HT
Redondo Union High School Redondo Beach, CA February 15, 2018 Vol. XCVIII Edition 9
Math teacher Laura Sands taught in the Philippines for 5 years page 13
High Tide
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ILLUSTRATION BY BRENNAN HICKEY
NEWS
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No more room
City Council Update
With larger total enrollment, RBUSD gives fewer permits to students
By Lorraina Scolaro
Marc Mitchell remains on Planning Commission despite alleged threats
ILLUSTRATION BY EMMA LYON
By Analise Asaro The anonymous source referred to as Jane Doe. “We’re looking for a house in Redondo because I like If students do not live in Redondo Beach and wish to this school district better than Torrance, but if we don’t attend RUHS, they must go to the district office and apply find a house by Mar. 6 I have to go to West.” for a permit. One of Dargen’s jobs is to monitor the students who are According to Assistant Principal Dargen, students who on permit at RUHS by paying attention to their attendance have a parent who works for the school district or a sibling and academic records as well as their behavior. If someone who goes to RUHS get bumped to the top of the list. If there is falling behind in their classes, Dargen will have a meetare remaining permits, there is a lottery to determine who ing with them. gets the spots. The district has not accepted permits for students to “We want to give somebody the opportunity to go to join the freshman class for the last two years, unless they the same school district as their sibling,” Dargen said. “We are a child of a current employee or they have a sibling in only have very few permits available, so then it’s a matter an RBUSD school, according to Wesley. of a lottery of who gets picked.” “I describe what their expectations are and help them With most students on permit at RUHS having once find ways to make sure they maintain a good GPA and get lived in Redondo Beach — elementary, middle or high help from teachers so it doesn’t come to the point where school — RBUSD administration tries to allow students it’s such a bad situation that who move away to graduate. we would consider revoking “Our district belief is that their permit.” Dargen said. students who have been in In order to keep their perour district for multiple years mits, students must have good BY THE NUMBERS and move out of our district attendance, a GPA of 2.0 or during high school, should higher, no Fs and good behavbe allowed to graduate from ior. RUHS if they are meeting the “If they have behavior (10% of total enrollment) Terms & Conditions,” Dr. Niproblems, then their permit cole Wesley, Director of Stucould be revoked. When a dent Services for RBUSD, said. permit is revoked you are no According to RUHS admin(11.11% of total enrollment) longer attending any school in istration, athletes and people the district,” Dargen said. with very high grades do not However, there are exget any advantage in terms of ceptions if students do end (10.99% of total enrollment) permits over students who are up receiving below a 2.0 GPA not athletes and those who do for one semester. If they are not have high grades, accordGiven for 9th grade from 2015-17 unless putting in effort but still get ing to RUHS administration. the student is a child of current RBUSD below a 2.0 GPA, they do not “If someone is an athlete or get their permit staff or has a relative attending a district automatically not, they get put in the same withdrawn, according to Darbatch of people who want to school gen. get a permit, and there’s a cer“We want to take into tain amount of luck of whethconsideration the fact that er you get picked or not,” Dareverybody makes mistakes, gen said. everybody falls below expecThe number of people tations sometimes — but are receiving permits to attend they working in the right diRUHS has decreased over rection? If someone is consisthe years because of a lack of tently below a 2.0 then they 1. Good attendence space. should expect to have the per2. GPA of 2.0 or higher “Because our school is very mit revoked.” Dargen said. full and we don’t have extra In order to receive a per3. No Fs spots available, it is extrememit, the student must get perly limited,” Dargen said. “We 4. Good behavior mission from both the school have a lot of people that we district they are leaving as would probably love to have well as the one they want to here who don’t have the opget into. While RUHS does not portunity because there’s not enough room.” have many students trying to leave, many schools do. Jane Doe, sophomore, was living in Redondo Beach “Sometimes [districts] are really worried about losing a and attending RUHS, but her and her family had to move lot of students, so some will fight them on it,” Dargen said. to Torrance at the end of first semester due to high rent. “They’ll go to court and try to prove the reason why they When her family told administration, they were told that need to be released from the current district.” Doe needed to get a permit. According to Dargen, the administration is thankful “When we went to get the permit approved by Redon- for permit students. do they didn’t approve it,” Doe said. “They said there was “We really do appreciate the permit students that we “lack of space,” which was weird since I was already in the have here because much like our athletes, they generally school first semester.” have higher expectations on them and they respond by Doe and her grandparents proceeded to go to the dis- having a higher GPA and fewer problems in general,” Dartrict office to fight for it, and they granted her 30 days so gen said. they can go look for houses and try to stay in Redondo.
PERMIT STUDENTS AT RUHS: 2017/18: 296 students 2016/17: 319 students
2015/16: 303 students 0 permits
TO KEEP THEIR PERMIT, STUDENTS MUST HAVE:
During a recent meeting, city Councilmember discussed removing Marc Mitchell from the Redondo Beach Planning Commission but ultimately decided not to. Mitchell, a commissioner opposed by slow-growth MARC MITCHELL activists in the city, hasshad multiple allegations of harassment set against him by elected officials and residents. Before this recent attempt, Mayor Bill Brand has tried to remove Mitchell two times following alleged threats Mitchell made to Brand, Councilmembers Nils Nehrenheim and Todd Loewenstein as well as other residents. Councilmembers Laura Emdee, John Gran and Christian Horvath voted “no” on removing Mitchell because they believed the matter was a personal problem — Mitchell opposed Brand during Measure C (a plan to downsize the waterfront). Councilmembers Loewenstein and Nehrenheim supported Brand, saying that keeping Mitchell on the committee set a bad example for kids and may hold consequences in the upcoming election for Mitchell and his supporters. According to The Beach Reporter and The Daily Breeze
Ban on leaf blowers in Redondo Beach may be implemented Due to residents complaining about the effects on air quality and noise, the City Council has begun to take steps to ban gas powered leaf blowers. Both Manhattan and Hermosa Beach had previously banned gas powered leaf blowers and Redondo Beach had restrictions on leaf blowers, but with the new proposal, an amendment would be made to the city noise ordinance, banning their use. In a few years, gas-powered gardening equipment will cause more pollution to California’s air than cars, according to the state’s Air Resources Board. Just one hour of use can give off as much pollution as driving about 1,100 miles in a 2016 Toyota Camry, as stated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Two Councilmembers, Nils Nehrenheim and John Gran, voted “no” on the new proposition because of the $240,000 the city would have to pay for the additional maintenance cost. They suggested the council only ban gas powered leaf blowers in residential areas. Both ideas were dismissed by the rest of the council.
Design contract approved to rebuild the Sports Fishing Pier Redondo Beach approved a $693,000 design contract to rebuild the deteriorating Sports Fishing Pier. In cooperation with Moffatt & Nichol, a marine engineering firm, the city is working to rebuild the deteriorating Sports Fishing Pier in King Harbor, estimating a total cost of $4 million to $6 million. The pier, now entirely closed to the public after Polly’s on the Pier left for the nearby International Boardwalk, has severe damage to its structure, including missing parts, making it extremely dangerous. Current ideas for the renovation are to build a place for large ships and water taxis. Mayor Bill Brand believes the city’s attempts to host 2028 Olympic Games will play a role in the final design. With no set plan for what to do, city leaders will hold at least two public meetings to help decide on the final plans said to be completed by 2019.
NEWS
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
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Life imitates art
Diaz uses art competition to make political statement
By Danny Pharizi
What was your process for creating your artwork? “In order to create art I usually brainstorm first. I will choose the best idea out of those then start a few rough sketches on scratch paper before taking the best sketch and recreating it on final paper. From there I just go with whatever feels best. The most important thing to do in art is to not force myself to draw something that just won’t work. The key is to go with what feels right to me while staying within the realm of the prompt.”
Describe your art piece. “I was inspired by the current political climate and really wanted to make a statement about that. There are two main parts in the image: Lady Liberty and Lady Justice. I depicted Lady Justice with E Pluribus Unum on her skirt, walking towards Lady Liberty who has her back to us. I tried to portray that it is the responsibility of the people to carry out justice and redefine what it means to have liberty.”
Why did you decide to make your artwork political? “Personally I think justice and liberty has been lost here in America a little bit and as people we need to step up and redefine what it means”
Why did you decide to compete? “I’ve always been in love with art and I’ve always loved competing in everything so I thought of a really good way to strengthen myself as an artist is to was compete with people who are also good at art.”
What inspires your artwork? “I am inspired to create art by the world around me. From political affairs to the simple beauty of a flower in bloom I really try and draw inspiration from everything I see and experience.”
The tissue issue
Lady Liberty and Lady Justice. Diaz’s artwork makes a political statement, and includes the statue of liberty. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKAYLA DIAZ.
A look at RUHS’s tissue shortage and the flu epidemic By Aaya Jhaveri
About that flu... Nearly 3,000 people across the U.S. died as a result of the flu in the first 20 days of 2018, according to the latest available data from the National Center for Health Statistics
Why don’t teachers upply enough tissues?
What do you think about the tissue shorage at RUHS?
About 60 per 100,000 people are being hospitalized for the flu, and all 50 states except for Oregon and Hawaii have reported widespread influenza activity.
“Because we have to buy them with our own money. I buy them and they are gone in two days, I keep forgetting to pick up more.” - Amber Keller
“I don’t know that asking teachers to buy tissue boxes is fair to the teacher. I don’t understand why this question is even asked or why the burden of tissue boxes is placed on the teacher. I remember bringing my own small tissue packs when I was in high school, and if I didn’t have any, I never blamed the teacher for not supplying the tissue.” - Angie Yi
Since flu season began, 63 children have died from the flu.
“It’s not a matter of the school providing tissues for students who are sick. If they’re sick, they should stay home and not come to school and get everyone else sick. The school is not a hospital or daycare.” - Sofia Wray
“I think teachers are good about keeping their classrooms stocked with tissues and hand sanitizer but half my classes are always out of tissues and make me use paper towels instead.” - Nicole Javellana
Pregnant women, people with heart disease and children remain at the highest risk, according to the CDC.
INFORMATION VIA PBS.COM
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NEWS
FEB. 15 , 2018 | HIGH TIDE
BCN is now RUTV
Moving forward. Beach Cities News has changed their name to RUTV to show the shift to a new, more professional broadcast that is unique to Redondo Beach. PHOTO VIA YOUTUBE.COM
The times are a’ changing
Former Beach Cities News changes to become more professional by Ivanica Skalko
Four years ago, broadcasting and media arts teacher Matt Sheehey created Beach City News as an outlet for ASB announcements. Despite its initial purpose, Beach City News quickly evolved to include much more. On Jan. 26, Beach City News became Redondo Union TV, or RUTV for short. Seniors and executive producers Ryan Albin and Lauren Ritter along with assistant executive producer Cole Malouin pioneered the change as hope for a more “professional and engaging” news show for RUHS. “The name is a fresh start. We wanted not only people to see that we have a new name; we have a new structure and focus, and with that comes higher standards,” Ritter explained.
Similarities:
Last year’s program had an unclear focus left all three producers feeling change was necessary to expand the scope and create a professional reputation for the broadcast. RUTV is now not just news, but equally weighted in other topics. “We wanted there to be a more formalized structure. We wanted people to see that there is news, entertainment, sports and much more. We didn’t want people to see the name Beach City News and think we are limited to just news; we are providing much more than just that,” Malouin said. With a new program, the producers are hoping to uphold a new standard of professionalism and with that maintain a strong reputation as a reliable, honest news
Differences:
Same programs including: - Food Tutorials - Sports segments - Calendar Over- view - Fake question segment Studio Background image Studio set-up
Professional Attire Sea Hawk Squawk Title Introduction Total Similarities: 6 Total Differences: 4
source for RUHS. “It’s still student run so obviously there’s still going to be that kind of humor and silliness, but we want students to immediately know that anything said on our show is true and honest. We want there to be integrity above all,” Malouin said. Albin explained that the name Beach City News also felt nonspecific to Redondo Union, with the Beach Cities encompassing many different cities and schools. Mr. Sheehey explained that his students have worked hard to create a new program and reputation under the name RUTV, and he already sees the positive results. “I see it even after only the last two shows; students are more engaged because it’s more professional and thought-out,” Sheehey said. Albin, Malouin and Ritter also felt a name change was needed to ensure a good structure and path for the future of the broadcasting program. Many of the producers and main contributors to the show are seniors, and the work that they put in this year will determine the legacy they leave behind. “With all of us being seniors, we want there to be a clear, professional path for the future of the broadcasting program at Redondo,” said Albin. “We want to give the incoming students something to build and improve upon, and also ensure we leave a strong legacy.”
Jacob Sowards, sophomore “I think RUTV sounds more professional because it sounds like a major news station. The acronym makes it sound similar.”
Kyoka Wakamatsu, freshman “Beach City News sounds more professional because RUTV is a new change and Beach City News has been around for a long time and looked really organized.”
Raquel Pringle, junior
“I think Beach City News sounds more professional, but I haven’t seen any difference in the old versus new broadcasts.”
The Sadie Hawkins Dance is Dance Guard is shocked at cancelation of the winter dance due to not selling the minimum 300 tickets required by Austin Nunis For the first time ever, RUHS dance that Sadie’s brings them, and is left at a loss guard was forced to cancel their annual Sa- for how to make them up after the team die Hawkins dance due to low ticket sales. lost about $1,000 after already booking a To put on the dance, DJ for the event. the team had to sell 300 “We’re not sure what to tickets, yet sold less than do. Fundraisers are done seventy. for the marching band and The cancellation came guard, but Sadie’s is the only as a shock to the girls of guard-only fundraiser. We’ve guard, who worked hard been discussing the possibili-Sophomore Katey ty of a winter formal, which to plan the dance. “We weren’t expecting we think would be more popNall this at all [especially beular, but nothing is promised,” cause] we tried everything from advertis- Hazard said. ing to announcements,” dance guard memIn addition the team will now have to ber Kaylee Hazard, sophomore said. “We cover those expenses with money from were hoping that it would be successful their account. but eventually as it came closer and closThough they didn’t plan on having to er to the deadline and ticket sales weren’t cancel the dance, the girls understand why going up, we figured that we were in rough the school isn’t as interested in Sadie’s. waters”. “Some people said that they didn’t have Dance guard relies heavily on the funds fun at homecoming, so they didn’t want
“I think that a lot of people can’t get over the girls asking guy part.”
to spend money on another school dance ing. they didn’t think they’d enjoy,” dance “I think that a lot of people can’t get over guard member Alisa Majarova, sophomore the girls asking guys part, a lot of the girls said. “Some people didn’t are afraid to ask guys to the have a date last time and dance,” Nall said. “It’s time didn’t want to have to worto change to winter formal. ry about that this year and We think that’s what people some people are just tired would want, and we think of Sadie’s.” more people would want After going to hometo go if it was a formal.” -Sophomore Kaylee Some adversaries went as coming, freshman Elle Marine decided against Sadies. far as taking down posters Hazard “It’s kinda lame, and the announcing the dance that theme was kind of weird,” Marine said. guard members had put up. “[My friends and I] also went to homecom“We did everything we could to advering and the music was all trap and really tise and make the event successful, but it intense remixes. It was really bad, and it was hard because the people that were wasn’t fun to dance too, so I thought Sadie’s taking the posters down seemed to be would be similar”. working against us,” Hazard said. “We did Sophomore Katey Nall, on the other everything we could, so it’s kinda sad, but hand, believes that the expectation of hav- we [look forward] to putting on a dance ing a date discouraged people from attend- next year.”
“We’ve been discussing the possibility of a winter formal.”
NEWS
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
Battle of the Bands
Beat it. Yogurt performs at last year’s Battle of the Bands. PHOTO COURTESY OF GISTALDO
Name: Lead Singer: Guitarist: Bassist: Drummer:
by Amanda Ban Five bands will be performing at Battle of the Bands, however only three responded.
Sound of Music. Fate Unbound performing last year’s at Battle of the Bands. PHOTO COURTESY OF BCN
Name: Lead Guitarist, singer: Rhythm Guitarist, singer: Bassist: Drummer:
Yogurt Johnny Lopez Sebastian Franco Taylor Dalmau Christian Gastaldo
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Fate Unbound Takurou Vincent Ian Mendoza Joshua Valladoares Dylan Cutler
Question: How would you describe your sound?
Question: How would you describe your sound?
Gastaldo: “[Our style is a mix of] hard rock and rap. We kind of created our own sound. It’s a sound you won’t forget anytime soon.”
Vincent: “We are very unique because when most people get an amp or a guitar they push the setting, and turn everything all the way up, and they don’t try out all of the possibilites, but we try out every possibility which gives us a unique sound. We are a mix between metal and aquistic music.”
Rolling Stone. Stratus Fear performs at last years Battle of the Bands. PHOTO COURTESY OF CORMAN
Name: Lead Guitarist, singer: Guitarist: Bassist: Drummer: Keyboardist:
Stratus Fear Ryan Corman Andrew Rodriguez Grace Buchen Lucas Simoes Jake Buchen
Question: How would you describe your sound? Gastaldo: “We are more of a classic rock. We are playing a lot of classic songs that are big crouwd pleasers that everyone can kind of get up and dance to.”
Former President Barack Obama’s official Smithsonian portrait was released on Feb. 13 Artist: Kehinde Wiley
point towards Hawaii,” Wiley said.
Wiley and Amy Sherald (artist of former first lady Michelle Obama’s portrait) are the first black painters to recieve a presidential portrait comission from the Smithsonian museum.
Goal: Wiley wanted to capture the tension between the history that came before Obama and Obama himself to represent the impact that he has made in history. This portrait is different than all of the other President’s portraits to show this distinction.
Description: Wiley surrounds the former President with shades of blue and green flowers that have to do with different georgraphical location, corresponding to different phases of the President’s life. “The chrysanthemum is the state flower of Illinois. There’s flowers that point towards Kenya and there’s flowers that
“There’s a fight going on between him in the foreground and plants that are trying to announce themselves. Who gets to be the star of the show? The story or the man who inhabits that story?” Wiley said. Information compiled from NBC, NPR, Smithsonian, CNN and VOX PHOTO VIA SMITHSONIAN
Review
Beach Cities Health District presents: Purpose vs. Performance by Maia Ward On Feb. 8, Beach Cities Health District and South Bay Families Connected hosted Purpose vs. Performance: Shifting the Mindset from Outcomes to Experience presented by Eric Karros and his stepdaughter Mikah Maly-Karros. The talk was promoted as a night that would give parents strategies to help their students shift their mindsets from what they think they have to do to what they are really passionate about doing. While the talk did bring up good points for parents to consider, overall the talk felt a little disorganized, repetitive, and focused mainly on Karros and Maly-Karros’ own experiences, instead of overall advice to parents as advertised. From the beginning, the stage’s set up and lighting indicated it would continue to be disorderly and confusing. Two chairs with a lamp between them were set far from the front of the stage, making it seem like it would be talk between Karros and Maly-Karros sitting together for the discussion. As Karros began talking, pacing around the front of the stage, Maly-Karros sat alone in one of the chairs, with little overhead light on her. After both had separately presented, they sat together for a “Q and A.” This seating made this portion more effective, as Karros and Maly-Karros could
discuss issues instead of one sitting and waiting for the other before sharing themselves. During his lengthy presentation, Karros focused on repetitive examples of high school students and professional athletes who felt unhappy studying or playing sports and tried to find something else they could do to feel fulfilled. These cases emphasized his point that high school students need to find healthy methods to deal with feeling overwhelmed, but they sounded similar to each other and repeated the same ideas. Since most of these cases were interchangeable, it would have been more effective to begin talking about Maly-Karros’ own experience feeling pressured to perform during high school. Maly-Karros had been a starter on Mira Costa’s varsity basketball team for all four years, and as a state-recognized player, she was looking to continue to play at LMU. Off the court, however, Maly-Karros felt the expectations for her as a player were stressful, as basketball had become something she felt forced to continue with, and she began heavily drinking to deal with the pressure. Maly-Karros mentioned that because she played basketball as well as she always had and did what was expected of her, he did not suspect that anything was wrong.
While this part of the talk was what he should have focused on from the beginning, it felt strange to hear his daughter’s struggle from his point of view. He acknowledged that he could not understand what she had thought when she decided to start drinking, while Maly-Karros sat behind him, waiting to share how she had felt. Karros admitted that he did not recognize she felt unfulfilled and acted in ways that did not help her work through her problems, but he reveals what he tries Helping shift the mindset from outcomes to experience. to do differently with Ma- Eric Karros and Mikah Maly-Karros present a seminar, hosted ly-Karros’ younger brothers. by Beach Cities Health District, to help parents shift their Listening to Karros talk student mindset from doing things they believe they have to for so long about the same do, to doing things that they enjoy. Karros (step-father) and points before getting to ac- Maly-Karros (step-daughter) relay their experiences. PHOTO BY tual advice for parents was MAIA WARD disappointing, especially knowing that drinking, and what she thought her parMaly-Karros, who through her own ex- ents could have done differently to help periences and work as a therapist intern, her. Although listening to Maly-Karros’ excould have used that time to share more perience overcoming her own problems ways parents could help their students. Once Maly-Karros did get to talk, how- was inspiring, overall the talk did not delivever, she offered parents specific details er on what it had advertised and took too into how she felt when she turned to long to give parents actual advice.
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OPINION
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
Editorial
Celebrating the greatest American accomplishments
HIGH TIDE Staff Editors-in Chief Ben Brill
Elizabeth Fauver
Kylie Yorke
News Editors Mia Berger, Alex Dang Ben Yepez
Opinion Editors Miriam Farah, Jon Mallen
Features Editors Reem Chamas, Summer Saad,
Entertainment Editor Justin Pioletti PHOTOS VIA CREATIVE COMMONS
Despite growing representation for people of color, coverage of the success of black men and women has yet to meet the standard of our “progressive” society. Black History Month shouldn’t be necessary, and the fact that it still is is at the fault of our school systems. The month of February offers a glimpse into the achievements of black culture of the past and present. However, this celebration should theoretically be nonessential if the accomplishments of black Americans throughout history were rightfully recognized and taught on a day to day basis, not just the shortest month of the year. Even the founder of Black History Month, Carter G Woodson, hoped that Black History Month—originally Black History Week—would one day be unnecessary. For different reasons, there has been recent debate over the removal or shortening of Black History Month. In the last month, the black actress Stacey Dash called to eliminate Black History Month saying the occasion promotes segregation, while Republicans in the Kansas legislature questioned if reserving a month of celebration for black history was “too long.” Although Black History Month should be superfluous, it remains necessary until these Americans’ accomplishments are properly taught and recognized. The current educational system is lacking in this regard.
Editorial Board Vote Black History Month is necessary, but would not be so if the educational system placed more emphasis year-round on the history, struggles and accomplishments of blacks.
YES: 5
NO: 2
A 2014 project titled “Teaching Tolerance” graded all 50 states and the District of Columbia on how well their public schools taught the civil-rights era to students. According to The Atlantic, 20 states received a “failing grade”, and in five states—Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Oregon, and Wyoming—civil-rights education was totally absent from state standards. Even the Civil Rights Era, a crucial event in black history, is being largely ignored. It seems the attention of students and teachers alike during this month is on celebrating Valentine’s day, not recognizing the progress of one of the most oppressed groups in history. Decorations are hung, ASB students fundraise with roses and balloons, and all the while black Americans’ accomplishments throughout history continue to be ignored. Black history is American history, after all. Our nation was largely built on the backs of slaves. While history class teaches us about the horrors of slavery, the continuous progression of black Americans in the post-Civil War Era, is only skimmed over,
brought up again for lessons on the Civil Rights Era, then forgotten about entirely. Yes, we learn about Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks in history class, but the majority of black heroes are forgotten and looked over, and the significance of the rest are often minimized. MLK’s legacy is whittled down to his “I have a Dream” speech and Park’s to her bus protest, but these historical figures had impact far beyond what is briefly mentioned in classrooms growing up. Parks also organized against sexual assault, a fact that is often ignored in order to simplify and streamline America’s black history. Black History should be taught throughout the year as it happens. On Monday, former president Barack Obama’s official portrait was released, making Kehinde Wiley the first black artist to create a presidential portrait for the Smithsonian. The artist, known for his “highly naturalistic paintings of African-Americans in heroic poses,” won’t be talked about in the classroom, and the achievements of blacks in America continue to be looked over. Until schools can find a way to integrate black history into their standards, Black History Month will continue to serve an essential role in the nation. Without these 28 days, Americans won’t know enough about the contributions, sacrifices and accomplishments of black Americans, one of the most underappreciated groups of people in the world.
Hits&Misses Another semester done
No Sadie Hawkins
It’s the end of another semester, and we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Keep working hard and stay positive. One more to go.
The Sadie Hawkins dance was cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales, much to the dismay of those who bought tickets.
Sports Editor Luke Peterson
Photo Editor Eden Millan
Copy Editors Alexander Clark, Lauren Kim
Writing Editor Lauren Kim
Technology Editor Samaya Rubio
Staff Writers Aaya Jhaveri Adam Sayad Alex Laureano Alexis Mesa Analisa Asaro Austin Nunis Camille Grace Christina Owen Christopher Snyder Danny Parhizi Ethan Park Grace McGonigle Ivanica Skalko Juninho Paniouchkine Jenna Edwards Kate Ripley Kaden Kaczmarczyk Liam Barret Kiera Patterson Maia Ward Lorraina Scolaro Michael Solimando Martha Farah Nicholas White Molly Cochran Rukhaa Kamran Ophelia Winslett Sangjun Lee Sabrina Kim Sarah Flannery Sarah Falahawazi Sophie Fleming Shyanne Landers William Pournamdari Sydney Nguyen Angie Tait Yasmine Elahihaghighi
Photographers Shuaib Ahmad Ben Cheng Elise Dipaola Amber DuFresne Grace Laina Jade Rona Danielle Sestak Kierin Woolridge Mia Wicks
Illustrators Brennan Hickey Makena Frias
Emma Lyon Michael Bottcher
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 writer or cartoonist.
Letters to the editor The High Tide encourages greater input of opinions from both students and staff. If you have an opinion about one of the articles, letters can be sent to the editor at
hightideonline@gmail.com
American snowboarding
Current medal standings
Jamie Anderson, Red Gerard, Chloe Kim and Shaun White all crushed it in their events, each scoring to win the gold.
The U.S. currently holds only seven medals, five behind the current leader, Germany, which now holds 12 medals.
We reserve the right to edit 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.
Keep in touch with
Valentine’s Day grams
The Snapchat update
The acapella singers who performed did a very nice job. It was a fun and cute way to deliver a Valentine’s Day message.
Ugly, hard to navigate, and with multiple bugs, calling it an ‘update’ is nothing more than an ironic title at this point.
@ruhsmedia
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OPINION
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
Is the week of final exams beneficial to students?
PHOTO VIA CREATIVE COMMONS
Yes. Finals are tough but helpful.
No. They aren’t worth the stress.
studying keeps us up at night and increases our stress levels, a healthy level of stress is what keeps us motivated to do well, according to Psychology Today. As painful as they are, finals are especially beneficial for AP students. In addition to the extra review sessions a teacher may offer, we reteach ourselves forgotten content. As we relearn, we’re preparing better for the AP tests. Even if a student may have done poorly on the final, the mistakes he or she makes can be learned from and remembered come May. Teachers also offer extra credit for going to group review events like “Cookies and Cram” and finals are a good excuse for us to study in groups with our friends. Even for non-AP classes, finals are a last-resort grade pickup. Sometimes we’re at that 78 percent and we really want a B, and while one test grade won’t bring it up, a solid score on a heavier weighted test will. Final tests can give people the extra push they need to raise their grade. I know I sound like the devil’s advocate. Yes, finals week is a giant pain that none of us want to go through. However, all the suffering does help us in the long run. While our sleep schedules and lives outside of school may be thrown off by finals week, they’re the only way to effectively end a semester.
several exams. In addition, if we are progressively tested throughout the semester, why should one final determine a student’s overall success? Exams worth 10 to 15 percent can severely alter the final semester grade, regardless of the student’s performance throughout the semester. A single exam should not have the ability to make or break a student’s grade, yet it does. Consistent effort and hard work become suddenly meaningless once a scantron defines intelligence. The bottom line is that finals do not accurately gauge a student’s understanding or knowledge of the concepts taught throughout the course of a class. Though I am against the concept of finals week, I am not against test taking. Test taking helps people learn, according to a study published in the journal Science. If you want to know how much you understand a topic, take a test, but not more than four cumulative tests over the course of three days. The expectation that a student should be able to effectively study for each and every one of these exams is beyond ridiculous. I studied for my finals, stayed up exceptionally late and earned decent scores. Yet in the end, all that work won’t even matter. It is highly unlikely I will remember anything I studied come next semester.
by Molly Cochran Finals: a necessary evil. Although a good portion of us hate everything about them, they really can be helpful. While finals week can be stressful, it forces us to study, even if that studying happens to be at 2 AM. In the grand scheme of things, the study guides and review sessions help us to relearn information from the beginning of the year which in turn helps us to build a better foundation for semester material. Another beneficial aspect of finals is that they’re a good way to close out a semester. It is a great feeling of satisfaction to have completed that final, and with it the semester of that class. For many classes, after finals we can empty out our binders and not have to stress over that content for at least another quarter. Finals give us a fresh start. The common argument against finals is that they cause undue stress for students. While it’s true that
by Christina Owen “Seahawks lead emotionally and socially balanced lives,” according to a sign proudly hung in the science building. Correct me if I’m wrong, but “struggling caffeine addict” and “professional all-nighter” do not exactly depict emotional and social balance. This is the reality for most Redondo students in the face of finals week. The concept of final exams, in all fairness, does not seem so ludicrous. Being tested on information learned throughout the semester seems logical, but being hit over the head with multiple exams is not, especially when the exams in question are cumulative and weighted at 10 percent or more of the final grade. There is no doubt that students understand that studying is required to do well on a final, yet many wait until a couple days before to begin studying. Though teachers warn against cramming time and time again, there is no other viable option given insufficient time to prepare for
Letter to the Editor
Coffee Commentary
Re: “Calling yourself ‘pro life’ is blatantly misleading” In your January 26 issue an article claims that “Calling yourself ‘pro-life’ is blatantly misleading.” The author makes many problematic statements, but I will focus on the conclusion in which she says that those pro-lifers who would have abortion outlawed are taking away choices from parents and affecting their lives without their consent, and decries those who take away someone else’s ability to determine how his or her own life will play out. However, this is in fact the greatest offense of those who choose to abort a pregnancy: By killing the not yet born child, that child is irrevocably denied the chance to play out his or her own life. Abortion supporters will object to my use of the word “child,” claiming it is but a zygote or fetus, depending on how long it
has been since conception. But “child” is fully appropriate, reflecting its humanity. Every human being goes through this stage of development, and science confirms that an individual’s unique DNA, separate from that of the mother, is present from conception. Does anyone think we somehow change species while in the womb? The author writes that “anti-choicers” is a more fitting name than “pro-lifers,” but we are not talking about a choice of Coke versus Pepsi. We are talking about choosing between nurturing an innocent, defenseless human being versus callously killing him or her. We should not condone the murder of humans at any stage of life.
Tim Baumgartner Math teacher
by Ben Brill It’s time for you to treat yourself a real cup of coffee in a real coffee shop. Redondo has an abundance of local businesses beyond the large chains. The quality and craftsmanship that goes into each cup cannot be matched by any beverage a coffee chain can make. A shot of espresso that goes into a latte, cappuccino or flat white requires the beans to be roasted and grinded to perfection, tamped to the right pressure and the proper amount extracted by the Barista. It is an art that a simple push of a button cannot achieve. Whether you’re in the local shop or cafe, support your community, go beyond your usual morning crowd and enjoy sipping on your artfully crafted coffee made by Redondo’s best.
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OCT. 6, 2017 | HIGH TIDE
SPORTS
SPORTS
8
BASKETBALL | SURF | WATER POLO
Rugby “Vernon is a very good player, aggressive and quick. There is always room for improvement, and with him it is only a matter of time.” Coach Aleem Shah on Vernon Pierce, senior The team finished its season with a 2-4 record, recently beating Viewpark by a score of 31-26.
Senior Vernon Pierce breaks through the tackles of two Viewpark players in an RUHS win. PHOTO BY BEN CHENG
Title contenders
Girls basketball enters playoffs after beating Costa by 30 points by Michael Solimando
Girls basketball finished their Bay League schedule with a record of 9-1, following a 62-32 victory against crosstown rival Mira Costa High School. The team finished the regular season with a total record of 21-5. The girls will be going into the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA playoff
bracket ranked 26th in the state of California (136th in the nation). Junior Claire Haddad shared how it felt to end the Bay League schedule with a win against their rival, describing “blowing out Costa” as “always a great feeling.” The only adjustment Haddad would have made to how their season went is to “prepare more for the game against Palos Verdes in the first half of League.” The team “didn’t think [they’d] lose to PV, which is part of why [they] lost.” They should have come into the game with “confidence and respect.” She explained that they could’ve “watched more film, go over their plays in practice, and talk more about how to stop their best players.” Obviously, the team made these adjustments in the second half of league as they beat Palos Verdes 65-37. Looking ahead to the playoffs, Haddad believes that if her team “continues to push themselves hard in practice, then [they] have a real shot at winning it all.” They’re going to need to continue to have “good energy” and “sharp focus more than anything” if they are going to win the championship. 1. Haddad also shared why the close-knit bond Max effort. 1. Junior Lauren Taggart boxes out a PV defender. within the team is going RUHS won the game 65-37. 2. Junior Jasmine Davis focuses on to be a major contributing getting a rebound. PHOTOS BY EJ DOMINGO
factor to their future success. “Our connection is great. We all get along well and our coach has even taken us to get ice cream a few times which is fun for everyone. Everyone is always included in this team, players coaches, and managers. This is one of the reasons I think we’ll be able to win in the playoffs,” Haddad said. The team’s coaches really believe that this year could be the year, and for Haddad winning a state championship would “mean a ton, especially since the coaches and our fans really think [they] can do it.” Junior Dylan Horton also shared how she felt about the way her team ended the Bay League season. “I’m excited about this team. We ended in first place, making us Bay League champions. We all worked so hard for it and now it’s on to playoffs,” Horton said. In Horton’s opinion looking back on how the team finished the regular season, she thinks they could have “rebounded more and limited their turnovers.” However, because of how well they finished the season and the fact that the “chemistry is good and [they] all play unselfishly,” she believes they have a “good chance at winning state as long as [they]
2.
stay focused.” Horton also shared what winning that state championship ring would mean to her personally. “Winning state would be something I remember my whole life and the state championship will prove everyone who doubted our team wrong” Horton said.
SPORTS
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FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
Racking up victories. 1. Guard Jayden Winfrey, junior, drives around the defender
in a 63-57 win against Costa. 2. Sophomore Tarah Schaffer prepares to make a pass across the pool in a game water polo lost to Costa by a score of 9-6. The team hopes to make a quick rebound in the playoffs against San Clemente. PHOTOS BY BEN CHENG AND DANIELLE SESTAK
1.
2.
Sports in brief Surf
Girls water polo
by Liam Barrett
by Camille Grace
by Kiera Patterson
Finishing Bay League with a record of 9-1, boys basketball is set to play Loyola in the first round of CIF. The team is motivated to make a deep run. Senior Kyle Carter explains how important these playoffs are to him as it is the last chance for him and his fellow seniors to win at RUHS. Carter says that these playoffs “mean a lot because this is his last time together with this group of guys.” This team has forged a special bond together, fighting to keep themselves together as long as possible. Carter says “he’d like to win as many games as they can to get a ring and play with one another.” With playoffs comes more intense preparation. The team has been watching more film and practicing harder than ever. Junior forward, Chimezie Maduno, explains that practices “have become more detail-oriented and have been more focused on adjusting to Loyola’s style of play.”
Surf will face off against Costa next week to determine who will win the Bay League championship. Before that, though, the team beat Santa Monica by a score of 97-49 on Feb. 7. RUHS won every heat of the day. “We blew Santa Monica out of the water,” captain Kolby Holdsworth, senior, said. Coming close to the end of the season and the more important competitions ahead, the team has been focusing on improving minor details in practice. “Our improvement really showed in the competition,” senior Chandler Kauffman said. The team is looking to improve on minor things during their heats for when they match up with tougher competitors. “We could work on catching good waves as and sharing waves with teammates from Redondo. It’s all about speed, power and flow,” captain Ryan Hughes, junior, said. “We are confident that we will win.”
Girls water polo suffered a 9-6 loss to Costa en route to the team’s first CIF game against San Clemente on Feb. 15. “As a team, we’d been through a lot together and had to overcome multiple injuries on the team so I think we were feeling off our game when we went up to face Costa a second time,” senior Kaitlyn Arns said. The girls have to push the recent loss out of their minds to do well in CIF. “We are starting fresh again and focusing on the new teams we are about to face,” Arns said. According to senior Ashley Clancy, the team can only advance through CIF if they address their problems in a serious manner. “We are taking the mistakes we have all made throughout the season and working on improving them each practice,” Clancy said. “We are all putting in that much more effort to get out of the first round of CIF, hoping to come out with a win and move on to the quarter finals.”
Boys basketball
Boys soccer prepares for CIF games by Alex Laureano The last whistle blows, signaling the end of regular season for boys soccer. With a 6-5 record, the team’s eyes are set on the CIF championship title. “We need to continue working hard, there’s always room to improve in all areas mentally and physically for the crucial games in the end of this season,” coach Ignacio Lopez said. As their regular season came to conclusion on last Friday the team was ranked third in the Bay League standings, giving them a chance at the CIF title. That week the team lost to Costa and Palos Verdes to end conference play, which was crucial for a higher seed going into the playoffs. But the losses only fueled a fire for the team to learn from their mistakes. “We have to continue working on commitment and discipline that way we are more solid as a unit,” Lopez said. According to Lopez he said there were many moments that he enjoyed watching during the season, including seeing the team start with fourteen seniors, nine of which were returning, from their last Bay League run. “This season will be remembered because the seniors were having fun and
enjoying their last year together,” Lopez said. Next year’s team will be interesting for him as he has already prepared all of his incoming seniors and underclassmen to relax and play the game hard just like the ones that came before them. “Every school goes through the same process. We lose seniors every year, and it’s like starting all over. So next year will be a challenge,” Lopez said But with the team in his hands, they now Too slow. Senior Hayden Owens goes for the goal against Costa after getting the ball over the hands of the believe they still have a fighting chance to goalie. RUHS won the game 2-1. PHOTO BY ETHAN CHENG succeed this year. leaving high school soccer with a CIF ring.” “Something unique I see in the world “We have talented With their first CIF game on Feb. 16 of soccer is how players respond when players, and once we regroup and fix the against one of the top soccer schools in the coaches and other teams tell them they’re mistakes the team will be very solid,” captain Damien Sanchez, senior, said. “It state, Valencia, RUHS looks to play hard the best,” Lopez said. “It makes them work would be a great accomplishment because and win every ball in order to win their harder, instead of taking it easy and not putting in the work.” it’s my last year, and it would be fun tough upcoming battle.
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OPINION
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
People should be more cautious approaching the mistakes of others
by Kate Ripley With the shrinking circle of personal privacy, social media has worsened our epidemic of distrust and desensitizing. The one sided mirror of social media gives people a false sense of anonymity and creates an emotional barrier, allowing them to be crueler and more vicious. Because of this, it becomes easier to dismiss the toll of the person being targeted. There has been a growing pattern of “internet activism.” Now, people have everything at their fingertips in order to achieve revenge on a person. Many times, I have seen internet groups make it their mission to get a teenager expelled from school for making an insensitive comment. In one case, a boy who used a black facial mask and uploaded a photo to his snapchat with the caption “Am I a n--ger yet?” was sent death threats. Accounts posted his picture along with his school, hometown, personal instagram account, and phone number. No, inappropriate behavior should not be excused. But posting people’s schools, personal accounts, and addresses even, crosses the line of what is acceptable punishment.
Misbehavior should be taken care by a person’s family and school. The purpose of punishment is to ensure the end of the negative behavior, not to shame or harm the perpetrator. The latter actions only cause an unhealthy pattern of retaliation and actually creates resentment for the punishers and can worsen biases and behavior. Oftentimes, people act out due to their own pain or because they have been indoctrinated into a hateful misunderstanding. If we were able to work with people instead of against them, we’d be more
likely to succeed in our goals of reform. By attacking people and potentially ruining lives, they learn a pattern of constant judgement which can lead to stronger feelings of resentment. While I understand people’s worries that racist or homophobic behavior won’t be punished, the current method has been blown out of proportion. If someone says something inappropriate, it’s logical to call the school to make sure they are punished, but people have taken it a step further by slandering and at-
In the last decade, more companies have taken action against employees whose behavior off the clock reflects poorly upon employers. Depending on the type of job, a person can get fired for expressing their
racist beliefs if the employer feels it reflects poorly upon them. INFORMATION COMPILED FROM WWW.TIME.COM
tacking the malefactor personally and even putting him or her in physical danger. In addition, the vicious attacking of people over the internet has allowed for innocent people to go down in the crossfire. After the Charlottesville incident in 2017, people began to share pictures, addresses and personal opinions about the white supremacists at the rally. Kyle Quinn, an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, received hateful messages and threats from people who claimed he was a Nazi. The attackers even posted his address and personal information before realizing he was not a racist rallier. In fact, he was 1,000 miles from the rally when it occurred, and he had never shown support for neo-nazis or white supremacy, according to the New York Times. In regards to people who actually do take indecent action: all people make mistakes. This is especially true for young adults whose frontal lobe, which controls judgement, has not fully developed. I disapprove of the use of racial slurs, sexist comments and other indecent behavior, but I believe social education would be an easier course of action that would sow greater rewards in attempts to better our society. If we could teach people how to be more collaborative, respect each other and improve relations between acquaintances rather than engaging in this cycle of attacks, we might actually have a shot at making it as one world, together, in peace.
Women’s sports deserve to be more recognized
by Martha Farah Women’s sports have come a long way, but the media is still behind — leaving female athletes in the dark. There were 376 stories covering men’s sports and only 13 segments covering women’s sports on “SportsCenter”— a daily sports news television program, according to the Huffington Post. Why was there a great difference in the amount of stories aired? This gives the wrong message to women, telling them that they are not as important as men in sports or even less deserving. It’s not okay. There has been a huge increase in the amount of women playing sports, especially at the college level — rising by more than 600 percent according to MotherJones, but the media has not been keeping up. If anything, coverage on women’s sports has declined. The number of women’s sports broadcasted dropped from 6.3 percent to 1.6 percent between 2004 and 2008, according to the University of Southern California Center. It is an ongoing cycle: women’s sports are not aired on T.V., so they receive less views. However, people claim to not watch women’s sports because they are not aired on T.V. The same thing is happening at our school. In the sports segments on RUTV, the boys teams are aired much more than the girls teams. For instance, the boys basketball team was aired for about three minutes while girls were not mentioned from the broadcast on Jan. 26, 2018. In addition to hardly ever showing footage of the girls’ teams, the female athletes are rarely ever bothered to be interviewed at all — why? Did they work any less or are their wins any less earned? With the broadcast airing on Feb. 9, 2018, it covered rugby, boys basketball,
boys soccer and girls’ water polo. See the problem? If the lack of coverage of women’s sports starts when we’re young, then these trends will continue on larger broadcasting networks. I’m not saying that the girls team should be more aired or more appreciated than the boys team, but what does this tell our female athletes when RUTV only cares to catch up and interview with the players on the boys team? Since women’s sports are not as publized, it is harder for younger female athletes to have role models. About seven out of 10 girls who quit sports during puberty claimed that “they didn’t feel like they belonged in sports,” and 67 percent claimed that society does not encourage them to play sports according to CNN. How can young girls be expected to stay in sports when they feel detached from sports within society? The Women’s Sports Foundation records girls dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys. An increase in the coverage of women’s sports shows young girls that they don’t need to quit sports to adjust within society, but that society can adjust itself. To make things worse, women have a huge disadvantage when it comes salaries in sports. The average salary for a WNBA player is $72,000 while the average salary of an NBA player is about five million dollars — about 70 times of what a female basketball player makes. Not only are women paid less, but even have 63,000 fewer participation slots than men at the college level according to CNN. How is this imbalance in opportunities and salaries occuring or even acceptable? Sadly, these facts keep discouraging women in sports — making the situation worse. The root of the problem can arguably be connected back to the little amount of media coverage on women’s sports, even at the high school level. Women’s sports should be more appreciated and aired at our school and everywhere rather than continuing to come in second. Female athletes need to know that their work is not any less appreciated, but that the media is the problem.
In 1972, just 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports. Today, about two in five do.
Women’s teams received 39.6
percent of overall athletic expenses. Between 1972 and 2011, the number of girls competing in high school sports jumped from under 295,000 to nearly
3.2 million.
PHOTO BY BEN CHENG INFORMATION COMPILED FROM WWW.WOMEN”SSPORTSFOUNDATION.COM
OPINION
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
11
The Sadie Hawkins’ dance is outdated and should be changed
by Samaya Rubio In a society that tries to promote equality of genders, what is the purpose of having a Sadie Hawkins’ Dance? I talked to my mom who actually used to go to Sadie Hawkins’ dances in her high school years, and the purpose of them was to give girls the power to choose who they want to ask. When my mom was in high school, the girls generally said yes to any boy who asked them, and Sadie’s was the time when girls picked up the courage to ask a guy to a dance. Now, we are encouraging girls to be their own people and to ask whoever they want, regardless of historic gender roles. The original Sadie Hawkins actually wanted to have this style of dance for that very same reason. No matter what time of year, girls are asking boys to dances and are not shamed for it, and I think Sadie would say her work is done. In this day and age, girls should be encouraged to be individuals and not the arm candy for the boys at the dance. More and more people are going alone or with groups of friends instead of with a date, and thus, the whole idea of Sadie Hawkins is a bit outdated and unnecessary. Maybe the reason why no one wanted to go to Sadies was because the girls didn’t need an excuse to be empowered to ask boys to a dance. This is a great thing for our society as a whole, but a bad thing for dance ticket sales. I understand the whole tradition aspect of the Sadie Hawkins dance, but in all of my years at RUHS, I have consistently seen that the number of people going to Sadie’s is significantly lower than that of homecoming. This was a result of a few reasons, one of which was that the students would prefer a winter formal to a Sadie Hawkins’ dance. Maybe it’s time for a change in the
way we do things, and maybe that would up the involvement. Another option would be to switch to a winter formal, which a lot of other schools have and seem to be high in attendance. Both of these require a change in tradition, but sometimes tradition fizzles out and needs to change in response to the audience changing. Another reason this dance wasn’t so popular was that it was not advertised properly. I really only started hearing about it two weeks in advance. I don’t know if everyone is like me, but I need a little more
RADAR
A summary of good and bad news around the world and where it should land on students’ relevancy radar
Another reason that many students didn’t want to attend was the theme. I just can’t see a Coachella theme fitting with tuxes and updos. If the dance were promoted as a dress as the theme style dance, the theme may have been more fitting, but with the way we hold our Sadie Hawkins dance, it really doesn’t fit. Coachella is outside, has a dirt floor, and is super hot, all things I can’t see wanting while in heels. I won’t be here another year to see what the Dance Guard comes up with, but heaven help us all if it’s another Sadie Hawkins’ dance.
Why didn’t students go to the Sadie Hawkins’ dance? Yes.
No.
No.
Yes.
Yes.
No. 22%
78%
65%
Do you prefer a winter formal?
PHOTO VIA CREATIVE COMMONS
ON YOUR
time to get a dress. I know many people (especially new RUHS students) only heard of the dance from the few fliers that were up on campus, and to be completely honest, they weren’t very enticing. The advertisement fliers were created like the lineup fliers for the actual Coachella, which was actually pretty clever, but the first time I saw them I was very confused as to what they were advertising in the first place. If they had clearly stated that they were advertising the Sadie’s dance and the date and time, I believe that the dance could have been a bit more successful.
Did you like the theme?
Idaho’s legislature removed all mentions of human-caused climate change from statewide science guidelines, while leaving the rest of the standards intact.
BAD NEWS
35%
Was it too expensive?
The Barack and Michelle Obama’s official portraits were unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Obama’s choice of the artist is the first African-American artist to paint an official presidential portrait for the National Portrait Gallery. RELEVANT NOT SO RELVANT
This flu season has already killed at least 37 children in the U.S. Between Oct. 1 to Jan. 20, there were 11,965 laboratory-confirmed flu-related hospitalizations reported.
65%
35%
GOOD NEWS
The predominantly white city of Gardendale, Alabama city will not be allowed to secede from the majority black Jefferson County to form its own school district.
INFORMATION COMPILED FROM WWW.NYTIMES.COM, WWW.CNN.COM,WWW.USNEWS.COM
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FEB 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
Let them r
Feminism Club creates a blog to give victims a voice
FEATURES
ar
by Yasmine Elahihaghighi With polarized views, the definition of feminism has been skewed. However, Feminism Club wishes to reinstate the message of love and equality through media. Co President, Miriam Farah, and the Feminism Club are creating a website that will educate people on feminism, sexual harassment and the struggles of body image. Club members will be writing about modern issues on the blog, but they want outside input as well and are seeking temporary or permanent writers. “I wanted to start a website to give young, high school feminists a platform to express their opinions and thoughts about the political climate today and other social issues,” Farah said. Farah believes it can be challenging for
high school feminists or any young people to voice themselves. “Oftentimes our opinions are dismissed because others claim we are too ‘immature,’ we do not understand how things work, we are not knowledgeable and we should just worry about ‘teenager stuff,’” Farah said. Through the club’s website, she hopes to remove these complications and assumptions. “People frequently do not have a way to express their opinions without any backlash. I want people our age to feel comfortable expressing their opinion and give them the option to voice their thoughts without the judgement,” Farah said. The website’s goal is to reach people
Fight like a girl
PHOTO BY CREATIVE COMMONS VIA PUBLIC DOMAINS PICTURES
past Redondo Beach and RUHS as well as connect activists from the country. “We want to hear other people’s opinions who come from different socioeconomic background; including those of various races, genders and ethnicities. This includes other people’s perspectives and voices that are often silenced,” Farah said. The website will touch on the topic of sexual harassment and include women’s personal experiences. Farah believes matters like sexual harassment are not taken very seriously in communities. “Way too often, people do not know the line between compliments and harassment. Because of that, this stuff actually happens and people often dismiss it. They think it does not actually happen at the highschool, or they think that people act way too dramatic,” Farah said. The stories will likely add a better understanding about the reality of these issues, according to Farah. “We want people to know that these cases of sexual assault are real, and many people become victims everyday,” Farah said. Farah hopes that the stories will allow people to connect and empower them to be proud feminists. “I want people to be proud that they are feministS. It is not a shameful label; everyone should be a feminist,” Farah said. Vice President of the Feminism Club, Kate Ripley, promotes body positivity and self love through her Golden Girls Project on the website. “The purpose was to show people the struggles teenage girls have with body confidence and to teach people whether they are male or female, teenagers or adults, anybody can be taught to love themselves,” Ripley said. Ripley, like Farah, believes people today are unaware and uneducated on the diffi-
culties girls face. “There is so much judgment. There is so much to deal with as individuals and as a group in a society. Women receive so much backlash with anything they do,” Ripley said. Both girls hope the website will take away this judgement and allow for girls to be open and feel safe. “There are plenty of people who love themselves but nobody tells someone how to do that. So I wanted to set an example and be the one to do that,” Ripley said. Farah believes the website will be more effective than social media platforms because people take websites more seriously. “Students will be able to voice their opinions in a professional and formal manner instead of posting a long caption on social media. A lot of people do not want to read that and think social media is not the place to voice your political opinions,” Farah said. To make people aware of the website, Farah and other members of the Feminism Club plan to advertise as much as possible. “We plan on spreading the word through flyers around school, the morning announcements and friends because we want to have writers on our website who are not necessarily in the club,” Farah said. As part of the website, Farah states how they will be selling affordable feminism shirts. “The money from the shirts will be used to raise money for girls’ education in third world countries and sexual assault victims,” Farah said. Club members Cheyenne Franklin and Nicole Javellana are working on making the website appealing for viewers to gain their attention. “Although it is taking awhile to make, hopefully it will be worth it at the end. We want it to be easy to read and convince people to join our website as a writer and tell others about it,” Farah said.
FEATURES
Life on the wild side
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
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Laura Sands taught in the Philippines for five years by Shyanne Landers
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Jeepneys, pythons and kitchenless homes. These are unfamiliar for many in the United States, but very common in the islands of the Philippines. AP Calculus AB and Algebra 2 teacher Laura Sands familiarized herself with all of those things during her time teaching in the foreign country. “Our school was on, White Beach, and it was the same area where General MacArthur landed when he came back to the Philippines in World War II,” Sands said. With about 80 students per school year, the World Evangelism Bible College branch in the Philippines offers anywhere from one to four year degrees in theological studies. “The students were on a works study program, and they paid a minimal amount of tuition,” Sands said. The students had hands-on farming and office classes, which gave them preparation for the real world. “We had lots of different jobs; we raised chicken, pigs, tilapia ponds, and we grew rice, pineapples and just all kinds of things. They had different jobs, depending on what quarter it was, and they would switch jobs so they’d have a wide exposure,” Sands said. A member from her husband’s work, the Dulag Family Worship Center Foundation, asked Sands to teach English. “We ended up staying for five years, and by the end, my husband became the administrator of the school. I became the registrar and a treasurer of a charitable foundation that was attached to the school,” Sands said. “I would use money from the foundation to dig wells so people could access water without having to go find water and carry it back in huge jugs.” Upon arrival, Sands lost access to all technology, but when she left the school, it had made its way into the community. “When we moved into the dorm they let us stay in, we didn’t have a kitchen. We would have to do our dishes in the concrete sink that was behind the dorms, next to one of the rice fields. By the time we left
there, they gave us an extra room to build one. It was very different from the United States. That’s for sure,” Sands said. Getting to the college is not easy, even when living in the Philippines. It is near the main highway on the island of Leyte, and most students had to travel on jeepney, which are taxis made out of old World War Two vehicles. “We were far out in the provinces, so some students would have to cross rivers in order to get to the campus when they came back from break. Cars could not access a lot of places there. It was not unusual. The interior of the island was more remote than the outskirts, so you had to cross a lot of rivers with a log bridge,” Sands said. Sands and her husband, along with one other American couple, moved to the Philippines in Feb. 1997, and returned to the United States in Feb. 2002. “It was hard having to leave. It was soon after September 11th had happened, and the church organization that was funding it was having trouble keeping the finances available for the school,” Sands said. “They weren’t able to afford to have American staff there anymore. If that hadn’t happened, we would probably still be there.” Before she left, Sands was able to eat python, a common dish served at the school. “One of our night guards found a python stealing chickens, so he shot it. When I came out of the dorms that morning, some of the students had used Scotch tape to keep its mouth shut. All of a sudden that python leaped out of the bucket, broke the Scotch tape, and attached itself to the leg of one of the students. We had it in the cafeteria for lunch that day,” Sands said. Although it took some time to get used to, Sands describes her time in the Philippines as “some of the best years of her life”. “I miss it so much, but I love where I am now. I love Redondo. It was very fun, and I feel so blessed that I was able to do that,” Sands said. “It was very different in a lot of ways, but I would not trade that experience for anything.”
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The teacher becomes the student. 1. “That’s at the beach where the school was, where MacArthur landed when he returned to the Philippines in World War II,” Sands said. 2. “Part of the program was—in addition to a small amount of tuition—they did a work study, so they were assigned different jobs. We grew rice there, so part of their work study is to help plant the rice and harvest the rice. This is two of our students harvesting the rice,” Sands said. 3. “This is me with two of my students. The student on the left is Edita, and the other student is Mayete,” Sands said. 4. “That is our carabao, which is a water buffalo, and they are harvesting some nipa they take the dried nipa, and they weave it and they were repairing the roof of a building that we had on campus,” Sands said. PHOTOS COURTESY OF LAURA SANDS
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ENTERTAINMENT
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
Glowed up
AMEN
RICH BRIAN
Rich Brian’s debut album satisifes the hype by Alexis Mesa
ILLUSTRATION BY EMMA LYON
From “that one Asian rapper” to “Rich Chigga,” people refer to internet sensation Brian Imanuel by many names. In his debut studio album Amen, Imanuel introduces himself as a rising rap artist determined to show you he is more than a viral video. At only 16 years old, Rich Chigga posted his first single “Dat $tick” on YouTube. Dressed in a pink polo shirt and ReeBok fanny pack, he surprised watchers with the deep voice and clever lyrics of a youthful Indonesian boy. Soon after, Rich Chigga grew in popularity, signing to the predominantly Asian record label 88rising and releasing a string of hit songs that each accumulated millions of views. Two years later, Rich Chigga is now Rich Brian, a reformed young man who re-
alized the immaturity in his previous alias. Not only is he maturing mentally, but also musically which can be heard in Amen, the eighteen-yearold’s endeavor to find himself while the world listens. The album begins with “Amen,” the song Rich Brian felt his rap album deserved to be named after, yet the track is not as phenomenal as he believes. With an underwhelming beat and familiar origin story fans are well aware of, “Amen” disappoints in the place it should shine. Fortunately, the following track “Cold” establishes strength needed to keep the album alive. Against a funk backing fit for a late night drive, Rich Brian’s flow compliments the instrumentals and beat in an unforeseen injection of energy. He also ceases to hold himself back in his lyrics, saying he’ll never exchange his individuality for the overused triplet notes in rap known as the “Migos Flow.” One of Migos’ members, Offset, is even featured in Amen on the track “Attention,” showing just how merciless Rich Brian can be in his insults. Despite exposing contemporary rap for what it has become, Rich Brian is a bit hypocritical, as some of his own songs sound
like any other found on the radio. “See Me” annoys with its prominent use of unnecessary background vocals and constant use of “ayy” after almost every line. On the softer side of the spectrum, “Little Prince” appoints NIKI for a bland chorus seemingly replicated from a song off the pop top charts. However, Rich Brian’s lyrics maintain uniqueness. Still under the legal drinking age in the United States, Rich Brian has the ability to rap about the tribulations of being a teenager rising in fame. In “Introvert,” he and fellow 88rising artist Joji team up to tell listeners of his insecurities as he grows into an adult. The track “Trespass” holds a required hostility towards everyone who uses him for fame and money, including his own grandmother. Yet Amen would not be complete without the addition of successful singles published months before the album’s release. Released five months prior to Amen, “Glow Like Dat” showcases Rich Brian’s Drake-like melodic rapping while maintaining a hard demeanor in his deep voice. However, the most surprising aspect of the track is the self-produced beat. Combining fast-paced guitar notes and the kick of drums, “Glow Like Dat” is a reminder of Rich Brian’s talent. And of course, there’s ”Chaos,” a favorite among Rich Brian’s fans. Harboring the
continuous wail of a tornado siren, when the line “she like sippin’ out that mason jar” hits, the song reaches a high point and never leaves. Amen appears stronger than it began on the track “Arizona.” With the help of AUGUST 08’s soulful voice, Rich Brian delivers a bittersweet end to his first album, reminiscing about the past over angelic woodwind sounds. Its sweet features are then disturbed by a scream and beat switch, signifying Rich Brian’s finale. Stuffing everything left in him into the last two minutes of Amen, Rich Brian inserts a dose of unanticipated self awareness, rapping, “man, let’s face it, they don’t really listen to the music/They just wanna take a trend and they gon’ use it, bend and mend it.” Revealing his painful reality, the final moments of Amen are depressing. However in the age of the mumble rapper, Rich Brian’s words are satisfyingly comprehensible and intelligent. Although Rich Brian’s goal for Amen is to prove his maturity beyond “Dat $tick”, he has yet to realize his most attractive attributes lie within his youthful take on rap. Not only is he reshaping the music genre, but also society’s view of young Asian teens, proving they are far more than a stereotype. With unconventionality in everything he does, Rich Brian is the refreshing new sound the world is looking for.
U.S. gold medal count vof PyeongChang
2018
PHOTOS VIA FOX NEWS
Shaun White Men’s snowboard halfpipe Shaun White’s medal was his personal third and marked America’s 100th.
Chloe Kim Woman’s snowboard halfpipe Chloe Kim, 17, became the youngest female american athlete in winter Olympic history to receive a gold medal.
Red Gerard Men’s snowboard slopestyle 17-year-old Red Gerard received the first gold medal for U.S. in this year’s events.
Jamie Anderson Women’s snowboard slopestyle Jamie Anderson holds the record for most gold medals for a female snowboarder.
ENTERTAINMENT
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
Fight or flight
15
DEATH CURE WES BALL
The Death Cure closes Maze Runner series on a disappointing note by Sydney Nguyen The first “Maze Runner” film, adapted from James Dashner’s book series, was released in 2014, amid an uprising of teen dystopian films. The film series became a hit along with other movies like “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent” during the time. Wes Ball’s “The Maze Runner: Death Cure” provides audiences with a mediocre wrap up to yet another teen science fiction. “The Maze Runner” series is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth plagued by “The Flare” virus that causes people to alter into zombie-like “Cranks.” In the first film, a group of boys, including Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), Minho (Ki Hong Lee) and Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), are living in a place called “The Glade” with no recollection of their past lives, other than their name. They go into a maze looking for an escape and soon find out that they were a part of a science experiment on the immune system to the virus by a corporation called “WKCD,” who is desperate to find a cure. “The Death Cure” takes place after “The Scorch Trials,” which follows the boys’ journey through the ill-stricken Earth after escaping “WCKD’s” grasp as they look for a safe haven with newcomers Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito) and Brenda (Rosa Salazar). “The Death Cure” picks up where the boys and their group are preparing to escape to a safe haven, away from “WCKD.” However their friend, Minho, was captured by the organization after being betrayed by Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), a friend and also Thomas’ love interest, and the boys make the decision to return for him. The film revolves around belief and how far characters are willing to go for their own. Teresa, for instance, believes strongly in science and finding a cure even if it means betraying her friends. Thomas and the boys, however, believe “WCKD” takes the experiments too far because the
Dystopia. The group prepares for what’s next.
trials often result in dead children or kids that are too abused to function properly anymore. They are willing to risk their lives and compromise their plan of escaping to save their friend. “The Maze Runner” bears a striking resemblance to other popular teen dystopian stories: there is a corrupt group or government that is against the group of teen protagonists, the world is ending and is engulfed in chaos, there is a juxtaposition between the “civilized” community and “uncivilized” one and there is a division amongst humans. The series is indifferent to the handful of other dystopias released during its time and blends into the many films. Although it provides a somewhat different
plot of virus-infected zombies that have PHOTO VIA CREATIVE COMMONS tainted the world instead of human life In this film she is portrayed as a villain for being the cause of destruction, there is not ratting out her friends, but as audiences see much else that distinguishes it from others. later, she is doing it for a cause she believes Along with the plot line, not many char- to be just. Even with her cunningness and acters are well developed. Thomas is the passion, she is viewed as the bad guy, causstereotypical teen hero that is brave, self- ing viewers to be torn if she really is the less and would do anything for his friends. antagonist or not. One distinct character, However, these clichéd traits are the only however, can not take the focus away from ones exhibited in him and this could also be the group of conventional characters. Even with the film being full of busdue to the fact that most characters can not remember what happened before entering tling action scenes, thrilling pieces and a the experiment. Most characters are bland likeable and lively young cast, it was not and are composed of traditional character- enough to carry the other shortcomings in istics solely based around selflessness and the movie. As Wes Ball wraps up this sci-fi audacity, which further diminishes their series, there is little that makes it stand out from the rest, offering essentially nothing individuality. There is more depth in Teresa, however. fresh to the scene.
Good morning Seahawks Broadcast’s transition to RUTV has brought impressive results by Juninho Paniouchkine
RUTV is the new branding for our school’s news broadcast, which previously took on the name of Beach Cities News. The name itself is a nice change, becoming much more specific to Redondo, yet fails to follow their new pledge for sophisticationbeing sophisticated, as mentioned in the last BCN broadcast. Retaining “News” in the name would have been smart, rather than changing it to TV, as it is not a television show. The new RUTV intro is an improvement however, focusing more on technical behind the scenes views and a short
compilation of drone videos to showcase the campus. Their new mission for a serious broadcast seems contradicted by the scripts given for each segment however, being introduced by a simple “What’s up” or “Hey seahawks”, compared to the last broadcast of BCN, introduced with “Good Morning.” On the last broadcast of January, attire also seemed to be an issue, with some members of the broadcast dressing in a t-shirt and jeans, which contrasted the anchors’ professional blazers and dress shirts. The food review of Rod’s also seemed too
relaxed, having only one person in business casual, with the rest in casual clothing for a Saturday outing instead of a food review. Even then, out of the five food reviewers, one of them was no longer a student of RUHS, tagging along with the rest of the group for lunch. The sports segment however, was a large improvement, with the two sports anchors professionally reviewing and highlighting some of the big moments in the weeks reviews. Along with interviews of athletes, the anchors worked with very sophisticated mindsets.
The most recent broadcast has also instigated some serious debate with their new segment, Seahawk Squawk. The debate was enthralling, involving serious world issues such as DACA, and voicing them through the opinions of students. Overall the discourse led to an entertaining end, with each debater presenting educated and valid thoughts. RUTV has built a strong path for themselves, one leading to straight success as a broadcast. The true question is if they are able to stay on it, maintaining their seasoned look as a broadcast.
FEATURES
FEB. 15, 2018 | HIGH TIDE
RECOGNIZING THE HARD WORKERS OF RUHS WHO OFTEN GO UNNOTICED
School Nurse
by Sabrina Kim octors have enormous power. They can control the way people live by affecting their health. Catherine Gaillard is given this power as one of the three school nurses. “There was a day where I did save a kid’s life,” Gaillard said. that was really amazing. It’s just powerful to know I have that abil-
D
“And ity.” Gaillard has many responsibilities as the school’s nurse. She manages, supervises, teaches, responds to emergencies and procedures daily, and goes through the different paperwork, follow ups and even more. “The challenge is keeping up with everything and accomplishing the things that need to be done,” Gaillard said. “It doesn’t feel like there’s an end to a specific job. The school year ends but it seems like there’s always work to be done.” Sometimes all of the work leaves Gaillard feeling overwhelmed. “We work hard,” Gaillard said. “We have high caseloads. We have lots of students on our caseloads, and we have to do the best thing for them. If you don’t talk to parents, or students or other staff members, it can get very stressful.” No case is like the other. Each one demands certain requirements. A lot of thought is put into how to handle the patient. “It’s always multitasking, it’s always juggling and adjusting to what’s the priority at the moment,” Gaillard said. “There’s no normal day. I like the challenge.” These challenges aren’t new for Gaillard because she previousy worked at a hospital.The students at a high school is what makes the two different though and they are why she likes working at high school so much. “I love hearing your perspectives on life and what you’re going through,” Gaillard said. “I love watching you find your passions in life and growing to be the people you’re meant to be. So I really enjoy the students in high school.” Everything about Gaillard’s job is for the students. It’s to make sure students are healthy and able to keep learning. She works with other staff to make sure of this. “I don’t have a lot of contact with the teachers here, but I work really closely with the counselors. I know how hard they work on your behalf, and it takes a village, so I’m really happy to be part of that,” Gaillard said. As a single mom, Gaillard understands how hard growing up can be. “I hope that I’m one of those people who makes a difference in people’s lives,” Gaillard said. “And that’s kind of why you go into nursing, you want to help people.”
Nutritional Aides
Q A
LEAD NUTRITIONAL AIDe DARLA ABBITT by Jenna Edwards
What are your responsibilities?
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Q A
“I’m a lead in the cafeteria. I just do all of the paperwork and oversee what all of these clowns are doing.”
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU HELP THE SCHOOL?
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“I think we help the students, because we supervise nutrition we can help in terms of learning, because you need to be full and healthy in order to concentrate in school”
PHOTOS BY LIA
M ADKINS
Special Education aides by Sarah Falahahwazi
tudents with special needs are often regarded as incapable due to the many difficulties they face at school. However, special education teacher Monica Mallet and her aides Andy Ammentorp and Jennifer Hatfield believe that people u n d e r - estimate the potential of students with disabilities. “Being an aide has validated my belief that children with special needs are more capable than a lot of people give them credit for. They don’t need to be coddled and allowed to slide by,” Ammentorp said. With a background in psychology and a passion for working with kids, Ammentorp has been a special education aide for four years. He claims to have a “different approach” to helping special needs students since he does not lower his expectations for them. “I try to treat our students as much as a typical student as I can,” Ammentorp said. “I try to hold them accountable for their actions, but I understand that sometimes they can’t help it if they’re having a rough time.” Mallet says that in order for students with special needs to be successful, they must be given an opportunity to show what they can do. They must be placed in an environment where they can feel comfortable to show their potential. “I feel that working with these students has taught me that you can never judge a book by its cover,” Mallet said. “A lot of people have preconceived notions of our students, but they have the ability to do so much if they’re given a chance.” Students with disabilities often face behavioral, academic and emotional issues. Aides help them focus and transition from each class, according to Hatfield, who has been an assistant for two years. “Patience is one of the things you need to have when working with these students,” Hatfield said. “You need to be able to connect to them and see where they’re coming from.” Hatfield claims that her job “touches home” since she has a niece who requires special education. She believes that it is important to treat all students the same, regardless of any disability or limitation they may have. “Special needs students are smarter than people think. A big misconception people have is that they don’t know a lot,” Hatfield said. “You really have to watch what you say in front of them because they do remember and they will repeat.” In order for special education professionals to work together, they must establish trust, according to Mallet. She describes her relationship with her aides as a “true collaboration,” and she trusts their character and their competence. “I trust all my aides because I know they are competent professionals who know how to work with our kids,” Mallet said. “They are our eyes and ears when we are not around, and I trust them because they are wonderful and empathetic people.” Ammentorp and Hatfield say that they treat their students as if they did not have any disabilities. But most of all, they enjoy helping these students in areas that they require help in. “I learn from my students just as much as they learn from me, and they really make me happy,” Hatfield said. “Happiness is something I share with them.”
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