act of 1952 allowed Asian immigrants—both men and women—to gain citizenship, which also allowed them to vote. In 1965, disenfranchisement laws such as literacy tests were abolished, allowing Black men and women to vote without as many restrictions.

Accessible Birth Control Even among suffragettes, the topic of birth control was extremely taboo. According to The Atlantic, suffragettes frowned heavily upon using contraceptives since they believed it would liberate men more than women, and instead chose to preach about practicing abstinence in order to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Despite this, women such as Margaret Sanger sought to provide birth control to women in the early 1900s and fought to legalize it. Although Sanger was arrested in 1916 for opening the first birth control clinic, she went on to advocate for safe and effective birth control, which was achieved in 1960 when the first contraceptive pill was approved by the FDA. In addition, in 1965, the Supreme Court declared that using contraceptives was a constitutional right for married couples in Griswold v Connecticut, but unmarried couples had to wait seven more years until Eisenstadt v Baird stated that it was legal for them to use birth control too.

Photo courtesy of UN Women Gallery

Anti-sexual discrimination

Photo courtesy of UN Women Gallery

Acts against sexual discrimination in a professional environment had to go through various stages to grant women proper legal protection. The push for this protection started with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned employment discrimination on the account of race, sex, religion and national origin, followed by the Title IX of Education Amendment in 1972 that banned sex discrimination in federally funded schools. Under this amendment, discriminating against someone’s sex for issues such as admissions, recruitment, etc. was banned. It wasn’t until 1980 that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stated that sexual harassment in the workplace was also a form of sex discrimination. However, it took six more years for the Supreme Court to rule that sexual harassment was prohibited under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.When it did, it garnered much elation and support.

Legal Abortion While abortion is often lumped together with birth control, its usage is completely different as it is meant to terminate a pregnancy—not prevent it. Although many women suffered from unprofessional abortion operations prior to its legalization in 1973, there were some underground options for safe abortion. For example, welltrained physicians and medical practitioners performed illegal abortions, but they did have the risk of imprisonment, fines and losing their medical licenses. Even with these options, however, illegal abortions contributed to 5,000 deaths a year, mostly among Black and Hispanic women. So, in 1973, the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, allowing for safe and effective abortions to take place. However, many states still have heavy restrictions on abortions; Texas, Ohio and Alabama ban abortions after the 20th week a woman is pregnant, and more and more states are pushing to ban abortions at six weeks.

Photo courtesy of Duke Univerisity

Story By: Somiya Jajieh

Design by: Kelsey Wu

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MARCH 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

SPRING 2021 TRENDS With warmer weather and Easter around the corner, it's time to leave behind the winter bundle you've grown used to. This year's hottest spring season trends are guaranteed to break you out of dull winter palettes and into a bold world of color.

EARRINGS Accessories are a great way to enhance your look and incorporate a fun element.

Put on some unconventional clay rings, that have been popular all over social media, to add a pop of color. The abstract shapes of these embellishments will add a quirky touch to your springtime look. Nice days at the beach and a Covid-safe group gathering have one particular thing in common--a stylish outfit inclusion of bucket hats. For a final addition, don't forget a bold, floral print mask before you leave the house to stay safe but fashionable.

Photo courtesy of Zara

CARDIGANS Trade your thick winter hoodies for a pastel, cropped cardigan. Thinner tops are ideal for the warmer temperatures that are soon to follow. The theme of spring is perfectly accentuated in the soft and clean pastels and patterns these tops come in-- olive green and lavender purple being key examples. This versatile piece can be worn with a few buttons left undone for a more stylish look, or with a simple crop top underneath.

They provide an extra layer, all without taking away from torso-friendly knit sweaters.

Story by Natasha Chang Design by Kelsey Wu and Somiya Jajieh

BAGGY JEANS If you're searching for bottoms, look no further than a typical pair of loose-fitted, high-waisted pants. With the more revealing tops that come with the spring weather, high-waisted pants are a no-brainer. These bottoms will elongate your legs and accentuate your waistline, making it the perfect spring moodboard outfit. Clashing color combinations of your liking will also give a sense of individuality—for example, pairing earthy-colored trousers with a bolder-colored checkered vest.

For a more masculine spin, pair some loose, beige-colored pants with a knitted vest over an oversized blank t-shirt. An edgier take may consist of an oversized vintage tee and simple work pants, topped off with a leather jacket or a windbreaker with contemporary colors and designs.

Photo courtesy of Missguided

DAD SHOES One cannot go wrong with a comfortable pair of fashionable shoes. Dad sneakers have been all the rage these last two years, and there’s nothing like a pair of sturdy Adidas Falcons or New Balance 900V5s to complete your outfit. Not only are these shoes comfortable, but the casual-chic look that they offer allows them to be paired with a variety of different outfits, from a business casual look composed of dress pants and a fitted blazer to cozier at-home gym attire consisting of hoodies and sweatpants.

MARCH 24, 2021

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

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Music industry in the TikTok era Our favorite TikTok breakout artists

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ith over one billion users worldwide, TikTok has quickly become this generation’s premiere social media platform, making internet sensations out of everyday people. Exactly why it’s so popular is how perfectly it caters to the short attention span of today’s generation, using 15 seconds to expose users to addicting songs in the form of trends, dances and skits.

Yet, what’s especially interesting is just how impactful that exposure has been on the music industry, popularizing everything from old hits to emerging artists.

Among the classic records that found new fame this year is Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”

A No. 1 hit in 1977, the song went viral last October when TikTok users skated to its nostalgic and relaxing tone.

Within weeks, “Dreams” resurfaced at No. 2 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 100 Chart, the first time the band had been on a commercial chart in 40 years.

Also finding revamped popularity were Simple Plan’s 2005 single “I’m Just A Kid” and Miki Matsubara’s 1980 Japanese pop classic “Stay With Me.” However, popularizing classic hits is just the tip of the iceberg for TikTok, as it’s become even more famous for spurring the growth of relatively unknown artists.

Case in point? The meteoric rise of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License.” While Rodrigo had been mildly successful after starring in Disney’s “High School Musical the Musical the Series,” it was primarily through Tik Tok that her music career truly skyrocketed. Whether it was the emotionally charged lyrics or the rumored love triangle between Rodrigo and fellow Disney stars Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter, the

song went viral within hours of its release.

Throughout its first week, “Driver’s License” broke Spotify records for most streams in a day with 17 million, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 where it has remained for the past 9 weeks.

Overnight sensations aside, what Tik Tok has really proved is how willing record labels are to take advantage of TikTok’s marketable, rising stars. Following this narrative exactly is indie-rock breakout star Claire Rosinkraz.

After her single “Backyard Boy” went TikTok viral in “Point of View” or POV acting videos, Rosinkranz was quickly picked up by Republic Records where she began working with multi-platinum artist Jeremy Zucker on a remix of “Backyard Boy”—a song that currently has over 14 million streams on Spotify.

It’s those millions of streams that makes it so enticing for major record labels to exploit the TikTok platform, drawing every last cent out of these artists, including those who’ve been signed to labels for years. From that group is arguably the most successful artist to emerge from TikTok stardom— Doja Cat. Doja Cat, signed to RCA, went from hundreds of thousands of fans to tens of million after her song “Say So” went viral as a dance. When the song caught the attention of R&B icon Nicki Minaj, the duo released a remixed version of “Say So,” peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and snagging a Grammy nomination for “Record of the Year.”

Truthfully speaking, Generation Z has found unique growth on various platforms, ranging anywhere from Vine to Youtube. It just so happened to be that TikTok is this year’s newest obsession, both for listeners and those within the industry.

Doja Cat

Claire Rosinkranz

Natalie Taylor Our favorite TikTok viral hits telepatía Kali Uchis

CHICKEN TENDIES Clinton Kane

positions Ariana Grande

Train Wreck James Arthur

Pierre Ryn Weaver story by Reyna Wan design by Marykate Palaris

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THE BULL'S EYE

COVID ART RECEIVES RECOGNITION

“Maska Lisa”, one of Mon Reve’s most popular designs, is available on the Bonfire website.

RACHEL LEE asst. OPINION editor Mon Rêve, or My Dream, is what Diamond Bar High School seniors Ariel Tran and Crystal Rustom decided to name the clothing brand they started in June, with the aims to spread creativity and inspire others to pursue their dreams.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have dedicated their brand to raising funds for impoverished families who have been struggling financially.

Tran and Rustom sell original designs on T-shirts and hoodies on their website through the platform Bonfire, which allows users

to donate money from sales directly to charities of their choice.

“Bonfire allowed us to create our own designs while still promoting it [the clothing business] as a nonprofit campaign,” Tran said. “Any profit earned goes directly to Direct Relief, which is a reputable charity organization.”

Tran said that the business originated from an idea she had about fundraising to support COVID relief organizations, at which point she and Rustom got together to come up with designs to raise money.

So far, they have been able to raise over $800 for COVID relief efforts.

“We hope that our cause can reach a lot of people and that they can help because at the

end of the day, we just want to spread positivity,” Rustom said.

The process of creating new products begins with Rustom and Tran drafting a design. Each uses a different application to create designs--Rustom uses Ibis Paint and Tran uses Photoshop Express. When finished, the art is uploaded onto Bonfire to determine its visual appeal on clothing. Once they are satisfied with the final product, they set pricing details and come up with a title, and then the shipping and handling is taken care of by Bonfire.

“We both split the work evenly, we both come up with and draw the designs but it’s mostly Crystal that does the drawings and handles the Instagram,” Tran said. “I handle our official website and our Bonfire website.”

Neither Rustom nor Tran have had any formal instruction in art and were inspired to start designing because of their passion for creating. Tran explained that their designs tend to be minimalistic to ease the printing process, though according to their Instagram account @monreve.official, they also try to create designs that they can see themselves wearing.

“We were brainstorming ideas and I thought it would be a fun idea to have famous icons wear masks to support COVID-19

safety measures,” Rustom said.

Recently, they won the Bonfire award for Best Design supporting COVID relief efforts with their “Maska Lisa” T-shirt, which features a sketch of the Mona Lisa wearing a blue surgical mask.

Other famous works and figures that have made their way onto T-shirts and hoodies include “The Phantom of the Opera,” Jimi Hendrix and the Vermeer painting, “The Girl with a Pearl Earring.”As both Tran and she are seniors, Rustom said that they have

struggled to promote their business, design clothing, and manage their websites while maintaining their grades. However, both she and Tran said that they are able to commit to their work because their motivation comes from their drive to design and to share their creations with friends and family.

“Even if some people don’t buy the shirts, it’s always nice to see our family support us,” Tran said. “It helps when people spread the word so that more people are aware of our campaigns and can support us.”

Photo courtesy of MONA REVE Seniors Rustom and Tran won Bonfire’s award for Best Design supporting COVID relief.

Senior reflects on career in dance industry

Throughout her four years of high school, senior Alyssa Gore has worked professionally in everything from music videos to dance teams and even video games.

Photo courtesy of INTERSCOPE Del Ray on tour in LA; “Chemtrails over the Country Club” will be her seventh studio album.

del rey takes a victory lap JOSH CHOU editor-IN-CHIEF For most of my time as a casual Lana Del Rey listener, I’d come to associate her with a distinct sound: carefully presented and cinematic that was equal parts grandiose, melancholy and melodramatic. Around two years ago, however, is when del Rey truly entered my radar.

The first reason lies in her 2019 album, where producer Jack Antinoff helped her shape ethereal folk and piano ballads into deeply resonating tracks.

While traces of larger-than-life portraits from previous albums remained, this collection relied on smaller, more poignant moments.

The second reason was a string of highly-publicized social media blunders; yet I couldn’t help but wonder if these were cracks in a persona or parts of the whole, or even a subtle commentary on the state of Americana, a theme central to her body of work.

Del Rey’s latest album, “Chemtrails Over the Country Club,” in many ways answers this question as it develops her image.

Musically, it continues on the same trajectory as her last album, being another collaboration with Antinoff, but while the predecessor paid homage to tragic stories in rock ‘n’ roll as a part of a broader lament about what

Americana has become, her latest album reads as a gentle tribute to the genre as Del Rey remembers it.

For instance, the first—and so far my favorite—track “White Dress” features Del Rey breathlessly straying to the edge of her head voice over soft piano as she reminiscences about her pre-fame days as a waitress, when her actions weren’t so carefully scrutinized.

“Yosemite” is another personal favorite; Del Rey’s falsetto once again takes center stage accompanied by alternating warm guitar motifs and choruses almost glowing with nostalgic wist.

Other standout tracks include “Tulsa Jesus Freak” and “Dance Till We Die,” but none bring the album quite as full circle to “White Dress” as the last track, a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “For Free.”

Del Rey is joined by Zella Day and Weyes Blood as they retell Mitchell’s pondering narrative of an anonymous street musician playing her songs for free, while they greatly profit off their own performances and stardom.

While “Chemtrails over the Country Club” doesn’t quite measure up to the thematic and musical powerhouse that her “Rockwell!” was, at this point Del Rey has nothing to prove.

The interesting undercurrents and high musical quality of her latest work are enough to keep me satisfied between each of Del Rey’s shenanigans.

Somiya Jajieh Asst. Feature Editor From dancing recreationally to performing in several music videos, Diamond Bar High School se-

nior Alyssa Gore has fostered a love for dance from a young age.

Gore is a part of Varsity Song at DBHS and used to perform with WNBA’s dance team called the Los Angeles Sparks. She started dancing at the age of two, and began performing competitively a year later, where she focused on a multitude of different dance styles such as tap, ballet, contemporary, musical theatre and hip hop. She said she mostly specializes in hip hop since that appeals the most to the dance industry, but also enjoys musical theatre since it allows her to do two of her favorite things: singing and dancing.

“Originally, [dance] was just a ‘Mommy and me’ activity to do with one of my friends and her mom, but after the first time I performed on stage, I loved it!” Gore said via Instagram. “I loved the feeling of the light on the stage and being a part of making the dances come to life.”

Gore’s main source of inspiration to dance comes from a younger cousin, who enjoys watching Gore dance in anything from competitions to football games.

Gore said that this special connection between her and her cousin motivates her to continue dance.

Since she was first profiled in the Bull’s Eye during her freshman year, Gore has had the opportunity to be in more commercials as well as music videos for Sia. Recently, she was a background dancer for Sia’s song “Together,” released in 2021, which was created to be a part of Sia’s movie “Music,” which came out in early February. Gore said the practicing and shooting process for “To-

gether” took a week to complete.

“Being on set for Sia is one of my favorites because she’s pescatarian so we always have super good seafood and the environment is so friendly and lively,” Gore said.

Another one of Gore’s favorite projects includes a commercial she did for MapleStory, which was released in 2018. Gore said she found this particular audition process interesting because the casting directors were looking for someone who resembled a character in the game, which had blond hair and blue eyes.

However, once Gore auditioned,

“Although I don’t see myself with a full time professional dance career, I think it is such a huge part of who I am ...”

ALYSSA GORE they modeled the character to look like her since they realized they wanted her in the commercial. “[The game makers] sent mock ups of [the character] and her outfits and studd to me to approve before they officially put her into the game so it was super cool to be able to kinda create her alongside the game makers,” Gore said.

According to Gore, her experience with the WNBA has helped her with her dancing journey as she had the opportunity to attend championship games and explore the STAPLES Center, which has allowed her to meet different people and come across more opportunities.Gore is unsure of whether she wants to pursue dancing in college. However, she explained how she is interested to see where the opportunities she has participated in takes her in the future.

“All of the work I’ve done is considered professional dancing and from my experience it’s great!”

Gore said. “Although I don’t see myself with a full time professional dance career, I think it is such a huge part of who I am so it will [for sure] always be with me.”

MARCH 24, 2021

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE BULL'S EYE

11

Musical success at national level via Instagram “NYO2 has been a goal of mine since freshman year.”

Conducted by Joseph Young, music director of the Berkeley Symphony, and Mei-Ann Chen, Within any competitive spaceChicago Sinfonietta music di-sports, the arts, business--there rector, the program will take are those who are a league in their place virtually this summer and own. Though many may possess will have participants collabotalent in a given area, it is only the rate to record a piece of music. combination of this inherent poIt will also provide master classtential and sheer work and deteres with professionals in each inmination that these individuals are strumental group which can help capable of reaching greater heights create a better than their peers. understandIn this particing of their ular case, junior “NYO2 really allows instruments. oboe player Abme to connect with “NYO2 realigail Hong was musicians from all ly allows me to the only student across the country.” connect with from the Diamusicians from ABIGAIL HONG mond Bar High all across the School wind incountry and strument section it helps me who was accept- ed by the branch out of the Diamond Bar prestigious National Youth Orbubble that I feel I’m in,” Hong said. chestra 2 program, an extremely Starting right before she enselective summer program that tered middle school, Hong said offers participants the opportunishe chose the oboe during ty to work alongside some of the the summer at South Pointe most talented young musicians Middle School’s band camp. in the U.S. The program, one of “It was just the feeling I had when three national youth orchestras playing it in band camp that really based in New York City’s Carnegot me hooked on oboe,” said Hong. gie Hall, only accepts 80 musicians Despite the pandemic preventfrom across the nation each year.

“I initially heard of the proing students from going to school gram from my oboe teacher and to record audition pieces, the oversome older students,” said Hong all process didn’t change too sig-

Lyndon kaneko staff writer

nificantly from prior years. Instead of recording at school, students did so at home and submitted the audio files online for review and feedback.

According to Hong, the hardest part of the audition is preparing the material that’s to be evaluated.

“The solo piece, I got to choose, and it was one of the cencertos that I had been working on. For this specific audition, I had two excerpts to prepare and around three minutes of a solo piece. The excerpts were given by the program so I didn’t have to pick,” Hong said.

Hong has attended a variety of events and taken part in many honors music groups over the

years. During the summer after her 7th and 8th grade year, she attended the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program and the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra. Additionally, this is her fifth year participating in the California All-State Music Education Conference and All-Southern programs.

Last year, Hong was also part of the Interlochen Arts Camp Online and the Colburn Youth Orchestra, based out of the prestigious Colburn School in Los Angeles.

“I’m very proud because it’s been a goal of mine for a while now and I’m really eager to get to play with great musicians,” Hong said.

Photo courtesy of DBHS Performing Arts Academy

Hong, playing the first movement of Concerto in A minor by Vaughan Williams.

Stream it or Skip it:

Raya and the Last Dragon Diverging away from the path of its predecessors, the new Disney animation provides a much-needed message of trust and unity.

LAUREN CHENG contributing writer As Disney’s first animated film to spotlight Southeast Asian characters, “Raya and the Last Dragon” draws and expands on Disney’s most well-known trademarks: intertwining important messages with enchanting animation and charming characters.

Apart from the obvious enjoyment that any Disney film would provide to a young audience, Disney’s latest adventure can be appreciated simultaneously by older audiences, as well. On the surface level, “Raya and the Last Dragon” promotes another dauntless heroine from an underrepresented ethnic group. However, a deeper message is conveyed by the harm inflicted on a magical kingdom due to disunion and mistrust, reflecting the way in which our nation was divided during former President Trump’s term, as he often did not trust many other political leaders.

The film is cinematically opened and narrated by the protagonist, Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran), who explains that for centuries, the mystical land of Kamandra was guarded by dragons that served as protectors of humanity. However, following their sacrifice to save the human race, Kamandra

was divided into five distinct kingdoms, all of which are named after a dragon’s body parts: Heart, Fang, Spine, Talon and Tail.

Eventually, all five kingdoms agree to unite in hopes of reaching a peace agreement. However, when tension emerges, the Dragon Gem, a sacred jewel that houses the magical powers once possessed by the dragons, shatters into five pieces. This opens a gateway for a horrible plague, called the Druun, that transforms people to stone.

Raya survives the Druun, while her father, the leader of Heart, is not as lucky. With this, Raya vows to retrieve the fragments of the Dragon Gem, undo the damages inflicted, and restore harmony to her world.

With the assistance of her trusty sidekick, a water dragon named Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina), who was resurrected as the last of her kind, Raya must travel the lands of Kamandra to successfully carry out her journey, while dodging obstacles bought on by the terrain of each territory.

Among the supporting characters, one notable is Nemaari (Gemma Chan), Raya’s childhood rival, their relationship dating back to a betrayal that led to the fragmentation of the Dragon Gem. These two sworn enemies eventually learn that one may go quicker alone, but further through cooperation. This plot point is one of many reinforcing another powerful theme in this film, finding the courage to trust others.

In addition to the different approaches taken regarding the theme of “Raya and the Last Dragon,” this particular film sets itself

apart from previous Disney animations because of its incredible world building. Directors Don Hall and Carlos Estrada illustrate each province in a distinct manner, all of which portray a specific atmosphere established by Raya’s previous accomplishment. As such, rather than journeying through a uniform, homogeneous terrain, as Raya’s quest progresses, the terrain, weather, color palette and lighting all vary dramatically. In this way, the tone of the film and the environment in which Raya travels clearly reflects the status of her quest, making it easy for certain emotions to be invoked throughout specific scenes of the film.

Even with the familiarity of the somewhat trite story line and slightly rushed events, this film exceeds expectations as Disney un-

expectedly travels out of its comfort zone regarding the messaging, which is centered around the harm caused by conflict. The fact that no stone was left unturned brought a sense of fulfillment and closure as expected from all Disney animations. Additionally, having the first Southeast Asian Disney princess and an almost entirely Asian cast was a major breakthrough in the film industry, as the AAPI community is an underrepresented minority in the American film industry.

I can confidently say that “Raya and the Last Dragon” is one of Disney’s best works given the strong message portrayed, and could not have been released at a better time, as the world needs a message assuring everybody that when in difficult times, trust and unity are crucial for resilience.

Photos courtesy of DISNEY

Tran and Awkwafina voice the two main characters Raya and Sisu, respectively.

A&E Commentary The inherent art in thievery marykate palaris asst. a&e editor

A

rt is one of few hobbies that offers an opportunity to make money in the process, and various online artists use that to their advantage by setting up web shops to sell their work. Easyto-use online shops appear to allow artists the opportunity to use their existing work to make passive profit.

It’s seemingly a win-win situation—to enjoy drawing while making money from an appreciative audience—yet this clearly isn’t the case. As the internet has grown accustomed to never paying for anything digital, and piracy grows rampantly, artists have been hit the hardest as their works are stolen and resold at lower prices, robbing creators of their hard-earned income. In fact, the very same platforms that claim to enable creators to make a living off of their work are the ones enabling and propagating this widespread art thievery.Redbubble, an online marketplace to sell designs, is the epitome of this issue, as the platform’s easy sign-up process and lack of any form of verification requirements allow thieves to steal from artists, free of any repercussions. One may think that only the most popular artists are affected, but small creators are often targeted as well.

To test how easy it is to post stolen art on Redbubble, and see what restrictions it has in place to ensure vendors’ ownership of the art they post, I took an image of official character art from a wellknown video game and turned it into a sticker. If Redbubble has any form of copyright verification system; something to scour the web for similar, copyrighted works, it should be impossible for me to put such a large company’s work up for sale. However, there was only one simple verification measure I had to deal with: Before confirming to list it for the entirety of the internet to see and buy, I was prompted to click a little checkbox that ensured that I had the rights to sell the product.

Despite not actually having permission, I was easily able to get a blatantly stolen image up for sale on Redbubble in mere minutes, hassle-free. If it was this easy for me to upload clearly stolen work, one could only imagine the level of ease with which prolific art thieves could scrape and upload hundreds, if not thousands of work by smaller content creators.

Redbubble needs a verification system that is more reliable than simply checking off a box to show proof of ownership--art thieves on the internet are, of course, prone to dishonesty--like requiring images of the layers in the piece, something that only the original artist would have access to, upfront.

It is already the standard proof that the company asks of artists to settle art theft disputes, and is undoubtedly a better verification method, albeit more labor-intensive on Redbubble’s part. However, thousands of freelance artists are losing money to thieves looking to make a quick buck; it’s the least Redbubble can do to put in more effort and help independent artists trying to make a living, especially since they are also making considerable profit off of these artists’ work in the process.

12 BUSINESS

THE BULL'S EYE

DBHS sports begin to reopen

VICTORIA ARTALE Senior Nate Porter swims towards the ball during water polo practice after the sports at Dimaond Bar High School open up.

Japanese cuisine falls a bit short Makomae from P.6 and one measly shrimp. The combo simply did not mesh well together, as the textures were too similar.

The single, yet large scoop of mochi ice cream was a nice way

to end my meal. It was matcha flavored, so it wasn’t too sweet, but it wasn’t too bitter either. Though the consistency of the mochi was a little on the sticky side, it still made for a pleasant dessert.

In the end, Makomae was average at best, and I don’t plan to re-

turn there anytime soon. Its food wasn’t too good, and wasn’t worth the price. There are plenty other restaurants in the Diamond Bar area that offer a more vast array of well-prepared food, so save your time and grab a bite someplace else.

Select Brahmas take on the AIME AIME from P.3 into a month or two before the competition, so during the 4 weeks before, I study about 1 or 2 hours a day on weekdays and up to 4 hours a day on weekends.”

The students also talked about their prior experiences with math competitions, showing how much effort some students put into qualifying in this notoriously difficult competition.

“I have been taking the AMC exams on their many, various levels

since I was in 5th grade,” Kim said.

“The AMC has lower levels that cap out for different grades, and I have been taking them since I was 10 years old.”

The next step for these students, following the AIME, would be qualifying for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad, which selects around 500 of the most talented mathematicians from across the country.

“After the AIME, the next big checkpoint is to qualify for the USAMO, but it is really competitive,”

Kim said. “These competitions are goals I’ve had for a long time, but the only thing I would really say I’m trying to accomplish is to build onto the things I’ve learned in high school and show that I’m not just good at getting grades.”

After taking the AIME, Kim said that it was quite difficult and truly challenged his problem solving skills.

Fu seemed to agree with him that solving problems on the exam was not an easy task at all. The results have still not been released.

MARCH 24, 2020

MARCH 24, 2021

NEWS

THE BULL'S EYE

13

ONE YEAR LATER Things are starting to look up as the district begins plans to bring students back on campus. We’ve come a long way throughout the past year; here’s a look at some distance learning milestones.

APRIL 20, 2020 Distance learning phase II begins, teachers begin posting updates and assignments, grades cannot decrease compared to March 13 grades

MARCH 31, 2020 Schools are closed for the rest of the year

MARCH 13, 2020 First school closure announced, set to resume April 20, 2020; all extra-curricular activities and athletics are postponed

MAY 28, 2020 Following a virtual ceremony, DBHS holds a drive-through graduation for the class of 2020

AUGUST 10, 2020 First day of the 2020 to 2021 distance learning school year

DECEMBER 11, 2020 FDA issues first emergency use authorization to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for those 16 and older

MARCH 16, 2021 District holds WVUSD high school reopening plan webinar.

MARCH 1, 2021 LA county begins phase 1B vaccination availability, teachers now eligible

FEBRUARY 18, 2021 LA county now qualifies to send elementary students back to schools (below 25 new cases per 100k residents a day)

Story by Camille McCurry, Design by Josh Chou

14

SPORTS

March 24, 2021

THE BULL'S EYE

DB athlete takes plunge, commits to Naval Academy Former gymnast turned diver Mackenzie Kim decided to follow the legacy of her brother.

sessions on the weekends and two hour practices on the weekdays after school.

“For practice everyday, my routine is stretching, running, and conditioning to warm up,” Kim said. “I talk to my coach at the start to know my goals for the practice VEra wang or what skills and meter I would be staff writer working on.”

Holding countless accolades un With many high school athletes der her belt, Kim said her success facing the hurdles of college restems from perseverance and work cruitment during the pandemic, ethic as well as the influence of her Diamond Bar High School junior parents and through her compeMackenzie Kim has already taken titions at CIF for the DBHS swim the plunge in signing with a prestiand diving team. She also excelled gious military school. Announcing outside of school, qualifying for her commitment to the U.S. Naval Zones against collegiate level conAcademy in early March, Kim astestants to go on and place at Napires to repretionals. Through sent the country this she was able “I committed to the Nain professional to gain exposure val Academy because I diving as well as and soon received forge a medical interest from nuwanted to do something career with the merous universibigger than myself and Navy. ties. serve the country.”

Spending much

“I have a pasof her childhood sion for diving so MACKENZIE KIM as a gymnast, I want to be able Kim was among to continue doing California’s top athletes in the it in college so getting recruited sport; she represented the state was one of my goals,” Kim said. in the 2018 USA Gymnastics Ju“Many coaches contacted me and nior Olympics and was placed to watched my videos through clips.” compete in the highest bracket.

Though colleges have cancelled However, Kim said that her time in all official visits since last March, gymnastics was riddled with major she was able to meet with prospecinjuries. tive teams and coaches through From fractures to muscle tears, virtual “junior days.” Eventually she eventually made the decision disclosing her verbal commitment to transition to diving and adjustto the Naval Academy via social ed easily to the new sport within media after long discussions and no time, citing the similar skill rethorough research with her famquirements as an advantage. ily, Kim keeps in contact with her

Now training everyday at the coaches through Zoom and phone Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, Kim calls. spends an average of 22 hours

“The diving program at the diving each week, with six hour academy is great and they have a

Photo courtesy of MACKENZIE KIM

Mackenzie Kim transitioned to diving after suffering from several devastating injuries partaking in competitive gymnastics. beautiful 10 meter tower, which is my favorite event to compete,” Kim said. “My brother is a sophomore there too so that may have influenced me a little bit.”

Eager to represent the country

through a professional diving career as well as explore her interests in the medical field, Kim said she hopes to inspire others to pursue their dreams despite the obstacles.

“I didn’t always plan to go to a

military college until I did more research on it,” Kim said. “I committed to the Naval Academy because I wanted to do something bigger than myself and serve the country.”

Fullerton College program wins over Brahma basketball player The DBHS senior looks forward to taking her childhood passion to the Junior College level. edward kim staff writer

Branding Iron under unique circumstances

T

he annual Branding Iron game has yet to take place in a post-pandemic world. I believe that with the proper safety precautions, DBHS can and should maintain the usual Branding Iron traditions and endeavor to make the most of this event, creating a spectacle for students as it has in previous years.

So far, few details have been revealed regarding the procession of the annual Branding Iron football game between rivals Diamond Bar High School and Walnut High School on April 16. While this event is usually preceded by many festivities, it’s unclear how many of these--if any--will take place this year. However, it is safe to assume that no matter what happens, COVID-19 will still be a major factor.

No matter what, the most vital aspect of Branding Iron this year will be the spectators. It is important to have an audience, even if it is a small one, because it allows the players on the field to feel the school spirit. As an athlete myself, I understand that it’s always easier to perform with encouragement and support. After all, what is a

game with empty bleachers? Most of the excitement that comes from a match, especially one between rival schools, lies in the audience.

As a whole, the spirit of a high school football game comes from the shouting in the bleachers, music blasting through the speakers and cheerleaders performing.

Though it may not be to the same extent, it is certainly possible to make all of these things happen with masks and social distancing this year.

Aside from the event itself, one of the best aspects of football games is that it draws days-long, school-wide participation. Band, dance, cheerleaders and song leaders perform and USB often turns it into a week filled with celebration. Although we are still attending school remotely, this part of Branding Iron can still be done through social media.

Branding Iron is not just a football game. It is a school-wide event, a showcase for the performing arts, a friendly show of rivalry between Diamond Bar and Walnut High School. But most importantly, it is something that cannot be replicated with empty bleachers.

According to Shanise Ho, her “ability to score on offense” and capability to “lead and direct the team” has allowed her to gain a spot on next year’s Fullerton College basketball team.

The Diamond Bar High School senior said that she decided to play for Fullerton out of the other colleges due to the structure of their program.

“I love the way that the head coach [Marcia Foster] runs her team and develops great relationships with her players,” Ho said.

“Her and her program are capable of helping me get to a higher level as a college player, and I also love the way her program is run by her and her staff members.”

Ho also talked about how exciting the commitment process was for her.

“It started from reaching out to the head coach, and as time went by, we communicated through phone and started to make things official with her program; everything was very thrilling for me, ” Ho said.

However, Ho explained that there were still many difficulties in her path to getting accepted, especially due to the pandemic. “[The college process] was absolutely very difficult,” Ho said. “It was mainly due to having to deal with the pandemic over the past year and also not having a basketball season or any travel ball season either; it was hard for coaches and scouts to recruit players.”

Photo courtesy of SHANISE HO

Shanise Ho committed to California State University of Fullerton basketball.

Of course, to be recruited to colthe end,” Ho said. “I like that I’m lege for playing basketball, many always able to learn something years of practice and playing were new about the game whether it was needed. Ho said she had been playgood or bad.” ing basketball for about six years, Ho also has specific training rouas she started around seventh tines for basketball and trains with grade. At DBHS, she was a four- a personal coach outside of school year member of the varsity squad. in order to maintain and grow her

“I play about five to six hours skill. of basketball on the court every “Monday, Wednesday, and Friweek,” Ho said. “I also put in about day I’m in my personal coach’s eight hours in the weight room evgym and practice whatever skill ery week.” work I was assigned that week by

“I like playing basketball behim,” Ho said. “On Sunday morncause I enjoy the process of getting ing, I have one on one personal better and seeing my progress in training with him.”

THE BULL'S EYE

MARCH 24, 2021

SPORTS

15

Taking a pitch for a better opportunity Senior Lexie Martinez has decommitted from Division II San Francisco State University.

Emily koh feature editor An opportunity to play at the Division I NCAA athletics level was enough to make Diamond Bar High School senior and softball player Lexie Martinez change her college plans as she will be taking the mound for Cal State Northridge in the fall.

“To be able to compete at the DI level and play in the Big West Conference was a dream come true,” Martinez said. “It also felt right to me to be closer to home and have the ability for my family and friends to watch me compete.”

In October, Martinez had committed to San Francisco State University. However, when she was offered admission to CSUN last month she changed her decision.

According to Martinez, it was not only the chance to play at a higher athletic level that appealed to her but also the school’s Criminal Justice program and its beautiful campus. She also said that the CSUN coaches’ focus on academics and style of instruction helped solidify her choice.

Martinez was offered admission at CSUN after her current pitching coach sent a video to CSUN’s coach, who was impressed with the variety of pitches Martinez threw.

“I was in shock when I was offered admission because it never crossed my mind that a coach would offer me admission to play for their school based on videos,”

F

ollowing its failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. Men’s National Team looks to rebound in 2022 with a roster that has more potential than any past lineup.

Headlined by Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, Juventus’ Weston McKennie, Barcelona’s Sergino Dest and Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna, all of whom are 18 to 22 years old, the team is gifted with many young players starring on the biggest stages of soccer in Europe.

Pulisic has already made a name for himself as a high-caliber player.

After breaking numerous records with Bundesliga club Dortmund, he transferred to Premier League club Chelsea as the most expensive North American player of all time.

In 2018, Pulisic was also named runner-up for the inaugural Kopa Trophy, an award given to the best performing player under the age of 21. He has also scored 14 goals in 34 games as a U.S. international player. As the best player on the USMNT, it will be exciting to see how Pulisic leads the promising team to success in the near future.

As an important asset to Italian club Juventus, midfielder McKennie has contributed four goals and two assists in 21 Serie A appearances, earning himself a permanent deal after originally being on loan. Now playing alongside the

Martinez said. “It didn’t hit me yet until I signed those papers that I was going up with the best of the best.”

Martinez has been playing softball since she was 10 years old, with the encouragement of her parents.

She stated that within a year, she knew she wanted to become a pitcher.

“I have a lot of people who look up to me and support me and they inspire me to keep pushing and outwork all my competition,” Martinez said. “I also have a great work ethic and drive that keeps me moti-

vated to want to be better than everyone else.”

With college on the horizon, Martinez already has several ambitions in place to motivate her in her collegiate softball career. She hopes she can help the Matadors win the Big West Conference, earn awards such as pitcher of the week and become her team’s starting pitcher.

“I look forward to the pressure that I will undertake when competing for a starting spot and the 5 a.m. lifts and conditioning that I will do to better myself,” Martinez

said. “I also look forward to meeting new people, being able to have an amazing educational experience and seeing my family and friends in the stands cheering me on.”

After graduating from CSUN with a degree in Criminal Justice, Martinez said she plans to follow in the footsteps of her dad, who is a police officer, and pursue a job as a detective.

“I do not plan on playing professionally because I do want to start my career, but I do hope to educate and inspire other girls who choose to play softball,” Martinez said.

Photo courtesy of LEXIE MARTINEZ

Martinez has officially signed her National Letter of Intent to play for the Matadors and obtain a degree in Criminal Justice.

legendary Cristiano Ronaldo and coached by Andrea Pirlo, one of the all-time greatest midfielders, McKennie has two excellent mentors.

He will bring the fruits of these greats’ guidance alongside his own professional experiences to the international stage and thrive with USMNT. Dest is among the most talented prospects at the right-back position. The young defender recorded a 89.1 percent successful pass rate in seven UEFA Champions League

matches for Barcelona and a 88.5 percent successful pass rate in 20 La Liga matches this season. Dest will be an important defensive piece in the USMNT for a long time to come.

Reyna, a regular starting attacking midfielder for Dortmund, adds versatility and agility to the national team. In 22 Bundesliga matches this season, the rising star scored three goals with four assists, contributing as a smooth passer and dribbler. At the rate he is progress-

ing, the 18-year-old is shaping up to be the next big soccer star; he will have a significant role in USMNT’s offense.

With these young and talented players in the roster, U.S. matches in future World Cup tournaments promise an exciting show for those watching. While USMNT has been notorious for its inferior performance on the international scene, this roster has potential to change the reputation of American soccer for the better.

Photo courtesy of U.S. SOCCER

Juventus’ midfielder Weston McKennie, far right, is among the young and talented players on the USMNT roster.

Inequity of school sports

O

ne of America’s greatest obsessions is high school football, and it shows in how much support football teams receive. While other sports struggle to be noticed and funded, high school football teams receive plentiful funding and encouragement from students and staff alike, regardless of the team’s performance.

This is unfair to many other sports, which must far outperform any football team if they’re to receive even an ounce of recognition.

As such, schools need to open their eyes to the plight these other sports face and treat them as equals.

Every public high school has a traditional rival football game at the beginning of the school year.

This event helps reel in funds and the football program garners an overwhelming amount of recognition in the days leading up to the big game. The team is celebrated through school-sponsored spirit days and lunchtime activities regardless of their chance of winning performance.

While this isn’t a bad thing--I have nothing against high school football players--the level of attention the sport as a whole receives is unfairly disproportionate to that of other sports. For example, a school’s golf team might be winning the same amount of matches as the football team does games but will not receive anywhere close to the same amount of funding or support.

Why don’t we support other sports the same way? Do they not deserve to be recognized or have an opportunity to make profit? Are they any less important to their high school?

Every rival game that any sport has should be recognized beyond a simple Facebook or Instagram post made by the school after it is over. If students and staff gave other sports the same level of support before its own rival games, teams would be able to make more money. For example, if USB sold shirts for rival games other than Branding Iron, more people would attend them. They would then be able to make more money off of concessions, game tickets and team merchandise.

While many sports do try to promote their big games, like Diamond Bar High School’s basketball “Black Out” game, they are still not attended nearly to the same extent as football. This is probably because of the lack of support from both students and staff.

Another issue, aside from the discrepancy between fundraising ability, is that football receives an exorbitant amount of funding from the school itself in comparison to other sports. While I understand that football gear is much more expensive than the equipment for any other sport, save for lacrosse or hockey, there are a lot of blatant luxuries football teams could live without. One of these things is the insane number of coaches football teams boast while less popular sports are commonly understaffed.

The encouragement and funding high school football receives should be applied to every other sport on campus. Every sport deserves recognition and proper funding, even if they aren’t as popular as football.

SPORTS JANUARY 27, 2021 16

A day in the life of an athlete For one cross country runner, it was good to be competing again despite restrictions.

Victoria artale sports editor I woke up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday for the year’s first cross country race. Though I’d been waiting a year to finally compete, it was difficult to climb out of bed. It baffled me to think this was ever a normal occurrence. I packed my bag just how I had a little over a year ago--but this time, I included three masks.

Donning the uniform that’s been waiting in the back of my dresser since August 2019, I glanced in the mirror. It still fits.

At Walnut High School, where the meet was being held, I parked in a lot designated exclusively for Diamond Bar and Walnut runners due to COVID-19 restrictions. Once our coach was in sight, we masked up to greet her.

We entered the school’s front gate and prepared to walk the course, familiarizing ourselves with it before the race. In a usual cross country season, I would be racing in a park full of trees and trails. However, because of sports regulations under COVID-19, I now had to race on concrete surrounded by school buildings.

I warmed up and headed to the starting line, noting how few of us there were. Our team, once 14-members strong, has dwindled to five as a result of the pandemic. Many of the girls quit in fear of catching the virus and now we only have the bare minimum amount of girls to possibly place.

A man shouted “Runners on your mark” and the race began. As I ran, I noticed an array of colorful posters. They said things like “Go Diamond Bar” and “We Love Cross Country.” I didn’t know who made them, but I was grateful for the words of encouragement.

My race finally ended and I saw my school’s athletic director and principal cheering me on. I was quick to go back and put my mask back on, and my coach told us she is proud of our performance. My teammates and I then left campus to run an easy mile to prevent injuries.

While cooling down, we were able to peek into the school and cheer on the boys team but briefly. It felt strange to only be able to encourage them this way--throughout my five years running competitively, I have always been able to cheer on my teammates without a metal fence holding me back.

We returned to the school and passed by the line of parents who are waiting to get health screened before being allowed to watch the race. This race was one of the only races my parents have missed due to COVID-19. There was also a security guard making sure everyone on campus who wasn’t racing was wearing a mask. If any of my teammates took off her mask for a second, the security guard would promptly tell her to put it back on.

I grabbed all my stuff and left like my coach had advised, even though it felt like I was only there for an hour. I got home and waited for the results to come in and my team ended up getting third out of five teams. Regardless of the outcome and circumstances, I was happy to finally race again.

MARCH 24, 2021 SPORTS 15

THE BULL'S EYE

Brahma football returns in victory

DBHS team defeats Rowland in first game in more than a year. Game 2 set for Friday.

Charles tam asst. sports editor

After months of postponed schedules in the CIF Southern Section, Diamond Bar football is back on the field and in high spirits, having won its first game of the season last Saturday against the Rowland Raiders 32-13.

The Brahmas’ dominant defensive performance was crucial in their victory over the Raiders as they gave up just two touchdowns over the course of the game—one after an offensive fumble at the eight-yard line and the other following a poor punt.

As a whole, the defense combined for 61 tackles and eight sacks. Head coach Jeff Reitz praised seniors Daniel Solis, Michael Galvan, Jacob Friend and Brian Collison for their exceptional play as they led the defensive team.

“None of it would have mattered without [senior] Brian Collison at noseguard,” Reitz said. “He kept holding their whole offensive line from getting any kind of push.”

The game started on right foot for Diamond Bar with a 72-yard kickoff return by Friend for a touchdown. Shortly after, the Brahmas’ defense forced a fourthdown turnover, which put the offense in a solid position for another touchdown. After consecutive successful offensive runs, sophomore quarterback Maddox Bernardino scored the second touchdown with a quarterback sneak at the oneyard line. The first quarter ended 12-0 in favor of the Brahmas.

In the second quarter, follow ing a series of possession changes

from both teams, junior wide receiver Peter Lee slammed into a Rowland defender en route to a 21yard touchdown. A successful extra point attempt by Diamond Bar ended the first half with a score of 19-0.

To start the second half, junior running back Michael Gorbea took advantage of a hole in the Raiders’ defense run for a 40-yard touchdown. In the following possession, the Raiders reached the 20-yard line after two completed passes and a run by their offense. On a fourth-down field-goal attempt, the Raiders attempted a trickplay, but failed because of a tackle by senior Jacoah Chennault. However, Rowland managed to recover a fumble by the Brahmas at the eight-yard line and proceeded to score their first touchdown. A missed PAT attempt by the Raiders ended the third quarter with a score of 25-6.

In the final quarter, a poor punt from deep in Diamond Bar territory resulted in Rowland’s start at the 33-yard line. With an advantageous position, Rowland went on to score their second touchdown with a roll-in touchdown, along with a successful PAT attempt. Diamond Bar answered back with a 35-yard running touchdown by Bernardino as Rowland’s defenders failed to keep up with him. A successful PAT that followed was the final change in the score, resulting in a 32-13 victory for Diamond Bar. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve

lost [against Rowland] two years in a row,” Reitz said. “It’s exciting to beat a good team that is well coached.”

Although the Brahmas were victorious in their opening game, Reitz said his greatest concern was the team’s strength after not training for an extensive amount of time due to health protocols.

“We are still not in good cardiovascular shape and we haven’t lifted for the last nine months like you

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Under the new COVID-19 guidelines, football is allowed to practice with a ball. normally do,” Reitz said. “It’s a big

“The most important [goal] is concern, but it was neat that we got that the seniors have a blast playthrough; I’m grateful that neither ing,” Reitz said. “This is their last team had a big injury.” hurrah and I want them to have a

In this unprecedented season, good time and a great experience.” not only does Reitz have winning The Brahmas will play their secas his goal, but he also has other ond game of the season, a non-conhopes for his players that go beference game, against the Santa yond winning each game.

Ana Saints on Friday.

Sports practice capacity increases DB athletes practice with fewer restrictions as COVID-19 cases lower to the red tier of contagion.

Kyle hong staff writer

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Sports are allowed to practice without wearing masks, while social distancing.

As changes toward in-person learning are being formulated, sports has also been given more flexibility in what teams are allowed to do.

The athletics department, starting March 1, has allowed entire teams to practice together as opposed to the limited pods that they previously practiced with. Teams are now allowed to use equipment, such as balls, on campus.

Students and parents were given an up-to-date safety waiver detailing many of the concerns and issues that may come with the newest updates in athletics. They were also asked to sign the waiver showing that they understand all the points.

In addition to all these changes, actual contests, including football, golf and water polo, have been scheduled and played.

Boys tennis coach Troy Wong expressed concerns with some issues that may come up during the year that aren’t related to COVID-19.

“In normal years, boys tennis and girls tennis are different seasons so we don’t share the courts,” Wong said. “This year, we will probably have to share, so I’ll need to be creative with drills and scrimmages.”

Head football coach Jeff Reitz

said that during football games, students who are not actively playing must spread out on the sidelines to maintain distance. Conversely, students who are currently playing will play as per normal.

This was handled similarly in baseball. Head baseball coach Jon Hurst said that masks are required while in the dugout. However, players who are active on the field do not need to wear one.

I n addition to these guidelines, equipment used in practice must be sanitized after every single practice or game.

Sophomore tennis player Sage Youschak said that one challenge is determining varsity and JV positions because holding tryouts remains difficult.

“I expect this season to move forward very slowly and to be very confusing,” Youschak said. “Many teams dropped out this season, meaning we’ll have to play less teams.”

Youschak also expressed concern around the possibility of someone catching COVID at practice, saying that it would be a difficult obstacle to overcome if it does happen. It is still unclear what will happen if that occurs.

She also said that there have been significantly less people who attend practice due to parents not being able to drive students to practice at 3 p.m.

“One of the main concerns is that I can’t control the other team’s health and I can’t control the other team’s character,” Reitz said. “All I can do is attempt to control my situation, so I’m just going to keep doing what I do and prepare each week for a game.”