High Tide: March 3, 2017

IGH H

Redondo Union High School Redondo Beach, CA March 3, 2017 Vol. XCVII Edition 11

TIDE

1.

Making

history

2.

Champions at last. 1. Girls waterpolo celebrates as coaches Shelby Haroldson, Noah Rubke and Liz Payan hold the CIF Champion-

ship plaque in the air. 2. Fans, coaches, and team alike burst into cheers when the final whistle blew, signaling an RUHS victory. “It was surreal. I couldn’t believe it. As soon as the final whistle blew, I swam over to one of my best friends, Maddy McCaw and hugged her and started crying, “ said senior Sophie Maguy. “We said this year many times that we were going to win CIF, and then watching all of our hard work pay off like that, it was emotional and raw.” PHOTOS BY MATTHEW YONEMURA AND SAMMY ALDOVER

Girls water polo wins CIF for the first time in school history [Story on pg. 24]

page 2

High Tide

news

Around Surf and soccer triumph Redondo Soccer and surf find success in the 2017 season How do you feel about the new vending machines?

by Yasmine Elahihaghighi

Compiled by Samaya Rubio Photos by Liam Adkins and Hiroki Goto

“

It’s nice having other options and not having to wait in the cafeteria lines.”

-Daniel Hatekeyama, 9

2.

“

Number one. 1. The soccer team celebrates its

Last time the money kept getting jammed, so now it is easier to use. Also, there’s water and juice.”

-Asia Huynh, 10

1.

F

“

This one doesn’t have a metal casing and there are a bit more options and healthier stuff.”

-Carlos Sique, 12

“

You can type in the numbers and there are more options.

They work better and faster.”

-Logan Mintz, 9

“

The card edition was good because it’s more efficient for some of the older class.”

-Anaiee Aguilar, 12

“

I see a lot of people using them, I don’t know what was wrong with the old ones.”

-Thomas Pollicino, 9

or the first time ever, soccer made it to the second round of CIF, and surf made it to the last round for Bay Leagues ending in a tie with Costa in what team captain Tate Curran, senior, believes to be “the most successful team since 2008.” This year, Redondo sports teams have pushed themselves to beat past records and have found greater success than in previous years.

Surf believes their strength this year did not come from any changes in routine, but simply from who was on the team.

“I believe our team was able to do so well this year because we overall had a very strong team with good short boarders, long boarders, and girl surfers,” team captain Kyle Beatty, senior, said.

Curran, the other team captain, explains how a lot of the talent came from the younger side of the team.

“I think we succeeded so well this year simply because we had such amazing talent on the surf team, especially on the younger side. It was a combination of young inexperienced surfers who matured very quickly by watching and learning from some of the older more experienced surfers such as myself, Kyle Beatty, Hali Honea, and Emma Weldinger,” Curran said. “Everything fell perfectly into place this year and we have the most successful surf season that our school has had since 2008.”

The surfers did well in each competition and Beatty explains how the girls were one of the main reasons for winning so often.

“We did so good in competition because of how good all our surfers were in each division. Our girl surfers played a big part in winning us contests. We also have a very talented group of sophomore surfers who contributed heavily to many of our victories,” Beatty said.

Beatty further credits the team’s accomplishments to their shared love for surfing.

“I have been surfing for most of my life and it is something I can go out and do with my family and also friends. Having surfing be my career would be a dream, but it is not realistic considering the competition from all around the world so I would be content with just surfing for fun my entire life,” Beatty said.

Curran shares the same amount of passion for the sport and agrees it contributes to how well the team does in the water .

“I am so passionate about surfing, maybe because it is something that runs in the blood of my family, having two professional surfing cousins, Timmy and Nathaniel Curran. Those guys are two of my favorite surfers in the world and they drive me to get better and surf like them,” Curran said. “At the same time I could be just as passionate because surfing is just so much fun and there really is not another sport like it. I am sure it is a combination of both.”

As for soccer, making it to the second round of CIF was something the team worked together towards.

“This year we changed up some things and worked a lot harder than the past couple of years, and we made sure everyone was at practice so we could build our chemistry as a team to help us in games,”team captain and junior Damian Sanchez said.

Besides just attending and improving connections, the drills that the team did at practice contributed to their success.

“We ran a lot of suicides because we wanted to improve our fitness and we ran a lot of possession drills so we could move the ball better as a whole,” Sanchez said.

Junior Ricky Estrada also believes that the team’s performance improved because they were less selfish in the game.

2-1 victory over Mira Costa to take the Bay League title. The team went on to play in CIF, but was eliminated in the second round. PHOTO BY LILLY LOPEZ 2. Beatty catches air while shortboarding during an early season competition againt Peninsula. PHOTO BY MICHAEL YOON

“This year what we did differently is that we played more as a team. The past years we played more individually instead of as one group and so this year we had to change that.

In the end it worked out,” Estrada said.

Although the team was able to advance, there were still some challenges the team had to overcome together.

“Our main challenge this season was trying to start off our games strong. In the beginning of many of our games, we mostly started off slow and if any mistakes were made we would have to have a comeback in the second half which made our games way harder that they should’ve have been,” Estrada said.

Moving forward is something the team has not done in a while and Sanchez feels it was a nice change.

“As a team we just felt really happy moving forward because we have done something we haven’t done in a couple of years which was move on to the second round of CIF,” Sanchez said.

For Estrada personally, moving forward felt really nice because of the amount of passion he has for the sport.

“I love soccer because my whole life I have been playing and every time I play it always clears my mind of things and just nothing could bother me,” Estrada said.

Estrada explains how getting so far meant a lot because of the people on the team and the bonding experience, not just because they were able to go so far.

“It was just a great experience overall to get as far as we did this year and I was very proud . Our team had a ton of talent and many of the guys got along well,” Estrada said. “I was very blessed for the team we had this year bc even if we didn’t make it as far as we did we would’ve just had a great time with each other as a team.”

March 3, 2017

page 3

news

Academic Decathlon advances to state

by Ben Yepez

Academic Decathlon is deep in competition. The year is 2017, and the theme is World War II. After securing early victories, Redondo Union’s Academic Decathlon team marches to Sacramento for the intellectual battle that is the State Championship. They are to meet up against two juggernauts in the war of wits; Granada Hills Charter School and El Camino Real Charter School.

Redondo Union’s Academic Decathlon (Acadec) team is going to the state championships in Sacramento.

Academic Decathlon is an academic sport in which students’ knowledge is tested on the subjects of math, science, social science, economics, literature, art, music, essay writing, speech giving and interviewing based on a predetermined theme. Every year there is a new theme for participants to study and this year’s theme is World War II. There are different competitions at the regional, state, and national level.

For seven of the subjects, participants take multiple choice tests and are scored based off of how many they get right. For the other three sections, participants are scored by judges. There is a separate part of Academic Decathlon called the Super Quiz, which is similar to Jeopardy. Contestants are given clickers and ten seconds to answer a question projected on a screen.

Aimee Gauvreau has been the Acadec coach at Redondo for eight of the eighteen

years she has spent teaching at the school.

In addition to coaching Acadec, she teaches Speech and Argument through American Literature as well as AVID 12.

“There are ten academic events, that’s why it’s called the decathlon, because it is a ten event experience. It’s a competition of the brain, and your “muscle” is your brain,” Gauvreau said.

Senior Julie Nguyen, captain of Redondo’s competition team, is in her second year of participating in Academic Decathlon.

“We’re studying art pieces and music from World War II, in addition to literature from that time. For the science we are learning about physics, because of the atomic bomb. Math is just kind of generic, and then we also do economics, essay, interview, and speech. And then for speech, you write your own speech and present it to a group of judges,” Nguyen said.

In addition to looking for things for her college application, Nguyen’s “love of learning” was an unofficial requirement for her placement on the team.

“What we look for first are students who are interested in learning for learning’s sake.

That’s our motto. Often times students who enjoy this class are kids who like things like Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy. They’re just really good at memorizing facts or just learning interesting tidbits. They’re very good at regurgitating or restating information. They

just love to know facts and interesting pieces of information to share with their friends or family,” Gauvreau said.

To get to the state competition, Redondo placed fifth out of approximately 60 teams at the regional competition. Nguyen attributes Redondo’s success to the members of this year’s team.

“I think what’s helping us out a lot this year is we found people who are really good at certain subjects. For example, I’m really strong in economics, so I tend to help people out with that. And then we have a lot of people in band, so they’re really strong with music theory. Having people who have their own niche [makes it] easier to try and help each other learn the material. I mean, no one knows everything, so by having a well rounded team it allowed us to perform a lot better this year.”

Gauvreau believes the lovely thing about competing in Acadec is the tangible results.

“The beautiful thing about this competition is that the more you practice, the better results you will see. You don’t always see that in life. Sometimes we can work our hearts out for something and it doesn’t come to pass. In acadec, if you study then you will see your scores go up, you practice and you see your speech get better and more refined, the medals will come,” she said.

Gauvreau feels that success coincides with students’ presence in the fifth period

class, and it is a requirement for students who wish to be on the competition team.

“Being in the class is important because those who are committed to joining the class have 5 hours built in every week where they are studying, and working together to improve our scores,” Gauvreau said.

To prepare for competition, students are given a set of curricula to study from, and practice different study methods for different aspects of the competition.

“The way we prepare for the subjects like art and math and such, where we have take multiple choice tests, is just read the curriculum we are given and study in groups and really try to help each other learn the material,” Nguyen said. “For speech and interview it’s a little different because you don’t really know what you’re going to be asked. So we have lots of after school practices where we practice giving our speeches and we have interviews with each other to get used to that sort of environment.”

Nguyen believes that Acadec has definitely helped her performance in school.

“In Acadec you teach yourself the study skills you need in school, because a lot more independant and really just helps you prepare for college. It’s not your typical class where the teacher teaches you everything, it’s more as though you try to teach yourself. You use the resources around you and the people you’re with to really boost your learning.”

Battle of the Bands

2.

1.

A little bit country, and a little bit rock and roll. 1. Static Flow, a band comprised of juniors J.J. Hyman, Liam McEvoy and Tyler Wunderli and eighth grader Alex Wunderli, performs during the

3.

Wednesday lunch concert of the Battle of the Bands. Their music style consists primarily of classic rock. PHOTO BY MATT DAVIDSON 2. Seniors Sanad El-Khatib and Matt Mercier perform traditional Country music during Thursday’s performance featuring “The Redondo Rednecks.” PHOTO BY ANNE-ELYSE PETERSON 3. Juniors Johnny Lopez, Sebastian Franco and Christian Gastaldo play classic rock songs for the opening performance of Battle of the Bands during Monday’s lunch. PHOTO BY CELINE OH

page 4

news

On the Ballot:

By Malek Chamas

High Tide

Mayoral candidates share plans ahead of election Steve

Christopher

Aspel

Mowatt

Incumbent -Opposes Measure C -Promises to “think of the future of Redondo Beach” -Wants to make the waterfront a destination for young citizens

-Supports Measure C -Promises to be an “active mayor” -Wants to regulate commercial marijuana use and high city rents

Bill

Michael

Brand

Sachs

-Neutral on Measure C -Wants further reconciliation and cooperation on both sides of waterfront issue -Wants to end “adversarial” city politics

-Supports Measure C -Promises better land use and campaign finance reform -Wants City Council not Mayor to appoint commissioners

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER MOWAT, BILL BRAND, ERIC COLEMAN, MICHEAL SACHS AND STEVE ASPEL. PHOTO BY CATERINA HYNEMAN

O

n Feb. 22, the five candidates running for mayor in Redondo Beach participated in their last public debate before the city’s Mar. 7 election. During the event, which was hosted by the Easy Reader, they offered a range of positions on city issues and explained why they were the right choice for voters.

Incumbent mayor Steve Aspel is running for re-election against four challengers: Eric James Coleman, Christopher Mowatt, Michael Ian Sachs and City Councilman Bill Brand of District 2. In personal interviews with the High Tide, the challengers portrayed themselves as champions of various types of change, while Aspel touted his work as mayor over the past four years.

“Under my first term as mayor, we’ve brought our budget back. We now have money in the bank again. We have a full complement of police officers for the first time in about ten years. And we are going to hire about fifteen more,” Aspel said. “We have money for senior centers, AYSO, Redondo Little League and more. It’s the little things that people like.”

The future of the city’s waterfront is one of, if not the, central issues in this election.

Out of all the candidates, Aspel is the only one who supports the redevelopment plans of CenterCal Properties, LLC. Sachs’s stance is neutral, while the other three candidates

“Together, we are going to build the biggest, baddest, most insane to max ‘abusement park’ the world has ever seen.”

Eric Coleman all oppose the project. Aspel believes that the proposed plan is in the best interests of the future citizens of Redondo Beach.

“My goal is to make the waterfront some place where people will go now and ten years from now. We want to rebuild the waterfront and make it an attractive place for young people,” Aspel said. “We have to have a vision, not just for next week but for ten or twenty years from now, when our young people are going to be adults. We need a place for them to go in Redondo Beach so they can spend their money here, not in Manhattan, Hermosa or Del Amo.” However, Mowatt, Coleman and Brand all strongly disagree with Aspel’s stance on the waterfront issue. Instead, they support Measure C, a measure which would amend the zoning in the waterfront area. CenterCal opposes the measure, since it would force the company to make some significant alterations to its project or else cancel it altogether.

Brand is endorsed by Rescue Our Waterfront (ROW), a group of Redondo Beach citizens who oppose CenterCal’s redevelopment plans. He asserts that a vote in his favor will be a vote for better land use in Redondo Beach.

“We need a comprehensive rezoning of the waterfront area, including the AES power plant, so that we do not end up with

piecemeal overdevelopment. We need a slow growth approach,” Brand said. “If you want to see more reasonable development with more open space and not the traffic growth that the opposite side provides, you need to vote for Bill Brand.”

According to Sachs, a retired environmental technician, both opponents and supporters of the redevelopment plans have “valid arguments.” He thinks that it is “probably best” if he did not take a side on the issue and instead focuses on cooperation in order to satisfy both sides. His theme “Time to Work Together” reflects his stated goal of increasing dialogue in Redondo beach politics.

“Early on in the campaign, I was thinking that I would come to a decision. But after meeting with all the groups, delving through all the numbers and hearing their concerns, I came to the realization that not taking a side is most positive for moving forward,” Sachs said. “My role would be bringing the two sides together, having them understand each other. There’s got to be common ground here.”

Of the five candidates, Coleman, an ESL English teacher, acknowledges that he is the least serious about his campaign. The audience at the Easy Reader debate was treated to Coleman’s call to “Make Redondo Great Again” and the sight of him destroying a toy

roller coaster with a hammer. He calls his campaign a literal “joke,” saying he is going for “zero votes.” However, his intention is to satirize city issues, with his “Rent Coaster 9000” meant to represent the “mall” CenterCal plans to build.

“I think it is dull and uninspired. There’s nothing wrong with this pier. It’s quaint, it has character. It’s enough,” Coleman said.

“But if I were to be elected, I would immediately demand a recount. My campaign is pure satire.”

Mowatt, a senior paralegal, promises to provide effective leadership to tackle the city’s “tough issues.” He claims that the current city government has failed to perform important tasks such as introducing restrictions on the commercial use of marijuana in Redondo, which is set to become legal on Jan. 1, and establishing rent control zones.

“Rents are skyrocketing in certain parts of the city, and they need help. And it’s the job of the city government to be there for those residents,” Mowatt said. “You have to ask the two who are running for re-election or elevation from to a higher office, ‘What have you done? You’ve had four years to tackle these issues.’ And if they haven’t done anything, we have to look outside that circle to people who offer change.”

March 3, 2017

page 5

news

Best foot forward

Band to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York

By Nicole Sandoval The RUHS band has been invited to perform at the world famous concert venue Carnegie Hall, located in the heart of Manhattan, New York.

After performing at La Puente High School last year, the band was invited by Peter Fournier, a sight reading judge who is a part of the selection process for schools that audition for Carnegie Hall.

“After performing, we earned a superior rating for our prepared pieces and a high rating for our sight reading. Fournier bases his selection off of musical ability and talent, as well as how well we can emote through the music while we play,” band captain Teà Leksunthon, senior said.

The Wind Ensemble and Concert Band have been preparing and perfecting their pieces for their performance at Carnegie Hall as marching season ended.

Each group will be performing two pieces in front of a panel of judges and will leave Mar. 10 and come back Mar.15.

“During those days, we’ll be performing in front of a panel of judges who will give us tips and useful critique. Concert band will perform “New World Variations” and “October”, while Wind Ensemble will perform “American Elegy” and “Slavonic Rhapsody,” Leksunthon said.

A total of 90 students will have the opportunity to fly to New York along with 20 parent chaperones, assistant principal,

Marching through. Marching band takes part in a parade on the Boardwalk. PHOTO BY KATIE KATAYAMA.

Jonathan Erickson, former principal Nicole Wesley and band director of three years Raymundo Vizcarra.

“I feel really happy that my students are going to get to experience this and very proud of their accomplishments. The fact that we didn’t have to audition because they heard us play and personally invited us makes it so much better. They’ll also get to travel across the country so i think it’s going to be one of the best experiences for the kids to have,” Vizcarra said.

Along with playing at Carnegie Hall, the students will also have the chance to go sightseeing around the city.

“Besides performing on Tuesday, we will also be going to the World Trade Center, a

dinner cruise around Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Radio City Music Hall, and lastly a broadway show,” Vizcarra said.

On one of the days students will have an “exchange rehearsal”. They will be meeting other musicians who are also playing at Carnegie Hall. Students will learn a song and perform it on the spot.

“Two days before Carnegie Hall, were going to meet the other groups who will be performing. For example one group is coming all the way from South Africa,” Vizcarra said. “It will be interesting because they all speak different languages yet will be playing the same pieces.”

Leksunthon believes that she has improved a lot throughout the past months

and has learned new techniques thanks to Fournier and Vizcarra.

“It will be humbling to perform on a stage that’s so grand and it will be a good experience because I’ve never been to New York,” said Leksunthon.

Leksunthon has been a part of the team all throughout high school. This “once in a lifetime opportunity” doesn’t come very often so she’s “eager” to perform with her teammates.

“It’s really exciting, I’ve been in the program since freshman year and I’m a senior now so it’s crazy how much we’ve improved to get to the point to where we’re able to perform at a world stage so it’s pretty cool,” Leksunthon said.

Model UN breaks school record for awards

By Ethan Park

Model United Nations competed last weekend at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where they received the highest number of awards in the club’s history.

“What I’m most proud of is our team award. They all worked together really well, and this is the first team or delegation award we ever received as a school. There were some great stand out individual performances, but I’m most proud of how we were able to get the team award,” Model UN advisor Nicholas Sklarenko said.

Model United Nations, or Model UN, is a debate club which focuses on foreign politics and global issues. Students from various high schools are given a committee, topic, and a country which they will represent in competitions hosted at high schools and colleges.

“When we debate it’s really fun, and what’s really nice about the club is that you

get to see people who have been there be- to make friends. I also really enjoy the comfore. You get to make friends, and it’s just a petition involved in this club as we make good experience. I love friends with people all it,” Vice President over the world,” enior Emma Golub said.

Adi Nair said.

Redondo’s Last weekend, Model UN club the Model UN team hosts around 40 went to Santa Barmembers, makbara to compete ing it one of the in GauchoMUN, largest active which is hosted in clubs on campus.

UCSB. The club competes “The other delin many competiegations at that tions throughout the conference were all year, including events smart and very talenthosted in state universities ed. There were even some such as UCLA and UCSB. kids from different countries “I really enjoy the club. The at this conference.” Nair said.

ILLUSTRATION BY LULU WEGMAN people in the club are all really Yet despite the adverse comfriendly and this club is a great way petition, the Redondo team managed

to round up several individual awards, with Nair managing to win best delegate.

“I won Best Delegate in my committee which is Redondo’s second Best Delegate award ever. It is such an honor to win this award and I feel it would not have been possible without the support I get from the others in our Model UN club,” Nair said.

The general consensus among members is that the club will continue to grow and thrive in future years.

“I think that this club has a very promising future. This year, we had a huge influx of young students as well as many seniors here to act as role models. I feel that Redondo Union’s Model UN team has a lot of potential and will be very good, ” Nair said. “I encourage any and all people to join Model UN. It is a great way to make friends, meet new people, and to improve on basic public speaking as well as leadership skills.”

page 6

Editorial

High Tide

opinion

Limited options

Course selection has pushed students towards college-required careers and away from other pursuits

College is a must. There is no other option after high school.

Obviously this is not true, but in the “South Bay Bubble” many people have this mentality; often students are looked down upon if they decide against this option. The push to get students to college, while it is done with the best of intentions, doesn’t allow for very much exploration of other post high school paths that are considered non academic.

It seems as if everyone at Redondo is scrambling to get into their dream school, and the students who have other plans are the odd ones out. It is crammed down students’ throats since elementary school, where posters advertising the merits of being college bound are already plastered on the walls for parents and students to see.

It is implied that not having a degree when entering the workforce is a death sentence. In fact, many of the skills needed to be successful in industries today are these technical skills that college just can’t offer.

As a society, white collar jobs are highly revered while blue collar work is looked down upon.

This is a destructive mindset not only for students, but for America. The lack of people with these vocational skills is an economic burden for the country.

Society also tells students to pursue jobs that they feel passionate about. What if a student has already found that passion, that job that he or she wants to do for the rest of their life? What if pursuing that job doesn’t require a college degree?

Not everyone is passionate about sitting in a cubicle from 9 to five. In this student’s case, not going to college would be the smarter decision; it would save them tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Such students do have resources in the community to help them get trained in their field, such as Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC) where they can get experience doing hands-on work on topics they are actually interested in such as

plumbing, auto repair, nursing, cosmetology, welding, and fashion and video game design.

However, while SCROC is alive and well now, it has been at risk of being defunded by the state government multiple times, the last scare being a year ago.

Redondo also offers what they call classes in “Career Technical Education” which emphasizes post high school careers. Certain classes, such as photography, sample jobs that students perhaps do not need to go college to pursue.

Students are even given the option to have “work experience” as a class. However, most of the classes under the CTE label are classes that require a degree such as computer science, intro to engineering, or digital electronics.

Other classes such as woodshop were removed from Redondo’ curriculum. Classes such as woodshop which allow for valuable post high school skills have been replaced with tracks such as the STEM program. The STEM program, while extremely important

for students who are interested in pursuing science, ultimately guides them toward college. The program mentors students who are interested in entering a biomedical or engineering concentration, jobs that require a degree.

The root of the problem lies in the attitudes of the “South Bay bubble” which wants to replace woodshop with engineering and send 100% of their students to college, not taking into account the needs and wants of individual students.

Our society pushes nine to five jobs in a cubicle, but what what our world be like without artists or musicians? How would we function without plumbers or janitors?

This is not to say that Redondo does not do a good job preparing students for the workforce. The College and Career Center does an incredible job preparing students for life after high school. SCROC is a great resource for students as well. But it often feels like the emphasis is on the word college and not career.

ILLUSTRATION BY LULU WEGMAN

Yes

7

Editorial Board vote

Society has pushed Redondo curriculum to prioritize careers requiring a college education, marginalizing those pursuing other post high school options.

No

0

March 3, 2017

High Tide

staff

Editors-in-Chief: Caterina Hyneman; Shaniya Markalanda Online Editor-in-Chief: Reema Saad Opinion Editor: Dina Ghanim News Editors: Ben Brill; Jon Mallen Features Editors: Reem Chamas; Miriam Farah; Lizzie Fauver; Summer Saad; Adam Yorke; Kylie Yorke Sports Editors: Mia Berger; Luke Peterson Senior Editors: Yasamin Fazeli; Amanda Shaw Photo Editors: Jarrah May; Eden Millan Copy Editors: Davina Nguyen; Marie Ona Social Media Editor: Justin Pioletti Illustrators: Adrian Craciun; Lulu Weg-man Staff Writers: Brian Adler; Aaliah Alz; Analise Asaro; Maryam Bacaloni; Brit-tany Baker; Amanda Ban; Mia Berger; Tessa Biscaldi; Malek Chamas; Michael Teng-Kai Chang; Alexander Dang; Whayden Dhamcho; Kayvon Elahi-haghighi; Yasmine Elahihaghighi; Mar-tha Farah; Sarah Flannery; Daphnie Ful-ton; Camille Grace; Maya Groark; Kelly Harraka; Kayla Hiken; Kylee Kallick; Lau-ren Kim; Shyanne Landers; Grace McGo-nigle; Hayley O’Connor-Rigby; Daniel Parhizi; Ethan Park; William Pournam-dari; Julian Quevado; Rubab Quraishi; Batia Rotshtein; Nicole Sandoval; Keana Sterling; Nadia Stodder; Angie Tait; Ben-jamin Yepez; Erika Zlatkin Photographers: Cass Anderson; Matthew Davidson; Hiroki Goto; Kaitlyn Katay-ame; Anne-Elyse Peterson; Danielle Ses-tak; Michael Yoon This is a wholly student-managed, designed, and written newspaper that focuses on the school and community.

Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the staff

Letters to the

Editor

If you have an opinion about one of the articles, letters can be sent to the editor at hightideonline@gmail. com.

We reserve the right to edit them for content, grammar, and space constraints. Letters must be signed and are not guaranteed to be printed.

Please keep letters to a maximum of 250 words. Longer guest opinions are also accepted.

page 7

opinion

Shaniya Markalanda

Incompetent incentives

ACE program publicizes students’ academic record and falls short in mission to motivate students Despite their purpose to motivate and reward students, ASB’s Academic and Continuing Excellence (ACE) awards do not provide students with a source of encouragement to maintain high GPAs and perfect attendance. As opposed to motivating student. ACE awards do a better job of rewarding students.

ACE provides students who maintain a 3.5 GPA, have perfect attendance or improve their GPA by 0.5 with prizes for their accomplishment.

The program began two to three years ago when ASB had additional funds and decided to use the money to reward students who were performing well in school.

As for those who do not receive prizes, ACE awards make it obvious to the entire class that these students have GPAs lower than 3.5.

Students who do well in school do not do so because they receive a highlighter at the end of the semester, and students do not force themselves to get out of bed and come to school thinking of the pen they will get as a reward for perfect attendance.

Students who perform well in school likely do so because they want to attend college or because of their parent’s expectations, not because of a prize awarded by ASB. The school’s system of a “No Go List” is a more effective way of encouraging students to perform well in school. In that case, students have something to lose.

Instead of congratulating individuals with high GPAs, ACE makes it clear which students have GPAs less than 3.5. This can be embarrassing, especially for those few students who don’t receive the prize in an AP class, where most students have GPAs

above 3.5.

ACE awards also call out students without perfect attendance and students who had lower GPAs last quarter. Student may not want others to know that their GPAs were a significant 0.5 lower last quarter. While it is an accomplishment that their GPAs went up, it is their own personal accomplishment, not something that needs to be announced in front of the entire class.

Needless to say, even though ACE is inefficient in its purpose of motivating students, it does do its job of rewarding students and acknowledging that their hard work does not go unnoticed.

And while it is important to reward students who perform well academically in school, a more anonymous or private method would avoid embarrassing anyone who does not meet the criteria.

Winner’s Wisdom Oscar winners’ political criticisms should not be so quickly dismissed The saddest moment during the Academy Awards this past Saturday might have been the confusion during the reveal for “Best Picture,” but the most disappointing part was undoubtedly all the hateful criticism towards certain Oscar recipients for using their speeches to send social and political messages to those who wanted to listen.

Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi’s movie, “The Salesman,” won the Oscar for “Best Foreign Language Film.” However, Farhadi chose not to attend the Academy Awards “out of respect for people of [Iran] and those of other six nations whom have been disrespected.” Farhadi is obviously referring to President Donald Trump’s recent travel ban, which the foreign film director says is “inhumane” and “creates fear.”

It is important to realize just how big of a statement Farhadi has made by choosing to turn his acceptance speech into a criticism of the horrible injustice that has further divided our country. It was a selfless act with a

crucial message to the world that we need to eradicate such sentiments of fear.

However, conservative critics such as Tomi Lahren immediately took to Twitter to disrespect Farhadi’s speech. Lahren tweeted, “Feel free to stay in Iran. I hear it’s nice there.

Good terror training grounds.”

Lahren is notorious for criticizing celebrities and notable figures for using their fame and platforms to deliver political and social messages. But if these people are not using their voices and recognition to do good for society, then why should we pay attention to them at all?” Besides, if the actors aren’t allowed to voice their opinions, then I don’t see why Lahren should get that privilege on her so-called political commentary show, Tomi for “TheBlaze.”

But, it gets worse. Gov. Mike Huckabee tweeted, “Watch celebs spew ignorant political venom at Oscars?? Nah...think I’d rather have a colonoscopy. Both happen from the same location.” Bear with me, but doesn’t

Reema Saad

this sound like a public figure ranting about other public figures who are also just ranting?

Not only was this completely inappropriate for Huckabee to tweet, but it also undermines the right that the artists have in making political and social criticisms.

Farhadi said it himself: “Filmmakers can capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between us and others.” In his speech, Farhadi was simply taking his political opinion off the screen and into the real world, just as so many other artists have done in the past.

Now more than ever do we need actors, musicians, directors and athletes to make use of their fame to condemn the atrocities that occur all over the world. Their positive influence and words of tolerance can hopefully pave way for a more inclusive society, steering away from the mistakes of our nation and our world’s history.

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features

Lights, camera, catwalk

High Tide

Sophomore Yiling Feng enjoys designing and creating outfits

by Nadia Stodder From a very young age, sophomore Yiling Feng has had a passion and talent for the art of fashion design. From dresses to earrings to jewelry, Feng has immersed herself in designing and creating many different styles of clothing and accessories in her spare time for both herself and her loved ones who support her passion.

“At first, I learned about fashion design from watching the Chanel Fashion Show with my mom on TV, and I began to love fashion design,” Feng said.

While creating her designs, Feng uses her own personal styles that interest her, including business styles, teacher styles, and formal wear. Currently, her designs are not for sale, but Feng has many future plans for how to show the world her many ideas and projects.

“I’ll probably make a website and talk to my art teacher for help. My teacher inspired me to choose fashion design as a major or go to design college so that I can do this as a job someday,” Feng said.

Feng has been designing since the age of eight, and was inspired by her mother’s love of fashion to begin creating her own designs. Currently, her fashion is heavily influenced by the work of designers such as Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and Karl Lagerfeld.

“My mom loved fashion. She left out a lot of fashion magazines and played fashion shows on tv, and I would watch

her. Mostly, it was fashion shows that inspired me to create my own designs,” Feng said.

When creating designs, Feng doesn’t focus on just one particular piece, and instead plans out the whole ensemble, which includes necklaces, earrings, and bags. She gets her ideas from everything around her, in nature and at her home.

“I get inspired by a lot of things, like beautiful flowers and from fashion magazines. I’ll see an outfit that I think is cute, but that I think should be changed to make it look better, and design a new one inspired by the original outfit,” Feng said.

Using raw materials found from craft stores such as Joann’s, Feng designs her own original outfits and accessories, which often take hours to create.

“For earrings, it takes me around an hour to two hours.

Fashion design has always come easy for me, and I do it whenever I have free time. Except for the art class I take at school, I didn’t take any classes in design and mostly taught myself,” Feng said.

Ever since she began, Feng has worked on her designs not purely for a career, but to experience the enjoyment that comes with designing.

“Fashion designing is really enjoyable. It always makes me feel very happy and relaxed.” Feng said.

According to Feng’s art teacher, Mrs. Andrade, she will

need to have a fundamental understanding of drawing, composition, and design elements, which Feng studies in her Art II class this year at Redondo.

“Everything we do in here builds up her skills as an artist so that she can be a better artist in the future. She comes in during lunch time and snack time and works with me one on one, where she shows me some of her designs that she did outside of class.” Andrade said.

While most of Andrade’s art class is done as a group, she often helps Feng improve her designs and has watched her grow as an artist over the past year in Art II. “She’s extremely interested in art, so she’s constantly working really hard on perfecting her skill. With every project and every assignment she does, she continues to improve. Next year she plans on taking AP Art, and that will really jump-start her and give her a really good portfolio for the future.” Andrade said.

Right now fashion design may be a hobby done when Feng isn’t busy with school, but she has big plans to follow her passion for design into the workforce.

“I plan to go to Cornell, which has a really cool fashion design program, where they teach you about all kinds of different materials and how to work with it. I want to have my own fashion brand, and make it big. It’s really hard, but I’d love to become famous for my designs,” Feng said.

Platform power. 1. “Its name is Starry

Night. I got inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. I wanted to create my view of Starry Night on a dress,” Feng said. 2. “This one is a wedding dress named Seaside Wedding, my inspiration came from going to a relative’s wedding in Palos Verdes. The dress is blue and the little roses on the side symbolize the bride’s bouquet,” Feng said.

3. “This is called Fresh Season, and it is a ball or party dress. I was inspired when I looked out the window in May,” Feng said.

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1.

ARTWORK COURTESY OF YILING FENG

3.

March 3, 2017

features

page 9

Feel the beat. Senior Jarus Lorenzen

enjoys songwriting and playing the guitar and piano. He hopes that one day he will become a famous music artist. PHOTO COURTESY OF JARUS LORENZEN

Lorenzen professionally writes and records songs

by Brittany Baker

His most valued part of creating music is the process of writing the lyrics to his songs.

Senior Jarus Lorenzen expresses himself through his passion for music.

“My favorite part is being able to arrange different words together and come up with different ways to express an idea,” Lorenzen said.

His interest for music began when he was 10 years old, when he was influenced by his family and has been practicing music since he was 12 years old.

“It all started when I would go out to Arizona every year and my cousins were constantly making music and I would just sit in on their sessions and listen to them for hours,” Lorenzen said.

Lorenzen has worked with Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Brothers Music and Interscope Records to record his pop music.

“I have been noticed by top labels in the world but I primarily record at studios in North Hollywood or Van Nuys,” Lorenzen said.

According to Lorenzen, his producer Rodney Jones Jr. was contacted by people working with Austin Mahone asking for his assistance on a song. The song didn’t make it onto the album because it sounded too similar to

another one of Mahone’s songs.

“They drove me to Van Nuys where the studio was and played me the song once and then said, ‘Okay, now you go in and record the song.’ I did get a chance to work on his song, but unfortunately he wasn’t in the studio with us that night,” Lorenzen said.

Lorenzen began self teaching the guitar after he requested one for his twelfth birthday.

“My parents bought me a guitar and I would sit on my computer for hours looking up chords and songs to learn how to play a variety of different things,” Lorenzen said.

His interest for instruments expanded with the piano.

“I transferred what I learned from guitar and started messing around on piano, trying to match those exact sounds,” Lorenzen said.

At the age of 14, Lorenzen began recording music as his passion for music grew.

“I had no clue what I was doing, I would record stuff but never ended up liking the way they came out since I didn’t know how to produce and I didn’t know where I wanted to go with any of the songs,” Lorenzen said.

Lorenzen was driven to make music after realizing the impact songs can have on someone.

“The variety of music I was listening to

inspired me to learn and make music. I loved the way you can take a simple idea and turn it into a story--and create something new and original that someone will listen and can relate to in a lot of ways ,” Lorenzen said.

Lorenzen believes his passion for music goes deeper than “having a trendy YouTube channel with a lot of followers.”

“It’s not just something I make because I can; music is a lot more than a catchy song.

Every song has a meaning behind it. Every lyric I write and every chord I play have different meanings behind them,” Lorenzen said. “I write my songs based off of personal experiences, it makes for a better song that way. I started pursuing it because I love everything about music, from making to just listening to music.”

According to Lorenzen, his producer discovered him from the Instagram page that he frequently posts his music on.

“I had one meeting with him at a studio and he immediately took me in. So far we have four original songs recorded and finished 16 more originals still to be recorded,” Lorenzen said.

Lorenzen works on recording his songs with audio engineer, Deon Brown.

“Jarus is an artist that has great potential, I see good things coming into his future. He

has an organic style for pop music and I honestly can say I see some urban vibes in there too, but I won’t give away too much,” Brown said. “Overall I see Jarus not only as an artist but as a friend and he will show you why he’s going to shock the world.”

With all his achievements that came, Lorenzen devotes the majority of his time to creating music. In order to have the time to spend in the studio, Lorenzen manages to complete his homework during school.

“It has been a crazy process because I can show up to the studio around 6:00 PM and we can write one or two songs, record them and have them done in one night. I usually don’t leave the studio until 3:00 or 4:00 AM, but the end result is always worth the time spent,” Lorenzen said.

Lorenzen plans to promote his work to get it out there and become known so he can inspire others to reach for their goals.

“My ultimate goal is to show everyone that dreams aren’t just dreams, and that if you work hard, stay motivated and stay true to yourself, you will go far. That’s what happened to me. I’ve been working on this for over five years and I’m now starting to see huge progressions that make me proud of myself knowing that what I’m doing is leading somewhere,” Lorenzen said.

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High Tide

features Side by side. RUHS students volunteer at the Richstone Pier-to-Pier Walkathon. PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOGAN HAYES

One big, happy family

Students discuss volunteering at the Richstone Family Center

by Analise Asario

Every ten seconds there is one case of child abuse reported.

Richstone Family Center is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to prevent this by aiding families, specifically the children who have been involved with abuse, traumas or domestic violence. In order to do this, they provide them with resources such as free counseling, tutoring, anger management, and a place to go after school.

Sophomore Logan Hayes is a volunteer on the Richstone board, working with adults to plan and fundraise.

“I don’t usually work with the kids; I work more with the adults and help them raise money to help the kids,” Hayes said. “I am typically the volunteer coordinator, so I reach out and advertise to schools, younger kids and teenagers.”

According to Hayes, most of the money fundraised goes to counseling for the families to help them through problems and emotional issues.

“Getting this help for the families is important because a lot of the time they do not have the money to give their children the resources they need,” Hayes said.

Hayes believes that it is important to help these kids, especially during their childhood, by putting them in a friendly environment.

“A lot of times kids don’t have the best environments so Richstone gives them that safety,” Hayes said. “The program keeps kids in school and on the right path by bringing in volunteers to tutor and play with them.”

According to administrative assistant Elizabeth Aguilar, receiving help through Richstone’s programs is an important way

for the affected children to get additional help with homework and social skills.

“Since a lot of them have been through traumas, child abuse and domestic violence, we feel like it’s necessary, especially now, for their well-being and future to prepare them from a young age to be social and know how to act in social situations.” Aguilar said.

To help the children develop social skills, volunteers help them through afterschool programs held at the Richstone.

“The volunteers are important because they provide the kids with lessons that they couldn’t learn otherwise and help them with their homework because they don’t have that help outside of their school,” Aguilar said.

Among these volunteers are freshmen Ava Blair and Taylor King who participate through Sandpipers, a all-girls group.

Unlike Hayes, Blair and King work directly with the children by playing sports and helping them with their homework.

“Seeing the kids playing and understanding what we’re teaching them after what I know they have gone through makes me happy,” King said. “I love knowing that we’re making a difference in their lives.”

Sophomore Ben Tait believes that Richstone impacts many lives by raising awareness for child abuse as well as providing services to the children and families in need.

“It’s a good organization because it is lead by people who are very passionate about finding solutions to this problem that are helpful and longterm,” Tait said. “The abuse for children can be scarring and can impact [them] for the rest of [their] life, so the organization is very good at helping.”

Students volunteer with the Birthday Club through the Friendship Foundation

by Daphnie Fulton When walking into Round Table Pizza on a Friday it looks like any other day at the restaurant. There are birthday parties and kids smiling, running around and talking to their friends. Arcade games are buzzing, people are singing “Happy Birthday” at tables and the sense of happiness is evident. This is all the work of the Friendship Foundation, an organization that creates social and recreational programs for kids with special needs.

Freshman Liana Moore and sophomore Austin Davis dedicate their time to one thing: friendship, diversity and acceptance.

Through the Birthday Club program, the club members have formed bonds and made countless memories.

“I hope what people can see is that people with special needs are just people, not seen as being less than or not intelligent,” Davis said. “I hope that Friendship Foundation can work to show the realities of who people with special needs are.”

There is a stigma surrounding people with special needs that the organization is working to fight against while also raising awareness for the importance of acceptance.

“People think that [those with special needs] don’t have any friends. We completely break those societal rules. Everyone is friends,” Moore said. “When you walk into the event, it’s evident that [there] are so many people that care about them.”

For individuals with special needs, socializing can be more difficult.

“When you’re like me, someone with less noticeable special needs, people will think you’re typical,” Davis said. “People say things, hoping you will be able to understand certain jokes sometimes. The sad thing is that a lot kids will tease you for who you are.”

According to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center, students with special needs are two to three times more likely to

experience harassment from their peers.

“I try to not seem different. But I always think, ‘Why are you bothering me?’ I’m not here to cause them problems. It’s insulting,” Davis said. “People need to take the time to get know people. People need to get to know each other before they judge because usually what people don’t know they find scary.”

According to Moore, discrimination does not occur once stepping foot into the Friendship Foundation, and positive energy surrounds the events and the welcoming environment.

“There are many people in this group that care about them and just looking after each other. It’s amazing to have those types of connections with people all across our community,” Moore said. “It doesn’t matter if your special needs, we are all just kids. It creates a more level playing field really.”

More believes the meaning of friendship is “forever changed” for anyone who partici-

pates in Friendship Foundation programs.

“It used to be called Friendship Circle, but now it’s called Friendship Foundation which I think shows just how much it’s changed into something for the whole community. It’s definitely changing the world for the better,” Moore said.

The volunteers do not do it alone. There is also staff that creates a “welcoming” and “supportive” environment for everyone involved. They ensure not only the safety of everyone there, but also show an immense amount of “kindness and warmth,” according to Davis.

Most importantly, it is the thought and efforts of the volunteers and staff that create this community that accepts people for whatever is going on in their lives. “friends drag you down if you’re spending time with kids with special needs,” Davis said. “Be the better person, it will help. It will do a little bit of good for our world.”

March 3, 2017

page 11

features

Home is where the heart is Jackson’s family hosts foster children and recently adopted a toddler

by Rubab Quraishi

With the ability to spread love, her family voluntarily takes in foster children to provide them a safe and friendly home, something these children were not offered before.

Freshman Ella Jackson and her family have been hosting foster children that are in need of a home since 2014.

“It’s hard not to get attached to the kids,” Jackson said. “They become part of the family after I take care of them, feed them and play with them. I get emotional when the kids leave because someone who became important to me in a small time is leaving, but I’m happy they got to experience living with a family like mine and that they received unconditional love.”

Jackson’s mother, Kelley Renee JacksonCherry, receives calls from the Torrance Foster Care Agency when there are new children to be taken in.

“We mostly get drug cases where the child was put in foster care because of their mothers using drugs during pregnancy or were in an environment with drugs,” Kelly Renee said. “We’ve also had one domestic violence case and another where one of the kids ran away.”

Currently, Jackson has two girls and one boy living with her family. The majority of the children her family has taken in are three years old and under, with the exception of a five year old toddler.

“We started fostering because we wanted to adopt, and we knew there were many kids in foster care who need homes,” Kelley said.

“Many of these kids need a chance at life, and we have the ability to give them that chance at life.”

When Jackson’s mother is notified of children in the system, she usually takes in the kids right away if there is room in her home. Jackson’s family has taken in a total of nine children in the past few years.

“It’s sad knowing the kinds of broken homes little kids end up experiencing when they shouldn’t have to. Especially with the case where the kid ran away because it just shows how bad their life was, that they felt like needing to do that,” Kelley Renee said.

Their family is able to take in up to three children at a time due to the limited space in their home.

“The first time they come home, it’s awkward. I don’t know them personally, and now they’re living with me,” Jackson said. “When we get a call, my mother asks my family if we’re okay with taking in the kids and checks if we have room in the house for them.”

The longest Jackson and her keep the foster kids is about five months.

“They get attached quickly. When a baby that comes into the family, I’ll watch them and hold them a lot,” Jackson said. “When they start warming up to me, I end up getting more close to them than I thought I would.”

For Jackson, knowing that the children will eventually leave her house is “heartbreaking.” If social services are contacted by the extended family of the child, the foster kid will move in with them.

“It’s good at first because it’s fun to have a new kid around in the house. It can get tense [later] when they start testing the waters to see how far they can act like kids without getting in trouble,” Jackson said.

Jackson describes having the kids play-

ing around a bit troublesome, but she makes sure to love the kids at the end of the day.

“Once, I got angry at one of the kids for scaring me. He was gone before I could change how I felt. It was sad to not say goodbye the way I would have wanted to. I was so mad for a second that I didn’t get the chance to say sorry,” Jackson said. “Sometimes it’s hard, but if you know they’re going to a good family you’ll be happy for them. And if they go back to someone you don’t trust as much, you’ll be sad and a little worried.”

Jackson’s foster siblings have endured many “rough” times at such a young age, and wishes to do her best in order to keep the children happy.

“I’ve seen how the system affects older kids. I hope that giving the little ones a good time with my family will make their lives more joyful because I know how harsh the system can be. They think they aren’t worth much if no one wants to take them in, which isn’t true at all. They start to think negatively of themselves if they aren’t adopted and they lose their sense of self-worth. People that are compassionate will help these kids out, even if it’s just for a little while,” Jackson said.

Though Jackson’s family, along with many others signed with local agencies, is willing to help foster children, many of the children are not adopted.

“I enjoy helping to change a child’s life by giving the love and attention they need when their parents are unable to,” Kelley Renee said.

Jackson is “grateful” to have the opportunity to help out children in the foster care system.

Adoption Statistics 107, 198

children in the U.S. are eligible for and waiting to be adopted.

69%

of children placed in foster care have been moved three or more times.

415,129

In 2015, around children were in foster care in the U.S.

Family forever. Freshman Ella Jackson p o s e s with her younger sister, Arianna Jackson, who was recently adopted by the family.

ILLUSTARTIONS BY LULU WEGMAN INFORMATION FROM WWW.GOODHOUSEKEEPING.COM AND WWW.FOSTERCLUB.COM

“It’s hard watching them leave because I know they have a hard life and staying with us made it a little easier for them. They’re just kids. They should have a stable family at all times,” Jackson said. “They just bring so much positivity. When they leave, it feels like I just lost someone in the family. It really is sad because of how attached they get, especially the young ones.”

The majority of foster children do not get adopted. They are thrown around in the system, and Jackson’s family is one of the few that takes in many children at once.

Jackson’s mother feels “blessed” to have an opportunity to foster children in need and will continue doing it in the future.

“Fostering has many challenges. We have met families with mental health problems, drug problems, domestic violence and neglect,” Kelley Renee said. “At first, you think about how parents could do this. But many of the parents come from parents who had the same problems. Unfortunately, it’s a vicious cycle. Through fostering the hope is to break the cycle for these children.”

Jackson’s mother voluntarily takes in these children because of her own compassion and kindness.

“Fostering isn’t for everyone. You love these kids like they are your own and your heart breaks when it’s time for them t o either go with extended family or back to their parents. But I am always happy to see how much the kids have grown and changed when they leave our home,” Kelley said.

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High Tide

Happy medium

Fotion and Kataoka use art as a form of self expression

by Grace McGonigle

Seniors Namie Fotion and Alysa Kataoka aren’t just any faces in the group of artists attending RUHS. They are separated by their messages of creativity and inspiration and share a piece of themselves with their viewers unseen by anyone else.

When drawing, Fotion uses colored pencils as her preferred medium, or materials used to create a work of art, and prefers realism over other art genres.

Fotion realizes the importance of creativity and does her best to inspire others through her own work.

“I think creativity gives me more imagination in life, and I feel like if you have more imagination, you’ll enjoy life more, instead of looking at things as if they were black and white. It’s also a way to enjoy nature and see the beauty of that,” Fotion said.

Growing up, Kataoka had to follow strict rules in her art lessons, so she is now trying her best to be more imaginative.

“When I was young I had a very rigorous art curriculum. I did very little creative art and most of it was observational, like object study and still life. I never really exercised my creativity as a child, I just drew what was in front of me, and I think that made me very good at observational drawing, but I feel like it did stunt my creativity. All my drawings were pencil and used things like geometric figures and fruits, so I’m trying to be more creative now,” Kataoka said.

Unlike Kataoka, Fotion taught herself most of what she knows.

“I was self-taught mostly, so I kept drawing what I liked and what I was passionate about and eventually I learned more techniques and was able to pay more attention to my references and get more details in,” Fotion said.

Fotion started drawing in elementary school and as she has aged and matured, so has her style of art.

“I’ve been drawing since elementary school, though I wa just doodling then. I got really into it in middle school. I took lessons for two weeks in seventh grade and got even more into it then,” Fotion said.

Kataoka began in preschool and prefers to combine living and mechanical subjects in her art.

“I started taking drawing lessons when I was four. I stopped taking lessons when I was 13, but I still like to draw on my own at home.

For me it really varies, I always like drawing organic subjects like animals, plants, and human beings, but I also really like drawing machines and buildings. It’s really fun being

able to combine the two,” Kataoka said.

Both girls create art that is purely their own, but aren’t afraid to admire and draw inspiration from other artists.

“I never copy images. I just see paintings and drawings that I like and even if it’s not my particular style, I feel that you really have to draw from professional sources to get better. I don’t think copying makes you a better artist, but I do think people have to recognize the fact that inspiration has to come from somewhere,” Kataoka said.

Although some artists start their projects with a clear image of what to create, Fotion likes to make it up as she goes along.

“Most of the time I just go into it without knowing how it’s going to look in the end. I always have a vision in my mind, but I know it’s not always going to match up exactly to it, so I don’t get too expectant.

Most of the time I just keep working on it until it starts forming something I like, and I go with it,” Fotion said.

Kataoka searches for inspiration in everything she does and is constantly open to new ideas.

“I really do draw inspiration from everywhere. If I see a movie scene that I like I’ll screenshot it and I always take pictures of ads, billboards, fonts, and everything that I see on the internet that I like, even if it doesn’t have to do with art. I do think that really influences my aesthetic taste which, in turn, influences my art. I think that it’s important for artists to try to embrace their influences so they can further develop their artistic style,” Kataoka said.

Kataoka thinks the emotional relationship between an artist and a view is one of art’s most important aspects.

“I think art is something we can all connect to on an emotional level,” Kataoka said.

“I think it conveys things that can’t be said it words. You look at a piece of art and y o u can feel all the emotions behind it.

I’m pretty sure people don’t know how much time it took to make that piece, usually, but I do think when an artist puts something on a canvas or piece of paper and a person sees that, there is an emotional connection, whether the viewer realizes it or not.

I think that’s really important because empathy is always an important emotion.”

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March 3, 2017

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page 13

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ny medium works for him. Whether it’s through pencil, charcoal or just a pen from a hotel, senior Luigi Lopez can make art from it.

Drawing inspiration from film and social media, Lopez uses art to express himself.

“I like art because it helps me express whatever’s going on in my head,” Lopez said. “It helps me get things down onto canvas. The canvas can be universal. It can be any type of paper but as long as I have a set idea or whatever my emotions are that specific time, I’ll think of something and I can access my creative side.”

Lopez believes the driving factor in creating art is the competition with one’s self and that no other opinion should matter.

According to Lopez, art should have no rules.

“Art is one of the most subjective types of expression that a human can portray ranging from photography, videography, pencil drawing, painting and charcoal. Yes, it’s very judgemental but as long as the artist or the creator has that ‘I don’t give a crap’ type of mentality and as long as you the creator likes it, then it’s a masterpiece,” Lopez said.

Lopez’s interest in art began when he was three years old. From then on, his love and talent for art grew.

“At first, it was a hobby when I was a little kid in the Philippines or even when I moved to Sacramento. Every single day, I kid you not, I would draw a picture of Spiderman and give it to my parents,” Lopez said. “Over time as my skills sharpened and developed, it turned into, not necessarily a passion but more than a hobby; that gray area in between.”

A lot of Lopez’s inspiration comes from social media and films. His style of art is influenced from different mediums that social media influencers use.

“I used to like basic pencil and charcoal, like the mediums of a pencil. But recently, someone can just give me a hotel pen like a basic ball point pen and I’ll make art with it,” Lopez said.

Lopez admires his family of artists, who have made a great impact on his artistry.

“My dad is a really good artist. When I was a little kid he would help me and give me tips,” Lopez said. “I think it all started with my grandpa from my dad’s side. That guy was a master of art. Give him any type of medium and he’ll create some pretty realistic stuff.”

Lopez’s father, Jun Lopez, has been supportive since the beginning.

“I am very proud of how much my son has improved in regards to his new techniques that he’s developed over time,” Jun said. “Since middle school I’ve encouraged him to always do his best and give him advice I thought would help him. I can see that he has and I couldn’t be more impressed.”

According to Lopez, confidence and practice leads to satisfaction “Don’t compare your artwork to other people because whatever you think is good will be good. If you’re satisfied with what you put down then I feel like as if the art will speak for itself. If you’re not satisfied, it’s a consistent trial and error so keep practicing and practicing and if you keep going at it then I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with whatever you put down,” Lopez said.

Lopez accesses his creative side through art

by Marie Ona

4.

Charcoal and canvas. 1. “This illustration won first place in the local rotary contest this year. The girl depicted is an

actual orphan in the Dominican Republic named Yvette. I wanted the butterflies to represent the hope and ambition I wish for her to strive for, even in her unfortunate, physically and financially limiting situation,” senior Namie Fotion said. 2. “Obviously we all have that competitive side but I don’t need to compare myself to anyone else because I am my own competition,” senior Luigi Lopez said. “I [drew the eye for] a project for AP art. I had to draw something that was zoomed in. It was my first attempt at trying to draw a realistic eye,” Lopez said. 3. “That drawing was actually inspired by my dad. When he was in college, he was trying to open a can and sliced through his hand to the point to the point that he could lift up the skin on his entire palm. Plus, since my ambition is to become a doctor, I depicted the hand being stitched by itself,” Fotion said. 4.

Lopez drew his sister, a member of the Philippine National Taekwondo team, because “she was in the Philippines for a really long time and [he] really missed her.” ARTWORK COURTESY OF LUIGI LOPEZ AND NAMIE FOTION

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High Tide

features

Connoy and Wilson volunteer at VCA Animal Hospital

by Martha Farah Since they were young, juniors Kahana Connoy and Anais Wilson have always loved to take care of animals, and they get the opportunity to do that when they volunteer at the VCA Coast Animal Hospital.

“I enjoy volunteering there because I get to work with the cats one on one,” Connoy said. “I get to see them grow from kittens to one year old cats, and seeing them get adopted is gratifying.”

Connoy enjoys making sure the cats have everything they need at the vet.

“I enjoy helping out the animals because I know that not a lot of people do what I do, or know how to do it correctly,” Connoy said. “If you give these cats, who have been obviously treated poorly, great attention, then they’re going to become better cats.”

Connoy and Wilson volunteer every Monday from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m, but before they started volunteering, they had to undergo a three day training. They were taught how to clean litter boxes, wash the blankets and take care of the cats.

“I love animals and taking care of kittens.

It’s fun to see a bunch of other kittens and cats and take care of them,” Wilson said. “It’s just a fun experience.”

Connoy began volunteering at the vet when she passed by and noticed it. Feeling a connection, Connoy began to volunteer there in August of 2016. In September, Wilson began volunteering there when she

spoke to Connoy.

“My friend Kahana was talking to me about it, I thought it was really cool. I wanted to do it from then,” Wilson said. “I love pets. I have two cats of my own, so I wanted to [volunteer].”

Volunteering at the vet has given Connoy some experience in the medical field.

“When we have new kittens, we have medicine charts, so I have to read them and make sure they have the right medicine. The coordinator told me how to tell what the gender, breed and age the cat was through their charts,” Connoy said. “She also told me that if the chart was a certain color, the cat was sick, [so I should not] play with them as much.”

For Connoy, balancing school and volunteering is a challenge, but the work at the vet has opened up many opportunities for Connoy.

“Working at the vet has offered me a lot of opportunities to not only work with the cats, but with the vets too. I can get to know them and their background from their schooling and learn how they even got the job,” Connoy said.

Wilson plans on pursuing a career in the environmental field, but she does not want to become a veterinarian. However, Connoy hopes to continue on a path in the medical field.

“I wanted some medical field volunteering under my belt for the major I want to

Furry friend. Junior Kahana Connoy cradles a cat at the animal shelter.

“I’m a softy when it comes to animals. Seeing the cats not become so shy like they were when they came in is just cute,” Connoy said. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAHANA CONNOY .

do,” Connoy said. “I want to become a nurse, a veterinarian, or a physical therapist, but something in the medical field is really interesting to me.”

For Wilson, volunteering has made her enjoy taking care of animals more and real-

ize that no animal should be left behind.

“It made me realize that a lot of animals that don’t have any homes shouldn’t be left out on the street, but taken care of,” Wilson said. “I’m happy I’m able to help them get better and care for them.”

Bustanii volunteers at a dog shelter

by Shyanne Landers

Wash, lather, rinse, repeat. This is the routine freshman Samantha Bustanii followed weekly during her time at the Noah’s Bark animal shelter in Manhattan Beach.

“What I loved the most was to see all of the sad animals’ moods slowly increase.

As I helped them, they grew to be comfortable with me cleaning and grooming them,” Bustanii said.

She attended twice a week for three months in order to learn about how to care for orphaned dogs, but began volunteering at the shelter without any prior knowledge in the field.

“If I had been told that I was going volunteer at a shelter four months ago, I would definitely not have believed it. I didn’t even know how to hold a dog correctly before I went there,” Bustanii said.

As an intern of sorts, she would bathe,

clean, groom, play with and help the dogs recover from any illnesses or fears.

“A handful of dogs that I see come in look like they had been through a lot. It usually takes time to help them lose their fears or bounce back from when they’re sick. There was one dog that came in and we discovered he was severely afraid of skateboards,” Bustanii said.

Bustanii currently has no intent on working with animals as a career, but volunteers because it brings her joy.

“I actually don’t want to be a veterinarian, I really just like helping dogs in need,” Bustanii said.

Ultimately, Bustanii decided to cease working at the shelter due to the disruptions it caused her personal relationships.

During her time at the shelter, she had been able to not only help the animals, but

help herself as well.

“When I was working one-on-one with a dog, I could really feel a connection with them, sometimes as if they were trying to thank me for taking them under my wing.

It made me feel good knowing I was doing right by them,” Bustanii said.

Although it was difficult to say goodbye, Bustanii was eager to find homes for all of the dogs.

“There was this one dog, a seven month old chocolate lab, who I fell in love with. Her name was Cocoa, which definitely suited her,” Bustanii said. “Because I don’t have the room for a dog at my own house, I put in a lot of extra effort to find someone who had the room. Thankfully, she is now happily adopted and I dog-sit for her owner every once in a while.”

With her days of helping at the shelter

over, she still continues to apply her knowledge elsewhere.

“Last week, just day after I left, I was at my aunt’s house and her dog would not stop whining. I checked her paws and all of that to see if she was in pain, but here weren’t any wounds,” Bustanii said.

“As I went to unplug my phone from the charger, I noticed her favorite toy on the shelf. Seems like, thankfully, all she wanted was just to play.”

After her departure, Bustanii still is driven to visit Noah’s Bark.

“When I get the time, I will definitely go back. Everyone there was so friendly and kind. I’m actually starting to miss them even more just talking about it,” Bustanii said.

“Being there was such a good environment and I loved the opportunity to meet both the people and the puppies.”

March 3, 2017

features

Home alone Ethan Adkins transfers back to RUHS after homeschooling

by Yasi Fazeli

by Kelly Harraka

1.

Express yourself. 1. Ethan Adkims plays guitar onstage with the band that he founded. 2. One of Adkins’ clay sculptures depicting six shirtless black men leaning on a colorful background. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ETHAN ADKINS .

2.

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S

enior Ethan Adkins has been to private schools, he has been to public schools and he has been home schooled. In each case, he can recognize both benefits and setbacks.

For the past year and a half, Adkins has been enrolled in the Connections Academy, an online school offered for students grades K through 12. Having experienced both homeschooling and traditional high school, he believes the difference to be “drastic”, especially in regards to the amount of free time he has.

“With the Connections Academy, I had a lot more free time. I got into things I would have never gotten into if I was here because I had free time to explore. I read about all these different subjects and was becoming an autodidact in a way,” Adkins said. “I was not focused on all these other classes. I don’t have a lot of time to do that anymore. Most of my time is focused on my classes here.”

With his free time, Adkins immersed himself in a broad range of studies, from astronomy to playwriting, and noted that being homeschooled gave him the opportunity to discover subjects he may have never otherwise known he enjoyed learning about.

“I would go to the library and read about different sciences, different medical diseases. I started learning about pharmaceuticals and rare diseases. I learned about astronomy as well. Just by going to the public library, I was able to spend time learning about interesting things. I also started writing books and short stories, and plays, and sculpting,” Adkins said.

What has impacted Adkins the greatest, however, is the amount of time he could dedicate to exploring new styles of music and art.

“I got into music heavily. I learned to play the piano. I would practice sometimes five hours a day because I had the time to do that. I would practice guitar, and I learned how to compose. I started my own band. I never would have been able to do all that if I wasn’t homeschooled. I know that for a fact because school is great, but it is time consuming,” Adkins said.

Adkins decided at the end of a “rough” sophomore year that he wanted to try homeschooling. In addition to a strong desire to explore subjects the school’s curriculum doesn’t offer, Adkins felt that there was a lack of connection between him and his teachers that year.

“I felt that a lot of the things I wanted to do were being stifled. I wanted to pursue music more. I wanted to pursue art more. I got into various styles of painting and clay sculpting that I wasn’t able to do,” Adkins said. “I felt that the school system was stifling this, not to be mean, not on purpose, but just because that’s the way the system is. So I decided to take a break from it, and I’m very grateful I did.”

Though homeschooling has allowed him the opportunity to find passion in music and art, Adkins believes that the system does have notable flaws; problems that he worried would have adverse affects on him despite his “self-motivated” nature.

“I know a lot of kids [who have lost motivation] and I was afraid that would happen to me. I knew kids who would get up at noon every day and play video games all day. I think some even got into drugs because there are no barriers,” Adkins said. “Here, maybe it’s not the greatest, but you don’t have time to do that. You get up at a certain time and there is a structure. With homeschooling, you can fall off of that path really fast, and I was lucky to not do that.”

Towards the end of his time being homeschooled, Adkins became very aware of how detached becoming from the world around him, and decided to finish off his high school path with the more structure and social environment at Redondo. Adkins’ father, Curtis Adkins, has noticed that just in the past few weeks back at RUHS Ethan has become much more social.

“I went through a transition where I became really focused, especially with music.

Sometimes I’d get up at five in the morning and play piano for hours. I stayed at home a lot, and became antisocial in a way, which is one of the reasons I came back. I wanted to be in a more socratic environment,” Adkins said. “I was becoming almost like a hermit.

I’d be inside all day playing music and writing stuff. I was in a separate world, and I felt disconnected. It was a weird feeling. I live right next to the high school, and I’d walk past the high school and feel like I wasn’t part of that world but in my own universe.”

After graduating this year, Adkins plans to spend part of his summer at the Thomas Aquinas College taking a seminar about great works of literature by philosophers such as Euclid, Nietzsche, Jean Paul Sartre, and Albert Camus.

Before applying to college in 2018, he plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland to help children with mental disabilities in socioeconomically depressed areas through the International Partnership for Service Learning program (IPSL) which strives to combine academic learning with real world problems and community service. In pursuing these plans, Adkins believes having both experienced structured and independent schooling environments will help him along the way.

“There are pros and cons to almost everything and life, but one of the pros of being homeschooled was that I learned to become independent. I wouldn’t have been able to do half the things I did if I hadn’t told myself to get up in the morning and get things done,” Adkins said. “It takes a lot of drive, which is why homeschooling is not for everybody. It’s a gamble at the end of the day. It can either be great for you or really bad.”

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High Tide

Surviving hell

Wodzynski’s meeting with Gordon Ramsey fuels her love for acting

by Whayden Dhamcho After being invited to Gordon Ramsay’s daughter’s 16th birthday, senior Pierson Wodzynski got to meet arguably the most famous chef on earth, Gordon Ramsay. For the past 12 years, her mother, Karin Wodzynski has worked for the critically acclaimed show Hell’s Kitchen led by Ramsay himself.

Gordon Ramsay is a famous British celebrity chef and TV personality with many shows including Hell’s Kitchen, MasterChef, Hotel Hell and more. He is known for his distinct and temperamental personality and as the ‘hotheaded’ chef. But, according to Wodzynski, he also has another side to him off camera.

“During the show he may seem crazy, but behind the scenes, he is like the nicest guy,” Wodzynski said.

According to Wodzynski, Ramsay, who may seem to be “short-tempered and intimidating” on television, is very “kind-hearted” when the cameras are off.

“He was really cool, and a super nice guy.

He was really funny and cracking jokes, and asked us about what we wanted to do in the future,” Wodzynski said, “He seemed like a very genuine person and it was a lot of fun.”

Karin, who is a waitress on the show Hell’s Kitchen, believes that everyone there is amiable, especially Ramsay who she thinks is one of the nicest people she has ever met.

“Everyone’s awesome. Everyone’s really friendly, including Gordon,” Karin said.

“Even though he may seem rude, he expects you to have high standards, so he can be really mean.”

The environment, according to Karin, is “quite frantic pretty much all the time.” She finds ways to tone out the cacophony, but she really enjoys it.

“The environment is really hectic, from the constant screaming, so you really just have to ignore it and do your job,” Karin said.

Wodzynski has always been interested in

acting and looks forward to a career in that industry. She has been a part of the acting business, partaking in auditions since she was a toddler. She expects to become more immersed into the acting world few years after college.

“I’ve got plans but acting is always going to be something I’m doing because I love being in front of the camera or public-speaking in front of people,” Wodzynski said. “I think that would be a lot of fun to pursue, and I feel like it would be an easy job.”

Having the opportuinity to meet Gordon Ramsay has only fueled her passion for acting and being in front of the camera.

“Me being able to meet him and be behind the scenes makes me want to get into this business,” Wodzynski said, “My brother Logan and I have been in this business for practically our whole lives. I want to take this to the next step and go full-force into acting.”

Karin doesn’t mind Wodzynski participat-

Hanging in there.

ing in the same possible career as someone in the restaurant or entertainment business.

“The restaurant or entertainment business is super fun, and you get to meet a lot of really awesome people and it is different every day,” Karin said. “As long as they are happy, they can do whatever they want.”

According to Wodzynski, she never really flaunts about knowing Gordon Ramsay personally.

“If the conversation comes up, then I’ll mention that my mom works on the show, otherwise I just keep it to myself. I don’t think that it is that important to tell everyone, but I think it’s really cool,” Wodzynski said.

Karin, has inspired Wodzynski to persevere and follow her passion of whatever she wants to accomplish in life.

“The fact that my mom loves her job and what she is doing, makes me want to strive for that and go for whatever I really want to do in life,” Wodzynski said.

1. Sophmore Dylan Sestak pursues rockclimbing in hopes of living a healthy life. 2.

Sestak rockclimbs for the recreational aspect, but also looks to constantly improve for competitions. PHOTOS

March 3, 2017

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features

Hate free zone

Leavitt took part in the ‘Not my Presidents Day’ protest at City Hall

by Kelly Harraka Taking a stand for what she believes in, senior Amanda Leavitt took part in the ‘Not My Presidents Day’ at City Hall in order to stand up for those Donald Trump has “discriminated against”.

“The protest was magical. So many kind and loving people are there, making sure everyone is doing okay and smiling. A lot of people smiled and thanked my friends and I for how enthusiastic we were at the protest and how our [positive] energy was needed,” Leavitt said.

For Leavitt, the protest allowed her to voice her opinion, and she believes that other protests against discrimination have opened many doors for her to continue spreading awareness.

“I know that many people find protests pointless, but protests are what inspire others to fight for what they believe in, making this country the true democracy it should be. I can’t recall how many connections and events I’ve been invited to thanks to all of the protests I’ve been to,” Leavitt said.

These events have allowed Leavitt to meet new people who want to fight for what they believe is right.

“I’ve made so many friends who have the same values as me and it is just so inspiring to see all of the people that believe in the things that you do,” Leavitt said. “Honestly, in all of the darkness that Trump has made many people feel, these gatherings in places with people with the same ideals that you do gives you so much happiness and reminds you that the majority of people are accepting and loving. “ The purpose of the protest was to demonstrate their “disapproval of the recent actions [Trump] has taken.”

“I was standing for the rights of all minorities that Trump has chosen to make less important. I stand against xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, racism and all the discrimination of minorities,” Leavitt said.

Although Leavitt is not a minority in the sense of race, she still feels that it is important to stand up for those who are.

“Trump being president actually benefits me coming from a wealthy white family,” Leavitt said. “But, just because things are currently all peaches and creme for me, that doesn’t mean we can ignore all of the people suffering because of Trump’s recent actions.”

Even though Trump’s recent decisions and known personality don’t “sit well” with her, Leavitt believes making her voice heard allows her to make a difference.

“I don’t want to get Trump impeached; I want him to listen to the majority of voices that disagree with the actions he is taking.

I understand that millions of people also want the things that Trump stands for, but I beg people to be more empathetic and understanding towards those who are suffering much more than we are benefiting from Trump’s new policies,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt sees peaceful protesting as a way to get one’s point across without offending others. People are ‘more likely to listen’ if others’ beliefs aren’t being forced upon them.

“This can only be done through love.

Angrily pushing your beliefs on others will only make them want to find reasons to reject your beliefs, and I don’t think anyone who does this should expect others to understand them,” Leavitt said.

This protest was a step in the right direction of Leavitt’s cause, but she believes much more will have to be done to make an effect.

“I believe this event itself probably did not make a big impact, but with all of the “Not My President’s Day” protests around the U.S. and all of the protests happening around the world we together make a huge impact,” Leavitt said. “It takes many drops of water to make a wave, and we’re making a hurricane.”

When taking part in the event, Leavitt wore a ‘gay pride flag’ to represent the community she identifies with, along with her shirt that reads ‘I Can’t Even Think Straight’.

“I wore this just to go to the event with a theme, but I did not expect to get so many pictures taken of me on The Advocate and all over many “Not My President” and California Instagram pages,” Leavitt said.

Hoping to spread awareness, Leavitt (as the Gay Straight Alliance President) along with South High’s GSA President are planning ‘huddles’. These ‘huddles’ will be meetings for LGBT+ teens to discuss issues. Leavitt hopes to pursue a career in political science in order to learn more about positive ways to make an impact.

“I stand for all people. Despite all the bad, [protesting] in such a loving atmosphere and being with [my] friends just makes you feel so much better,” Leavitt said.

Love is love.

1. Senior Amanda Leavitt marches with friends in the ‘Not My Presidents Day’ protest. 2. Leavitt lifts a ‘gay pride flag’ during the protest. Leavitt believes in sticking up for the minority, and sees peacfeul protests as a way to spread love and support . PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA LEAVITT

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features

Born this way Kate Ripley promotes body confidence through a Girl Scouts project

by Erika Zlatkin It takes months, even years, to change the perspective of not being happy with her reflection in the mirror.

Sophomore Kate Ripley plans on shooting a short film as a project for the Girl Scouts Gold Award because she wanted to devote her time to doing something she truly “cared” about such as promoting positive body image.

“I’m making a video that will display the journey of twenty girls which they’ll be taking together in order to discuss topics such as healthy body image, causes of bad body images and how to avoid them,” Ripley said.

Over one month devoted to filming, Ripley plans on leading the girls through exercises and activities centralized around promoting body confidence.

“The girls would also be keeping a journal and writing about all the things that can add to positive body image and they can track their progress of body positivity,” Ripley said. “The goal is to improve how they see themselves so that other girls could do similar things.”

Ripley believes that overall the support will “outweigh” the criticism she may face.

“I think I can change people’s perspectives,” Ripley said. “They have to be willing to change their perspectives before they actually can, but I know it’s possible.”

The girls in this video, including sophomore Isabella Fiedler, have shown a lot of “willingness” to participate in this video and although some may feel “anxious” talking about their issues, they are still “eager.”

“Speaking in front of a camera about my issues and insecurities makes me nervous because I don’t know how I’ll react,” Fiedler said.

Fiedler is worried she will struggle admitting to all of her insecurities in front of the camera yet will try to be as “upfront” as possible “We’ve been friends for a while so I was more than happy to help her out with her video,” Fiedler said. “I’m excited to be a part of something that could make a positive impact on others in addition to myself.”

Ripley hopes to encourage young girls and high school students to be more open regarding societal issues on the female body and look for solutions on how to “overcome” social standards.

“I’m hoping to reach out to adolescent girls and high school girls because at that time it’s really important for them to figure themselves out and to understand the pros of their bodies, not the cons,” Ripley said.

Using her own experiences as motivation, Ripley says she among many others has struggled with body positivity.

“I’m not afraid to admit that I hated myself and I would have changed any part of my body for any reason,” Ripley said.

1.

Confident. “There’s never such a thing as too much body

confidence,” Ripley said. 2. “I want the girls who are watching this video to take it seriously and know that it is possible to love yourself,” Ripley said. 3. “We always encourage ourselves to be confident and not give in to societal standards,” Ripley said. PHOTOS BY MARTIN KRUK AND RIN NGO 2.

Having a strong support system, such as friends and family, help in building up self esteem, Ripley believes, which is why she included as many volunteers as she could.

“After working with people for several years and being open with my problems and insecurities, I think the biggest part about dealing with my issues was admitting to my problems and allowing others to help,” Ripley said.

Ripley has “grown” so much from her personal journey and she believes that others can do the same.

“The group of girls that I’m working with are so amazing and diverse,” Ripley said.

“They’re all so willing to put in the effort and I’m so excited to work with them.”

Adolescents, Ripley believes, can be very “susceptible and vulnerable” to indirect portrayals in the media.

“Most of the negativity comes from social media and even if people don’t say it directly,” Ripley said, “you could see the lack of self confidence and self hatred which is awful but always present.”

In spite of many positive messages in reality and online, Ripley believes there can never be a “one hundred percent solution” on fighting societal standards of women.

“There will always be barriers and issues,” Ripley said. “I think that we can get as close to the solution as we can if we tried to

3.

be more aware of what is said, what is done, body language, and judgements that are made.”

Along with the other participants, Fiedler is “excited” to help create this film and looks forward to the filming month.

“I’m really proud of [Ripley] for making this video,” Fiedler said. “I’m willing to support her every step of the way to ensure the best product possible.”

Ripley wants people to focus on the positive parts of their body and to learn how to “appreciate” their flaws by watching her short film.

“We need to recognize the good in ourselves and others and grow together as opposed to in spite to one another,” Ripley said.

With the support of other individuals, Ripley’s film can have a positive impact on others and that the girls partaking in her video can “utilize their experiences.”

“The main message of this video is that body confidence is hard to achieve, but is really worth it,” Ripley said. “Having confidence in yourself and for others doesn’t come just from within, it’s a community support of building others up in order to build yourself up.”

March 3, 2017

features

page 19

Take a seat

Bushra Elfarissi volunteers for Kids in Need of Desks

by Amanda Ban While it can be easy to take education for granted, there are kids who do not have access to books, or even a desk.

Junior Bushra Elfarissi is a strong advocate for universal education and equality for women, and is currently organizing a charitable fundraiser to help these causes.

“In America, women have a lot more rights than women in many other parts of the world. I think that women have so much to contribute to society but their voices are silenced. They are oppressed and their ideas are shut down,” Elfarissi said. “Women everywhere deserve a chance to be heard and equal to their male counterparts. I want to raise awareness for this cause and make sure that women everywhere have the same opportunities.”

Elfarissi is organizing a swap meet that will take place in mid June and is planning to give all the profits to the Kids in Needs of Desks (K.I.N.D) foundation. The K.I.N.D

foundation uses donated money to buy desks for kids in Malawi, Africa and helps further women’s education through scholarships programs.

“The kids in Malawi are sitting on the floor for hours at a time, in Africa they are cramped and have to write on each other’s backs,” Elfarissi said. “I can only imagine how hard it must be to focus and get work done like that. Giving these kids desks to work at would be such an improvement in their school environment and can help them so much.”

In Malawi, Africa only 70 percent of children have access to a desk at their school, and only seven percent of girls have the opportunity to finish their education. Many young girls drop out of school because they cannot afford it. 40 percent of the population in Malawi live on less than one dollar per day, making it very difficult for most girls to pay for secondary education.

“A lot of women in Africa—especially teenage girls—are oppressed because they have such a low chance of getting an education, and they are more easily trafficked and sexually exploited,” Elfarissi said. “The way to prevent this is through helping them get an education as well as scholarships, room and board, books and other supplies.”

At the swap meet, Elfarissi plans to charge for entry, sell space for people to set up stands and sell different locally made products as well as food.

“I came up with the idea of the swap meet because I know there are a lot of people around here that make things and have cool products that they want to sell. Everyone would keep the profit from what they sell which I think will create a good incentive,” Elfarissi said.

Elfarissi plans to advertise the swap meet through word of mouth, social media and is hoping to get the school to help promote it

in the mid morning announcements. She has already gotten a few people interested in helping with the event, including junior Kate Cunningham.

“I think it is a great cause. Everyone everywhere deserves to have as good an education as we do. These kids need desks to be comfortable and be able to learn,” Cunningham said. “I think the idea of the swap meet is really cool. I might make a few things to sell there and I think it’s a cool thing for the community.”

Elfarissi strongly feels that everyone has a “responsibility” to help people in need.

“I started with this because it was a really simple way to do something nice for my community and help people in need. I would like to fundraise to help increase women’s rights all over the world, refugees and other people in need,” Elfarissi said. “I think everyone should contribute to organizations that they are passionate about.”

Masahico Torres films music videos for music artists

by Kylee Kallick Weeks of work, and endless creativity is all combined to produce a three minute video.

Sophomore Masahico Torres has made five different music videos for three artists, Ex, Frit$ and Darren Peralta, which he comes up with ideas for, directs and edits the videos.

“I direct and edit every single one of [the videos]. They show me the song, I make a plot out of it, then I make a storyline and edit. Then I see what the person who created the song thinks of it, and then go from there,” Torres said.

The process is time consuming and can take up to two weeks to edit alone.

“They send me the song and then it’s like a two day process of thinking of an idea, and then for editing, it depends how they want it to be, but the last video I did took two weeks to edit,” Torres said.

His focus is on primarily videos, but still is interested in photography.

Torres first became interested in videos when he was in the seventh grade. He made a YouTube channel, which he didn’t expect to have much to any acknowledgement.

“I like photography and videos, but I was more into videos, so I made a YouTube channel, but it never really took off until this year, which it started growing a little more, and getting more recognized,” Torres said.

The way Torres attracts singers isn’t

through his YouTube channel but rather through his Instagram.

“The [singers] call me, or hit me up through Instagram, and we discuss how much it would be and what would it be,” Torres said.

Coming up with the content of the videos is what Torres loves because it allows him to show creativity.

“When coming up with an idea, I listen to the song, and I think about it. Then, if I think about anything, I would write it down into my notes on my phone and then timeline it, and put everything together, which involves a lot of creativity during the process, which I enjoy,” Torres said.

Although each of his videos are very different from one another, he adds a personal touch to each one.

“I always add these special words at the end so people can just remember me by that, and just to add my own touch to the videos,” Torres said.

Even though Torres has had success with making music videos, he does not want to pursue it as a career.

“I don’t necessarily want to keep making music videos, but I want to make travel videos. I want to work the companies that make the really cool travel videos for people to see.

I want to do that,” Torres said.

Making videos is something that Torres loves to do because he is allowed to be as cre-

Flash. “My friends

invited me to go out and shoot on a wednsday night. I decided to go and I had an amazing time because I just enjoying the city at night while being with my friends and taking pictures,” Torres said.

PHOTO BY MARTIN KRUK

ative as he wants.

“My favorite part is the creativity because you can implement so many styles into a vid-

eo and when the music and the video comes together, it’s something awesome,” Torres said.

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sports

The longest road to the ring

Boys basketball takes second loss of playoffs to Damien

First game

Third game

Roosevelt def. Redondo

Redondo def. Santa Margarita

2/17 Redondo Roosevelt

Q1 20 19

Q2 11 18

Q3 21 19

Q4 18 25

Final 70 81

Max effort.

Junior Zekiah Lovett takes the ball up the court. Redondo is looking to win its second consolation bracket and capture the state title.

2/24 Redondo

Q1 18 Santa Margarita 16

Q2 26 22

Q3 23 11

Q4 18 28

Final 85 77

PHOTO BY JARRAH MAY

Second game

Fourth game

Redondo def. Crossroads

Damien def. Redondo

2/21 Redondo Crossroads

Q1 18 18

Q2 14 11

Q3 17 15

Q4 14 27

Final 63 61

2/28 Redondo Damien

Q1 19 26

Q2 13 28

Q3 21 21

Q4 17 13

Final 70 88

by Patrick Cochran

A

fter being defeated in the Open Division consolation bracket semifinals, the boys basketball team will now start its campaign to win the State Championship in Division I. The team was knocked out of its first consolation bracket in an 88-70 loss against Damien.

“It started off with a loss, then we came back with two wins in a row. One win against Santa Margarita, which was a big win because we weren’t supposed to win that game and one against Crossroads. On Wednesday night, for the semifinals in the consolation bracket we lost to Damien. It was a really bad loss they played well and we didn’t really play well. Now we are just trying to move on to state finals,” guard, Ryse Williams, senior, said.

The team will be playing for the Division I state championship.

“We don’t know exactly who we will play against. The bracket comes out on Sunday night, so we will find out and play on

Wednesday.” Williams said.

In order to compete in Open Division, the team has to be “very good”. Williams explains that he among others have been key players.

“Well along with myself, Isaiah, Jayce and Jaland, but really everybody, was doing their part. Everybody coming off the bench have really stepped up and made key plays.”

Williams explains the team is really confident going into the Division I state playoffs.

“I feel confident, this is my last year and I’m definitely looking to get a ring and win a state championship. I feel like with the team we have we can do something big. I will do whatever we have to in order to win this game,” Williams said.

The team itself will be ‘the only factor in its success’ in the process of winning a state championship should be achievable.

“In order to win state, everybody is going to have to come up big. Even the dudes that don’t always play need to have energy

on the bench. Of course the starting five has to perform, but also Zekiah and Jayce and Thomas coming off the bench. Everybody on this team will be key in our success,” Williams said.

The last time Redondo won the state title was in 2013. It was coach Reggie Morris’ first year at Redondo and the team was led by guards Derek Biale and Ian Fox. It is believed that the team and this year’s team have a “lot in common”.

“One thing that is similar is not a lot of people think we can win, and that team didn’t have a lot of real basketball players, it had guys that were doing whatever it took to win. A lot of people didn’t know much about them; they took everybody by surprise. If we can do what they did we will be in good shape. There are a lot of similarities with us so hopefully we can be like them and win the title,” Williams said.

The team is fortunate because its head coach, Victor Martin, is no stranger to the

state championship; he has won five of them as a coach.

“We are definitely lucky, his experiences bring us a lot of knowledge, he has been through this way more than us, before we were even born. He knows what we are going through, and he knows how we feel. He is going to share his knowledge and guide us on a path to win the championship,” Williams said.

For a lot of the players, the state championship is the best form of exposure. If the team goes to state, more of them will be observed by scouts.

“When you’re winning, people watch. Getting to the state championship, and winning that game, would mean a lot of coaches and a lot of scouts would be watching. This gives an opportunity to a lot of the players that wouldn’t be looked at otherwise. As long as everybody lives up to their potential, I hope everyone will get a scholarship,” Williams said.

March 3, 2017

page 21

sports

Softball opens its season with a loss of 8-1

Sticks and swings. 1. Junior Serena Maamum is chased by de-

fending players. 2. Sophomore Emma Hodges looks to get the ball away from a defender. Redondo defeated Crescenta 14-5 on Mar. 1. PHOTO 1 BY HIROKI GOTO, PHOTO 2 BY ANNE-ELYSE PETERSON

by Michael Teng-Kai Chang

1.

2.

A dominant dynasty

Girls lacrosse aims for ninth consecutive league title

by Hayley O’Connor Rigby Starting off the season, girls lacrosse played Crescenta Valley on Mar. 1 and won the game with a score of 14-5.

As it was their first game of its season, the team was anxious about playing and experienced some nervousness, but overcame it as time went by during the game.

“With this being our first game I think that everyone was a little nervous, so when we came out and started, nobody was playing as well as they could have. We were down by 4 goals within the first 10 minutes of the games, but after we finally relaxed and began playing how we normally do, we got a lead,” junior Ali Shafer said.

The next game girls lacrosse will be

playing at will be at a tournament on Mar. 4 at the Rose Bowl against three other teams.

The next seasonal game will be against Oak Park on Mar. 9.

To prepare for upcoming games, the team has a variety of offensive and defensive skills they are hoping to strengthen while they continue practicing.

“We need to work on settling the ball to give our defense a break and limiting our turnovers,” senior Melanie Paiz said.

The team is going to put most of its priorities into preparing themselves mentally to feel more confident when they play.

“We are playing in the highest bracket of the Rose Bowl Tournament. In addition to

working on skills and game related things, we are having a team bonding this Friday before the tournament in hopes of increasing our team’s chemistry,” Shafer said.

The team hopes that it will reach its goals for the season, and in order to do that they will use a combination of their younger and older players’ strengths to put out all of what they got.

“This season our hope is to win Bay League for the 9th year in a row and possibly make it to CIF. I think that our biggest strength is that every girl on the team is just as capable of scoring as the next girl,” Shafer said. “This season we are relying on everybody on the team to contribute.”

Baseball prepares to play Banning

by Kayvon Elahihaghighi Baseball starts its season on Friday, Mar. 3, with the first game of the El Segundo Tournament, against Banning away.

“We expect it to be a competitive game but the whole team is very excited to start the season,” junior Jay Kumagawa said.

The team has won CIF the past two years and as a result leap frogged from Division III to Division I. “The team will have to be mentally strong. During our preseason, we have played Division I teams and the games were very competitive. If we can fix some minor, mostly mental errors, I think we can be a very strong team and can win Bay League,” Kumagawa said.

In order to cope with the change in the division, and in relation the increase in skill level, the team will have to practice and utilize skills they hadn’t had to before.

“Technically, the main thing we need to practice is going to be stealing bases and bunting. We can no longer rely on home runs every game. Mentally we will have to be smarter, more patient baseball players,” senior Danny Zimmerman said.

The team is also composed of multiple first year varsity players that lack experience with the level of play, but according to Zimmerman, this isn’t an issue.

“As long as they get comfortable and adjust to varsity baseball as the season progresses, I feel they will be successful as individuals and we will be successful as a team,” Zimmerman said.

Kumagawa feels that the young players will have more influence than in past years.

“They make up the core of our team so we will be reliant on them to push our team,” Kumagawa said. “We have some really tal-

ented players coming in and the experience they will receive will be valuable to them.”

The team is confident, going into the season as back-to-back CIF champions and expects to maintain its establised success.

“Short term our team will definitely be looking to cut down on the strikeouts and put more pressure on opposing defenses. If we can do that, our defense and pitching is good enough to win us a lot of games. Long term we would like to win Bay League and make a deep run into CIF,” Kumagawa said.

Although a new division means new teams, the team is familiar with their competitors through Bay League.

“We all know that there are some very good teams not only in our league, so now the competition level has really stepped up, but we’re confident we can match it and thrive in it,” Kumagawa said.

The Redondo softball team lost to Banning last Wednesday by a score of 8-1 in a non-conference game; Banning had a huge third inning in which the team poured in seven runs to pull away in route to victory.

“Defensively, I think we had all of our people in the right places, everybody was good mechanically, and we had the physical capability,” junior Kylie Fraser said. “I think we just made some mental errors, once we fix those up, we’ll be ready for league.”

Offensive struggles proved to be a “huge” factor in the loss. Although Redondo recorded five hits in total, not far from Banning’s seven, the offensive spurts appeared sporadically throughout the game and momentum wasn’t able to be built.

Another factor for the loss was Redondo’s sloppy play on the defensive end, committing three errors over a course of a total of six innings played.

“Offensively and hitting wise, as a team, we need to collectively learn to pick each other up on the field and [in] the box so that we can have strings of hits to go in inning so we can score more runs,” Fraser said.

The players described communication as one of the “keys to their success”. This was proved in the last game where Redondo pitching gave up a big third inning to Banning, resulting it all the team’s seven runs Redondo scored late in the sixth inning but only managed to cut down the lead to seven runs.

“Overall our team had kind of a shaky start; we haven’t really gelled on the field yet,” Fraser said. “I feel once league starts, when we get everything settled out, everything will be great and win league again.”

The game against Banning was considered rather as a “feeling out” process for the team as it is early on in the season. The players are still trying to find the chemistry which is crucial in achieving their goal, winning the league for the sixth consecutive year.

The players have described the loss as a ‘wake-up call’, admitting there is still much to prepare before next contest.

The team will be playing later today against South High School, expecting to attain progress on its struggles with an emphasis on improvement. “[Friday], we are expecting to come out really strong as a team,” junior Samantha Downey said. “We did really good in the beginning of the tournament, so it’s going to be okay.”

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sports

Maddie McCaw: Drawn to the water

by Angie Tait Senior Maddie McCaw has always been drawn to the water.

After competing for a synchronized swim team as a child, McCaw opted to transition to water polo at age 12, a decision that has continued to shape her life in the years since.

“I’ve stuck with it over all these years because I love the competition and how the water polo community is pretty small and tightknit, and I’ve made so many friends from other schools and all over California because of water polo and have stayed in contact with them over the years,” McCaw said.

Originally, McCaw was meant to attend South Torrance High School, but decided to switch to Redondo in order to play water polo.

“I’ve made my best friends through water polo, so that always pushed me to come to practice. I’m just so glad that I transferred, because I’ve had so many unforgettable experiences and have made so many long-term friendships over the years here,” McCaw said.

McCaw was also able to put her extensive knowledge of the sport, which she considers to be one of her biggest assets, to good use on Feb. 25, when girls Water Polo won the CIF. “My best experience with RUHS polo has been my senior season and

winning CIF this past week. It was probably the biggest game of my life, and I’ll always remember that day. Ending my senior year on such a high note was such an amazing accomplishment for not only me and the seniors, but the entire program,” McCaw said.

One other especially proud teamate is senior Sophie Maguy.

“Maddie has become a dynamic force on our offense, and a reliable defensive player.

She was a very experienced player freshmen year, and was one of the driving forces in helping make the RUHS team what it is today,” Maguy said.

These committed seniors are both pursuing water polo in college, but a 5-hour separation of their chosen schools is proving sad for the close-knit teammates and friends.

“It seems as though I’ve only ever played

water polo with her, so the next four years will be really different for me at Stanford without her. I hope that she pursues her dream of becoming a coach and a lifeguard because I know that if she does, she will be great at both,” Maguy said.

“She’s a great teammate and a great friend and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for her in the future.”

McCaw recently committed to D-I Long Beach State, and is confident that she will be pushed to the next level.

“Playing in college has been my dream since the day I started water polo, and I’m so lucky I get the chance to play another four years at a school I love; If I’m really lucky, maybe I’ll even get to coach kids one day,” McCaw said.

REMEMBERING WINTER

Pass, Shoot, and Score. Senior Maddie McCaw

looks to pass the ball to a fellow teammate during CIF Finals on Saturday, Feb. 25. McCaw is one of two captains on the girls Waterpolo team and helped in their journey to becoming CIF Champions. “The team this year was the best team I’ve ever been on, even over my club and Olympic Development Program teams. The team this past season was really something special that I don’t think I’ll be able to experience again in my polo career, which makes it all the more memorable.” PHOTO

BY SAMMY ALDOVER

Alvin Perez: The lifelong soccer player

by Brian Adler

Looking towards the goal. Junior

Alvin Perez looks for a pass from a teammate during the Redondo vs Mira Costa game.

Perez is one of three captains on the boys Soccer team. He has been playing soccer his entire life, starting with a club team at a very young age, and hopes that he will be able to continue through his college career. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALVIN PEREZ

Junior Alvin Perez’s dedication to soccer started at a very young age, and has helped bring him to his role as one of the three captains of the varsity soccer team.

“Being captain as a junior, my first time being captain in high school, really motivated me to push my team to the limits so we could do better,” Perez said.

“I started playing soccer when I was three years old. Soccer was usually my only sport. I started playing basketball when I was 5 and I stopped when I was 8, but I just kept playing soccer as I was truly passionate about that,” Perez said Perez started playing club at the age of eight, using it as an opportunity to learn more technical skills, which he thinks has helped him perform at the level that he does.

“My mom put me into club at

a young age so I could develope more technique so when I grew older I could have more of an opportunity to play in college,”Perez said. “What influenced me the most is the idea of being able to play in college and be able to play competitively. I think that [starting off young] really helped me now because my mom put me in different clinics to better my ability to play soccer and I’m a decent player now because of it.”

In addition to the skills that he learned early on, Perez believes his passion for the sport is what pushed him to the level that he is now.

“I think what affected me most now is that I’ve became more passionate for the game.

I started to enjoy playing soccer more and more and more competitively. I just started getting into [soccer] more, it just came naturally,” Perez said.

Co-Captain Damian Sanchez, junior further elaborated on Perez’s dedication to his team and the sport.

“I think he is a very talented player and makes a very great captain. The level of intensity he brings out to the games are just

what players need because it motivates us to do better,” said Sanchez. “Whenever I am playing poorly he always talks to me during halftime and he makes sure my confidence goes up for the second half. It is always great playing alongside him because...he has this passion for soccer that makes players passionate about the sport.”

The boys Soccer had a successful season, defeating Mira Costa and becoming Bay League champions for the first time in twenty years. Perez attributed much of the team’s success to the general attitude among the players.

“This year it seems like the team has played a lot more for each other as opposed to playing for ourselves,” Perez said. “We were just hungry to win, we really wanted it.”

For younger players just joining soccer and those that are looking to make the move up to varsity, Perez’s advice is simple.

“It’s all about your work ethic, you just really need to work hard and want it enough”, Perez said. “I believe I, along with my other captains, am very confident going into next year with the strong team we have.”

March 3, 2017

page 23

sports

Tate Curran: Vaulting towards the future

by Kayla Hiken

Flying high. Senior Tate Curran flies over the bar during the Louis Zamberini meet on Saturday, Feb. 25 in which he did not accomplish his new personal record of 16 feet 7 inches, however still achieved 16 feet. Curran hopes to achieve 17 feet before his 18th birthday. PHOTO COURTESY OF TATE CURRAN

G

rowing up, pole vaulting seemed like a given for his future. With a top pole vaulter as a father, as well as a highly established pole vaulting coach, along with two accomplished pole vaulting uncles, senior Tate Curran has always had high expectations in his pole vaulting career.

After only a month into the track season, Curran already holds the state leading record in boy’s pole vault with a height of 16 feet seven inches. He achieved this height at the first meet of the season, surpassing his record of 16 feet five inches.

“Going into the season with a new personal record (PR) is always fun, but it definitely makes me hungrier to do better, considering that I know I can go higher,” Curran said.

Curran’s ultimate goal for this season is to beat his father’s high school record of 17 feet four and quarter inches.

“It’s sort of a high stakes goal. It’s something that very few people have done in the history of the sport, probably only ten to 15 people in the world, and it’s a type of accomplishment everybody dreams of,” Curran said. “Last year I did 16 feet at [age] 16, so 17 feet at [age] 17 would be pretty special.”

At the Zamperini Invitational on Feb. 25, the second meet of the season, Curran broke

the meet record for boy’s pole vault with a height of 16 feet. Although he didn’t get a new PR, he was able to improve his technique.

“Compared to last meet, I got a couple of more technical things done rather than just getting a PR. I was able to vault on a bigger pole and I opened up at a higher height,” Curran said.

anticipating SPRING

Curran’s father and coach, Anthony Curran, is beyond proud of his son’s accomplishments. Although difficult at times, Curran also enjoys having his father as his coach.

“Having my dad as my coach is probably the best thing I could ask for. There is nothing better than having his own records to try and beat because he drives me more than anyone else to be better than I really am,” Curran said.

After all that Curran has already achieved in his high school pole vaulting career, his father is excited to see what is in store for his future.

“I see Tate just getting better and better.

He’s just getting faster, stronger, and he’s learning how to pole vault better. He’s one of those kids that can imitate something if he sees it,” Anthony said. “It’s just a matter of time before he’ll be jumping with the college guys.”

Allie Shafer: A young lacrosse leader

by Camille Grace Junior Ali Shafer is ready to accomplish more this lacrosse season with her team, but this time as a captain.

“Being varsity captain as a junior is almost unheard of. Only two other people have been junior captains before, so it’s a huge accomplishment,” Shafer said.

Usually the title of captain is given to seniors but as a junior, Shafer’s coaches saw that she was worthy of the position.

“The coaches choose the captains. I am really dedicated and put a lot of effort into everything I do and along with my dedication, I know a lot about the game. My coaches saw me as a skilled player and wanted me to be a rolemodel for the team,” Shafer said.

This season, the team is looking for its ninth Bay League title in a row. Captain Jay-

mie Bettger, senior commends Shafer’s leadership abilities and believes that all of the captains work well together.

“She definitely has the skill set and leadership it takes to lead a team. Her positive outlook keeps us motivated and in the game even when we might be down. Being a captain with her on JV and then again on Varsity has been so fun and a great experience overall,” Bettger said.

When Shafer broke her wrist playing soccer, Coach Tom Borgia sparked her interest in lacrosse.

“I started playing lacrosse when I was in seventh grade. Borgia told me I should come out and see what lacrosse is all about. The first time I played I knew almost nothing and it was super confusing. I am naturally pretty

athletic so that helped but I looked up to the girls who were older and better than me at the time,” Shafer said.

Shafer want to go to a college that focuses on science to help her in her hopes of a medical career.

“I want to major in Biology while on a PreMed track. I am mostly interested in schools on the east coast and have been talking with coaches at Wellesley, Tufts, and Depauw,” Shafer said.

Currently, Shafer is focused on getting into a good academic college.

“If I don’t end up committing then I’m not too worried because I will definitely still play club,” Shafer said. “I am being recruited by a few schools but I want to go where I fit best academically.”

Smiles all around. Junior Allie Shafer smiles on

her way off the field during the Redondo vs. Crescenta Valley. Shafer is one of two captains on the girls Lacrosse team and is looking forward to the season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLIE SHAFER

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sports

Making history Girls water polo wins CIF for the first time in school history

by Justin Pioletti The previously inconceivable has been flawlessly accomplished. Girls water polo made school history defeating Villa Park 10-5 in the southern section division III CIF finals. No other team has ever gone beyond the quarterfinals.

“This whole situation feels incredible. I’ve hardly been able to sleep from excitement since our game,” senior Ardyn Wallo said.

“Knowing we ended our senior year totally dominating the championship game is just a really good feeling.”

The game was not a close one. From the whistle blow of the first quarter to the fourth, the girls gave “absolute effort,” ending the first quarter with a 3-1 lead.

“Villa Park came in thinking they could win easily, and we showed them otherwise in the first quarter, which really shocked them,” captain Sophie Maguy said. “We made them cry, and I feel really good about that.”

Facing a team of such caliber, the girls were required to think on their feet during the game, freshman Julia Janov explained.

This included determining their opponent’s strongest players and using two players to defend them in order to keep possession.

“Villa Park was grabby and aggressive, but we recognized that and used our speed to our advantage. So we countered a lot, and tried to draw exclusions,” Janov said. “We wanted to make safe passes and drop off players because they had three strong players and the other girls were just average. We made sure

to constantly guard those three.”

Although strategy is important, the girls agree their win was because of each player’s devotion for the team.

“Our bond is what made the score 10-5,” Maguy said. “There were moments where we could have gone down and lost momentum, but we didn’t because we play for each other.

Everyone on the team is family.”

Maguy, along with seniors Maddie McCaw, Katelin Harris and Mia Furman, began playing on varsity their freshman year. According to Furman, the program has drastically changed since then.

“We were always fourth in [Bay] League, and the team had no expectation to win any games. But throughout the four years we have grown so much,” Furman said. “Last year we really proved that we are something to be reckoned with, and this year proved that Redondo has developed into a strong program.”

Despite their history, the girls ended their season with 29 wins and only two losses. The girls put in record breaking hours of practice in order to achieve their CIF title.

“Every practice for the past four months we have been going all out. We’ve improved so much since the beginning,” Janov said.

“I didn’t think all those swim sets would be worth it, but I can now say that they really did pay off. Our coaches really did believe in us throughout the season, and I’m incredibly thankful for them.”

1.

According to Maguy, the girls’ success is also largely due to the fact that the team didn’t completely rely on a single player, because everyone on the team pulled their own weight, especially the underclassmen.

“Our underclassmen and juniors have grown so much and played incredibly, and next year is going to be just as incredible for Redondo,” Maguy said. “We have a lot of seniors leaving, but I’m positive the rest of the

team will pick up where we left off.”

With four years of water polo behind them, the seniors give advice for girls looking to join the sport.

“Love everyone on your team, go to practice, and push through the hard stuff because it will get hard, but once you get through it, will all pay off,” Furman said. “After accomplishing something like CIF, we can’t wait to see where this program goes.”

Title throw. 1. Ardyn Wallo hugs Maddie McCaw

after the game. “I was in a state of disbelief mixed with complete joy,” said Wallo. “Maddie was crying from happiness. It was really such a special moment to come out of the water and celebrate with the team.” 2. Sophie Maguy shoots the ball off of a ball side drive. PHOTOS BY MATTHEW YONEMURA AND SAMMY ALDOVER

2.