October 2017

Falconer

The Torrey Pines High School

Friday, October 27, 2017

Vol. 43, Issue 2, 24 pages

www.tphsfalconer.com

Saturday Night Fever heats up at TPHS Homecoming dance

PHOTO BY DAVID VAPNEK/FALCONER

MOVIN’ AND GROOVIN’: Homecoming attendees dance the night away in the TPHS quad in front of the gym to music played by SOS Entertainment at the disco-themed Homecoming dance. Attendees could also participate in other activities, including playing arcade games and watching “Saturday Night Fever” on the grass quad.

ASB hosted the Saturday Night Fever Homecoming dance on Oct. 14 at TPHS from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., which featured an assortment of activities ranging from ping pong to arcade machines.

This year’s Homecoming theme echoed the ‘70s, with a rousing disco atmosphere. Attendees were encouraged to dress in attire that matched the decade. Many guests arrived in bellbottom jeans, sequined shirts and some wore large Afro wigs.

“Planning started about two weeks before school started,” Commissioner of Activities and planner of Homecoming, Lauren Grove (11), said. “I was watching ‘Saturday Night Fever’ with my friends, and the music and dancing in that movie is so iconic that I thought a Homecoming centered around that was a good idea.”

Decorations at the dance included vinyl records hanging from the pavilion above the outdoor lunch tables and a disco ball illuminating the quad. There was also a photo booth for students with a glittery backdrop and props available.

“I thought the theme was okay,” dance attendee Cami Kangleon (10) said.“It looked cool when it was fully put together, and I thought the decorations were well done.”

The majority of attendees spent their

time on the dance floor. Music was played for the entire night by a DJ from SOS Entertainment who was stationed in front of the mosh pit. However, there were also other activities available for attendees to participate in, like arcade machines, including a Pac-Man machine, and a projector that played “Saturday Night Fever” on the outdoor stage in the quad.

“My favorite activities [at the dance] were foosball and the table tennis,” Kiet Tran (10) said. “But I feel like there could have been some other activities going on out in the field rather than the movie.”

A long table with candy options like Blow Pops and Pixy Sticks was located near the lunch tables. However, the most popular food option of the night came from the taco bar, a collection of taco ingredients including a variety of sauces, which was catered by Whisknladle Bistro and Bar. “The food was super good,” Kangleon said. “The tacos were great, I probably ate around five. My friend even took a few home to share with her parents.”

About 600 to 700 students were expected to attend Homecoming this year. An estimated 650 attendees attended on Saturday night, according to ASB staff adviser Matt Livingston.

The total cost of this year’s dance was between $10,000 and $15,000, according to Grove and Livingston. The dance was

funded mainly through ticket sales and money made through ASB card sales.

School dances typically do not bring in a significant amount of revenue for ASB, so their main goal is to break even, according to Livingston. However, the cost of this dance was significantly less than the cost of dances in previous years, due to an effort to conserve funds.

There also were fewer home football games this year, causing a decline in the number of ASB stickers bought, since the stickers allow ticket discounts.

“The trick [to breaking even is] to put on a good enough dance with less money, [or] something that we can put on with a lower budget but still get people to come,” Livingston said.

There were some complaints regarding the dance this year, particularly about the lack of activities compared to last year’s Homecoming dance. Since the budget was lower than the budget for the 2016 dance, ASB had to cut costs on certain things to allow for more money for a DJ. “They had way more things to do last year,” Kangleon said. “They had games and stuff on the tables [under the pavilion] but didn’t have that this year.

Also, it was very cramped this year.”

However, most attendees, including Tran who attended Homecoming for the first time this year, had a lot of fun as they were able to spend time dancing and socializing with their friends.

TAP students start merchandise business The special education program at TPHS recently added Falcon Flyers, a

business management group through which students learn to create and sell products.

In the class, students gain job experience, learn soft skills, or communication skills, practice designing products and conduct business transactions in a supervised,

safe environment. Hot drinks like tea, coffee (Colombian, vanilla nut, iced and dark), as well as hot chocolate are sold during the two nutrition breaks and lunch. Pink breast cancer awareness shirts are also are sold online and designed by students in the class.

Turn to A3.

BIRD’S EYE VIEW

A19

A20 opinion feature entertainment sports backpage FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

A6 A11 A16 A20 A24

tphsfalconer tphsfalconer TPHSports

news

A2 the falconer

october 27, 2017

Performing arts center construction scheduled to begin late October the need to relocate staff and students, according to Principal Rob Coppo. TPHS is currently the only high school in the SDUHSD without a PAC. The district also surveyed staff members, students and community members before A performing arts center at TPHS is the Prop AA bond was passed in 2012 to see set to replace the culinary and fine arts what changes and renovations they would classrooms on campus, and construction is prefer to see at TPHS, and the updated projected to begin by the end of October as classrooms took precedence, ultimately a part of the third phase of the Proposition causing the construction of the PAC to be AA projects funded by the $78 million moved further down the agenda, according TPHS portion of the $449 million Prop AA to Coy. The construction of the J building SDUHSD bond. and the renovations to science classrooms According to SDUHSD Chief Facilities in the northeast corner of the B building Officer Mike Coy, the came first. The weight destruction of the arts and room was also relocated custodial rooms began because it was being around June 17, shortly replaced by the current J after the 2016-17 school building. year ended. This part of “Getting [students] the Prop AA project is in … a 21st-century the first in which part of classroom that has the TPHS’ campus is being technology, enough space completely destroyed and for [students and staff] a new building is being to operate in [and is] a constructed in its place good comfortable space from the “ground-up,” conducive to learning is at compared to previous the top of [our priorities],” Prop AA projects which Coy said. were renovations to Marinee Payne This phase of the existing features, such as ������� �������� project is being managed the Media Center project by architects Joe and the construction Mansfield and Gemma of the J building. This newest phase of Hsiueh of Roesling Nakamura Terada Prop AA improvements at TPHS has an Architects Inc., who have previously estimated cost of $24 million, making it a worked with SDUHSD on a number of significantly larger project compared to the construction projects, including the TPHS previous Prop AA projects at TPHS that Prop AA projects involving the new J have cost $21 million in total. building, weight room, and B building “This is a much bigger project than what renovations. The district put the project we’ve taken on before,” Coy said. “Because out for a bid, and Mansfield and Hsiueh of all the pieces that go into it, the price per won the contract bid, according to Coppo. square foot is going to be a little bit higher.”

According to Hsiueh, the new performing According to Coy, the initial idea of arts center, which will consist of two building a performing arts center at TPHS separate buildings, is set to include a 350came about four decades ago when the seat proscenium theater in one building, a school opened. After deciding that a new music room and dance room in the other PAC should be built next to the current building, along with a black box that will performing arts buildings in 2008, the first seat about 200 people. It will also include master plans for the PAC were drawn up an open-air part, that will be separate from and then modified in 2013. However, the the current theater and has been dubbed master plan was not approved until 2015, the “Creative Porch” by performing arts primarily due to a lack of funding, as well teacher Marinee Payne, where all drama, as uncertainty about where to build it and music, dance and art students can get

[It’s] my hope that [the new PAC] draws more interest from the community and, likewise, we’ll gain a little more support for the arts.

Who Wants to Be a Mathematician Competition

The following students qualified for Round 2 of the competition, and those who do well in this contest will compete at the national level later this year.

Perfect Scores: Lucas Liu (9) Sumith Nalabolu (10) Kevin Ren (12) Additional Qualifiers: Jerry Huang (10) Eric Oh (10) Ananth Rao (11) Yashasvi Vangala (9)

together and collaborate. Payne and music teacher Amy Gelb started to work closely with the architects in 2005 to ensure TPHS would eventually have a state-of-the-art high school proscenium theater and PAC, and many other community members have wanted to see a PAC for years as well.

“Between [Payne] and the community at large, I think there is just a general consensus that [the PAC] is an important addition to Torrey Pines that was never built,” Coy said.

Currently, the bus loop near the back of the stadium that was a drop-off area is closed due to the construction of the PAC, but it will return as a drop-off option when PAC construction is finished.

Payne is excited for the new PAC because she believes it will bring more recognition to the music and drama departments. “[It’s] my hope that [the new PAC] draws

more interest from the community, and likewise we’ll gain a little more support for the arts,” Payne said.

PAC construction has also displaced the fine arts classes to the portables near the stadium, inconveniencing some students like Morgan Murphy (10). However, Murphy still believes the new PAC “will have a great outcome,” and most students have responded positively to the new development.

“It’s great that students in arts will finally have more opportunities to practice and perform in a better environment,” Chloe Ko (12), who is in TPHS’ orchestra program, said.

According to Coy, the PAC will be completed in the spring of 2019, and the next stage of Prop AA developments will relocate the fine art classes into another new building.

PHOTOS BY JOCELYN TZENG/FALCONER

LAND-STAGING: A 3-D model (TOP) and poster (BOTTOM RIGHT) of TPHS including the new performing arts center are displayed in the Media Center. The destruction of the former arts buildings began in June 2017 (BOTTOM LEFT).

25th Annual Jack Howe Memorial Tournament

Farzaan Kaiyom (12) made it to finals of the tournament, receiving his second bid and quaifying to the 2018 Lincoln-Douglas Tournament of Champions in April 2018.

UCSD iGem MUN Biology Contamination Summit

Best Delegate: Farhan Hossain (11) Research Award: Hannah Jian (9) Outstanding Delegate: Lenni Elbe (12) Aviva Schwaiger (11) Kashika Rathore (11) Maxine Sy Chu (11)

Standout Debaters

CSU Fullerton Middle and High School Invitational: Congressional Debate Finalist: Bo Miao (12) Lincoln-Douglas Debate Semifinalist: Sumin Hwang (12) Parliamentary Quaterfinalists: Kevin Hu (12) Kyle Sasagawa (12) San Diego Imperial Valley Speech League 1C: Varsity Dramatic Interpretation First Place: Alice Shashkina (12) INFOGRAPHIC BY ANGELA LIU

news

tphsfalconer.com

TAP

CONTINUED FROM A1

Real World Scholars is a non-profit San Diego-based organization that donates $1,000 to “teachers who use entrepreneurship to engage students in core curriculum, while empowering them to explore passions and develop skills they will need after they graduate,” according to its website.

Ryland Wickman, who manages the TPHS Transitional Alternative Program with special education teacher Susan Bouchard, took the initiative to send in an application to qualify for the RWSsponsored scholarship after creating an EdCorp, a student-run Education Corporation that sells products or services.

Falcon Flyers is one of the five groups in the third period Peer Tutoring class, which also includes dance and cooking groups. According to Wickman, Falcon Flyers was not a popular choice among the students in the beginning because it “sounded difficult and time-consuming, but eventually the students enjoyed it.”

TAP is a class offered for special education students who will not receive traditional diplomas. It teaches basic life and functional skills through selling coffee, tea or hot chocolate to teachers and students in the B building. By selling to customers in person, they can get experience and develop real life communication skills. “[A lot of students] have a hard time communicating, so the big thing at the coffee shop where they do community service is that a lot of them get really shy,” Wickman said. “They always have these scripts that allow them to ... look at [them] and make them feel more comfortable because they get real anxious.”

Although TAP students are assisted at all times by general education students or adults, they are “still in charge of selling [products] and handling the money,” Wickman said.

Students are assigned individual roles,

the falconer

A3

some of which include designing products, writing thank you notes and running the program website, Facebook page and Twitter page. D-Adrian Cook (10) is a special education student enrolled in TAP at TPHS. According to Cook, Falcon Flyers is an informative and a “fun” program that “everybody [in TAP] should do.”

“I designed cups, made shirts and made deliveries,” Cook said. “I loved [the experience]. My favorite part was getting to meet new [customers].”

The general education student leader of Falcon Flyers, Leah Hallal (10), also enjoys her involvement in the program “Bonding and just growing as a team” are the aspects she finds most satisfying and meaningful.

“Falcon Flyers has definitely made me grow more mature,” Hallal said. “I have a lot more patience and it made me into a better person.”

However, working in the business group was difficult at first because “it takes a lot of patience, and each kid is different.” But the experience ultimately makes up for any challenges, according to Hallal.

Recently, the program has increased outreach to students and teachers through more online and social media advertising.

Customers can now also “order right off of the websites and have [the products] delivered to them or pick [the products] up themselves,” according to Wickman.

Currently, the program has made over $110.00.

“So far it’s been really great. We only have four coffee cups left, so we’re almost sold out of those,” Wickman said.

Most of the money made in Falcon Flyers is circulated back into buying more supplies for future projects and sales. In addition, the program will donate a portion of the funds to a charity organization of the student’s choice, Wickman said.

Future plans for the Falcon Flyers program include making a team jersey and setting up a store next to the TAP coffee shop.

INFOGRAPHIC BY SUMIN HWANG/FALCONER

Verizon

12:15 P.M.

• Fully accredited college prep high school grades 9-12 • Students from neighboring high schools can take our courses either during the day or after their regular school day • Award-winning tutoring and test prep programs for students in grades 7-12

Only takes two simple steps!

1. Order your food on the app 2. Skip the line and pick it up

* *discount only applicable for teachers and students Monday - Thursday from 12 P.M.- 4 P.M.

12880 Carmel Country Rd. San Diego, CA 92130

12707 High Bluff Dr. | San Diego, CA 92130

(La Salsa’s former location)

INFOGRAPHIC BY SUMIN HWANG/FALCONER

A4 the falconer

news

october 27, 2017

Google Classroom replaces Blackboard as default system

AVID students and teachers take annual statewide college tour

A recent measure approved by the SDUHSD school board has replaced Blackboard Learn with Google Classroom as the default student, teacher and parent communication system.

Blackboard Learn has been the go-to system for teachers at TPHS for the past decade, according to Spanish teacher Leonor Youngblood.

To ease the learning curve that often accompanies the introduction of new technology, the district offered a “Google Summer Camp,” an optional multiple-day course at Pacific Trails Middle School from Aug. 14-17, to educate teachers on effective use of Google Classroom. “[The course] was a full week of getting acquainted not just with [Google] Classroom ��������� but with Google in general … it was extremely beneficial,” Youngblood said.

One of the main reasons that the district decided to depart from Blackboard Learn is the connectedness of the Google system. For example, students can access Google Drive on their accounts, while teachers have access to both Google Drive and Gmail on theirs.

“If you look at the trends in technology, it’s hard to avoid … [noticing] Google, [as] it’s an incredibly integrated, useful platform,” Principal Rob Coppo said.

Youngblood also cites the ease of importing documents as another advantage of the transition, despite the initial learning curve and “cluttered” nature of Google Classroom.

“I still have to look for help, but I’m finding [using the system] easier and easier and easier [due to] those two reasons,” Youngblood said.

Other teachers have also switched this year, including English teacher Lisa Callender, according to Reagan Kan (12).

While one of the goals of the transition

Thirty TPHS AVID students from all grade levels visited college campuses in Central California and the Bay Area as a part of their annual fall college field trip from Oct. 1-4.

Students were accompanied by all three AVID teachers, Colin Cornforth, Anastasia Kokkinis and Rosa Velazquez, as well as former AVID teacher and current special education teacher Francisco Lona. In total, they visited 10 colleges: UC Merced, Sacramento State University, UC Davis, St. Mary’s College of California, CSU East Bay, UC Berkeley, University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, Stanford University and San Jose State University.

“It was nice to ������� see [the schools] for myself,” Mariana Medina (11) said, “as I hadn’t heard of all of [them] until I stepped foot onto the campus.”

According to Velazquez, Medina is one of approximately 75 students in the AVID program, a three- to four-year “precollegiate program” that helps students develop their skills for college. According to Velazquez, “a lot of these kids are first generation college students.” “[The AVID program not] only helps [students] get into college, but it [also] helps them to be successful and graduate from college,” Velazquez said.

Many of these students “don’t have the means to visit these colleges, so the trip was valuable because it gave them the experience of being able to travel to northern California,” Velazquez said.

“Personally, my parents don’t have the time or the money to spend on taking me to see colleges,” Keila De La O (12) said.

“AVID does a good job of choosing a wide variety of colleges, not just UC or CSU

was to simplify the process of obtaining information from teachers, not all students agree that Google Classroom is the superior program. On Blackboard Learn, teachers have the ability to customize their class pages, allowing them to place information that they feel is most important, such as test dates, on the home page. However, on Google Classroom, information is located chronologically on a “feed,” similar to social media platforms.

“I like Blackboard because it’s more personalized, and … you need to scroll all the way down to find the information you need [on Google Classroom],” Lindsey Ren (11) said.

While both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages, a return to Blackboard Learn, at least in its current form, is not imminent, according to Coppo.

This is, in part, due to the district ending its contract with Blackboard Inc., the parent company of the website.

However, this was not the only aspect that contributed to Blackboard Learn’s replacement, because the district board must first pass a measure before it can be put into effect. In order for one like this to be passed, Teachers on Special Assignment, or “TOSAs,” who work in the SDUHSD Technology Services Department at the district office, research potential products based on current trends. If they find anything of interest, it is researched further, a pitch is created and then it is submitted to the school board for approval.

“We’re always looking to maximize our use of tax dollars,” Coppo said, “so … if there’s another product that’s just as good and it’s either less expensive or … free, why would we not go with [it]?”

While some teachers have already switched systems for the 2017-18 school year, they can use whichever platform they want other than Blackboard, because all technological choices within the classroom are at the discretion of the teacher, according to Coppo.

We’re always looking to maximize our use of tax dollars, so ... if there’s another product that’s just as good ... why would we not go with it?

Rob Coppo

[schools], but also private schools that are small and large, and in urban and rural settings.”

De La O said the students were able to visit schools “back to back,” allowing them to see the similarities and differences between schools. Many of the students’ tour guides were previous TPHS AVID students, so this year’s AVID students were able to “learn about what they did while in high school to be able to go to that college.”

Velazquez sees the trip as both educational and motivational.

“If a freshman sees Stanford or Berkeley, those are schools that you have to work toward to go to,” Velazquez said. “So if they’re freshmen or sophomores, then they’ve got their whole high school career to work on getting into those schools.”

P r i n c i p a l Rob Coppo, who previously taught at a school with a large AVID program, “almost wished that every kid could go through [it].”

“I love the AVID program,” Coppo said. “It gives [students] a chance to really connect with what it’s like to be on a college campus, especially for students that might not normally get that opportunity.”

AVID teachers asked for $50 donations for the trip. Additional funding was provided by the TPHS Foundation.

“The Foundation sees a true value in supporting the AVID program,” Foundation Executive Director Nicole Baril said.

Coppo welcomes the Foundation’s financial support of AVID trips.

“That’s part of why we have the Foundation,” Coppo said. “We have an amazingly generous Foundation that works very hard to support all of our students on campus.”

The next AVID trip will be to a San Diego university in the spring. Program students will also attend the San Diego National College Fair in March.

AVID was started in San Diego in 1980.

AVID does a good job of choosing a wide variety of colleges, not just UC or CSU [schools] but also private schools that are small and large and in urban and rural settings.

Keila De La O (12)

states that all students must be in class a minimum of 180 minutes per day, and have an average of 240 minutes on consecutive days.

A recent audit revealed that district school schedules did not meet the standard on

INFOGRAPHIC BY SUMIN HWANG/FALCONER

news

tphsfalconer.com

The confirmed death count from wildfires reached 42 after they burned through Northern California for over a week.

The Tubbs fire blazed through 36,432 acres mostly in Santa Rosa, while the Oct. 8 Atlas fire scorched 51,604 acres.

In total, the fires decimated 8,400 structures, including over 2,800 houses in Santa Rosa. Officials have referred to it as “the deadliest week in California fire history.”

On Oct. 1 the Spanish region of Catalonia held a referendum on independence. The vote was held in defiance of the central Spanish government and was ruled unconstitutional, resulting in hundreds of injuries from clashes between police and protesters. The region voted overwhelmingly to secede, posing the largest threat to Spain’s democracy since the end of the Franco dictatorship in the 1970s.

On Oct. 4, an ambush near Niamey, Niger’s capital, killed four U.S. soldiers and wounded two, while also killing a member of a “partner nation.” The attack was likely the work of Islamic militants, who operate in the area and across the border in Mali. The U.S. soldiers were aiding Nigerien counterterror operations in a remote part of the country at the time of ambush.

the falconer

A5

Iraqi militias, backed by the United States, announced that the Syrian city of Raqqa, which formerly served as the Islamic State Group’s capital, has been “totally liberated.” It took 130 days of fighting for the Syrian Democratic Forces to expel the terrorist group. The SDF said that control of the city would be handed over to civilian leaders once clearing operations were completed and their safety could be guaranteed.

WORDS BY EVE GROSS-SABLE AND SAMMY HALLAL INFOGRAPHIC BY ANGELA LIU

Information courtesy of BBC, CNN and the Los Angeles Times

New process of electing SDUHSD board members passed

The SDUHSD passed a resolution on Sept. 27 that will change future board member elections from an “at-large” system to a “by-trustee area” system.

In at-large elections, the entire community votes for board members, but in the by-trustee area system, the district will split into five regions; voters in each region will elect a board member residing in that region. “[The change is] kind of a financial decision for the district,” student board representative Isaac Gelman (12) said.

“A bunch of districts nearby have been getting notices saying that they are not in accordance with the California Voting Rights Act. If you get a notice, you get a fine, so that is why we are doing this ahead of time.”

The CVRA prohibits the at-large elections that the SDUHSD board has been using until now because those elections may lead to “racially polarized voting.”

The fines owed for receiving a notice amount to $30,000. However, if school boards are sued, the fines are more serious.

Madera Unified High School District, for

example, was sued for $1.2 million in 2008.

“We have to do the whole thing within 90 days, which seems extremely fast,” SDUHSD board member Joyce Dalessandro said. “If we get ahead of it, we can avoid the fines and legal fees which are tremendously costly. Nobody wants to take those finances.”

SDUHSD is currently in the mapmaking process.

After different map options are created, the board will hold public meetings on Nov. 13, Nov. 14 and Nov. 16 to get feedback from the community on those options.

“One consideration for the maps will be demographics.

[The mapmakers] will want to make sure Isaac Gelman that the populations ������� are evenly distributed between the districts,” Dalessandro said. “They also have to draw out the voting districts to make sure the minority groups get a voice.”

The board will vote on the maps on Dec. 14. While the details for by-trustee area elections will be set in place by then, the

effects will not be felt until 2018, when Amy Herman, Maureen Muir and John Salazar are up for reelection.

The challenge for the board, according to Dallessandro, will be finalizing the bytrustee area system within the next 90 days.

“We will have many meetings.”

Dallessandro said.

“We can do it, we will have to, but it will be difficult.”

According to TPHS Principal Rob Coppo, the decisions of the SDUHSD school board usually have a lasting influence on TPHS. “Look at Prop AA for example,” Coppo said. “That does not happen without the (12) vision and leadership of our school board.

Then the school board is there to hold us accountable, to make sure we are doing the right things for our students.”

However, Coppo said it is difficult to tell if the change will affect TPHS. “I think we have had pretty balanced representation in the district up until now,

There are going to be opportunities for people to come in and give their input to the board members on what they think is fair.

The board does not want to arbitrarily draw

so I do not see a positive or negative about it right now,” Coppo said. “This is more protective rather than corrective.”

While Dalessandro says changing the system is necessary to avoid legal fines, she said by-trustee area elections would not have been her first choice.

“I do think that over time there is a possibility that people would start getting protective of their area because of having their constituency in that area,” Dalessandro said. “Then, influence from the constituency may affect board decisions.”

Gelman said that the community has only been mildly involved in board meetings dealing with the new elections, but he expects more input when the map options are released.

“There are going to be opportunities for people to come in and give their input to the board members on what they think is fair,” Gelman said. “The board does not want to arbitrarily draw lines. They want it to be meaningful and fair.”

Gelman says the district board has a significant impact on SDUHSD schools.

“They are the governing body of all the schools,” Gelman said. “Their direction, what they vote on, is the direction they give to the superintendent.”

The board’s first public hearing to discuss map options will begin at 6 p.m. on Nov. 13.

art by simon kim/falcon artist

Many athletes in the NFL have taken a knee during the pre-game playing of the national anthem as an act of protest against oppression and police brutality.

By Eve Gross-Sable COPY EDITOR

Colin Kaepernick was not the first professional athlete to refuse to stand for the national anthem. Before him came, among others, Brooklyn Dodgers player Jackie Robinson and Oakland Raiders player Marshawn Lynch, who began his silent protest while on the Seattle Seahawks. After Kaepernick, a slew of players from a variety of sports ranging from highschoolers to professionals kneeled or linked arms in protest. In response to the widespread protest, at a rally in Alabama, President Donald Trump urged NFL owners to fire any player who does not stand because he “disrespects our flag.” NFL owners should allow kneeling and other forms of silent, nondisruptive protest during the national anthem, not only to observe players’ Constitutional rights, but to communicate an important message to the entire country.

Consistent kneeling, especially in professional sports, during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racism raises the question: do they have the right to kneel during the anthem while they are on the job? Yes, but no. The Constitution guarantees that “Congress shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise … or abridging the freedom of speech.”

Kneeling during the anthem qualifies as speech, like flag-burning and political donation, which have been established by the U.S. Supreme Court. Furthermore, nowhere in any government code is made mandatory to stand. Anyone in a profession in the public eye has the same rights as any other citizen.

And yet, with a small addition to their contracts or guidelines, working people could have their right to certain acts of free speech stripped away.

For instance, if the San Francisco 49ers were to insert into the players’

contracts “all members must stand during the national anthem at games,” anyone who signed would be expected to fulfill it. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to teams that “Like many of our fans, [the NFL believes] that everyone should stand for the national anthem.” Although a strong suggestion, Goodell did not go as far as to demand all members stand. Again, if he really felt it was necessary, Goodell could legally make that demand. He shouldn’t.

The president has no right to dictate how private organizations deal with their employees’ actions. In all the hubbub surrounding Trump’s remarks, little focus has been put on the message that the football players are trying to send. Kaepernick and other protesters continue to emphasize that the protest is not against the flag, nor the people who serve our country, but police brutality that has targeted black citizens.

“We came up with taking a knee because there are issues that still need to be addressed, and it was also a way to show more respect for the men and women that fight for this country,” Kaepernick said.

Trump cannot accuse protesters of disrespecting the flag when they have established that is not their goal.

I’ll admit I feel foolish talking about whether these protests constitute free speech because that is exactly what Trump wants from journalists. For him, it is better than acknowledging the fact that, according to the Washington Post, 34 percent of unarmed people killed by police in 2016 were black males, despite making up only 6 percent of the population. Refusing to recognize the racism that implies is far more disrespectful than kneeling during the anthem because of the president’s failure to address racism.

The flag only stands for “liberty and justice for all” when there is actually liberty and justice for all. Pretending that the equality and freedom promised to every American in our founding documents presently exist in the U.S. can only last so long.

It’s been established; all of those people have the right to kneel.

Let’s get back to the part where the president won’t condemn racism in our law enforcement system.

The following question was posed in a survey of TPHS students

Should athletes be able to protest on the field by refusing to stand for the National Anthem?

66%

34%

YES

NO

said

said

The “Star-Spangled Banner,” has only been the nation’s official anthem since 1931. However, the lyrics date back to 1814 and the anthem was played many times during the 1800s.

In August 2016, Colin Kaepernick, an NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, refused to stand for the national anthem. Since then, many NFL athletes have followed in his footsteps by kneeling or locking arms and protesting in silence for the people of color who suffer oppression in the United States as frequent victims of police brutality, among other racist practices. It is respectable that these NFL athletes are shining a light upon the fact that the U.S. still has some issues that need to be resolved but disrespecting our country and the members of the Armed Forces is not the right way to do so. Many people don’t seem to realize that there is actually a rule established in the NFL game operation manual that requires all athletes to stand on the sideline, face the flag and hold their helmets in their left hands during the anthem.

However, these athletes continue to defy this rule regardless of the anger it is drawing.

Anthem-related protests are not anything new to the U.S. In 1968 U.S. Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and in 1972 Olympians Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett showed insufficient respect on the medal podium during the anthem. Those athletes were later thrown out of the Olympics and barred from further competition. In 1996, the National Basketball Association suspended the Denver Nuggets’ Mahmoud AbdulRauf for refusing to stand for the anthem. If all these athletes were penalized for the same things these NFL athletes are doing, why are they not facing any consequences?

The national anthem was established to honor our military and those that have died serving our country. To kneel or sit down during this brief time we honor them is just disrespectful. On top of that, the national anthem also recognizes our flag and the freedom we have earnedas a nation. To disrespect the very flag that has given us the freedom to speak out seems wrong.

These athletes are protesting for peace and love in our country but by

By Jeremy Chung STAFF WRITER

disrespecting the national anthem, they are angering numbers of people and causing needless divisions in our country.

Although what these NFL athletes are protesting is a good cause, it is seriously hurting the NFL. When people tune into a game the last thing they want to see is a protest. To the audience of the NFL, these protests distract them from the entertainment they expect to see. Recent television ratings have reflected this loss of interest in the sport, dropping double digits so far since the protests began this year. According to a poll conducted in July by global market research company J.D. Power and Associates, 26 percent of viewers have stopped tuning in to the NFL football games because of the flag protest issue.

Another poll conducted in September

by American polling company Rasmussen Reports found that a third of adult Americans are less likely to watch NFL football because of the current protests. These low ratings, at worst, can lead to the league revenue taking a $200 million hit.

Not only is sitting or kneeling during the anthem disrespectful but it is also an ineffective and counterproductive method to promote a cause. The monumental weight of our anthem and our flag and the respect and honor for those who have fought and continue to fight for our nation can blur the message or movement these athletes want to spread.

Racism and police brutality are both very serious and controversial topics that have involved lots of protests and riots. I agree that our country’s issues with racism and police brutality must change.

However, these athletes should find other means of protests that are less likely to anger their audience.

opinion

tphsfalconer.com

the falconer

A7

STAFF EDITORIAL: SANCTUARY CITIES MAKE US SAFER AND BENEFIT THE ECONOMY still pay taxes and help the economy. For example, most illegal immigrants take jobs that American citizens prefer not to hold, as they perform much of the cheap labor in the U.S. For instance, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “about half of the hired workers employed in U.S. crop agriculture were unauthorized.” In fact, these immigrants are simply taking jobs that are still available because of lack of American interest. For this reason, allowing California to become a sanctuary state does not bring negative consequences, but would actually help the economy.

Another reason to support Bill 54 is the fact that the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws is not being removed as a result of the bill’s approval.

This is appropriate since immigration is indeed a national security issue, not to mention a significant government responsibility since it affects all states in the U.S., which places the responsibility under federal government jurisdiction.

However, the federal government should also acknowledge that immigration cases may differ on a state-to-state basis, since factors such as the nationality of the immigrants and their reasons for immigration can vary greatly across the country. For example, California’s immigration situation is significantly different from Rhode Island’s, and the federal government should deal with each state’s immigration situations individually instead of passing general laws for the

country as a whole.

Many U.S. citizens view illegal immigrants as threats to their safety, and thus see sanctuary states as an idea that will only allow this threat to spread and potentially grow stronger. For one thing, sanctuary states are not some sort of safe-haven for illegal immigrants; the definition of sanctuary states maintains that local officials are allowed to decline to assist federal authorities with immigration enforcement. Unauthorized immigrants can be just as easily deported from sanctuary states as they can in others.

Another key flaw in this argument is the fact that sanctuary cities, which enforce the same limitations on local officials working with the federal government as sanctuary states, have actually been shown to be generally safer than other cities in the U.S. In these cities, immigrants feel more comfortable calling the police to report crimes, compared to regular cities, where many are afraid to call 911 because of the possibility that the police might contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have them deported upon learning of their immigration status.

The bill that Brown signed prevents local police from doing just that, and it ensures that ICE will not be able to deport individuals and break apart more families.

The fact that someone is an illegal immigrant does not justify the removal of

their right to feel safe enough to contact the police if they are in danger. It is also important to mention that undocumented immigrants’ reporting of crime prevents further crime not only toward themselves, but also toward other citizens.

Despite the fact that handling immigration law is the federal government’s responsibility, pieces of legislation such as Bill 54 are proof that local and state authorities should be allowed more involvement in regional immigration laws.

Human rights and individual protections will be uniform for all people, regardless of their immigration status, creating safer communities.

ART BY CARLA HANSEN/FALCON ARTIST

California Governor Jerry Brown, signed Senate Bill 54 on October 5, making California a sanctuary state for those who have entered or reside in the U.S. in violation of civil or criminal law. A sanctuary state is one that limits who state and local law enforcement agencies can hold, question and transfer in helping the federal government enforce immigration law, but does not prevent the federal government from entering county jails to question immigrants and conducting regular deportation raids. In other words, the bill, which will take effect on January 1, does not get rid of cooperation between local and federal law enforcement — it simply prevents local officials from asking people in the state about their immigration status during “routine interactions” or situations in which the people involved in the interaction with an official are legally allowed to leave at any time. The newlypassed bill will bring a number of benefits to illegal immigrants by making it possible for them to achieve the American dream, but it will also bring benefits to the state of California. It is ultimately a step in the right direction by giving state and local enforcement more direct power when dealing with immigration.

An important point to remember is that not all people residing in the U.S. in violation of the law bring negative consequences to the U.S. A common opinion is that such people hurt the U.S. economy, but the fact is, that most illegal immigrants in the U.S.

STUDENT VOICES: Should California become a sanctuary state?

Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a bill that would make California a “sanctuary state,” meaning that state and local law enforcement cannot turn in undocumented immigrants unless they’ve been convicted of a crime.

“I think that sanctuary cities are a good thing because illegal immigrants should have the opportunities they desire and should be able to achieve what they want.”

“I don’t think California should have sanctuary cities because I think you should come into the U.S. legally.”

Christiana Braswell (9)

David Sanchez (9)

“Some people who aren’t citizens may not have had a choice and grew up here ... It’s only fair for everyone to have the same privileges as other people, especially regarding their own safety and protection.”

“I think becoming a sanctuary state is a good thing because it makes us all safer.”

Amy Lee (11)

Jaden Reiter (11)

Falconer The Torrey Pines High School

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

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.

“Immigrants come here to work hard ... and deserve rights, but there are some who don’t, and if we support them with wellness checks and stuff like that, it is taking away money from citizens.”

“Undocumented immigrants] are still human beings … In the Constitution it states these rights as human rights, so we are essentially treating them like they aren’t human.

Neilah Soliday (10)

Jonas Kim (10)

“Sanctuary cities are a good thing because all people deserve to feel safe in their homes and in their communities.”

“Yes, but only if [the immigrants coming in] are hardworking, good people.”

Garrett Randall (12)

Anabel Salimian (12) Editors-in-Chief Business Managers Copy Editors News Editor Opinion Editor Feature Editors Entertainment Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Adviser Staff Writers:

Sumin Hwang Anvitha Soordelu Estelle Kraft Lauren Zhang Bea De Oliveira Eve Gross-Sable Angela Liu Sammy Hallal Farhan Hossain Kahyun Koh Ellie Ahles Michael Nirula Anton Schuh Mia Boardman Smith Annie Cheng Colette Chiang Esther Choi Jeremy Chung Vlada Demenko Dhathry Doppalapudi Daniel Kim

Luke Modugno Alexei Serguienko Photographers: Travis Felthaus Anna Jeong Christy Lam Hayoung Park Alexei Serguienko Jocelyn Tzeng David Vapnek Lauren Zhang Artists: Dhathry Doppalapudi Carla Hansen Simon Kim Richard Li Amrita Moturi

A8 the falconer

opinion

october 27, 2017

TPHS should add a mid-level Honors English class for juniors and seniors EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Advanced Placement classes were created to offer students who were genuinely interested in a subject like, say, chemistry, an avenue through which to pursue that interest.

Unfortunately, that idealistic view has been generally lost on the students at TPHS, many of whom often take multiple AP classes to make themselves more competitive in the college admissions race rather than to learn each of those particular subjects because they are passionate about them.

However, when it comes to English classes, the attitude toward them shifts a little. Some students would like to step away from taking AP English classes, but they also feel that the regular college prep English courses are not challenging enough for them. A mid-level English class, perhaps an English 11 or 12 Honors, functioning at an intensity between college prep level and AP level should be implemented at schools, but particularly at TPHS. Students are looking to further their English skills, but are not focusing on taking the AP test, which effectively cuts down students’ educational time from the beginning of the year until June to until May. However, when they find that there is no mid-level English class in their junior or senior years of high school, some students push themselves to take AP English Language or AP English Literature, both of

which move faster through the syllabus and peers, and counselors often advise students study more texts as well as different texts in to take a step back from a schedule full of AP order to give students a challenging college classes. But with such a dramatic difference curriculum while also preparing them for the AP in rigor between most college prep English test in May. Some upperclassmen drop down and AP English, students are forced to choose, to the standard college prep English class, but and many choose to level up rather than step find it too slow down. AP classes or not rigorous are taught and In response to a question asked to juniors enough to engage graded at the them. college level, and seniors at TPHS* The lack and according to Should there be an Honors English class of an Honors the University of English course for Michigan-Flint, the offered as a mid-level between the two for upperclassmen is average full-time students who want to be more challenged puzzling because college student but don’t want the stress of an AP class? other subjects takes about four like math have a classes at a variety of classes to accommodate every student’s individual comprehension and interests. Especially with the integration of Common Core into California school standards, some math classes have stayed the same, some have been adjusted and some have disappeared altogether from the course.

Common Core forces subjects that have historically not had any writing associated with them, such as math, to incorporate some element of writing in order to ensure that students receive a comprehensive, interdisciplinary education with writing across the curriculum. So, why is it that there is no English class to cater to students looking for a middle ground between college prep and Advanced Placement English, when writing skills are so vitally important to education that the state is mandating that schools integrate it into all subjects?

TPHS is also a naturally competitive educational environment for students, with many students taking numerous advanced classes to stay on equal footing with their

time. While it is true that college students cover a class curriculum in one semester rather than a full year at TPHS, the fact still stands that high school students piling up AP classes are typically dealing with a larger workload than that of an average college student. If they choose to take an AP English course in lieu of the nonexistent mid-level English course, they are only adding to their workload as well as the amount of stress and responsibility they will undertake for that year.

Adding Honors 11 and Honors 12 English courses would be beneficial for TPHS students.

It would offer high-achieving students an option other than only AP English at a school that does so well at offering options for every educational level in other subjects.

*12.6 percent of TPHS seniors and juniors responded to the survey

art by dhathry doppalapudi/falcon artist

By Anvitha Soordelu

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ELLIE AHLES

Superman is one of my favorite heroes; he’s Clark Kent most of the day and no one suspects him of being any more. Obviously I’m no Superman, but there are things about me no one else cares to know about. I’m multifaceted: I’m a little naive, a little odd, a dreamer, a believer, occasionally optimistic, slightly scatterbrained, always honest, driven, determined, mostly sarcastic and the list goes on and on. Every side of me has been competing to shout something from this platform, but every idea faces a roadblock of fear. I want to use this space to talk about my curls, but fear no one will understand why they’re so significant to me.

I want to use this space to explain my current frustration with my friends, but fear they will not understand it and will leave me behind without asking me. Because of this internal mismatch, I’m now staring at a split screen the night before my deadline, viewing a blank page for the story I had three weeks to write and five single-spaced pages of ideas I may never even speak of.

I’m a contradiction. I am boisterous, yet I silence myself. There is a simple reason for my uncertainty: mental pressure.

Stress is a very simple word. It is one syllable and in the top one percent of lookups on Merriam-Webster. Expectation is four syllables and in the top 20 percent of word lookups. Both are used frequently, though if you’re a student at TPHS, you have certainly already noticed.

Despite the differences between the two words: length, syllables, popularity and meaning; they’re still synonyms.

My stress originates from my self-renewing and never-ending to-do list that I’m devoted to getting done. It stems from constant expectations of more and a drive for selfimprovement. I have the work ethic of my father, a man who stays up all hours of the night working and only eats and sleeps when he needs to. Naturally, I can’t imagine a day someone convinces me there’s no more work to do, but if somehow my to-do list were permanently completed I’d be satisfied sitting in a library all day to soak up the knowledge. So yes, I’m a contradiction to myself — at this point it’s just one more thing for the list.

“Expectation” also carries a notable weight. Burden and oppression seem to have become close connotations to the word, as “expectations” have seemingly come to mean what is demanded of me rather than what is hoped from me. My coaches expect me to be incredibly athletic, my teachers expect me to be overwhelmingly intelligent and my parents — loving as they are — merely expect me to have an unbreakable moral compass.

Worst still are all the expectations I’ve saddled myself with somewhere in my transition from the white-blonde wavy haired and gap-toothed little girl I was in the past to the dark brunette, curly- haired and tight-lipped smiling female I am now. I gave myself a whole slough of high expectations, though they could all be summed up in three words, “be the best.” I thought it was normal to struggle under the stress of it all.

When I first met now former assistant principal Gary Thornton, he gave me a quote

photo by alexei serguienko/falconer

The Falconer Entertainment Editor Ellie Ahles (12) reflects on the mental pressures she faces in her everyday life and how they affect her personality and outlook.

about how pressure makes diamonds and that I’d shine soon — I was having a bad day at the time, but he was not entirely wrong.

College is supposedly a growing experience of monumental proportion; my sister describes it as “adulting” and my brother referenced the Dunning-Kruger effect, a psychological phenomenon in which people think they’re much smarter than they are, that comes with a graph labeled with categories like “Peak of ‘Mt. Stupid’” and “Slope of Enlightenment.” Some may think the same could be said about high school, but universities produce more polished members of society, not know-nothing, halfbaked adults at the Peak of Mt. Stupid.

Naturally, maturation from secondary school is not achieved without experiencing challenges, and the most difficult challenges result in the most growth once they are overcome; so Thornton’s rather cliche quote is still accurate when applied to people. I am more than a collection of nerves and the burnout after a particularly stressful week, I’m a potpourri of different, seemingly contradictory personality traits.

I’m a student, what my elementary teachers

called a “lifelong learner” — it means I’m in for the long haul when it comes to my education — so I spend my days reading, studying and absorbing information. Although I, like most people, like to hang out with my friends in my spare time, sometimes I prefer to be by myself.

“Loner” may accurately describe how I get along just fine with a Disney or superhero movie marathon on TV while eating mountains of popcorn some days, but it doesn’t describe how I feel on days when my boisterous laughter has left me with aching cheeks after I’ve spent time with my friends. I’m not normally a challenger, but that doesn’t mean I won’t rise given the chance. Expectations and stress inevitably affect us all, but I’m a problem solver. Despite any internal conflict over who I am, that’s a fact. Any attempted organizational system will only minimize, not remove, the effect of mental pressure and, like it or not, the way it overwhelms me is also a part of who I am.

I’m a lot of things. Eventually, the people in my life will recognize that it’s much easier to get to know each side of me and eventually piece everything together rather than attempt to understand the whole picture at once.

opinion

tphsfalconer.com

the falconer A9

President Trump should not censor government research

By Farhan Hossain FEATURE EDITOR

Facts matter. In a political climate in which politicians’ use of ‘alternative facts’ is rampant, it is necessary for the electorate to be well-informed on important issues. That is why the estimated $473 billion the U.S. government spends on research is so important. Spread across a variety of agencies, research on everything from the economy and healthcare to the environment provides data that guides the formation of policy and allows the government to make educated decisions based on credible information. Factual information should never become politicized. While politicians of all types twist data to fit a desired narrative, no president has gone as far as Donald Trump in censoring government research and blocking the flow of data to the public.

On Sept. 20, Category 5 Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, a former colonial possession turned U.S. territory. However, Trump’s response to the hurricane was attacked as delayed and not strong enough to deal with the destruction of Puerto Rico’s entire power grid.

For days afterward, over 95 percent of the population did not have access to electricity, and over half

did not have access to clean water.

At the time the Falconer went to press, only 9.2 percent of the people on the island had electricity, and 54.2 percent had drinking water.

After being deeply criticized by local officials and subjected to increasingly negative coverage in the media, the Trump administration directed FEMA, the agency tasked with dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters, to pull data and key statistics regarding Puerto Rico’s infrastructure. On Oct. 5, those key metrics vanished from the EPA website. The change was noticed Immediately and reversed the following day. While shortlived, the censorship of data was a dangerous and unprecedented action in the face of a natural disaster. By removing numbers that portrayed his administration’s response to a hurricane in an unflattering manner, Trump prioritized his approval rating and desire for positive news coverage over aiding over 3 million American citizens. Blocking the flow of information prevented accurate news coverage of the situation, and kept the public in the dark. While the repercussions of this were small, Trump’s other attempts to block research and data have more farreaching consequences.

On Aug. 21, the Trump administration’s Interior Department issued an ultimatum to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to immediately stop research on the health effects of living close to Appalachian coal mines. Last year, under the Obama administration, the Interior department gave $1 million to researchers after previous studies found living near coal mines caused

birth defects, cancer and premature death. While the decision to end the research was attributed to the Trump administration’s larger goal to cut $1.6 billion from the Department of the Interior’s budget by 2018, the decision falls in line with Trump’s previous support of the coal mining industry. After years of struggling to compete with the lower prices and cleanliness of natural gas, the coal industry found a lifeline in thencandidate Trump, who promised to revitalize the coal industry if elected.

Ending research on the potentially detrimental effects of coal mining seems to be a political gambit taken to please the coal industry and garner votes. Such action puts corporate interests above the health risks of citizens. Appalachia is one of the poorest regions in the U.S., and decades of toxic coal mining that has driven the local economy has surely negatively impacted the health of people in the region. Cancer, birth defects and reduced longevity should not be politicized, yet when Trump cozies up to the industries that backed his presidency and puts their needs above the citizens he was elected to help, he is rejecting scientific fact and evidence and signaling that any data that does resonate with his political message is irrelevant.

On Sept.

18, the Trump administration’s Department

of Health and Human Services revoked a study that found that refugees netted $63 billion in revenue over the last decade. After pedaling xenophobic rhetoric on the campaign trail, Trump has been looking for reasons for why the U.S. should curb the number of refugees it allows to enter the country. While refugees are often painted as a burden on government spending, this data would have proved that allowing refugees is financially beneficial in the long run. However, Trump’s disdain for data that contradicts his own beliefs prevented the results from being published. Instead, one of the authors anonymously leaked the draft to the “New York Times” in

order to preserve the studies’ results.

White House spokesperson Raj Shah said that the “leak was delivered by someone with an ideological agenda.” However, the leak was only necessary because Trump’s ideological agenda prevented the data from being published.

The 112th Congress, which was in session from 2013 to 2015, passed 284 bills, making it the least effective in history. While the subsequent 114th passed 329, that pales in comparison to the 600 to 700 bills passed by congressional sessions in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Washington, D.C. has been hijacked by partisan bickering and inaction. Facts are important in the formation of a wellinformed citizenry.

By systematically preventing the publication of studies that do not support his political interests, Trump is poisoning facts and objective, academic research with the same partisanship that is crippling politics today.

ART BY RICHARD LI/FALCON ARTIST

Now is the time for gun control, not “thoughts and prayers”

By Sammy Hallal OPINION EDITOR

Nine killed in a church. Twentysix in an elementary school. Fortynine at a nightclub. Twelve more in a movie theater. And now 58 more at a music festival in Las Vegas. These are just a few of the shootings that occur every day in the U.S. The death tolls change. The locations change. The victim’s change. The shooters change.

The one thing that does not is what seems to come after these shootings.

How can this keep happening in the most advanced nation on earth? Each year more than 30,000 American lives are lost due to gun violence, a number far above those of other developed (and developing) nations. This is a national crisis, and under the current administration and Republican-controlled Congress, it seems like it will only continue to get worse.

What happens after these mass shootings is a cycle. Our Congress, puppets of the National Rifle Association (NRA), will come out and send their “thoughts and prayers” to victims and their families and say that now is not the time to talk about gun control. After a couple weeks, once the media has found a new issue to dwell upon, the topic is brushed under the rug and forgotten and we are back to square one.

To put the Las Vegas shooting into perspective, one of the deadliest days

in the U.S. military’s modern history was a 10-day period in the battle of Fallujah. Fifty-four soldiers were killed and 425 were shot. In a span of eight minutes, we saw death and injury tolls even higher than those in Las Vegas, with 59 killed and 527 injured.

The Las Vegas shooter had an arsenal of weapons, most of which were assault rifles. This begs the question of why weapons like these are even available for the public. Contrary to pro-gun advocates claim their assault weapons are for self-defense or hunting, they have one purpose and one purpose only: to kill.

Just a few decades ago, the NRA was known for its promotion of gun safety and advocated gun ownership for hunting and home protection.

Today, it has become far more

recognizable as one of the strongest political forces in the United States government that aggressively (and unreasonably) protects the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Its efforts to prevent reasonable gun control legislation have resulted in the

deaths of thousands of innocent Americans. The NRA is directly responsible for Congress striking down common-sense gun legislation that the vast majority of the United States population supports, and they do this by bullying legislators into voting against legislation deemed anti-gun. The NRA responds to candidates who oppose its stranglehold on gun legislation by funding pro-gun rights candidates in elections and putting out negative ads labeling them as unresponsive to their constituents.

Each year nearly 2 million people are denied guns due to a background check that deems them unsafe gun owners.

These two million people,

thanks to a loophole in our legislation, then go to a gun show and purchase whatever they want, with no background check required.

In the most powerful nation on earth it should not be this easy to bypass the law.

A common argument made by opponents of gun reform is to point out cities like New York and Chicago with high rates of gun violence, but strict gun control laws. The problem with this argument is that gun control is only effective on the national scale.

In some parts of America, it is harder to purchase cough syrup than it is to get a weapon. Guns can still be purchased from states with less strict laws like Georgia or Texas, once again defeating the purpose of gun control. After a mass shooting in Port Arthur, Australia in 1996, the Australian government passed legislation banning semi-automatic and automatic assault rifles and strengthening laws regarding how to obtain a firearm. The policies drastically reduced the number of mass shootings in the country to almost zero, something the U.S. should take note of.

O u r poorly

ART BY AMRITA MOTURI/FALCON ARTIST

written laws extend to guns obtained legally as well. Many states do not require gun owners to conceal and properly lock away weapons in their homes, contributing to the U.S.’s high rate of accidental gun deaths. In virtually every other industry we hold goods to the highest standards but why not the same for guns? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1,300 children are killed and 5,800 injured from accidental gunshot wounds.

Cars must meet safety and emissions requirements. Food must be sanitary and safe to eat. The ongoing cycle of gun violence will not end until the gun industry gets on board with making basic changes. If a child cannot open a bottle of Aspirin they should not be able to pull a trigger.

It is clear that gun reform will not happen under our current Congress, even if 94 percent of Americans support gun legislation that requires background checks for all firearm purchases, according to a poll by Quinnipiac University. Our legislators do not represent the will of the people but rather the will of the special-interest groups who pay to get them reelected, and with the NRA’s chokehold on Congress, who can blame them.

The gun lobby has woven its way so deeply into our political system that many politicians, on the right and left, cannot even get into office without its approval, a threat to democracy. The voice of the American people, at least on issues of gun reform, no longer matters.

It can no longer be acceptable that our Congress cares more about lining their pockets, than they do about their constituents. Human lives have been lost and more will be if our legislators do not get their priorities straight.

A10 the falconer

advertisement

october 27, 2017

bullies and bullying FEMALES has the TPHS lowest rates of depression

of any school in the district

REPORTED THE HIGHEST RATES OF

DEPRESSION

18%

35%

ACROSS MOST DEMOGRAPHICS STUDIED IN THE SURVEY

DEPRESSION

HEALTHY KIDS SURVEY of TPHS students have smoked MARIJUANA at some point in their lifetime.

INFOGRAPHIC BY COLETTE CHIANG AND BEA DE OLIVEIRA

of TPHS students have smoked E-CIGARETTES or CIGARS in their lifetime.

of TPHS students ages 16+ have either driven under the influence or been in a car with a drunk driver. of TPHS students have had a rumor spread about them on the Internet. of TPHS students have had a mean rumor spread about them verbally. of TPHS students feel a teacher cares about them. of TPHS students feel a teacher believes they can succeed.

emotions

20% 25% 27% 90% 94%

of TPHS students have taken PAINKILLERS or other drugs in their lifetime.

A12 the falconer

feature

october 27, 2017

by dhathry doppalapudi, farhan hossain & kahyun koh After President Donald Trump announced plans to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, recipients of DACA, known as DREAMERS, are living life in uncertainty and fear.

After long weeks of searching for an undocumented student on campus who would be willing to be interviewed, we were fortunate enough to come across an interviewee. Her name was Isabel*.

We met Isabel during lunch in a staff workroom in the E building. Perched anxiously on red chairs adorned with cheetah-print cushions, we hurriedly scarfed down a few bites of our lunch and sat there, waiting for Isabel.

As Isabel was about to walk to where we were in room 103, Rosa Velazquez, a teacher and AVID adviser, called after her.

“Do you want me to be with you?” Velazquez asked.

Isabel stopped, turned and then responded.

“I’m good, Mrs. V. I’m a big girl.”

After being elected in 2008, Barack Obama’s first term in office was dominated by efforts to stabilize the economy in the midst of the Great Recession and to pass his eponymous healthcare reform bill — Obamacare. After Obama was reelected in 2012, an increase of Republicans in the House of Representatives ended the Democratic majority and prevented any chance of passing comprehensive immigration reform. Lacking options in Congress, the Obama administration resorted to an executive action, creating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a policy that allows un-naturalized children of undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation and legally drive, work and go to school in the U.S. DACA’s enforcement was immensely popular. Approximately 750,000 Dreamers, as those who benefit from DACA are called, signed up for the program, according to the Pew Research Center. Republicans, however, found this an overreach of federal authority. During the 2016 presidential race, Republican candidates made it clear that, if elected, they would rescind Obama’s executive action and end DACA. On Sep. 5, President Trump fulfilled this promise. Joined

by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump announced that he would phase out DACA and called on Congress to replace the program.

Isabel is one of over 800,000 qualified children of undocumented immigrants who qualified for DACA; fifteen years ago, one-year-old Isabel was smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border after her “dad found a route.” Next year, Isabel will lose the protection that DACA has provided.

Agreeing to be interviewed by the Falconer on such a personal topic was not an easy decision for Isabel. Most students are blindly unaware of passing police cars or occasional law enforcement officials who roam the TPHS campus. However, these events are nightmarish to Isabel, who feels a slight wave of paranoia sweep over her until the officer disappears from sight.

“It’s one of the scariest, most frightening things that I could ever feel,” Isabel said. “You know that you’re not here to commit a crime or to steal anything or sell drugs, but you still have that kind of ‘Oh, they’re here for me, they’re going to do something bad to me or to my family.’”

This fear of law enforcement extends to situations in which Isabel or her family need the help and protection of the police, but they have no choice but to deal w i t h problems on their own rather than calling the police.

In fact, only a few months ago, her uncle, who was in the U.S. illegally, was deported back to Mexico after being caught driving without a license.

“We’ve had cases where we felt like we should call someone or we should call out for help but we don’t,” Isabel said. “[If we did], you’re asking for something bad to happen. That’s how my mom would put it.”

The fear of law enforcement and the government as a whole was something SDUHSD Superintendent Eric Dill and the school board wanted to address after the election of Donald Trump.

In an email to district staff, Dill affirmed the district’s support of DACA and other immigrants.

“That was something our school board felt was important

following the events of the last election and the general anxiety that many were feeling,” Dill said. “We ended up affirming our commitment to serving all students in the district regardless of where they have come from.”

For some immigrants in the U.S. in violation of the law, this fear has already materialized. Sayra Gonzalez, an immigrant in San Diego who works as a comprehensive perinatal health worker, has known many intimate friends and family who have been deported, and deportation is always a traumatic experience that affects her every time. “[Deportation] breaks up families,” Gonzalez said. “When I was a child, there were a lot of [family members] during Christmas time, New Year’s time. It was just a really happy moment, and then with the deportations and separation of families, I feel like each year, it just keeps decreasing, decreasing. It gets to the point where we’re not even excited to celebrate the holidays.”

Isabel also has had family members deported. She does not even want to think about what would happen if her parents were rounded up by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

“There’s still a possibility that when I get home from school my parents aren’t going to be there,” Isabel said.

BriAnn Raduenz (10) is openly conservative and supports Trump’s decision to end DACA. “These situations are sad, and I believe there should be a compromise where undocumented parents with children should be able to be on a path to citizenship that is legal and addressed by Congress to prevent families from being torn apart,” Raduenz said. “There needs to be a legislative solution rather than people breaking the laws, and our government needs to enforce the laws.”

Despite keeping her immigration status a secret from most people, Isabel still feels targeted because of the offhand jokes she hears in her classes.

“I was in my Spanish class, and this particular classmate of mine decided that it would be funny to start telling me, ‘So why are you still here?’” Isabel said. “‘Do you even have your papers? Are you going to be a maid? Why are you even in school? You should just start being a maid.’”

According to Isabel, jokes like these are made often about students of Latino descent. However, because she is a Dreamer, she is more vulnerable to questions and comments about her citizenship. These jokes can even come from other members of the Latino community.

“Whoever was around me was like ‘Oh look, the Migra [ICE officials] are coming,’” Isabel said. “That’s when I realized [that] people see [being undocumented] as a negative thing.”

Isabel feels a little safer at school than when she is alone or anywhere outside her home. Lately, she has opened up to a counselor and several teachers with whom she “shares a connection” with.

“If a student wants to go to school, we are going to educate you. Why you’re here is none of our business,” Principal Rob Coppo said.

According to SDUHSD superintendent Eric Dill, “[the district] would not have any information on the residency status [of] its students.”

In fact, an article in The Atlantic reported that “federal law prevents schools from sharing student information, including their citizenship status, and ICE states that it does not interface with schools at all.”

Although Isabel is grateful for the temporary security that school provides, “there are small things … that kind of remind you, ‘Oh wait, I’m not just like everybody else. I’m not going to build a future just like everybody else.’”

One of the subtle differences between Isabel and her peers is that she has very limited options for travelling outside of her local bubble.

In middle school, Isabel told her mom about different places she wanted to visit. She told her about her dream to visit Hawaii and to travel to exotic places that many of her peers had already visited. Contrary to the young version of herself, Isabel now understands the impossibility of a dream that no amount of time can help her achieve.

“My mom told me, ‘You can’t [go to Hawaii].’ I asked why and she explained to me the whole story of how I am undocumented,” Isabel said.

Immigrants concerned with run-ins with law enforcement limit their travel, affecting their ability to make plans.

Gonzalez’s fear of police officers and her knowledge regarding “a checkpoint going up toward Anaheim” prevent her from joining her friends on their trips to Disneyland. The checkpoint makes travel outside of San Diego, even just for a two-hour drive to Disneyland, “very frustrating and scary.”

“Something as simple as driving is scary when you don’t have a driver’s license,” Gonzalez said. “You’re always on the lookout.”

Travel is not the only thing that those who have arrived in the U.S. through illegal immigration were unable to do. They faced legal barriers that kept them from holding jobs and having driver licenses before DACA. On June 5, 2012, the 30th anniversary of Plyler v. Doe, the U.S. Supreme

PHOTO COURTESY OF QUARTZ

feature

tphsfalconer.com

On June 5, 2012, the 30th anniversary of Plyler vs. Doe, the Supreme Court case that forbid public schools from requiring immigrants in the country illegally to pay tuition, President Obama stood in the Rose Garden and announced the creation of DACA on national television.

“I definitely knew [that I was an undocumented immigrant] by the time I was in high school and [it] was never really something that I was worried about until maybe my junior year of high school when everyone was getting ready to apply to college,” Gonzalez said.

Isabel does not remember the creation of DACA, but was pleased when she found out that she could get a driver’s license like any other teenager. This state of perceived normalcy, however, did not last. While Isabel was slow to learn about the creation of DACA, it did not take long for news of Trump’s decision to end DACA to spread in her community.

“I cried,” Isabel said. “It’s a very emotional thing for people to think of you as less than a human because I know that I’m here for an education and I’m here to work.”

Raduenz also sympathizes with such students. “I know it’s not their fault,” Raduenz said “I still wish them the best.”

In response to Trump’s decision to end DACA, the California legislature ������� passed a law making the state a “sanctuary state,” meaning that law enforcement officials in California would limit their cooperation with federal ICE officials. However, California’s new law does not nullify federal authority or prevent ICE from conducting deportations.

While Isabel’s younger siblings were born in the U.S., she was smuggled across the border from Mexico. In the event that DACA is rescinded, her parents plan to return to her birthplace: Mexico. To Isabel, it is a scary and an unfamiliar country that she has never lived in. “[My parents] are like, ‘Oh we’re just going to send you back to Mexico,’” Isabel said. “You can’t throw me in a school in Mexico when I haven’t ever studied there.

I came here at the age of two. I don’t know the language.”

the falconer

Hours after his announcement to end DACA being hit with a wave of backlash.

Trump signaled a potential reversal of his earlier announcements, tweeting “Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military?”

Trump’s tweets were used by federal judge Nicholas G. Garaufis in a New York court, who told Trump’s lawyers that the President’s own statements seemed to contradict “any effort to throw these people out.”

Despite Trump’s ambiguous tweets, the Trump administration has not changed his plans to end DACA on Mar. 5, 2018.

Isabel sits in her AVID class, filling out a worksheet with potential majors she wants to pursue in college. Unlike most of her classmates who are enthusiastic about mapping out their futures, Isabel is cautious about reading too far into life after high school.

“I just recently found out what I want to major in, so it’s an exciting time, but then you remember [that you are living in the country illegally],” Isabel said.

The conflicting statements about the fate of DACA from Trump and his administration have created an air of uncertainty over the policy’s future, spreading further concern among DACA recipients.

“My parents are working their butts off to help me get a life that I know I can’t have,” Isabel said, her voice cracking.

Perhaps for the first time in her life, Isabel took the opportunity to share some of her concerns with someone other than her family. After we thanked her, Isabel quickly wiped the tears off her face before stepping out of the room. In the moments since, we sat still, having trouble processing the full weight of Isabel’s story. In the weeks passing, both of us have passed Isabel in the hallways. Each time, we engage in an awkward standoff, while trying to both recognize and ignore Isabel’s presence. Yet we understand the awkward silence. In a country where many documented immigrants and American citizens take their citizenship for granted, Isabel and Sayra must continue to live under a veil of secrecy, trying to protect themselves from the hands of deportation.

My parents are working their butts off to help me get a life that I know I can’t have.

Isabel*

According to 2016 data from the Pew Research Center, the U.S. has almost 1 million undocumented DACA recipients.

Under President Obama, the DEA deported 2.5 million undocumented immigrants, more than any other presidential administration.

On Sept. 16, California became a santuary state, limiting the state’s ability to notify ICE of undocumented immigrants.

Economic research estimates that undocumented immigrants pay over $10.6 billion in taxes to the IRS annually.

The number of undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. has been decreasing since peaking in 2009.

Research by the National Academy of Sciences found undocumented immigrants commit less crime than documented citizens.

INFOGRAPHIC BY FARHAN HOSSAIN

A13

A14 the falconer

When many young girls are presented with a brand new costume, they wear it for days. Months, even. They obsessively wear their frilly dresses and pirate boots to markets, restaurants, parks and even formal events. Eventually though, the phase wears off, and the costume is carelessly shoved into the back of their closets. But as Rianne Lynn (12) waltzes into her second-period class as Belle, it is apparent that innocent, childlike phase has not worn off. All eyes turn toward her, but she is used to it; Lynn is a cosplayer.

Lynn is only one of the millions of people around the world who partake in cosplay, or the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game.

The term “cosplay” was coined in 1984 by an employee of Japanese anime news network “Studio Hard” during the World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles. After the term started springing up in Japanese news articles and reports, cosplay has gained much international fame and passionate fans since then.

“A lot of cosplayers aren’t Japanese,” Lynn said. “They’re American and they… [cosplay].”

The stereotype that only Japanese people cosplay influences what people think the type of characters being cosplayed are.

“A lot of people think I dress up as anime characters,” Lynn said. “In reality, I dress up more like Disney characters.

I’ve dressed up as Cinderella, Snow White, those type of things.”

Her inspiration for costumes comes from childhood shows and memories, and each character holds a special meaning to her. The significance has stayed with her since she began cosplaying in eighth grade. “[How I began cosplay is] a weird story,” Lynn said. “It

feature

was my sister’s ex-boyfriend’s little sister [who introduced me to cosplay]. They needed a smaller character and said ‘Oh, you’re short, you can be the child princess.’”

From that moment on, Lynn was hooked and began attending conferences and events throughout California.

After waking up to her alarm set at 5 a.m., Lynn opens her makeup pouch and starts applying powder and eyeliner. The dress, half of which she has sewn herself, closely resembles Belle’s. Satisfied, Lynn puts down the mascara wand.

She looks in the mirror. She is no longer herself, but Belle.

Attending anime conventions is a key component of cosplay culture. Conventions bring participants and devoted fans

PHOTO COURTESY OF RIANNE LYNN

FUN AND [COS]PLAY: Jeanette Ju (12), Rebecca Lee (12) and Rianne Lynn (12) pose together dressed as the Powerpuff Girls at an anime convention. together to share their costumes, compete in contests and enjoy themselves. Depending on how talented one is, they may even earn special tickets and passes to various other conventions.

“Some conventions have holiday events,” Lynn said. “There was one for Halloween because that’s high holiday for all of us, and I entered a competition there and won third place.”

The competition earned Lynn free tickets to another convention, where, yet again, she dressed as a timeless favorite childhood character: Belle.

As she struts down the hallways of TPHS, flaunting her costume, Lynn is blissfully aware of the intrigued stares from students. Speculators may judge her because her attire strays from the standard crop top and short shorts, which may prevent her from blending in, but Lynn is not affected.

And while many are cramming for exams and poring over their futures, Lynn is not as concerned.

“I think [cosplay] is a little bit of escapism,” Lynn said. “When things do get stressful you don’t want to have to be a teenager. I can sit around in a dress or in a onesie that looks like a sheep and just chill for a while.”

Lynn enjoys living life like a child, not filled with all of the expectations of a teenager the world has produced through the stereotypes created by social media. When it was time for the SATs or any test, she always had cosplay to fall back on — a way to distract herself.

“There are a lot of people that I see and talk to that say ‘Oh, I could never do that,’ and ‘Oh, that’s pretty brave of you’ and I’m like, ‘Why?’” Lynn said. “I’m just wearing clothes. If you want to do something and you want to stand out, or you want to wear a wig or do some crazy makeup, just do it.”

Lynn channels her unique personality through her makeup and costumes, which she believes lets her live life to the fullest. She hopes that her enthusiasm will inspire others.

“There’s always going to be someone who, one, remembers that [I used to cosplay], and, two, who finds that because they are not being as outlandish as I am, they can be themselves in smaller ways,” Lynn said.

For Lynn, cosplay will always be a part of who she is. Rather than live through the advice of others, she has decided to stay a child just a little longer.

by Bea de Oliveira and Estelle Kraft

october 27, 2017

In an idealistic system of democracy, everybody’s voice is heard, everyone is equally represented and nobody rearranges the situation to skew the results in his or her favor. Gerrymandering does not fit with that perfect form of government.

Gerrymandering is the process by which an electoral district’s boundaries are changed in favor of a particular party or a certain candidate’s election. After every national census, which take place every 10 years, voting districts are reapportioned. During this time, districts are often gerrymandered to ensure that a certain political party has more voters in the district than those of the other party. By law, each district must have the same population, but tactics such as “packing” and “cracking” can control which way a district ends up voting.

“Packing” is when politicians try to consolidate as many of the other party’s votes into as few voting districts as possible, so that their districts have the majority of votes in the favored party. “Cracking” refers to how districts are reapportioned in varying shapes and sizes instead of a standard shape so that the final result ends with the victory of the preferred party.

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken on Gill v. Whitford, a gerrymandering case from Wisconsin. In 2011, Republicans in Wisconsin took complete control of the redistricting process, which takes place at least once every 10 years. However, the lines of the Wisconsin districts were redrawn with the help of extensive computer algorithms to ensure that the Republican party would have control over both sectors of the Wisconsin legislature for at least the next decade; the effects were seen a year later. According to the New York Times, the 2012 Wisconsin State Assembly elections ended with about 53 percent of the state’s votes going to the Democratic Party, even though 60 out of the 99 State Assembly seats went to Republicans. Four years later, it was discovered that a computer program was used to redraw Wisconsin’s district lines using information of the state’s voters’ demographics and to anticipate likely election outcomes.

A proposed way of testing the constitutionality of redrawn district lines is to check the new map’s efficiency gap. Partisan gerrymandering forces the losing party to “waste” votes, which is achieved by adjusting voting district boundaries so that the winning party always receives the majority of votes in that region; ultimately, all of the losing party’s votes in that district are pointless. The efficiency gap calculates the number of wasted votes for each party and then divides it by the total number of votes from the state. Eric McGhee and Nicholas Stephanopoulos, the creators of the efficiency gap measurement, suggest that a calculation of seven percent or higher should prove unconstitutional gerrymandering, according to the New York Times.

The Supreme Court is currently working on Gill v. Whitford, and a decision will be reached in the spring.

by Anvitha Soordelu

tphsfalconer.com

advertisement

the falconer

A15

If an extremely sporadic and disorganized plot mixed with repetitive and unnecessarily dramatic fight scenes is what the creators of “The Foreigner” were going for, they nailed it. Featuring Jackie Chan as the main selling point, the movie is exactly what you would expect: two hours of action-packed, high-energy entertainment. While the fight scenes are well-executed, my primary problem with the film lies in its disorganization.

The film follows Ngoc Minh Quan’s (Chan) quest for vengeance after his daughter, his last living family member, is killed in an explosion that he believes is linked to the Irish government. Referred to as the “Chinaman” by the other characters (even though the character is Vietnamese), Quan hunts the Irish Deputy Minister Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan), uncovers a government conspiracy and fights Hennessy’s henchmen in the process.

The most glaring problem with the first half of the movie is that there is no context for the events that drive the plot. The first scene shows Quan’s daughter dying in an explosion in a bank; obviously this necessitates some sort of explanation, but the only background given is through a hard-to-hear phone call in which a breathy voice claims the “Authentic IRA” has taken responsibility for the bombing. By the middle of the movie I was finally able to piece together most of the background, but not before I spent a good 30 minutes confused by any mention of the IRA (I still don’t know exactly what the acronym stands for, I just know it’s an Irish terrorist group.)

The rest of the film is supposed to center around Quan’s intense grudge against Hennessy; I say “supposed to” because the central plot ends up being corrupted

by numerous unnecessary subplots.

At the beginning of the movie it’s made clear that Hennessy’s ultimate objective is re-election, which he plans to accomplish by using the information he knows as political leverage. Ultimately, this character motivation gets muddled by numerous other side stories, such as a random incestuous relationship involving Hennessy’s wife. By the end of the film I had almost completely forgotten why Hennessy had involved himself with the bombings in the first place.

The redeeming quality of the film definitely comes through in Chan’s fight scenes. Entertaining and suspenseful, Chan doesn’t disappoint in his highly anticipated performance. While certain scenes were slightly repetitive and the final fight scene was a little underwhelming, Chan’s performance maintained a level of believability while also delivering fast-paced entertainment.

It makes sense that the trailer is mostly snippets of Quan fighting because everything else in the movie almost seems merely like a backdrop for the fights. While all the seemingly irrelevant plot lines eventually come together in the end, the organization of the movie made the film difficult to understand and enjoy. “The Foreigner” is undoubtedly actionpacked and certain parts will keep you on the edge of your seat, but if you’re looking for a mindless martial arts thriller, I’d suggest finding another film.

n i m

g n a hw

u s by

PHOTOS FROM ASIAN MOVIE PULSE AND INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE

Suspenseful movies induce more activity in this area.

Images are first analyzed in the visual cortex Helps viewers remember the characters, their relationships and the plot INFOGRAPHIC BY ANVITHA SOORDELU

Information courtesy of Telegraph, Business Insider and Psychology Today

entertainment

tphsfalconer.com

TP PLAYERS PRESENT:

“pLAY oN” SHOWTIMES: 7:30-8:30 P.M. nov. 6 - nov. 9 nov. 15 - nov. 18

Theatre is an art form often times not given the credit by high schoolers that it deserves. “Play On” is a comedy taken on by the TP Players as their first play of the school year and is constructed as a play-within-a-play.

“It’s almost like a tribute to acting,” TP Player Jackie Morales (12) said. “You see [the characters] going through [the] struggle of learning their lines, but also messing up on their lines and how much the show actually changes from the day you get the script to the day of final production.”

The first thing I noticed as I sat in on an early rehearsal of “Play On” was that it was not nearly as hard to understand when performed as it is to talk about. It may help to watch from Act I, but even as I sat in on Act III, the final act of the play, I was able to ascertain some background by the time I left.

Of the 10 performers in “Play On,” six are also actors in the play-withina-play, called “Murder Most Foul.”

As such, these characters are given second names and costumes, which makes the change to the play-withina-play discernible from the rest of the performance. This is also clarified by the use of British accents for the actors performing “Murder Most Foul.”

As the only costume designer for the production, Natalie Anashkin (10), is responsible for all the costumes, including the second set worn during the play-within-a-play.

“Because this is a high school theatre, we don’t have the time or budget to make every single costume,” Anashkin said. “So we use some [costumes we already have] and incorporate them into some of the [new] costumes.”

For this performance, Anashkin drew inspiration from the Victorian era and the 1950s for the actors’ costumes and streetwear.

“I like to think of [costume design] like I’m shopping for my friends,” Anashkin said. “You get to know the characters’ personalities and draw what you think they would wear.”

According to student director Chelney Cameron (12), characterization figures heavily in the play, since most actors have two roles.

“I like to come [to rehearsal] and watch how the actors interpret the character, so if we have different interpretations it doesn’t clash with the costume,” Anashkin said.

Five of the 10 actors you’ll see on stage are making their debut

the falconer

performances. While their lack of experience may be a cause for concern, it is, in fact, the opposite; the new talent seems to add to the show with unique personalities and comedic performances.

“Even if you’re a beginning actor, it’s your [first time] experiencing it and then your character is also experiencing it … for the first time,” Morales said. “It’s like someone you have sympathy for and can relate to.”

As a member of the audience, I can hardly discern who has experience and who does not. Even on the rare occasions that I could tell, I’m sure the scenes will be made seamless by directors Marinee Payne and Cameron long before the cast stands in front of an audience.

“I always have student directors because ... I love to ... give students the opportunity to try different kinds of things,” Payne said. “Chelney’s been an actor, Chelney’s been a lighting designer, Chelney’s worked behind the scenes consistently.”

Prior to this, I had only seen one TP Player Production, the 2016-17 fall production called “Secret in the Wings.” I recall it as a performance that I enjoyed with an interesting scenario and skilled acting, although it left me slightly confused in the end. I already know that will not be a problem with “Play On,” despite my personal ineptitude for remembering names.

“I think I’m looking forward to how the people progress [the most],” Cameron said. “Each person is three people: his- or herself when they break character, when their character breaks character, and their own character.”

After only a single sitting, I knew that “Play On” was a performance I would pay to see on its completion.

My small glimpse at the play tells me that all of the actors, first-timers or not, have much more talent than I would ever be capable of. It exhibits a type of humor that is appealing to all, and Act III alone was enough to keep me giggling quietly throughout the rehearsal, even with the limited background knowledge I had at the time, as well as the lack of costumes or props and the script-reading on stage, as actors had yet to go scriptless at rehearsal.

Needless to say, I have high hopes for the comedy show and its cast, and expect to see many fellow students at the performance.

by Ellie Ahles

A17

A18 the falconer

entertainment

october 27, 2017

today

released Oct. 13 “But We Lost It” is the first ballad-like song on the album and is my favorite one by far. P!nk has PHOTO FROM RCA RECORDS never shied away from a ballad, After a solid five years of only three but this one speaks volumes about single releases, P!nk has jumped back her talent, since her singing range into the music world with her album is demonstrated beautifully. This is “Beautiful Trauma,” and consequently accompanied by the wonderful flow of reminded everyone of her immense the song, the perfectly placed layering talent and beautiful vocals. This album of her voice and the simple, yet graceful is full of her experiences with love and piano. Furthermore the entire song life struggles, like much of her previous is entangled in the lyrics detailing a work. relationship that was once interesting, The title track and introduction to the but has dissolved into a meaningless album, “Beautiful Trauma,” starts off on one. The track is easily the best recorded an especially upbeat and positive note. and produced of the album.

While the song starts off slow, it quickly The final track, “You Get My Love,” is picks up to a louder instrumental, giving a complete inverse of the introduction, as you a rush of energy for the rest of the the sultry piano fades in and immediately album. The track also seems to fade hits us with a sense of melancholy out for a long amount of time, but does and heartache. Her lyrics seem to tell not take away from the uniqueness the story of a woman sulking over her and happy ambiance that the rest of mistakes, but telling her husband that the song conveys. The tempo changes they should love each other despite past several times and represents her events. This is another ballad found on fluctuating emotions toward her “love” the album, and is significantly sadder and her “drug.” Her oxymoronic title of than others. Despite the song having “Beautiful Trauma” shows her complex this tone, I wish the piano had picked up relationship with the person who she’s more when her vocals got louder, as that singing about. would have made the song sound more The most popular song from this complete. release according to Spotify is the single Overall, this release is a great “What About Us,” which, it has been transition back for P!nk. Many of the speculated, may be about a personal songs sound very similar to those on her relationship or the current political last album, “The Truth About Love,” and climate. the lack of variety -- in tempo, lyrics and “We were willin’, we came when you theme -- is my biggest critique for this called / But man, you fooled us, enough is album. It’s also worth noting that her enough.” Despite the potential meaning, voice in every single song was stunning. the song is uninteresting and repetitive. The sameness in style from songs The tempo switches between the quiet both on this album, as well as the last instrumental in the beginning and the one,“The Truth About Love,” make it slightly faster section in the chorus, less interesting to listen to, however the which makes it feel like the song never beautiful vocals, themes and transitions goes anywhere nor offers much variety from upbeat to sad tracks redeem the in tempo. Her vocals add more energy, album, and excite me for what P!nk will but the background feels too dull and create in the future. stays too consistent the whole time.

by Vlada Demenko

After the birth of her baby, English singer and songwriter Jessie Ware released her third studio album. Complete with 17 emotional and soulful tracks, “Glasshouse” brings a new front to Ware’s expanding music genre.

This album is, like its name, very polished and clean-cut. “Glasshouse” includes Ware’s usual slow, sophisticated and generally mellow lyrical style.

Ware opens this album with “Midnight,” where she shows off her impressive vocal range and skill. The hauntingly beautiful piano transitions from quiet, single notes to confident chords with percussion, which show her soulful emotions. This track’s slow disco and electronic style subtly offsets the 80’s-era feel. The falsetto throughout the song accents the chorus and gives “Midnight” a soulful and elegant sound.

As one of my personal favorites, “Thinking About You” is a mellow track on the more modern side of this album. This track has a chorus with a background choir and clean vocals, similar to Sam Smith’s style.

“Stay Awake, Wait for Me” is a sultry slow jazz track that shows a different side of Ware. Accompanied by a slow electric piano and saxophone solo, Ware’s powerful voice produces a magical atmosphere that is hard to pull off.

One of her three early-released tracks and my least favorite, “Selfish Love,” is different from the typical Ware sound with its Latin-influenced beat and style.

This track lacks the punch and peak in the chorus that I was expecting because the chorus does not bring the flow back up after the beat drop and bridge.

Some of the faster-paced songs on the album are “Your Domino” and “Selfish Love,” although “Your

today

Domino” is a closer match to Ware’s style on past albums like “Tough Love.” The unique and mesmerizing beat gives “Your Domino” more of a pop feel than “Selfish Love,” though the lyrical style is slightly different, the subtle electronica and upbeat rhythm still achieves the nighttime magic ambience.

Another favorite, “Alone,” is an emotive romantic ballad led by Ware’s strong vocals. This song, released about a month earlier than the rest of the album, displays her strong presence. Similar to her first album, “Devotion,” the song “Alone” includes the classic Jessie Ware style of longing lyrics and soulful influence. Her extensive vocal range overpowers the musical melody of the song, but achieves a good balance.

Another similar track is “First Time,” a track with a steady bass drum beat. The sophisticated structure and lyrics about her personal life give an intimacy and aura that very few artists can attain. The alternative R&B style adds to the throwback to Ware’s first album.

Ware continues with the steady drum in “First Time” in the final track of the album, “Love to Love.”

The music, accented by finger snaps and a synth backdrop, makes this song feel more modern and radio-worthy than the rest of the album.

In the deluxe version of “Glasshouse,” Ware has acoustic versions of a few songs and includes the official audio for “Til the End,” a track from the movie “Me Before You.” Overall, Ware presents listeners with a balanced style of music with the classic lyrical complexity.

“Glasshouse” has more focus and consistency in style compared to her second studio album and Ware stays with her refined, soulful, polished and neat style. Some

Information from MetaCritic INFOGRAPHIC BY ELLIE AHLES PHOTOS FROM BILLBOARD, SAM SMITH, TAYLOR SWIFT AND MAROON 5

might think is too refined, but I like it.

by Annie Cheng

PHOTO FROM ISLAND RECORDS

released Oct. 20

tphsfalconer.com

entertainment

the falconer

A19

PHOTO BY ANNA JEONG/FALCONER

Betty’s Pie Whole Saloon’s quiet, peaceful environment, an amusing contrast to its saucy name, was the first thing I noticed when I walked into the western-themed bakery. It brings to mind the word “charming” with the soothing sounds of windchimes and muted country music.

The restaurant was relatively empty, with only one family and two other customers occupying the tables.

At the counter, there were about 20 pies on display and the cashier was helpful with various sweet and savory pie suggestions.

We ordered the Wild West Caramelized Onion Mushroom Pie ($8.95), Peach Pie ($6.50) and the Lemon Pucker Pie ($6.50). Despite the friendly service and the short wait, the silverware was very noticeably dirty, making the pies less appetizing. The total price, $21.95, was also far more than I expected for the amount of pie we ordered.

The Wild West Caramelized Onion Mushroom Pie tasted delicious and exceeded my expectations. The

flaky and buttery rosemary-infused crust was topped with melted asiago and the savory filling, mushrooms and onions in a creamy sauce, was exceptionally flavorful for a vegetarian pie. The different mushrooms provided a variety of textures to the pastry and the onions complimented the earthiness of the mushrooms. The Wild West Caramelized Onion Mushroom Pie was my favorite out of all three pies.

We tried the Peach Pie next, which tasted good, although underwhelming compared to the first dish.

The ingredients were fresh and vibrant, and the crust’s tartness complimented the creamy sugar syrup in the filling well. The peaches were tangy and juicy, but overall, the peach pie tasted like a bland, sugary cake with no distinct flavors.

The Lemon Pucker Pie, my least favorite, was saved for last. I was a little disappointed by the size; it was noticeably smaller than the Peach Pie, even though they were the same price. I’m usually not a fan of lemon pies, and the Lemon Pucker Pie was your typical

lemon-flavored baked good — overwhelmingly sugary and tart. Nothing about the taste really impressed me or justified the price; however, the cream on the top tasted fresh and its coolness paired well with the slight sourness of the filling.

Overall, my experience at Betty’s Pie Whole Saloon was very enjoyable. The restaurant’s quiet and ambient environment made the lunch peaceful and relaxing. The pies themselves, however, ranged from high quality to disappointing; despite their relatively expensive price, I would go again, even if just for the Wild West Caramelized Onion Mushroom Pie.

by Esther Choi

I have what some people might call a dessert obsession. So imagine my delight when I got to eat dessert for a school assignment. Then, imagine my disappointment at learning that Elizabethan Desserts, which advertises its pies on its website and on its door, does not sell pies at its location anymore.

Elizabethan Desserts has a nice ambiance for a dessert shop, but resembled a little girl’s bedroom; The teal walls and cabinet of china on the side of the store as well as a big glass case full of pastries gave off an almost eery a dollhouse atmosphere.

I ordered the specials after a quick chat with the friendly server behind the counter: the Salted Caramel

Cupcake ($3.75), Lemon Pie Bar ($5.50) and a Sugar Cookie ($3.95). After a few minutes, the server handed me my pastries and later came by with small mason jars of water. I wasn’t sure if this personalized attention was due to fact that I was the only customer in the shop, or because it was standard service, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

Visually, all of the pastries were appealing, and the china plates they came on, combined with the cute decorations, only furthered the dollhouse theme Elizabethan Desserts seemed to be pursuing.

I started with the cupcake, which was on the border of being too sweet, almost saccharin. The cake itself was dense and heavy, and not as moist as I was expecting. I moved onto the Lemon Pie Bar, which was visually my favorite, but I may have been biased in favor of the strawberry on top. The frosting was light and refreshing; sweet, but not too sweet. Even from the first bite, the sweetness of the frosting complemented the lemon filling, balancing the acidity.

But I unfortunately couldn’t bring myself to eat all of it, despite loving the frosting, because the filling’s aftertaste was too sour for me.

Finally, I tried the Sugar Cookie, which I had initially been the most excited about. It looked like a fancier version of the typical store-bought, frosted sugar cookies, but this was the greatest disappointment. The frosting was certainly too sweet this time, and the cookie itself was chewy, but blander than a typical sugar cookie. When eaten together, the frosting overpowered the taste entirely, creating an overall experience of just too much sugar.

Elizabethan Desserts presents its dessert theme well, and while its pastries aren’t amazing, they aren’t bad either. I can almost guarantee that I would’ve liked this dessert shop better had it had a little less sugar and a little more pie. For all of the dessert lovers out there, I would suggest a quick trip to Elizabethan Desserts to try it for yourself.

by Anvitha Soordelu

in the pastry.

After the Apple Turnover, I moved on to the Pecan Tart. It was a little expensive for being so tiny, but the tart was luckily not overly sweet. I could taste the amazing combination of roasted pecan and brown sugar, and the texture of the pie crust was perfectly crumbly and flaky while the filling was spongy, not dry.

I moved on to the chocolate Pecan Pie Slice. I had already been impressed by the Pecan Tart and I had high hopes for the chocolate pecan pie. The pie was very similar to the Pecan Tart but the fragrant bittersweet chocolate mixed in with the filling elevated the flavor to another level. After a few bites, however, the pie was a little too rich and sweet, and could have used a little less sugar. A thicker pie crust could have also balanced out the sweetness.

By the time I got to the Raspberry Scone, I was greatly impressed by the relatively cheap price and quality of the baked goods. However, the Raspberry Scone was a letdown and I felt extremely disappointed. The most obvious let down was the lack of any raspberry flavor in the scone. The vanilla

icing on top of the scone was also too overpowering and ruined the whole experience. The scone was overly sweet, lacked flavor and felt dry, as if it had been out in the sun for a while.

Some pastries could have used work in terms of flavor and texture. But despite these defects, I believe that Jessie’s Bake Shop offers high quality pastries for a great price. The only issues I had with this bakery was the occasional overload of sweetness, but that can be easily fixed with a cup of coffee or milk. If Jessie’s Bake Shop can maintain the freshness of their pastries, I would definitely recommend giving Jessie’s Bake Shop a visit.

by Jeremy Chung

PHOTO BY TRAVIS FELTHAUS/FALCONER

When I walked into Jessie’s Bake Shop, the dim lighting and utter lack of customers almost made the bakery feel abandoned.

The lack of variety at Jessie’s seemed to explain the dearth of customers; the shop only had a disappointing 15 to 20 options.

The server behind the counter recommended that I try the Apple Turnover ($2.25), Pecan Tart ($1.35), Chocolate Pecan Pie Slice ($2.25) and finally, the Raspberry Scone ($1.35). Despite the lack of variety, I was thoroughly impressed with the prices as the total came out to be only $7.20.

The texture of the Apple Turnover, which I tried first, was perfect in every way imaginable. It was flaky and fluffy, and the apples inside were fresh and crisp. But unfortunately, they tasted rather bland and boring, making the filling underwhelming compared to the texture of the exterior. Thankfully, the sweet vanilla frosting atop the turnover made up for the lack of flavor. Although the pastry was tasty overall, I think it still could have been elevated from a little cinnamon and sugar to really bring out the flavors of the apples

PHOTO BY JOCEYLN TZENG/FALCONER

Football break the Lancers

The Falcons (6-2) defeated Carlsbad High School (4-4) in a 31-24 victory on Oct. 20.

The Carlsbad offense started its opening drive slowly. After two short runs, the Falcons defense looked ready to hold the Lancers to a “three and out.” Facing their first big third down, the Lancers converted on a short pass to Joe Fontenot (11), who followed his blocks and ran for a devastating 70-yard touchdown.

Trailing early, the Falcons relied on both Sully O’Brien (12) and Mac Bingham (11) to jump start the running game. Rumbling up the field, the offense began to gain momentum. However, a significant sack on quarterback Jason Heine (11) resulted in 20-yard loss and a third and long for the Falcons. TPHS again looked to its strong running game, as O’Brien managed to pick up a first down to keep the drive alive.

A healthy number of running plays kept the momentum flowing for the Falcons, as Heine picked up 15 yards on a QB run. As the Falcons slowly advanced to the Lancer 30-yard line, the Carlsbad defense stepped up and shut down the Falcon offense, forcing a fourth down. The Falcons settled for a field goal, as Carlsbad retained a 7-3 lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter.

The Lancers offense picked up right where it left off, completing a couple of big pass plays that landed them in Falcon territory. The Falcon defense was caught completely off-guard by a wildcat play by Carlsbad, which resulted in yet another passing touchdown giving the Lancers a 14-3 lead at the end of the quarter.

Determined to cut into the lead, the Falcons turned again to O’Brien. TPHS plowed past the Lancer defense, which soon found itself pinned in its own redzone.

A short QB sneak by Heine secured the first touchdown of the game for TPHS. The Falcon defense took the field, as two failed running plays and a Louis Bickett (12) sack led to a three and out possession for the Lancers. The Falcons special teams made an important play as the Carlsbad punt was blocked and TPHS recovered it on the Lancer 5-yard line. A short touchdown run by Bingham saw the Falcons get their first lead of the game with five minutes left in the second quarter. With the same intensity as the previous drive, the Falcon defense made first downs hard to come by. After completing just one pass for a

PHOTOS DAVID VAPNEK/FALCONER

GROUND AND POUND: Luke Mikolajewski (23) finds a hole on an inside tackle run and accelerates. The Falcons finished with 213 rushing yards (TOP).

Linebacker Michael Stearns (21) looks to make an open field tackle (ABOVE). first down, Carlsbad soon found itself lining up to punt. As the Falcons started their drive, Bingham broke a couple of tackles and thrust the Falcons into Lancer territory. As the clock continued to tick toward halftime, Heine dropped back in the pocket and lofted a high arching pass toward Peter Nelson (12). Both Nelson and the Lancer defender got their hands on the ball, but in midair, Nelson wrestled the ball away and proceeded to run the ball in for a touchdown. The Falcons headed into the locker room at the half leading 24-14.

“It was just a streak route; he threw it,” Nelson said. “He threw it a little behind me, went over the guy, caught it, scored. It was a huge momentum booster, especially right before half, it gave us a nice 10-point lead going into halftime.”.

To start off the second half, the Falcons immediately returned to Bingham, who gained five yards for TPHS. O’Brien attempted a run soon after, but was unsuccessful. Two minutes into the quarter, TPHS fumbled on a big run play and Carlsbad took over on their 25-yard line.

Carlsbad tried to get its own running game going, but gained insignificant yardage, bringing up a fourth down before an illegal formation penalty on the Falcons allowed the Lancers to continue their drive.

TPHS linebacker Bickett sacked a Carlsbad quarterback for two yards, moving the Lancers back to the 12-yard line. Halfway through the quarter, the Falcon defense forced a fourth down and a Carlsbad field goal cut the score to 2417 with the Falcons hanging onto the lead.

Luke Mikolajewski’s (11) good return allowed the Falcons the start at the 34yard line but it was stopped short of any gain.

Shocking the crowd, Heine threw a major 50-yard pass to Nelson, putting the Falcons eight yards short of the endzone.

Bingham chewed up the last few yards, extending the Falcons lead to 31-17. The Falcons finished the quarter on a big sack

by Parker Williams (12). Williams just returned from a knee injury.

“I’m really glad to be back with my team and playing again after sitting out for so long,” Williams said.

O’Brien was tackled at the 50-yard line soon after the start of the fourth quarter, and several players made attempts to make a run play, but were unsuccessful.

With three minutes remaining, Carlsbad gained possession of the ball, but Fontenot dropped a big pass. The Lancers then gained 10 yards after the Falcons missed tackles.

In what could have been a huge play, a Carlsbad player dived to intercept a throw, but the ball passed through his hands with less than two minutes left on the clock.

The Lancers gained possession of the ball and ran for a touchdown but it was too little too late as the game ended 31-24.

“We have an opportunity to do something special,” varsity head coach Ron Gladnick said. “We win the next two, we’re Avocado League champs again. No one in modern times has won this league two years in a row, and we have a chance to do that.”

TPHS will play Mission Hills High School at home next Friday, Oct. 27

S P O RTS CORNER After a dismal qualifying campaign, the U.S. Men’s National soccer team has failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Following a 2-1 defeat to Trinidad and Tobago, USMNT will miss soccer’s biggest tournament for the first time since 1986. Clearly, this is a massive embarrassment and setback for the entirety of the U.S. soccer system. The question is: what went wrong?

Following an electrifying 4-0 win over Panama just a week prior, things were looking good for USMNT heading into the final game of qualification for the upcoming World Cup. So good in fact, that the United States had a 97 percent chance of making the World Cup. Of 27 different scenarios that could’ve occurred, only one of them kept the United States from qualifying.

The unthinkable happened, as a Trinidad and Tobago team that had only won one of its last 10 games took the United States down, while Panama beat Costa Rica. Those two games initiated a perfect storm of results that ultimately eliminated the United States from qualification.

From the start of the qualifying campaign, the team has looked mentally weak. Although this may be one of the more talented U.S. teams we have seen, the squad never gelled correctly and could never seem to get a needed result.

“This team has a history of whenever they get challenged, whenever they get punched in the mouth, whenever a team gets in their face, they haven’t been able to respond,” said ESPN FC analyst Alejandro Moreno.

However, USMNT’s issue stems much deeper than just poor tactics or performances. The National team has always had distinct blind arrogance about them. As almost all major sports in the United States are far superior to any other countries’, USMNT adopted that same mentality. The team had a noticeable belief that they were going to make the World Cup regardless of their own performance.

This was blatantly obvious to USMNT fans when they saw head coach Bruce Arena chat to media members about how to defend Europe’s best attackers before the Trinidad and Tobago match, almost as if they had already made the World Cup. Arena’s recent resignation won’t cut it for USMNT. Major changes are still needed varying from the youth system, media, board activities and members, and even the players themselves.

Although missing the World Cup is an extremely bad look for U.S. soccer, things can still be turned around in the future. Just 17 years ago, the soccer powerhouse Germany was knocked out of the group stages of Euro Cup. This prompted a revolution, as more money was funneled into German soccer youth systems to produce better players and coaches. Fourteen years later, Germany was crowned World Cup champion. To this day, Germany remains one of the best teams in the world. They constantly produce some of the most talented and promising young players, destined to dominate in later years.

If USMNT can follow that same blueprint, soccer success will ensue.

Although a lengthy, holistic rebuild awaits U.S. soccer, it’s long overdue and necessary. It will be a very long four years for USMNT.

sports

tphsfalconer.com

DAY IN THE

LIFE

the falconer

A21

Stephan Lukashev (10), a repeat swimming champion and former member of the Swiss national team, has devoted the past nine years to his sport, resulting in many hours of hard work and the refinement of his time-management skills.

Fueled by his love of the water, Stephan Lukashev (10) stands on the edge of the starting block, anticipating the buzzing sound that signals the start of the 100-meter butterfly.

For the past nine years, Lukashev has devoted himself to the water, which has led to many victories in his impressive swimming career thus far.

“I started [swimming] around the age of seven at [the University of California, San Diego] just to learn how,” Lukashev said. “I was always a kid that was fond of the water. Whenever I was in our pool I would always jump around and kind of adapt to the situation.”

Since then, Lukashev has been incredibly dedicated to the sport, practicing at least eight times a week, often several times a day, and also on the weekends. In weeks with scheduled swim meets, he practices overtime. Balancing swimming and school, Lukashev has developed time-management skills he may not have picked up without his rigorous schedule. “[A busy schedule] really organizes you to be efficient, get as much work done as possible, maximize every second of the day, [so] instead of not doing anything in class, you sit down and concentrate to get ahead,” Lukashev said.

Not only has he developed stellar organizational skills, but the time he has spent swimming has given him a unique appreciation for every minute in a day. For him, a millisecond can be the difference between a win and a loss.

“There’s a lot of work that gets put in for [what is] little and insignificant time for others and I think that really gives me a higher and deeper understanding of time and how each little millisecond or hundredth of a second is significant,” Lukashev said.

A buzzer sounds, prompting Lukashev to launch headfirst into the water. Using every muscle in his body, he propels himself down his lane, speeding past his opponents along the way.

Lukashev is no stranger to victory. In his nine years of swimming, he has won TPHS’ Freshman of the Year award and is currently ranked as the number one 100-meter fly swimmer in San Diego and Imperial Counties. He is also no stranger to competing at a high level, as this past summer, he competed in the U.S. Junior Nationals in East Meadow, New York. In addition, he swam for the Swiss national team while living in Canton of Vaud in Switzerland for two years, which gave him the unique opportunity to travel throughout Europe.

“We sometimes went to Spain to train, or France, or Hungary … it was

a really fun experience where you could just train, eat and relax without your parents and [it’s] just you, your friends and your coach,” Lukashev said.

He reaches the wall, executing a quick flip turn and powering himself toward the other end of the pool to complete the last half of the race.

Despite his numerous victories and the camaraderie he feels with the friends he has made through the sport, his swimming career has not always gone swimmingly.

“You’re spending hundreds of hours training for maybe half a second, and sometimes you don’t reach that goal immediately, and you expect that after months of practice [trying] to drop [your] time,” Lukashev said. “The hardest part is keeping yourself focused [enough] that you ... keep working [so the] results will come.”

His love of the water and unique talent in the sport, however, outweigh the strenuous work required for the sport, which he hopes to continue in the future.

“I plan on swimming through high school and college and possibly seeing where that takes me because swimming is a good thing that keeps me scheduled and is helpful for me,” Lukashev said.

Lukashev is hoping to continue his success in the upcoming CIF state meet and other national tournaments. “[I’m excited] because these are the best of the best, Lukashev said. “These are kids that are the fastest in this country, so it would be fun not even getting a medal but just racing against kids of a lot higher level which brings out the best in me.”

In the last stretch of the race

Lukashev kicks into gear, pushing himself forward until he reaches the wall, marking the end of the race. He surfaces to the sounds of cheers from his coaches and teammates, adrenaline and a feeling of accomplishment coursing throughout his body.

by Sammy Hallal and Alexei Serguienko

Stephan Lukashev (10) PHOTO COURTESY OF STEPHAN LUKASHEV

Professional and personalized support for (858) 376-7727 info@sparkedacademy.com www.sparkedacademy.com 11622 El Camino Real, Suite 100

ACT/SAT/PSAT SAT Subject Tests AP Exams School Courses

Call today to schedule a free academic consultation!

sports

tphsfalconer.com

the falconer

A22

MARK YOUR CALENDAR Varsity game schedules from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2

SUN

29

30

MON

Girls Tennis Avo-West Tournament

5

12

TUES

31

Girls Golf @ Admiral Baker Girls Tennis Avo-West Tournament

6

7

13

14

1

WED

THURS

2

Boys Water Polo @ La Jolla Field Hockey @ TPHS Girls Tennis Avo-West Tournament

Girls Golf @ Admiral Baker Girls Tennis Avo-West Tournament

8

9

15

16

FRI

3

Field Hockey @ Canyon Crest Academy Football @ TPHS

SAT

4

Boys Water Polo @ La Jolla CIF Quarterfinals Girls Volleyball @ TPHS CIF Quarterfinals

10

11

17

18

Girls Tennis @ Barnes Tennis Ctr. Girls Tennis @ Barnes Tennis Ctr. Girls Tennis @ Barnes Tennis Ctr. Girls Tennis @ Barnes Tennis Ctr. Girls Tennis @ Barnes Tennis Ctr. Cross Country @ Kit Carson Park CIF Individual Tournament CIF Individual Tournament CIF Individual Tournament CIF Individual Tournament CIF Individual Tournament League Finals Girls Volleyball @ TPHS Girls Golf @ Arrowhead GC Field Hockey @ LCC Field Hockey @ TBD Boys Water Polo @ La Jolla CIF Playoffs CIF Semifinals SoCal Regionals CIF Semifinals Early National Letter of Boys Water Polo @ La Jolla CIF Finals Intent Signing Day

Field Hockey @ TBD CIF Quarterfinals

Girls Golf @ Poppy Hills GC CIF State Tournament

Field Hockey @ TBD CIF Semifinals

Girls Tennis @ Claremont Club CIF State Tournament

Cross Country @ Morley Field CIF Finals Field Hockey @ TBD CIF Finals

Girls Tennis @ Claremont Club CIF State Tournament

19

20

21

22

Boys Basketball @ TPHS Girls Basketball @ TPHS

23

24

25

Cross Country @ Woodward Park CIF State Tournament Girls Basketball @ Bishops Boy Basketball @ Saints

26

27

Girls Basketball @ Scripps Ranch

28

Girls Water Polo @ Granite Hills

29

Boys Basketball @TPHS

30

Girls Water Polo Bronco Invite Invitational Boys Soccer @ TPHS Wrestling @ TPHS Girls Soccer @ TPHS Boys Basketball @ Temecula Valley

1

Girls Water Polo Bronco Invite Invitational Girls Soccer @ TPHS

2

Girls Water Polo Bronco Invite Invitational

Girls Basketball @ TPHS

Girls Basketball @ TPHS

Boys water polo finishes Cross Country top 10 in strong in SD Open Tourney national Mt. SAC Invitational Boys water polo won four games out of five at the San Diego Open Tournament on Oct. 19-21.

The Falcons first met on Oct. 19 with California High School, who would prove to be their toughest opponent. In what was a close, hard-fought four quarters, the Falcons fell 13-12. It was a close call between TPHS and California High School as the game went into overtime.

“We were going into the fourth quarter of that game down by five [points],” Chris Stapakis (12) said. “But we made a comeback, went into overtime and lost after they hit a lucky shot on our goalie.”

Because the first game was a loss, the team was bracketed with easier opponents. Brandon Schwartz said after that first loss, the team rebounded and won its next four games.

The Falcons earned their first win on Oct. 20, comfortably defeating Mission Bay High School 17-10. “[The team’s expectations were] to have a winning record. We were really hoping for it, and we got that,” Stapakis said.

The Falcons first attained that winning record on the same day against Hilltop High School. A stellar defensive performance led to a 16-6 win.

“After our first loss, we pretty much swept them and ended up with 10-point wins against Hilltop and Eastlake,” Stapakis said.

The Falcons’ fourth game against Eastlake High School was on Oct. 21, with a win of 18-5, which built on their momentum and kept their three-game winning streak alive.

The team did “well playing together and not losing their cool at each other or blaming others [in tough moments]”

Schwartz said. “But we can definitely work on team defense.”

Coach Robin Bregman said the team showed some good team chemistry and camaraderie but “can do a better job at team defense and just being in front of the goal.”

The fifth game, which was a win 14-9 for TPHS, against Mar Vista High School, ended the tournament with four wins.

According to Bregman, “the team showed some good growth and progress.”

The boys water polo team had mixed reactions to the 4-1 win record at the SD Open Tournament.

According to Stapakis, who usually starts on defense, the team was “pretty happy [and] stoked about the wins [and a] little sad about the loss.”

But Schwartz, an offensive workhorse, said because the team came back from a tough loss to CCA the night before, they were all pretty hard on themselves.

“We were pretty disappointed with our performance.”

“We wanted to be challenged by bigger and better teams in the end, we were up for the challenge,” Schwartz said.

According to Schwartz, he was satisfied with how he played in his offensive role, but was also impressed by Cole Bresnan (11) and Ryan Knutzen (10), the playmakers who makes sure the offense is running smoothly.

The SD Open Tournament, is the “biggest tournament of the year” and the last major series of games before the team’s CIF matches.

While Schwartz said the CIF matches “are going to be tough,” he said, in the end, all the competing teams “will have an equal chance.”

“I think we’re going to be ready for it,” Schwartz said.

The team’s round one CIF match is on Nov. 1.

The cross country team returned with ninth in varsity boys, third in varsity girls, and first in freshmen boys on Oct. 22 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California.

In a 2.93-mile race, cross country raced alongside schools from all over California and some out-of-state schools. The Mt. SAC Invitational is well-known among high school cross country teams and competition that many aspire to go to.

In this top cross country competition, TPHS qualified for the individual sweepstakes competition, which is an improvement over past years.

“In years past, we have always been in the varsity races which are really easy to get into,” TPHS cross country captain Robert Bartsch (12) said. You just need to sign up for those races. This time we actually qualified for a harder race.

Normally, we’re pretty close to winning, so now we’re in a harder race, so we didn’t do as well comparatively, but we’ve done better than years past based on times.”

The Mt. SAC Invitational attracts cross country teams from all over California and nearby states to a 2.93-mile course, which includes three steep hills.

The varsity boys individual sweepstakes race began at 9 a.m. while the varsity girls ran at 9:30 a.m. and the freshmen boys at 11 a.m.

The event was highly anticipated and the TPHS team prepared for the run for nearly five whole months, starting in June.

“The high quality varsity players are training consistently year-round which is what really sets them apart. Most of the freshmen started training in Early June.

They have been running six days a week

since then. They have been putting in the work and been in great shape. It’s about trusting that they are in the shape that they would be in the race well,” said cross country coach Kaitlin Hildebrand.

From advancing into individual sweepstakes to winning freshmen boys, the cross country team had much to be proud of, according to Hildebrand. All three teams ran solid times, allowing the teams to achieve their final rankings.

The team’s season was not always so smooth, as injuries and illnesses within the team limited their progress. Despite such obstacles, Hildebrand praised the team for their teamwork and perseverance, which allowed them to qualify for sweepstakes and take ninth and third in varsity boys and girls respectively.

“The team atmosphere’s pretty crazy.

There are a lot of people that are funny, and a lot of people that are serious. It’s really cool, and it’s a really big atmosphere. It’s not just one corner. Everyone’s together,” Tristan Cany (11) said.

Although most freshmen only began training in June, the consistency and attendance of the freshmen boys had a positive effect, helping them to secure the top spot of all freshmen teams that showed up at the Mt. SAC Invitational.

Each event, with their eyes set on beating a certain team in CIFs, successfully defeated those target teams.

The freshmen practiced with CCA and emerged victorious with first place while the varsity girls ranked higher than San Marcos, the only team that was somewhat of a challenge to them within the CIF division.

The cross country team continues their season, striving to win CIF’s after beating every other CIF team at Mt. SAC. Bartsch said the team is back in the swing of it and based on these results, they should be able to win CIF.

tphsfalconer.com

sports

f/stop

parker williams varsity football october 20 8:13:33

camera: nikon d5500 lens: nikon 55-300m f/4.5-5.6G ED VR iso: 16000 exp: 1/1000 seconds f/stop: f/5.3 by david vapnek

the falconer

A23

w

tf?

eh

m

g

om

w

in

Search

Fall Tips

THE MORE YOU KNOW

It’s another freaking pumpkin!

25 Places Where You Can Pretend to be a Photographer Pumpkin patches, random fields in the middle of nowhere and so much more.

Freddie Falcon

a few minutes ago

31 DIY Halloween Costumes to Beat Out the Basic B*****s Everything from lifeguards, to school girls, to animals with ears to not-so-scary clowns. three hours ago

Cute Sushi

It’s fall, which means it’s time to break out of our winter clothes and pretend 65 degrees is cold! After a summer of crop tops, throwback chokers and as much skin as humanly possible, be ready to see some more as we tackle our 102-degree fall days.

Breaking out your Uggs from last season? Too mainstream. Instead, opt for a pair of forever-stylish and comfortable Crocs, and take the risk of becoming a social outcast for life. These top-of-the-line clogs not only offer extreme function, but also allow you to confidently show your one and only pair of Lululemon leggings that you’ve been wearing for your whole high school career, hoping nobody will notice.

Ready for sweater weather? Sweatshirts come in all fashions, but make sure you sport one from a college that you are definitely not going to attend to make sure everybody knows how intellectual you are. If you happen to only wake up an hour before you have to leave, feel free to throw on some athletic shorts and drive to Starbucks for some warm coffee instead. That way, it’ll be 70 degrees outside, but 71 degrees inside your body.

Worried about daylight savings messing with your sleep schedule? Worry no more. You’ll only get an extra hour of sleep on a single day, so you can continue to be sleepdeprived for the rest of the season. Eyeing those late start days? Don’t bother! Check out A4 in the News section to see why you get to lose ten minutes of sleep for some more school.

Friendly tip for pumpkin patches: either choose the smallest pumpkin you can find or the biggest pumpkin possible. You can either make sure your #ootd has the minimum coverage possible or show all 11 of your followers how incredibly strong you are.

Buy those umbrellas and boots for those nonexistent rainy days and simultaneously cross your fingers that one day it’ll finally be hot enough for TPHS to cancel school.

Happy Fall, Falcons!

Pick your #basic poison.

PHOTOS BY THE FALCONER STAFF

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Iced Coffee

Don’t worry, the name is misleading. Your uncultured taste buds can handle this wonderfully not-spicy drink.

Make sure to ask for light ice so you get approximately 0.1 mL of coffee. Nice and diluted, just the way you like it.

99% FML. How mad are you about the schedule 0.8% What am I supposed to do during my free third? change?

0.2% I enjoy education. (Harvard, looking at you!)