Falconer January 2020 Issue

Vol. 45, Issue 4, 24 pages

Friday, January 24, 2020

No Place for Hate?

TPHS Pledge of Respect on A3

january 24, 2020

JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS 1.

2.

photo by anna jeong/falconer

photo by katheryn yoo/falconer

1.

3.

photo by seyoung lee/falconer

1. PARENTAL EDUCATION: TPHS parents attend a presentation given by the counselors regarding class selections and college applications. 2. JUST GET UP AND DANCE: On Jan. 18, the TPHS varsity small team performs and takes home the first place award. 3. FALCON FORMATION: The TPHS boys soccer team sprints for a chance at a goal against San Marcos High School on Jan. 21.

New TPHS class schedule to abide by state laws Piper Levy

STAFF WRITER Starting in the 2020-21 school year, TPHS will move its 55-minute 3rd period to an optional zero period in the morning to satisfy the requirements of SB-328, a new California law that prohibits high schools from starting before 8:30 a.m.

The zero period will start at 7:35 a.m., giving students the option to take either six or seven classes.

“It will give students who need a later start time that opportunity to have it consistently,” Principal Robert Coppo said.

“If you’re a student who’s got a very busy afternoon and later nights, it allows you to stay up a bit later. But if you’re a student who likes to get up early, you still have that option.”

SB-328 was approved because a later start time has scientific and psychological benefits specifically for teenagers. Studies have shown that teenagers with more morning sleep have fewer health issues.

A study by the American Psychological Association found a teenager’s body clock has late-night wakefulness, meaning that

they get more work done at night and tend to sleep in later.

If you’re a student who’s got a very busy afternoon and later nights, it allows you to stay up later. But if you’re a student who likes to get up early, you still have that option.

Robert Coppo

TPHS PRINCIPAL “Waking up early takes away from the sleep that is needed to recover from the massive amount of work we had to do the

night before,” Reese Loseke (10) said.

Schools believe they will see improved grades, higher attendance rates and increased energy with the schedule change.

“I think later start times needed to happen,” Chloe Vendette (11) said.

“Waking up to complete darkness is an awful way for teenagers to start their day because they’ll be unproductive for the rest of the day.”

Administrators think SB-328 will decrease morning parking lot congestion and traffic. With two start times, the parking lot will be less crowded in the morning rush, resulting in fewer accidents for teenagers and parents in the parking lots, not to mention it would take less time for parents to drop off students in the front.

“The student parking lot is a mess in the morning,” Liam Peterson (11) said.

“Everyone is coming into school at the same time, making it very chaotic and busy.”

Next school year, there will actually be more late start days, according to Coppo.

Teachers and staff still need time for important meetings, regardless of the later start time.

There are some drawbacks to the bill.

If a certain class is only offered during the zero period but a student does not want to start earlier, they cannot be enrolled in the class.

That could substantially affect what periods classes are offered to satisfy students’ specific and busy schedules.

“It’s possible you could lose a few of the options of when you can take certain classes, like electives,” Coppo said. “You may want to take the morning off, but if we don’t offer the class you need in the right period, you won’t be able to take it.”

TPHS administrators worry that if students are able to sleep in, it could affect their college prospects, since they may opt to take fewer classes in the interest of sleeping in.

“Most of the trends that we see [with student schedules] is that more students opt to have an unscheduled afternoon so they can get out of school earlier,” counselor Chanelle Lary said. “If students still have the option to take a class at 7:30, I think they will choose that in order to keep their full schedules.”

TPHS alumna awarded the Rhodes Scholarship Amy Ge

STAFF WRITER TPHS alumna Francisca Vasconcelos (‘16) was recently chosen to be one of 32 2020-21 Rhodes Scholars, awarding her at least two years of all-expense-paid study at Oxford University starting in fall 2020.

The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, and with only 32 scholars out of over 2,500 applicants, being chosen is no easy feat.

Currently double majoring in electrical engineering & computer science and

physics at MIT, Vasconcelos’ pursuit of a career in academia and research will be propelled by the Rhodes Scholarship.

Vasconcelos’ journey started at TPHS, where she was able to explore her passions through a variety of classes and extracurricular activities like the annual science fair.

“My first science fair project was a drone that would follow me around during soccer games and do different things depending on the pattern of a patch I held,” Vasconcelos said. “My senior year, [I] had a different project, which was like a shape-shifting origami robot that was more for fun.”

Vasconcelos’ drone project was published in the 2016 Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision, and she was also invited to present at both the Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

“Those were really pivotal moments for me. Working on these two projects and then presenting them really made me realize that I like doing research and

I’m very excited to have the chance to live abroad and meet new people.

Francisca Vasconcelos TPHS ALUMNA

photo by ian mcclellan/mit news

science,” Vasconcelos said.

Vasconcelos’ high school teachers also played a big role in piquing her interest in a variety of subjects, including her passion for STEM. Brinn Belyea and Mia Boardman Smith are two of the many teachers who noticed Vasconcelos’ talents.

“She’s smart, she’s motivated and she intrinsically likes to do the work,” AP Physics and Intro to Engineering teacher Belyea said. “I am not surprised that she was chosen.”

Vasconcelos was also an outstanding

humanities student.

“Her observations in class discussions were always insightful. She’s the kind of kid that would stay after class and want to continue a discussion with you,” AP English Language teacher Smith said.

While language arts may seem unrelated to Vasconcelos’ STEM-oriented focus, her mastery of language arts was actually instrumental to her success.

“Mrs. Smith really helped me become a good writer, which was super useful, especially when I was taking philosophy courses that helped during my interview for the Rhodes,” Vasconcelos said.

Many of Vasconcelos’ science classes at MIT actually involve the ethics of research Vasconcelos was studying.

At Oxford University, Vasconcelos will have access to many more resources to further her studies.

“I can take more theoretical math classes. I’ll be doing a masters of mathematics and foundations of computer science my first year and then a Master’s of physics my second year,” Vasconcelos said.

Academics aside, there is always the thrill of living in a new environment.

“I’m very excited to have the chance to live abroad and meet new people,” Vasconcelos said.

Vasconcelos will continue pursuing her research at Oxford, but for now, has advice for current TPHS students.

“Do what excites you. I definitely would never say when I was at Torrey Pines that I will be coming out of MIT with a Rhodes Scholarship,” Vasconcelos said. “Just find what interests you and work hard at it.”

TPHS campus absent in ‘No Place For Hate’ Kevin Song and Mirabel Hunt

FEATURE EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER TPHS was not among the list of 2018-19 No Place for Hate schools after having been included for the three prior consecutive years, missing out on the designation as “No Place for Hate” as well as a customized banner for the school.

No Place for Hate is one of the AntiDefamation League’s, or ADL’s, education initiatives, geared toward K-12 schools, especially middle and high schools. Its mission is to “inspire a national movement led by students and educators who are committed to using the power of positive

peer influence to build inclusive and safe schools in which all students can thrive,” according to the ADL website. Receiving the No Place for Hate designation establishes the school as one that stands for these values. “[The designation] is a great avenue [to] provide that inclusiveness and feeling of welcome,” Assistant Principal Michael Santos said. “If there’s something that says that people are all welcome here, it really does tell students, even subconsciously, that it’s okay to be here.”

In order to receive the designation, schools must meet a variety of requirements, including signing the No Place for Hate pledge and completing at least three ADL-

approved school-wide activities promoting diversity and inclusion. Schools applying for the designation are also required to create a student-led No Place for Hate committee, which is headed at TPHS by the Peer Assistant Listeners (PALs).

Responsibilities of the committee include identifying and addressing bullying at TPHS as well as hosting activities that promote diversity and acceptance.

Do we need it? No. Is it good to have? Absolutely.

Rob Coppo

TPHS PRINCIPAL “For an upcoming event, we are doing a cultural day, kind of like having a bunch of different cultures on display,” PALs member Lily Wickham (12) said. “We’re trying to make kids more accepting of other cultures.”

Members of the committee were also invited to attend the annual No Place for Hate Leadership Conference, which was held on Oct. 30, 2019 at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. Attendees participated in a variety of diversity-focused events, similar to the ones they would host on their own campuses throughout the school year.

“At the conference, we got to meet with kids from [a lot of] different schools,” Wickham said. “For example, there was a lecture by a guy … who talked about the recent shooting at the Jewish synagogue and how our community banded together.”

The requirements must also involve the entire student body which, for a school like TPHS that has over 2,500 enrolled students, presents a challenge.

“In general, it’s about the whole school, so we can’t hit just 50 percent of the

photo from the anti-defamation league

population,” Principal Rob Coppo said.

“When we do an all-school assembly, like the pep rallies for example, they’re all voluntary. So if a teacher decides not to bring a class to an assembly, we don’t meet the standard.”

Additionally, TPHS has a schedule that restricts the school’s ability to host mandatory assemblies for meeting the No Place for Hate requirements.

“We only get two mandatory assemblies a year, “ Coppo said. “We’ve got some other things to deal with — for example, over the last four years, we’ve lost two students to suicide — so I’ve got to make sure I’m focusing on that.”

In order to circumvent this challenge, TPHS has participated in Challenge Days for nearly two decades after being introduced to it by the TPHS counseling department. Challenge Days has typically counted toward the assembly requirement, as the ADL has been flexible in working with schools as big as TPHS. But this past year, Challenge Days was not approved by the ADL as a school-wide diversity activity, prompting negotiations between the TPHS administration and the ADL. “We have to ask what about Challenge Days is not meeting the expectations of No Place for Hate, because it’s a cornerstone of our student connectedness approach,” Coppo said. “We’re going to keep doing [Challenge Days], so we want to get [the ADL] to see what we’re doing to fit with [them], rather than always making our stuff fit with what they want us to do.”

The TPHS administration does not view the designation as a necessity, as diversity is already celebrated on the TPHS campus.

“I don’t think [we] need the designation, and I mean that in a positive way,” Coppo said. “Even if the ADL didn’t have this program, we would still be doing this work [to strive for acceptance]. I think the designation just helps us continue the work we’re doing. So, do we need it? No. Is it good to have? Absolutely.”

TPHS air quality has significant educational effects Daniel Kim and Nolan Ezzet

NEWS EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER Vox has discovered that installing air filters has a significant positive effect on education that is similar to cutting class size by a third. Over the years, TPHS has made an active effort to improve the classroom environment’s air quality beyond the natural “ocean breeze.”

When TPHS was first built, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) was not implemented because the architect claimed that the “ocean breeze” would be sufficient in cooling down the classrooms.

Over the years, the student body and faculty have realized that natural breezes were insufficient in maintainig a healthy environment for the school’s classrooms.

Ever since Prop AA, which included the renovation of the B building and media center and the construction of a new Performing Arts Center, gym and chemistry rooms, was put into action in 2011, the district implemented air conditioners and improved filters.

TPHS Principal Rob Coppo recognized that the poor air quality has significantly improved since when air quality was less of a concern. Before air pollution was recognized as a serious issue, the quality of the air was comparable to smoking, according to Coppo.

“I would walk home from school with burning eyes and a scratchy throat,” Coppo said. “You could feel it in your lungs. It was terrible. So, we’ve made massive improvements.”

Fortunately, the ventilation systems are in the process of being improved by the district. Everytime the school detects issues with a classroom’s air quality, air experts test out the ventilation systems in classrooms to identify the problem.

“They really started looking at modernizing the buildings and making

sure they were up to state code,” Coppo said. “We need to ensure that students are comfortable and safe in all the rooms.”

However, the air conditioners and filters brought about issues, especially the difficulty in controlling the temperature.

According to the experiences of teachers and students on campus, the air quality,

There are some people who are frequently hot, and there are others who are frequently cold, but it’d be nice to have a happy medium.

Lisa Callender

TPHS ENGLISH TEACHER especially temperature, had issues before a functional air system was implemented.

In the spring and summer, the classrooms would become extremely hot and humid while the winter would create cold and dry environments unconducive to learning.

While the school’s ventilation has come a long way since its original system of relying on the “ocean breeze,” some buildings still offer subpar air temperatures.

“The new J Building had several problems with controlling the heating and cooling,” TPHS science teacher Michael Rall said. “Last year, we took a series of temperature readings to try and give them an idea [of the inconsistent temperatures].”

Although the differences in productivity cannot be measured, the teachers have

noticed qualitative differences in how students pay attention during class, depending on the temperature of the room.

“There’s no science involved, but certainly I cannot help but think, when a classroom feels like it’s five below zero, and my students are freezing, that really does affect how they pay attention,” TPHS English teacher Lisa Callender said.

“When it’s really warm and stuffy and humid here, the learning environment is

negatively affected too.”

Although teachers desire for the “perfect” learning environment, some recognize that their diverse student body has various opinions towards what temperature is the ideal learning environment.

“It’s true you can’t satisfy everyone,” Callender said. “There are some people who are frequently hot, and there are others who are frequently cold, but it’d be nice to have a happy medium.”

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1. PHILIPPINES

2. IRAN

3. WASHINGTON

4. SAUDI ARABIA

5. INDIA

6. RUSSIA

Taal Volcano, located on the island of Luzon south of the Philippine capital, erupted with a massive plume of ash and steam on Jan. 12, forcing the closure of Manila’s international airport. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the volcano blasted steam, ash and pebbles six to nine miles into the sky, and 25,000 people have been displaced to safer locations. The volcano last erupted in 1911 and 1977.

On Jan. 21, the first confirmed case of the mysterious Chinese coronavirus, which has killed at least six and infected hundreds more, has broken out in the state of Washington. The man, in his 30s, is in stable condition at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington. The disease was discovered when the federal health officers began screening travelers from Wuhan, China at Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York’s John F. Kennedy international airports.

The Parliament of India passed a bill on Dec. 11 that would give Indian citizenship to immigrants with the exception of Muslims. The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) will swiftly provide citizenship for religious minorities. There is severe opposition claiming that the bill is unconstitutional, as it bases citizenship on religion and would marginalize India’s large Muslim community.

The government defends the bill, which intends to assist minorities from persecution in their native countries.

Information provided by CNN, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Atlantic, BBC

Following tensions over a potential WWIII, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was discovered to have crashed on Jan. 8, killing all 176 people on board. Iran immediately arrested suspects responsible for the terror, and Iranian media reported that Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards had arrested a person who posted a video of the missile striking the plane. On Jan. 21, an Iranian lawmaker announced a $3 million reward for “whoever kills President Donald Trump.”

On Jan. 16, a U.S. official reported that Saudi Arabia had paid the U.S. approximately $500 million to cover the cost of U.S. troops stationed in the country. The payment was made in December of 2019, and President Donald Trump asserted that Saudi Arabia had “already deposited $1 billion in the bank.” However, the Pentagon has yet to be able to confirm the payment. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the other Gulf states have contributed to cover U.S. military costs during the Gulf War in 1990-91.

Russian lawmakers overwhelmingly approved Mikhail V. Mishustin, who is the candidate picked by President Vladimir V. Putin, as the new Prime Minister on Jan. 16. The day before, Putin proposed major changes to the Russian Constitution that would spread power to the Parliament, the State Council and other government institutions. Analysts view the move as an effort by Mr. Putin to ensure that he remains in power past 2024, when his term ends and reaches the presidential limit.

WORDS BY DANIEL KIM

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The following question was posed to a random sample of 1,000 registered voters in a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll on Mar. 15, 2019: Do you favor or oppose colleges using the ACT and SAT in their admissions decisions?

62%

27%

FAVOR

OPPOSE

answered

art by seyoung lee/falcon artist

answered

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the UC system in an effort to ban the use of the SAT and ACT in the college admissions process. These lawsuits are pushing other colleges to consider banning these standardized tests.

Micah Levy

STAFF WRITER Sadly, teenagers across the U.S. dedicate hours of their lives studying for the SAT and ACT, the two tests they believe will determine their future.

Around 50 years ago, the University of California system adopted the SAT to “weed out applicants,” according to NPR. But in Dec. 2019, the system was rocked by a lawsuit filed by pro bono firm Public Council on behalf of students and a collection of advocacy groups over the UC requirement of the standardized tests in admissions.

According to Shaan Patel, a writer for Prep Expert, an online test prep course, SAT and ACT prep ranges from free to over $1,000 an hour for the most expensive private tutors. Students enrolled in the classes review questions from previous exams with test-taking strategies on to maximize scores. After taking the official exams, many students report increased scores because of those classes. Students of low socioeconomic status are often financially unable to take test-prep courses, potentially narrowing their collegiate opportunities.

It’s unfair to force students to submit SAT and ACT results for admissions because each individual comes from a different background.

Students raised in a financially advantaged home are more likely to own a reliable form of transportation. Students’ general life exposure

may be limited due to a lack of traveling or other exposure or if they have had very few opportunities to try new activities. Getting rid of the SAT and SAT score submission requirement is a step the UC system can take to combat those inequalities.

Plus, in 2019, around 50 schools dropped the requirements. Most notably, the University of Chicago claims that going test-optional has played a part in increasing first generation students and low-income students on campus.

Although supporters of the SAT and ACT say that the two tests provide a standardized way of assessing students from different schools and backgrounds, according to Kathryn Juric, vice president of the College Board’s SAT Program, “the SAT gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their collegepreparedness despite inconsistent grading systems throughout the nation’s high schools.”

Moreover, SAT scores provide a national, standardized benchmark that neutralizes the risk of grade inflation.

Schools across the nation have different grading systems but students take multiple assessments to determine their semester grades, whereas it’s impossible for one SAT and ACT score to be representative of a student’s entire academic ability and potential. Although the UC system believes the SAT and ACT are a standardized way of choosing students, what is non-standard is the way students prepare for the exams. While one student may hire a private tutor, another may only have enough money to rent a test-prep book from the library, if that.

A special UC faculty task force is evaluating whether to recommend dropping or altering test submission requirements. A report is expected early this year with a decision by the UC system soon after.

If the UC System would drop the SAT and ACT score submission requirement for freshman, many deserving students, regardless of race or wealth, could get into the school of their choice.

To apply to schools within the UC System, all students are required to submit either an ACT or SAT score, which serve “not only to assess … academic preparation and achievement, but to help [the universities] determine your qualifications beyond what we see in your grades,” according to the UC Admissions website.

The lawsuits state that the practice of requiring standardized testing is discriminatory, leaving students in low-income communities at a disadvantage due to lack of access to the prep materials and expensive test prep programs.

But as much as students and parents would like to believe, removing standardized testing will in no way make up for the inequality seen in the college admissions process. In fact, it will only serve to remove an important metric used by the admissions officers to objectively compare all students.

First, to place the entire purpose of standardized testing into context, we can examine the applicant statistics for the UC System schools. For the fall class of 2019, UC Berkeley had nearly 90,000 applicants with room for roughly 6,000 new freshmen, and UCLA had more than 135,000 for 6,240 spots according to the UC Admissions Website. Per UC standards, two readers go through every application. With a thousand applications being read by each reader and little time, there must be a quick way to compare all students.

This is where standardized testing comes in.

There is no other method — grades, extracurriculars or essays — that can be used to compare each and every applicant along the same standards. Grade values can vary significantly between schools, with varying grade scales and grade inflation. Standardized testing is the only uniform method.

And testing is not the only factor going into evaluating each application. “Each applicant is reviewed within the context of his or her available opportunities,” according

Bea De Oliveira

MANAGING EDITOR to the UC “Guide on Applying as a Freshman.”

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are considered within the context of his or her individual situations, while those from advantaged backgrounds that may have received access to test and college preparation are read in the context of their privilege.

Socioeconomic status will always be a factor in the admissions process. If testing is removed, students with money will still have access to expensive college counselors, better schools and more opportunities. According to the Brookings Institute, a non-profit public policy organization, the U.S. educational system is one of the most unequal in the developed world. The study found that “many minorities and economically disadvantaged students ... fare the worst in educational expenditures [or] ... fiscal inequity.”

The fact that students with more socioeconomic resources may fare better in the college admissions process is a societal issue, not one created by the College Board or ACT. Standardized testing is necessary to provide a baseline comparison among more than 100,000 UC applicants. If students and attorneys truly want to “not tell UC how to structure its admission system except that it can’t use criteria that is discriminatory,” they should target the true perpetrator.

opinion

tphsfalconer.com

1. April 18, 2019 The Mueller Report is released to the public. The report states there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the Trump campaign “coordinated or conspired” with the Russian government in the 2016 election, and the report reserves judgment on whether Trump committed obstruction of justice.

3. Sept. 24, 2019 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces the beginning of a House impeachment inquiry.

4. Oct. and Nov. The Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs Committees gather evidence for the impeachment inquiry.

By November, the Intelligence committee, lead by Rep. Adam Schiff, holds public hearings with witnesses.

the falconer A7

2. Aug. and Sept.

2019 A whistleblower complaint from within the Trump administration is filed. The complaint alleges that Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine and pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate Hunter Biden and frame Ukraine for interfering in the 2016 election. In September, the transcript of the phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelinsky is declassified to corroborate the complaint.

5. Dec. 10, 2019 The House Judiciary committee unveils two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, stemming from Trump’s conduct in the Ukraine scandal. The first article is about Trump’s abuse of power, and the second article highlights Trump’s obstruction of Congress.

6. Dec. 13, 2019 The entire House of Representatives votes on the two articles of impeachment.

The first article passes with 230 ‘Yes’ votes, 197 ‘No’ votes, 1 present vote and 3 not voting. The second article passes with 229 ‘Yes’ votes, 198 ‘No ‘votes, 1 present vote and 3 not voting.

7. Jan. 16-20, 2020 After withholding the articles, Pelosi appoints 7 trial managers and formally presents the articles to the Senate. Chief Justice John Roberts administered an oath to Senators in which they swore to administer “impartial justice.”

Majority leader Mitch McConnell set rules for the impeachment trial, but they will be argued by senators along with trial procedure..

information from npr and the washington post

b

When director J.J. Abrams teased having LGBTQ+ representation in his upcoming movie, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” fans and media outlets alike were quick to celebrate. It appeared that “Star Wars” would finally take the leap, putting aside Disney’s concern about international markets and ticked-off parents to deliver quality representation for its LGBTQ+ viewers.

Clearly, it was too much to hope for, as “The Rise of Skywalker’s” grand moment of representation was a two-second kiss between two unnamed female characters whose relationship was never shown before or again.

If you saw the movie but don’t recall that scene, it’s not your fault. The clip was literally a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment and was so inconsequential to the rest of the plot that it was easily cut out for theaters in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

It was a disappointment, but not much of a surprise. Disney’s lackluster LGBTQ+ representation disguised by media buzz about “breakthroughs” is a pattern that spans across its most popular franchises, acting as a strategy to appeal to the widest possible audience by doing the absolute least.

Commonly referred to as queer-baiting,

this is a marketing strategy used by authors, screenwriters and celebrities alike to attract queer audiences by alluding to the possibility of representation and then underdelivering in the final product to avoid boycotts from homophobic audiences.

Take “Avengers: Endgame,” the highest grossing movie of all time, and one which made headlines for the introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first openly gay character.

The character, known simply as Grieving Man, attends Captain America’s support group for those affected by the tragedy at the end of the previous movie in the series. During his 30 seconds of screen time, Grieving Man tells the group the story of his first date with another man since Thanos had wiped out half the population five years prior.

What could have been a well-intentioned, albeit half-hearted, baby step toward inclusivity was soured by “Endgame” co-director Joe Russo’s comments on the matter.

“Representation is really important. It was important to [me and my brother] as we did four of these films; we wanted a gay character somewhere in them,” Russo said.

To disregard the very obvious tokenism here would be impossible, especially when the slapdash effort to include LGBTQ+ representation was a quick gay moment in a three-hour runtime.

That isn’t to say that this kind of representation is useless. In fact, the casual introduction of queer background characters can go a long way in normalizing the LGBTQ+ community in everyday life. But it’s just not enough.

Valued at $130 billion in 2019, Disney is in the perfect position to take risks without fear of box office failure.

Probably the closest a Disney feature film feature film has come to creating a complex

gay character (which is not a high bar; it’s slim “exclusively gay moment” Condon referred to pickings) is LeFou from the live-action remake is a three-second clip at the end of the movie of “Beauty and the Beast.” Though the trope of where LeFou is shown waltzing with another a gay man with unrequited love for his straight man.

Despite the boycotts, “Beauty and the best friend is arguably overdone, LeFou makes decisions that impact the plot, gets his own Beast” made over a billion dollars worldwide, musical number and ultimately sides with the surpassing “Mamma Mia!” to become the castle and its inhabitants after realizing that highest-grossing live-action musical of all time.

The response to this film should send a Gaston is a toxic presence in his life.

The issue was with the reveal of LeFou’s message to Disney, because it proves that sexuality, which, like too many Disney not only do the majority of its audience not mind queer characters, they actively support characters, was massively over-hyped.

“Beauty and the Beast” director Bill Condon movies that feature them. Disney should first sparked international controversy in an secure its reputation as a progressive interview with Attitude magazine company by delivering quality LGBTQ+ by saying that LeFou representation across its many franchises. would have an “exclusively gay moment” in the upcoming movie. This moment alone caused the film to get a rating of 16+ in Russian theaters, have its release indefinitely postponed in Kuwait and Malaysia and even boycotted by a drive-in theater in Alabama.

The scene in question w a s n ’ t par ticular ly revolutionary, e i t h e r .

LeFou’s crush on Gaston stays safely cemented in heavy art by sam mathe/falconer artist subtext.

T h e

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january 24, 2020

CA presidential primary to be historically complex

Srishti Thapar

STAFF WRITER

the already “complex” situation more straightforward for the average citizen.

One of the complexities of the 2020 primaries is the number of unique ballots needed due to the addition of 186 voting districts.

Bill SB-72 may prove to have negative effects, opposite from what was intended.

Another disadvantage of SB-72 is that all votes from voters who change their party on election day require a different and longer time to process. All of these votes are tagged as conditional until they are officially verified.

According to the San Diego Union Tribune, in order for NPP voters to receive a ballot with Democratic, American Independent or Libertarian presidential candidates, they must request one, otherwise they will get a nonpartisan ballot.

This all seems quite demanding on very busy voters. All the efforts intending to speed up and simplify the voting process may in fact do the opposite.

The average voter, who most likely has a job and various obligations, is looking for a quick and trouble-free method of voting.

Changing the terms and conditions of voting will make less determined people more susceptible to skipping voting all together due to the demanding process.

Additionally, the “deadlines” on the postcards reminding non-partisan voters to choose whether or not they will vote in the primaries can be extended. Even if the

deadline has passed, the San Diego County Registrar will accept crossover ballots until Feb. 25, seven days before the California primaries.

So before throwing out that seemingly unimportant postcard asking you to double check your party registration, take a moment and look it over. Vu wants just one thing: voters checking their “electoral health” and making decisions now, while there is still time.

Don’t let the details and implications sway you; make sure to go out and vote!

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The March 2020 presidential primaries are creeping closer, and they might be a part of one of the most complicated elections in San Diego history.

Since Governor Gavin Newsom passed bill SB-72 in October, allowing people to register to vote or change their political party on Election Day at any polling place, the quantity of registered voters has skyrocketed.

This bill will do more damage than good because with the increased number of voters, lines at polling locations will get longer and the logistics involving the confusing and increased number of ballots for voters will become more and more complex.

This change has the potential to make people feel less enthusiastic to go out and vote, which can be detrimental to the number of voters in the 2020 presidential primaries.

The general rule in elections is that you register with a certain political party and can only vote in that party’s primaries. This stands for presidential primaries in California with the following exception.

Nearly a third of San Diego’s registered voters are affiliated with “No Party Preference.”

Out of the six possible parties, those registered under “No Party Preference” can request ballots from the American Independent, Libertarian

or Democratic parties. They are not allowed to vote in primaries for candidates running as Republican, Green or Peace and Freedom. This prohibition comes from each of those parties themselves.

San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu’s office sent out more than 500,000 mailers to “No Party Preference” voters to ensure they are aware of their options. Unfortunately, many of the mailers go unnoticed and are thrown away by non-partisan voter, as they are unaware of the importance of selecting a party if they are interested in voting in the 2020 primaries.

What many people don’t realize is that over 30 percent of San Diegans who are registered as “No Party Preference” won’t see any of the presidential candidates unless they request a ballot from one of the three acceptable parties.

The NPP voters will receive ballots with all the ballot measures, local non-partisan offices and voter nominated offices. They have to put in effort to officially see presidential candidates on their ballots, and this is quite taxing on the less eager citizen, possibly resulting in a decrease of non-partisan voters.

These voters can either visit a polling location and re-register with one of the accepted parties or request a crossover ballot to arrive via the U.S. Post Office.

According to the Los Angeles Times, studies

by Capitol Weekly, a newspaper covering California’s politics and government, discovered that 17 percent of non-partisan (No Party Preference) voters are under the impression that they are registered Democrats and seven percent believe they are registered Republicans.

This lack of awareness among the hefty population of NPP voters is enough to sway an election.

Vu urges voters, non-partisan or not, to double check their ballots for the correct information. He believes this will make

MAYA SATCHELL Opinion Editor Maya Satchell discusses how the pressure to remain silent in class used to produce a cloud of fear over her when she wanted to ask a question, but no more. Now she asks away.

“Um, excuse me, Ms. Brown, can you please go over first-order linear differential equations again?” I asked.

I presume only a few readers will understand first-order linear differential equations, and, like me in class after hearing words like firstorder and differential, might feel a tinkling of confusion.

Not fully understanding a concept following the teacher’s initial lecture occasionally happens to me, as I am sure it does to others. My response to a misunderstanding in class will frequently be to ask the teacher a question. My questions in class serve two functions: to help me gain clarity about the material and, as an auditory learner, to gain a more lasting understanding of the material through listening to the teacher’s reexplaination.

My questioning is one method to better understand the material. My questions generally focus on the specifics of my confusion. At my former schools, I was one of many students who asked the teacher a question when I didn’t understand. Lots of kids did it.

When I transferred to TPHS at the start of my junior year, I realized that my questions were beginning to serve a new and third function: to support my fellow classmates who were feeling a similar confusion, but who were unwilling to speak up and reveal their confusion.

Especially as a new student, my first semester at TP was filled with questions. Many times I would refrain from asking certain questions until after class, not because the questions were off topic, but because I feared being the sole person to ever ask the teacher a question.

It was extremely odd to me when a teacher

would ask the class, “Does anyone have a question?” and repeatedly, during the one moment when the teacher would invite a student to speak, the room became silent.

Today and at my former school, my intention with my questions is never to disrupt or to halt the flow of class. I never try to turn the class into a conversation between the teacher and I. However, as an African-American woman who already kind of stands out at TPHS, I began to feel as if my questions would only lead me to stand out even more. This feeling of uneasiness and pressure to hold my tongue and to keep my questions to myself combined into a feeling of pressure to be reticent whenever I was itching to ask a question. Even more crippling, a feeling of insecurity grew inside me as I began to question if I was the only one who was confused or who did not understand the concept, and if I truly belonged in my several advanced classes.

Reflecting on such feelings, I do not believe this fear stemmed from the ordinary nerves that coincide with being a new student. I earned my role as the Opinion editor by pushing aside timidity and by being fearless when sharing my views and ideas. In writing, being daring and willing to make mistakes are crucial parts of the process of expanding one’s writing abilities. Furthermore, as I have strengthened my leadership skills in this role, I have proved myself to be unafraid to assert myself verbally in front of the staff.

Yet in other academic classes when it came time to speak, I began to feel pressure to remain silent, as if my questions would reveal my flaws and not my curiosity.

Of course, being the fairly outspoken person

photo by anna jeong/falconer

I consider myself to be, after a short period of apprehension, I ensured my voice was heard.

After a year and a half at TPHS, I have become almost notorious for asking questions in class. In study groups or outside of class, my peers and I will be discussing past lectures and material, and they may remark, “Remember Ms. Brown discussed that following Maya’s question.” Some people even remember me from their classes as “the one who asked the questions.”

I am not writing this piece in an attempt to rip off the label as the “girl with the questions.”

Asking questions in class helps me learn and, as I have recently discovered, helps others who are also taken aback by the same pressure to remain silent that I felt when I first came to TPHS. I do not want to appear to be generalizing this pressure that I have felt or to be projecting how others feel, but when teachers and students have frequently thanked me for asking my questions in class, I begin to wonder if there is a stigma against TPHS students who ask questions.

I wonder if my classmates think asking questions leads to showing weakness for not understanding the material or to signaling

feeble mindedness or personal negligence.

I wonder if proving how smart one is requires going home and relearning the material without any assistance. I wonder if my classmates see asking a question as an admission of error, and, apparently, it is bad to be wrong.

More importantly, without asking questions in the past, I wonder if I ever would have understood the Chinese Exclusion Act in Mr. Drake’s class or if I would continue to be interested in learning about how Republican political strategists use clever diction to undermine the severity of global warming by calling it climate change in Ms. Smith’s class.

Without asking a question, would I understand how to solve first-order differential equations in Ms. Brown’s class?

I know there are a multitude of ways to learn, and my asking questions may not serve others who would prefer to read the textbook at home or study in another fashion. However, I wonder what ideas could be unleashed or curiosities discovered if those who yearn to ask questions like I do went against the status quo and just asked them.

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Starlink satellites cause astronomers data problems Just this month, the American company SpaceX launched its third wave of satellites as part of its Starlink project to provide satellite-based Internet to users around the world. Almost 200 satellites have already been deployed, and it’s projected that the final number of satellites may be 12,000 or even 30,000 by the mid-2020s.

On the surface, Starlink is revolutionary. The concept of fast internet connectivity, accessible from anywhere, reads like a futuristic, utopian society from a science fiction novel, and in less than a decade, could be a reality through Starlink.

The humanitarian benefits are also ground-breaking at first glance. Access to the Internet has become integral to modern monetary transactions and businesses. For users in areas without access, Starlink could pave the way to financial security. Ready Internet could also help safety and communication concerns.

However, the satellites pose significant problems.

Environmentally, these satellites will add to the already unprecedented amount of space debris, in turn, affecting other spacecrafts and satellites. The tens of thousands of satellites that are planned for launch will only increase space erosion in the atmosphere, even with programming for de-orbiting and selfdestruction upon death.

With all the environmental problems that humans are causing on Earth with water and air pollution, creating unnecessary pollution in outer space seems risky.

Another drawback is how the satellites change the view of the night sky. With even 182 satellites, depending on one’s location, a difference is noticeable to the naked eye, and tens of thousands more launches are planned.

Astronomers in particular are affected by the satellites. Their research and study is dependent upon an unobstructed view of space and dark conditions to pick up the faint light of stars. The bright, reflective surfaces of the most recent batch of Starlink satellites have already ruined important data for scientists in Chile, according to Forbes. The unpredictable movements of the satellites also make it

difficult to schedule recordings around them. Until the issue is resolved, land-based astronomy research will face difficulties in advancement because any further data has the potential to be ruined. Although a dark coating for satellites is in its experimental stages to lessen the shine, the astronomers’ lash-back raises some concerns about Starlink, despite its benefit.

For one, Starlink’s success will equate to change on a global scale; free Internet access could have unforeseen consequences.

The U.S. military has already made claims on some of the satellites for its own private use, meaning that Starlink could be militarized by other countries and buyers as well.

News media have lauded Starlink as a new-age proponent of social good, but Starlink’s purpose doesn’t concern the improvement of the world. Elon Musk has publicly stated that he plans to use the funds from Starlink for his other equallyexorbitant project, Mars colonization. Global Internet is an idea that was initially conceived for monetary gain; any benefits or negative effects on others are only secondary to profit.

And that brings into question if Internet availability is even important enough to risk the financial effort, risk and time needed to launch thousands of satellites.

About 10 billion dollars is projected to be used on Starlink — money that could be better spent on issues such as combating homelessness and climate change or advancing the medical field. Instead, it’s being wasted on satellites that users can’t take advantage of without first buying a device, one that would be an added expense. From his platform as a renowned inventor and wealthy billionaire, Elon Musk’s attempt at benefiting others in his personal abstract ventures — but in actuality causing harm — comes off as shallow, thoughtless and egotistical.

But this behavior is a pattern in wealthy tech billionaires like Musk. Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner have also backed the funding for space exploration programs like Blue Origin Breakthrough Starshot in what is called the Billionaire Space Race.

Although the Outer Space Treaty formulated after the Cold War prevents specific countries from colonizing and claiming space, private companies like SpaceX are excluded from inhabiting and “claiming” space in a similar matter, even if they’re literally flooding space with satellites.

Furthermore, the battle between astronomers and Starlink emphasizes the lack of regulation in space. The only restriction SpaceX faced in their project approval was the Federal Communications Commission, whose main jurisdiction is more for interstate and national matters. With other companies like OneWeb seeking to challenge Starlink with their own global-Internet satellites, it’s becoming increasingly clear that some form of intergovernmental intervention is needed.

Since the beginning of the space race, there have been over

9,300

aircrafts sent into space.

Currently, there are over

2,000

satellites orbitting Earth. according to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

Scarlett Sprague (9) “I think it’s a good plan because it allows the rest of the world to have internet access to jobs and more opportunities in their lives.”

Andrew Xue (10) “I think the project is worth it, as it’s going to be a great benefit providing internet to many third world countries.”

art by lesley moon

/falcon artist

Dylan Straky (11) “If they’re interrupting research that has yet to be done, then that is an issue. They should wait a few years to figure out more regulations.”

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The “OK Boomer” meme didn’t come into existence by accident; generational clashes between the Baby Boomer generation and Millennials shape today’s politics, social climate and economy. The baby boomers, born from the mid-1940s to mid-1960s, are more conservative, with more traditional values of family life, wealth and work that have been cemented over the past 80 years.

According to cumulative surveys conducted in 2016 by the Pew Research Center, nearly a third of baby boomers (31 percent) identify as conservative Republicans or lean Republican. On the other hand, Millennials are generally more progressive and possess an entrepreneurial spirit that aids them through times of financial insecurity.

Based on the same survey, more than half (55 percent) of Millennials identify as Democrats or lean Democratic.

These opposing views are born from the dramatically different upbringing of Millennials, who are digital natives and more open to new ideas. The early 2000s were a period of rapid technological development and social transformation that shaped the identity of the generation after Millennials, known as Gen Zers, which includes TPHS students.

The start of the ‘70s and ‘80s with turntables, bulky gaming desktop computers and brick-like portable phones gave way to technology that served the same purpose but was significantly more mobile and manageable, such as the iPod, console gaming devices and the cell phone. TPHS Assistant Principal Michael Santos, who works closely with students on a day-to-day basis has noticed an

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increase in community and unity that wasn’t present when he was growing up.

“Connectivity is one of the bigger things [that defines your generation],” Santos said. “The fact that you’re able to communicate and be in touch … through social media, through your phone or through text message was something that wasn’t around when I was young.”

For an example of such connectedness, look no further than the gaming community, an ardent group of gamers that has formed in recent years due to the ease with which players can connect online, in multiplayer games or even in real life with mobile gaming consoles.

Gaming looks significantly different than it did for the Baby Boomer generation; with the release of Japanese video game company Nintendo’s DS in 2004 and Switch in 2017, Gen Z is able to play hugely popular games like “Mario Kart,” “Super Mario Bros,” “Nintendogs” and “Super Smash Bros.” With portable devices, or even at places where people can get together to use computers, such as the TPHS learning commons, Gen Z can easily access gaming technology.

Such places did not exist until technology became more accessible in the past two decades.

The Falconer found Jacob Flohr (9) in the learning commons after school playing “Shell Shockers,” a 2017 firstperson shooter multiplayer game, with his friends on the commons computers.

“Now, it’s a lot easier to play with … and be connected with other people [when gaming],” Flohr said. “I think being able to talk to people

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“Sensitivity to all people has changed over the last decade,” TPHS Special Education teacher Sue Sporl said. “[Everyone] is more considerate, understanding … and patient, and [takes] the time to just see that everyone’s different, and that’s okay.”

Gen Zers are naturally inclined to be tolerant of differences; part of this is, in part, resultant from the generation’s own incredible diversity, and that diversity is underlined by increased representation in media. As stated by the Pew Research Center, nearly half (48 percent) of post-Millennials are racial or ethnic groups compared to the baby boomers’ 18 percent. And, even without direct representation, this acceptance is evident in the way previously marginalized individuals, including special needs students, have now become accepted members of society.

“When I was a lot younger, in high school, students who had disabilities were not in the regular classroom and were put even at a separate school,” Sporl said. “They weren’t allowed to interact with the other kids … [but] now, they’re out in the mainstream and they’re no longer put aside. They’re given the opportunity to be like their peers, and that’s all I ever wanted for anybody.”

The advanced technology of the past decade

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[Everyone] is more considerate, understanding ... and patient, and [takes] the time to just see that everyone’s different, and that’s okay.

also has direct impacts on special education TPHS students. New “assisted communication devices” allow students without any verbal output to communicate via a tablet that voices their thoughts for them.

“You want someone to hear what you have to say, and you don’t want me to interpret it wrong,” Sporl said. “And, … as an interpreter speaks Spanish or English for someone in a different country, [technology] speaks for these kids.”

One of the other obvious examples of increased acceptance in recent years is in the area of gay rights; while many Millennial parents of Gen Z children remember the 1988 fight to repeal Section 28, which banned schools from “promoting” homosexuality in England, Wales and Scotland, for Gen Z, Section 28 is just history. Gen Z is the first generation born into an LGBTQ-friendly time, and so while older generations are slowly changing in favor of gay rights, Gen Zers are often born receptive to the LGBTQ-positive reality around them, according to Rachel Riddle (12), a gay TPHS student. Regardless of this change, Riddle still feels that the LGBTQ community has not received proper representation until recently.

“Generally, people are getting more and more accepting, but that’s not to say that there are more gay people now than there were ever before,” Riddle said. “We’re just so underrepresented in history … we were always this prominent, just never given the space to be who we are.”

The far reach of media is not always a blessing, though. The world Gen Z lives in has never felt safe, riddled with terrorism, extremism and war. In fact, this may be a result of the expedited spread of news, with communication just a few taps away.

“It goes back to the connectivity,” Santos said.

“When I was growing up, … maybe once a week, we would have a gang fight … but if you weren’t there to see it, it didn’t spread as it does now. If something [like that] was to happen [at TPHS], everyone would know.”

Increased awareness of the world through technology also magnifies problems that may have existed in the past as well. As writer Ta-Nehisi Coates said about police brutality and being black in America, “It seems like there’s a kind of national conversation going on right now about those who are paid to protect us, who end up inflicting lethal harm upon us. But for me, this conversation is quite old … it’s the cameras that are new, it’s not the violence that’s new.” “[Media] allows people to be knowledgeable, but it also creates that sense of fear that, ‘Look at all of these things that are happening,’ when in reality, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, or 30 years ago, it could always have been like that,” Santos said. “But now that we’re getting news instantaneously, everyone’s seeing [these issues].”

Thus, it is the unique background of being born into a technological era that defines Generation Z. And, although a frequent source of confusion and frustration for Baby Boomers, connective technology and media is what makes Gen Z unique. It is why Gen Z is distinctive and not to be ignored — since, in its own right, Generation Z has a new set of strengths and challenges that the world has never seen.

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(11) said. “If you asked me five years ago to name 10 Asian actors in Hollywood, no, I couldn’t. But now, yeah, definitely.”

“Crazy Rich Asians” has also paved the way for additional foreign films, such as “The Farewell” (2019), which featured Nora Lum, also known as Awkwafina, and “Parasite” (2019), which won Best Foreign Film and was nominated for Best Director and Screenplay of a Motion Picture at the 2020 Golden Globes. As only the eleventh foreign film in Golden Globes history to be nominated for the Best Film category, “Parasite” is confirmation of the increasing international influence on America’s culture and society.

The possibilities of far-reaching media extends beyond promoting acceptance of different cultures. As a whole, increased exposure to different people has made Gen Z the most accepting, sensitive generation to date, especially when compared to people who grew up in a previous generation, when society wasn’t so accepting.

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while you’re sitting down and playing is a lot better for you than just playing alone.”

This newly developed mobile technology helps create a sense of belonging in the gaming community that has become one of the largest, most diverse groups of people in this day and age. For Yury Bukhradze (‘19), who began playing games at the age of five, influenced by his older brother, the transition to mobile technology in the early 2000s represented a stronger bond between members of the gaming community.

“It has become much easier for me personally to connect to other people who also enjoy video games,” Bukhradze said. “It became easier to feel like part of the gaming community.”

Part of the strength of this community also comes from the far reach of the internet, with live streaming services such as Twitch, where gamers can stream gameplay to Internet users. With so many people connected over long distances by technology, the newest generation was born into an age of interconnectedness that feels second-nature.

“It’s very popular to stream your games on Twitch … [where] you’ll basically broadcast to the entire Internet what you’re playing,” Bukhradze said.

“There were attempts to create something like that 15, 20 years ago, but only now has it become a huge thing.”

With such a sudden boom in technology, there are more diverse job opportunities, some of which would not have existed without new technology — professions including YouTubers, video game streamers and social media influencers. Such diversity offers new opportunities for Gen Zers to explore their passions and connect with “audiences” in more effective ways.

“With every innovation, there’s always going to be new opportunities,” Santos said. “We always want our students to go where their passions are, and we want to provide the skills so that they can be successful in whatever the world is, because a lot of the jobs that our students are going to go into don’t exist yet.”

In fact, this transformation has shifted the future employment prospects of some young Gen Zers, since certain jobs fall out of favor as technology continues to seep into more aspects of our lives, such as our tastes in music.

“A lot of people think classical music is old … so there aren’t too many [job] opportunities anymore, because people don’t like it anymore,” Chris Su (9) said. “With technology, it’s a lot easier to make music, so all the mainstream [music] is taking over.”

With such a diverse, electronically-connected generation, technology offers more than just new jobs and fancy devices; it also provides a platform for people to become more aware, sensitive and accepting of the diversity in the communities to which they belong. Notably, the 2018 film “Crazy Rich Asians” featured a mostly Asian cast, a rarity in Hollywood.

Its Asian casting has resonated with Asian students at TPHS who feel that this is a step in the right direction to establish pride in their Asian heritage.

“Asian representation in media subconsciously helps people feel better about how they were born, instead of seeing a bunch of people of a different race being portrayed as ‘ideal’ in media,” Torrey Duan

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Over a year ago, I was sitting where I am now, at school, when I heard rapper Mac Miller had died, reportedly from an overdose on fentanyl.

I am going to be frank: my love for Mac Miller does not go back as far as it does for some of his more active, long-term fans. I listened to a few of his songs on GO:OD AM when I was younger, but I truly connected with his music only during my freshman year, with his album Divine Feminine. To this day, that album is my favorite of all time, and it was what drove me to listen to the rest of his discography.

On the outside he may seem like a generic rapper, complete with tattoos and a drug addiction, but his work was inventive. My friends, none of whom prefer rap and R&B like I do, would save and listen to his songs because regardless of genre, he knew what he was doing. Miller is universally liked; even after his death, he did not face the same fate of other rappers like XXXTentacion, Juice Wrld and Lil Peep on the Internet after their deaths: turned into memes to be laughed at. As my good friend once said, “You just don’t disrespect Mac Miller.”

On Miller’s old Instagram account, an announcement was posted from his family: they would be releasing the album, named Circles, that Miller was working on before his death on Jan. 17, 2019. After months of the family releasing very few statements, except around the time Swimming (his fifth album) was nominated for a Grammy, seeing an entire album was about to be dropped was exciting, yet undeniably worrying.

My fear stemmed from what I saw happen to Florida rapper XXXTentacion, otherwise known as Jahseh Onfroy. He had died only two months before Miller, and in the past year, his family and record label have released two of his unfinished albums, a deluxe edition of an album and a museum in his honor. While it was marketed as a way to bring closure to fans, delving further into these projects proves that they were all cash grabs. The deluxe album has over 50 tracks, but most songs were random noises or tunes Onfroy had not fully fleshed out yet, rather than songs he intended to send out to his fans. The museum distastefully features the car Onfroy was shot in, and his posthumous albums have features from artists he did not have any connection to before his death. His art was altered without his consent, and his fans were essentially scammed.

I didn’t want Miller’s art to be misrepresented in the same way. Fortunately, “Good News,” a single off the album, was released first, so I could gauge how the album was going to sound.

“Good News” was the best song to release ahead of time,

because it sets the mood for the other tracks. It was a perfect mix of Miller’s classic style, with his somber vocals and new concepts he had not experimented with before, like incorporating more guitar. The lyrics also encapsulated the more raw issues of mental health, with the line “So tired of being so tired” illustrating the relationship Miller and many across the world have with depression and the day to day struggles of just being alive.

After the album’s release, the first song I listened to was “Circles,” the intro. I could only describe the background of this

song as a waiting room, not because it’s dull, but because it is subtle. Combined with his vocals as he sings “Do not be afraid / Do not be afraid,” I feel lulled into a sense of comfort.

Instead of being calming, “Complicated” has a more clear jazz influence. As indicated in the Instagram post previously mentioned, Circles’ style is meant to complement the style of his previous album Swimming. “Complicated” shows this distinction very well, as it uses completely different instruments (Swimming uses symphonies and elegant piano) but conveys a similar feeling and theme of the complex yet mundane quality of life.

One of my favorite tracks is “Everybody,” particularly because the bridge between the introduction and first verse is absolutely beautiful and amplifies the rest of the song. My other favorite is “Woods,” which has both jazz and calming elements.

This time, Miller sings about love and how hard it can be to keep a relationship together. His vocals blend together with the instrumental and create a song reminiscent of Divine Feminine, sexual in nature but not uncomfortable to listen to.

This is the type of song you would listen to driving home from work after a long day to help you sink into your bed and relax.

The most emotional parts of the album are the lines that mention dying young, as, sadly, successful artists often die from overdoses or suicide during their prime, just like Miller. I hear these mentions of “the 27 club” or “fading away” through his old albums, as well as on Circles. It is haunting in a way to hear him say these things, as though he already knows what’s going to happen to him or doesn’t think it’s hard to imagine if he dies young. They serve as a somber reminder of the stress and addiction that often come with fame.

Even after death, Miller created an impressive album, going to show that while fame is temporary, talent is long-lasting. art by sam mathe/falconer

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As I arrived at the theater, I only had vague memories of watching Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in 2017.

Although I still enjoy the original 1995 Jumanji, the latest movie, Jumanji: The Next Level, was underwhelming and did little to live up to the original, even with Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson on cast.

Surprisingly, it was released on Dec. 13, a week before the highly-anticipated Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which would be hard to compete with in theaters. However, it was still very successful at the box office, grossing over $670 million worldwide.

The latest movie in the Jumanji franchise follows Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff) and his struggle to find confidence within himself while attempting to rekindle past relationships, and of course, the dangerous world of Jumanji.

The film introduces Spencer’s ex-restaurant owner grandpa Eddie (Danny DeVito) and coowner Milo (Danny Glover).

Although Spencer and his friends vowed to never go back to Jumanji, a world that exists in the scope of a video game, Spencer decides to

To be honest, I am not a movie person. I have trouble staying engaged watching a long movie, so podcasts are more my thing; all I do is listen and there is nothing I have to look at.

I recently listened to a podcast in which former New York state attorney Preet Bharara interviewed Bryan Stevenson about his life as a human rights attorney and the movie, “Just Mercy,” which was based on Stevenson’s book of the same title. As the interview progressed, listening to Stevenson’s eloquent voice and passionate, yet reserved rhetoric, I yearned to learn more about, of all things, death row. I decided to go out of my comfort zone and watch this film about Stevenson’s work defending poor, minority inmates against prejudiced judicial practices. From the first scene until the end of the credits, I sat engrossed at the edge of my seat.

A movie with a cast including W a l t e r

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return in the hopes of regaining confidence through his previous game avatar, Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson).

After finding that Spencer had gone missing, Spencer’s friends, Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman), Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner) and Anthony Johnson (Ser’Darius William Blain), uncover the old Jumanji game console and transport themselves into the video game world to save him. In a confusing twist, both Eddie and Milo are brought to Jumanji along with Spencer and his best friends.

The most entertaining part of this movie is the random assignment and switching of each player’s avatar. I had a few good laughs after seeing the extreme contrast between Johnson’s buff physique and four-foot-tall DeVito’s feisty attitude.

To be honest, DeVito outshined the rest of the talented cast. While I may be biased because he reminds me of a smaller version of my dad, DeVito was an overall crowd favorite and entertaining for all viewer age groups.

It was exciting to discover that Nora Lum, the comedian and rapper also known as Awkwafina, was acting as one of the new game avatars. It has been very satisfying to watch her growth in popularity with her recent performances in Crazy Rich Asians and The Farewell.

While both the casting and acting of this film were top notch, the humor, plot lines and character arcs seemed repetitive and almost identical to the previous 2017 reboot.

Maybe if the Jumanji world had presented itself

McMillan ( J a m i e Foxx), Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) and Brian Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) — let me repeat: Michael B. Jordan — is unlikely to disappoint. Their performances in this movie, along with many other accomplished actors, portray an authentic and captivating picture of all the obstacles Stevenson faced representing Walter McMillan, an AfricanAmerican man on death row in Alabama in 1987.

Between the cast and the film production, I became fully submerged in the story and truly felt I was in rural Alabama in 1987. No movie has ever similarly transplanted me into the souls of these human beings.

Although its the story of a black man trying to get off of death row, “Just Mercy” has a larger connection to the experience of human suffering and the pain human beings face as they have their rights and their humanity ripped away from them.

This movie, like “12 Angry Men” or “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is a very good courtroom movie. But, “Just Mercy” is about more than a trial; it is about a society and a country with a tattered legal system.

Much of the emotion I felt was not due solely to the powerful storyline and the drama; it is because the real occurrences in this movie took place in 1987, and “continue to happen today,” as Stevenson said in the interview.

On Jan. 20, we celebrated

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in a new light, whether it be in a card game or book, I believe the plot would have been more intriguing. If it were not for the charismatic acting, the audience would immediately point out the film’s shortcomings.

During the climax of the film, when CGI baboons attack the group for whatever reason, I was close to nodding off. The action sequences are lifeless and, quite frankly, boring. Action scenes are supposed to elicit worry or fear for the characters from the audience; these scenes just made me check my phone to see how much longer I would have to sit in the theater.

The end credits set the scene for a new Jumanji film, possibly in the upcoming 2021 holiday season. Although I enjoyed certain aspects of this film, Sony Pictures should probably avoid producing a fourth movie in this series. While the repetitive algorithm was somewhat effective this third time around, I doubt this will be the case in the future. Jumanji: The Next Level is a mediocre movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, just wait until it’s available on Netflix.

by Miki Vogel

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day to glorify the work of MLK and others in the Civil Rights movement. I am forever grateful and indebted to their perseverance because without them I may not be able to be in this class and to write this piece.

Yet, despite all of the pain those leaders endured, this movie reminded me of how much more needs to be done to eradicate the injustices AfricanAmericans continue to face.

After the film, I felt both hopeful and heartbroken.

The works of lawyers like Stevenson are jawdropping. The obstacles they face were seemingly insurmountable. Yet, they sustained hope.

Still, it pains me to see that this story that took place in 1987 must be retold in 2020 because of these injustices, like a virus with no adequate vaccine.

This is, sadly, an American story, a story of American citizens and the American legal system.

Anyone who yearns to understand our imperfect country, even those like me who don’t generally enjoy movies, need to see “Just Mercy.”

by Maya Satchell

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entertainment

Halsey’s Manic, released on Jan. 17, is an intimate 16-track journey of finding peace and determining who she, born Ashley Frangipane, truly is.

The opener, “Ashley,” immediately imparts an unsettled, gloomy tone where Halsey laments her pain and bursts into an emotional, high-register chorus about dying, singing she “only wants to die some days.” Written by the real Ashley, not pop-star Halsey, the song is too much of a roller coaster, both in the impassioned lyrics and the accompanying music, for me.

In the next song on the track, “clementine,” Halsey says in a soothing, sing-song voice, “I don’t need anyone” while simultaneously yelling the lyrics in the background. Like “Ashley,” it’s not my style.

Fortunately, “You should be sad” hits the mark with its catchy guitar intro and country twang.

Halsey sings, “You’re not half the man you think you are / And you can’t fill the hole inside of you with money, drugs and cars,” along with other lyrics that call out her ex and make this one of her best tracks.

But back to a more depressing mood, “Forever … (is a long time),” the next track in the album, has a dark piano interlude, while “I HATE EVERYBODY”

explores her desire to be accepted through the lines “So I just keep saying I hate everybody / But maybe I, maybe I don’t.” Contrast those songs with “3am,” an upbeat

Just two months after releasing the longawaited album, Jesus is King, Kanye West dropped what can be best described as its sequel, Jesus is Born, on Christmas day.

The new album is credited not to West, but to The Sunday Service Choir, who featured with West on the song “Every Hour” in Jesus is King, West’s previous album.

But although the Sunday Service Choir is a gospel group led and produced by West, his vocals are surprisingly absent from the album. And while Jesus is King combined hip-hop with heavy Christian influences, Jesus is Born is described as purely gospel music.

This transition in style aligns with West’s transition as an artist. Over the last year, West has shared his radical conversion to Christianity in both his music and interviews.

“The mentality is that Satan is as powerful as God, but this isn’t true. The trend is going to change. Jesus has won the victory because now the greatest artist that God ever created is working for him,” West said during a surprise appearance at a church in Texas.

The spiritual subject matter of the album may not appeal to some listeners, but the power of the choir is unmistakable, with voices that hit impossibly high notes with ease.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the opening track of the album, “Count Your Blessings,” where the choir’s voice ranges from outlandish highs

Selena Gomez released her third album, Rare, which details of how she is seemingly a diamond in the rough, in 2020. When I found out about her newest album, I wanted to see if she had evolved as an artist since her last one, and I’m glad to say that Rare displays a new side of Gomez as an artist. A major theme throughout the album was her growth as a person and artist, with songs like “Look At Her Now” and “Rare” displaying her newfound independence.

The album begins with “Rare.” Gomez utilizes soft vocals that she weaves through strong bass, which is seen throughout the entire album. The lyrics of this song are a proclamation that she understands her self-worth and that this newfound understanding has since defined her growth as a person. Gomez sings, “I know that I’m special / And I’ll bet there’s somebody else out there to tell me I’m rare.” Unlike her last album, this album had musical progression and a storyline.

The pre-released single, “Look At Her Now,” is also included in the album. Personally, I didn’t enjoy the song. The electronic aesthetic seemed too forced and as generic as any ordinary hype song, and the added softness with ballad-like vocals were confusing, as the two styles clashed. The lyrics, however, still carry the theme of growth present in the album. In my experience, most albums

track with rock vibes where Halsey is almost rapping, and listeners are given a glimpse inside her whirlwind of emotions. Again, she wrestles

to swooping lows. The orchestra here is minimal, while the beat comes from the choir’s rhythmic

have a couple songs that are simply mediocre, so I didn’t mind pressing the “skip” button a few times without it detracting from the album as a whole.

Next in line was the song, “Lose You To Love Me.” It was, in my opinion, very enjoyable. It also was Gomez’ first number one single in the U.S. The

january 24, 2020

with the idea of being alone as well as her complex self-identity, and the song, which is about drunk dialing, creatively ends with a voicemail from her friend, John Mayer, who congratulates her on her success.

Next, “Finally // beautiful stranger” is a love ballad with Halsey’s signature raspy singing style where she details her fear of “falling.” But then, the softness is interrupted by “killing boys,” where Halsey envisions revenge against her ex, followed by “More,” a heart-wrenching ballad of waiting for “little feet” and promising, after having three miscarriages, to love her baby “when you decide it’s your time to arrive.”

Lastly, “929” comes full-circle to “Ashley,” as the numbers represent her birthtime and birthday. The song is an autobiographical story contemplating her life and who she is with simple strumming in the background, its raw lyrics perfectly closing and matching the color of the album.

Though I wouldn’t choose to listen to most of the songs on Manic, Halsey poured her heart out and expressed her struggles in a variety of styles, and her authenticity in depicting her chaotic path to discovering her identity is hugely commendable.

She truly is quite versatile, and we can only hope she finds her peace and true self among the chaos.

by Colette Chiang

claps.

Though the choir’s passion extends over the album, the highlight for me was “Rain.” A jazzy intro combined with impeccable harmonies make for a song that perfectly showcases the religious devotion of its singers. Like many tracks on the album, “Rain” fluctuates with regard to the orchestra’s influence, occasionally choosing to highlight the choir’s a cappella voices.

Jesus is Born also introduces new gospel renditions of “Ultralight Beam” and “Father Stretch,” both songs found on West’s 2016 album, Life of Pablo. While “Father Stretch” maintains the theme of West’s desire to submit to God’s will despite his own pride from “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1,” it transforms his desire for the original girl into his desire for closeness with God, and cuts the infamous line about a model with a “bleached a**hole.”

This album is a radical shift for fans of West’s previous work, and it doesn’t seem like he’s returning to his old style anytime soon. The artist announced that he was done making secular music, and would do strictly gospel in the future.

And though Jesus is Born may not help introduce Kanye listeners to gospel, it may help introduce gospel listeners to Kanye.

by Jasmine Criqui

calm start of the ballad gradually became more intense as the song progressed, ultimately ending in a musical climax, which had the added effect of intensifying the emotions explored in the song.

People speculate that the song describes Gomez’ realization of how necessary it was to break-up and get over her past boyfriend, Justin Bieber, in order to love and value herself.

“Ring” was next. This song stands out from Gomez’ usual sound in the album. She uses a more assertive and confident voice, an interesting contrast to the soft vocals in the rest of the album. Gomez starts the album by displaying her insecurities and unconfidence. Then, song by song, she grows and changes. “Ring” also is the song in which Gomez evolves and matures, seen with her change to an assertive voice.

The album also included collaborations like songs, “Crowded Room” with 6LACK and “A Sweeter Place” featuring Kid Cudi. These songs didn’t stand out to me in any way, just blending in with the rest of the album.

Overall, I appreciated the evolution and selfdiscovery that this album illustrated. While not all the songs stuck based on their sound alone, the lyrics and message of these tracks redeem Gomez’ work.

by Neha Pubbi

tphsfalconer.com

entertainment

British boy band One Direction was undoubtedly an icon of the 2010s. Their fan base, the “Directioners,” was both large and dedicated. The band’s catchy, radio-friendly pop love songs garnered the adoration and affection of millions of pre-teen and teenage girls across the globe, and the Internet was overwhelmed by One Direction edits and fan-fictions.

The band’s unique origin story begins on the televised British singing competition, “The X Factor.” When the five members, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, competed individually in 2010, they failed to progress in the competition until judge and music critique Simon Cowell put them together in a group. Having joined forces, the boys named their group “One Direction” and easily won third place in the entire competition.

After “The X Factor,” the newly-formed band decided to sign to Cowell’s record label, Syco Records.

One Direction’s first official single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” was an immediate hit and became the most pre-ordered Sony Music Entertainment single in history, as well as Number One on the U.K. Singles Chart.

Four years and three albums later, the group had proved themselves to be icons for Gen-Z kids internationally.

They had broken six Guinness World Records with their albums Take Me Home, Midnight Memories and Four.

Their accomplishments also included being the first group act to be named Billboard’s top artist of the year since Destiny’s Child, winning three Billboard awards, selling over 6.5 million albums in the U.S. alone and garnering over 3 billion combined YouTube views on their music videos.

But, they could not stay on top forever.

In March 2015, Zayn Malik announced his split from One Direction.

As teenage hearts broke across the world, Malik was eager to end that chapter of his life, explaining that he wants to “be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”

After Malik’s exit, he re-branded himself completely. In addition to his new stage name, ZAYN, he strayed from the generic pop music that One Direction is known for, and explored alternative R&B music.

“PILLOWTALK,” ZAYN’s debut song released prior to his full album Mind of Mine, rapidly gained in popularity. It debuted at Number One for both the U.K. Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making him the first British singer to accomplish this. The song went on to be one of the biggest songs of the year. While Malik was kicking off his solo career, the remaining members of One Direction released Made in the A.M., the band’s first album without him. The album’s sales surpassed their previous album, Four, a good argument that One Direction was better off without Malik.

Mind of Mine had a few songs that resonated with fans and made it to the top of the charts, but overall, Made in the A.M had a more successful c o m p l e t e album.

In

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January of 2016, One Direction officially went on hiatus, claiming that it was time for them to focus on their solo careers.

In September of 2016, eight months into the band’s hiatus, Niall Horan released “This Town,” a slow love song, similar to the music they made in One Direction. “Slow Hands,” considered one of Niall Horan’s most famous songs, peaked at Number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and Number seven on the U.K. Singles Chart. Since then, his music has not gained as much popularity and he stuck to the same generic, folk pop music. He has released a few songs here and there, but nothing worth mentioning.

In an interview with The Guardian, Louis Tomlinson admitted that he always felt like the underdog in the boy band. He went on to list positive attributes about his former band mates and then continued with, “and then there’s me.” He attempted to release a few collaborations, but it was clear his co-artists were holding him up.

In July of 2018, he became a host on season 15 of The X Factor, and his first album is currently in the works.

Like Tomlinson, Payne took a while to release new music. In December, he finally released his album, LP1. Prior to this, “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo reached Number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. He went on to win two Teen Choice Awards: Choice Male Hottie and Choice Summer Male Artist.

Payne and Tomlinson each followed a different trajectory from their former band mates and have taken the focus off their careers to spend time with their families.

Harry Styles was arguably the most loved member of One Direction. He also, unarguably, has had the most successful solo career of the band members. In April 2017, he released his debut single as a solo artist, “Sign of the Times.” This powerful rock & roll single, which Rolling Stone called the best song of the year, displayed the drastic transformation in his music style. He was starting to create serious music, shown in his self-titled album, Harry Styles, which he released soon after. The soft-rock album showed his potential to make deeper, meaningful music that tells a story, rather than the basic, happy pop music of One Direction.

His latest album, Fine Line, exceeded the high expectations that he set for fans after Harry Styles. With rock, pop and musical-theater type music, this genre-fluid album was met with very positive reviews and served as proof that Styles is still growing and exploring his capabilities as an artist.

One Direction undoubtedly is the cause of their success. Tomlinson and Payne, however, were unable to carry this success into their solo careers. Horan and Malik were fairly successful and hopefully will continue to make music, but their success is paled

by Styles’. Although they are technically on a hiatus, we have accepted that they will likely not get back together.

Being on their own has allowed them to develop their own unique music styles and mature as artists, and we would like for it to stay that way.

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Brandon Raimo

STAFF WRITER

TPHSsoccer rollsGirls’ soccer Boys on over Mission Hills PHOTO BY LESLEY MOON/FALCONER

PHOTO USED BY PERMISSION OF ANNA SCIPIONE

Brandon Raimo

STAFF WRITER TPHS varsity soccer (11-2-2) defeated the Mission Hills High School Grizzlies (5-4-1) by a score of 6-2 on Jan. 16.

“We expected them to be pretty good, but we just played our hardest,” forward Mateo Pacelli (10) said. “We knew we had to finish it early and send them a message.”

The Falcons dominated the beginning of the game, creating multiple scoring chances in the first few minutes. Less than a minute after kickoff, striker Jake Kosakoff (12) nearly scored, but struck the crossbar. They were unable to get a shot past the Mission Hills goalkeeper until forward Chris Tonelli (12) headed in a corner kick in the ninth minute.

Four minutes later, Pacelli attempted a shot from well

outside the box which bounced off the crossbar and into the net, putting Torrey Pines up 2-0.

“I think that goal was probably one of the best goals I’ve ever had,” Pacelli said.

Midway through the first half, Mission Hills converted off of a quick counter attack, reducing the Falcons’ lead to one. Ten minutes later, Kosakoff equalized with a low strike from the top of the box, making the score 3-1, which held until halftime.

In the early stages of the second half, the Falcons dominated possession but were unable to produce many chances until they won a penalty fifteen minutes into the half. Forward Jose Salgado (12) sent the Mission Hills keeper the wrong way and converted the penalty, giving Torrey Pines a three-

PHOTO USED BY PERMISSION OF ANNA SCIPIONE ON TARGET: TPHS forward Mateo Pacelli (10) leaps to beat a Grizzly and win the ball and heads it to one of his teammates.

PHOTO USED BY PERMISSION OF ANNA SCIPIONE LOOKING FOR SPACE: Falcons midfielder Hudson Gomez (11) dribbles toward open field and looks to make a play.

goal lead. Two minutes later, the Falcons conceded a penalty to Mission Hills, who converted as well.

After allowing the second goal, the Falcons continued to control the game by maintaining possession, which allowed them to further stretch their lead. With nine minutes remaining, Salgado scored his second goal on a low strike inside the box. Ali Saldivar (12) added another goal six minutes later, converting an easy chance set up by a long cross. The last three minutes expired quickly, giving Torrey Pines their fifth consecutive victory and their eleventh of the season, as well as their highest-scoring game as of Jan. 20.

“We finished well; yesterday at practice, that was the focus since we only scored three last game,” goalkeeper Nick Bello (12) said. “We emphasized it yesterday, we made it one of our focuses and I think we executed well.”

The Falcons’ attack was excellent, but their defense

allowed two or more goals in a game for just the third time this season.

“I thought we didn’t play very well in the back. We just didn’t look our normal selves,” head coach Andy Hargreaves said.

“We’re going to keep pushing our shape, collectiveness and discipline, because discipline keeps our structure and helps us stay more focused on group defending.”

The game was the Falcons’ most lopsided victory of the season, but the team is still working towards improvement both offensively and defensively.

“Today I think we were all a little shaky in our structure, and we’ve got the game on film, so we’ll definitely look at that for future game,” Pacelli said.

“We’re definitely going to work on perfecting our defensive structure, offensive timing and efficiency.”

The team is in contention for the state championship and will certainly be worth watching as the season progresses.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had one of the most disappointing seasons in recent history, despite having an extremely talented roster. Many people within the organization, especially head coach Brett Brown, have been blamed for the team’s struggles, but the real reason for the team’s losses is the dilemma they face with their two biggest stars: point guard Ben Simmons and center Joel Embiid.

Both Simmons and Embiid, 23 and 25 years old respectively, have proven to be two of the most talented players in the entire NBA. They were both named All-Stars for the 2018-19 season, while leading the 76ers to a respectable 5131 record and the third seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. But, after a heartbreaking loss in the Conference Semifinals to the eventual champion Toronto Raptors, the incompatibility of the two’s skills on the court were exposed.

The main problem that causes the duo to struggle is Simmons’ inability to make three-pointers. In his career, he has made just two of his 22 attempts from beyond the arc, which allows defenders to give him space on the perimeter and move to the paint. This has become a major issue for Embiid, whose main strength lies in his inside scoring ability, and forces him to settle for more outside shots. The Raptors were able to take advantage of this flaw, and Embiid’s stats reflected it.

In the series, Embiid averaged just 17 points per game, much worse than his season average of 27.

The Raptors series essentially proved that the 76ers will not be able to win a championship with Simmons and Embiid as their two top players.

Without adequate spacing, good defenses can easily contain both of them and force the 76ers to rely on other players during key moments. The only realistic solution would be to trade one of them and build around the other, but neither of them are good enough to be the best player on a contending team.

Embiid is out of shape and virtually ineffective by the end of the season, and Simmons has shown barely any signs of improvement since he was drafted in 2016. The 76ers attempted to solve this last season by trading for a third All-Star in Jimmy Butler, but Butler only lasted one season for the team before departing to the Miami Heat in free agency. They also traded for Clippers forward Tobias Harris, who has proved to be a consistent scorer but not effective enough to make the 76ers a real contender. During the offseason, they signed veteran big man Al Horford to fill Butler’s role as the leader of the team, but as of Jan. 13 he is putting up just 12 points and six rebounds per game, which is not at all worth the $27.5 million per year the 76ers are paying him.

Without any money to work with below the salary cap, the 76ers’ only hope is that they draft a future superstar, but the odds of that are very unlikely. Rookie Matisse Thybulle, th has shown signs of this, shooting 40 percent from three-point range while providing excellent defense, but this will most likely not be enough to push the 76ers closer to a title. They are fifth place in the Eastern Conference as of Jan. 21, and need to act fast if they want to get the team back on track to pursue a championship.

tphsfalconer.com

sports

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Conrad Delgado (12), now committed to the University of Notre Dame, has been playing lacrosse since he was 8 with the hope of playing at the collegiate level.

Growing up, Conrad Delgado (12) always dreamed of playing collegiate lacrosse, and last summer, during a college visit to the University of Notre Dame, his dream finally came true.

Delgado started out playing baseball but found it wasn’t his passion. As a first grader, he was ready to move on to a different sport.

“One day, my dad introduced lacrosse to me [by bringing] it up in conversation and saying that I should try it out. So, I tried it out that spring and haven’t stopped playing since,” Delgado said.

Since Delgado has been playing lacrosse for so long, he has developed many friendships, which is one of the reasons he decided to continue playing in high school.

“It’s just really fun to play. Also, I’ve just been playing for so long and I have some of my best friends on the team and we’re all really close,” Delgado said.

Having close friends on the team makes the harder aspects of practice more bearable for Delgado.

“My least favorite part [of practice] is definitely doing conditioning and running a lot. But my favorite part besides winning is being able to play with some of my best friends,” Delgado said.

But, lacrosse practice is more than just conditioning.

To stay fit during the offseason, Delgado and his teammates work together to stay active.

“During the preseason, we have team lifts three days a week. Then we also have club practice two times a week and four tournaments throughout the winter and fall. A lot of us like to run and lift a little bit on our own as well,” Delgado said.

Between practices, games and lifts, it can be hard to make time for studying and school work, but because he is so busy, Delgado tries to never waste his time procrastinating.

“I usually try not to waste time at all, like right when I get home I’ll just start on my homework … and if I have any homework left over [after practice] I try and do it as quickly as possible. The biggest

thing is just trying not to waste too much time. You want to try and always be productive,” Delgado said.

With his hectic schedule, Delgado has to give some things up for lacrosse.

“I’ve definitely had to sacrifice sleep at some points because practices end late at night. Sometimes you get back around 10 p.m. and you have homework and stuff to do. Then you’re not going to be able to hang out with your friends or family as much during the season because you’re always at practice and doing stuff with the team,” Delgado said.

Even with knowing how difficult it is to maintain a balance between school and lacrosse, Delgado has always been interested in playing lacrosse in college.

“From a young age I wanted to play sports in college. Then there was a period early in my high school career where I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. But when I became an upperclassman, my focus shifted again to where I wanted to play [lacrosse] in college,” Delgado said.

When the time came last summer to start researching colleges, Delgado was interested in the University of Notre Dame.

“I’ve always followed Notre Dame; ever since I was a kid, me and my dad have always rooted for them during the championship or anything. I’ve always liked them,” Delgado said.

During a visit to the campus, the pieces fell into place and he committed to Notre Dame.

“It just so happened that this past summer there was an opportunity for me to go and visit the school and talk with the coaches. It just worked out in my favor and I was able to commit to playing lacrosse,” Delgado said.

Delgado wants to major in mechanical or electrical engineering at Notre Dame and acknowledges the complexity of playing lacrosse and maintaining his grades.

“I definitely know it’s going to be difficult and it’s going to be a challenge. I think it’s doable. I don’t think it’s impossible by any means. I think it’s going to take a lot of focus and I’m going to have to be serious about what I’m doing,” Delgado said.

Just like in high school, Delgado has a lot of ambition regarding his future on the lacrosse team.

“My goal is to try and win a national championship at Notre Dame and then start my last two years while I’m there,” Delgado said.

Overall, lacrosse is a lot of hard work and Delgado advises students interested in playing to spend time with the team.

“Do as much as you can with the lacrosse team. Try to go to the team workouts in the fall and winter before the season starts.

Then, if you can, play club and definitely practice catching and throwing on your own,” Delgado said.

Starting out as a little first grader, Delgado never could have imagined he would be offered a spot on Notre Dame’s team, but he has made his dream become his reality.

by Katie Flint

photo by anna jeong/falconer

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sports

january 24, 2020

Minority athletes’ limitations in college admissions Amy Ge

STAFF WRITER Athletics have become an essential part of college campuses, as colleges claim they foster racial diversity and school spirit.

This is evident in the admissions process as colleges reserve a certain number of spots just for student-athletes. As a result, sports have become a great alternative path to college for minority students who live in less-affluent communities without access to many educational resources. But when you take a closer look at various college sports, you find a great correlation between race and type of sport played that brings about the opposite of diversity on campuses.

Although football and basketball seem like popular sports in college, colleges actually need to field a minimum number of sports to join a particular conference, such as the Ivy League. Colleges also look for athletes who play more uncommon sports to bring a diversity of skills in their upcoming class, which means that their pool of athletes accepted must play a various range of sports.

As a result, playing a lower-profile sport would grant great advantages in the admissions system. Prime examples of these low profile sports include sailing, golf, fencing and ice hockey.

But when you look at the racial demographics of those sports, the athletes are predominantly white.

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, of the 232 Division I sailors last year, none were black. Eightyfive percent of college lacrosse players were white, as are 90 percent of ice hockey players.

These statistics are largely a result of the fact that those sports cost a small fortune to participate in at a high level. To have a shot at playing collegiately often

necessitates coaching, camps, traveling for tournaments and expensive equipment.

It’s no surprise, then, that per The Harvard Crimson’s annual freshman survey, 46.3 percent of recruited athletes in the class of 2022 come from families with household incomes of $250,000 or higher, compared with one-third of the class as a whole.

To guarantee a spot as an athlete on a college roster, one in five families of elite high school athletes spend $1,000 a month on sports, according to a report from The Aspen Institute, an international non-profit think tank. That’s a price most families living in urban, non-white cities can’t easily pay. The difference in socioeconomic situations forces minority students to choose sports that are relatively less costly, making them immensely more popular and thus increasing the competition.

Cultural barriers also push minority students away from certain sports.

Baseball, for example, has acquired the reputation of a “white man’s sport,” as the cost of equipment and lack of facilities in urban areas drive minority students away.

The NCCA demographics revealed that in 2015-2016, there were a total of 34,888 college baseball players in the U.S. — 28,433 were white and 1,415 were black.

When minority students are driven away from certain sports, their chances of college admission go down with them.

Being limited to sports that cost less to play automatically forces athletes to compete for only half of the athletic spots because the other half is reserved for sports only rich, mostly white students can afford.

Although sports seem like a great college funding option for less affluent students, racial and socioeconomic factors stand in the way of their admission. Perhaps the disadvantage less affluent families face in general needs to be addressed before searching for solutions in college admissions.

art by sam mathe/falconer

Sports gender inequities may violate district policy Piper Levy

STAFF WRITER SDUHSD follows a set list of policies that outline the district’s rules and regulations that will allow students to have the fairest and most equal education possible. However, this isn’t true when it comes to female versus male sports. This is most likely a violation of the district’s policies.

The district policy states that they “afford equal rights and opportunities to all persons to attend school and participate in the District’s programs and activities, regardless of actual or perceived sex.”

According to this policy, as well as Title IX, both male and female sports should be equally supported Nevertheless, examples of inequities are numerous. The baseball team’s field has received a new infield, netting, rubber flooring for dugouts and a clubhouse, all of which received funding from the Foundation. By contrast, the softball field 100 yards away is overrun with weeds along its four-foot fence that lines the field and its very outdated dugouts.

“Softball is a less common sport, but we still need new equipment like jerseys, fences, bullpens and better fields,” Kyra Chan (10) said. “We don’t have access to many batting cages, and our field is far less groomed than the boys [field].”

Many female athletes also feel that they do not receive the same treatment as males. Not only is the girl’s team room samller than the boy’s team room, but female teams are also forced to practice in the more subpar areas of school, according to some girls on the basketball team. While the boy’s basketball team practices every day after school in the gym with its newly painted floor, the girl’s basketball players

lug their bags up to the tennis courts to play on the cracked blacktop.

“Funding for boy’s and girl’s sports is definitely not equal,” varsity basketball player Beryl Dannis (12) said. “The promotion of the boys team is much more significant, and the boys are able to afford multiple coaches where we can only afford to have a head coach.”

Female and male sports teams at TPHS recieve similar achievements and success.

Therefore, they should recieve similar funding.

This year, the girls volleyball team won both the CIF and state championships with a staggering 3-0 win. Even so, the TPHS girl sports achievements often go unnoticed and underappreciated since they don’t always bring large crowds like football or basketball.

However, due to a lack of state funding, much of the teams’ budgets comes from their own fundraising, according to executive director of the TPHS Foundation, Zephyr Fletcher. In the Foundation’s defense, it doesn’t have control over how many sponsorships from local businesses and parent donations teams recieve. This money makes up most of their budgets and can be helpful when buying equipment and funding new construction projects.

Donations go toward the number of talented head and assistant coaches a team has.

For example, the football team gets some of the biggest parent donations every year. The TPHS Foundation board tries its best to evenly distribute funding, but it is difficult to determine exactly how much is considered fair.

Each sport has different equipment, donations and earns a different amount from fundraising. This means that the football team is not only making money

from parents and sponsors, but they also get more money from the district since they have such expensive needs, according to Fletcher. Their radios, padding, uniforms and training equipment can quickly drain their budget. Female teams also have equipment needs that need to be met, yet the softball team is still wearing the same jerseys from last decade.

The problem is obvious, for male and female funding, and now it is up to TPHS collectively to fix it. The first step may be to provide the female teams with more

funding and advocate for more advertising of girls sporting events on social media and posters around campus.

“There can definitely be imbalances between teams when it comes to funding,” Fletcher said. “But it all comes down to what items the boosters want to purchase, how many parent donations there are and how much the district is willing to give.”

Regardless of what the first step is, the inequality between gender in sports teams at TPHS is a noticeable problem that the district should pay close attention to.

Gender Pay Gap in Professional Sports

WOMEN

V.S.

MEN

$2,000,000

SOCCER

$9,000,000

amount paid to USA women’s team for 1st place finish in the Women’s World Cup

$117,500

amount paid to USA men’s team for losing in the 16th round of the men’s world cup

BASKETBALL

highest base salary in the WNBA

$2,280,000 LPGA top prize money awarded

$40,000,000 highest base salary in the NBA

.

GOLF

$9,510,000 PGA top prize money awarded

infographic by jasmine criqui /information from forbes

tphsfalconer.com

sports

Delaney Kuepper varsity water polo january 7, 8:50:22 pm

camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX85 lens: 45-150mm iso: 3200 exp: 1/400 f/stop: f/5.6

Photo by Ariana Huang

the falconer

A23

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A24 the falconer

january 24, 2020

by Dhathry Doppalapudi

wear a sequined dress and six-inch heels! everyone just loves getting cuts and broken toes from you rubbing up against them and stepping on their feet because you don’t know how to balance in your gigantic shoes.

get your dress from Windsor and your tux from Friar Tux, our favorite advertisors, instead of looking like every other girl in a Lulu’s dress.

invite the rich kid that no one likes! i mean, you do need a nice house to take pictures at before the party bus picks you up.

comb out your curls. PLEASE comb out your curls.

honestly, just get a bus and skip formal. sorry, cheerleaders.

get your party bus rolled by Mr. Shockney when he searches it because you got dropped off in front of the venue.

drain your phone battery before even getting to the venue taking one hundred photos of your corsage next to your date’s boutonnière.

post a snapchat story of all the white people on the bus singing a song that includes the n word. yikes.

wear a black turtleneck tucked into gray plaid pants with a designer belt and a chain... we see you guys.

caption your instagram post “just another formal post for your feed” or “kept poking him with the boutonnière!!”