SEPTEMBER 2021

opinion 4

feature 6

a&e 10

40

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SEPTEMBER 08, 2021

Teachers start new legacies

SHOWING SCHOOL SPIRIT

The school welcomed fourteen staff members this year.

Students gathered together to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of the school year in the Rodeo Round-Up rally.

Activities included photo stations from USB (depicted above), sand painting, a petting zoo, and food and drinks for participants.

District offers free lunches “It’s been a great first few weeks and I feel like I’m already starting to connect with a lot of my students.”

SERGIO NAVARRO

Universal School Meals mandates schools to provide meals to students.

AP scores dwindle over pandemic

School implements technology guidelines

The College Board gave test-takers the option of in-person or online exams.

DBHS has offered students a personal computer for classroom use.

Vaccination statuses raise concerns Students voice their concerns on the school’s social distancing protocols.

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

News

2

Clubs kick off with hybridized recruitment time The event will be held until September 10 in the upper courtyard.

Brahmas explore the Upper Courtyard and peruse the various available extracurricular options during lunchtimes.

Anxieties over back to school efforts

the staff Editors-in-Chief News Editors Asst. News Editors

Reyna Wan, Niko Yatawara Marcus Hsieh, Steve Qu Lauren Cheng, Jeremiah Jung

Opinion Editor Asst. Opinion Editors

Reyna Wan Jianlan Busteed, Rachel Lee

Feature Editor Asst. Feature Editors

Somiya Jajieh Natasha Chang, Maia Pak Niko Yatawara Taylor Joe, MK Palaris

A&E Editor Asst. A&E Editors Sports Editors Asst. Sports Editors

Deesha Pathak, Charles Tam Nathan Chu, Vera Wang

Photo Managers Asst. Photo Editors

Reyna Wan, Niko Yatawara Vash Chen, Claire Wu

Business Manager Asst. Business Manager Web Editor Asst. Web Editors

Edward Kim Ryan Kung Reyna Wan Natasha Chang, Lauren Cheng

Staff Writers

Kyle Hong, Lyndon Kaneko, Ashley Park, Ethan Ro

Adviser

Connie Chen

contact us Diamond Bar High School, Room 717 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 717 or submit them online at dbbullseye.com.

Nutrition workers distributing free lunches to student lines during a lunch period.

Cafeteria aims to provide for Brahmas “My immune system is strong within itself and I don’t have any underlying diseases making my survival rate over 95%” COLE WATSON

The Bull’s Eye

September 8, 2021

News

3

Campus tightens precautions New regulations have been set in place in light of DBHS’ reopening.

Lauren Cheng asst. News editor In light of Diamond Bar High School’s reopening, students and teachers alike have many shared concerns about the way in which social distancing guidelines have been relaxed to accommodate the sizes of classrooms.

As this transition from online instruction to in-person instruction occurs, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health requested that all restrictions, especially those concerning the use of masks, whether in an indoor or outdoor setting, be tightened due to the significant spikes in COVID-19 cases.

However, even with these updated restrictions and indoor masking requirements, there have been five reported cases of COVID-19 on the DBHS campus.

“Since the beginning of school, approximately 13 [people] have been identified as close contacts,” COVID Compliance Officer Carrie

Examinees reflect on past online exams AP from p.1 cheating became a prevalent concern for many instructors.

“The online testing environment was definitely less secure than in-person testing, but there is no hard evidence for cheating,” AP English teacher Cage Morgan said.

Angela Jensvold, who, in addition to teaching Physics at DBHS, is also an AP Physics grader, believes that academic integrity may have been violated in the course of online AP exams.

“You could tell there was lots of visible cheating throughout the students’ tests,” Jensvold said.

Aside from academic dishonesty, changes made to this year’s exams as well as a decrease in students signing up for the AP tests could have affected scores as well.

Overall, scores from the online AP tests taken during the pandemic were lower than anticipated.

For example, in AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC, mean scores for DBHS students dropped by more than 20 percent when compared to scores from pre-pandemic 2019.

However, they did experience a small increase from 2020 to 2021, when the exams were extended to their usual length regardless of the format.

“The scores decreased, but there were also less students who took the test from 2021 compared to 2019,” AP Calculus teacher, Michelle Hansen said.

In Psychology, scores dropped from a 3.72 to 3.39 average. History scores also fell dramatically, with the average scores in AP European History and AP United States History classes falling by

over 0.5 points.

This trend also became apparent in AP Art History, where the mean score fell from a passing 3 to a 2.33.

A similar decline was seen in the AP Biology and AP Chemistry courses as well, with a decrease in average scores of 0.47 and 0.45 respectively.

The Chemistry exam, being a harder test for DBHS students to pass, dropped below the passing mark to 2.94 while the Biology score averaged at a passing score of 3.16.

Contrary to this trend, some courses, including AP Physics and AP United States Government and Politics classes, experienced increases in scores.

The average of Physics 2 increased from 3.84 in 2019 to 4.06 in 2021 while Physics C increased from 4.25 to 4.33 in the past two years.

The United States Government and Politics score experienced the largest increase this year, from 3.12 before the pandemic to 3.65 recently.

Although a majority of subjects experienced decreased average scores this year, some students, like senior Gavin Han, expressed their preference for the online test.

“The chairs during the in-person test were uncomfortable and the AC was freezing. Online testing was much better for me because I felt more comfortable at home,” he said.

Junior Allison Yuh also preferred the online AP test as well after taking both in-person and online tests this year.

“Being able to type out short answer questions and essays saved me a lot of time,” Yuh said.

Yee said. “Once we are notified of a positive case, we speak with the case to immediately start contact tracing, trying to determine who they might have been in close contact with during the infectious period.”

In the event of a positive case on campus, members of the school’s COVID Compliance Team which consists of District Nurse Terry Guest, Operations Manager Mike Bromberg, Assistant Principal Elizabeth Chang, Principal Reuben Jones and Yee, are notified immediately. The team reaches out to any students who have been in close contact with a student reported to have COVID. “The term ‘close contact’ has a very specific definition. It would mean six feet or less for 15 minutes or more, cumulatively, over a 24 hour period,” Yee said. “Once we have identified those close contacts, we reach out to them specifically to let them know they have been identified as a close contact and give them further instructions and information that they need.”

In order to ease the process of contact tracing, most teachers have adopted permanent seating arrangements for their classes.

Because of these several factors, administrators are constantly making accommodations for all teachers who have been requesting plexiglass dividers, in addition to providing them with sound boxes and various microphone systems.

“We are working with the guidelines that we have in place today and making sure that we are compliant with them,” Yee said. “But we always know that at any minute, we can get a call or an email that notifies us that things have changed and that either the governor or the Department of Health has made changes that require us to change what we are doing and to change our protocols.”

Nevertheless, all DBHS staff send consistent updates to both students and parents, especially concerning any positive cases on campus.

“I do not see [a possible shutdown] in our immediate future,” Yee said. “We have done a pretty good job of being able to bring students back on campus successfully and making sure that everybody knows what our priorities are so we can keep everybody safe and healthy here on campus.”

Poor network impedes classes BYOD from p.1

VASH CHEN Giovanna Santiago (left) and Geraldine Chan bring their expertise to campus.

Brahmas embrace incoming staff members teachers from p.1

math instead.”

Graduating from Sunny Hills High School, Bae studied at California State University, Fullerton for his math degree.

He went on to work for La Habra High School from 2015 to 2017 and Southland High School from 2017 to 2020.

Bae moved to Diamond Bar High School because of its well-known engineering program. This program which helps motivate students to learn more about math.

He felt that it would best utilize his skill set and help students find the right path for themselves.

“I know that students here are motivated to do well, and I just want to help with setting the right goals and taking the right steps,” Bae said.

Taking up the mantle from Bill Foley, Geraldine Chan has joined the staff as the new Photography teacher and has been assisting Rhoda Dizon with her animation class due to her background in the field.

She graduated from Walnut High School before studying animation at Cal State Long Beach.

After receiving her bachelors, she completed her educational training at Sierra Vista High School.

This is Chan’s second teaching job after having served as a substitute teacher for Collegewood Elementary where she taught over Zoom.

“It’s pretty different working here because of the age gap, but it’s the same sort of environment where I like working with the people here a lot, even if they’re a little older,” Chan said. “I do really enjoy working with all the technology here because I have this computer lab that the kids get to work with.”

In order to move closer to home and become more involved in her local community, new College and Career Pathways Advisor Giovanna Santiago chose to leave her job at La Serna High School in Whittier and pursue work at DBHS. “I used to work out of district but the job here and there are actually the same thing. The only reason I’m here is because I wanted to help students here because they didn’t have [career] services here,” Santiago said.

Santiago graduated from Gladstone High School in Covina and ended up going to Azusa Pacific University, where she graduated with a bachelors in political science.

“Before moving here, I feel I didn’t get to build connections with students since everything was virtual. Students didn’t really stay around since they were just done with online [classes], nobody would stay after to talk,” Santiago said. “But it’s been really nice here, I really enjoy the interaction. Even if students don’t necessarily know where the career center is, or what it does yet, I’m trying to have an open door so that students feel welcome inside.”

English teacher Cage Morgan said.

“I think it’s useful for students and teachers to have all their materials in one convenient place and not having to lug things around.”

While the new program allows for an easier transition into distance learning—should the occasion arise— and decreases paper usage, some students have had reservations about the policy, primarily concerning the safety of their devices during a typical, busy school day.

“I’d rather not bring my own device since I don’t want to accidentally drop it,” freshman Jacob Yun said via Discord. “I use it a lot at home so the risks that come with bringing it here just aren’t worth taking.”

With so many teachers choosing to integrate aspects of distance learning into in-person classes, new issues surrounding internet connection have come up.

The school’s WiFi has been severely stalling in most classes due to overwhelming demand. This consumption has also affected other networks reserved for teachers as some students are unaware of the BYOD network and connect automatically to the teacher’s.

“I remember when we were doing [Short Answer Questions] in my APUSH class, we had a 15 minute time limit to answer three questions and the Internet just stopped working. I had to use my phone to type and almost didn’t turn it in on time,” junior Bryan Chiu said.

While most math and science courses continue to use paper due to the unique symbols they require that cannot be replicated digitally, most students are thankful for digitalization as it has decreased the amount of supplies needed.

“Honestly, other than the STEM courses, bringing my own device has saved me the effort of lugging around my textbooks and it makes staying organized way easier,” Yun said.

4

Opinion

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

- OPINIONThe student paper provides a forum for Diamond Bar High School students’ perspectives. Contact us to voice your opinions about issues discussed in The Bull’s Eye.

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merica was built upon freedoms: the freedoms of religion, speech, and the press. Newspapers have been in circulation for over 300 years, and editorial articles are a major part of any journalistic enterprise. While news articles report the facts or describe events, editorials allow writers to express their opinions and share them with the public.

The whole of The Bull’s Eye is, essentially, a slice of reality among all the purple-gold hype. For students, the

Opinion section is a forum in which students can discuss their opinions on a multitude of topics, from the condition of school bathrooms to the popularity of presidential candidates.

Our goal is simply to dedicate our writing and ourselves to the freedom of expression of student opinion. Diamond Bar High School is considered by many to be one of the best schools in the nation, but like all schools, it has its flaws.

The articles discuss the unsavory

Commuting cross-country

aspects of high school that students whisper about in the hallways, cutting through all of the fluff and pro-high school propaganda that thrives on every school campus.

High school, while exciting and commonly regarded as some of the most important years of people’s lives, has its ups and downs, and that’s what The Bull’s Eye is all about.

Our goal isn’t to tear down DBHS’ carefully crafted reputation, but rather to expose issues that students expe-

O

Cartoon Courtesy of VICTORIA WANG

only for the staffers. The Bull’s Eye encourages the entire student body to keep the discussion alive by sending in letters expressing different perspectives, some of which may also end up printed in the newspaper or on the paper’s website. In a society in which teenagers’ opinions generally aren’t given much value, this is our way of being heard.

Opinion is the exception to the rule, the one section to which anybody can contribute—take advantage of it.

Pioneering paperless classes

ETHAN RO STAFF WRITER

rience so that these problems can be solved.

The Eye of the Editors, usually accompanied by student quotes, represents the collective opinion of the editors, while opinions expressed in regular editorial articles are those of solely the writer. Additionally, each issue contains several editorial cartoons, each of which expresses a perspective through art and allows readers to interpret the image as they wish.

However, the Opinion section isn’t

ne of the few places in our lives where the use of personal technology is limited is school. But, after a full virtual year, the threat of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and the implementation of the Bring Your Own Device program, the use of personal technology during school hours has been normalized. Instead, teachers have prioritized decreasing the amount of contact, which has led to digitalization in the classrooms.

This opens up a new discussion: the positives behind this modification to the curriculum.

With the increased usage of online learning platforms, like Google Classroom, close contact, due to hard copies of classwork or homework, would be reduced in light of the use of digital worksheets.

Not only does this increase safety within the classroom, it can help students stay organized. Especially with Google Classrom’s intricate design and due date notification

system, students would be reminded of upcoming assignments promptly, in addition to being able to submit assignments with the click of a button. Moreover, such worksheets would greatly reduce paper usage.

This transition would also benefit teachers greatly. Because the majority of assignments would be digital, teachers would spend less time hovering over printers waiting for photocopies. In turn, a simple scan and upload would suffice,

“...the chances of more than one person using the same device are greatly reduced... ”

leaving much more time for teachers to focus on other priorities.

Not to mention, if positive Covid cases on campus rise to a concerning level, the school would have to shut down and switch back to distance learning. If such a thing were to happen, students would have to do nothing more than wake up and sit down at their desk: their new learning environment for the foreseeable future. Digitalizing the curriculum right now would help make that transition smoother.

But, for those who do not have a device they can bring to class, the school must provide some form of technology; this is where the newly implemented provisions come into play.

Starting in August, Diamond Bar High School announced that they will be providing devices for every student in need of one. The biggest issue with schools having to do this is quite obvious— money. In a few years, current computers will become outdated, and the school will be forced to replace them with newer, faster technology that they may not have a budget for.

Furthermore, the school will have to sanitize all devices once they are returned at the end of each student’s high school career.

However, students have been permitted to customize their devices with stickers, making it harder to sanitize. Due to this, the school will most likely resort to purchasing entirely new batches of computers for everybody, which can be costly.

With a more digital approach to learning this year, students and staff can expect a safer learning environment, one decreases paper usage and the chance of COVID-19 spread. And, considering the unpredictable state of this pandemic, going digital and establishing BYOD procedures can be considered the first of many steps being taken in order to create a safe and sanitary learning environment.

Embedded misogyny in political society wan-take

REYNA WAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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omen are to be touched not seen; alluring but quiet; obedient and complacent— these are the age-old allowances of women in society.

While modern times have proven just how false these statements are, especially with the #MeToo and #Time’sUp movements, changes for women have been slow, and, in political and high society circles, non-existent.

Instead, men have gotten better at hiding their crimes, especially in America’ gerontocracy, using under-handed tactics and back-handed compliments to hide their misogynistic nature. To them, those “innocent” touches are normal, customary even. And, as women have become more vocal about

such harassment, these are the politicians that hold fervently to their chauvinistic customs, preventing the country from true change.

Most recently, such excuses were seen in the cases of Andrew Cuomo—the former governor of New York who, on August 1, was accused of sexually assaulting at least 11 women.

Among the most provocative of the administrative allegations is Lindsey Boyland, a former administration aide to Cuomo, who told the New York Times that he’d “go out of his way to touch her on her lower back, arms and legs.”

What’s even more daunting is that these accusations are not the first. Multiple women in 2020, starting with 25-year-old Charlotte Bennet, accused Cuomo of sexual harassment. Bennet, a former aide to the governor, told the New York Times how Cuomo would commonly ask about her sex life, going as far as to ask if age was a concern in her romantic relationships.

To each of these cases, Cuomo responded that he “never touched anyone inappropriately” and that “kissing and hugging was his ‘customary way of greeting.’” If anything, this response shows how inherently backward Cuomo’s thinking is; in no circumstance

should such behavior be exhibited when greeting others.

Yet, till the end, Cuomo denounced everything as accidental, even as he announced his resignation, which only occurred after continuous pressure from his constituents, Biden and various Democrats in the House and Senate.

In hindsight, it sounds almost contradictory; that a Democrat with two daughters and a wife would hold onto such heinous ideals. But, sexual assault has no party affiliation and may be one of the sole things that many male politicans have the same opinion on.

From the beginning of his 2016 campaign to his 2020 re-election defeat, former Republican President

Donald Trump has been accused by 26 women for various sexual crimes, including harassment, assault and rape. To this, Trump simply dismissed these claims, labeling these women as “liars” and forcing them into silence.

Of course, Trump and Cuomo are only two of the many accused; politicians like Brent Kavanaugh, Bill Clinton and many others have followed similar patterns in sexual harassment allegations: accused and tried, but rarely condemened.

These figures have even managed to influence younger politicians, exemplified in the case of R-Florida Representative Matt Gaetz.

A 38-year-old conservative who is currently serving his first term,

Photo Courtesy of SAMANTHA SOPHIA/UNSPLASH

Gaetz was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old minor in mid-May. According to the New York Times, instead of taking the claims seriously, Gaetz brushed the issue aside and called his federal investigation an “elaorate scheme involving ‘false sex allegations’ to extort him and his family of $25 million.” Gaetz’s case is only one of many that prove how politicians are taught to side-step, swaying public opinion to them.

However, it’s more than just politicians; there are also corporate executives, celebrities and all of those who ride the high horse of being the top 1%.

So, what all these cases have really proven is one thing: we, as a society that demands justice, have failed to hold the top 1% accountable for their crimes and, in the process, have allowed for a misogynistic culture of “innocent” touching and “accidental” sexual assault to thrive.

If we truly want change to occur, then we must hold these men of “high importance” accountable for their misconduct.

It is only then that society can begin moving towards the basic rights and protections that all human beings, including women, are entitled to.

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

Opinion

5

DBHS doubles down on Delta

JIANLAN BUSTEED

COVID-19, DBHS has hosted three vaccination clinics, including the most recent family vaccination clinic, where students and their families can be vaccinated. These vaccinations have been proven to prevent severe symptoms in the unlikely event that they happen to contract COVID-19.

The district has also been proRachel lee viding a continuously updated Asst. opinon editor COVID-19 response protocol with fter having nurtured over a every report of a positive case on year’s worth of quarantine campus, as well as voluntary drivefatigue, a return to distance through COVID-19 testing at both learning after just a few weeks of DBHS and Walnut High School. in-person classes would be devasSafety measures aside, a return tating to the mental health and edto distance learning would disrupt ucation of students and teachers. the lives of both teachers and stuWith outbreaks of the newer, dents who have begun the return to more contagious Delta strain of normalcy. For all years, except seCOVID-19 on the rise, precautions niors, another year indoors would against infection have increased rob them of half their high school yet again. This, along with the careers. Not to mention, GLCs commotion surrounding last would be forced to manage anothyear’s high infection rates and the er virtual graduating class, and recently reported positive cases at previous complaints from the class Diamond Bar High School, provide of 2021 have shown how much of a good reason for the worries about struggle that would be. what is being done to prevent furThere is also a variety of much ther spread. more viable options besides anHowever, the new measures that other year of distance learning. have been taken, One such option as well as the menfor crowd control tal damage done to would be the hy“...a return to students and staff brid schedules distance learning during distance that were briefly learning, show entertained last would disrupt the there is no need to year, or, perhaps, lives of both teachrestrict students more strictly imers and students” to their computers plemented efforts once again. at social distancIn California, ing. laws have already been passed reFor instance, student movement quiring teachers to confirm their could be regulated by designating vaccination status: the first step tocertain hallways or stairways for wards simplifying contact tracing those going only in a certain diand securing safer environments rection; this is something that is for schools. In line with this, DBHS already being done in the language has begun its transition to a conbuildings with the leftover sticktactless, digital curriculum with ers meant to direct visitor traffic the new “Bring Your Own Device” during the summer GLC meetings. program, which limits the amount There is no reason to return stuof possibly infected surfaces and dents to their homes with naught interaction. but their computer screens as menIt’s also required that masks retor and company. main on at all times inside classAll the precautions that have rooms. Most teachers have even been taken at every level, from spaced out their seating charts and school to state, as well as the debilhave at least one hand sanitizer itating effects of last year’s attempt dispenser in their rooms so that at distance learning, are evidence students can be assured that their that schools should have no issue health is a top priority. remaining in-person, and students Should students or parents conare well-protected from the threat tinue to worry about contracting of COVID-19.

Professionalizing Pronouns A

MK Palaris AssT. A&E Editor

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t the start of school, when people are getting to know each other and teachers are assigning introductory questionnaires, you may have noticed an added question that hasn’t been asked before: What are your preferred pronouns?

Thanks to a growing culture of inclusivity and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, it is no longer uncommon to share one’s set of pronouns along with their name during introductions in both casual conversation and professional settings.

For so long, people have been under the misconception that sex is synonymous with gender and that one’s appearance dictates what they identify as.

Therefore, the vast majority conclude people’s pronouns on the basis of assumption— if they have a feminine or masculine name or their outward appearance, among other things.

With more teachers asking this simple question, transgender, gender noncomforming and nonbinary students can be referred to with the correct terms.

More than that, the question of one’s pronouns in conversation should be normalized, as it’s much less invasive than the typical “are

you a boy or a girl?’ type of question. Not everyone identifies as a binary gender like male or female, as evidenced by nonbinary people, but everyone has pronouns.

There is also the issue of closeted transgender students having their teachers refer to them by their preferred pronouns in front of their parents when they use a different set at home.

However, this problem can easily be remedied by teachers asking what set of pronouns to use when referring to students in front of their parents. Again, it’s simple, yet considerate questions like these that allow transgender or nonbinary youth to feel more comfortable being themselves.

For the most part, teachers asking their students for their pronouns is a great method of making transgender students feel welcome in the classroom.

But,

interrogating one about their pronouns in casual conversation can often be counter-intuitive, despite initially seeming progressive.

Some people are just uncomfortable with sharing their pronouns, because, in most cases, it reveals their gender identity as well.

Students who aren’t out to anyone, even at school, might be deterred from sharing their preferred pronouns in fear of judgement, as they may not currently pass as the gender they identify as according to society’s standards. Because of this, it shouldn’t be a problem if someone doesn’t want to give out their pronouns.

As small an action as it may seem, becoming comfortable with sharing one’s pronouns in a casual or professional conversation is a major step toward having a more accepting society.

Extensions until the end of time Jianlan Busteed Asst. Opinion Editor

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fter a year of lenient teachers, lulled into extending deadlines by my persuasive tendencies, I have lost all my time management skills. Instead of learning math or science, I learned that teachers are always willing to extend deadlines to fit my schedule, knowledge I will use to my advantage come this school year.

For one, my summer work is nowhere close to finished, even though summer break is. Previous years have seen me stressed out, frantically rushing to complete it, but this summer, my assignments are no less than forgotten, hidden away in my computer files.

Besides, there’s no reason to worry when I’ll probably have another two months to work on it anyway.

I think I speak for all of my classmates when I say that deadlines set months before are unrealistic this year. How are we supposed to complete our homework, play video games and binge watch Netflix, when we no longer have so much free time? If anything, teachers should work to accommodate the poor time management habits that every student has inevitably picked up over distance learning.

As a born leader, I can ensure that every teacher will give us the extensions we are entitled to, through persistent emails and individual meetings. I may even promise to manage my time better, which, of course, will never actually happen.

There’s no way I will have any time to complete assignments and study for tests when two hours of my day will be dedicated to trying to convince my six teachers to extend their impractical deadlines.

You would think my hard work would earn me praise from all of my classmates. However, when my in-person summer school teacher announced the usual extensions, some of my ungrateful classmates complained about how they stayed up late for nothing.

Fortunately, the gratitude from

more sound-minded students was enough to motivate me to continue doing God’s work, alleviating stress and granting the gift of time to the students who need it most.

From teachers, I expect nothing less than sympathy for the many obstacles students will face in the upcoming school year.

SATIRICAL selflessly

If somehow, against all odds, our struggles are ignored and the expected extensions are not granted, we students will have no choice but to prioritize easier classes over boring ones. With no way to honestly pass all of our classes, the only people to blame for our failing grades will be our teachers.

Cartoon Courtesy of HEATHER MA

6 Feature

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

From distressed to well-dressed NATASHA CHANG ASST. FEATURE EDIITOR

Perfect pink sauce pasta Maia Pak asst. feature editor

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an’t decide between creamy, luscious alfredo and savory, fresh marinara? Then this garlicky, rich and cheesy pasta is for you! Based on the special “pink sauce” pasta at Italian restaurant Mama D’s, located in Newport Beach, this tomato cream pasta satisfies all my cravings without the long drive. Made with simple ingredients, this dish is easy to prepare, super customizable and perfect for weeknight dinners.

Ingredients (Makes 4-6 servings): 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups marinara sauce (storebought or homemade) 1 cup heavy cream ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping 1 pound of pasta (I used fusilli, but any shape will do) ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional) Grilled protein of choice

While many of us fell victim to the pandemic slump following the initial distress, alumni Ace Greene was one of the few exceptions-successfully launching his clothing brand “Distressed Los Angeles” in August of 2020. Since then, the brand has grown exponentially, receiving nothing but love and support from loyal customers.

Though Greene has been planning for Distressed LA since the summer before his senior year, he too felt the cloud of hopelessness from the sudden deprivation of major role models in 2020.

“Everyone’s favorite stars Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman had passed, COVID had killed my senior and the George Floyd riots had took the world by storm,” Greene said via Snapchat.

Amidst all the chaos that further ensued, the designer still kept his creativity alive by tirelessly working on building his brand, creating about six designs a day, with each design taking about an hour and a half.

“Amongst all that pain and anxiety we suffered, we grew stronger,” Greene said. “ I felt my

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, salt your pasta water generously to help give the pasta more flavor.

2. Then, add your pasta to the pot and cook until al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water and strain, but do not rinse.

3. Heat up extra virgin olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.

4. Once the oil is hot, add in minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Saute the mixture until the garlic reaches a golden-brown tint andthe mixture becomes very fragrant.

5. Turn heat to low and add marinara sauce to the pan. Mix the sauce to thoroughly combine.

6. Slowly add in heavy cream, stirring the mixture gently. Simmer the sauce and allow it to thicken slightly.

7. Once the sauce has thickened, add in the pasta. Before stirring, top the pasta off with parmesan cheese. The cheese will melt onto the hot pasta, allowing the sauce to stick to the pasta better.

8. Fold the pasta to coat it in the sauce.

9. Next, add in reserved pasta water and stir vigorously. This will create an emulsion and give your pasta sauce the shiny, restaurant-like quality. Add in protein, if using.

10. Serve pasta with extra parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes, if desired, and enjoy!

Note: Since I really like spicy foods, adding in copius amounts of red pepper flakes was an obvious choice for me, but you can definitaly hold back.

higher calling was to help others who are still trying to get out of that distressed state, hence the name ‘Distressed LA’.”

Greene’s interest in clothing developed from his passion for outfit-styling from as young as 13, as well as a conscious reminiscence of times when he wasn’t able to afford high-end fashion pieces.

“I’ve always loved to put together and shop for different styles of clothes, [be] it vintage or brand new off of rodeo drive,” Greene said. “I thought to myself I could definitely form a brand that can help give back to my community and similar to Louis Vuitton of Gucci status to my clothes.”

Since starting Distressed LA, Greene has stayed true to his original mission: make wearable inspiration and give back to the area that had helped raise and shape him. So far, he has donated undisclosed amounts to organizations like the NAACP’s Criminal Justice Program.

“After each collection of clothes I release on my website, I donate 30 percent of all proceeds to some charities that require the most attention right now,” Greene said.

Past donations made by the streetwear creator include COVID-19 kits, which he buys and passes out on Skid Row. Each Distressed LA product that is purchased is equivalent to one kit donated; each containing basic sanitary products, non-perishable snacks and, most importantly, masks and hand sanitizer to ensure that those who receive the care kit will have a basic form of protection against the virus.

Photo courtesy of ACE GREENE Models display the designs of Ace Greene, creator of brand Distrssed LA and DBHS alumni.

“The highest human act a person can achieve is to inspire another human. When people tell me the brand inspires them to follow their own dream and do better each day, I consider that to be very successful,” Greene said.

Although Greene’s expectations for the brand are based around his desire to lend a helping hand, the brand has surpassed some of his objective goals as well.

“A big milestone was having an actor by the name of Theodore Barnes, who played on shows like The Goldberg’s, wear a [Distressed] shirt on national televi-

sion,” he said. “Theodore has supported each collection of clothes I have put out since the start of my journey as a clothing brand owner. One day, I had a FaceTime call from him showing me he was on set of his new show ‘The Ms. Pat Show’ on BET, wearing a Distressed LA hoodie.”

As the sole manager of Distressed LA, Greene also handles the business and logistics of the brand. With the popularity of his products increasing, Greene plans to take his successful endeavor to

Greene ON P. 12

Inspiring a new wave of activism

Ashley Park Staff writer Controversial topics such as LGBTQ+ rights, racial injustice and suicide are often brushed under the rug, but Diamond Bar High School junior Olivia James is already in action to spread awareness and make changes.

In order to address these social justice issues, James joined Melanted Youth— a community and social media platform that provides teenagers and young adults the opportunity to speak out on world issues and make chang-

es. The organization was created last year by James’ middle school peers, Chloe Serrano and Ahsha Jones with a motto of “mobilizing young voices.”

James was inspired to join Melanated Youth after she saw that they were making this coalition out of a genuine desire to help others in their community.

“I feel like this [“mobilizing youth voices”] perfectly encapsulates Melanated Youth because we take world issues and put them on platforms for people our age and we gear our events towards youth so this generation can grow up educated and open minded,” junior Olivia James said.

James is the San Bernardino County Regional Director of Melanated Youth, and also a part of their fundraising team. As the director, she is the main liaison between her community and the rest of the coalition, where she is responsible for anything from organizing mutual aid events to communicating with the community.

In mutual aid events, Melanated Youth purchases essentials such as food and first-aid, while also accepting food and hygiene products from community donations to the homeless.

“The most difficult project I’ve worked on is the mutual aid,” James said. “It’s hard to find mon-

Photo courtesy of OLIVIA JAMES From left to right, Olivia James, Ahsha Jones, Chloe Serrano, Danya Ali and Sondos S. are all officers of the coalition Melenated Youth.

ey, sponsors, and safe areas to hold it.”

Some of the main social justice issues that Melanated Youth have worked on are the Black Lives Matters protests last summer and pride month in June. Recently, they’ve been addressing the crisis in Afghanistan, where they’re currently working on infographics and reposting information about Afghanistan to their Instagram, @ melanatedyouth.

So far, Melanated Yo uth has organized two mutual aids, a protest for racial justice and numerous webinars discussing worldly issues. After attending these different events, James’ favorite event that she attended was the AAPI solidarity protest since she had the opportunity to give a public speech about breaking down the definition of solidarity.

“It was a very unifying and empowering experience,” James said.

James’ goal for Melanated Youth is to expand the organization through social media and word of mouth to get more volunteers. She also wants to host more protests and mutual aid events to draw more attention to the coalition.

In order to gain more publicity, Melanated Youth recently launched a website. https://melanatedyouthco.wixsite.com/melanatedyouth “I see the world through a different lens now because of Melanated youth,” James said, “I always consider the other side of everything and I feel myself being more inclusive when I go about my daily life.”

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

Feature

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INSTILLING A RAY OF HOPE edward kim business manager The passing of an 11-year-old boy due to cancer— such a heartbreaking moment has somehow led to an on-going legacy of bringing happiness and increased awareness.

To honor her younger brother Bryson Yang, who passed away at the age of 11 from leukemia, class of 2020 alumni Breanna Yang created Diamond Bar High School’s Sunshine Club.

The club’s mission is to fulfill her brother’s wishes to bring joy to pediatric patients like him, while spreading awareness about their battles against their serious health conditions.

Since Yang’s graduation from DBHS, senior Kristin Joe has taken on the role of club president, hoping to expand even further on the Sunshine Club legacy that Yang had to leave behind.

“My main goal with Sunshine Club is to impact as many patients’

lives as possible,” Joe said via Instagram. “Through our efforts to help out patients, we hope that the club can reassure many patients.”

With the intent of spreading awareness, she also wants club members to interact with patients more this year.

“I hope to make our club members more aware of the impact that cancer has on thousands of children and their families’ lives,” Joe said. “We want to encourage members to spread awareness to the community themselves.”

Sunshine Club has previously held a variety of different interactive events for club members. They had a program that offered free tutoring to pediatric cancer patients, as well as gift donations during the holidays; they also plan to pursue similar programs this year.

So far, the club has proven successful—continuing to draw in new members and spreading positivity.

Senior club member Jolina Chen said she was influenced to join the club, because of the passion she

had for the club.

“I joined Sunshine Club because I really, really admire its mission; that being cheering up kids with pediatric cancer while also spreading awareness about the topic,” Chen said. “It’s heartbreaking that

these kids don’t get to really enjoy being kids.”

She also explained how the club has taught her to take nothing for granted, even the simplest every day activities.

“To these kids, even something

as small as writing them a card or a simple gesture can mean a lot to them,” Chen said. “I hope that my experiences in this club keeps me grateful for what I have, and I hope I can make [patients’] days a little brighter through Sunshine Club.”

Photo Courtesy of SUNSHINE CLUB DBHS’ Sunshine Club hosted a volunteer event last October where club members packaged Halloween goodie bags for pediatric patients.

A passion for configurations ethan ro staff writer At first glance, building a gaming computer can seem exceptionally difficult for many aspiring gamers. Persevering through this challenge, however, are sophomores Elina Pae and Jason Baik.

Although prebuilt options exist, Baik and Pae wanted to choose their components and assemble them on their own due to their passion for computer assembly and gaming.

“My interest in computers started when I was first introduced to digital art and graphic design,” Pae said. “I came to realize that my computer was not powerful enough to handle those tasks, so I made the decision to upgrade.”

Both Pae and Baik struggled with their devices being far too slow for their goals. After building his own computer, Baik built multwiple PC’s as well for his family and friends.

“I have always been interested in assembling parts and I’ve also wanted a powerful computer to run my games and creative programs, so this experience was a plus-plus for me,” Baik said.

The sophomores purchased their parts through online and physical stores like Micro Center, NewEgg and Amazon. The two said that each of their building practices were relatively smooth and simple, turning to online forums such as Linus Tech Tips on YouTube occasionally for aid.

However, despite the relatively fluid building process, a tedious step known as cable management proved to be a small challenge for Baik. This step typically requires the assembler to wire and sort various cables in order to make the overall build appear cleaner and well organized.

“The process is pretty smooth until you have to do cable management. It usually takes me around 30 minutes to an hour, depending on what I’m working with,” Baik said.

Throughout the building process, the two had to make sure they

stayed focused and paid attention while doing the more meticulous building steps to ensure the finished product worked properly.

“I had to constantly stay organized since there were so many easy-to-lose parts, especially screws and cables,” Pae said. “ I also had to constantly make sure that everything was properly screwed in and fully put into place.”

As small as it may sound, building computers left permanent impressions in Pae’s and Baik’s lives. Pae said that she expects her future career to involve computers in some form, even if she’s not sure what she wants to specialize in yet.

“I think that being able to build a computer would be really beneficial if I want to work with computer hardware,” Pae said. “Whether I go into the hardware or software field, detecting bugs and promptly fixing them would be easier for me since I’ve built similar devices before.”

Baik said that having built multiple computers in his life made him more capable and confident in the computer building field.

“With the amount of building experience I have, I feel that I could confidently assist any aspiring builders or even build computers for other people in the future,” he said.

MK PALARIS The interior of Delicious Food Corner in Diamond Bar that specializes in Cantonese cuisine.

A delicious twist on Canto cuisine mK palaris asst. A&E editor

Photo courtesy of JASON BAIK Individually buying and assembling his PC has saved Baik hundreds of dollars on hardware.

VASH CHEN Sophomore Elina Pae with key components utilized in her self-assembled, custom device.

Delicious Food Corner, one of the newer restaurants in Diamond Bar, lives up to its name by providing a vast array of tasty Cantonese cuisine.

Before entering the establishment, I immediately noticed the welcoming ambience and the modern interior design, both adding to the clean atmosphere of the eatery.

The interior looked just as polished as the outside, along with oriental decor ornamenting the restaurant.

While indoor seating was available, I took my food to-go. I waited for a somewhat long 25 minutes, despite the staff telling us that it’d be out in 15, though it was understandable based on how packed the restaurant was.

My order started out with the fried chicken wings with spicy salt ($10.95); a surprising favorite as its crunchy skin wasn’t as soggy as others I’ve had before.

The meat was also tender and savory, leaving me to strip the meat nearly clean off the bone.

What really put it over the top were the chopped up bits of spring onion and spices that dazzled across the meal, adding to the

spicy, peppery flavor.

As for my main course, I ordered the HK Boy Cart noodle ($14.95), which consisted of rice noodles with wonton broth, roasted duck and honey BBQ pork.

Before I even ate the meal, I already knew I was going to enjoy it based on its rich and tangy smell.

With every bite of the soft rice noodles, I ate one of the savory toppings, which added something extra to the more plain tasting noodles.

The wontons were nothing special, and, even though they added an unusual, fish-like taste, it wasn’t to the point that it deterred me from the taste.

The roasted duck was a tad hard to eat, but , once I worked my way around the bones, I ended up being met with a palatable flavor. The real winner was the honey BBQ pork, as the meat, along with the skin, was tender and savory.

As a refresher, I got the iced HK milk tea ($3.95). I’d say it was the only, real disappointment of the meal, since the expected mellow taste of the drink was watered down by the ice.

Overall, Delicious Food Counter proved to be a great establishment, and I’ll likely be returning here sometime in the near future.

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Feature

The Bull’s Eye

story by Feature I design by Somiya Jajieh

"[In person] is more fun, I like walking. Walking is cool. I like being in my classes [and] seeing people."

"I didn't really expect to get lost, but I expected my classes to [be more] spread out a bit harder."

"I wasn't expecting much from school, but when I first came I realized how big the campus is and I had to run to classes.""

Raina Oh (10)

"My sister told me that all the older kids bully the freshmen, and so I was really scared for that... [but] everyone just does their own thing."

September 8, 2021

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

Arts and Entertainment

animes reaching new audiences With many teens left with excessive amounts of free time during quarantine, anime has reached an even larger audience in mainstream media, officially exiting its niche origins. Here are our top picks of resurfaced classics and newer titles that captured the attention of many over a summer of social distancing:

Horimiya is a romance show that gained a lot of attention when it aired near the beginning of 2021. The show revolves around Hori and Miyamura and their relationship, with the anime’s title being an integration of both these character’s names. Hori seems like a well-composed and social girl and Miyamura has an overall gloomy facade, but both characters contrast in their physical appearance. With likable characters and immediate progression, this anime’s unconventional approach to romance has made it an instant hit. In addition, the writing is not overly predictable and the way that Hori and Miyamura act in secret is overall adorable and engaging.

From its late 2020 release to its finale in early 2021, Jujutsu Kaisen has gained large amounts of popularity. Despite following a somewhat generic storyline, the supernatural, shonen series is about highschool student Yuuji Itadori, who finds himself suddenly thrust into a world of curses, the show has many great fight scenes and other great shonen qualities as it follows the path to becoming a Jujutsu sorcerer. Similar to Attack on Titan, this show features strong female leads and avoids the stereotypical, main character romance. Instead, the two are portrayed as best friends, which adds to its quality and increases viewership.

story by Kyle Hong design by Niko Yatawara

SEE FULL STORY ON DBBULLSEYE.COM

Death Note, a horror mystery anime, has gained fans due to an interesting rivalry and its controversial dark themes. The show has received praise over the years among both avid anime watchers and casual viewers, even receiving a Netflix original film in 2017.

The story revolves around high school prodigy, Light Yagami, who discovers a Death Note dropped into the human world by a god of death. Yagami uses the book’s power to kill criminals and these deaths are investigated by a detective named L. The mind games and mystery that unravel between Yagami and L are a big part of why people can’t get enough of this cult classic.

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September 8, 2021

Arts and Entertainment

The Bull’s Eye

Twirling into in-person practices somiya jajieh feature editor After nearly two years of being restricted from in-person performances, Diamond Bar High School’s color guard is twirling their way into a new parade and Winterguard season amid their return to campus.

Senior captain Stephanie Ramirez said she is happy to be back, since it’s much easier to help the newcomers in-person rather than digitally. With video platforms like Zoom, many students experienced lag, which made it hard to tell if someone wasn’t performing properly because they didn’t have the routines down.

“Obviously, in person is so much better because the point of color guard is to see how many people can move together simultaneously, and over [virtual learning] you can’t really see that,” Ramirez said. “It’s a lot easier to help people [in-person] and it’s more fun because you can bond with the people, have little side conversations.”

Although newcomers last year had only experienced guard through a screen, Ramirez said they’re all catching up much more nicely than expected. However, as the team transitions into in-person learning, captains and coaches have had to move at a much slower pace, especially during this summer’s band camp.

“As soon as they came to the first day of band camp, we had to reteach fight song, we’d go over fight song every single day [to] make

tune in:

ryan kung asst. business editor On August 20, singer-songwriter Lorde released “Solar Power,” her highly anticipated third studio album showcasing the artist’s personal evolution since her 2017 release. This album displays Lorde’s take on folk-pop and psychedelia.

Although the artist gained popularity for her unconventional style, this release was even more out of the box than expected, and, after listening to “Solar Power,” one thing remains clear: what worked in the past should have stayed the same.

Lorde, who began her career at sixteen after releasing her hit debut album, “Pure Heroine,” solidified her place as a pop phenomenon. Two years later, she released her second and most critically acclaimed album, “Melodrama.”

Shortly after, the artist took a four year hiatus, disconnecting herself from fame and the public eye. During this time, she began focusing on the climate crisis as well as personal growth, which strongly inspired her latest release.

To tease her long-awaited comeback, Lorde released three singles: “Solar Power,” “Stoned at the Nail Salon” and “Mood Ring.”

The three tracks contain contrasting emotional and lyrical ranges while upholding a folk-centric sound. These teasers featuring a

#FreeBritney and Conservatorships Niko Yatawara Editor-in-chief VASH CHEN

The entire colorguard team hosts after school practices everyday to prepare for their first year back after quarantine. sure they got it down,” Ramirez said. “That’s our audition piece and usually people would have it down after auditions, but since this was all virtual it was like, ‘Okay, we don’t know if they have it yet.’”

Whereas Ramirez experienced a full year of-in person color guard before the 2020 season was cancelled , junior Kylee Sanchez only spent a portion of the guard season in-person during her freshman year. Despite this, she said she’s excited to teach newcomers for the first time and to have the opportunity to interact more closely with other guard members.

“It’s so cool being able to feel everyone’s energy during performances and just talking to [teammates] during water breaks or be-

fore and after practice,” Sanchez said via Instagram.

Unlike the two upperclassmen, sophomore Julian Medina has only ever experienced color guard through a screen. Although he said that training at home was a more comfortable experience, he much prefers being in-person since it means he can show the routines he’s learned to an actual audience.

“This year, I get to apply the practices and times spent to perfect my routine into something I can present and be proud of,” Medina said via Instagram. “Having the experience of spinning with a group of people who serve as your second family is memories I’m looking forward to having.”

As members work together to

have a successful guard season, coach Rob Jett is looking forward to training the guard for their parade season in November. Some of the main performative aspects the guard is focusing on is their costumes and flags, deciding on whether or not to design their own masks as a part of their costumes.

“In November, if everything keeps going well, we have our parade championship over at Arcadia—[we’re] really looking forward to that since we’re the six time defending champion,” Jett said.

“We’re really excited to hopefully get to perform again on a national stage and take the name Diamond Bar across the country.”

Solar Power comeback generates dim response style foreign to long-time fans increased excitement for the new era of Lorde.

Contrary to these initial releases, the remainder of “Solar Power” failed to deliver such a range. For the remaining tracks, Lorde offers similar sounding songs with no real substance as the instrumental melodies become repetitive. Additionally, the same sun-yearning lyrics are repeated throughout the twelve-song record, contrasting with the unique variations in her past albums.

This isn’t to say that all the songs are monotonous though— “Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All),” a song where Lorde addresses her younger self, exhibits powerful lyricism. The chorus also features a rhythm that sparks feelings of joy, perfectly depicting Lorde’s evolution and happiness as an artist.

The album’s opening track, “The Path,” features softer vocals and instrumentals, establishing a more laid-back tone.

The harmonization mixed with Lorde’s mellow vocals make for an upbeat track reminiscent of the summer season.

However, unlike her previous albums, Lorde fails to make distinguishable tracks, with each song in “Solar Power” seemingly meshing together. While “Solar Power” is a graceful listen, it is also an upsetting one for long-time Lorde fans as anticipation for a robust pop album were cut short.

GENIUS

PAGE SIX STYLE

B

y now, we are all familiar with #FreeBritney; and let’s face it, we were all quick to jump onto this bandwagon to protect the queen of pop herself. But, what exactly is a conservatorship and why was Britney Spears in need of saving?

To break things down, a conservatorship is the appointment of a guardian for an individual deemed unfit to manage their financial responsibilities and/or daily life, usually due to mental or physical limitations. Not to mention, these arrangements are often permanent and difficult to escape.

Nevertheless, if a conservatee has complaints concerning their conservatorship, they’re allowed to request extra judicial supervision, aside from that of which is already granted to each conservatee. However, most court systems are overworked, meaning not all parties receive the attentiveness they deserve. Due to this, abuse in a conservatorship is commonly overlooked by the courts— the only party who can terminate a conservator.

Such was the case for Spears. Initially, the star was placed under conservatorship following her public breakdown in 2008. At the time, the arrangement--which was meant to be temporary at first-- called for guardianship over Spears due to her battles with mental health. However, fans remained skeptical, due to the conditions of the artist’s conservatorship, and rightfully so; her father, Jamie Spears, had alluded to courts that his daughter was incapable of tending to her business and finances, as well as her health and personal concerns.

Put simply, the conservatorship saw that Spears had no legal jurisdiction over her own life.

Due to its longevity, fans began to question whether this appointment was made in the artist’s best interest, and thus, the #FreeBritney movement was born. While supporters lacked substantial evidence for the initiative to gain more traction, that soon changed.

In June of 2021, the New York Times gained access to sealed court documents, which held records dated as far back as 2014 showing Spears’ attempts to have her father removed as conservator. In the documents, Spears detailed her father’s abuse under the conservatorship, stating he would take cuts from her earnings and would often limit Spears’ allowance. Aside from this blatant exploitation, Spears also recounted her father’s use of harsh punishments, which added a sense of fear and distrust to the arrangement.

However, the true disappointment in Spears’ case lies in its time frame.

At age 38, Spears completed ten years under an abusive conservatorship— one that, need it be reiterated, was created temporarily. For no action to be taken concerning Spears’ accusations-- especially considering the amount of time she was kept under those conditions—is unfathomable.

It leaves many asking— “How could they miss something this big?”

spears on p. 12

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

Arts and Entertainment

11

Dance coach takes leave vash chen asst. photo editor Adapted from a popular Korean webtoon, the Netflix original drama, “Nevertheless,” effortlessly pulled me into the life of two fine arts students and the red strings tying their hearts together.

The story follows Yoo Na-Bi (Han So Hee), a quiet art student majoring in sculpting who rejects love after a bad breakup but tragically falls for Park Jae-eon (Song Kang)— a campus-renowned playboy whose fateful encounter with Na-Bi changes his dating lifestyle.

We follow a third-person perspective while Na-Bi learns about Jae-eon’s past and his hidden feelings towards Na-Bi across the ten episodes. Aiding the plot are the heart-stirring romances and dramatics of Na-Bi’s classmates as they discover what inspires them in life while creating their final art project.

While almost all the characters in “Nevertheless” are dynamic and realistic, the most shocking fault is a lack of character development in

Na-Bi, making her come off a bit static as the viewer learns little to nothing about her character or way of life. Painted as much more cliché than other K-drama female leads, her talent for sculpting is only ever shown to talk about Jae-eon, instead of being used to portray NaBi as a realistic fine arts major and not a lovesick girl.

On the contrary, the flirtatious Jae-eon Park was well performed as Kang did not make the character’s personality overly eccentric.

Instead of coming off as exaggerated, the actor’s portrayal is more complex as Kang doesn’t make Jae-eon’s playful nature the character’s entire personality.

Unlike other K-dramas, the show also does well in bringing to life its webtoon origins which was originally published in 2018 on Naver Webtoon— a Korean search engine.

In its live-action form, “Nevertheless” accentuates each scene with an amazing soundtrack, highlighting the quaint life that Na-Bi lives. The emotional, instrumental music adds a dramatic effect to each scene that isn’t overly cheesy by using a mixture of English and

Photo courtesy of NEVERTHELESS

Nevertheless is a K-drama about the budding romance between two students.

Korean lyrics. It’s this unconventional use of bi-lingual lyrics that added more passion in scenes, like Na-Bi’s rainy confrontation with Jae-eon, and made it more romantic than a heartthrob movie.

Notably, the show also distinguishes itself from well-known K-dramas like “Descendents of the Sun’’ or’’ What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?” through its unique cinematography. The constant shifting perspective of the camera captivates the viewer’s attention without distracting them from the storyline, using color and objects to mimic the transition style of the original webcomic.

Along with the show’s wonderful cinematography, the side stories add another element of entertainment. One of the interesting side stories is that of Na-Bi’s classmates, Yoon Sol (Lee Ho-Jung) and Seo Ji-wan (Yoon Seo-A) and their challenges with being in a gay relationship. It was very surprising for me to see a queer relationship in a K-drama, but it was refreshing to know that the director didn’t shy away from the potentially controverisal storyline.

Despite its more simplistic approach to a love story, “Nevertheless” is still a great beginner K-drama for those who are new to romance and want to get into the world of K-dramas. The set design and cast are distinguishable and do not follow any basic archetypes.

Although this K-drama may not be a perfect match for everyone, the storyline is still heartwarming and charming. If you’re new to K-dramas and have time to spare over the weekends, consider putting this one on your Netflix watchlist.

FINAL VERDICT: stream it

Former dance teacher Kari Simonson left Diamond Bar High School to pursue work as a counselor.

thing.”

With sincere emotion, the seniors emphasized their hopes of passing down Simonson’s teachings to underclassmen to keep her legacy alive. This will cause a different transition for the new peoTAYLOR JOE ple in the dance company, but the seniors hope to ease in by bonding asst. A&E editor with one another.

“I think she has made an impact Due to the abrupt leaving of their on the newbies even though they former head coach Kari Simonson, have only known her for two weeks Diamond Bar High School’s dance or so,” Huang said. department is looking forward to Senior dance company presiexploring new territory as they dent Brandon Giang emphasized prepare for their approaching seaSimonson’s importance as their son. dance teacher, stating that her Informing students of her depardance layout plans for the day are ture just one week before the start what kept the team in check. of the school “Simoson was year, choreograalways there to phy coach Francheck in on all “We are hopefully going cesca Lee said of us and if we that Simonson ever needed to to start competition left to pursue go to her for anydances soon [while we] work as a school thing dealing work on bonding.” counselor at the with our own FRANCESCA LEE North County problems and Corona school struggles, she district. would always be “We are super happy for her, there to help us through them.” but obviously we are really sad beGiang said. cause we love her,” Lee said. “We Despite her leave, the team are hoping to prepare as much strives to continue carrying on as we can before the new teacher with the traditions that Simonson comes in, so then they can have a has started with the new dance nice smooth transition.” company this year. They wish to Dance company seniors Jenny continue the legacy that Diamond Dunn and Annie Huang said SiBar has and are beyond excited and monson’s leaving came as a big proud for this new chapter. shock to the team. It was an espe“We plan to continue as normal. cially emotional moment for the seWe are hopefully going to start niors as most had been under her competition dances soon [while guidance for four years and formed we] work on bonding with one ana close bond with the coach. other. We look forward to getting a “[Simonson] was basically our new dance teacher soon,” Lee said. second mom, she was there when The anticipation of getting a new no other teacher was,” Dunn said. dance teacher has reached a halt as “She supported us and taught us the school has announced the new like we were her own children, so arrival coach Jill Riley as the new we could’ve gone to her for anydance company director.

Bringing childhood nightmares to life rachel lee asst. opinion editor Clad with latex prosthetics and plastic teeth to portray all kinds of inhuman creatures, Diamond Bar High School English teacher Amanda Avina uses special effects makeup to bring her childhood nightmares to life.

At age 22, when she first started pursuing this form of makeup, Avina mainly worked with recreating minor cuts and injuries. She later began to explore the more complex nuances of her craft after watching ‘Face Off’-a game show and reality TV program on the Syfy Network where contestants compete in various special effects makeup challenges for a $10,000 g r a n d prize.

“These artists started to create these monsters and a

lot of them were self-taught [and] seeing that made me feel like, hey, I could be a self-taught artist, too,” Avina said. “So I started to watch YouTube and kinda get little techniques going.”

Some of Avina’s favorite special effects makeup artists include Rick Baker and Ve Neill, both award-winning special effects makeup artists, as well as Matt Valentine— the season 13 winner of ‘Face Off’.

“He [Valentine] was someone who just created so many cool concepts, like he did a Tim Burton-esque type makeup where he had to pick any occupation, like everyday occupation, so he picked icecream man,” she said.

“He turned it into this Burton-esque creepy clown.”

A few of Avina’s most time-consuming looks include a

voodoo doll makeup and a partial dragon face for a cosplay of the character Daenerys from Game of Thrones— a look that took her five hours to apply.

When creating new special effects looks, Avina usually begins by sculpting the idea with modelling clay. Then, she uses multiple layers of a latex and flour mixture to mold the prosthetics on top of the model; sometimes she refines the prosthetics with extra pieces of clay before she finally moves on to color matching, painting and then application.

“It does take a long time, especially if you have a concept and like the sculpting aspect, [because] sometimes you want to make it realistic, like the skin texture, so you’re taking a while just trying to get it just right,” she said.

Although the process can be lengthy, Avina said that she enjoys doing special effects makeup, because she likes the idea of creating life out of nothing and getting people to take a second look at things.

She added that the process is very soothing and that the amount of focus she applies to her work helps to pass the time very easily.

“It’s something that’s just very calming, I wouldn’t mind doing it for a while and then just taking a break, then coming back to it,” Avina said. “There are even some sculpts I have that I haven’t even

Photo courtesy of AMANDA AVINA

Amanda Avina creates these horror-inducing looks with the use of sfx makeup. touched [in] weeks that I need to get back into.”

While she prefers to adhere to the horror genre of special effects makeup, Avina does appreciate its wide creative range and encourages those interested in designing their own looks to give special effects makeup a try.

“Don’t let other people tell you,

‘No, don’t do that, it’s scary,’—like, my parents were always saying that every time I picked my Halloween costume—I would say, just give it a try if you’re thinking about it, do it because you never know what the outcome will be,” Avina said.

As of now, most of Avina’s work can be viewed on her Instagram page @halloween.with.mandy.

12 Business

The Bull’s Eye

Quarantine-born clothing line project from P.6 focusing on making homes for high school students.

“My goal is to do even greater things outside of clothes,” Greene said. “My next project is the Distressed LA Foundation, so I can eventually make homes for kids in high school.”

As of right now, Greene has

carved a promising road for himself. Despite having only completed high school a few months prior, the financially-independent designer has recently moved to Hawaii to further his education at the University of Hawaii, where he hopes to develop and expand his knowledge on fashion merchandising. Although this transition will medan a break from designing

and producing the clothing brand, the hiatus is temporary.

With fresh, novel ideas lined up, the future of Distressed LA is full of promise.

“My clothes have a story to tell,” Greene said. “Each piece of clothing I put out has depth, be it a controversial statement on the shirt or a small tear in it, there is a reason behind it.”

The Britney Spears controversy spears from P.6 In more recent news, Spears’ family had officially stepped down as conservator after facing months of public pressure, with licensed private fiduciary Jodi Montgomery to assume his position.

Likewise, both Montgomery and Spears have agreed on terminating the guardianship aspect of the conservatorship, as Spears no longer considers herself unfit to tend to her daily life.

Spears, who was trapped in her conservatorship for 13 years, is one of the few who are lucky enough to be freed from such situations. Other well-known names, like Amanda Bynes or Mickey Rooney, remain stuck or have experienced similar circumstances due to their controlling conservatorships. While Bynes has not reported facing any kind of mental or physical abuse, she has publicly complained about the financial aspect of her conservatorship, as

well as her parents’ alleged refusal to allow the ex-Nickelodeon star to marry her significant other. Rooney, who was placed under conservatorship in 2011 for financial reasons, faced abuse from his own stepson, Chris Aber, who was accused of threatening and harassing the actor.

While it is understandable that not all abuse is so easily detected, this further emphasizes the importance of listening to the victim’s voices. Thankfully, the social justice bug that has spread across social media has allowed for victims to feel more comfortable sharing their truths, and, while victim blaming remains an issue, users have created a safer place for these survivors. After all, had Spears’ fans not been suspicious of the star’s situation, it may not have gotten the attention it deserved; the voices of fans and their constant support through social media is what brought awareness to, not only Spears’ situation, but

the issue of abuse in conservatorships as a whole.

In order to hinder abuse from festering within these legal arrangements, the powers granted to each conservator can no longer be so broad; it is the imprecise nature of the conservator’s restrictions that allows abuse to thrive.

The idea of an individual having complete power over another’s life is unnecessary. Besides, by its definition, a conservatorship should offer guidance and care—similar to that of a parent—not power over one’s personal life . This is why the guardianship portion of conservatorships, primarily those granted temporarily to conservatees, must be closely observed.

Likewise, the court should mandate mental health evaluations to such individuals in order to prevent occurrences like Spears. Had the victim not been a celebrity with such status as Spears’, the results of this case may have been much different.

September 8, 2021

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

Feature

13

MODERN MULLETS & SHAGS A real blast to the past, mullets regained their popularity since their initial rise to fame in the 1980s. However, these modern mullets incorporate the well-known, business in the front, party in the back elements a traditional mullet is known for, just more grown out, making it much more wearable than the harsh and choppy cuts the hairstyle originates from. The style works great for various hair types and gives the impression of more voluminous hair, making it widely popular among todays youth. embracing more textured and straight hair.

design by Reyna Wan story by Niko Yatawara

VIBRANT HAIRDYE Since reopening school, more and more heads of rainbow colored hair have been popping up throughout the halls. It's safe to say that, with the closure of so many hair salons over the pandemic as well as the excessive amount of time students had been left with during distance learning, teens have taken to their hair to cure their boredom. Contrasting the more natural tones that have remained popular throughout the years, quarantine saw a much wider range of colors, especially vibrant hues of purple, red and blue. People have even started trying out alternative styles with dyed hair, including two front streaks and peak-a-boo styles. 2021 saw an influx of individuals sporting more fun and vibrant dyes, with more reddish hues gaining popularity as of recently.

14 Sports

The Bull’s Eye

September 8, 2021

Elaine Hsu wins bronze and silver at USA Nationals After 10 years of dedication to taekwondo, senior Elaine Hsu ranks within the top 300 in the nation.

VERA WANG ASST. Sports Editor For many athletes, the notion of representing one’s country someday is unfathomable, but for senior Elaine Hsu, it has been a reality for the past three years. Since 2019, Hsu has represented both Team USA and the state of California at the Taekwondo Nationals and countless other competitions, with over two dozen nationally recognized trophies under her belt and a ranking among the top 300 taekwondoists in the country.

Surprisingly, despite her immense success, the beginning of Hsu’s taekwondo journey was not one marked by happiness. Facing adversities at school, Hsu’s parents saw taekwondo as an ideal solution to her troubles.

“I got into taekwondo through my brother and my mom,” Hsu said via email. “My mom threw me into it, since at the time, I was going through severe bullying at school, and she hoped that with taekwon-

do, I would be able to rebuild my ments she had previously attended. confidence and become happier.”

“My coach at the time arranged

Little did they know the sport a trio for me to compete in at the would soon become an integral 2019 Team Trials, but being a bepart of Hsu’s life. ginner, I honestly had little hope,” Starting at age 10, Hsu began train- Hsu said. “To my surprise, my ing at All Star Taekwondo with her teammates were the sweetest souls brother, where she stayed at for an- and truly helped lift my confidence other eight years, developing her before competing. After putting up skills before moving on to compet- a tough fight and going through a tiebreaker, our team took down itive teams.

From 2015-2018, Hsu competed in first place and became members of various California and Nevada the 2019 Pan Am Championships state championships, earning nu- National Team.” merous gold and silver medals for During the 2019 Pan-A Champiboth individual and team perfor- onships, Hsu passed through every stage of the qualification process, mances. including sev “Even though eral rounds of I’ve done it so “This sport teaches not finals, showing many times, being only basic self defense just how much on the mats and skills, but also respect, Hsu’s training seeing your comcourtesy, self discipline, has paid off. petitors is quite and more.”

“As we entered nerve racking the ring, I felt but it gets you in ELAINE HSU proud to reprethe competitive sent the three mode,” Hsu said.

“I always shake super bad but once letters USA on my back,” Hsu said.

“When I turned back to the audiI start, it all fades away.”

Hsu’s breakthrough would come ence to see my parents, I saw before my eyes, their expressions and how in the following year, however.

In qualifying for the US Open and proud they looked. Bringing home Team Trials, Hsu’s dominance at the gold medal with my teammates the 2019 Pan Am Championships was the best thing that I could’ve launched her into national rank- ever given my dad as the competiings, where the competition pool tion was on Father’s Day.” Although COVID had halted and skill level were greatly magni- fied in comparison to the tourna- competitions for the earlier por-

Photo courtesy of ELAINE HSU Elaine Hsu stands with teammates as they compete in the Grand Phoenix Open in Arizona.

tion of this year, Hsu recently participated in the Grand Prix West, Grand Phoenix Open and 2021 USA Nationals, bringing home three silvers and a bronze.

H su now trains at Eagles Taekwondo—a studio located in Fullerton—where she trains an average of six hours a week during off-season, and 10-15 during competition season.

“Managing school whilst competing and training is quite hectic,” Hsu said. “Over the years, I’ve learned to finish homework as soon as I get home and study as much as I can before I leave. It’s pretty hard to choose between school and

sports since both are equally as important.”

As for college, Hsu hopes that the school she attends will have a taekwondo team.

In the meantime, she is focused on her upcoming competitions, training with mentors and taking inspiration from older teammates and her father.

“If I had to be completely honest, without my mom’s push, I would have never thought I would come to love this sport so much,” Hsu said. “Taekwondo has taught me not only basic self defense skills, but also respect, courtesy, and self discipline.”

Volleyball team sets up promising season Lady Brahmas bounce back in their third match after initial losses against Brea and Fullerton. ashley park staff writer

After all the sweat and hours put into summer practices, the Diamond Bar High School Girls volleyball team has set off the season with a solid game record of 2-2.

Unfortunately, the Lady Brahmas lost their first two matches to Brea, 3-1, and Fullerton, 3-1. In both games, the team struggled to receive serves consistently, which affected the ability to get their hitters’ efficient sets. Also contributing to their losses was their blocking as it wasn’t as strong as they practiced.

Learning from that loss, the girls won the following game against Northview High School on August 25th, 3-1. Leading the Brahma’s offense were seniors Stephanie Mosley, Sydney Humphrey and Janelle Bradford, with the help of offensive hitter sophomore Priya George.

Sophomore Jaeda Whitmire also offered a strong presence as a middle blocker.

“Playing on the varsity team has been a very fun experience so far, but it has also been super competitive,” George said.“The teams we played against have definitely been a challenge, but our team pushes

through every game together.”

Unfortunately, returning varsity setter senior Brooke Cha was sidelined with a knee injury, so senior Elisha Chung and sophomore Isabella Ross have been running the offense in the setting positions.

Taking the libero position is Junior Jazmine Banks— one of the stronger defenders on this year’s team.

“An area we [the team] can all work on is keeping our energy up, especially when we’re losing,” George said.

The Brahmas are still trying to figure out their optimal lineup and rotations to maximize the strengths of each team member.

However, the team has already shown a lot of progress in just these first three matches. Even in the two losses, they have been competitive and won a set in each, despite losing more matches overall.

The Brahmas played their first home match on September 2nd against Don Lugo. The team won 3-2. During the first game the team was just warming up, but as the game progressed they were slowly catching on and pulled through to win. Team Captain Mosley, was one of the reasons why the team was strong. The players supported each other through every winning and losing point and strived for each and every single point.

“Brahma volleyball has a bright future as we look to be competitive in the Hacienda League,” head coach Rebecca Bevans said.

VASH CHEN

The Lady Brahmas emerge victorious in their third season game against Don Lugo.

CLAIRE WU

The Brahmas struggled to defeat the El Dorado Golden Hawks in their first season game, starting with a 0-1 overall record.

Football kicking off on the wrong foot Putting their first loss behind them, the team is focused on dominating in the upcoming season. ethan ro staff writer The Brahmas opened their season to a shaky start on Aug. 20 with a loss against the El Dorado Golden Hawks, 22-59.

“There were no real flaws during the game, but we made a couple crucial mistakes on the offensive side,” head coach Jeff Reitz said.

“Other than that, it was a close game for three quarters.”

Senior slotback Mikey Gorbea II proved to be the backbone of the team during the game, leading the Brahmas in touchdowns, rushing yards and points.

The Brahmas had two rushing touchdowns, both made by Gorbea II after a 21-yard and 10-yard rush.

Gorbea II also managed 143 yards of the 173 yards total for the Brah-

mas.

Junior quarterback Ryan Lewis threw a total of 240 yards and completed 14 passes for a 48.3% completion rate, connecting for one touchdown with sophomore Kai Jenkins after a 68 yard pass.

Junior Maddox Bernardino and sophomore Kai Jenkins topped the team’s receiving stats: Bernardino with eight passes received for a total of 103 yards and Jewwnkins with three passes received for a total of 89 yards, totaling to 240 receiving yards for the Brahmas.

On the defensive end, Peter Lee had eight tackles followed closely by senior Nathan Garcia with seven. In addition, Garcia and senior Cole Watson combined for four interceptions

“[El Dorado’s] offensive line was four to six inches taller than everyone on my defensive line and outweighed them by 20 to 40 pounds,” Reitz said. “That was their strength.”

Though their season opening game didn’t go exactly as planned, the team is still optimistic for their upcoming season.

“I, along with my team, are all excited that we are all back in person and able to play under the Friday night lights again,” junior Joseph Song said. “I cannot wait for league to start and show our opponents who the Brahmas are and what we can accomplish.”

According to Reitz, the Brahmas have been training with a small, yet talented senior class, featuring star athletes like Victor Flores, Izaac Eubanks, Mikey Gorbea II and Peter Lee, who can play six different positions.

This season, Diamond Bar is aiming to win League, the annual Branding Iron game versus Walnut and earn a chance to compete for a CIF title. Aside from winning, Reitz would also like the boys to prioritize the experience of playing with each other.

“It’s not just about winning, it’s about sharing the experience,” Reitz said. “My goal is to put the guys in the right [position] for them so they can have the most success.”

The Brahmas have a 0-3 overall record and will play their fourth non-conference game against the Montclair Cavaliers on Friday.

September 8, 2021

The Bull’s Eye

Sports 15

Starting the season with a strong stride The cross country team looks to improve this school year after increasing member count.

VASH CHEN

Senior Nicholas Murray drives in and catches the ball, preparing to score a point at home against Bonita High School.

Boys dominate in the water To continue their two year win streak, the waterpolo team aims to be league champions this year.

Vash Chen ASST. Photo Editor Starting off with a win in a home game against Cypress High School 20-5, the Diamond Bar High School boys waterpolo team dives into the season headfirst with an ace.

The home game against Cypress High was sharp and fast, with the Brahmas gaining a two point lead within the first three minutes of the game. There were some technical difficulties with the timer, but the surging energy within the water polo team was apparent, even to the spectators in the stands.

The team’s first game was an overwhelming success and set an assertive tone for the rest of the season.

Head coach Gary Cheever has been coaching boys water polo for

four straight years, and, this season, he has high hopes for a League victory.

“This is the first time we’re in the same league as Walnut [High School] and Walnut’s the current returning league champion so the goal is to compete in the championship and win the league… since we are on a two year win streak,” Cheever said.

In spite of the early win, many water polo members decided to not participate in the first few games of the season due to COVID-19 restrictions. Over the last two years, some team members have left, since COVID-19 makes it much more difficult to regulate safety precautions. However, due to the recent changes in regulations, the boys water polo team has resumed regular practice again.

The team’s heavily packed practice schedule is a major factor in their impressive start. Currently, the team is practicing daily from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Later in the year, they will transition to morning practic-

es from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

“During the COVID-19 season, we had to maintain social distancing and we couldn’t share balls,” Cheever said. “It’s like having a basketball player just run track and get basketball practice in that way.”

Despite the risks, the CIF Championship will begin this fall after the league games and will determine the winner of the split. This year’s varsity team has 15 members; it is also the highest turnout of underclassmen on the varsity team compared to the last two years.

“This is definitely one of the most talented groups we’ve had,” Cheever said. “We have a lot of younger classmen on the varsity team so it’ll be interesting to see how they play against programs with more senior teams.”

Competing in Division III, the boys water polo team had their next home game against Rancho Cucamonga High School, Sept. 1, 15-19.

through the entire summer.

Training changes from day to day with Monday being a mid-distance run, which is five to seven miles depending on the person.

Tuesday is speed/sprint workout day and Thursday is hill workouts.

Wednesday, Friday and Sunday are Steve Qu typically rest days. Class time usuNEWS EDITOR ally means using the weight room, but, sometimes, the runners get a Diamond Bar High School cross few miles instead. country team starts on the right “I expect to set a new personal foot with almost twice as many record for myself this season,” Edrunners as last year. wards said. “I’m aiming to shave However, while the entire operaoff a minute from last season’s tion has returned to in-person, the time.” season will still be different from This year’s girls captains are the pre-pandemic years.Athletes juniors Natacia Mannix-Tellez, and parents are more cautious in Jenna Schwarz and senior Carissa preventing the Jeon. spread of COVID The captains “My expectations are reas testing positive for the boys are ally the same as they are would mean conseniors Bobby every year [...] that the tact tracing, and Zhu, Nathan Lin team builds cohesion, may affect the enand Jacob Moskotire team. Some vitz. that we do our best.” of the invitationAlthough the MALINALLI COOKE als that they atsix captains are tended in the past already set in have yet to return, while some will place, the top runners are not yet remain virtual. established due to the lack of com“We’re still in a pandemic. We’re petitions. just fortunate to not have it as bad With more training time, less as other parts of the world,” sophuncertainty and less stress due omore L’Mio Edwards said via Into COVID, head coach Malinalli stagram. “Compared to the earlier Cooke said she anticipates imstages of the pandemic, we get to provements for this season practice more frequently and have “My expectations are really the access to the weight room.” same as they are every year – that As of now, the athletes have not the returning athletes improve received much information regardfrom last year, that the new athing the season or the schedule. letes fall in love with the sport and Despite the uncertainties, the stick with it, that the team builds athletes said they have high hopes cohesion, that we do our best,” for this year as many have trained Cooke said via email.

Brahmas clear the Pan-Ams Barcelona sides with Super League over Messi

I

n the past month, the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo transfers sent shockwaves across the sports world. Both considered to be the two greatest players to step foot on a soccer pitch, this was the greatest transfer window in soccer history. However, Messi’s departure from longtime club FC Barcelona could have been prevented.

Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain was not only one of the biggest transfers in the sport’s history, but was also highly unexpected as he was originally set to sign a new five-year contract with Barcelona.

However, due to major financial troubles that led to Barcelona’s failure to comply with Spanish La Liga salary cap regulations, Messi was not able to stay.

Although Barcelona has made it public that the La Liga regulations are the cause of Messi’s departure, it is highly likely there is a hidden reason: the European Super League. The ESL is a proposed annual soccer competition with 20 of the elite teams in Europe.

Among the clubs within this league are Barcelona and Real Madrid—both heavily indebted teams.

This breakaway league would help greatly in improving their financial situations from profits, which is the primary reason for their investment in the project.

Even more intriguing, Barcelo-

na had the option to re-sign Messi through the “Boost LaLiga” deal, which would strengthen La Liga clubs’ funds with loans from private equity firm CVC. Supporting the CVC deal would have allowed the club to raise its funds with a 240 million pound loan to sign Messi to a new contract, however, Barcelona opposed it as they thought it was unreasonable to mortgage 11 percent of their television revenue for the next 50 years.

After all, if the club were to comply with the CVC deal, they would have to commit to La Liga for the next half-century thereby forcing Barcelona to put off their plans of joining ESL. As of right now, most of the teams who signed up for the ESL proposal have abandoned it after significant backlash from netizens.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus are the remaining clubs that are still adamant on the project and are working to modify it. It is clear that these three teams are relying on this proposed league to profit and help clear their debt.

In the end, Barcelona valued the possibility of the ESL over the re-signing of the greatest soccer player of all-time.

The club decided to let him go in exchange for a proposed competition that may not even become official.

Several badminton athletes have obtained competitive success both locally and nationally.

Lauren Cheng ASST. nEWS EDITOR Growing up in families where badminton was considered an enjoyable pastime, various Diamond Bar High School badminton athletes never imagined being involved at the forefront of a national competition.

With only five years of training in the sport, freshman Emily Liu managed to place first in the Pan-American Badminton Junior Championships’ women’s doubles category.

Having been a dream of Liu’s, she was elated to even qualify for the Pan-Ams, which are matches organized by the Badminton Pan American Confederation between all the Americas’ top badminton players.

“When I was younger, all the good players had gone to Pan-Am and that has really been a big goal of mine,” Liu said. “So, it is really exciting to be a Pan-Am gold medalist.”

Liu’s incredible feat was not only made possible by her continuous dedication to the sport, but it was also made possible by her mother’s persistent support and encouragement.

“Every single night, [my mom] would go back to the hotel with me and really just motivated me for the next day,” Liu said. “I was very surprised [once the results were posted] because we had never won before.”

In addition to bringing home gold in the Pan-Am Games, Liu had

the opportunity to participate in several junior competitions, such as the Junior Nationals in North Carolina where she won silver in the girls’ double category, qualifying her for the Pan-Am Games.

Senior Kodi Lee also had the opportunity to compete in the PanAm Games.

“My initial thoughts were extremely exciting,” Lee said. “This sport can definitely be discouraging at times because unlike other sports, it is very underlooked in America. For example, there are no scholarships in college, but being able to go to Pan America and having these experiences really motivates me to keep going.”

Unlike Liu, Lee’s inspiration is her badminton coach.

“My inspiration has definitely been my coach, Coach Tony,” Lee said. “He is an Olympic gold medalist, and he is very motivating and kind.”

Also a medalist was DBHS Class of 2021 alumnus Don Averia, placing second in the men’s single and doubles category.

“Of course it takes a lot of work, a lot of years put into this, and to come out on top in the biggest tournament of my life was really fulfilling,” said Averia.

Averia’s family played a huge role in his love for the sport, as they were the main reason he decided to even start badminton in the first place.

“My parents and my aunt always set high expectations for me,” explained Averia. “It is a lot to deal with sometimes, but for the most part, it helps me really keep my focus, stay motivated, and push as hard as I can.”

While each of these athletes medaled and excelled in different areas, they all shared the same experiences - the rewards of persistence.

Photo courtesy of KODI LEE

Kodi Lee played mixed doubles in the 2019 XXVIII PanAm Junior Championship.

The Bull’s Eye

SPORTS

New coaches pursue competitive success

Current fall sports instructors are optimistic for the upcoming season.

VASH CHEN

Girls tennis has begun training for their season, which includes competing against other schools for their preseason.

Girls tennis swings back into action

The group started off preseason 0-2 after returning from a shortened season.

CLAIRE WU ASST. PHOTO EDITOR Following a year of immobility and an incomplete 2020 season, the Diamond Bar High School girls tennis team is ready to swing back into shape for this upcoming season.

“I’m definitely confident in the team this year,” senior varsity captain Ashley Moon said. “We have strong players and everyone is working hard to prepare for our season.”

In the year before, group training was close to non-existent as social distancing rules and the shut-down of public spaces forced players to train independently or not at all. Even those who did end up training independently were forced to shut down due to increasingly difficult COVID concerns that arose and endured for longer than expected.

“Last season, we didn’t get much training prior to the matches because we shared the courts with

the boys team,” Moon said. “However, Coach Feix and the team worked really hard together to make the best out of the days that we got to practice.”

While incomplete training was a direct cause of the team’s poor performance during quarantine, a lack of team bonding between players, which would normally happen in-person, was also a big factor.

“You can really create a bond with your team during the toughest training moments,” Chloe Cadelina, a DBHS junior said. “ I really appreciate how we cheer each other on during games and our training sessions.”

As wary as the players are of COVID affecting their season again, the girls tennis team is extremely excited to be coming back

this year to have fun and improve their skills.

“In person training is definitely getting me back in shape!” Moon said. “During quarantine, I stayed in my chair for most of the day, but with practice, I feel twice as energetic as I was before.”

For now, the team has pretty practical standards: putting in effort to come to practices and giving their best effort to stay in shape for the season. Everyday until 4 pm, they also practice playing singles and doubles matches, along with going to the weight room on Fridays for further conditioning.

“I’m hoping that we end as league champions!” Moon said.

“I’m confident in the team we have and am excited to play with the girls.”

VASH CHEN

Junior Chloe Cadelina starts a point in a match against El Dorado High School.

Taylor JOE ASST. A&E EDITOR After a year and a half of COVID19 related scheduling conflicts, the Diamond Bar High School athletics department is facing numerous coaching changes in regards to the fall season.

Such coaching changes include Roberta Garcia as the girl’s golf head coach, Becky Bevans as the new girl’s volleyball coach and Jason Bae as the new girls basketball assistant coach.

With these changes, the Brahmas look forward to a successful upcoming season.

Girl’s golf has long been one of the most successful teams on campus.

Accompanied by the dedication and passion put into practices, Garcia hopes to continue the work of former coach Anthony McCabe by continuing to challenge the players in training them to play other teams, post season competition.

“I know that golf is an individual sport, but the girls play for the team to win,” Garcia said.

“I would like to incorporate activities during the season that will help the team become a cohesive

group.”

For Garcia, golf is a sport that has been a continuous passion of hers, as her father had taught her how to play at age 11 and since then she has participated in tournaments in her free time.

When given the opportunity to coach, she applied in hopes of gaining more coaching experience in girl’s golf.

“The girls spend a lot of time outside to perfect their game, “ Garcia said. “I want to use my coaching experience to help get the team to the last match of the season.”

Holding a deep passion for basketball, math teacher Bae hopes to gain more experience in coaching the girl’s basketball team.

“I love basketball… I used to play basketball in high school… I wanted to be a part of it and help JV as an assistant coach.”

“This is my first year helping out the team as a coach,” Bae said. “I wanted to be a part of it, but at the same time I wanted to learn from other coaches too who have been there and who have more experience.”

Bae hopes to guide the team towards improvement and most importantly, helping keep the athletes safe.

“I wish to train all our players not only physically, but mentally too so they are ready to overcome any hardships or obstacles that they face,” Bae said.

“We are going to play hard and try our best and hopefully we get some good outcomes from it.”

Stout scouted by Division I university for shooting skills The senior has acquired competitive success that has caught the eyes of several universities.

BOYS BASKETBALL

DEESHA PATHAK SPORTS EDITOR Playing competitive basketball since the fifth grade, Dylan Stout has spent the past seven years honing his skills in various travel ball and Amatuer Athletic Union teams, eventually landing a spot on Diamond Bar High School’s varsity basketball team his freshman year.

Over the past four years, the now DBHS senior has racked up numerous basketball awards, including being named as one of the top 15 underclassmen in the Western Region during his sophomore season.

In addition, for the 2020-2021 high school season, Stout was named the offensive MVP and First Team All-region, even being selected for a camp of the 500 most qualified players on the West Coast. Not to mention, Stout was named Second Team All-League for the Mt. Baldy League in 2020.

Statistically speaking, Stout has long been an above-average player, having a per-game average of 12 points, 1 steal and 5 rebounds. This is impressive as, according to MaxPreps, the average high school basketball player in the U.S only scores a per-game average of 5.09 points,

SEPTEMBER AOTM: AOTM : DYLAN STOUT VASH CHEN

Senior Dylan Stout started basketball in elementary school, participating in competitions and earning awards since then.

0.83 steals and 2.69 rebounds.

This consistency, along with all of Stout’s awards, is what gained the attention of numerous college scouts across the country.

While he has yet to commit to an institution, he has received athletic recruitment offers from University of Saint Katherine, which is an NCAA Division II school, and University of California, Irvine—a Division I school.

“I am still looking into colleges, focusing on Division I offers,” Stout

said. “My goal is to ultimately get into the NBA draft.”

“Diamond Bar basketball has impacted me in a positive way, as I have good coaches, good teammates, and good facilities.”

DYLAN STOUT

He attributes much of his success to his long-standing commit-

ment to the sport, saying that his middle school travel teams really guided him in the right direction.

However, it was the DBHS basketball program that gave him the push that brought him to where he is today.

“Diamond Bar basketball has impacted me in a positive way, as I have good coaches, good teammates, and good facilities,” Stout said.

For the varsity team, Stout practices Monday through Thursday,

along with an extra conditioning session on Saturday.

Individually, he also trains for two hours every day, focusing mostly on drill and technique work. Due to the fact that it’s still preseason, Stout is currently not involved with an AAU team, but he has been continuously attending camps geared towards college recruitment.

“I’ve been doing these camps for college, and we basically get ranked based on how we play,” Stout said. “I got ranked 30 in one of them, out of the 500 players in the region.”

Aside from all the college offers and recognition, what really draws him towards basketball is his deep connection to the game.

“I like the sport a lot, and it helped me get through tough times,” Stout said. “I had it rough growing up but basketball always gave me something to look forward to.”

Stout recommends that any aspiring basketball athlete at DBHS follow the typical advice: stay persistent in working towards your goals. The one thing he added was that athletes should put on metaphorical blinders and focus on chipping away at a new skill every practice.

“The keys to success in basketball are working hard, never giving up, and staying consistent,” Stout said. “Don’t stop playing, even when it is hard, and just remember to have fun.”