Falconer January Issue 2022

Vol. 47, Issue 4, 24 pages

Friday, January 21, 2022

Standing Against Hate HATE CRIMES ON A3

Students gather outside SDA on Jan.3 following a hate crime in which racist and homophobic slurs were found on SDA buildings.

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janurary 21 , 2021

How does SDUHSD respond to school threats?

Srishti Thapar

ASSISTANT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Following a mass shooting at a Michigan high school on Nov. 30, where four students died and seven others were injured, copycat shooting threats directed at schools across the U.S. have erupted, creating anxiety and subsequent questions about how districts, like SDUHSD, react and respond to threats.

On Dec. 16, Superintendent Dr. Cheryl James-Ward informed SDUHSD families through a district-wide email of a “troubling post” circulating on the social media platform TikTok. The threat was a national “TikTok trend” and warned of possible violence “for every school in the USA, even elementary,” on Friday, Dec. 17.

According to the email, Ward and the district did not believe that the threat was credible. Many districts across the nation closed schools that Friday, but SDUHSD schools remained open with increased law enforcement on patrol around San Diego County schools in case of emergency.

On Dec. 17, TikTok posted to Twitter, informing the public that they found nothing on their app promoting violence at schools. They also confirmed that local authorities, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI deemed the threat not credible.

TPHS Principal Robert Coppo did not think the threat warranted SDUHSD site closures.

“I thought this one got overplayed in the news; I had a very low level of concern about this [threat]; I wanted to ease the stress of parents, but we had nothing on our radar that there were any issues,” Coppo said.

While TPHS remained open on Friday, some students chose to stay home due to safety concerns.

“I mentally cannot go to school and try to learn when this threat is hanging over my head,” Abigail Doan (10) said.

“We’re kids; our lives are supposed to go on after high school, not stop at high school. It’s a really scary thought that

things like this could happen.”

Cecilia Francisco (10) and her brother, an eighth grader at Carmel Valley Middle School (CVMS), were nervous, especially after the Michigan shooting.

“If something bad were to happen, [my mom] would feel really bad. We just thought it would be best to stay home and back off. You can always make up a test or an assignment rather than risk it,” Francisco said.

The proliferation of school threats has raised questions about SDUHSD’s process for responding to threats.

In any situation, the amount of information available about the threat is most important. Because each threat is unique, the protocol is not linear.

“There are many shades of gray here … It’s hard to say, ‘with a threat we do this,’ because there’s a wide range of threats,” Coppo said.

For site-specific threats, like the November LCC threat, SDUHSD investigates to identify the threat level, employing cameras as a safety measure.

“We go into full investigation mode [following a threat]. That’s why we have cameras, and that’s why we want more cameras … because they are also a deterrent, ” Ward said.

Site-specific investigations consist of figuring out the “who, what, why, where” questions to decipher if a threat is imminent and credible, according to Coppo.

“Then the big [question] is do they truly have access to a weapon? That’s typically where police will come in. Let’s say we’re able to identify the student or the person, then the police go and search. If they have access to weapons, now it’s a completely different thing,” Coppo said.

If a threat is first noticed during the school day when students are on campus, local law enforcement is summoned and stationed around campus.

“There’s an interesting give and take in terms of who is doing what. Police don’t take over until there’s an actual crime [or direct threat]” Coppo said.

December & January Highlights

And while the defense is important, prevention is key. Ward stressed the importance of students as a resource to curb potential campus violence. “[Students] are our eyes and ears on the ground … They’re on social media, and so they’re always the first ones to get the intel that we need,” Ward said.

“There is nothing more serious than see, hear, sense, say … nothing more.

That is our number one defense against anything.”

Each campus has a safety plan available to the public on their respective website. There is also a more thorough “back-facing” safety plan that will “never” be available to the public, as its detail may jeopardize the safety of each campus, according to Ward.

Each school has a safety committee and a district-level safety committee which meets quarterly. The TPHS safety committee “meets monthly to review ongoing safety issues, the school Crisis Response Plan and Disaster Preparedness Plans,” according to the TPHS website.

When a potential school threat comes to her attention, Ward meets with her executive cabinet, consisting of heads of

the SDUHSD safety committee.

The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) plays a larger role in national threats by communicating with various organizations, including the California Department of Education and FBI. The SDCOE reports communications to San Diego schools.

While the superintendent may make the final decision to close down schools, principals have “a lot of say because they know their campuses better than anybody,” Ward said.

In addition to informing SDUHSD families about potential threats, Ward emails teachers and staff to inform them of the situation and what to do.

Staff is instructed to go on high alert and ensure everything is running as usual. Communication from Ward since she took over as superintendent has been frequent.

Regardless of the apparent magnitude of any threat, the most important thing anyone can do is say something if they see, hear or sense something.

Report threats and criminal activity directed toward schools to We Tip Hotline, (800) 78-CRIME

Shooting Incidents at K-12 Schools By Year 249 240

*the source defines a school shooting as every time a gun is brandished, fired or a bullet hits school property

200

160

119

120

80 57 40

0

40

2015

2017

2019

2021

INFORMATION FROM THE CENTER FOR HOMELAND SECURITY AND DEFENSE

FEELING JAZZED: The TPHS Jazz Band performs at the annual Winter Concert on December 15.

PERFECTLY ORCHESTRATED: A violinist in the TPHS Orchestra performs alongside her fellow musicians at the Winter Concert.

PHOTO BY NATALIA MOCHERNAK PHOTO BY JESSICA YU

PHOTO BY RASA NYCE

SAFETY FIRST: SDUHSD students pick up free Covid-19 testing kits at TPHS on Friday, January 7.

A HELPING HAND: Sierra, a therapy dog, provides comfort and cheer to students during Finals Week.

PHOTO BY JESSICA YU

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Hate crimes at district schools prompt new measures Anna Opalsky

STAFF WRITER

A lone youth defaced buildings on the San Dieguito High School Academy (SDA) campus with racist and homophobic slurs, around 4 a.m., on Jan. 1, according to emails from SDUHSD Superintendent Dr. Cheryl James-Ward, marking the third widelyreported incident of hate-motivated vandalism in the SDUHSD this year.

The vandal’s face was obscured, according to video surveillance from the school’s security cameras. Though they remain unidentified, their movements distinguish them as young, Ward said. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating the vandalism as a hate crime, released surveillance photos with a $1,000 reward for information on the perpetrator. If they are a student, the board will approve an expulsion with counseling from the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE).

To some students, the vandalism came as a shock.

“After living in various parts of the country, these bold and insulting slurs are the loudest representations of racism I have ever seen,” Lia Turner (11), vice president of the TPHS Black Student Union (BSU), said.

To others, it reflected existing negative sentiments in the district.

“My initial reaction to the slurs was ‘again?’” Leah Catalano, a junior at SDA and president of the SDA BSU, said.

On Jan. 3, a rally was held outside SDA where students and Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear accompanied speakers from civil rights groups in condemning the vandalism.

Aya Jaffer, a junior at SDA and co-president of SDA’s Multicultural Anti-Racism Coalition (MAC), was one speaker at the rally. She was not surprised by the incident and hopes to see more action at both the

school and district levels, including the implementation of anti-racism curricula.

“I want to see [Ward] hear from BIPOC voices, not just remind us of policies … that are clearly not working,” Jaffer said, referring to the lack of communication the MAC has allegedly received from Ward.

According to a district press conference, Ward plans to address hate in the district through increased security cameras and anti-bias training

After living in various parts of the country, these bold and insulting slurs are the loudest representations of racism I have ever seen.”

Lia Turner (11)

misconduct on campus has increased, according to some staff. The Jan. 1 crime comes almost two months after a racial slur was written on an outdoor stage at SDA and a month after swastikas were drawn in a TPHS bathroom. With vandalism encouraged by social media trends and two reported school fights at TPHS and SDA, “students are really struggling this year,” TPHS Assistant Principal Robert Shockney said.

However, racism and homophobia on campus are not new. At TPHS, Turner has heard and seen racial slurs written in bathrooms and on desks. At SDA, homophobic behavior is “a problem,” Téa Wagstaff, a junior and president of the SDA Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA), said.

“Every LGBTQ student that I’ve talked to has dealt with incidents of bullying, harassment, misgendering, slurs or other forms of disrespect,” Wagstaff said.

Some students, such as SDA ASB President Joy Ruppert, see diversity education as a solution to the increase

in explicit discrimination this year.

Ruppert, a junior and co-president of the MAC, was one student involved in starting Ethnic Literature, a class first offered this semester at SDA. At TPHS, the BSU is advocating for a similar diversity curriculum. “[Inclusive history] shouldn’t be something that we’re proposing now, it should be something we automatically learn,” TPHS BSU President Ayana Johnson (11) said.

For the first time this year, a Social Justice elective, focused on inequality and advocacy, was offered at TPHS. “I think [Social Justice] is a great step forward,” TPHS GSA President Alice Yu (12) said. “But this curriculum should be implemented in all history classes because it’s a general thing that everyone should know, not just kids that want to know it.”

Though the district does not plan to mandate changes to the current history class curriculum, Ward plans to encourage inclusive education to board members and staff.

VICE PRESIDENT OF TPHS BSU

for students and staff.

“The board and I are not only listening, but we’re taking active steps,” Ward said. “But, active steps [will] take a minute to be seen.”

Since the start of the school year, select staff at each campus have been participating in Diversity Equity and Inclusion training from the SDCOE. Through a recent Anti-Semitism Resolution by the SDUHSD board, the district will partner with the AntiDefamation League (ADL) to expand training and make all schools No Place for Hate Campuses, a title given to schools through the ADL. Another Anti-discrimination Resolution will appoint an antidiscrimination officer to whom students and staff can report discriminatory behavior.

In addition to hate incidents, other

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOE ORELLANA

SPEAKING FOR CHANGE: Encinitas Major Catherine Blakespear (left) and

SDA ASB President Joy Ruppert (right) speak at a gathering at SDA on Jan.3 in response to racist and homophobic language written on school buildings.

SDUHSD sites distribute free COVID-19 testing kits Helene Gao

FEATURE EDITOR

With the dramatic increase of COVID-19 cases of the Omicron variant, SDUHSD distributed to all students self-test kits with two tests each at the end of winter break from the County Office of Education. Although the tests were not mandatory, they were strongly recommended for students returning from break.

“To keep California’s kids safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our schools, California will provide one to two rapid tests for every K-12 public school student as kids head back to school from winter break,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

According to a state press release, the California Department of Public Health worked “with local education and health partners to distribute those test kits as quickly as possible.”

“The idea behind making test kits available for everybody is that if people test positive, they are aware they got [COVID], and they’re less likely to infect others because they’ll stay

home,” Principal Rob Coppo said. “That keeps spread down and helps us keep our schools open.”

Tests for SDUHSD students were available for pickup at their respective nearby schools. Students were instructed to use one COVID-19 rapid antigen test on Jan. 10, the other on Jan. 11 and report their results to Primary.Health online. Those who tested positive were to quarantine and contact their school.

“It was unorganized and [there was] an overwhelming amount of people,” Gwennie Liu (12) said. “I walked to school and stood in line for 45 minutes.”

The district also partnered with medical laboratory Phamatech to provide appointment-based drive-up COVID-19 PCR tests to students and staff at school sites.

Additionally, a third dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, known as a “booster shot,” was recommended to all students before returning. The FDA authorized the Pfizer and BioNTech shot for children ages 12 to 15, and narrowed the

required interval between the second and third shot from six months to five.

“I feel some form of safety with these tests, but some of my friends didn’t even take the test. It wasn’t mandatory either, so some of them, aftering hearing about the hassle on Friday, didn’t pick up a kit at all,” Vivien Vu (11) said.

“Overall, COVID is inevitable, but taking this test definitely helps prevent some cases on our campus.”

Short-term Independent Study is available to families and students concerned about returning to school amidst the new Omicron variant and new spikes in COVID cases.

PHOTO BY JESSICA YU/FALCONER

LENGTHY LINES: Students from four SDUHSD schools pick up their free

COVID-19 testing kit on Friday, Jan. 7 in the TPHS parking lot.

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TPHS installs vape sensor in B Building bathroom Kelsie Park

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

TPHS installed a vape sensor on Jan. 13 in the boys B Building bathroom in an effort to deter students from vaping in bathrooms and prevent bystanding students from feeling uncomfortable when using the restrooms, according to Principal Robert Coppo.

“We and Oakcrest are a pilot for the [vape sensor] program, so they installed one at a middle school and high school just to try it out,” Assistant Principal Robert Shockney said.

The vape sensor, designed by Verkada, detects vape particles and is connected to a machine that records spikes in emissions. The timestamp of a spike can then be linked to the time on a camera installed outside of the bathroom door, allowing administrators to identify students who vape.

“It is relatively easy because you can go back to see who walked in, and you can see who walked out. We can keep checking them and see who our frequent flyers are,” Coppo said. “It was way easier to work with and way more effective than I expected.”

Upon catching students who vape, TPHS plans first to attempt educating students on the dangers of vaping.

Further disciplinary action, like suspension, can be taken if the student

continues to ignore school rules.

Even if the sensors are accurate, some students believe that it may not make the intended impact.

“I do not think it will deter [students] because kids are very slick, there are many different [ways] that I could hide it,” a student, who chose to remain anonymous and used to vape, said.

The program will not necessarily prevent students from vaping, since “people who do it are already addicted and they will just go somewhere else to do it,” a second student, who chose to remain anonymous and smokes, said.

The first student also fears that the use of a camera will bring up issues of stereotyping against students based on their appearances, possibly resulting in false accusations.

“Obviously they have a camera.

[When administration] sees people walking out, do you think they’re going to stereotype based on your appearance?

100 percent,” the first student said.

Since this program is still in the experimental stage, its trial period for more SDUHSD sites is yet to be set.

“I assume maybe a couple of months, and then maybe more will be installed if they are successful,” Shockney said.

Despite the uncertainty in the program, Coppo hopes that it creates a more comfortable bathroom

environment.

“You should be able to come to school and use the restroom without fear or PHOTOS BY MARTIN LEE/FALCONER

first,

the vape sensor detects smoke and captures a time stamp.

second,

a camera outside the restroom records who enters and exits to trace the vaper and match the time stamp.

third,

if a student is repeatedly recorded to be in the restroom while the sensor is activated, the student will be provided counseling.

Stay informed, stay protected.

The CDC recommends that adolescents aged

12-17

feeling uncomfortable,” Coppo said.

“It really is about safety and peace of mind.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF WILL SONG INFOGRAPHIC BY MIRABEL HUNT

The CDC says N95s provide the “highest protection”. KN95s and surgical masks are also acceptable options.

The CDC said people with COVID-19 should isolate for

5

days

should receive a booster five months after their primary series.

KN95

N95

As of Jan. 17, 2021

850

from

students or more are “restricted from campus for quarantine or isolation.”

surgical mask

SDUHSD

“Weekly testing will continue to be available to all students and employees through the Pharmatech program. Be sure to sign up for an appointment as it is required to get tested.” TPHS Administration Team INFOGRAPHIC BY MIRABEL HUNT AND LOLA NEWLANDER

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TPHS among schools chosen for solar installation Rami Kabakibi

STAFF WRITER

SDUHSD approved, at the Dec. 14 school board meeting, the resolution to enter a Purchase Power Agreement (PPA) with the School Power for Utility Rate Reduction (SPURR) program, along with their builder ForeFront Power to install solar panels at six schools across the district, including TPHS. The approved installation of solar panels, which is tentatively planned for the next 18 to 30 months, will offset the energy consumption across the six schools by 91 percent, according to John Addleman, Executive Director of Planning Services at SDUHSD. .SDUHSD’s PPA is a financial agreement in which ForeFront Power, the supplier, responsible for the installation, design and maintenance of the infrastructure, will install solar panels at the six schools at minimal at no cost to SDUHSD. SDUHSD will pay a fixed rate for the electricity produced by the panels, one lower than that offered by San Diego Gas and Electric.

As outlined in the PPA, the solar panels will reduce the district’s energy

bill by $317,174 in year one and $16.5 million in the next 20 years.

“Once the new installations are complete, an improved reduced energy cost of $1.7 million will continue to help keep money in the classroom, continue to move the district forward in providing sustainable school campuses and continue to providing an example of leading the way to make positive change,” Addleman said.

The environmental, and not just economic, benefit of installing solar has not been overlooked by the community.

“Installing solar at more schools is absolutely a step in the right direction,” Elliott Liu (10) said. “The future does not lie with relying on energy from fossil fuels, and powering our schools with clean energy is a direct way to step away from fossil fuels.”

Another facet of the PPA is the quantifiable environmental benefits, called renewable energy credits (RECs), which are tradable, non-tangible items that represent 1 MWh of electricity produced from a renewable source.

For example, if the solar facility detailed in the district’s PPA generated 10 MWh of electricity, the district would

have 10 RECs that they could decide to keep or sell, each of which costs around $5.75.

Under California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) program, many entities are required to procure an increasingly significant part of their electricity from renewable sources.

Buyers of RECs are institutions that typically face obstacles while installing renewable energy when attempting to meet the requirements under RPS. The income generated by the selling of RECs will go to aiding instructional

programs in the district, Addleman said.

Some students believe that solar will not only bring money into classrooms, but will also positively impact the community.

“It’s very important for schools to showcase to the rest of the community that clean energy is renewable and functional,” Jacopo Rizzo (10) said.

“By showing that schools, arguably the foundation of communities, use renewable energy, the rest of the community will surely follow suit.”

$16.5 Million projected savings in the next 20 years with the installation of solar panels on SDUHSD campuses PHOTO BY JESSICA YU/FALCONER

SOLAR POWER: Solar panels at Canyon Crest Academy power electric car charging, among other things. PPA will bring solar to 5 other schools and supplement existing solar at Earl Warren.

CHINA In preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China has shut down multiple cities, including Xi’an and Yuzhou, employing their zero-COVID strategy of strict stay-at-home orders, mass testing and travel restrictions. With the exception of essential food stores, other facilities have closed down and shortages of food and medicine have been reported. After cases of the omicron variant were discovered in the city of Anyang, the count of Chinese citizens under lockdown rose to over 20 million.

UKRAINE Russia has deployed 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border, marking the most recent development of a longstanding conflict between the two countries. The tension stems from a Russian belief that Ukraine belongs under its influence, the state having gained independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

World powers have warned Russia against an invasion of Ukraine, which is predicted by U.S. inteligence to occur as soon as early 2022. Russia has denied plans to attack Ukraine. information from new york times, the guardian, al jazeera, cnn, washington post, cbs and cnn

FRANCE French citizens have taken part in multiple large-scale protests in January, retaliating against pandemic-related policies. On Jan. 13, teachers across France went on strike, criticizing the government for failing to keep teachers and students safe amid rampant COVID cases. Other rallies had occurred on Jan. 8, in response to the French government’s push to tighten restrictions on unvaccinated people and President Emmanuel Macron’s remark in Le Parisien that he wanted to “piss off” the unvaccinated.

SUDAN The death toll has reached 60 in Sudan as months-long military coup protests continue to escalate. The transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was overthrown by the military on Oct. 25, 2021 in an effort to reverse the country’s transition to democratic rule. The Sudanese military reportedly fired tear gas and cut off mobile internet in anticipation of protests that eventually occurred on Dec. 25, during which two people were killed and dozens were wounded. words by helene gao, kathryn reese, lola newlander and adriana hazlett

As of November 18, 2022, the University of California has formally ended the use of standardized tests like the ACT and SAT in college admissions. Many have celebrated this decision, believing that such tests do not accurately represent students’s college readiness.

Viyang Hao

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Standardized tests used to be a quintessential part of a high school student’s journey through the college admission process. But, more recently, they have become less necessary.

Standardized testing is problematic; it exploits discrepancies oftentimes ignored. But, with more and more colleges adopting test-optional or, test-blind admission policies, the policies move beyond colleges caring only about numbers.

High school students commonly associate the idea of college readiness with their performance on standardized tests like the SAT or ACT, however, that thinking should be retired.

A 2016 study conducted by the University of Alaska found that the best indicator for a high school student’s college readiness is their grades and GPA. According to the study, these factors reflect their effort over the course of multiple years in multiple subjects whereas standardized tests measure how well a person performs in two or three subjects on a particular day.

Going deeper into the issue of standardized testing, the SAT and ACT are dependent on a person’s economic status.

You have a much greater advantage of performing well on the SAT or ACT if you are financially well off.

According to a 2021 study, researcher Mark Kantrowitz found that families earning at least $100,000 a year were

more likely to earn scores ranging from 1400 to 1600 compared to families earning less than $50,000 a year.

An explanation for this could be that higher-income families can afford tutors on a regular basis and repeat taking the SAT and ACT whereas lower-income families do not have those luxuries as they are more focused on fulfilling their basic necessities.

Furthermore, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, more commonly known as Fair Test, found that the graduating class of 2019 had an increasingly widening gap of SAT scores between privileged and underprivileged families compared to previous years.

The gap is only set to increase more as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to place an unprecedented amount of stress on high school students. Students experiencing large amounts of stress are unable to focus on studying or taking the SAT or ACT which can negatively impact their performance.

While it may be a joy to many students that numerous colleges are now test-optional or test-blind, these policies, for most colleges, are temporary. But, they should reconsider their stance.

Colleges like the UCs have permanently gone test-blind and are still functioning the same as before.

For their 2021 admissions, the UCs have seen an all-time high in terms of the number of students applying, increasing by 5% from the previous year.

The only advantage standardized testing has for at test-blind schools is class placement. Colleges use submitted standardized testing scores to help determine what your classes are for your first year. Standardized testing has lost meaning in gauging one’s readiness for college and should be retired for future college admissions cycles.

Kathryn Reese

STAFF WRITER

Over the last decade, and especially in light of the pandemic, over 1,500 colleges across the country have adopted test-blind or test-optional admission policies. While many students dislike standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT for the preparation they require, in reality, these tests serve a crucial purpose in the college application process and can provide benefits beyond admission.

Standardized test scores aren’t just considered for college acceptance, but in other aspects of a student’s education in higher learning. As proven by the National SAT Validity Study conducted by the College Board, test scores in conjunction with high school GPA are a strong predictor of a student’s success in the formative years of college. Using these key parts of an application, schools can place students in the appropriate class level and identify those who require academic support. Both of these pieces of data, taken into context, provide the best chance for a fair consideration of applications. Standardized tests are not a frivolous part of the application process, but a tool to find the best academic situation for every student.

Further, for those with a low GPA, test scores can be a saving grace in the admissions process.

Opponents of standardized testing often claim that the cost of the testing process puts low-income kids at a disadvantage, but this practice of compensating for lower GPAs with

ART BY AMANDA SALATINO

test scores is especially utilized by underprivileged kids, as proven by a study conducted by the University of California’s Standardized Test Task Force (STTF). According to the report, of the students that were guaranteed admission through the statewide index, an admission pathway where scores compensate for low GPAs, 47 percent were low-income students and 25 percent were from underrepresented minority groups.

Those students would not necessarily have been granted admission based on grades alone, the STTF said.

Additionally, the opportunity gap of college admissions between demographics doesn’t inherently originate from the inaccessibility of testing, as many assume. Rather, according to the study, factors like lower high school graduation rates among underrepresented minority groups and failure to complete courses required by UC schools account for the disparities. These facets of college admissions don’t warrant test blindness, but rather better college counseling in underprivileged areas.

By implementing test-blind policies, UC schools and other colleges across the nation are taking away this backup that offers some students access to a higher education that might not have been accessible otherwise.

According to the College Board, test scores aren’t even the most considered factor of applications. Rather, colleges give the most weight to a student’s grades and course levels. Therefore, if test scores alone don’t have the potential of breaking one’s chances at acceptance, but can make up for discrepancies in the most important part of their application, why not include them?

With test blindness increasing in popularity across the nation, especially with the expansion of these policies in the UC schools, colleges should hesitate to abandon this timetested practice, and consider the vital purpose it serves.

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GoGuardian limits students’ education and privacy

Natalia Mochernak STAFF WRITER

Over the past year and a half of hybrid learning, educators have adapted lesson plans and teaching styles to incorporate more technology than ever before. Simultaneously, school districts are increasingly adopting monitoring software to ensure proper device use among students. Student access to school-issued Chromebooks can result in some misuse, but educators are overly leveraging this to justify excessive monitoring of students’ online activity at school.

At the start of the school year, SDUHSD spent $5.2 million on Chromebooks for every student in the district. Unlike prior years, the district now mandates that students use only school Chromebooks in class. District officials claimed that the primary reason for the allocation of Chromebooks was to provide a consistent device for all students across the district. However, many parents of students in the district expressed concerns as to why a district with 95 percent of students owning a

personal device decided to spend the majority of their government-issued budget on individual Chromebooks.

Many have theorized it was because of the district’s desire to have more oversight of the technology used by students in school. By issuing mandatory Chromebooks to all students, the district could implement a tracking software called GoGuardian.

GoGuardian is advertised as a classroom management tool for Chromebooks that allows administrators to view students’ screens, including the tab the student is actively looking at, as well as any other open tabs in the browser.

GoGuardian also offers teachers the option to close or block any of the tabs the student is currently on. Although it may be a helpful tool for teachers to keep their students on task, it is also an invasion of privacy. Students are stifled in making their own choices, as every time they make a questionable decision, any educator with access to GoGuardian can penalize them for it. Especially with the age group of students that GoGuardian is used for, in grades 7-12, students should have the freedom and responsibility to decide whether they want to pay attention or be distracted during class. When teachers close the distracting tabs on students’ Chromebooks, students do not have the opportunity to learn the importance of focus and self-control on their own.

Additionally, GoGuardian’s technology allows teachers and administrators to track students’

Chromebooks even after school hours.

Regardless of location and WiFi network, GoGuardian allows teachers and administrators to see what students are doing and collect personal data like browsing history that is not relevant to in-class activities.

According to Elana Zeide, a research fellow at NYU’s Information Law Institution, having school staff as eavesdroppers is inherently problematic.

Furthermore, when students are at home, they deserve privacy to search sensitive topics. For instance, a student who may be questioning their sexuality and searching questions on their Chromebook is subject to being seen by their teacher. The student deserves privacy, but school administrators’ unrestricted use of GoGuardian can potentially take that away from them.

Furthermore, teachers can forget to unblock certain sites that they control during class so those sites remain blocked for students when they are at home or even over longer periods of time, like weekends. This makes it difficult for students to complete homework assignments for other classes or even properly participate in other classes during school hours if sites or browsing are blocked.

Finally, GoGuardian uses artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to block websites based on what

ART BY CAROLINE HUNT

i s o n t h e screen, regardless o f where the content was found. It examines the words and images on a web page for inappropriate content and if believed to be unsuitable for students, it will block the page immediately. This can be a massive hindrance for students who are simply trying to do research for a project, but find that useful websites are blocked because AI has deemed them inappropriate. This limits students’ resources tremendously and takes away the learning opportunity of identifying reliable sources for themselves.

Ultimately, GoGuardian should either not be used by the school district or teachers’ usage policies should be revised, as its current utilization results in learning disruption, inconvenience for students, and severe invasion of privacy.

SDUHSD board limiting public comments is harmful

Adrianna Hazlett STAFF WRITER

The communication between a school board and its community of parents and students has always been a key part of a successful school district.

Thus, it is significant that a new public comment structure was unanimously approved at a Nov. 18 SDUHSD board meeting, and later debuted at the Dec. 14 meeting. This change shortened the public comment periods and the amount of time commenters are allowed to speak in order to make meetings more efficient. However, these limitations on public comment are more harmful than they are helpful, especially at a time like the present, when the input of the community is crucial in dealing with the uncertainty in schools and society.

Previously, board meetings had public comment periods for non-agenda items, closed session, the consent calendar (items that have previously been discussed) and a period for every action item; as an example, an Oct. 14 meeting had 14 public comment periods. Now, there are just three

periods, one for non-agenda items, another for agenda items and one for closed session (which is not open for public viewing). For each item, there is a 20-minute time limit, and the board randomly selects 10 people to speak for two minutes. In the past, speakers had three minutes, and frequently, the 20-minute time limit was exceeded if approved by the board. Moreover, on agenda items deemed controversial, the board president can consider limiting the speaking time to one minute so that more community voices may be heard.

As the main concern that went into condensing the public comment period, board meetings have been timeconsuming lately. For example, the Nov. 18 meeting lasted for nine hours.

“The purpose of bringing this agenda item forward is to allow for efficiency and effectiveness in running our meetings,” Superintendent Cheryl James-Ward told the Del Mar Times.

While this is a legitimate concern, the board should be able to implement other ways to speed up meetings without having to cut into such a vital communication period. The input of parents and other community members is most certainly something to be prioritized, as it allows the district to attain the community feedback necessary to make decisions that best serve students’ education and wellbeing, which is ultimately the goal of any school district.

Though the expression of public opinion is always important for a well-functioning system, at a time

with rapidlychanging pandemic conditions, new board members and general unrest, the views of the community should play an even greater role.

Thus, limiting public comment at board meetings is an especially untimely decision.

For one, the SDUHSD school district has recently filled two positions, with the new superintendent, Dr. Cheryl JamesWard, as of Nov. 1, as well as a new board member, Julie Bronstein, who was sworn in on Nov. 18. Both of these appointments are fairly recent, so the community is still adjusting to the new people in these positions. Accordingly, public comment is even more crucial right now than it normally is, as the community should have the right to provide their perspective on the new members’ policies, judgements and more.

Plus, the ongoing pandemic further makes the board’s decision questionable.

With the fluctuating number of COVID cases and ever-changing mask and vaccination mandates, pandemicrelated school policies still remain

ART BY ALISON WILLIAMS unclear. The board has to make choices rapidly to adapt to the changing conditions with less time to question the broader effect of these decisions.

Therefore, the public deserves as much opportunity as possible to give their own feedback on the effectiveness and consequences of new COVID policies since it will boost the community’s trust in the board’s decisions.

Overall, the board’s decision to shorten the time for public comment at meetings is ill-suited and ill-timed.

For the school district to make choices that truly serve the students’ needs and wants at a turbulent time, the public’s voices should be given every opportunity for expression.

opinion

A8 the falconer

january 21, 2022

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

» AMY GE

Assistant Editor in Chief, Amy Ge describes her journey to self-acceptance and overcoming her fear of failure.

Something not many people know about me is my hobby of collecting stickers. I have a designated box on my desk filled with stickers of all different shapes and sizes that I’ve scavenged throughout my life. From silly cartoon animals to holographic butterflies — I treasure them all the same.

However, my fascination with stickers used to only involve collecting them but never using them. Because you see, the thing with stickers is that once you remove the delicate sticker from its backing, you only get one chance to place it perfectly. Readjusting would risk the glue sticking, the paper tearing and, ultimately, the sticker being wasted. Because it’s impossible to place the sticker perfectly every time, I chose to just not use them instead.

I soon realized that my fear of wasting a sticker was a reflection of my personal fear of failure —something

that held me back from developing my full academic, artistic and athletic potential.

I enforced unrealistic standards on myself in every aspect of my life that have resulted in a selfdestructive “perfectionist” mindset.

I remember when I finished semester one of Christopher Drake’s AP US History class with a final grade of 89.97 percent. Drake refused to round my grade to an A, and it became the only B I’ve received in my academic career.

As dumb and pretentious as it sounds, I cried for days, devastated that I would no longer have a perfect GPA. As an artist, I would spend long hours in the studio scrutinizing every detail of my work, and I used exclusively acrylic paint because I was scared of poorly executing new mediums and art styles.

During badminton practices and games, I struggled with staying focused because I was unable to look past my

PHOTO BY JESSICA YU/FALCONER mistakes. Despite being relatively new to the sport, I was distracted by every missed serve or misplaced shot, afraid that my coaches, teammates or spectators would judge me.

But, as I reflected on the consequences of my own expectations, I realized that undoing my self-destructive mindset was a challenge I didn’t have to face alone. I was surrounded by family, friends and a community that loved and accepted me for who I was.

I had teachers like Mia Smith who genuinely cared about my success and helped navigate my college application process.

Peers in my art studio encouraged me to experiment with various methods of art-making, and I’ve even learned how to paint with chocolate!

My badminton teammates provided a constant source of encouragement —even when I was losing my match.

Coaches like Lars Trupe and Tuan Tran helped me improve my mindset, and when I stayed focused, my technical skill improved also.

Ultimately, I realized that when I made a mistake, no one was judging me except for myself. My community loved me for who I was, and with their positive influence, I began loving myself too.

My journey of self-acceptance is by no means complete (my B in Drake’s class still haunts me to this day), but now, stickers decorate almost every area of my life. They unapologetically cover my walls, my sketchbooks and even the back of my phone case.

My fascination with stickers may seem trivial — silly even — to some. But to me, they serve as the most important reminders in my life: to embrace failure as an opportunity for growth and to be content with being perfectly imperfect.

Lack of urgency sensationalized the Theranos case

Jenny Han

FEATURE EDITOR

In 2003, 19-year-old Stanford dropout Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos. Despite accumulating over $900 million from investors, the world’s youngest billionaire would eventually face years-long fraud lawsuits as her promised technology fell short.

Holmes’ fraud trial began in September 2021, the six-year period between the company’s shutdown and its trial easily played a role in the public developing their own ruling against Holmes before the jury’s actual verdict.

To get one’s blood tested, the standard procedure involves drawing blood, sending the sample away to a lab and waiting for results. Holmes implemented her idea for a revolutionary device, the size of a printer, to draw, analyze and diagnose a patient’s blood.

The device was promised to perform over 200 blood tests when in reality, it could only complete 12.

Theranos’ mistakes were exposed in 2015 after much concealment and suppression, and the company

eventually collapsed in 2018. Due to the high-profile nature of the case, countless documentaries, conspiracy theories and articles were published in the meantime, resulting in the public forming their own, likely biased conclusions.

Despite Holmes mainly staying out of the public eye and the case being postponed, theories that she manipulated her voice to sound deeper or that she was a sociopath obsessed with becoming the next Steve Jobs spread across both the public and the internet. While the news is printed to inform the public and draw their own conclusions, books, podcasts and documentaries titled “Theranos: Fraud And Deception In Silicon Valley” and “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley” with millions of views gained popularity and spread a negative view of Holmes. Furthermore, prominent figures including lawyers and representatives of Silicon Valley have reacted to these documentaries, spreading their possibly misguided opinions. While there still may have been many forming their own judgments on Holmes, the case would likely not have become as popular and have so many opinions had the trial gone to court soon after Theranos’ downfall.

Time’s “Why Are We So Obsessed with Elizabeth Holmes?” article focused on the popularity of Alex Gibney’s New HBO Documentary “The Inventor” and explored why people were initially and still are interested in the case. Gibney emphasized that

in addition to America’s interest in scammer culture, Holmes embodies what many people would like to be, an extreme rule-breaker, and a successful one at that. Furthermore, the idea of a woman becoming the world’s youngest billionaire in a male-dominated Silicon Valley intrigues people.

Gibney also pointed out that society has a fascination with people who seem to fully believe and live by “the ends justify the means” like Holmes, Enron’s Jeff Skilling and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Time has only allowed these people and their work to gain popularity.

After roughly four months in court, Holmes was found guilty on four of 11 fraud charges, not guilty on another four of 11 charges, and the jury failed to reach a verdict on the final three. Currently, she faces over 20 years in prison.

While the case is very large due to the nature of the scandal, the verdict will also likely play a part in the March trial of former Theranos COO and Holmes’ exboyfriend R a m e s h “ S u n n y ” Balwani, who pleaded not

guilty to similar charges.

All of these factors could have easily played a role in Holmes’ defense, where the main argument was that Holmes was forced by Balwani into participating in the deception. The same goes for the prosecution, who could have easily utilized the public’s general consensus to their advantage.

Obviously, the period between Theranos’ downfall and the actual court case could not have been prevented.

However, the amount of media created and spread that generally created a negative view of Holmes and the Theranos case prior to the court’s decision should make us question society’s own investment a n d opinions.

ART BY ISABELLA ZABARSKY

opinion

tphsfalconer.com

STAFF EDITORIAL On Dec. 16, 2021, SDUHSD sent an email alerting parents of widely-shared TikTok posts that warned students across the country not to come to school on Dec. 17 because of rumored school shootings and bomb threats. Though SDUHSD deemed the threat not credible, there was an increased law enforcement presence at schools across the district on Dec. 17.

There’s no doubt that TikTok has enormous cultural influence and, with that, enormous potential for misuse.

Sometimes, this misuse isn’t even intentional. The vast majority of the videos being spread about the rumored Dec. 17 shootings weren’t threats themselves but students warning each other of potential danger. This kind of alarmist content disguised as vital public service announcements has an almost chain-letter quality, where people who disseminate false or misleading information believe they’re acting in the interest of others.

In reality, the spread of threatening messages not only causes fear and anxiety among students but also forces school closures and time-consuming investigations.

Even when it’s not being used to directly threaten violence, TikTok is an app that’s built on short attention spans. With the endless feed of the For You page, creators only have, at most, a few seconds to entice the viewer into watching and interacting with their videos. Though apps like Instagram also give users the opportunity for infinite scrolling, on TikTok it’s the main attraction, which makes it a uniquely fertile breeding ground for

the falconer

Assessing TikTok’s balance of help and harm to Generation Z shock value content.

Such content includes a “Blackout Challenge” that has led to a number of documented deaths by asphyxiation, the “Dry Scoop” challenge where one 20-year-old suffered a heart attack after consuming dry pre-workout supplement, and the “Devious Licks” challenge that left schools across the nation down a few bathroom and school appliances.

TikTok is structured around trends, from the harmless to the deadly. Videos that have an easily replicable structure or theme are rewarded by the algorithm and the Discover Page.

Anyone who frequents the app is likely familiar with the different “sides” of TikTok that creators cater to, from major players like “Straight TikTok” and “Alt TikTok” to more well-defined genres like “ArtTok” and “FoodieTok.” As ridiculous as it may seem, many users feel a sort of superiority about belonging to one side or the other. It’s not uncommon to see comments on a video celebrating about having “made it to” a certain side, and other users congratulating them for having done so.

However, this achievement is less the work of the individual and more the product of a sophisticated algorithm that takes note of demographic trends and how users interact with the videos they’re shown. Content recommendations on TikTok and other social media platforms are devoted to showing users the kind of content that they want to see. While useful on paper, this kind of targeted content can often create an echo chamber where users have their beliefs, however radical,

n o r m a l i z e d by those who think the same way.

Look at the comment section of any self-proclaimed “pick-up artist” or “Alpha male” and you’ll find a wealth of bitterness, misogyny and pseudoscience.

Speaking of pseudoscience, the Wall Street Journal has reported a spike in teens seeking treatment for mental illness that they’ve selfdiagnosed from information on TikTok. These kinds of illnesses can even be psychosomatic: doctors across the country were puzzled when teen girls turned up in their offices with sudden, severe physical tics, until they found that many of the girls had watched TikTok videos of influencers that claimed to have Tourette’s Syndrome.

However, it’s not all bomb threats, culture wars and dubious medical advice. TikTok is a hub of intellectual diversity, meaning there truly is something for everyone. Whatever you’re interested in, you can find a community of users who can appreciate it with you.

For better or for worse, TikTok has

What is the biggest cultural impact you think TikTok has had?

ART BY TISYA NAIR also redefined the music industry, introducing countless users to new songs and catapulting artists like Lil Nas X and Conan Gray to the Billboard Hot 100. It has also provided a free platform for artists and small business owners to promote their products.

More than any other social media platform, TikTok is shaped by its users.

It can be used as an entertaining, productive force for good, or a mentally draining, time-sucking forum for extremists.

As today’s students grapple with changing online landscapes, they should remember that sometimes the healthiest option is to log off.

-The Falconer Staff

Student Voices I feel that it promotes a lot of negative behaviors and trends but it also has the ability to bring people together.”

-Violet Holcombe (9) TikTok helps people connect with similar people, but it also has negative impacts.”

-Logan Levy (12) Editor-in-Chief: Assistant Editor-in-Chief:

We, the Falconer staff, are dedicated to creating a monthly newspaper with the intent of encouraging independent thinking, expanding our knowledge of journalism, and providing the TPHS student body and community with a truthful, unbiased news source, in accordance with our First Amendment rights.

3710 Del Mar Heights Road San Diego, CA 92130 PHONE: (858) 755-0125 x2245 FAX: (858) 523-0794 E-MAIL: falconer.ads@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.tphsfalconer.com

A9

The Falconer is the student newspaper of Torrey Pines High School. Its content, which is the responsibility of the Falconer staff, is not subject to administrative approval. Unsigned editorials represent the opinions of the staff, while opinion columns represent the writer’s perspective. Advertisements do not represent endorsements. The Falconer, an open forum, welcomes signed letters or guest editorials on pertinent issues from the TPHS community, which may be submitted to room 102, via email at falconer.ads@gmail.com or to Mia Smith’s mailbox in the administration building. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Jasmine Criqui Mirabel Hunt, Srishti Thapar, & Amy Ge

Copy Editor:

Jerry Wu

News Editor:

Jacob Zhang

Opinion Editor:

Dixie Wallerius

Feature Editors:

Jenny Han & Helene Gao

Entertainment Editor:

Viyang Hao & Kelsie Park

Sports Editors: Backpage Editor Adviser:

Nolan Ezzet & David Zhang Piper Levy Mia Boardman Smith

Staff Writers: Adriana Hazlett Anna Opalsky Caroline Hunt Cole Frost Lola Newlander Maddy Miller Matan Morris Martin Lee Michele Kim Natalia Mochernak Rami Kabakibi Kathryn Reese Naomi Ciel Schneider Regan Guirguis Photographers: Jessica Yu Emily Suh Rasa Nyce

A10 the falconer

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january 21, 2022

S e n t to find the spare silverware in a dusty attic, Grace Flanagan (11) rummages through the pile of boxes filled with stray, long-neglected items. Instead, she comes across a treasure: a forgotten photo album. The prints are wrinkled and the edges tinged with a slight sepia. They portray faded memories, a sort of beautiful decay unlike anything Grace has seen before. They are soaked with life and soul. They are taken on film.

At the turn of the millennium, the world entered a new era of speed and digitization with digital photography gaining traction like never before. By 2003, digital cameras were outselling disposable cameras three to one, and traditional film was soon left in the dust. Or so once-dominant film photography companies like Kodak and Fuji thought.

Gen Z students have grown up with not just digital, but also mobile photography, snapping unlimited photos with just the touch of a finger— thousands of pictures are stored on their b. And yet, in recent years Gen Z students have looked to the past and uncovered old trends, toys and styles that they can adopt, Grace Flanagan which has contributed to JUNIOR the increased popularity of film photography.

“All of the retro-type technology is back,” Lexi Moore (10) said. “People are starting to like vinyl or CDs again and I feel like photography is something where people [can and] are starting to experiment more with style.”

No one has experienced the great comeback of film photography like the photography store Total Photo. Owner Christina Davidtz has noticed an immense spike in rolls brought in to be developed over the last three years.

“We started out five years ago doing about five rolls a week, but just in the last few years, particularly during the lockdown, film has gained so much momentum ... We process six days a week; we are so busy,” Davidtz said.

For some students, film photography is something that was introduced to them by the adults in their life.

“I found some really cool old pictures from when my parents were younger that were taken on film and I loved the look,” Morgan Mullins

100

BLAST FROM THE PAST (11) said. “I wanted to try it out myself and see how I liked it. After I got my first roll developed, I immediately understood the appeal.”

The anticipation that comes with waiting to get film photos developed is an experience that Gen Z students have found exhilarating. Film brings an element of surprise that the instant gratification of a digital photo cannot replace.

“There is kind of a mystery behind it because you never really know what you are going to get,” Flanagan said.

Besides the mystery, possibly the greatest reason for the growing admiration of analog is the distinctive look that comes with shooting film.

“Whenever I get film developed the photos always have this dreamlike filter which is so cool to me,” Moore said. “Every picture always turns out so good in ways that you couldn’t capture on your phone.”

The store Total Photo has been nestled in the corner of Solana Beach Town Center for 17 years, and owners Christina Davitz and her husband Tom have over 50 years of experience in the photography industry. Even on a slow day, Total Photo averages 50 rolls of film, while on a busy day they could do anywhere between 80 and 120.

“Film photos are so much more meaningful than taking something on a phone because it takes thought,” Addie Flanagan (12), an avid film photographer and Total Photo customer, said.

“Since there are usually only 36 photos on a roll you have to plan the shot and make sure it’s right.”

Total Photo provides a place for students to develop their film and their photography skills.

“Particularly with film, we like to help customers develop more of a passion for their own photography,” Davidtz said.

From the added expense of development to the limitations of viewing and specialized equipment, film photography may seem impractical in today’s age. What makes it all worth it?

“Although film is [more] expensive, I think the benefits outweigh the cost because in the end, you get a product that is so beautiful and timeless,” Mullins said. “It looks so candid and raw.”

Film photography is cumbersome, but the results are all worth it: pictures that capture the unique magic of individual moments in time. For a generation that values nostalgia, film photography offers a way to connect the past to their present and future events, something that is hard to find elsewhere.

by Dixie Wallerius and Natalia Mochernak

There is kind of a mystery behind it because you never really know what you are going to get.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ADDIE FLANAGAN AND LEXI MOORE

feature

A12 the falconer

january 21 , 2022

FULLY FL

by Regan Guirguis and Jerry Wu

Justin Peck From swirling and leaping in the air to directing ballets, Peck has completed his transition from a leading soloist to one of the nation’s best choreographers at age 34.

At age 34, Justin Peck has established himself as one of the most prominent choreographers and artists in the country.

After creating more than 25 dance projects for various dance companies, Peck most recently choreographed his first movie musical, “West Side Story,” directed by Steven Spielberg, which premiered in December 2021.

From an early age, Peck was absorbed in different types of performing arts, with his favorite being dance.

“I remember being really moved by theater and storytelling through live performance, especially dance,” Peck said.

Starting with tap dancing, he slowly fell in love with ballet for its constant chase and pursuit of excellence.

As he continued to develop and hone his craft, Peck soon realized that to grow more as a dancer, he needed to broaden his repertoire elsewhere.

During the summer of his sophomore year at TPHS, he was accepted into a five-week summer course at the School of American Ballet in New York City.

Following the program, a certain number of students were invited to stay for a year-round term, and Peck was one. It is one of his fondest memories.

“I felt like I was in an environment with very like-minded students, and it felt comforting, like I found my tribe in a way,” Peck said.

By the time he turned 18, Peck was invited to join the New York City Ballet, later becoming one of the leading soloists. Meanwhile, he developed a small yet intense interest in creating his own dances.

Nightly study sessions at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts soon evolved into small-scale, selfdirected choreography, experimenting with various pieces of music with different

collaborators. Eventually, he received his first commission for the New York City Ballet in 2012. After creating his sixth ballet, he was offered the position of resident choreographer, the second person in the institution’s history to hold the title. Peck is widely acclaimed for his work on the Broadway show “Carousel” in 2018, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

To date, Peck still credits his determination and willingness to work hard while pursuing his career, in part, with his time at TPHS. “I remember it being a rigorous school in terms of academics; there was a lot of hard work and determination. There were great teachers who pushed me,” Peck said.

For the future, Peck aims to keep pushing the boundaries of dance and to explore its expression in combination with other mediums, like theatre and film, to feed the “human spirit.”

Peck’s vibrant choreography for the 2021 remake of West Side Story

Growing up in San Diego, Jacob Cole (‘11) always knew that he wanted to connect the world. With his outgoing and “goofball” demeanor, Cole set out to develop a novel application to organize and bring various unexpected ideas together.

While exploring potential career ideas early on, computer programming fascinated him. In middle school, he was offered an opportunity to design the webpage of a biotech company.

“The company took off, and all I really did was make the landing page, and it kick-started my web computing career,” Cole said.

As a freshman at TPHS, Cole was one of the few to take AP Computer Science ahead of the prerequisites. His passion for coding and design instantly expanded ten-fold as he mastered the intricacies behind designing websites and video games.

After high school, Cole dived deeper into his passion at MIT, where the first signs in his quest to create an interconnected world emerged. He began by holding research and intellectual salons on campus. Students all over campus participated in his sessions, sharing their ideas and interests in one idea bank.

“This began to take off organically. And people who met have now gone on to raise over $200 million in venture capital,” Cole said.

Thinking back, Cole credits his enjoyment and desire in bringing people and their ideas together to his time in 10th grade when he began a collection of Google Documents containing science and research project ideas.

“I created a giant Google Doc and started to notice that all the ideas were related to each other,” Cole said. “It has increased my creativity in research.”

Cole went beyond Google Docs and soon caught the eye of Tim Burners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. Even though Lee worked as Cole’s research adviser for a short time, Cole always remembered Lee’s quote, “There are millions of scientists trying to

cure the likes of AIDS and Alzheimer’s. Maybe the cure is currently separated in different people’s heads. How can we design the web so that these half-formed solutions can come together?”

Inspired by Lee’s words, Cole established Idea Flow, a platform offering an opportunity to capture and connect human ideas through the services of an online notebook. While people type notes in the program, the platform automatically generates related information and search results.

With the achievement of his goal to connect the world, Cole hopes to broaden the horizon of an interconnected world with his mindset and skills.

Cole, a self-described “nerdy goofball,” has accomplished his childhood dream of connecting the world by curating the platform, Idea Flow, which tracks the human train of thought.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JUSTIN PECK, JACOB COLE AND NIKOTAVERNISE / 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS

Jacob Çole

feature

tphsfalconer.com

the falconer

LEDGED

Margaret Guo Margaret Guo’s contributions to her community, her academic life and her athletic accomplishments helped her become the 2016 NCAA Sports Woman of the Year.

Recognized on the Forbes list of 30 under 30 in science for 2022

Åmin Åalipour

When Amin Aalipour (‘10) found his name on the Forbes list of 30 under 30 in science for 2022, he was grateful for the recognition.

“I was definitely honored to be on this list this year … [but] I was surprised to see my name,” Aalipour said, after not hearing back from the committee for a few months following his nomination. However, his success is unlikely to come as a surprise to the patients he’s helped treat.

Recognized for his work in tumor detection, Aalipour co-invented four separate cancer biomarkers, the main one made of magnetic molecules. The molecules bind to cancer cells in the human body before a magnetic wire is inserted into the bloodstream to accumulate the cancer cells, making detection easier. He also helped develop an immune cell that secretes proteins signaling the discovery of tumor sites.

Born in San Diego, Aaalipour attended TPHS, remembering its welcoming atmosphere between students and educators. He believes the school prepared him and his peers well for the real world, especially his experience on the speech and debate team.

“Torrey Pines was an amazing training and learning environment at the time … it really prepared us for afterward,” Aaalipour said. “Speech and Debate had the most tangible benefits with critical thinking, scientific writing and other skills that are useful now.”

In his high school years at TPHS, Aaalipour was drawn toward engineering for its inherent quality of problem-solving but was also attracted to medicine for its immediate impact on the community. Later, he earned an M.D., Ph.D. at Stanford University in medicine and bioengineering. He recently moved to Boston to work at the Birmingham Women’s Hospital as a resident physician, allowing him more opportunities to interact with medical professionals to better service patients. “[The hospital] is a place of creative, intelligent, and talented [people], but at the end of the day, humble and down to earth,” Aalipour said.

With the goal of becoming an oncologist alongside running a cancer research lab, Aalipour hopes that one day he might move the needle for patients who need it and change clinical outcomes in the fight against cancer.

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Being chosen as the NCAA Sports Woman of the Year in 2016 is just one of Margaret Guo’s (‘12) accomplishments since leaving TPHS. Guo graduated from MIT where she double majored in electrical engineering computer science and bioengineering. She then went on to Stanford for a combination M.D., Ph.D. in 2016, where she has just finished her Ph.D. in biomedical informatics. These accomplishments are no surprise, as Guo has been a hardworking and driven individual throughout her life, including the years that she spent at TPHS. “I was part of [the] varsity swim team and I also did academic team.” Guo said.

Guo still has many fond memories of her times at TPHS with not just her friends but in her classes too. She still remembers the final project of her AP Chemistry class with Brinn Belyea as well as some of the essays she wrote in former English teacher Angelina Allen’s class.

Guo had to balance her advanced academic classes with her constant practices for both the TPHS swim team and an outside swimming club. In every sport there are times when the team doesn’t win a game or tournament, but that didn’t stop Guo from doing

what she loved.

“I learned a lot from not only the highs where we won a lot and did very well, but also the lows where it is very stressful on mental health and stressful on your body. I think the lessons learned have carried forward to now,” Guo said.

Guo’s drive and dedication has always been evident through her work but was specifically recognized when she was named the NCAA Sports Woman of the Year in 2016. The award recognizes not only Guo’s sports accomplishments as a Division III swimmer for MIT but also her academic accomplishments and contributions that she has made to her community.

“I was very humbled to be around people who would one day run in the Olympics … Being able to celebrate that you can use your sport or embrace that sport in a sense that it will improve not only your life and improve who you are as a human [is rewarding],” Guo said.

Guo continues to strive as her passion for science and technology hasn’t faded. She is still at Stanford working on various different projects, carrying the lessons she learned from TPHS with her.

Prabhav Jain Growing up in the world of technology, Jain created the platform, Composed Labs, that helps provide education for kids all around the world.

Prabhav Jain (‘11) was always exposed to the world of technology. His father was a computer scientist but he found his own love for the craft in his freshman year at TPHS. “I took this Intro to Computer Science class that we had at the time ... we were making games, and I was just really excited by the potential,” Jain said.

He took this excitement and turned it into something bigger his junior year. Jain created a software to organize around 100 definitions and words that his English teacher told the class to memorize. The website is called EasyDefine.Com and it became a hit among TPHS students.

Jain’s accomplishments didn’t stop there. He graduated from MIT with a degree in computer science and right out of college, Jain and his friends started a company called EagerPanda. Their goal as a company was to build a platform where educators can build custom online courses. According to Crunchbase, the project raised $6.7 million from 17 investors.

“One thing that I got from Torrey Pines and my peers here is that we like to dream big. Dreaming big and small takes a very similar amount of effort.

So why not just dream big and work backward from there to see where you can get to,” Jain said.

EagerPanda eventually developed into another

company c a l l e d Compose Labs after Jain realized that the original software was too complex. The idea was to create a discussion platform where discussions could be ranked based on quality and expertise. Eventually, Jain realized that the most popular communities on the platform were learning communities, which is when he and his friends decided to pivot the company to become a social learning platform.

“A lot of our customers actually ended up not being from the U.S., they were from Africa, Asia, etc.,” Jain said. “My proudest achievement was being able to offer education to hundreds of thousands of kids across the world.”

Composed Labs was recently bought by Brex, a financial technology company. With the deal that Brex proposed, Jain and friends were able to make all of the courses from Composed Labs free for everyone to use.

The support from his family also played a role in where Jain is today.

“One really good thing my parents did was, they let me fail … And when I failed I learned a lot from that experience, much more than if I didn’t do it.”

Jain said.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMIN AALIPOUR, MARGARET GUO AND PRABHAV JAIN

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january 21, 2021

2021 Nobel Laureate Patapoutian was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.”

On Oct. 4, the esteemed Norwegian physiology to scientists across the globe.

Nobel Committee, known for calling Up until Patapoutian’s Nobel Prizebrilliant Nobel Laureates at the winning work, the biological reason sensible time of 2 a.m., failed to behind why humans can feel pressure reach Dr. Ardem Patapoutian, whose and temperature was largely unknown.

After starting his own lab at phone was set to Do Not Disturb in the early hours of the morning. Scripps, Patapoutian began studying specialized neurons, called The committee instead called the Patapoutian’s 94-year-old father living somatosensory neurons, which send in L.A., who, because his contact was signals to the brain in response to labeled as a “favorite” on Patapoutian’s physical stimuli. Despite all that was phone, was able to bypass Do Not known about these neurons, one question Disturb and tell his son the terrific was still stymying scientists: what news: he had won the 2021 Nobel are the sensory receptors that trigger Prize in Physiology and Medicine. them to send signals in the first place?

“It was a big open question, and “I think my first emotions were confusion and nerves: is this really I had access to some special tools happening and what does it mean?” to help me find at least a few of answers,” Patapoutian said.

Patapoutian said. Patapoutian, a Del Mar the Through painstaking work, he and his resident, Armenian-Lebanese immigrant and professor at the Dorris Neuroscience team discovered the ion channels PIEZO1 Center at Scripps Research, won the and PIEZO2, which activate neurons prize for his revolutionary work on the when mechanical force is detected.

Patapoutian’s lab later found that cellular sensors that allow our bodies the channels to experience are heavily the sensation involved in other of touch. bodily processes H i s including blood achievement pressure and was the bladder fullness. culmination of H i s an education multifunctional that started discovery could in the midst change the of a civil war future of not only in Lebanon.

Ardem Patapoutian physiology but Outside of 2021 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER also medicine. his school of “I hope my five students, which eventually fell to zero as the studies are opening doors towards war intensified, explosions became both a basic understanding of how an integral part of life. The electricity our bodies sense pressure and how went out as often as his classmates we can modulate those pathways and neighbors fled the country, yet his to impact human diseases such as ambition for knowledge only brightened. neuropathic pain,” Patapoutian said.

Despite his unforeseen launch into “Growing up in an environment the scientific spotlight, Patapoutian where I didn’t even know science could be a career helps me appreciate how said that his goals, “for now, haven’t privileged I am to have found my path in changed,” and that all he wants to the U.S.,” Patapoutian said. “Thankfully keep doing is “impactful science.”

Beyond research, Patapoutian hopes my schooling was not completely derailed by the war. I recall spending his story will inspire other immigrants one school year at home and covering to take the same leap he took as an two [terms] in one the next year.” 18-year-old, armed with only a dream.

“It would be great to serve as Moving to a private high school was the next step in Patapoutian’s life, an example to young immigrants,” where he discovered his deep love for Patapoutian said. “I will be thinking math and science. But the war only hard about other goals I might take escalated. So, at 18, he immigrated on, like advocating for educational to Los Angeles, where he studied cell opportunities in Armenia and Lebanon.”

After months of press conferences and and developmental biology at the University of California, Los Angeles speeches, Patapoutian has returned to and received a Ph.D. in biology from his fast-paced, curiosity-driven life as a the California Institute of Technology. newly minted Nobel Laureate, one hand It was only after obtaining his Ph.D. feeling around for the next step in his that Patapoutian focused his research research, the other firmly wrapped around around the sense of touch, which had his childhood dream, now a reality. long been an uncharted territory of

by Jacob Zhang and Rami Kabakibi

My first emotions were confusion and nerves: is this really happening and what does it mean?

ardem Patapoutian

PHOTO COURTESY OF K.C. ALFRED/SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

winter formal theme tier list

out of this world

S

2018’s “Out of This World” Winter Formal is a stellar example of sticking to the theme. The San Diego Air and Space Museum made perfect sense as the venue of an astronomically themed dance. This theme overall looks thoughtfully planned out and students had a blast with model airplanes and a roller coaster simulator.

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adventure awaits, a cruise around the world

A

The 2013 winter formal theme of “Adventure Awaits, a Cruise Around the World” seemed like the perfect trip. The students were given a fake passport while entering the dance to make them truly feel like they were traveling around the world. The venue, Balboa Park, made it a sight to see. You don’t feel like dancing? Well, that’s okay, as there were various different activities around the ports that students could participate in.

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welcome to the jungle

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Like its year, the 2022 winter formal theme looks to be pointing toward disaster. The jungle theme makes zero sense in the midst of winter, and it seems that activities at the dance don’t mesh well with the theme. Everything Y2K is on the rise, but the animal print phase isn’t working for us. Though this theme may seem a bit out of place for the winter, we are excited to see the hard work ASB has put into the dance and to finally be back out in the wilderness after a year of being stuck inside.

fire and ice Everyone knows that the two elements, fire and ice, don’t work together. So why did they think this theme would? Though the 2012 winter formal theme of “Fire and Ice” may be on-brand for a hot California winter, being stuck in your school for a dance isn’t the coolest situation considering previous venues that the dances have been at. *this page is satirical and does not reflect the Falconer’s opinions about past and current winter formal themes

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by Regan Guirguis and Michele Kim

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San Diego Museum of Art Review prestigiouslyartsy the best of Balboa Sitting adjacent to a sprawling botanical garden and overlooking a lively plaza dotted with kiosks and umbrellas, The San Diego Museum of Art rests at the heart of Balboa Park.

The museum’s grand architecture — ornate carvings that surround a towering door — is matched inside, where an expanse of marble floor sits before a castle-like staircase. On their own, the mix of marble and stone would seem cold, but a greeting from a friendly docent warms the entrance.

The purposeful design of the first floor, a maze of corridors snaking off from the entrance, enables visitors to wander from room to room in a relaxed manner, connecting with each piece of art in a moment-to-moment fashion.

The highlight of the first floor is to the left of the entrance, a collection of pottery from East Asia. Found in both the Visible Vault collection and the Art of East Asia exhibit, these bowls range from jade greens to bright yellows.

My favorite is a collection of blue and white ware from 19th-century Korea, covered in intricate clouds, birds and dragons. This type of ware reinvigorated Korean ceramic production following a century-long decline that started when Korean potters were taken by invading Japanese warlords to support Japan’s ceramic industry.

As you exit these rooms, you pass through a hall marked by desert and beach landscapes, the Of Sea and Sand: California Paintings collection. For locals, the sandy cliffs of Torrey Pines and turquoise coves of La Jolla are easy to spot, but the tide pools of Laguna Beach may be less familiar.

Another worthwhile visit on the first floor is to “Paintings from the Confinement,” a collection of art related to the coronavirus pandemic. The series of 11 small, egg tempera paintings by San Diego Native Marianela de la Hoz is a must-see.

In addition to the relevance of this collection, the grim, at times sarcastic subjects envelop the reader in an environment of uneasy selfreflection. These small paintings at first glance seem like innocent doodles. In one, a

woman sits next to a vase of flowers while a man stands in the corner. However, as you bend to see the details, you realize the blooms of the flowers are actually coronaviruses and the woman is mourning the man in the corner whose face has a ghostly pale. All 11 paintings tell a similar dark tale.

While the first floor offers a sampling of world art, from East Asian Buddhist statues to 20th-century pop art, contained in a labyrinth of small rooms, the second floor opens to more spacious rooms with a focus on European art.

To the left of the staircase sits my favorite room: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.

Held in ornate frames, these paintings feature serene figures and landscapes, such as Claude Monet’s The Church at Varengeville, Morning.

Displaying impressionist techniques like angling light and depicting movement, this painting focuses on a cliff, thinly streaked with light blues, that rests against a cloudfilled sky.

Another highlight of the second floor is the contrast between the Art of Portrait collection and the Renaissance to Realism room. In the Art of the Portrait collection, paintings feature aristocrats clothed in intricate gowns and tunics, with beads and threads painted meticulously with shining golds and rich maroons. In the Renaissance to Realism room, the focus of this detail is transferred from expensive clothing to a peasant’s wheelbarrow full of hay. This collection highlights the daily life of commoners, illustrating nature and cities rather than the stoic faces of wealthy Europeans. Though these collections both originate in the centuries between 1500 and 1900, the different ways that fine detail is used and the contrast between peasant toils and the luxuries of wealth are worth observing.

With free admission for visitors under 17 years old, the San Diego Museum of Art is a perfect addition to a day in Balboa Park. The museum is open every day except Wednesday and both virtual and docent-guided tours are available. Whether you spend the whole day amidst the art or venture inside for a couple of minutes, you are bound to see something that makes you feel, think and say “wow.”

by Anna Opalsky

DUAL IDENTITIES: Two people stand in front of and view “A Tail for Two Cities” by Hugo Crosthwaite.

The artwork is in the Art of the Americas exhibit in the San Diego Museum of Art.

CIRCLES, SQUARES, SHAPES: Multiple artworks hang in the Modern and Contemporary Art exhibit in the San Diego Museum of Art. These artists’ goal are to expresss their own sense of individualism and freedom, contradicting the norm.

TWO FACES: Two identical paintings, “Nightmare,” hang on a wall in the “Paintings from the Confinement” room. These two paintings are self-portraits of the artist when she was working as a nurse. photos by rasa nyce/falconer

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Fleet Science Center #81 of 461 things to do in San Diego Open

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Review maddestscientist A world of science, discovery, exploration and wonder In the center of the cultural hub known as Balboa Park stands the almost 50-year-old Fleet Science Center. As a science museum and planetarium, it has entertained all ages from young children to adults for decades.

After a quick snack at Cravelogy and checking out the gift shop, visitors become surrounded by a maze of pathways that lead to different discoveries.

The museum boasts over 100 unique, interactive exhibits. Upon entering the museum, there are multiple paths that you may take to enter designated areas. One area is called Kid City and is designed to appeal to childrens’ interests. There are play structures to climb on, such as a fire truck, blocks to build within the Little Learners Lab and the Ball Wall that allows kids to experiment with different shapes as they push and shove them into different tracks and holes. Watching the kids experiment, explore and push their brains to understand the stimulus in front of them intriqued me.

Pulseworks Virtual Reality Transporter is a simulator that takes visitors on a mission to the moon or through the cosmos. This cuttingedge technology not only feels extremely realistic to the eyes but due to the Surround Sound audio and motion technology, also engages all the other senses in order to achieve an immersive experience. The goggles transport you to an HD world that reacts when you move your hands or feet into the frame.

Since the VR transporter accommodates up to four people, you can embark on this journey with strangers or friends. There are multiple experiences to choose from such as Cosmos Coaster where you travel at light speed from the moon to earth, to other corners of the cosmos; or Prehistoric Dive, that explores an unknown ocean vortex that reveals marine life that was thought to have been left in the past.

Not to mention, the educational possibilities at this museum are immense, since most of the exhibits are designed to be hands-on and interactive. Along with multiple demonstrations and shows from mad scientists stationed throughout the museums, there are many exhibits which you may independently

explore and walk through.

For example, the Electric exhibit urges visitors to explore their understanding of electricity by operating a real telegraph, fidgeting with powerful magnets and becoming a human battery. The main star of the Electric exhibit is the Tesla Coil. Groups can gather around the 100,000-volt amplifier for daily demonstrations about how it works and how it makes current electricity.

There are also multiple, smaller exhibits that have other functions such as the Illusions exhibit, which causes you to question what you are actually seeing. Faces will appear in random places, shapes will bend and distort and simple images will develop into complex designs. This exhibit will exercise your mind and serve as small entertainment along with the more serious and difficult to understand exhibits.

Another small exhibit is San Diego’s Water.

This interactive exhibit shows water’s journey from source to tap, and how this essential resource is delivered and processed. The exhibit also describes the water cycle, how to conserve water and interesting facts on large bodies of water. Although it is aimed toward elementary students, this is information that may intrigue a more mature audience since water is such a vital resource.

However, the most impressive aspect of the museum was the ability to go on a digital exploration of the cosmos through their gigantic IMAX theater. They provide multiple showings of different films each day such as “Into America’s Wild,” “Great Bear Rainforest” and “Turtle Odyssey.” Inside the very large theater, you are immersed in a world of discovery and engrossed by the beauty of the world displayed on the 76-foot wrap-around screen. Everywhere you look is a new experience, as you feel fully emerged in the film. The acoustics are so terrific that at times, you feel as if you are in the wild along with the animals being studied.

The next time you are strolling through the beautiful gardens of Balboa Park and pass by the Fleet Science Center, choose to embark on a journey of discovery and exploration.

by Piper Levy

IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE: The Fleet Science Center, previously known as the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, stands on a cloudy day. The Fleet Science Center offers a variety forms of entertainment, ranging from science exhibits to planetariums and an IMAX Dome theater.

CRAVINGS: Craveology sits close to Fleet Science Center. People can enter Craveology without a pass to the science museum. Craveology is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

photo courtesy of acmi

MARIO KART: People play classic console games at the Game Masters exhibit. Classic console games range from Sonic the Hedgehog to Mario Kart to Minecraft. photos by emily suh/falconer

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Bathroom Nightmares with the Falconer Staff

by Maddy Miller

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Girl’s ASB Store Bathroom The bathroom located near the student store has been closed multiple times throughout the first semester. This location has a total of 11 stalls, only eight of which are usable. The bathroom also has strangely high toilets, with a striking resemblance to when you were younger and someone had to help you get up.

The school also attempted to provide students with free and easily accessible menstrual products in a basket in the back of the restroom, but the mission remains incomplete as it has been left unstocked since the beginning of the school year.

Two stalls are missing locks on the doors, as well as one stall

with a toilet that has been left unrepaired since September 2021. This results in a buildup of students waiting during break, and not everyone being able to get in. Students also take their interior design skills to the next level by writing on the walls.

Overall, this location severely lacks charm and glamour.

Girl’s B Building Bathroom The remainder of students refusing to wait in the line near the Student Store resort to the restroom in the B Building, which has a line just as painfully long and conditions just as poor.

The restroom located inside the B Building near the nurse’s office has a total of 11 stalls, all of which are accessible. While this location has working stalls,

whether the sinks are working or not is the question.

The week of Dec. 13, none of the sinks in the B Building were functional, which left students scrambling through their bags for hand sanitizer. Despite water not dispensing from the sinks, there was plenty coming up through the drain on the floor. The drain issue most likely the result of pipe

backups.

This location’s overall reputation comes down to its strange climate. The bathroom is extremely warm and oddly humid, like Knott’s Berry Farm in the dead of summer. Because of this, students are drawn toward the bathroom located right next to the gym, a drier and more popular choice.

Girl’s Gym Bathroom The bathroom located next to the gym is the most viable option at TPHS. With a total of 12 stalls, all of which are functional, the gym bathroom is the cleanest as well as the fastest of the three girls’ bathrooms on campus.

Although it is the fastest one to go through, students tend to leave empty food bags on the floor

because the bathroom is clearly an ideal place to stop for a quick snack. This bathroom is usually very crowded leaving little to no space to get through, similar to an exclusive club in Los Angeles on a Saturday night. The sinks at this location are also extremely dysfunctional, dispensing water for too short a time for anyone

to get their 20 second scrub in.

There is usually some water on the floor under the sink, though, from the pipes leaking, which is always a positive sign of clean water and excellent sanitary conditions. This location stays the cleanest throughout the day out of all three locations, making it a mildly pleasurable experience.

PHOTOS BY JESSICA YU/FALCONER

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Toilet Troubles with the Falconer Staff

by Martin Lee

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Boy’s ASB Store Bathroom The bathroom near the Student Store is a definite contender for one of the worst bathrooms on campus. Often plagued by vandalism, the condition of the establishment is poorly maintained, lacking interior design and furniture.

As you walk into the bathroom, you are greeted by eerily dim

lighting and sinks with parts of the faucets missing, accompanied by the remnants of what used to be a soap dispenser. A quick glance to the left reveals a row of urinals with no dividers that are way too close together. The lack of privacy makes for a thrilling yet equally awkward game of hide and seek when one has to take a leak, not

to mention, the bathroom is home to the naturally forming urine mineral deposits that sit at the bottom of the urinals as no one has ever flushed it since the dawn of time. It’s a mystery to this day as to why no one has flushed, becoming more of a mystery than the rumored pool on the school rooftop.

Boy’s B Building Bathroom Arguably, the most popular bathroom amongst students, vapers and truant high schoolers alike, is the one in the B Building.

This comes as no surprise as it’s the biggest, cleanest and most private. Many students have come to seek refuge in it from boring classes and teachers. It is recommended to use the bathroom during rush hours in break or in

between periods, or otherwise, you might walk in to find yourself in an aloe grape-scented sauna rather than a bathroom.

Unfortunately, it seems that the days of the sauna sessions are numbered following the new installations of vape sensors and security cameras located outside the bathroom.Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for the occasional

“community polls” that take place on the walls of the bathroom on hot and controversial topics.

Another factor contributing to the popularity of the B-Building bathroom is its number of toilet stalls. So if you’re one of the students that can’t conduct their business standing up, there’s always the option of doing it sitting down.

Boy’s Gym Bathroom The gym bathroom, located to the right of the main gym entrance, is known to the TPHS community as Old Faithful. When the B-Building was locked down multiple times last semester (and probably this semester too) due to vandalism, the gym bathroom was always there with open arms, ready to receive students in

desperate need of an oil change.

But like all martyrs, they suffer for the greater good. Although the urinals and toilets are in relatively good condition most of the time, it feels as though it’s flooded whenever you walk in.

It’s not only flooded in terms of people, there are puddles of water splattered across the orange

ceramic tiles. Quite frankly, it raises the alarming thought of whether or not the water is just water and if some students just have a terrible aim.

Additionally,. filth has been accumulating under the dryer for so long no one remembers seeing the white paint of the wall under it.

PHOTOS BY MARTIN LEE/FALCONER

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Nolan Ezzet

SPORTS EDITOR

Boys soccer shuts out Sage Creek Nolan Ezzet and Matan Morris

SPORTS EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER

TPHS varsity boys soccer (12-0-1) shut out the Sage Creek Bobcats (0-5-3) on Jan. 13 by a score of 2-0.

The Falcons started the game off with offensive firepower, getting two shots on goal within the first minute. Their defense was just as stellar to start off, as the Bobcats weren’t able to get any shots on goal, or much possession of the ball at all, during this first minute.

Shortly after, the Falcons’ offensive aggression resulted in success on the scoreboard.

Andre Philibbosian (11) scored the first goal of the game, giving TPHS a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the game.

“Any time I have space, I try and look for a shot,” Philibbosian said. “And so I just kind of moved into a position closer to the goal.

And I saw the goalie kind of out of position, so I just took a shot, and it went in.”

Typically, scoring the first goal of the game three minutes in sets up momentum for the rest of the match. However, at the pace the match went, it was unclear when, if at all, the Falcons would score another goal.

“I wasn’t really sure how we were going to get that second goal,” Philibbosian said. “If we were, it was just gonna take a very long time.”

During the remainder of the first half, the Falcons continued to dominate in terms of time of possession.

This resulted in the ball staying in the Bobcats’ side of the field for most of the match.

The Falcons continued to outpace the Bobcats in shots on goal for the remainder of the half by a significant margin.

Later in the half, Charlie Kosakoff (12) was taking a corner kick from the right corner and tried to score himself. His kick went flying toward the upper left side of the goal, but a great deflection by the Sage Creek goal keepers kept the score at 1-0.

Coner kicks from the right were not rare from TPHS, as there were many more throughout the match.

However, none resulted in a goal.

At halftime, the Falcons planned some mid-game adjustments.

“We said we were going to go more in behind and like more long, which we normally don’t do, but we had to because [Sage Creek was] playing so defensive,” Kosakoff said.

As the second half began, nothing significantly changed. The game was still played at a slow pace, and TPHS continued to dominate control of the ball.

One key attributor to this was TPHS’s crisper, deeper passes that prevented Sage Creek from stealing possession of the ball.

Midway through the second half, Mateo Pacelli (12) scored, but there was a controversy that he was offside. However, the goal was ultimately counted by the referee, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead.

The rest of the match remained very defensive from Sage Creek and was filled with missed shots on goal by the Falcons. The match ended with no other goals.

PHOTO FROM CORMAC CADDEN PHOTO BY NATALIA MOCHERNAK/FALCONER BRAYDEN MAZEPA WITH NO SIGHT OF

PASSING TO MATEO PACELLI DEFENDERS BLOCKING THE WAY.

The Falcons relied on their speed to take control of the game. Players like Kosakoff and Pacelli used their quickness to dribble by defenders and get to lose balls.

This game premiered TPHS’s new formation.

“I would say we did a decent job adapting to this new formation that we’re trying out with the double team,” Pacelli said. “[It’s] one that we haven’t done the whole season, and it’s just a large thing to adjust to, especially in a game-like league where you can’t really sacrifice anything.”

The Falcons are ranked first in California and fourth nationally by MaxPreps, so it’s not a surprise that they are disappointed despite shutting out their opponent.

Theyhave extremely high expectations.

“This is the worst we’ve played,” head coach Andrew Hargreaves said. “These guys seem a little off.”

Hargreaves believes he knows what is off about his players.

“Tired.

Low energy,” Hargreaves said.

The Falcons’ next match is a home game against Canyon Crest Academy.

KAI WALSH DRIBBLING PAST SAGE CREEK DEFENDER

PHOTO BY NATALIA MOCHERNAK/FALCONER

In Week 18 of the NFL regular season, several teams’ playoff hopes were on the line. However, none had as interesting of a situation as the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers needed three specific game results from three specific games.

First, they had to beat their rival, the Baltimore Ravens. In a lowscoring affair, the Steelers pulled out an ugly 16-13 overtime win against a backup quarterback.

Second, they needed last-place Jacksonville to beat the Indianapolis Colts. Miraculously, the Jaguars miraculously dominated the Colts in one of the largest upsets in several years, winning 26-11.

The Steelers’ playoff hopes were now alive and well. All that was left was the game in which the Steelers needed anything but a tie.

This game was between two rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders. At first glance, a tie seems incredibly unlikely. But what made this game interesting was that the Steelers were not the only team with playoff hopes on the line. The Chargers and Raiders both did too. But they didn’t necessarily have to win. They just had to not lose. If either team wins, they go to the playoffs and their rival is eliminated. If the game ends in a tie, however, both teams would advance to the playoffs, but the Steelers wouldn’t. This meant that the game could go two ways. First, they could try harder than ever to beat their opponent and eliminate them from playoff contention (but if you lose, you’re eliminated from the playoffs).

Second, they could play how no team ever has before: intentionally tie, which would guarantee both teams a spot in the playoffs and eliminate the Steelers.

For Steeler fans, the first minute of this game was crucial. If both teams try, one is almost certain to defeat the other, which the Steelers want. If both teams seem to be colluding in order to tie, the Steelers very well may miss the playoffs.

Steelers fans were happy with how the game began, as the Raiders put in their best effort and scored a field goal. At this point, the Steelers seemed to be safe. It doesn’t matter who wins, as long as one team does.

However, the game went into overtime, and with less than one minute remaining, the score was tied. The Raiders were likely going to let the clock run out, resulting in a tie. However, in an effort to win the game, the Chargers called a timeout, which encouraged the Raiders to kick a field goal. Daniel Carlson nailed a 47-yard field goal with 0:00 on the clock, putting the Raiders and Steelers in the playoffs.

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As Kyra Chan (12) runs to position herself on the outfield grass of the softball pitch, she drops into her usual stance: knees bent, back straight while burrowing her right hand into her rustic, tattered Wilson glove. She lays eyes on the upcoming batter.

Soon the 12-inch bright yellow ball is sent flying into the air, with Chan tracking it.

She sprints full pace, making one last thrust over the fence to seize the ball before she carefully brings her arm back. A roar of applause emerges among the spectators, while the batter walks off the field in disappointment.

At a young age, Chan began actively participating in multiple sports. She played competitive soccer and basketball, but her favorite has always been softball. She still cherishes the memory of winning the district championship with her team when she was eight years old.

“Winning the championship district was a great moment, with me pitching and my best friend catching. It definitely stands out as one of the best moments,” Chan said.

It was only until in high school she chose to solely focus on one sport to manage her growing schedule and improve her skill set more efficiently. Because of her love and passion for the game’s competitiveness, while sharing the field with her closest friends, Chan decided on softball.

“I chose softball because I had a bunch of friends, and I liked it the best and its competitive quality,” Chan said.

Chan has been a member of the TPHS varsity softball team since freshman year. Helping lead her team to compete in multiple CIF state championships, she has also been named 1st Team AllCIF and 1st Team All-League in her junior year.

Outside of school, she has played for a local club team, the Firecrackers Brashears, for over six years. They recently finished third at the Alliance Fastpitch Softball Championship Tier 1 and TCS Nationals, both major national tournaments. Other notable achievements include playing in three PGF Championships, placing twice in the top 10 of the nation. To avoid overlapping with the school season, her seasons with the Brashears last only over summer, when they travel the nation.

Chan wanted to continue to play softball in college and was reached out by several universities, with the final choice coming down to Stanford and Colombia. She decided to commit to Stanford in the end.

“In the end, I am happy where I am, and it was my dream from the start, and I feel accomplished,” Chan said.

To achieve such a high level of play in high school, Chan had to put in the work and hours, whether that be by herself or during team practice. She would typically practice immediately after school, and if she had extra time, she would hit the gym. When traveling with the Firecrackers over the summer, she would lift weights and have lessons during the week and then play during the weekend in tournaments, showcases or team practices.

“The gym sessions are an hour. Any lessons I take are about an hour, and anything by myself, it really depends … but I say like about an hour and then team practices would last like two hours,” Chan said.

For Chan, college may well be the end of the road for her softball career, as she hopes to pursue a path in business and economics or environmental science in the future. However, she is still aiming to continue her winning mentality in her softball game at Stanford.

“I’m just trying to do my best, and I want to win,” Chan said. “I’m not really going for [college softball] accomplishments but that would be cool if I get them.”

On paper, Chan’s journey may appear polished, but one of her toughest challenges was balancing softball with school. Not being able to hang out with her friends as much, her social life became affected by having to wake up early for games. However, she overcame these challenges with the support of her team.

“But to get over that, my teammates, having a good team, and having nice people and cool people around you really helps you get through those 4 a.m wake-up calls and everything,” Chan said.

Over the years, softball has importantly taught and ingrained in Chan the reaction to failure and not fearing it.

“Softball is a game of failure. Say if you fail like six out of ten times; that is considered great. So you’re bound to fail in the sport, and I’ve done it so many times that I’m so used to it, and I know how to react to it. Because dwelling on it is not going to help at all,” Chan said.

by Jerry Wu and David Zhang

PHOTO COURTESY OF KYRA CHAN

Kyra Chan

A21

A22 the falconer

sports

january 21, 2021

TPHS girls soccer falls to San Marcos High School injury was that player that won all of those headers,” TPHS varsity head TPHS varsity girls soccer (1-7-4) coach Martyn Hansford said. “Someone faced a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the this year has got to step up and take that San Marcos High School Knights (9-3) responsibility.”

That lack of player availability and on Jan. 6.

From the beginning, the Falcons were general fluidity in play has proved to at a disadvantage. With 11 players on be a challenge this year for the Falcons, the field, TPHS had only two subs on the especially in this game.

“At times, we were a little disconnected bench, compared to San Marcos’s packed bench. The shortage was due to a torrent and not able to play and move as a unit,” of injuries, a few club commitments and, forward, Ellie Davidson (11) said.

Even so, during the first half, the most significantly, a recent surge of positive COVID-19 test results among Falcons held their own on the field and players. All this, in addition to having in the goal with a couple miraculous a field player, Gabrielle Rojo (12) in the last-minute saves from Rojo. But the goal box, injured the Falcons’ confidence Falcons truly felt their disadvantage when, with 18 minutes left of the first as they stepped onto the field.

Despite these setbacks, the Falcons half, San Marcos scored their first goal.

The Falcons came back more managed to largely control the ball throughout the first half, showing off aggressive offensively and hungry for a strong defensive line made up of key goals, crossing to widen the field.

“Goals change games, but at one-nil, sweepers Katelyn Campbell (11) and Ilana Goldkang (12) and up-the-line I think we [came] back to [our team’s] plays from wing defender Sam Steele character,” Hansford said. “We didn’t (11). The team’s main struggle was capitulate. We kept going.”

During the second half, the Falcons getting to the ball first and winning kept up the intensity, but it grew difficult header battles against San Marcos.

“One of the players that we lost to for the tired players to stop the barrage of San Marcos shots on Rojo.

“I think they knew we had a field player in goal, so their strategy was to put as many balls in the box as they could,” Hansford said.

Yet, Rojo showed her versatility as a player with a heroic save to block a ball soaring inside the left PHOTO BY NATALIA MOCHERNAK/ sidebar of the goal.

Caroline Hunt

STAFF WRITER

“I stepped up to play in goal because it’s what my team needed,” Rojo said. “I had done it before and to me, the success of the team is much more important than me getting to play in my preferred position.”

Rojo usually plays midfield.

The Knights’ persistent shots on goal proved effective, earning them a second goal with 29 minutes left in the game.

Still, the Falcons never gave up.

“What really showed tonight was that fighting spirit,” Hansford said.

TPHS players Nikolina Hadzibabic (12) and Makaylah Gerling (9) made cuts throughout the field and kept their cool even as the clock ticked down. Anna Nichols (12) sprinted to provide a miraculous interception in a 1v1 between San Marcos and Rojo while Davidson rocketed past defenders.

While the Falcons played until the final buzzer, the Knights walked while getting out-of-bounds balls.

“We’re not a million miles away from where we need to be, but we’ve got to improve,” Hansford said.

“We’re not creating enough chances and we’re not scoring enough goals.”

After a difficult pre-season, the varsity girls team started its league season Jan. 11 with a 4-1 loss to Carlsbad High School, a 6-0 win versus El Camino High School Jan. 13, a 1-0 loss to West Hills High School on Jan. 15 and a ______ against San Dieguito Academy Jan. 18.

“If anything, [pre-season] really motivated us to work and try harder coming into the league,” Davidson said.

Next up for the Falcons is a match with Canyon Crest Academy at TPHS on Jan. 20.

Esports players at TPHS take game to the next level Naomi Schneider and Michele Kim STAFF WRITERS

As Hajin Park (12) prepares for a competitive match in his sport, he sits down at his computer and jumps on a call with his teammates. But this is nothing out of the ordinary for Park because he competes on the TP Esports team.

Video games are loved by teenagers everywhere, so when select members of TP Esports team beat UC Davis in a competitive Valorant game, eyebrows were raised, questions were asked and offers were made.

“We were just the normal TP Esports team, but a team actually recruited us through that,” Kayra Ozkalyoncu (9) said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HAJIN PARK

Top-performing members of the TPHS Esports Club include Ozkalyoncu, Park, Yann Chan (12), David Scuba (12) and Aidan Sisson (11). They made a name for themselves after defeating UC Davis, which resulted in Omni Performance, an Esports training organization, recruiting the five students and Jaden Lee (10), a member of the club who did not participate in the tournament.

“The Omni Performance team that’s connected to the players at Torrey Pines and the Esports club has provided a community for all the people that are trying really hard to get good at a specific game, like Valorant,” Ozkalyoncu said.

Valorant is a first-person, five vs. five-based team shooter game similar to other games like CSGO or Overwatch.

TPHS is home to a collection of nationally ranking players for various video games, including Valorant. A combined passion for video gaming and forming a video gaming community compelled Park, Scuba, Chan and Sisson to form the newly minted Esports Club, which began this school year.

“This originally started from a group of friends. We decided to form a team at our school together, and from that, we wanted to expand that into the club so that it wasn’t just playing alone,” Park said. “The purpose is to give other kids at our school the opportunity to play competitively for the school.”

Students in the club regularly polish their skills by themselves, but a large part of their club is teamwork.

“By yourself, it’s always good to hone your skills so your aim is on point and it’s good to have practice, but … the most important thing is team chemistry,” Scuba said. “So I think it is more important to practice with the team and get chemistry with all of your teammates.”

The TPHS Esports Club plans to continue its activities well beyond this year, with the ultimate goal of being recognized as an official school sport, just like the school’s football and basketball teams.

“The end goal is to have something similar to the sports program[s] at Torrey Pines,” Park said. “An entire sports program supporting a variety of games, hosting tryouts and forming teams, representing Torrey Pines to compete in.”

The club’s adviser, Richard Robinette, looks forward to future Esports prospects with his students.

“I definitely think that’s going to be the end result. I’m not sure how fast that’s going to happen. In other countries, it seems to be happening faster, Americans are a little bit slower to evolve on Esports … [Other countries] have stadiums for Esports, so I think it’s heading in that direction,” Robinette said.

Members are optimistic about the club’s future, with its already large and growing membership of around 100 members.

“I think this team will definitely get a much bigger following … I know for a fact we’re definitely going to keep on getting better and compete with more well-known teams,” Ozkalyoncu said.

The club is also looking toward further expansion provided that they gain approval for the Valorant team.

TPHS Esports Club members want to form competitive teams for other games as well. The Club has hosted small Minecraft servers and non-competitive tournaments in their Discord server thus far.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HAJIN PARK

tphsfalconer.com

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Ellie Davidson varsity soccer january 11, 5:53 pm camera: Canon EOS Rebel T6 lens: 18-55mm iso: 800 exp: 1/5400 f/stop: f/5.6

photo by Rasa Nyce

the falconer A23

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A24 the falconer

january 21, 2022

tphs.ratings 4 Posts

1.4M Followers

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Torrey Pines High School Rates ALL other TP Insta pages #WEARETP #TPPLEDGE4L

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TPHS Bad Parking

Message

10/10

Entertainment at its finest. The joy of seeing kids parked over white, yellow and blue lines alike is unparalleled (literally). Supernatural beings will look back at this account in the future to study some of the worst parkers in the world. Let this account be a reminder to drive carefully in the student parking lot, unless you want a fresh new dent in your ride. And if you’ve ever been featured on this account, maybe try not to back into your spot next time.

TPHS Cheese Victims

5/10

The low rating for this one is simply because it is so weird. Thankfully, I have never fallen victim to a cheesed car, although I have seen some flying cheese soar out of windows. Californians can rest easy tonight, knowing that their tax dollars are going toward ruining 2021 Mercedes and BMWs. And if you were cheesed, dishwater soap and hot water can do wonders.

Email

TPHS Ships

8/10

The information may not be valid, but that’s not what’s important. The important thing is how much drama can be stirred up with each post.

This is why we all guiltily followed back when we saw that follow request (we all know it’s in your recent searches). After all, who doesn’t want to see the same few people shuffled up into multiple different couples. Will the secret owner be unmasked? Probably not, but who knows what information they have seen in their DMs.

Class of 2022 Decisions 3/10

Talk about an account that will somehow make you feel worse for not being accepted into college yet. Because if anything will relieve your stress, it’s definitely a feed full of Stanford commitments and Penn acceptances. The only reason this account gets points is because it’s fascinating to see that the guy who slept behind you all of freshman year and never showered now has a full ride to Caltech.