April 2019

Vol. 44, Issue 7, 28 pages

Friday, April 26, 2019

TPHS is not recycling — and is violating the law.

RECYCLING on A3

photo by christy lam/falconer

Leadership is not about being above everyone else. It’s really about making sure that everyone’s taken care of.

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Robots from different teams compete to complete those tasks quickly, and the ability to win the competition is further The TPHS Robotics team, the complicated by the restriction of studentMillennium Falcons, after qualifying for robot communication: robots either have the FIRST Robotics Competition World to be pre-programmed with autonomous Championships in Houston, Texas April code or directed manually through a small 17-20, made it as far as the quarterfinals camera and vision system. round and allied with the first place team.

To qualify for the World Championship Formed in 2011, The TPHS robotics competition, robotics teams typically have team had only advanced as far as to semito place high in a regional competition. finals and quarterThe TPHS finals in previous team, or Team competitions.

3647, competed Before the World at the regional Championship, competitions in the team’s robot Idaho, San Diego ranked fifth bestand Del Mar, scoring worldwide where the robotics for the robotics team went through competitions, a qualifying match according to the Jonathan Tator before forming Sykes Scouting MENTOR AND TEACHER an alliance with Database. other teams and In addition to the team’s admission to the World claiming victory.

Team 3647 returned from the regional Championship competition, the group and several of its members won awards at local competitions with three Blue Banners after winning three tournaments.

In regional competitions. addition, the robotics team members Douglas Liu (11) and Farrah Kaiyom (11), the heads of Electrical Systems and earned an Industrial Design Award at Outreach respectively, each qualified for the San Diego regional competition and an individual award called the Dean’s List an Excellence in Engineering Award at Award which recognizes team leadership the Del Mar Regional competition and the and dedication; Liu made it to semifinals Idaho Regional.

The team’s improvement this year is and Kaiyom was a finalist for the award.

The FIRST Robotics Program for high partly due to the members’ dedication schools issues an annual build challenge in and talent, according to the Millennium the beginning of January, giving students Falcon’s mentor Jonathan Tator. “[The team] works so late, especially about six weeks to create a robot that during build season, which is from early meets contest requirements.

This year’s build challenge was called January to now, even,” Tator said. “They Destination: Deep Space, reflective of work basically six days a week; all day [on] timed tasks that simulate the loading of Saturday till maybe 9:00 [p.m.] on some “cargo,” or large foam balls, for transport nights.” off a planet.

Mentors like Tator and Klint

Esther Choi

FEATURE EDITOR

It’s very impressive what [the team] is doing ... this is an exceptional year.

On April 11, former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was removed from power by the military. The military will now assume power for two transition years. During his reign, al-Bashir was charged with “five counts of crimes against humanity,” according to the International Criminal Court, resulting in an international arrest warrant. The transition of power to the military caused unrest among Sudanese people and led to protests.

Information from the New York Times and the Washington Post

april 26, 2019

Kirkconnell aided in the students’ success with administrative support. Tator, who has been the Team 3647 mentor and team liaison for three years, has also taught engineering at TPHS since 2015.

“It’s very, very impressive what [the team is] doing.” Tator said. “I think a lot of these kids can go on to any school — MIT, Caltech, Stanford — and they would excel there … This is an exceptional year.”

Regardless of the team’s performance this year, robotics has made a positive impact on many of the team members.

Members hope to pursue STEM-related careers, influenced by their dedication to and passion for robotics.

“I have a general liking of electronics,” Liu said. “I came here [to Robotics], and this also helps me with the idea of [electrical

engineering]. I had a previous hang of it, and [the team] only helps amplify it more.”

The team has also benefited members of the TPHS community. Outreach is an important component in robotics, and student-run projects to teach basic robotics skills to students at nearby elementary schools and TPHS special education students have been ongoing since the start of the year.

“We would go there once a month and help them [with] simple STEM concepts and that was really cool, demonstrating [how] the robot [works] and just giving them the feel of how engineering is,” Surya Madhan (12), co-president of the team, said.

The team is looking forward to offseason competitions for the rest of the school year.

photo courtesy of millennium falcons

TECH-SAVVY: The Millennium Falcon team sits in front of their robot, following their win in Idaho.

They then competed in Houston at the World Championship, where they lost in the quarterfinals.

On Easter Sunday, Sri Lanka was hit with multiple suicide bombings throughout the nation. Almost 300 people died, and the bombings occurred at hotels in Colombo and three churches celebrating Easter. An airport bomb was also planted, but defused. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Sri Lankan government shut down social media networks following the attacks to prevent false information from circulating.

WORDS BY NEHA PUBBI

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tphsfalconer.com

Angela Liu and Maya Satchell

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & STAFF WRITER Correction: In the previous issue, the Falconer reported that SDUHSD is in violation of California Assembly Bill 1826, a state law requiring schools that produce more than four cubic yards of solid waste per week to arrange for organic waste recycling services because SDUHSD does not recycle its food waste. Organic waste consists of food waste, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, nonhazardous wood waste and food-soiled paper waste that is mixed in with food waste. The district, however, makes up for not recycling food waste by recycling green waste and other landscape trimmings, making it compliant with AB 1826. The corrections are expanded upon later in the article.

Private waste management company EDCO, which collects all SDUHSD waste, is currently overseeing construction of new infrastructure at their Escondido Resource and Recovery facility to recycle food waste, which will then allow SDUHSD to recycle their food waste.

The Falconer has also learned that TPHS is in violation of a different recycling law, the City of San Diego Recycling Ordinance, due to the fact that custodians mix recyclable and trash waste together.

According to TPHS Custodial Crew Leader Jesus SantaCruz, all waste in TPHS recycling cans and classroom bins is mixed with the trash the school produces.

“The school does not recycle,” SantaCruz said.

According to Julie Sands Tyne, Supervising Recycling Specialist at the City of San Diego, TPHS is not compliant with the ordinance because it produces recyclable waste that is not being recycled.

The City of San Diego Recycling Ordinance was passed in 2008 and states recycling is required at all commercial properties within the city.

“A school, public or private, would be looked at as commercial property in this case, even though our enforcement is

different at a regular commercial property, where we can enforce recycling laws, yet we cannot at a public school,” Sands Tyne said.

The ordinance also states that all of the recycling receptacles on the commercial property must have proper signage that “displays a list and/or pictures of the recyclable materials that may be deposited

It’s imperative that management embraces the importance of diversion and meets the state’s many goals.

Julie Sands Tyne

SUPERVISING RECYCLING SPECIALIST AT THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO

into the Recycling Container,” according to Section 66.0707 of the ordinance. Currently, recycling receptacles at TPHS do not have any signs above them, although they are blue to differentiate from trash bins.

According to TPHS Plant Supervisor Logan Helm, TPHS custodians were not informed of the fact that mixing recyclables and trash together is a violation of San Diego’s Recycling Ordinance.

“No one has really informed me or our guys about those laws, as far as I know,” Helm said.

According to SDUHSD Director of Maintenance and Operations Dan Love and TPHS principal Rob Coppo, TPHS has not been made aware they are in violation with the City of San Diego recycling law.

Coppo is aware that recyclables and trash get mixed at TPHS and believes one way to reduce the mixing would be to install receptacles with clearer recycling labels.

However, it is not definite as to whether

the falconer

funding could be easily allocated to increase the amount of recycling on campus.

“What also helps [increase recycling at a school] is a top-down approach,” Sands Tyne said. “It’s imperative that management or the district or administration embraces the importance of diversion and meets the state’s many goals, which should trickle down to all faculty, staff and students.”

TPHS has not been notified that it is in violation of the City of San Diego Recycling Ordinance because it is difficult for the city to measure how successful recycling programs are at each school in San Diego.

According to Sands Tyne, each August the city receives reports from all of the waste haulers in the city reporting on the properties they service.

“If the report that the hauler gives us shows us there is recycling at a particular address, we don’t automatically know, ‘It must be a successful program or maybe it’s awful,’” Sands Tyne said. “We don’t just magically know that — we have to go out and investigate. And there is simply not enough staff to do that citywide.”

The City of San Diego does not have the authority to enforce recycling laws at public schools, as it is up to the state to do so, according to Sands Tyne. However, Lance Klug, the Public Information Officer at the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), said it is up to local jurisdictions to oversee enforcement by “establishing programs and providing education and outreach.”

According to Sands Tyne, after learning of the current recycling practices at TPHS, Roberta Goldpenny, the City of San Diego’s CalRecycle representative, is “very interested” in visiting TPHS to look at recycling practices onsite.

“I’ve called [TPHS] to try to arrange that, but I haven’t heard back from them,” Sands Tyne said. “But it is something we are planning on doing now that we’ve been made aware … [that] the school needs some improvement.”

Custodians at San Dieguito Academy will also mix recyclable and trash waste if they see contaminated recycling, according to Love, although he is unsure of exactly how often such mixing occurs and whether it occurs at other campuses as well.

EXPANDED CORRECTION:

Why TPHS is not in violation of AB 1826.

EDCO has been planning its construction of food waste infrastructure for “quite some

time,” according to Margo Cobian, the district’s EDCO account representative.

EDCO did not have the infrastructure by Jan. 1, when the food waste regulations in AB 1826 went into effect, but since its green waste is collected and recycled by EDCO, SDUHSD is compliant with AB 1826, according to Cobian.

While Klug agrees with Cobian about why SDUHSD is not in violation of AB 1826, the district’s inability to recycle its food waste is “technically” considered a violation of AB 1826, according to Sands Tyne. But, she agrees with Cobian and Klug that SDUHSD is not in violation of the law since the fact that there are limited places in San Diego where food waste can be processed and recycled poses a difficulty for school districts attempting to comply with the law.

In contrast to TPHS and most other schools in the district, Oak Crest Middle School and Diegueno Middle School have effective student-led recycling programs at their sites. While Falconer reported in its last issue that Diegueno had the lowest percentage of recyclable waste out of its total waste produced and Oak Crest had the fifth lowest percentage, that calculation does not take into consideration that both schools divert other recyclable waste, including chip bags, and, at Oak Crest specifically, coffee capsules and paper straws, after switching from plastic straws, according to Patti Diaz, Senior Program Director at BCK Programs — an environmental educational consulting firm hired by the city of Encinitas that helps students lead recycling programs at their schools. These figures are not included on the most recent SDUHSD Waste Tonnage Quarterly Report, which only includes the amounts of commingled recyclable (paper, cardboard, cans and glass) and green waste produced by each school in the district.

SDUHSD has also begun to take steps to increase its food waste recycling and completely meet the organic waste recycling requirement of AB 1826.

“We still have improvement and work to do, and the food waste piece of this is right in front of us,” Love said. “It’s something that we’re now beginning a district-level discussion on. It’s kind of a large undertaking, because as the culture exists now, it’s going to require a change of behavior. But that’s something that the district needs to prioritize.”

According to Love, discussions at the district-level regarding recycling food waste began “recently, in the last couple of months,” but exact details of what district efforts to increase food waste recycling will look like are “still to be determined.”

Student special Free fountain drink and chips with purchase of burrito with student id

Catering for offices, schools, and homes (619) 952-7468 photo by christy lam/falconer

JUNK IN THE TRUNK: A seagull sits on TPHS’ trash dumpster among a tree branch and bags of trash with a sandwich in its mouth (TOP).

The TPHS dumpster sits to the left of the recycle container behind the auto-tech rooms on campus. The dumpster was full, while the recycling container was almost empty (ABOVE).

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AP Testing Calendar MON 8 AM AP U.S. Government

TUES 6

8 AM AP Spanish Language

WED 7

8 AM AP English Literature

THUR 8

AP Seminar

8 AM AP Chemistry

FRI 9

8 AM AP U.S. History

10

AP Spanish Literature

12 PM

12 PM

12 PM

12 PM

12 PM

AP Chinese Language

AP Japanese Language

AP European History

AP German Language

AP Comp Science Principles

AP Environmental Science

AP Physics 1

AP French Language

AP Psychology

AP Physics 2

8 AM AP Biology

13

8 AM AP Calculus AB

12 PM

AP Calculus BC

AP Physics C: Mechanics

12 PM

2 PM AP Physics C: E & M

14

8 AM AP English Language

15

8 AM AP World History

16

8 AM AP Microeconomics

AP Comparative Government

AP Music Theory

12 PM

12 PM

12 PM

AP Art History

AP Italian Language

AP Statistics

AP Comp Science A

AP Human Geography

AP Macroeconomics

17

AP Latin

tips for the test 1. Don’t forget No.2 pencils, black or blue pens and an I.D.

3. Check online that your calculator model is College Board compliant.

2. Remember to bring snacks and water for the breaks.

4. Anticipate traffic and arrive as early as possible.

infographic by daniel kim/falconer

Dhathry Doppalapudi

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Grinnell College senior Steven Duong (‘15) was awarded a $30,000 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to travel to various countries around the world and work on his poetry project, “Freshwater Fish and the Poetry of Containment.”

Duong is one of 41 students nationwide to receive the fellowship, which is awarded by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation for twelve months of travel and college loan assistance.

Information provided by College Board

had when he was growing up in San Diego.

“When I was an ESL student, I didn’t know a lot of English. I was struggling with communicating with people and I was just feeling voiceless,” Duong said. “But I had this fish tank, and I would come home and watch it every day. I was just so obsessed with this fish tank, I would pretend I was in the world of the fish.”

Later, when he got better at speaking English and was able to communicate better, he began to write poetry about the fish.

“I asked myself, why do I keep finding myself trying to write poems about fish tanks and why am I never able to write one that I’m fully satisfied with?” Duong said. “So, I decided to try to pursue that question for a year … with my full focus and attention on that one question.”

In August, he will start his year abroad, in which Duong will travel to Malawi, China, Thailand and The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

“Each country I chose is the country of origin of one fish in my tank,” Duong said. “China would be the goldfish. Thailand is the betta fish, Malawi is the African Cichlid … and, finally, Trinidad is the guppy.”

There, he will speak with and collect the stories of fish breeders, evolutionary biologists, aquarium hobbyists and fish fighters.

“I’m going to be writing this poetry manuscript while I work with professionals like fisher people, fish breeders, fish biologists, and conservationists. I’m even going to meet and talk to some fish fighters.” Duong said. “I’m going to be working with these people and listening to their stories.”

This is my passion project. I am obsessed with it. I can’t wait to see how “Freshwater Fish and Poetry Containment” turns out.

Steven Duong (‘15) ALUMNUS

“We go to different countries internationally and pursue a project that we propose, and [the project] is tied to what we’re passionate about,” Duong said.

An English major with a concentration in American studies, Duong’s poetry will explore his fascination with the concept of containment.

“The question behind it is, basically, ‘What does it mean to be contained?’”

Duong said. “So, I’m using aquariums and poems as two different containers that people use to understand the natural world or understand themselves.”

This project was inspired by his emotional connection to the fish tank he

Of all the countries he is visiting, he is most looking forward to Thailand.

“The rules of the Watson fellowship don’t allow you to go to any country that you’ve been to before, so I couldn’t go to Vietnam, which is where my parents are from,” Duong said. “But Thailand is right next door, and they have this really interesting culture of betta fish fighting.

It’s really interesting to me.”

Besides working on his project, Duong is excited to explore the countries he visits and learn about their culture.

“I’m excited to try the different kinds of food in each place and go to restaurants and cafes,” Duong said. “I also really like going to bookstores, so I feel like it would be cool to visit the bookstores in all these

different countries.”

In his free time, Duong works as the editor of a Grinnell College student magazine, the Grinnell Underground Magazine, and manages the on campus KDIC 88.5 FM radio station.

“I do a lot of writing myself and I write poetry fiction … I also have a radio show,” Duong said. “I play guitar and I sing and I have a band. I also do visual art and multimedia stuff.”

Duong will depart for the fellowship in August, and he is looking forward to his journey.

“This is my passion project. I’m obsessed with it,” Duong said. “I can’t wait to see how ‘Freshwater Fish and the Poetry of Containment’ turns out.”

photo courtesy of steven duong/falconer

A MAN OF FEW WORDS: Steven Duong (‘15) received the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to travel the world. He will work on his poetry project “Freshwater Fish and the Poetry of Containment.”

art by sam mathe/falcon artist

The Green New Deal aims to transform the economy and close the economic inequality gap, while reducing the effects of climate change.

Neha Pubbi

STAFF WRITER The Green New Deal, sponsored

by Senator Ed Markey and Congresswoman Alexandria OcasioCortez, is a step in the right direction toward mitigating climate change and will hopefully gain momentum in Congress. The resolution is rightfully and thankfully bringing awareness to and addressing climate change, instead of leaving the life-threatening issue to the next generation.

The resolution’s overarching goal is to transition to clean energy to create new high-paying jobs, to promote and invest in sustainability, provide Americans with clean air and water as well as a viable environment and to lead the world against climate change.

Quantitative goals were made in the Green New Deal bill; for example, zero net emissions of greenhouse gases and renewable electricity were included.

The opposing side argues that the bill is too ambitious. However, climate change in itself is a pressing and imminent issue that politicians need to be discussing, instead of tossing it aside to future generations as climate change only worsens.

“We don’t have time to sit on our hands as our planet burns. [Climate change is] life or death,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The resolution addresses the controversial issue of climate change, sparking discussions on how to solve the problem, and will hopefully result in another bill, as the Green New Deal bill failed in the Senate. Climate change is a complex problem that will take many drafts of a bill to perfect a solution. Ocasio-Cortez and Markey’s bill was one draft of legal action. It might not have been perfect, but it is a start. The Green New Deal is one step towards the larger goal. It is

better to take that step than to watch our planet wither away. Republicans need to stop denying climate change, a non-partisan issue that should not be up for debate, as it is scientifically proven.

The legislation that the resolution calls for would limit global warming by switching to renewable energy, which would lower greenhouse gas emissions. The shift would be done by investing in renewable energy, as well as getting rid of subsidies that the government currently provides to the fossil fuel industry.

Although the bill and resolution seems overenthusiastic to some, we have the technology to shift to netzero emissions of greenhouse gases which is necessary more than ever as a report by the UN said that carbon emissions needed to be cut by 45% to keep global warming to 2.7 degrees.

We currently have 90% of the technology necessary to achieve these goals, according to Stanford professor of civil and environmental engineering Mark Jacobson.

The shift toward renewable energy will be pricey but worth it, and, in the long term, will save money. The opposing side claims the shift will be too expensive, however, they have ignored the costs of projected damages and costs of natural disasters, and renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuel. Furthermore, these critics need to contribute to a solution as climate change is ultimately life or death.

Critics might argue that the Deal will take away jobs from workers in the fossil fuel industry. But, the bill accounts for transitioning those workers into jobs dealing with renewable energy. The shift to renewable energy also creates 10 million new jobs.

The Green New Deal is not new, as many believe, but actually has been circulating for many years. The bill’s name refers to a phrase that New York Times editorial columnist, Thomas Friedman, coined.

The complete passage of the current joint resolution seems farfetched, but accomplishing some percentage of these goals will set mankind’s foot in the right direction, instead of taking no action.

In a poll conducted by the Yale Climate Change Communication Board

Would potential voters support the broad principles in the Green New Deal?

81%

19%

Climate change is real. Global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, glacial retreat, sea level rise, extreme weather and natural disasters all point to a massive acceleration in devastating climate change since the Industrial Revolution.

Scientific consensus on the human role in climate change is clear.

NASA reports that 97% of actively publishing scientists agree that humans are causing climate change.

Climate change is more than just warmer weather. If the global average temperature creeps above just 2 degrees Celsius of preindustrial temperatures, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts mass migration from regions most affected by climate change, more than $500 billion in lost annual GDP by 2100, wildfires that will burn twice as much area in the western U.S. per year and a risk of $1 trillion in crippling infrastructure and coastal real estate damage.

One proposed solution to our climate crisis comes from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Her “Green New Deal” is a revival of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s original New Deal, which, in tandem with the economic boost of World War II, lifted the U.S. out of the Great Depression. The Green New Deal treats climate change as our third world war.

The Green New Deal’s primary goal is to achieve net-zero global emissions by 2050, necessary to stay below 1.5 degrees. Unfortunately, the problem is larger than the U.S. Even if the United States went completely carbon-neutral, it would still leave the daunting task of getting China and India, the world’s other two largest carbon emitting countries, to transform their economies.

Though transitioning away from fossil fuels is a critical first step in combating climate change, the real solution to our warming problem lies in carbon capture technology. Right now, the high cost of sucking carbon out of the atmosphere prevents widespread use of the technology.

The fastest way to implement capture systems on an effective scale is to make them less expensive

Nico Johnson STAFF WRITER

and more efficient. The current lack of incentives for corporate research and development departments to latch onto is exactly why carbon capturing hasn’t taken off. Instead of flushing tax dollars down the drain in the name green infrastructure, we should be dangling grants in front of corporations, at the same time weaning them off fossil fuels by cutting subsidies and introducing carbon taxes. With more efficient and less expensive systems, it would become feasible for corporations, especially those whose entire business models revolve around fossil fuels, to go carbon neutral. With lower costs and greater incentives, the U.S. and the rest of the world could halt, and possibly reverse, harmful carbon emissions.

Implementing carbon capture systems also prevents destabilization.

Carbon capture systems would allow fossil fuel companies to maintain their lucrative and well-established position as energy providers, while giving them a potentially inexpensive way to stop climate change and garner some positive publicity in the eyes of Americans interested in maintaining a livable world for their children.

With the devastating effects of climate change looming, it’s time to take swift, decisive action. Trying to fundamentally change the world’s economic landscape in the Green New Deal’s proposed 10 years is futile. Though we must accelerate the global transition to green energy, the immediate solution to climate change can be developed through the market. Instead of endlessly pumping money into a costly administrative mess, we must give researchers and corporations incentive to find a lasting solution to climate change.

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Up until the critical month of May, high school students all over the nation who are enrolled in AP courses undergo rigorous preparation for the annual AP exams held throughout that month. Until then, every second of students’ class time is precious and valuable — especially considering the range of helpful AP practice materials that can be distributed and taught to students during a single class period, in order to improve their chances of scoring well on the AP test, even by a little.

Therefore, it is unnecessary and detrimental that students must take the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium test, a summative and end-of-the-year test “supporting high-quality teaching, improving learning for all students, [and] preparing students for life after high school,” a few short weeks before AP testing. Those weeks are often reserved for review and answering students’ last-minute questions about the AP exam.

For the benefit of students and their learning, SBAC testing should be pushed back until after AP testing because so much more precious time, even outside of the class time set aside for SBAC testing at TPHS, is stripped away because of this test.

In comparison to the results of AP tests, those of the SBAC test are not nearly as impactful, given that only about 200 colleges from only 10 U.S. states (California, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington) out of the 5,300 from all 50, “use the assessments as a part of the multiple measures approach to determine whether students are in need of remedial support,” according to the SBAC website.

Only six of those colleges use SBAC tests for college admissions.

The vast majority of those 200 colleges are community colleges, and none of them are any of the nine undergraduate University of California campuses — six of which fall under the “10 colleges with the Most Applicants” report released by U.S. News & World Report.

More specifically, students who were absent to their classes and consequently did not take the SBAC test along with the rest of their peers, lose even more of

opinion

april 26, 2019

their class time because, in addition to the instruction time that was lost due to their absence, those students are pulled out of another class period — sometimes in the middle of learning new material, reviewing AP materials or catching up with classwork — in order to make up a single test that most likely does not factor into college admissions.

Because the SBAC is an untimed test, according to the SBAC website, the same applies to test takers who are also pulled out of other classes — in some cases, more than once — to complete the test.

For high school students not taking any AP tests, holding onto SBAC testing until after AP testing does not at all compromise their learning. In fact, the change does not at all affect those students at best.

Among several other reasons, schools administer SBAC tests before the AP testing period out of concern that students might feel burned out after AP testing and therefore are be more likely not to perform as well on SBAC tests, giving way to low schoolwide scores. But, that is not a direct concern because unlike AP tests, the SBAC test does not require studying. Not to mention, AP tests are commonly known to be significantly more difficult than the SBAC test, for AP tests test a wide range of collegelevel subjects, while the latter is a test meant to be taken by all, “including students who are learning English or have special needs,” according to the SBAC website.

Taking all of the above into consideration, SBAC testing should be shifted to dates after AP testing for the sake of students and their learning experience. Beyond that, it is a basic sign of respect to their hardworking AP students that schools enforce this change.

Without those necessary changes, the motives behind the SBAC test such as “improving learning for all students,” may just prove moot. Likewise, if SBAC testing is not given after AP testing, the true aspect of the test contributing to student burnout may very well be the fact that the SBAC test is stealing precious class time that could be used more wisely.

of TPHS students grades 10-12 took AP tests in the 2017-18 school year, according to the California Department of Education

Avery Benjamin (11) I feel like colleges look at AP tests a lot more because they’re from the College Board, so they should come first.

Romina Nazari (11) Having SBAC first just causes too much stress and takes away too much time from class that we could use to learn.

Sam Chen (12) APs should get priority because they help you in college and set you up for more lifelong opportunities, unlike the SBAC.

art by vlada demenko/falcon artistst

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opinion

tphsfalconer.com

Colette Chiang

FEATURE EDITOR No matter how many films I watch or stories I hear, I will never be able to truly imagine or comprehend the extent of how the 9/11 attack shook America and how it changed all Americans’ lives forever. But me not being alive during the attack didn’t affect my feelings of shock and resentment caused by President Trump’s tweet, who twisted a speech by U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar out of context and compared it to footage of the actual attack.

No one had to live through the fateful day themselves to see that he had crossed the line.

Again.

A clarification needs to be made: Omar’s speech at the Council of American-Islamic Relations was intended to target discrimination against Muslims and, in particular, mourn the recent attack on a New Zealand church. Yes, her words were not clear, and “[s]ome people did something” was undoubtedly one of the worst ways to describe a tragedy of such magnitude, especially given her political position as a Congresswoman. However, listening to her entire speech, not just the short phrase Trump excerpted, makes clear that her intent was not to make light of 9/11.

Some may say that as a U.S. Congresswoman, Omar needs to be more selective and conscientious in choosing her words. And, unfortunately, during this presidency, tension is

evident in Trump’s Muslim ban and “I think Islam hates us” comment, and so every minority group, not just Muslims, absolutely needs to be aware of its words. But, Trump is notorious for being able to manipulate or take situations out of context, as he did with Omar. He also, compared to Omar, has suffered zero repercussions for his actions and can click “delete” just as easily as he posted his horrendous tweet.

Perhaps we will never know whether Omar truly intended to use vague words in her speech to convey a political message. Or maybe the words accidentally slipped out. But no cause, especially discrimination against Muslims, will be helped with the kind of media attention Omar’s lack of proper word choice has received.

But this brings up a question: Why does only Omar have this responsibility while Trump is not being held accountable for what he says?

Why is his tweet allowed to disappear, despite triggering hundreds of death threats aimed at Omar?

Trump’s tweet incited what is known as stochastic terrorism, when hatred is targeted against a group and can potentially cause random people to carry out violent attacks. His edited video also seemed to mock and make light of the situation. It was a clip that should never have been posted in the first place.

The influx of threats prompted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to ask for increased protections for Omar, according to the Washington Post. A man in New York was even arrested for threatening to kill her, a “terrorist,” which all could have been avoided had Trump not politicized and stirred the pot using this serious issue.

As Pelosi said, Trump’s “hateful and inflammatory rhetoric creates real danger,” and he should be held accountable for his actions and attacks on Omar. Whether that be by tweeting an apology or having his Twitter account temporarily suspended, Trump should

not be able to use his presidential influence to spread animosity toward Muslims or twist Omar’s message. After all, he is connecting with 59.7 million followers compared to Omar’s 940,000, and he needs to understand that his position, even more than Omar’s, requires sensitivity and careful attention to word choice.

As president, Trump has many more important matters he should be attending to — targeting a member of Congress is not one of those tasks.

We need to forgive Omar and not jump to conclusions that she, as a Muslim American, is making light of the worst terrorist act in American history. And, Omar needs to be more cautious

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and aware of our administration’s tendency to pick five-second clips out of a 20-minute speech and do the unthinkable, like linking it to a video of 9/11. Given her track record of making what some characterize as anti-Semitic comments, Omar needs to be more careful in her quest to eliminate Islamophobia. To defend herself against possible misunderstandings or her words being twisted, Omar needs to be more strategic with her words while remaining outspoken about these important issues. And Trump? Well… we need to make sure we don’t give Trump any more ammunition to fire. He should not be using fear tactics to promote his agenda or personal opinion, and he certainly doesn’t need any opportunity to make America more divided.

At the end of the day, we all need to be more aware of how our actions affect others — a lesson that even a second grader knows. But in this case, the stakes are much higher, and death threats and this unnecessary altercation belong neither on the playground nor on Twitter.

art by amrita moturi/falcon artist

JEREMY CHUNG

To briefly sum up the map of my life, I was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Irvine, lived in South Korea, moved to San Diego and now am off to Boston for college. I’ve frequently expressed my desire to graduate from high school and go off to college, but, in all honesty, I’ve been more terrified than I let on. But now, as I sit in my hotel room, exhausted from my visit to Northeastern University, writing and reminiscing on my journey so far, I realize how prepared I am for college. Over the years, adapting to completely new environments has become my strength.

Looking back at my past, I see that I’ve moved during significant periods in my life. When I moved from California to South Korea, I moved right when I was transitioning into elementary school from kindergarten. All the friends I had made up to that point were going to move up to elementary school together without me, and I was going to have to start over again and make new friends overseas.

Being simplistic and naive, as the child I was, I had no fear. I was so ready to make new friends in a country I’d never lived in. Once I started school in Korea though, I felt alien. I was too young to understand how drastically different the culture would be in another country.

Before we moved, my parents assured me that I was going to be fine. They had been planning to send me to an international school for students like me who had lived outside Korea for a couple of years. These international schools were supposed to place me in a more “American” environment, and yet I still felt like

such an outsider. The American culture I was familiar with was completely absent there.

To begin with, everyone at my school was a fluent Korean speaker and every single one of them spoke to each other in Korean. I, on the other hand, could just barely read or write in Korean, and I knew only the simplest words and phrases that I had grown up with at home. I felt a barrier between my friends and me because I was too “American” and lacked the familiarity with Korean culture that everyone else had.

I felt so awkward at first. We all looked alike, we all technically came from similar backgrounds, but I wasn’t one of them. Thankfully, over the long seven years I spent in Korea, I slowly but surely adjusted to the environment. I learned more phrases by speaking more Korean with friends, I watched a lot of Korean TV shows and soon my interests aligned with those of my friends. I had found my community.

At school, I used English in class to participate and used Korean to converse with my family and friends. I became a fluent English and Korean speaker, and I could socialize easily with people I had initially thought were too different from me. I’d become so comfortable with the dominating Korean cultural presence in my life that when my dad announced that we would be moving to America, I was absolutely devastated.

The international school I attended had elementary, middle and high schools, so I had friends I had grown up with since I had moved to Korea, and we were all excited to move up to high school together. We had just finished

photo by david vapnek/falconer

Sports Editor Jeremy Chung reflects on his journey moving back and forth between California and South Korea and his chameleon ability to adapt to the new environments he is placed in.

the first semester of our eighth grade year and looking forward to ending middle school when my dad suddenly told me that we were moving to San Diego.

Back then, it felt like an all-too-common theme for me to move at crucial transitioning periods in my life. All of my friends in Korea were going to transition into high school without me while I’d be on the other side of the world, spending my high school career in San Diego.

Before I had even completely grasped my situation, I was so sure that I’d have a terrible time trying to get used to American culture, especially after it had been absent from my life for the previous seven years.

I was expecting the same type of transition I’d experienced when I moved from Irvine to Korea. I’d have to start over with making friends, and it would probably take me forever to find friends I could be comfortable with. I’d been away from American culture for so long, I was sure it would be foreign to me.

Initially, I thought that I’d be incapable of associating with people who weren’t Asian. I mean, I’d only had Asian friends for the entire

seven years I lived in Korea. To be honest, I was afraid that I’d forgotten how to socialize with non-Asian people.

So I was surprised when my transition back into an American environment came so easily, as I quickly grew comfortable socializing with other Americans.

I’d forgotten how supportive and welcoming Americans can be; it wasn’t hard at all to speak to new people. Everyone seemed to find the fact that I lived in another country for so long intriguing, and telling people my experiences living in another country made for good conversation. It also helped that I spoke perfect English, even though I had been away from America for so long.

I’ve come to accept that I owe my ability to adapt to new environments to my experience moving around frequently in culturally diverse communities.

Because I moved around frequently, I’m confident that I’ll be able to find a community that I’m most comfortable with once I go off to attend Northeastern — far from San Diego, which I now call home. After all, it is my strength.

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Kevin Song

STAFF WRITER To say that BlackPink is popular would be an understatement. Their loyal fans, nicknamed “Blinks,” were willing to brave New York City’s freezing winter temperatures overnight just to get a glimpse of the Korean girl band on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” earlier this year. Many Blinks frantically refreshed multiple tabs of the ticket sales site on several devices just to secure a ticket to BlackPink’s world tour in a cutthroat battle against thousands of other Blinks. BlackPink was also the first female K-Pop group to perform at Coachella. In short, they’re a big deal.

After nearly 10 months, BlackPink has finally returned to the international soundscape with an explosive mini album, named “Kill This Love” after its title track, on April 4. Their comeback could not have been better timed.

The comeback, a term K-Pop fans use to describe an artist’s release of new content after a period of inactivity, was originally scheduled for late March, but it was delayed until April since the band’s management, YG Entertainment (YGE), was hit by a string of scandals. Had the comeback occurred at its original date in March, the group would most likely have been identified as merely YGE’s “distraction” from those scandals. Delay the comeback further, though, and it would have missed BlackPink’s first concert in the North American leg of its world tour at the Forum in Inglewood, California, leaving the band with a mere nine songs to live up to high expectations

Leo Silverman

STAFF WRITER When people think of gambling, they immediately think of things like horse racing or one of the many games at casinos. What many don’t realize is that betting on sports is a multibillion dollar industry.

A little under a year ago, on May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court lifted the national ban on sports betting. Prior to that, it was only allowed in four states: Delaware, Nevada, Montana and Oregon. Even with so few places to place sports bets, the industry raked in about $150 billion dollars in profit.

In fact, on April 9, a person placed $85,000 on Tiger Woods to win the 2019 Masters golf tournament. Woods was far from favored, with his odds at 14 to 1. Woods ended up shocking the entire sports world, winning the Masters, and earning the mystery person around $1.2 million.

Not all bets, prior to the Supreme Court’s lift on the ban, came legally. Many offshore books existed where people can bet from anywhere in the states, which was illegal. One website that has recently come under fire for being tardy on paying bets, MyBookie, operates as one of those offshore betting sites.

Now that the Supreme Court has lifted the national ban on sports bets, it is up to state legislators to decide if they’ll adopt the ruling or not. Currently, there are eight states that allow sports betting: Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Rhode Island and New Mexico. Multiple other states have proposed similar bills, and Arkansas has already passed a bill, but need a couple of

for its first tour outside of Asia.

YGE’s image was automatically delegated to The largest of those scandals was the Burning BlackPink.

And, with this comeback, they are certainly Sun Scandal, in which celebrities solicited prostitutes at the Burning Sun nightclub in pulling off YGE’s resurrection. The first teaser Seoul, South Korea. Prostitution is illegal there. video for “Kill This Love,” released on March 31, The scandal resulted in the termination of four caused a 5.12 percent jump in YGE stock despite Korean entertainers’ contracts in a one-week the ongoing Burning Sun scandal. And, even span. One of the singers, Lee Seung-Hyung, though more and more celebrities are revealed better known by his stage name Seungri, was to have been involved in the scandal with each a director of the Burning Sun club, as well as passing day, YGE stock is still climbing since a member of the boy band Big Bang, which BlackPink rolled out news of its comeback, is managed by YGE and, until recently, was its world tour, Coachella performance and more.

BlackPink is all YGE has left, and their delayed most popular group.

Seungri was only one of many Korean comeback is the only thing keeping YGE afloat.

But the Burning Sun scandal also invigorated entertainers ensnared in the scandal; he was part of a group chat with around 10 other Korean the #MeToo movement in South Korea, which entertainers, in which the singers shared videos emerged in 2018 and continues to simmer as of themselves having sex with unknowing and the number of high-profile men prosecuted for often drugged women. Seungri was among sexual abuse and misconduct increases.

And, for BlackPink, which, according to a YGE the first to announce retirement from showbiz, posting an official statement on his Instagram representative, was named to on March 11, which confirmed the termination of his contract with YGE. Just over a week after Seungri’s retirement announcement, the Korean National Tax Service conducted an investigation of YGE on March 20 and confirmed suspicions of tax evasion.

YGE’s stock had already been falling steadily since late January, when details of the Burning Sun scandal were first uncovered, but Seungri’s retirement announcement prompted YGE stock to plummet 14 percent in a single day, translating to a loss of over $100 million for the company, according to the KOSDAQ Stock Quote.

Most of YGE’s other groups, like iKon, have been shoved aside to make room for the agency’s more popular groups like Big Bang and BlackPink, and are currently trapped “in the basement,” a phrase K-Pop fans use to describe singers and bands who, due to poor management, do not release new content for months or even years. Thus, the task of restoring art by seyoung lee/falcon artist

dispel pink’s reputation as a pretty, cute color that is gender-specific to girls, and to make a statement that “beauty isn’t everything,” the current political climate helped them gain momentum both nationally and internationally as a powerful, unique girl group.

“Kill This Love” smashed records at the time of its release; the music video for its title track earning 56.7 million views in its first 24 hours, surpassing Ariana Grande’s previous record of 55.4 million with “Thank U, Next” … so, thank you, but next, Ari. In short, BlackPink has successfully maintained its popularity while also keeping YGE alive in a time of crisis for the company.

If BlackPink can release a record-shattering music video under a company hit with sex and tax evasion scandals while simultaneously preparing for the North American leg of their world tour and a performance at Coachella, they’re doing just fine.

legal websites over the shady, risky bookie.

Sports betting is a huge industry, and I see no reason why states can’t find a way to profit off the industry the ways bookies and offshore websites do. In fact, a 2017 Oxford University report found that if all states legalized sports gambling, it would add anywhere from $11.6 to $14.2 billion dollars to our countries GDP. Another concern about legalized gambling in the world of sports is that it could lead to an increase in tampering with matches. If sports gambling was completely legal, athletes and referees may be more incentivized to break the rules and place wagers. There are even past examples of players or referees tampering matches when sports gambling was still nationally illegal. The latest and biggest scandal took place in 2007, when the FBI revealed that NBA referee Tim Donaghy had been betting on matches and fixing them to make money on the side.

I find this argument much weaker.

If anything, legalizing wagers on sports matches will decrease the amount of match fixing because it wo u l d

then be monitored by states, making it more difficult for athletes and match officials to even place bets on the websites. Everyone placing wagers have to place bets through websites that are regulated and monitored constantly.

Also, sports leagues and teams could set up stricter guidelines and punishments for anyone with influence in matches, further discouraging athlete’s and officials from tampering with games.

All in all, I believe the federal government laid a foundation last year for sports betting to benefit everyone the way it should have years ago. Now, it is up to the states to decide if they want to take advantage of another potential source of income for themselves, and I see no reason why sports betting should not be legal in every state by 2020.

months to put them into effect.

The system for betting in these states is pretty simple; people in those states can place bets on games at state-supported locations.

But the murky part comes when factoring in web-based betting. Most operate in one of the aforementioned states, which means they are legal businesses. The “gray area” is around the users who visit the website. Are people outside the state the website operates in allowed to use the site? If not, how can the website make sure users are all from the state the website is based in? All these questions would disappear if all 50 states legalized sports wagers.

Each state has limited the number of websites by only authorizing certain companies to create them. The legislators of that state vote on what company can run the website, and make sure the government can monitor all activity. This avoids creating a free market on sports betting in the state, making a more funneled market.

Those who still oppose full legalization of sports betting have some valid concerns. A major objection to state-wide legalization is the idea that it won’t change anything in the industry. In theory, making sports betting legal everywhere won’t eliminate illegal wagers.

Illegal bookies will still exist for a multitude of reasons. They can offer a line of credit for people placing wages, allowing them to pay for their bets later. On top of that, they can set better odds on matches than the state-run websites, attracting others that are looking to make more money.

In reality, there isn’t a way to eliminate illegal betting completely. It is nearly impossible. Despite this, I still think that if all states legalize betting on sports games, illegal betting will decrease significantly because many sports bettors would choose the safe,

art by anna jeong/falcon artist

art by lesley moon/falcon artist

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AYFRONT B O G IE HILTON SAN D 5TH 8 TO 11 PM 2 SATURDAY, MAY ROM AD SPREAD P TPHS FALCONER

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URFEW! C R E B M E M E EACH: 10 PM B UT R B A N A SAN DIEGO & SOL 11 PM R: A M L DE

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hey! middle schoolers!

Sign up to join the staff of the award winning, nationally ranked TPHS student run newspaper, the Falconer.

Learn about the world of journalistic writing, investigations, current events, graphic design and benefit from rewarding leadership opportunities.

april 26, 2019

How to join the Falconer: 1) Come to TPHS! 2) Enroll in Beginning Journalism (you’ll get CTE credit, and we promise it’s worth it) 3) Apply to join the Falconer at the end of the year.

Feature looks at application statistics for the University of California from the 2018-19 admissions cycle.

Over half of all UC students qualify for paying no tuition, and two-thirds receive grants and scholarships.

The average UC total cost (in state, living on campus) for the 2019-20 school year is

$35,520*

The percentage of low income applicants to UC schools rose from 40 percent to

42%

The largest ethnic group among applicants to UC schools for the class of 2023 was Latinos; they made up

*this number does not include UC Riverside and UC Davis, as they have not released 2019-20 tuition.

los angeles remained the most popular campus with 111,266 applicants; UCSD came in second with 99,112 applicants.

37.7%

computer science & engineering

The number of applications system-wide dropped by three percent this year, making it the first drop in:

12 YEARS

are the most applied to majors at UC Irvine, UC Merced and UC San Diego.

social sciences

are the most applied to majors at UC Los Angeles and UC Santa Barbara.

life sciences are the most applied to majors at UC Davis and UC Riverside.

undeclared

most incoming students at UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley enter undeclared.

APPLICATIONS INCREASED at these campuses: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

Information provided by the University of California

176,530 applied to the University of California this year. The average applicant applied to:

3.9 CAMPUSES

infographic by farhan hossain/falconer

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TEAM 3647 Behind the music room is a small, isolated trailer apply to other areas in his life. in the far reaches of campus, cluttered with scattered “I learned a lot about engineering and stuff about making parts, orange foam balls, pieces of wood and bits of machinery. but also about organization,” Bao said. “A majority of it is robotThe overwhelmingly loud whir of a drill can be heard oriented, but you definitely pick up on [other skills] along the way.” as students pry open a barricaded door and argue over Being on the team also offers students an opportunity to dive into a half-eaten cake with “Congratulations on World’s!” academic subjects that are not typically taught in the classroom. scrawled over it in bright red frosting. “[The team] held training sessions during the offseason If you walked into this trailer, you would be surprised specifically tailored to people who didn’t know Java [a programming to find out that its inhabitant is the complete opposite of language],” Kunal Singla (12), head of Programming, said. chaotic and disorganized: the robotics team. “[Students] can come in, attend the lessons that I teach and learn Just last week, the TPHS Millennium Falcons entered how not only to program in Java, but also to learn how to move and the World Championship competition after consecutive actuate a robot in a couple of weeks.” victories at qualifying regional competitions, ranking In addition to providing programming lessons, team members second in terms of design and build in the Roebling division. this year decided to participate in activities that involved the Presented by the Boeing company, the theme for this community. year’s FIRST Robotics Competition Farrah Kaiyom (11) is in charge of those was Destination: Deep Space. Inspired projects as the head of Outreach, and by rovers on Mars, competition robots her community involvement earned were tasked with gathering cargo pods and her the FIRST Dean’s List Finalist preparing their spaceships for unpredictable Award, given for outstanding dedication terrain and weather patterns. To mimic and leadership to the team. these specific conditions, robots had to run “Apart from just building robots, we blind for 15 seconds during a “sandstorm” of strive to impact the community,” Kaiyom orange foam balls and fill structures similar said. “We have established a Unified to rockets and cargo ships with cargo pods.

Robotics program at our own school, which With successes in competitions in teaches the basic principles of robotics Idaho, San Diego and Del Mar, to Special Education students, an the spotlight on the robotics opportunity of exposure to STEM.” team has intensified as they When the team is not focusing steadily climbed up in ranking. on positively impacting their But even with the additional community, they are devoting Douglas Liu (11) pressure to succeed, the team their attention to perfecting HEAD OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS culture remains relaxed.

MAUL, their robot, for the “I like the environment; it’s World Championship. really laid back,” Charles Bao (12), “[My favorite part of head of Public Relations, said. “You would robotics is] being able to see expect it to be super serious and tight, but it’s extraordinarily laid your six weeks of work finally pay off,” Douglas Liu back, which is actually pretty surprising.”

(11), head of Electrical Systems, said. “You actually According to Surya Madhan (12), the current co-president of get to see your work come to fruition, and to me the team and a member since freshman year, robotics has grown that’s one of the most valuable parts of it.” significantly.

Although some members are assigned to specific roles “The best thing about this club is that when most of us came in or departments, the robot’s success is a hard-earned result here, we had no idea what to do,” Madhan said. “We didn’t know only made possible by all of them contributing and functioning about CAD [Computer-Aided Design], electrical [or] programming as one body. … It was fun. Most of [the learning process] was just us figuring “[Everyone] does outreach, but [some] also do code. [Some] also it out by ourselves, and some of it was under some guidance from know how to CAD, and others help me with business,” Emmie Yao seniors and mentors that were able to help.”

(12), head of Business, said.

Not only did Madhan learn programming skills from his Although joining the team has no prerequisites, not everyone teammates and coaches, but he also got real, practical experience makes it to the competition squad. in teamwork and coordination, which he applies to his life.

“We have an open-door policy, but there’s a big weed-out section “My experience with robotics was the first time I was of time, and we have huge hour requirements programming and working with other people,” Madhan said. that if you don’t fulfill, you “[During] the summer after my sophomore year, when I interned at can’t come to Microsoft, working with other people definitely helped me because you listen to other people and you know how to collaborate.”

Madhan isn’t the only one to benefit from robotics: for Bao, the robotics team has equipped him with professional skills he can

You actually get to see your work come to fruition, and to me that’s one of the most valuable parts of it.

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and

out

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competition,” Yao said. “You do have to show that you’re is not enough to do well dedicated, and that you’re not just here to put it on your college at competitions. Other application.” factors, including But as long as members meet those quotas, the team itself is strategy and outreach, very flexible. are critical to scoring high “People on this team have varying levels of commitment. There for competitions. are people who show up every day and others who usually show up “I think what surprised a couple times a week,” Bao said. “We don’t have a rigid schedule. me after watching We basically let our members set their own hours.” all the competitions The unspecified amount of dedication required to be an was how much active member of robotics is in part due to the students’ more strategy was independence during the build season, the six-week involved than just period after January in which team members build building a robot. their competition robot.

You could see some “We really pride ourselves in that our robot is completely student-built, from the ideas to putting it together to getting the money for it,” Yao said. “Every single aspect is student-built; the mentors maybe touched the robot twice throughout this entire season. robots being defenders and causing trouble And they don’t give us the ideas, for others,” TPHS math teacher Abby not at all.”

Brown said. “Top seeded teams select which Before even starting to build, the team other robots they want on their teams for brainstorms ideas by using 3D modeling higher level events, and understanding software to plan out a plausible design. more about how the scoring works and how Once they are happy with the design, the they can earn different ranking points and team first starts testing wooden models, bonuses [is necessary]. So it was much more and then makes the final product out of multifaceted than I had ever expected.” metal or plastic.

Brown live streamed the robotics team at “We first cut raw metal down to size on a World’s to her classes, and, as a nod to band saw and then smooth it and fine tune her enthusiasm, Team 3647 made sure the size on a metal mill,” Bao said. “Then, to hold up a sign saying hi to her. we use a CNC router to cut all the detailed “I wanted to show it to my Carson Wiener (11) holes and other designs.” students because we TEAM MEMBER Once the frame is done, the next task is know the students to bring the robot to life. To do so, the team’s who were there programming department, responsible for coding the robot’s functions, works closely with the electrical department, which focuses on the wiring that competing,” Brown said. “The allows the robot to communicate with the sensors and inputs. students who were here in class had “Communication is key when it comes to programming.” Singla friends who were at the competition. The streams were just to said. “We come up with the necessary systems that are going to be learn more about what they’ve been involved with and understand on our robot … As the robot development progresses, we can start the competition better.” testing those functions and then tuning and fixing any problems In the end, Team 3647 did not make it past the quarterfinals that come with the programming.” round at the World Championship competition. But mentor Klint One of the robot’s most unique features was its arm, which was a Kirkconnell, who has guided the team members since the robotics successful addition because of its ability to score in both directions. program started in 2011, is proud of their accomplishments no “Actually, the robot [arm idea] started out as a joke,” Carson matter the result.

Wiener (11) said. “We thought of having an arm that could score “I’m very proud of our team. I think they did an excellent job, backwards and forwards. But as we thought about it more and and they worked hard,” Kirkconnell said. more, we began to realize that it might actually be a good idea.”

While the robotics season has now come to a close, this year The double-sided arm inspired the robot’s name, MAUL, after has been one for the history books. Next year, Team 3647 will be a Star Wars character of the same name who uses a two-sided back in their trailer, tinkering around and ready to face whatever lightsaber. Having a technologically impressive robot, however, challenge is thrown their way.

The robot [arm idea] started out as a joke ... but as we thought about it more and more, we began to realize that it might actually be a good idea.

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Stella Chung (12), a responsible team player, takes care of her “kids” while participating in different extracurricular activities, such as iGEM, Speech and Debate and orchestra.

Stella Chung (12) is somewhat of a busy mom.

“The underclassmen are basically like my kids, because I do take kind of a parenting role,” Chung said.

Chung trains many of her underclassmen, or “kids,” as the president of California Scholarship Federation (CSF), National Honor Society (NHS), iGEM and Speech and Debate. Additionally, Chung is a member of the TPHS orchestra, musical group Youth en Gedi and San Diego Youth Symphony.

Chung, who now leads the second violin section in the TPHS orchestra, began playing the violin at the age of six. Although her feelings have now changed, Chung did not enjoy violin at first.

“It was playing for the sake of playing, so I felt like I was just playing what’s on the page,” Chung said. “Watching people have such a passion for classical music [is what] really inspired me to kind of push myself.”

Chung also plays with Youth en Gedi, a string ensemble of local players. The group puts on benefit concerts to raise money for awareness of issues, one of which gave her the opportunity to perform at a South Korean orphanage, Jusarang.

“We forget that we are blessed and privileged to have all these opportunities, have a family and be able to pursue different interests,” Chung said. “Being able to actually go and visit [an orphanage] in person makes it meaningful because it combines what I love about meeting new people and trying to make a difference in some small way with something through something that I enjoy: music.”

While Chung is busy with different extracurricular activities, she does not fit the stereotype of the sleep deprived overachiever.

“On days where I would have a lot of homework or a lot of projects or something important coming up, I would probably sleep a little past midnight,” Chung said. “But in general, I’m very surprised that I haven’t had to pull an all nighter. Sleep is very important to my sanity and my ability to function.”

Her love for sleep does not mean Chung’s activities do not take up a lot of time. One of those activities is iGEM, a synthetic biology competition, which freshman Chung stumbled upon on Club Day. “Being in a lab [felt] far away,” Chung said. “It seemed like something that only professionals or scientists [do]. Through iGEM, you have a collective group of people helping you work in a lab.”

As Chung rose up the ranks of iGEM, however, she realized how different being part of the group was from leading it.

“The iGEM team captain was really the first leadership position for which I felt really overwhelmed at times,” Chung said. “I obviously want to help my team be the best they can be, but I have to put in the time to [do so].” iGEM changed Chung’s perspective about leadership.

“Leadership is not about being above everyone else. It’s really about making sure that everyone’s taken care of,” Chung said. “You put in grunt work and sometimes it’s very unglamorous, but it’s a lot of the behind the scenes stuff.”

Chung, however, has benefited from having mentors and role models at TPHS. “I never thought the fact that I was a female had much of an impact on what I was doing,” Chung said. “I think [that is] because I had a lot of [female] role models at [TPHS] already and people who paved the way for me.”

Chung knows that all her clubs are larger than her, and has been working to hand them over to her underclassmen.

“In all these activities I do, it’s not individualistic, because its emphasis is on what the group can create together,” Chung said.

After graduating, what Chung will miss the most about her high school career are the small things.

“Teaching new debaters is very taxing, but it’s also very rewarding at the same time,” Chung said. “The underclassmen have this thing called a Kumbaya circle, which is where if we don’t have a lot of stuff going on we just socialize. We sit in a circle and just talk about drama … really light-hearted stuff that we can all laugh with each other about.”

by Neha Pubbi

photo by anna jeong/falconer

“I have fired the horse-catcher,” standup comedian John Mulaney said to an audience in Radio City Music Hall during a bit that likened the Trump administration to a “horse loose in a hospital.” While this line elicited a chorus of laughter, it also involved the nationally-known, ongoing investigation of potential collusion between the Trump administration and Russians, including President Vladimir Putin.

As Mulaney alluded to, without naming names, Trump’s fired FBI director James Comey in 2017, Congress shortly after called for the appointment of a special counsel, this time to continue the probe, led by Robert Mueller, also a former director of the FBI. That investigation began in May 2017 and concluded on March 22 of this year. It was followed by the release of the so-called Mueller report to Attorney General William Barr.

Barr then released his own four-page summary of the almost 400-page report prior to its release to the public, which notably stated that “the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”

Also significant was the conclusion on potential charges of obstruction of justice, about which the report said “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.” The special counsel essentially left it to the Attorney General to decide whether or not the president committed a crime when he allegedly requested Comey’s loyalty during a private dinner and asked Comey not to investigate Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. After, Trump forced Comey to resign in the midst of the investigation, which many speculate he ordered so he could stop the investigation.

Barr decided that the president’s conduct did not meet the standard for prosecution of a crime, which is generally considered to be 90% certainty that a crime, in this case obstruction of justice, was committed.

Trump’s response to Barr’s summary was that it proved “complete and total exoneration” of him and his campaign.

The Attorney General released a redacted version of the full report on April 18; parts detailing other, ongoing investigations and classified information had been removed.

The full report stated that Trump ordered the White House counsel and an aide to fire Mueller or force previous Attorney General Jeff Sessions to let him go, shortly after Mueller began his investigation. Neither of these orders were acted upon. Trump also reportedly told the counsel to deny that he had given them the order to fire Mueller.

While Mueller rejected Barr’s argument that sitting presidents cannot be indicted, the fact that the counsel and Sessions did not act on Trump’s orders is what steered Mueller to uncertainty regarding whether or not the president’s actions could incriminate him.

Despite Barr’s brief conclusion that the president did not execute orders that are considered obstruction of justice, the Mueller report emphasized that the special counsel did not clear President Trump, stating, “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.”

Politicians continue to reach their own conclusions on the probe. Meanwhile, the full text of the redacted Mueller report is available online, published as a New York Times searchable document on April 18.

by Vlada Demenko

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@TPHSPORTS @Falconertphs Are you struggling to get a good grade in one of the following classes?

High Bluff Academy still has room for some second semester classes.

Subject

TPHS Period

CCA Period

Teachers

Biology Chemistry Physics Physics Int Math 1

2 1 6 2 6 2 6 2 1 1 6 1 7 2 7 6 6 1 6 7 1 2

1 1

Dr. Will Anderson George Humphreys George Humphreys Colin Green Lori Davidson Lori Davidson Tom Kolstad Tom Kolstad Colin Green Tom Kolstad Oscar Otanez Aubri Almendariz Adriana Garcia Adriana Garcia Dr. Will Anderson Geoff Stevens George Humphreys Geoff Stevens Adriana Garcia Colin Green Oscar Otanez Oscar Otanez

Int Math1Honors Int Math1Honors Int Math 2 Int Math 3 Intro to Calculus Statistics Spanish 1 Spanish 2 Spanish 3 Environmental Science AP Human Geography

AP Chemistry AP U.S. History AP Spanish AP Physics 1 AP Calculus AB AP Calculus BC

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

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Small class size allows for individualized instruction

12707 High Bluff Dr., Suite 150 San Diego, CA 92130 (858) 509-9101

I have always heard about spin classes like SoulCycle and thought they were overrated or something that only celebrities could afford. But, my experience at CycleBar changed my mind.

CycleBar, an indoor cycling franchise, was founded in 2004 in Del Mar and Carmel Country Plaza. Their mission statement promises their customers quality instructors, great music and a great environment.

I booked sessions on their website, which is well-designed and easy to navigate. I could choose which bike I wanted and gave my shoe size for the biking shoes that are included with the class, which cost $10 for first-timers. A drop-in class is $25 after that, but you can also sign up for a free trial week; after that week, the price jumps up to $49 per week for unlimited classes.

The staff led my mother and me to the locker room, which was small, but it didn’t matter because the class was small too.

For all riders new to the studio, the staff decorates a locker to welcome them and provides a CycleBar water bottle with a pop-top cap which is apparently easier to use while cycling.

While I put on the cycling shoes and arranged things in my locker, the owner introduced himself to us, welcomed us into CycleBar and showed us a refreshment table nearby with complimentary coffee, water and fruit. He also said that CycleBar tries to create a connection between the instructors and riders by offering games like CycleBar bingo, in which the rider tries to get a row of five challenges to win a Fitbit watch, movie tickets or shoes.

When I entered the Cycle Theatre, I was very impressed. There were mirrors on the back wall and flat screen TVs at the front of the room playing music videos

by Ariana Grande and other artists. The colored lights around the room, used later for the class, were also interesting.

I was nervous to begin the class because I had never tried this type of exercise, and I was afraid of the new equipment. Fortunately, with the staff’s help, I clipped the shoes into the bike and learned what each thing on the display

Before I went to SoulCycle for the first time, I had only read about it on posts by famous celebrities, featuring pictures of themselves standing at the entrance of SoulCycle and descriptions of how incredible the session made them feel. All of these celebrities had incredible model bodies. Was SoulCycle their secret?

Even though I was in the comfort of my own home back then, I was already sweating at the prospect of having to pick an instructor out of the six available at Soulcycle Del Mar in One Paseo. After seeing that each workout session was $38, I had already burned enough calories from looking through my bank account with only $12 in it.

After a few days of contemplation and debate, Alexei Serguienko (12) and I selected a 12:15 pm class on a Friday afternoon with instructor Gunnar Sexton.

Sexton’s SoulCycle philosophy is “be a fountain, not a drain” (no, we still don’t know what it means), and his music taste ranged from Michael Jackson to Rascal Flatts. Shortly after, Alexei and I would be cycling right before Sexton.

The fated Friday finally arrived, and after changing into our workout clothes and already exhausted from school, we strolled into SoulCycle Del Mar. Immediately, we were greeted by an extremely enthusiastic front-desk worker who had us sign liability forms and handed us the shoes we would need for the class. Surprisingly, she didn’t make us pay for the shoes, and we decided it would be best not to ask questions because an extra $3 was not a risk we were willing to take.

Surrounded by middle-aged women and a few younger women who spent at least 15 minutes taking selfies in front of the neon “SOUL” sign next to the front desk, we were called into the workout room which looked more like a quiet prayer room than a cycle class.

The room was pitch black, and in the center stood a pedestal with a bike surrounded by candles. There was also a spotlight shining directly on where Sexton was supposed to sit.

Alexei and I got situated onto our bikes, with help from a staff member who showed us how to clamp on the shoes (but not how to take them off later on,

meant, including how to turn the gear to control the resistance of the pedals. Also, the instructor, Kris, personally welcomed my mother and me to the class, which made me feel more confident.

After the riders — mostly middle-aged women — filed into the room, Kris went over the instructions again and began warming up with slow cycling motions.

During the class, Kris instructed us to pedal to the beat of high-energy songs, changed the lighting from blue to black depending on the mood and encouraged us to try our best and turn up their bike gears or get their RPM higher.

Throughout the 45-minute class, we alternated between riding saddle (sitting on the bicycle seat) and standing up on the bike. The first time I stood up on the bike, I couldn’t contain the smile on my face. I felt unstoppable. That feeling faded after Kris instructed the class to turn up our gears and I realized how tiring the classes could be.

Also, at one point, the class was split into two teams and we competed to see which team could burn the most calories.

To cool down near the end of the class, we lifted a body bar to give our legs a break and pedaled slower.

After class, Kris helped the new riders out of their bikes and led the group in cooldown stretches.

Overall, my experience at CycleBar was fantastic. I enjoyed the class not only because I burned calories, but because of the motivational playlist that was played throughout the class. In addition, having an encouraging and understanding instructor to lead the class inspired me to pedal faster and harder. Finally, the owner of the Carmel Valley location stops by often, which is important because he can make sure everything goes smoothly.

While CycleBar is an expensive hobby and form of exercise, I would say it was worth the $10. But, their class schedule wouldn’t really work for a person with a full-time job unless they make time to go on the weekend. I’m glad I decided to try the class out, and I would definitely go again.

by Katie Flint

which was a struggle). Then, Sexton walked in and began addressing the 15 people in the room. He noted I had not brought water, walked out and told me he was going to “pull some strings” to make sure I was hydrated.

I was grateful for the water, but also extremely surprised by how warm and welcoming our instructor was. He began the class by thanking us all for being there and giving some words of encouragement. As soon as we started to pedal, it was clear how unprepared Alexei and I were for the class.

The first 20 minutes were pure torture. We struggled just to use the bikes as Sexton and the women around us pedaled and even did push-ups on the bikes. Although I ran cross country, Alexei ran track and we frequently do yoga together, neither of us had ever used a stationary bike.

At one point, my foot flew out of the shoe and I sat off to the side, having to put it back on. Alexei, on the other hand, spent a portion of the workout sitting on the bike and pedaling, even though we were supposed to pedal standing up.

Although it was tough, the first 30 minutes rolled on by while Sexton pushed us to work harder, twerked on the floor several times and made us dance to “Single Ladies” by Beyonce. But once he began to chant “we’re almost there,” both Alexei and I were ready to leave. The end dragged on for what seemed like an eternity, and his endless praise of our inner beauty and words of encouragement could no longer keep us interested in the class.

The class ended with stretching and Sexton told us how each and every one of us would be remembered forever. All of this happened as Alexei and I tried (but failed) several times to take our shoes off the bicycle. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

I woke up the next morning, after an eight-hour flight to Peru, and was surprised I was not sore, unlike Alexei. We came to the conclusion that the class caters to people who need a lot of fun and motivation when working out, and is worth a try after all. Just be prepared to pay a significant amount of money to pray to an instructor as he twerks and motivates from a stationary bike.

by Bea de Oliveira

entertainment

3705 Caminito Court Suite 0580

A20 the falconer

Before the opening of the new location at One Paseo, the only Salt & Straw ice cream store in San Diego could be found downtown, making it inconvenient for my ice cream cravings. While the addition of a location closer to home and school makes it easier to go to, the ice cream’s high price tag is an inconvenience in itself.

While deeming a certain price “high” is certainly subjective, a grand total of $26 for three menu items could be considered, almost universally, exorbitant.

The same could be said for the individual menu items; a double scoop of ice cream is $7, a sundae is $8.50 and a milkshake is $10.50. For such lofty prices, I had high expectations for the taste and quality of the ice cream.

The two flavors of ice cream I sampled were the Honey Lavender and Smoked Sea Salt & Chocolate Crack. When they were mixed together, yes, the result was odd, but individually each flavor was much more distinct. The Honey Lavender was, as expected, light and sweet.

The Smoked Sea Salt & Chocolate Crack, on the other hand, was neither light nor excessively sweet.

photo by alexei serguienko/falconer

3725 Paseo Place Suite 1060

When I walked into SusieCakes in One Paseo, the first thing I saw was the display case housing countless cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pies and other sweet treats. Instantly, I started salivating.

The store was fairly small, fitting only the cake display, cash register and a small table in the corner. I stared at the display for minutes, finding it difficult to come to a decision on what to order.

I finally formed my order: each of the mini

The sea salt was definitely noticeable and made the flavor almost a little too salty. The “chocolate crack” was simply crunchy chunks of chocolate that crackled slightly. But because the pieces had been in the ice cream for what was presumably a long time before being served, they were slightly soggy, which detracted from their taste.

I also tried the Brown Butter Blondie sundae, which was composed of homemade blondie, ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream, sprinkles and pretzel streusel. This was my favorite ice cream flavor because of the combination of its intense, but not overpowering, flavors. The vanilla ice cream paired well with the blondie bits, as well as the caramel drizzled on top of the sundae.

The last ice cream dish I selected was the Whole Pint Milkshake. I chose to mix only two flavors : Cupcake Royale’s Salted Caramel Cupcake and the Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

I sipped the milkshake, expecting the flavors to be very prominent. Instead, I got what tasted like plain vanilla ice cream with a couple of small chunks of cookie dough and caramel cupcake bits

cupcakes ($2.10 each), a mocha cupcake ($3.65), a frosted sugar cookie ($4.50) and a slice of OldFashioned 6-Layer Chocolate Cake ($6.50).

The mini cupcakes came in four flavors: vanilla, red velvet, chocolate and flourless chocolate. The vanilla and chocolate were about as good as I expected: not bad but not amazing either. The red velvet, however, was incredible. Its light, fluffy cream cheese frosting left me wanting more.

I had high expectations for the flourless chocolate mini cupcake because if they were confident enough to sell such a niche item, it must be pretty good, right? Wrong. It was sour, bitter and dry, and made me regret ever ordering it.

Maybe the people who seek out flourless cakes would be satisfied with this, but after eating the other ones, I was extremely disappointed.

The mocha cupcake exceeded my expectations. I anticipated a chocolate cake with only a slight tinge of coffee, but as I bit into it, I was greeted with a mouthful of strong coffee flavor in the frosting. As my friend Alexei Serguienko (12) so eloquently put it, the cupcake “tastes like how Starbucks smells.”

Even though I am not a huge coffee fan, the opening of Blue Bottle Coffee company at One Paseo made me decide to give coffee another chance.

Once I entered the coffee shop, I was impressed by the coffee shop’s modern style and tasteful decor. I stood in a lengthy line and studied their menu, ranging from espresso drinks, coldbrews and signature beverages to grab-and-go snacks such as cookies, chia pudding and overnight oats.

With some help from the cashier, I eventually settled on a latte ($5), New Orleans Iced Coffee ($4.25), Sparkling Lemonade ($3.75) and, finally, the Liege Waffle ($4.50). The total came out to be $18.86 plus tax, which is quite pricey for three drinks and a waffle.

The bustle around me made the atmosphere less than relaxing. I also had to wait about ten minutes for my order to be ready to enjoy.

I tried the New Orleans Iced Coffee, Blue Bottle’s Specialty, first. Being a very picky coffee drinker with a bit of a sweet tooth, I found it to be too bitter and added multiple packs of sugar before it was palatable to my liking. Personally, I found

food pic here

photo by david vapnek/falconer

mixed in. But, that isn’t to say that it wasn’t good; it was delicious and very rich, so much so that I couldn’t even finish the entire milkshake.

While the ice cream at Salt & Straw was very good, it wasn’t quite good enough so to justify its high cost. Nonetheless, it’s good that I’ve been able to try their ice cream because I don’t know if I’m willing to pay those prices again.

by Alexei Serguienko

Next, I took a spoonful of the Old-Fashioned 6-Layer Chocolate Cake. The cake was perfectly moist and rich, with a dark chocolate flavor that was neither too sweet nor too bitter. The chocolate frosting was very sweet and complemented the cake well, but only for the first few bites. As many desserts do, the cake quickly got to be a bit overwhelming, and I lost my appetite for it.

After the cakes, I was excited to try the frosted sugar cookie. In true Easter spirit, they had adorable decorations of peeps and Easter bunnies on the cookies. I chose a peep shaped cookie, topped with yellow icing and sugar sprinkles. Personally, I’m not a big fan of sugar cookies, but the soft cookie paired with the smooth icing was delicious.

This leaves us with the big question: Were the treats worth their expensive price tag? The short answer is no. Although they were delicious, they are too expensive. Sure, I’ll come back to redeem my two free cupcakes that came with signing up for a SusieCakes account, but that will be the end of the road on my SusieCakes journey.

by Dhathry Doppalapudi

this drink to be disappointing. It was just too rich and not sweet enough. People with a high tolerance for bitterness may enjoy this drink, but it wasn’t for me.

To cleanse my palate between drinks, I took a generous bite of the Liege waffle. The waffle, buttery with a golden brown crust, was cooked perfectly.

The inside of the waffle was soft, complementing the crunchy outer edges. I finished the waffle quickly and was desperate to order another so I could relive those glorious few minutes in waffle heaven.

Next, I took a sip of the Sparkling Lemonade.

Cool and refreshing, it brought back memories of lemonade on a hot summer day. There was also a sliced lemon inside the drink to enhance the lemon flavor and its visual appeal.

Lastly, I tried the latte, which was the most intricate and aesthetically pleasing latte I had ever tried. But even with its appearance, I was still nervous that I wouldn’t like it since the New Orleans Iced Coffee didn’t taste the way I expected.

Once I licked a little off the spoon, I was surprised

3705 Caminito Court Suite 0500

food pic here

april 26, 2019

that it didn’t taste as bitter as I thought it would be; it was a little bit sour, but that was solved by adding some sugar.

Although I was disappointed by how the New Orleans Iced Coffee tasted, especially because it was their specialty, the Liege Waffle, the Sparkling Lemonade and the latte were so delicious that I would come back for more.

by Maggie Choy

food pic here

photo by anna jeong/falconer

tphsfalconer.com

entertainment

the falconer

A21

Josh Malmuth TPHS alumnus Josh Malmuth created new NBC sitcom ‘Abby’s,’ the latest in his string of television ventures, including ‘New Girl’ and ‘Superstore.’

1990s pop culture is having a moment — so much so that Rolling Stone “There’s a bar called Whistle Stop,” Malmuth said. “I remember, people magazine declared 2018 the “Year of the Nineties.” Just look at the revived would play music down there … I had friends who lived down there, so we fashion trends, movie remakes and countless Buzzfeed listicles idolizing the would try to escape the North County bubble and see different parts of San era. With “Abby’s,” a new NBC comedy, creator Josh Malmuth (‘02) is betting Diego.” audiences will be nostalgic for ‘90s live studio audience classics like “Full Whistle Stop opened in 1979, closed during the 1990’s, and was reopened House” and “Friends.” in May of 2001, during Malmuth’s junior year at TPHS. It’s a small, hole-in“I grew up watching live action shows, and, to me, there is something really the-wall establishment with a single sign and a single window, making for a classic about shooting this little play in front of an audience,” Malmuth said. facade that barely registers as a storefront. Its Google description could easily “Abby’s” is filmed in L.A., and is about an illegal backyard bar in South apply to Abby’s — a cash-only “local bar” with a “laid-back house party vibe.”

Park, a historic San Diego neighborhood adjacent to Balboa Park. Filming in In “Abby’s,” Malmuth aims to protect that intimate, house party vibe by front of an audience limits the number of sets, but Malmuth said that it keeps banning the use of modern technology. the focus on the characters.

“When I’m at a bar, everyone is on their “I just wanted something really simple, phones. Even people with other people are and I like going to bars,” Malmuth said. on their phones, and there’s something “I think that what a comedy should boil kind of sad about that,” Malmuth said. down to is to just put a bunch of funny “We are social animals, and we need that characters in a room together … in human connection, that human contact. some ways it’s restrictive but it’s a fun I’m not breaking any ground here, but we storytelling exercise.” spend more and more time on our phones, Live action comes naturally to and on social media, and sort of pseudoMalmuth who, after graduating from interacting with people.”

Northwestern University in 2006, worked The bar, however, is more than just a Josh Malmuth (‘02) as a playwright in NY before writing and haven from smartphones: it’s a communal producing for shows like “New Girl” and CREATOR space designed to bring the neighborhood “Superstore.” together.

“I grew up watching ‘Cheers’ and ‘Friends’ and ‘Seinfeld.’ My mom turned “I’ve lived in neighborhoods where people are pretty close to their me onto older shows like ‘I Love Lucy,’ ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show,’ ‘The Mary neighbors,” Malmuth said. “I think people still have that desire to actually Tyler Moore Show’ and ‘Taxi,’” Malmuth said. “Those were the classic shows interact. These kinds of public spaces become more and more important.”

I was watching.”

The fact that the neighborhood in “Abby’s” is so close-knit is arguably the Some critics have labeled the “Abby’s” live studio audience outdated, in aspect of the show that proves most reminiscent of the past, given that only comparison to single camera comedies like 20 percent of Americans report regularly “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation.” spending time with their neighbors, a four “Everyone’s going to have their decade low, according to think tank City opinions. I feel like we’re in an era that has Observatory, which collects data on cities had a lot of single cam shows,” Malmuth to influence public policy. Malmuth admits said. “Single cam has been around long that a bar like “Abby’s” would be rarer in enough that it almost feels old fashioned. a neighborhood like Carmel Valley, where ‘Friends’ is the [second] most popular show he grew up. on Netflix, so there is something durable “One of the nice things about South about the multi cam format, for sure.”

Park is that they’ve converted a few of Malmuth did not expect to end up those bigger [homes] into multi-family working in the entertainment industry houses, so that encourages people to know back when he attended TPHS, although their neighbors and what’s going on in the he did submit “a couple little shorts” to the block,” Malmuth said. now defunct TPHS Film Festival.

Fostering a sense of community in an “In college, all my friends were into increasingly polarized country is reflected film, and they all wanted to be directors. in “Abby’s” trailer, in which Fred (Neil Because I could write a little bit, I started Flynn) offers a thesis for the show. photo courtesy of nbc writing scripts for them,” Malmuth “Look, these are tough days for America.

SCREENCAP FROM “ABBY’S,” PICTURED IS THE The country is deeply divided. The only said. “That led naturally to working in ILLEGAL BACKYARD BAR RUN IN THE SHOW (ABOVE). thing we can agree on is drinking alcohol. television.”

We need to do this,” Fred said in the third As a former Falconer staffer with “Abby’s” script coordinator Russ Finkelstein (‘01), Malmuth found “parallels episode. “We need to do this for America.” between” television production and his work for the high school newspaper.

Are Americans sold on the message? As of now, the ratings do not “You work really close together in this really closely-knit community to suggest so. However, other NBC comedies like “The Good Place,” “Parks and put out this television show, and I think it’s actually really similar to being Recreation” and “Good Girls” increased in viewership after being released on on Falconer,” Malmuth said. “There is this passion, and it is a bunch of people streaming services like Netflix. Whether or not Netflix will be given the rights really excited about doing this project together and are working really hard.” to “Abby’s” is still unknown, but if it does, it just may compel a few people The concept for “Abby’s” — a secret, locals-only bar — is in part inspired by who are nostalgic for ‘90s television to watch “Abby’s” — especially Malmuth’s previous visits to a South Park bar as a high schooler. since “Friends” is set to leave Netflix at the end of (“They had all ages nights. I didn’t have a fake ID,” the year.

Malmuth said.)

by Farhan Hossain

I think that what a comedy should boil down to is to just a bunch of funny characters in a room together.

art by vlada demenko

entertainment

A22 the falconer

Cage the Elephant Cage the Elephant returns with their fifth studio EP, Social Cues, a record stuffed with eclectic sounding tracks, while revisiting the same clichéridden themes — a painful breakup combined with the ills of stardom. On their own, the end of a relationship and struggles with fame are tired tropes, but Social Cues manages to find fresh success in the marriage of the two.

The record begins with “Broken Boy,” a track with pulsating lo-fi and metallic echoes reminiscent of a prison complex, representative of singer Matt Shultz’s feelings of entrapment as he struggled through a difficult divorce. Drummer Jared Champion plunges into the meat of the song with a machine gun snare, followed by distorted synthesizers and Shultz’s ragged “Broken boy, how does it feel?” The combination of aggressive drums, disorienting synths and urgent vocals fosters an atmosphere of anxiety.

The title track of Social Cues narrows in

BTS

Social Cues

on the album’s secondary theme, Shultz’s struggles with self-worth and fame.

“Social Cues” reveals Shultz’s inner turmoil. “Take some of these, they’ll ease the pain/ Live fast, die young, pay the price/ The best die young, immortalized,” Shultz sings, alluding to influential musicians like Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, both of whom died at 27. Nearly every song on the album can be traced to a clear and direct musical influence.

“Night Running,” a collaboration between Cage the Elephant and Beck, features some of Beck’s signature powerful strumming and trap-like drum loops, a nod to the trending rap subgenre.

The album as a whole briefly touches myriad genres and subgenres, though it moves on as quickly as it starts, to reinforce themes of panic and confusion.

Social Cues goes punk with “House of Glass,” marked by a pounding bassline and mumbled vocals. “It’s an illusion, this admiration/ Of mutilation, my

isolation, my isolation/ My isolation, it’s an illusion,” Shultz screams. The chorus’s convoluted meaning and repetition instill a sense of uneasiness in the listener, references to Shultz’s anxiety as he worked through his recent divorce.

Many times the record slows things down, eventually closing on the heartfelt song Shultz wrote for his wife as their relationship was coming to an end, “Goodbye.” In a interview with Rolling Stone, Cage the Elephant members recalled how Shultz was only able to muster one take of the vocals, which he recorded sprawled out on the studio floor.

Taken as a whole, Cage the Elephant’s newest album captures the essence of today’s musical era. Though the record generally shies away from more risky, radio-unfriendly tracks, they have thrown together a solid album that feels like the natural next step in Cage the Elephant’s evolution.

by Nico Johnson

Map of the Soul: Persona

The 3 million people who preordered Map of the Soul: Persona didn’t know much about the album, other than the fact that it was a BTS album, and, for most, nothing else mattered. But coming off of a successful year in 2018, BTS, led by rapper RM, seems to have rested on its laurels with its latest album, knowing that, no matter its quality, the band’s fervent fan base will ensure the album’s success.

“Boy with Luv,” featuring American singer Halsey, is the fan favorite, but it lacks the impact that has become the band’s trademark over the years. The song is fun and upbeat but feels unanchored by a real melody. It simply drifts by too hurriedly to revel in its bouncy beat.

Like most of the album, the instrumentation in “Intro: Persona” clashes with the singing. Its bouncy beat punctuated by whistling, electric guitar, and a bizarre chipmunk voice effect undermines RM’s profound lyrics about his struggles with imposter syndrome.

Besides the mismatched vocals and

background music, though, the album’s biggest problem is the band’s failure to lock together like it usually does. This is evident in “Mikrokosmos,” which features instrumentation akin to that of copyright-free vlog music. The members’ staggered entrances feel jumbled and unconnected, and the song never climaxes.

“Jamais Vu” suffers from the same problem, with the members’ jumbled entrances creating a similar effect to mismatched puzzle pieces jammed together. However, the album begins to pick up with this track, as it offers a soaring, hummable melody that is one of the album’s most memorable musical tidbits.

The album’s most notable songs, “HOME,” “Make It Right” and “Dionysus,” are each refreshing in their own ways, but not enough to redeem the album’s flaws.

“HOME” is the album’s highlight, an example of the magic BTS can create when its members are all on the same page. The band members weave effortlessly between each others’ lines.

Anderson .Paak Hip hop and R&B artist Brandon Paak Anderson, otherwise known as Anderson .Paak, released his fourth album, Ventura on April 12. The album aims to capture Paak’s talents as a musician after his previous album, Oxnard for which he reportedly had restricted creative control in favor of executive producer Dr. Dre. Ventura is his attempt to establish his artistic excellence without his label’s restriction, and easily showcases Paak’s skills, both vocally and production-wise, with track after track of expertly crafted sounds sure to appeal to R&B fans.

The second song on the album, “Make It Better,” was immediately calming.

After its strong but slow beat in the introduction, the song transitions into an instrumental I could only describe as ethereal. The incorporation of violin, keyboard and angelic background vocals make a dreamy ambiance that was nothing short of beautiful. In addition, Paak’s soft and slightly raspy vocals fit perfectly

It flows well and feels dynamic, with bright instrumentation, strong vocals and thoughtful lyrics working together.

“Make It Right,” which BTS members co-wrote with Ed Sheeran, echoes the beat of Sheeran’s 2017 hit song “Shape of You.” Sheeran does not appear on the track, giving the spotlight to BTS in a refreshing reversal of roles.

The album’s closing track, “Dionysus,” is confusing, moving too quickly between styles without connection. However, it has the most intriguing lyrics, such as when RM raps in Korean: “Art at this level is over-drinking, over-drinking, yeah.”

What the album lacks in impact is made up by its profound lyrics, rare moments of synchronization and a refreshing perspective on K-Pop’s standing in the global soundscape. Even if the album isn’t a triumph, it certainly is not a failure. It’s more a celebration of the bar that BTS has set so high for itself. But, BTS needs to figure out how to raise the bar once again.

by Kevin Song

Ventura

with the relaxing background, and the lyrics detailing a past romance create the ideal love song full of happy nostalgia.

“Yada Yada” switches up the mood slightly; while it is still as calming as previous songs, it now incorporates a more electronic feel to the instrumental, as the keyboard becomes more central to the background. The vocals become a little less delicate as well, as Paak now details his difficult beginnings in music when he was often restricted from making songs through his own vision. He even adds in sections of rapping that intensify his message and form an older R&B vibe to the track. Although not straying too far away from his more relaxed tone, a different type of calm is created with “Yada Yada”: less joyful yet more soulful.

I began to realize Paak’s vocals could conquer any genre of relaxing music, as not only does he skillfully navigate R&B and gospel, but also jazz, as evidenced on “King James.” Right from the start, the

background kicks off with a saxophone solo which compliments his raspy, but now bold, voice. His vocals mirror those of a preacher, as he sings of the injustice faced by the black community in America and advocates for figures who fight for the community with their social power: “Now I’m not much for games / But I play for keeps / And we salute King James for using his change / To create some equal opportunities.”

Every part of this song meshes together to create yet another enticing track.

Ventura is, in its entirety, beautifully made. Originally I worried that the songs would all be too similar to distinguish; however, I was proven wrong by each tracks subtle yet significant distinctions.

The ability to create slow but exciting music is rare among musicians, which testifies all the more to how skilled Paak truly is and how breathtaking his music can be without restrictions from his label.

by Vlada Demenko

april 26, 2019

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the falconer A23

Brandon Raimo

STAFF WRITER

Katie Flint

STAFF WRITER The varsity softball team beat Eastlake High School 13-6 in the Falcon Fiesta Tournament semifinals at TPHS on April 20, sending the Falcons into the championship game against Orange County powerhouse, Mater Dei Catholic High School.

Kyra Chan (9) led off the first inning with a single, and Kaili Aqui (10) moved her over on a bunt. Halle Woodhall (11) stroked a single to move Chan to third, and Makena Macias (12) walked to load the bases. The stage was set for Simone Bertucci (9) to lift a fly ball to left field, scoring Chan and Woodhall. Desi Rivera (10) struck out to end the top half of the first at 2-0 Falcons.

Pitcher Haley White (12) dispatched the Eastlake Titans handily, coaxing a fly out photos courtesy of haley white to right field, a strike out and a ground out to Katie Walling (10) at shortstop.

TAKEMEOUTTOTHEBALLGAME:MakenaMacias (#15) showshersweetstroke.(TOP)HaleyWhite Chan led off the second by laying down (#12) is on her way to a complete game in the Falcon Fiesta semifinals against Eastlake High School. a bunt that the Eastlake third baseman fielded but overthrew first base, landing half of the 4th inning, the Falcons were on In the bottom half of the frame, Eastlake Chan on third. Aqui was thrown out at top, 8-3. failed to add to the tally. White struck second; Woodhall walked, putting runners Eastlake’s Palacios knocked a two-out out the first two batters and then Olivia on first and third when Walling came to the single, so TPHS head coach Jon Moore Manriquez Graf grounded out to third to plate and smacked a triple, scoring Chan elected to walked the next two batters end the inning. and Woodhall. Walling To lead off the seventh inning Bertucci scored before the end of the busted a ground rule double and was moved inning, with the Falcons over to third on a Rivera bunt for a base out in front at 5-0. hit. Aqui struck out, bringing up Woodhall, White made short work who singled, scoring Bertucci and sending of the Titans in the bottom Rivera to second. Macias lined a double, of the second, with a ground scoring Woodhall and Rivera, bringing out and two stikeouts. the score to 11-5. Valentina Perrone (12) The Eastlake pitcher, scored Macias on a base hit, and two more Rylee Alfaro, answered the Falcon runs scored before the end of the top Falcons’ half of the inning Kaili Aqui half of the seventh inning, ending at 13-5. with three strikeouts of her SOPHOMORE Eastlake made a valiant effort in the own, sending the game into bottom half of the inning, starting off with the bottom of the third with a double. The next two batters were retired to load the bases with only an out to go. on strikeouts before the Titans mounted the score still at 5-0.

With a runner on first, Eastlake’s Pitcher Rylee Alfaro doubled to score two a two-out rally and scored their final run, Sharlize Palacios slammed a home run runners. White retired the last Eastlake but it was not nough, and the Falcons won to raise the score to 5-2 in Falcons’ favor. hitter, ending the inning at 8-5.

13-6.

“They were easier than I thought they Pitcher Rylee Alfaro helped her own cause “A good moment was when we were by drawing a walk before her sister; Sage would be. It was fun because we were beating [them] because no one expected Alfaro scored her on a base hit. The Titans ahead,” Aqui said. that,” Walling said.

The fifth inning passed with no score by ended the inning trailing at 5-3.

The Falcons fell to Mater Dei 7-6 later in TPHS widened that lead with a solo either team. the day in the tournament championship In the Falcon half of the sixth, Woodhall game. home run to left field by Woodhall. White got on base and scored on a Walling double, and Wexler both singled, but to no avail.

The Falcons’ next game is against followed by another double from Macias, The top of the 6th ended with the Falcons Mission Hills High School in San Marcos which scored Walling. By the end of their still leading, 8-5. on April 25 at 3:30.

They were easier than I thought they would be. It was fun because we were ahead.

The NFL Draft kicks off on Apr. 26, and with some big names on the board, there are some teams likely to make interesting moves.

The Arizona Cardinals hold the first pick, and although they drafted quarterback Josh Rosen with the 10th pick in last year’s draft, they are rumored to take Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with their pick. Murray, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, was drafted ninth overall by the Oakland A’s in the MLB draft, but elected to play football instead. Many analysts consider this draft class weak at the quarterback spot, and with several teams in need of one, a trade for the first pick is feasible.

What this class lacks in quality quarterback play, it makes up for with talent on the defensive line. Ohio State edge Nick Bosa, brother of Chargers pro bowl defensive end Joey Bosa, is considered to be the best of the bunch, but Alabama tackle Quinnen Williams, Kentucky edge Josh Allen, and Houston tackle Ed Oliver are also massive gamechangers. All four of these players are projected by most analysts to be selected in the top ten picks.

The team most likely to make the biggest impact on the draft is the Oakland Raiders. After trading the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year, defensive end Khalil Mack, to the Bears and former Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper to the Cowboys for picks, they have the second, 24th, and 27th picks in the first round. But, after losing a few key veterans in offensive linemen Donald Penn and Kelechi Osemele, defensive end Bruce Irvin, and running back Marshawn Lynch, they have many spots to fill. They could also be in the running for a quarterback after Derek Carr’s subpar performance in 2018 (19 TDs, 10 INTs), and with the second pick, they have a number of viable options, including Missouri senior Drew Lock and Ohio State sophomore Dwayne Haskins.

Another team expected to make a move is the New England Patriots.

Despite winning the Super Bowl last season, there are many holes in their roster, including their quarterback.

Tom Brady, their starting signal caller since 2001 and six-time Super Bowl champion, will be 42 by the time next season starts, and they have yet to find a decent replacement. With the 32nd pick, they might be able to snag a solid player, but quarterbacks are highly valued, and most likely, every sought-after one will be taken before the Patriots are on the clock.

One prospect that many NFL fans will be looking out for is Ole Miss wide receiver DK Metcalf. The 21-year-old became somewhat of an internet celebrity after his incredible performance at the NFL Combine.

His 40-yard dash was clocked at 4.33 seconds, tied for fifth best among all positions, and he was able to bench 225 lbs 27 times, tied for most among receivers. Not only is he physically gifted, but he is also extremely skilled.

He caught 27 passes for 569 yards and 5 touchdowns in just seven games while sharing the field with fellow NFL-bound receivers AJ Brown and DaMarkus Lodge.

The draft is always full of surprises, and this year will be no different. Many franchises will be altered for years to come because of this draft, given the talent level of the players.

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Crushing races and victories, Kira Crage (12) rises at the crack of dawn to work in the pool, which helped pave the way to her swimming for Stanford.

At 4:30 a.m., while most high schoolers are sound asleep in bed (or possibly toil over homework they procrastinated on), Kira Crage (12) awakes to a pitch-black sky to drive from Cardiff down the highway to swim practice in Solana Beach. Afterwards, she showers, grabs some breakfast and heads to school — all before returning to the pool at 3:00 p.m. for three more hours of swimming.

“Probably all through high school, my schedule has been: after school every day from three to six, and then Tuesday and Friday mornings I have a doubles practice, and then Saturday morning from 7:30 to 10,” Crage said.

Since she moved to San Diego from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, at the beginning of her sophomore year, Crage has swum for both TPHS a n d Rancho San Dieguito, her club team. Although picking her entire life up and dropping it on the other side of the country wasn’t easy, she said that belonging to a team made the transition smoother and more enjoyable.

“Moving w a s

challenging just because I had been so close with my teammates on my other team, but on my club and high school team here all the girls were so nice, really just inviting, and made it a lot easier,” Crage said.

“Now I just feel like I’ve been here forever.”

Crage first began to swim competitively when she was 11, inspired by her mom, who swam for the University of Miami.

“I really wanted to do it, and she was like, ‘Are you sure? It’s really hard … And I hated it. I don’t really know if you want to.’ And I was like ‘No, I want to,’” Crage said. “So, I did it and I really liked it. I juggled some other sports at the same time, but the practice schedule just gets to be so much that I just stopped everything and went full time.”

“Full time” meant three days a week initially, then five, and now, six. With club meets around once a month, usually requiring travel, and school meets each week during the season, Crage said the sport really is like a job.

“Junior year and sophomore year, it was really difficult with the homework load you get, because you go straight to practice from school and then you go straight home, you eat dinner … by the time that’s over it’s 7:30 and you’re just starting your homework and that can get pretty stressful,” Crage said. “But it definitely keeps me from procrastinating. Objects in motion stay in motion.”

If it’s possible to balance a heavy course load with demanding athletic commitments, Crage has done it. Committing to Stanford University last fall was a decision she made after considering several Ivy League schools and required that she be accepted to the university before being able to commit, unlike other universities’ requirements.

“Their swim team has several girls on the national team, they’ve won the national championship the past three years in a row, and the head coach is the head Olympic coach, so I was really excited to be able to work with him,” Crage said. “Being able to be part of a really good swimming program that also has really good academics … it’s just the perfect combination.”

While she doesn’t see herself swimming competitively beyond college, in favor of pursuing a more conventional career, Crage said she looks forward to helping Stanford win another national championship.

On the path to commitment, Crage said she’s had to train as much mentally as she does physically.

“You can’t perform if your head’s not in the right place. I just lost a race this weekend by one one-hundredth of a second,” Crage said. “It’s really hard not to get yourself too upset about that kind of stuff, but it also pushes me harder.”

Crage credits her parents with giving her unconditional support, without pressure or force.

As for winning, she said the feeling never gets old, no matter how familiar. Crage has won CIF for her individual events (freestyle is her stroke of choice), but said that winning relays and qualifying for All-American with her TPHS relay team have been the most satisfying wins because the rewards are shared.

“It’s just really heartwarming and validating to know that all those early mornings you woke up and all those hours you spent in the pool have gone toward something,” Crage said.

by Eve Gross-Sable photo courtesy of kira crage

Maya Satchell

STAFF WRITER A new TP Pop Warner Board of Directors has been created after the former board published a letter in the Del Mar Times on March 12, ending the original program.

“It is with great sadness and the heaviest of hearts that we announce our time as an association has come to a close,” said the former Board of Directors in their farewell letter.

TP Pop Warner is a feeder program to the TPHS football team.

“Pop Warner was a good feeder program.

A lot of the plays that you’d run in Pop Warner correlated perfectly to Torrey Pines, and there was a lot of coordination between the coaching staffs,” former TP Pop Warner player and coach Derek Hegyi said.

Besides playing a key role in the success of the TPHS football team, TP Pop Warner provided players with many opportunities that may not have been available elsewhere.

TPHS varsity football player and former Pop Warner athlete Sebastian Carpenter (12) feels that his experience playing Pop Warner had a positive impact on him.

“I learned how to work as a team and not as an individual. I learned how to be a leader around my peers and how to

Daniel Kim

SPORTS EDITOR During the 2019 NFL off-season, players have been traded, released and signed at rapid rates, drastically affecting preseason rankings. The Cleveland Browns, known to be one of the weakest teams, grew into one of the most watched teams in the league for next season, while the hot Pittsburgh Steelers lost several talented players for the upcoming season via trades and free agency. After all these exchanges, fans wonder how it will all shake out when play begins on Aug. 1 with the preseason.

To all the patient Browns fans, your time has finally come. Since the 2003 season, the Browns have failed to make the play-offs even once with an overall record during that span of 74 wins, 181 losses and one tie. However, coming off one of the better seasons with a 7-8-1 record, the Browns hope their fortune will turn next season due to many key additions. The Browns shocked all NFL fans by trading away a pair of picks, safety Jabrill Peppers and offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler to the New York Giants in exchange for Odell Beckham Jr, an incredibly talented wide receiver who demanded to be traded after witnessing the Giants’s decline, and defensive end Olivier Vernon. In addition to getting Beckham and Vernon through trades, the Browns signed free agent Sheldon Richardson, arguably one of the best defensive tackles in the league, to a three-year, $39 million deal. Even with three of the most expensive additions, the Browns are still ranked fifth in cap space or payroll expenditure below the salary cap, meaning they have plenty more money to spend on free agents. According to NFL.

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april 26, 2019

“There are so many options for kids hold each other accountable,” Carpenter said. here in this area. We had a lot of kids that Hegyi added that coaching for Pop played basketball and lacrosse and soccer, Warner gave him “an opportunity to be a so they got to spread thin,” said Hegyi. nonbiased resource for these kids, as they Nationally, participation in high have one foot in like boyhood and one foot school football has declined by 6.6 percent in manhood. As a coach, I realized I can really change these kids’ life for the better.”

On hearing the news about the end of such an impactful program, TPHS varsity football player Luke Sismisan wrote via email, “Seeing Pop Warner end brought a few tears to my eyes. Knowing that the amazing coaches and Ron Gladnick the well-run program that FOOTBALL VARSITY HEAD COACH helped me grow as a person and an athlete makes me feel sympathetic towards the youth that over the past decade, according to the will not be able to experience the amazing National Federation of State High School program and interact with the amazing Associations (NFHS). This decline in high school football participation correlates with people.”

The possible ending to such a vital a nationwide trend of parents pulling their program here in the TPHS community children away from football. According to could have a drastic impact on the future NFHS, nationwide there has been a 7.2 of TP Football and the athletes interested percent drop in youth football participation nationally. in the program.

Regarding parents’ desire to back away However, only weeks after the announcement of the end of TP Pop from allowing their children to play tackle Warner, the program is confirmed to football, TPHS varsity head football Coach Ron Gladnick commented, “I think there’s be reinstated.

“We’re running full-speed a lot of hysteria. It’s one of those situations behind the scenes trying to where the loud voices get the attention. get ready to launch by next And these loudest voices in this debate of week,” Brian Guiltinan, tackle football and head injuries are being one of the leaders of the listened to. But, the loud voices have no new TP Pop Warner Board, good science, no real data.”

Gladnick pointed to the fact that there said on April 15.

The letter from the former are 55 incoming freshmen who have board referred to declining interest already signed up for freshmen football and lack of funding as the primary reasons P.E., the first step in the process to play for the TPHS varsity football team, and this for the program’s end.

enrollment number will likely increase into the sixties, much greater than similar football programs to that at TPHS. After the announcement by the former board of Pop Warner to end the program, David Mitchell, the father of two boys who were looking forward to participating in the program, along with dozens of other parents, went to Coach Gladnick asking him to support a new TP Pop Warner program with a new board looking to continue the program.

“And I said, ‘Of course!’ So, we got those parents together and pulled a bunch of people in the community together and they formed a new board,” Gladnick said.

According to Gladnick, that group of parents got together the week of April 8 and met with the outgoing board to turn over all of the responsibility to the new Pop Warner board.

“Then, this past Saturday (April 13), the new Pop Warner board went to the Palomar League meeting and they were recognized by the Palomar Conference, and the new Pop Warner is having signups and is back in normal business mode,” Gladnick said.

To ensure the continuation and prosperity of the TP Pop Warner program, the new board has enlisted many people, including the Guiltinan Group, a Del Mar real estate brokerage, to assist in raising money.

“Gaining fundraising experience is one of the objectives of the new Pop Warner.

We actually brought back some people who were instrumental when Pop Warner was at its biggest and strongest to help in this process,” Gladnick said.

In addition, the new board has committed to restrengthening parents’ interest in the TP Pop Warner program.

“We’re going to work with Pop Warner to be in a better position to educate parents, so parents don’t fall for this hysteria,” Gladnick said.

Roethlisberger. Unfortunately, the Steelers lost star running back Le’Veon Bell over the off-season to the New York Jets and Brown to the Oakland Raiders, severely weakening their offensive capabilities while division rivals the Browns and the Baltimore Ravens have padded their roster considerably. Furthermore, the Steelers are ranked 27th in cap space, meaning that they are likely unable to sign more big name players to their team this off-season.

Along with the Steelers, the Giants also suffered big hits to their offense and defense, losing

three key players to their team: Beckham, Vernon and safety Landon Collinssigned as a free agent with the Washington Redskins. Even after avoiding several expensive contracts, the Giants are ranked only 23rd in cap space, unable to add more depth to the roster anymore.

The NFL draft happens this weekend, April 25 to April 27. Until the preseason, beginning on Aug. 1 and the regular season, beginning on Sept. 5, fans from all over the country await the next move made by the teams and players.

We got those parents and pulled a bunch of people in the community together and they formed a new board.

com analyst Elliot Harrison’s weekly NFL power rankings, the Browns climbed up seven spots to the ninth spot among all 32 NFL teams.

The Cleveland Browns are not the only team making moves this off-season; the struggling Oakland Raiders have also been climbing the rankings with several key additions of their own. After only going 4-12 last season in a tough AFC West division, the Raiders were desperate for improvement. With two first-round draft picks, the Raiders are in a good position.

Before the draft, they were able to sign one of the best wide receivers, Antonio Brown.

Other than Brown, key additions like wide receiver Tyrell Williams, offensive lineman Trent Brown and linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Brandon Marshall, have greatly improved the Raiders, making the AFC West one of the hottest divisions with powerhouse teams like the 12-4 Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

While some teams benefit from the off-season, there definitely will be teams that drop in the rankings, including the Pittsburgh Steelers. Previously, the Steelers were a Super Bowl contender, qualifying for 12 playoffs over 18 seasons with a Hall-of-Fame quarterback Ben

photo from ron schwane/associated press

photo from ben margot/associated press

A26the falconer

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Kaan Ulupinar varsity track april 17, 3:31:54 pm camera: nikon d610 lens: nikkor 80-200 f2.8 iso: 100 exp: 1/1600 f/stop: f/2.8

Photo by David Vapnek

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Who cares about Falconer reporters finding out that TPHS is in violation of recycling laws on page A3? This is the only investigation worth reading.

Haha! Just kidding! Please read the other pages! We stayed at TPHS until 12 AM working on this issue.

We’re desperate for gratification.

After being bullied charmed by one of the Falconer’s Editors-in-Chief, four brave staffers agreed to taste test the (probably) edible loquat fruit growing on the tree behind Mr. Cornforth’s classroom.

Upon exiting the boys’ bathroom (you know which one — the other is closed due to “vandalism”) after your Juul break, your eyes may have fixated on a peculiar tree filled with orange fruit. What might this be? A budget-friendly alternative to overpriced lunch fare? A natural stimulant designed to catapult those SBAC scores to the top of the heap? God’s update on the forbidden apple tree that tempted Adam and Eve? TPHS, after all, is as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Well, we’re sorry to inform all of you that the tree is none of those things; it’s just a humble loquat tree.

photos by christy lam/falconer

FORBIDDEN FRUIT: Colette Chiang (11) is seen here having way more fun than she should be doing something as menial as picking random and suspicious fruit. Distracted Cornforth students (not pictured) look out the window and wonder if she’s lost her marbles. Chiang found the experience to be spiritually on par with reaching inbox zero.

What’s a loquat, you ask? A tropical fruit native to China, but honestly, we’re still unsure. But after seeing Falconer staffers gawking at the tree, Mr. Trupe confirmed that it is, in fact, edible, and that he regularly STEALS the fruit (WHICH IS ON THE PROPERTY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL MAINTAINED WITH TAXPAYER MONEY) to make jam. Sounds like a fireable offense to us, but that’s for another story. We picked a handful of fruit, took them back to room 102, washed them, dissected them with our hands, ate them and came to the following conclusions:

Vladimir:

Ezzzzztr:

Upon glancing at the shriveled fruit, my first thought was that they looked like small boiled potatoes. I was raised in a Russian household that basically force-fed me boiled potatoes until I was 10, so needless to say that association was not in the fruit’s favor. We cut them open and saw two marble-like seeds in them, which were oddly slimy and off putting, but, despite this bad first impression, the fruits were actually pretty good. I eat a lot of fruit in my day to day life anyway, so loquats are something I can envision plucking off a tree and popping down my gullet on the way to 4th period. They taste most similar to pears, otherwise known as the most average-tasting fruit possible.

It’s like the oatmeal of produce. Not the best but not half bad, you know?

I had an average experience with the fruit; I wouldn’t necessarily prompt my friends to climb up the trees to acquire the deformed beings, but if one was to fall down and roll innocently in front of me, who’s to say it wouldn’t make a nice after-school snack?

by Vlada Demenko

Disgusting. Abhorrent. Horrible.

Loquats are, in every sense of the word, unappealing.

Peeling back the oddly furry skin with a plastic knife, I had to pause and contemplate the path my life had taken to lead me to where I was eating fruit that, according to my Advanced Journalism teacher, is typically used during childhood fights as ammunition against that one a**hole you really hate.

The fruit itself looked exactly like it tasted. Slightly bruised, with a strange greenish tinge and a slimy, gushing interior, the cut-open loquat in my hands looked about as appealing as a raw egg.

The taste wasn’t so bad ­— at first. It had a sweet aroma and the texture of a nectarine but the bland, mild flavor of a pear.

But afterwards? Afterwards was the literal embodiment of disappointment.

I didn’t have too high expectations but the bitter and chalky aftertaste of the fruit wasn’t the best and only lowered my already rock-bottom opinion.

by Esther Choi

Neigh-a:

Cauliflower:

The loquat at first resembled a kumquat, although when I bit into it I experienced a completely different taste, but a similar texture. The outside was yellow, but when you peeled it, the inside was an off-white. It was very sour and juicy at first taste. I was disappointed when I looked at the loquat and saw that in one bite, I had already eaten 25 percent of the fruit. Little did I know that I would be more disappointed when the aftertaste, bitter and chalky, kicked in. Overall, it was not worth the effort.

by Neha Pubbi

As a fruit expert myself, I was surprised to find out that there was a fruit I haven’t tried before — and that I’d be trying it on school campus. But when I bit into the small, orange loquat, I found familiarity in the sweet but mild blend of peach and plum flavors.

So the next time you’re out of class, wandering the quad, pick a loquat from the tree and pop it in your mouth for a sweet pick-me-up. Or if you’re feeling extra nifty, grab a few branches-worth and go ask Mr. Trupe for his loquat jam recipe.

by Colette Chiang