High Tide Apr. 4, 2014 by High Tide

HIGH

TIDE Redondo Beach, CA // Redondo Union High School April 3, 2014 // Vol. XCIV // Edition 14

A new generation, a new era by Cedric Hyon

Tolerance and acceptance growing for LGBTQ community

The moderate Republicans have announced their support of gay marriage. New laws in sports and bathrooms have been in support of transgenders and have given them protection. The civil rights issue is slowly coming to a close. Alex Curtis, an alumnus from RUHS, recounts differences he’s noticed as a trans-

p. 8 //

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN LEE

gender. “Recently, I’ve noticed that at least being transgender is more common knowledge that everyone seems to know about. When I was a student at RUHS, three or four years ago, I had to explain to literally everyone what exactly I meant, and I had to explain that I wasn’t a lesbian, even though they

See what’s been changed for the LGBTQ community.

were very convinced that I was,” Curtis said. “Everyone that I’ve talked to up here, down here and abroad, they have a general idea of what it means.” Curtis also likes the new protection that transgenders have. “I’m really glad about the new laws, especially the ones about transgender sports.

For the bathroom, I’m glad there’s a law that protect us now, but a lot of us we were using opposite bathrooms, so it hasn’t affected me much,” Curtis said. Teacher Amber Keller, who is conservative, has expressed her support for gay marriage and stresses that the issue is based more on religion.

[cont. on pg. 8]

Arriola and Jessica Mosleh what RUHS’s roller derby team has been up p.13 // Morgane p. 18 // See share their story of coming out. to.

Photos of the Week

Prom Expo

Jazz and Choir Concert

A prom-ising venture. 1. The prom court lines up to show off the theme for this year’s prom: Tomorrow Never Dies, like the James Bond movie. 2. Because the theme is Tomorrow Never Dies, different old cars were showcased along with the outfits. 3. Another old car showcased at Prom Expo.

2. PHOTOS BY CEDRIC HYON

Music to my ears. 1. Junior Josh Campell plays a guitar solo during their rendition of “My Bloody Valentine.” Campell received a large applause after his solo. 2. The saxophone section 1. of the C Band playing “My Bloody Valentine.”

3. PHOTOS BY TED CAVUS AND LAURA SMITH

Street sweeping suspension extended

by Allegra Peelor and Lauryn Alejo

Senior Eli Jarmel has convinced the city to suspend street sweeping and parking permits on streets surrounding RUHS, so students will have a place to park due to construction in the parking lot. “I wrote a letter to Mayor Steve Aspel asking about and proposing a solution to the parking problem which was that for Vincent they would suspend the permit parking during school hours,” Jarmel said. Jarmel was capable of convincing the city of removing street sweeping temporarily. “We still have street sweeping suspended through April, but the problem’s pretty much solved. Now the parking lot’s open, you have the lower lot near PCH where the police station is and there’s a lot more parking, but still it does help to have street sweeping suspended. Hopefully we can keep that going through April and maybe May,” Jarmel said. Jarmel felt it was necessary to step forward and ask the city for more parking for several reasons. “One reason that I ended up going forward with this was because with the new construction in the parking lot there was so much parking wiped out that even more kids couldn’t find parking on Thursdays. Thursdays were horrible; kids were all over the map parking where they could, parking illegally and taking the ticket just to get to class, and I feel that it was a real issue,” Jarmel said.

NEWS

Street sweeping days had limited students parking options even more. “The worst day was Thursday because that’s when we have the most street sweeping on the Vincent side of the school, and that was a problem because students couldn’t find places to park. They ended up parking four, five, six blocks away from campus, and you would just see kids sprinting to class; I was one of them for a lot of the time,” Jarmel said. Parking on certain streets would have resulted in a parking ticket because students did not have permits. “There was also the issue of the permit parking on Vincent. The city implemented that during the day kids couldn’t park there because of the permits that residents had requested to have. The amount of traffic that was happening limited the spaces,” Jarmel said. In order to find a solution for our school, Jarmel looked to the city council for help. “I ended up going to the city council meeting where they were discussing it, and I argued my case. There were a few Vincent residents that argued their case, and ultimately I lost, but it was a good debate and I had two of the five city council members on my side willing to motion to make what I said a reality,” Jarmel said. Jarmel felt it was his responsibility to fix the students’ parking issues. “As a school board student representative,

Free parking. This sign on Diamond Street, usually advising drivers what times the street sweepers are driving though during the week, is covered up by a white bag due to the suspension of street sweeping. As long as the bag is over the sign, students are allowed to park there. PHOTO BY CEDRIC HYON

my job is to listen to the complaints and issues that students have with the school and with the district and try to do something about it. The number one complaint I heard from the first day of school all the way up through winter break was that we had issues with parking,” Jarmel said. After four months of complaints and Jarmel’s e-mail, the city council finally came up with a solution. “They ended up coming up with the idea of suspending street sweeping, which I didn’t know was possible. Once they did that, they met me halfway and said, ‘Look, we’re gonna give you a solution based on your request, but we’re not gonna do what you asked for just because it doesn’t make sense for the residents,’” Jarmel said. To repay the city for giving students more parking spots, Jarmel has made a compromise.

“The compromise was that ASB had to organize a tax force, a group of kids, to sweep the streets and mostly clean the storm drains on Thursdays. I got certain volunteers for community serve, and we would pick up trash at the storm drains. It’s fun, you gotta get your hands dirty a little bit; we wear gloves and we have tools, so it isn’t horrible, but it’s a good little trade-off for sure,” Jarmel said. Jarmel hopes his compromise with the city council has helped more than just the parking problems. “With the combination of the increased tardy sweeps and street sweeping, there has been a sharp decrease in tardies,” Jarmel said. “My hope, because we don’t know for sure, is that the solution we came up with definitely contributed to that, but ultimately I did it for convenience and because the student body requested it.”

Murder mystery a more interactive experience for play attendees by Allegra Peelor

You sit down in the auditorium but find yourself in the midst of a high school reunion, only to find out that somebody has been murdered. Your job is to find out who committed the crime. The drama department just finished the first week of rehearsals for the Murder Mystery Dinner, which will take place on May 2 in the auditorium. Co-director sophomore Reina McGonigle is confident that the dinner will go smoothly, even though about a third of the actors have never been in a drama production before. “We had 42 people come out and audition, and we only cast 12,” McGonigle said. “We were really stressed, and we wanted to make sure we got together the right cast, and now we think it’s going to be very strong.” According to McGonigle, she and codirector sophomore Jacob Reno are excited to be working with a mixture of experienced drama students and new faces. “About a third of the cast is brand-new people who are new to the drama program,” McGonigle said. This is only the second year of the Murder Mystery Dinner, but junior Joe Perlot claims many changes have already been made to the program. “This year will be on stage with more lighting, seating and tech than last year, which will make the experience more fun and intriguing,” Perlot said. McGonigle agrees that the Dinner will

be more exciting for the audience especially. “The audience kinda has to solve the mystery along with the actors as they go,” McGonigle said. “There’s a surprising twist ending that the audience gets to solve as the night goes along.” The show itself revolves around a murder that has happened at a high school reunion. “You sit down, and the characters are talking to you as if you’re part of the graduated class,” sophomore Duke Robinson said. “You watch the first act to get background, then the actors mingle with the audience and talk about the characters’ motives and positions. You can submit who you think is the murderer during the second act.” Perlot believes that one of the main attractions of the performance will be the opportunity for the audience to interact with the characters. “Murder mystery is a fun, surprise-filled show,” Perlot said. “It will involve the audience as much as the actors.” Although it will be a lot of work for her and Reno, McGonigle believes they have the ability to make a great show in three and a half weeks. “When we started, it kind of hit us how much work we actually have,” McGonigle said. “We have a lot to do outside of helping the cast; we have to do set up, design, catering, marketing, advertising, all this stuff, but Jacob and I work really well together, so I have faith we will get everything done.”

3. PHOTOS BY CEDRIC HYON

Getting into character. 1. Stage manager Ellia Tellez and directors Reina McGonigle and Jacob Reno prepare for the upcoming show. 2. Chris Paludi, Joe Perlot and Duke Robinson act out a scene together 3. Camile Gerson and Noelani Montas review their lines for the play.

Land development taxes controversially to stay as is

by Chris Paludi

The RBUSD school board voted 3-2 against raising the land development tax in Redondo Beach in a controversial decision. A developer in a city must pay a certain tax to the school district based on the land they develop. Redondo’s rates have always

When you’re done reading the issue, if you are not going to hang onto it, please either leave it in your classroom or recycle the paper.

been middling, at $2.97 per square foot, compared to other school districts in the South Bay. The proposed tax would have increased the rate to equal the highest of the region, Torrance, at $3.36 per square foot. “It was polarizing; I was personally

ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH BIESCHKE

against raising it, but I realized that for the students’ sake it would probably be better if we did because it means more money for the district. Ultimately I abstained,” school board representative, senior Eli Jarmel said. “My main point was that if we look at the measures that have been passed, it is clear that we don’t want to put an increased burden on our constituents because if 20, 30 years from now we want another large bond like the ones we’ve gotten, we need the trust of the city to know that we won’t take money from them; we’ll ask for money and when they see fit to give us money, they will.” Raising the tax would have increased the cost if a family is looking to buy, build or renovate a house. “The cost of these houses put up by developers is cheaper than what it would have been if this had been passed,” Jarmel said. “Students’ parents do not have to shell out more money for that house.” Despite the continued cheaper cost, Jarmel sees negative implications as well. “The negative side of this is that this would have gained a significant level of new revenue for the General Fund of RBUSD which could have gone back to the students, teachers or any other outlet in the district,” Jarmel said. “Although it keeps money in

the pockets of people who live in the school district, it is preventing more money from going to the district itself.” However, Jarmel does believe that the districts’ funds are “sufficient” and views the issue more ideologically. “With Redondo experiencing prosperity, it made sense from a financial standpoint, as more development has and will continue to occur,” Jarmel said. “However, the people of this district have done so much for it, it is unfair to punish the public to take advantage of a good economic situation. From an ideological and political standpoint, it made more sense to keep things the way they were and pledge our support for the city.” This measure can be reproposed; analysis has been done to determine whether or not it would make sense to raise the cost. The analysts determined that the district could raise the rate and make more money, but the school board decided against the proposal. “I don’t think the school board would approve this until more districts in the region move up to Torrance’s level,” Jarmel said. “By making this decision we are saying that we actively support the development of housing and new businesses in Redondo Beach, supporting the growth of the city as a whole.”

NEWS . 3

EDITORIAL: WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO CONFRONT ISSUES ABOUT SEXUALITY AT A YOUNG AGE IN THE US It would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago, but many countries, including some states in the U.S, have recognized gay, transexual and bisexual citizens as not only equal, but also completely normal. As the world’s views on sex and sexuality change, so too should the way they are discussed in a classroom setting. Sex education, a subject already in dire need of change in many public schools, is facing a huge challenge: teaching kids to understand any and all sexual preferences and to, in a sense, define truly what sex and sexuality mean to the individual. This could prove a difficult task for high school teachers, but it is an essential step towards liberating students’ beliefs and eradicating ignorance. At a school like RUHS, this idealistic dream of liberal sex education is more than attainable. Although there are still pockets of the school’s population who still use homophobic and genderphobic slurs, the students here are accepting and forwardthinking. It is no secret that there are openly gay students at Redondo, and the fact that these students can feel comfortable revealing something like that is proof of Redon-

ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH BIESCHKE

do’s progressive population. RUHS is, however, an exception to a general rule. In many schools in the US, students are still uncomfortable and, in some cases, frightened of being as open and forthcoming about their sexuality as they are here. The country is not too far removed from a time when it was actually dangerous to openly identify oneself as gay/trans/bi sexual, and in many ways it still is. Despite the drastic social changes of the past few decades, the country still has a lot of catching up to do, and proper sex education can help. It’s time to stop treating sex and sexuality as too taboo or “controversial” to be discussed openly in classrooms, and, most of all, it is time to treat the subject as seri-

Birds and the Bees Freedom is not limited by a person’s gender, the sex with which they identify or their sexual choices and preferences. by Elli Jarmel

ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH BIESCHKE

OPINION

ously as it actually is to every single person. Students in public schools need to understand that one’s sexual organs do not necessarily define one’s sexuality, that there are large numbers of people that do not identify with one sex or the other and, in some cases, identify with both. Sex education should no longer be limited to simple biology because, obviously, it is impossible to define an individual’s sexuality in a few simple words. It’s time to stop focusing on the body and start focusing on the human being that lives inside of it. By making subjects like bi/trans sexuality as well as homsexuality common-place in school curriculum, they become banal, and when they become banal they become ac-

cepted. Gay marriage should be as common in students’ minds as the changing of the seasons. It’s not about how it is taught, but that it is taught at all. By avoiding the subject, schools are giving power to people that would see all trans/bisexual and homosexual kids as powerless. With the topic of sexuality into the light, schools will be pulling many students out of the darkness. We are entering a new age and change starts now.

He’s gay. She’s transsexual. Straight, gay, lesbian, transsexual: these are all just categories. Categories based on one aspect of a person’s identity. Sexuality is just a single aspect of a person and it definitely shouldn’t be able to discount a person’s right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness. There are two sides to the sexuality argument. One side cites civil rights and the humanity in all of us. The other brings up religion, status quo, corruption of the youth and ultimately a fear of societal change. People will have their opinions and picking one side over the other in terms of argumentative merit would just be adding fuel to a constantly controversial inferno. But what we can say, regardless of which side has a better point, is that our country recognizes civil rights and the freedom of humanity in its Constitution. Religion, fear of declining societal morals and evasion of change has no basis in lawmaking and government. While I would never tell someone not to have their own opinion, logic suggests that all laws on the subject of sexuality must favor equality and privacy for all individuals. Just like a person’s race is not the definitive characteristic of their identity, sexual-

ity cannot solely determine how people are judged and given rights. We have progressed as a society to the point where racism is seen as completely taboo. It won’t be long until homophobia is viewed in the same way. As more and more states legalize samesex marriage it is becoming increasingly clear that there is no legal basis for preventing anyone from having a basic right due to sexual preference. Same-sex marriage and the debate of sexuality in granting freedom and rights will be viewed as the civil rights issue of our generation as time progresses. Tolerance does not mean liking everyone. There are groups of individuals who are, by nature, opposed to one another. This is part of humanity and everyone is entitled to his/ her own emotions and opinions. No, having tolerance is accepting that there are people in this world who you do not agree with. Tolerance is respecting and empathizing with those you disagree with while understanding that there is nothing you can do to change them from who they are. As a society, we have to realize that the law has to defend all individuals, regardless of whether or not we agree with them. There is no alternative to equality.

FINAL TALLY:

AGREE

EDITORIAL STAFF VOTE

DISAGREE

4 0

Sometimes labels perpetuate friction and tension be“tween different groups of people. For example, someone

that likes video games is a nerd, or someone that is black is better at sports. That isn’t exactly true, and it’s that mentality when it comes to labels that perpetuates tension in society between groups. Obviously, it’s bad to judge someone on their character before you get to know them, so if we can figure out a way to keep labels while allowing ourselves to have preconceived notions about those labels, it’s still okay. 3

can also be used to embody an entire culture “of Labels people as well, but I think it’s dangerous to do that

because once you identify yourself with other people, in that way you leave yourself open to get judged or discriminated against. But the alternative to labels is having no labels, which is also not viable. 4

In the end, I think it is up to a person to define them“selves, take pride in their personal achievements and take

pride in their character and identify themselves based on a label. Once you begin to identify yourself based on what you take pride in, that’s when people will respect you no matter who you are. Self-characterization is important to human development, but actively campaigning against another group is discrimination. 5

categorizing them. I don’t think that people do it intentionally. I think that it’s just human nature to group people based on what we observe when we first meet them. That being said I don’t think labels should be a defining factor especially in terms of someone’s sexuality. 1

think it’s the label that’s the issue, it’s the ac“tionI don’t that is taken due to a label. There are certain people

that fall within a gradient or a spectrum when you look at peoples’ characteristics, but part of what allows people to relate to one another is if they share a common label or a common characteristic. So people who are of a certain race or a certain sexual preference will find that they like people that fall under that same label. Labels are a way of defining yourself and being proud of who you are. 2

I think that when you look at stereotypes, labels are what “create stereotypes and bring about tension, but I think it’s less about people labelling themselves as it is about people having a problem with what that label perpetuates. What causes stereotypes are not the people that label themselves as such but people who look at other people and define them by stereotypes and have a problem with that. 3

the end it all depends on the individual and how they “areIngoing to look at a person based on their appearance,

race or sexuality, and if some is going to be ignorant and treat them differently based on something like that, then that’s their problem. Society has to recognize that these people are in the minority and that it’s not society as a whole that has a problem.

world without labels could turn into a world with“outAindividuality and community. If everyone’s the same whether or not they are black, white, gay or straight and you simply identify yourself as “human” then you aren’t taking pride in what seperates yourself from others, and it becomes lonely. One of the issues with discrimination 5 if others don’t get along, something is that people think needs to be done. I think it’s human nature for not all people to get along. 5

“

some ways, that is what we have to combat. Just because someone may be different we cannot group them under a label that makes them any lesser or greater than anyone else. 2

It’s human nature to group people into categories. I “think in human history society has understood people by

“

that when anyone applies a label to oneself then “thatI think person is going to be partially defined by that. In

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meen El-Hasan; Stella Gianoukakis; Shawn Mallen; Grace Zoerner Sports Editors: Ted Cavus; Micah Ezzes Photo Editors: Tyler Eisenhart; Justin Lee Copy Editors Deborah Chang; Lauren Diethelm; Angela Kim; Romy Moreno; Chris Paludi Illustrators: Joseph Bieschke; Angela Kim Online Editors: Vivian Lam; Kayla Maanum Staff Writers: Lauryn Alejo; Joseph Blakely; Jennie Bao; Caitlyn Catubig; Jason Clebowicz; Caitlin Cochran; Shaw Coneybeare; Lauren Diethelm; Jason Fong; Vaidehi Gandhi; Nina Gomez; Kelly Harraka; Caterina Hyneman; Eli Jarmel; Roxanne Labat; Stephanie Lai; Sophie Maguy; Shaniya Markalanda; Marie Ona; Chris Paludi; Phoebe Reneau; Jené Price; Amanda Ramos; Chandler Ross; Sophia Ruffo; Reema Saad; Amanda Shaw; Laura Smith; John Webb; Luma Wegman; Cody Williams The High Tide dedicates itself to producing a high-quality publication that both informs and entertains the entire student body. This is a wholly student managed, designed, and written newspaper that focuses on school and community events. The High Tide is published by the journalism class at Redondo Union High School, One Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277. Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the staff writer or cartoonist and in no way reflect the opinions of the other members of the High Tide staff.

don’t think it’s necessary. People are going to be inclined to whatever their body and mind say they are attracted to so there’s no changing it. So the point of labelling is so that people that are against being homosexual or transexual or whatever is so that they can identify those people and stay away from them. 1

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Managing Editor: Alejandro Quevedo News Editor: Jason Rochlin Opinion Editor: Chance King Health Editor: Kayla Nicholls Features Editors: Kira Bowen; Yas-

I think it’s simple. It’s simple just to distinguish one “person from another just like I’m Cody and Eli is Eli, but I

“

Peelor

THE ISSUE: What is the point of labeling people’s sexuality?

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Editors in Chief: Cedric Hyon; Allegra

PHOTOS BY TED CAVUS

“

STAFF

ELI JARMEL

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HIGH TIDE

CODY WILLIAMS

A somewhat friendly debate about relevant politics,current events and modern issues

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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.

FACE FACE

Letters to the Editor

OPINION

AROUND REDONDO

What is your opinion of Facebook’s new sexuality options? compiled by Chris Paludi and Ted Clavus

“I think it’s good “

that they have a wide variety for different kinds of people.

Liesl Takeuchi, 10

“I think it’s fair, “ honestly. You should be able to choose what you identify as.

“ “

Daniel Kelly, 10

“I think it’s good.

Older and younger teachers relate how their generation’s views on sexuality changed over time by Vivian Lam

It is hard to imagine that just 50 years ago, many of the issues people consider normal or common were taboo. However, many of the teachers remember how different times once were. For math teacher Donna Williams’s generation during high school, gays and bisexuals were not as open as they are today. “I had no friends that knew acquaintances that were bisexual or gay,” Williams said. “It wasn’t out there. It wasn’t an issue at all.” Culinary arts teacher Kris Moon agrees with Williams. “I didn’t have a lot of exposure to it in high school. I don’t remember the topic coming up in conversation. There were derogatory words though like, ‘that’s so gay,’ meaning something was off-norm,” Moon said. “We didn’t really see gay people walking down the beach holding hands. You might see people walking together. People just weren’t that open.” Moon believes that clubs and organizations help spread tolerance regarding gays and bisexuals.

“I think that the Gay Straight Alliance are helping. I don’t know about the kids who attend the club or how many kids attend, but I think that organizations like those are helping more people become open-minded,” Moon said. “Obviously, the whole country is now more open-minded.” Unlike Moon’s and Williams’s generations, English teacher Angie Yi’s and science teacher Sanam Shekarchi’s generations are more aware of gays and bisexuals. “My generation, for the most part, has been open to gays and bisexuals. I think it more depends on maybe your religious beliefs and how you grew up.,” Shekarchi said. “I think [young people] are quite tolerant of people’s sexual orientation.” However, Yi feels that her generation was prejudiced against gays and bisexuals when she was younger. “There was still fear of the unknown, which I think is why a lot of people end up becoming homophobic or racist. It’s just we don’t know or understand the other side or this person’s values or morals. I think, in

that sense, people succumb to phobias or discrimination and prejudice,” Yi said. Yi’s views on gays and bisexuals have not changed since she was in high school. “Even back then, I never thought that people who were gay shouldn’t be together,” Yi said. “For me, it was just a matter of a ‘why not?’ kind of thing. Having friends who are gay and me being a sensitive person in general, I just thought it was so sad if they were being discriminated against, if they were called slurs and if they couldn’t be together with the people they wanted.” Yi believes that people are changing their views because of better understanding of gays and bisexuals. “I think a lot of prejudice and discrimination really stemmed from lack of access or lack of exposure to different types of people and from not understanding the lifestyle because it differs with your own moral values, your own lifestyle and culture,” Yi said. “I think now that we are exposed to more diversity, we’re understanding that at the core that they are, at the end of the day, people.”

Modern sexuality

It’s good that they’re recognizing everyone’s choices.

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Social networks like Facebook now offer a variety of sexualities to allow people to identify those with similar interests

Johnathan Ortiz, 12 it’s a good “wayI feel for people to

express their gender, but you have to worry that people won’t take it seriously. Garrett Stribling, 11

“

“It’s good that you

Asexual: those who are not sexually attracted to anyone and/ or have no desire to act on attraction to anyone. Term does not always mean sexless, as asexual people can feel affectional or romantic attraction. Bisexual: those who are attracted to those of the same gender and those of the opposite gender. Does not mean that bisexual people are attracted to all people or that bisexual people have not defined an orientation. Gay: Usually refers to a man who is attracted to men, though it is also used to apply to all who are attracted to the same sex.

can specify your gender based on what you want to be known as.

Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women.

“

Even Cowley, 9

Generational differences

Pansexual: Attracted to someone regardless of gender. Questioning: someone who is unsure of or exploring their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

I don’t care “because it doesn’t

affect me or the majority of people.

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Taylor Vigil, 10

Out of 46 staff members polled... compiled by Alegra Peelor

85% support marriage equality 17% have changed their opinion in the last 10 years

“ Facebook is a

way for people to express themselves and this is just another way for them to do that.

“

Nick McCarthy, 12

6 . FEATURES

89% believe that the student body supports marriage equality 55% had parents that supported marriage equality

compiled by Chris Paludi

[cont. from pg. 1] “Saying that only republicans support gay marriage is unfair, because I think it’s more of a religious thing. If you look at California, which is a liberal state, Prop 8 passed. I think more people, mainly younger people, see it as a civil rights issue. I know conservative people that see it as a civil rights issue as well,” Keller said. Keller sees parallels between the gay rights issues and civil rights movement. “There’s also democrats that don’t support gay marriage. It goes more into religion. I’d like to say to them to look back at history and civil rights issues and that it

Same-sex marriage is legal

looks very similar to the civil rights movement with african americans,” Keller said. “It’s very backwards and very discriminatory because you’re denying these people their rights underneath the constitution.” Keller also has been sponsoring GSA for 9 years. “I wanted to sponsor GSA and I’ve sponsored it since day one, so this is my ninth year. I wanted to do it because there are students that are gay, have family members that are gay and they have a place they can go with people like them,” Keller said. “I’ve seen this club grow so I think it gives kids an

Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage

outlet and lets them talk to each other about what they’re going through.” Even with the progression, Curtis thinks that there is still more to be done for the transgender community. “I think there needs to be a lot of work done as far as health care goes. Currently, as far as I know, the only insurance coverage I know that covers transgender surgeries and medication is Blue Cross, which I’m not on, so it’s a problem for me,” Curtis said. Curtis also hopes to see a society where gender identity isn’t used maliciously. “I would a society where differences were

acknowledged but weren’t used against you. I wouldn’t want troubles about my gender identity to be erased completely, but I don’t want them to be what defines me or what lets people hurt me,” Curtis said. Keller thinks acceptance is the key for the fight to end. “I think that gay rights has become something more accepted, because the younger generation is already so accepting of it,” Keller said. “I think acceptance and education on the issue of gay rights. It’s not wrong or dirty, it’s just two people that love each other dearly.”

Statutory ban on same-sex marriage

Not banned, but not permitted

INFORMATION FROM CNN.COM

Breaking down the trans bathroom law by Chris Paludi

A new California law allows students to do their private business in the bathroom of his/her self-identified gender, regardless of their privates. The School Success and Opportunity Act, Assembly Bill 1266, was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. It mandates that California public schools respect students’ gender identities and ensures that students can choose and fully participate in all school activities, sports teams, programs, and facilities based

on the gender they identify with. “These students are often in fear of their own safety, and their own protection. They’re concerned about being bullied in school,” Ben Hudson of the Gender Health Center told CBS. “In reality, this is about the safety of our trans students.” Assembly Bill 1266 is the first of its kind in the country. Democratic Assembly Speaker John Perez said the law “puts California at the forefront of leadership on transgender rights.” Despite its many supporters, the contro-

versial bill has its opponents as well. Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Institute, criticized the Legislature and governor for spreading liberal values throughout the state. “The answer is not to force something this radical on every single grade in California,” England said. The bill’s’ opponents mainly oppose the new ability of students who are of opposite biological sexes to use the same rest room, regardless of whether or not they mentally identify with the same gender.

“It is not all about discrimination. Elementary and secondary students of California — our most impressionable, our most vulnerable — now may be subjected to some very difficult situations,” said Republican Sen. Jim Nielsen. According to Sen. Ricardo Lara, similar policies have been in effect for years in several major California school districts. “To date there’s been no single reported incident of any misconduct,” Lara said. “Let’s not confuse silly behavior issues with sensitive gender identity issues.”

FEATURES . 7

THEY SEE ME

ROLLIN’

Jeffrey refurbishes old Volkswagen cars

by Amanda Shaw

A-pillar, axle, tachometer, distributor, beltline. These words may not mean anything to you, but they are common terminology for senior McKenzie Jeffrey, who is in the process of building a 4-speed manual 1970s dune buggy that is on a 1962 VW frame with a 2180 VW motor. “What I plan to do is take it to car shows, especially the car shows that my dad’s cousin’s son is invited to. I’m a big desert guy, and we’ve taken it out five times, and the last couple times we actually finally got it running a little bit well. I like to take it out in the desert, where it was built for, and since it is street legal, on a nice day we could take it to the beach and cruise around,” Jeffrey said. Although it may be rare for a senior in high school to be building and working on cars frequently, the world of automobiles is nothing new for Jeffrey. “I’ve always been involved with cars since I was born almost because I started out having Hot Wheels and model cars. My grandpa grew up in the ‘50s so he was really big in cars. I always like being with cars, and I inherited, in my sophomore year, my grandpa’s 1970 GMC pick-up. I always went to car shows and things like that,” Jeffrey said. His dad and grandpa have been large influences on his strong interest in cars from an early age. “It started out mainly with my dad and grandpa, just working out in the garage. It started out with boats really, and learning common things like how a carburetor gives gas to an engine and dealing with maintenance stuff,” Jeffrey said. Although his dad and grandpa have been very influential, his dad’s cousin has been the one to teach Jeffrey the majority of the things he knows about cars. “He was a really big Hot Rod guy, and over the years he’s built cars, and he came

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across this one buggy. It was just sitting in a guy’s backyard, just rotting away, and he was really big in doing dune buggies and Volkswagens back in the day, and he just picked this up. He was just going to do a really quick flip, where they just make sure it’s running and sell it,” Jeffrey said. That was the plan, but they ended up hiring a few painters to paint the buggy, and the project took off from there. “They ended up painting it these sorta early ‘70s, late ‘60s, psychedelic looking colors. It’s mainly green, but if you see pictures of it, it’s just coming at you. Right after it was painted, that’s when I started hanging out with my dad’s cousin. I would go to car shows with him and we shared the same thing. We wanted to work on cars, so he thought it was a good idea to finish the buggy. So right after it got painted, we put everything back together, and made modifications,” Jeffrey said. While Jeffrey has had the opportunity to work on many cars, owning or working on a car like the ‘38 Chevy Coupe that his grandfather used to have, is a dream of his. “When my grandpa was rebuilding the engine in the truck that I got from him, the guy who built the engine did a deal saying, ‘Okay, I’ll rebuild your engine if you give my your ‘38 Coupe.’ And my grandpa says okay, he didn’t want to because he’s still had attachments to it,

and still to this day, in that guy’s backyard, it’s just sitting there. It bugs me that it’s just sitting there because I’d like to bring it back. There might be some little changes I would do to it, but I would bring back how it looked. That’s one of my dream cars I’d like to build,” Jeffrey said. Following in the footsteps of his dad and grandfather in regards to their involvement with cars, Jeffrey hopes to follow the same career path as well. “I want to be a firefighter. My dad is a firefighter, and my grandpa was a firefighter. I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter and then do something with cars because I learned you need money to start out with cars. I don’t know about having a shop. I would just like to build cars,” Jeffrey said. Building and working on cars in general has been a learning experience that has also brought Jeffrey closer to his family. “By going to my dad’s cousin’s house, I’ve learned a lot more. I’m starting to learn how to weld and just work on cars in general. I always think back to when

my dad, and even my dad’s cousin was in high school. They had auto shop. And to me, since we don’t have auto shop on campus, going to my dad’s cousin’s house is my auto shop,” Jeffrey said. For Jeffrey, working on cars is more than just a fun hobby, it’s a way for him to connect with the people he loves. “I think, especially American cars, they show our history throughout the decades. The other thing is, it’s what I’ve discovered is a way to bond with my dad, my dad’s cousin and my grandpa because we’re all working on this one thing, trying to get it running,” Jeffrey said. “It’s really as my dad’s cousin says: it’s therapy. You have a hard day at school or a hard day at work, and just by working out in the garage doing something that you enjoy, that helps you cool off or just have fun.” PHOTO COURTESY OF MCKENZIE JEFFREY

Ragusa writes for self expression by Kelly Harraka

PHOTO BY JUSTIN LEE

Craving Ukraine. Lushch adjusts from Ukrainian life to American customs.

Unfamiliar environment Lushch reflects on moving from Ukraine by Justin Lee

Freshman Maksym Lushch listens intently as he tries to understand the words being spoken to him by a translator-- his eyebrows scrunching closer, his mouth shifting. In Russian, the translator is asking in casual conversation how he likes California. Lushch immediately nods and smiles. “Everything’s beautiful here and interesting and everyone’s happy, more happy than in Ukraine. The first thing I wanted to do when I got to California was go to the beach just to see it, not to actually swim in it,” Lushch said. Lushch moved from Kiev, Ukraine in January of 2014 because of his father’s work. He moved just before the anti-government protests broke out a few miles outside the city from where he lived. “[The protesters] burned down mosaics and paintings, like they burned down museums in the main streets. If I left later I wouldn’t have had the chance to be [in the United States] because it was so dangerous over there,” Lushch said. According to Lushch, things are “cooling

down” now in Ukraine, but earlier in the year, when former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukobych was in power, violence was rampant in the streets. “They started making catapults and they started taking chunks of dirt and earth and concrete and they started chucking it. [The protesters] got into a very big government building, and they killed a lot of people in the government building,” Lushch said. Lushch supports the protests, but thinks that the violence between the anti-government and pro-Yanukobych protesters goes too far. “The protests are alright but there has to be a limit and they shouldn’t be destroying everything,” Lushch said. The protests started after the Ukrainian government accepted a trade deal with the Russians after turning its back on a deal with the European Union. Many of the western Ukrainians who sympathized with western European interests disagreed with the sudden about face. “I think that the situation is all wrong

and that it’s only [president Yanukobych’s] fault. I feel sorry for the Ukranians because they can’t do much about Russia, and America probably can’t do anything for Ukraine or against Russia,” Lushch said. Lushch still has family in Ukraine and frequently skypes with his grandmother to stay up to date with what is happening back home. He doesn’t worry about his grandmother’s safety and believes that the current situation is not enough to stop him from visiting his grandmother this summer. “I left right before it got bad, and right now, things are getting much better. For right now, the circumstances would allow me to be able to see my grandma,” Lushch said. Lushch’s mother, Tetiana Rusakova, agrees with his son about his grandmother. “My mother still lives in Ukraine, and obviously, people are worried that a war may start, but it is common belief that diplomacy will prevail,” Rusakova said, “It is simply impossible to imagine that brothers and sister will start shooting at each other.”

After watching another classic play on TV he decides to create his own. Senior Paolo Ragusa has not only written and produced his own plays, but also plans to stay in the arts in the future. “Last year after watching some movies I just pulled out my phone and started writing my own play,” Ragusa said. He feels very confident in his past creations and wants to make sitcoms similar to the show ‘Friends’. Ragusa’s first play, “Three Dates,” was performed in Redondo Union’s Black Box Theater last year. “The first night didn’t sell out and there were open seats. But, the second performance was not only sold out, but was extremely crowded. I had to grab and set up a lot of seats and even then people were asking if they could sit on the floor in order to see my play,” he said. Despite his enjoyment of the behind the scenes work of a director and casting director, Ragusa loves being on stage and in front of a crowd. “It is the most intoxicating feeling. I always strive to do better when I’m in front of an audience and don’t feel any pressure,” he said. Before going on stage, there are amounts of prepping behind the curtains to get the actor ready to ‘become the character’. “I usually listen to some energy-filled music right before to get my blood flowing. Then I begin to focus on who my character really is,” he said. Ragusa has been involved with theater since the ninth grade and believes he has become a better writer through his English classes over the past four years. “My AP classes have helped me out a lot,” he said. “I want to get deeper in my writing and learn how to tell good stories,” Ragusa said. Due to the great amount of confidence and advice from former upperclassmen in the drama department, he now has three paths that he would like to follow. “They have helped me learn new things about theater. They give me helpful notes to help me see the way my character should be. Their help has made me feel that I want to either become an actor, musician, or a writer,” he said. Ragusa has already sent some of his work to a college to seek approval and feels confident about his future in the arts. “You’re going to see my name somewhere, someday, because I’m never going to give up and I am willing to do the work to get there,” he said.

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Self-discovery as told to Cedric Hyon

Drama teacher Justin Baldridge recounts his experience coming out and his outlook on society

Coming out was not easy. It was really difficult. It’s very normal now because it’s not as big of a deal. I didn’t come out until college. The hardest part was thinking about judgement: how my friends would view me. For the most part, though, it was great. They didn’t freak out or melt down. It was one of t h e

best things I ever did. I was confused on who I am. Once I took that step, the pieces fell into place. I started having questions when I was a junior in high school. I distinctly remember sitting in my kitchen with my best friend Jenniffer. I can remember the conversation word for word. I said, “I have these feelings and I think I’m gay.” She said, “That’s up for you to figure out and I’ll love you no matter what,” and that’s where we left it. I came out to a group of friends in the dorms in college. I said, “I think I am.” We all laughed, then my friend Kristen told me it was National Coming Out day. I had no idea. So I came out that day in 2000. Telling my parents was not a fun experience at all. I had cancer when I was 20, and I had a huge surgery where I was in the hospital for a week in recovery. When I got home I was bedridden for several weeks. It was right around the holidays and I thought to myself that I would wait until my surgeries and chemo were done and then I would take the next step. I was trying to make it easy on my family. That didn’t quite go as planned. My friend’s mom told my mom and then my mom had a meltdown and we had a talk. It didn’t go very well. My mom didn’t start to get comfortable with it until five or six years ago. As for my dad, I never told him, he just sort of figured it out. PHOTO BY JUSTIN LEE

10 . FEATURES

It was both religion and discomfort f o r m y m o m . In hindsight, after my mom calmed down, she talked with me and said she told my grandmother said ‘I think he is gay.’ I asked “When?” and she said since I was about this tall, I was five. She didn’t want to tell me because there’s always that other side that maybe I’m not. I have never told my students. I think that people connect the dots, but I’ve never actually said

it; they just figure it out. Students have never really said anything. I’ve had some people ask me how old I was when I came out, but that’s the only thing that’s come up. My students, especially the ones that have been around for a while, just say, “That’s Mr. B. That’s who he is.” At work, it’s one of those things where you pick and choose who you tell. You don’t know how other people feel; sometimes it makes people uncomfortable if you’re openly gay. But for crying out loud, I worked at Disneyland. I t ’s called t h e happiest place o n earth for a reason. I’ve never really had any pressure to tell people anywhere else. I hate when people use gay as an insult so much. It doesn’t hold any relevance and I don’t understand why that word is used in a negative way. It doesn’t make any sense. The traditional term is used as ‘happy,’ so I don’t understand why people use that in an offensive way. People don’t like being called a derogatory term with their nationality, ethnicity, etc. It’s the same with using gay as a derogatory term. Stereotypes branch out of a little bit of truth, that’s how I like to say it. There are a large number of people that fit into them, and some that don’t fit into them. For the stereotype where they have a lot of girl friends, that’s, for me, very true. I had trouble connecting with guys because they were into sports, and I couldn’t care less. Fashionable stereotypes, there’s truth in that but there isn’t truth in that. There are stereotypes but sometimes I think those stereotypes force people to act a certain way, and they think they need to get into fashion and go out of their way to look good because people are expecting it. Is there a group of gay people that work out a lot? Yes. Is it completely true? No. I don’t know how stereotypes start; it’s bizarre. But there is always some truth in them. I know people that work out all the time. I know people that are obsessed with their looks. The gay best friend: I am that person for many people. I know where those stereotypes come from, but are they always true? Not necessarily. Just be who you are, express who you are and go from there. There were only a couple of moments in middle school where I got bullied. When

you have someone tell you, “That’s so gay, stop doing it,” and when bad things happen, it creates such a bad connotation of middle school. In my high school, there was only one gay guy that came out. One. That’s it. That’s a big difference right there. Now it’s such a casual conversation topic. It’s not as big of an event as it was when I was in high school. I think a lot of TV shows are on the right track by putting gay people on a show. Trying to communicate with people that there’s a normalcy behind it is important. I know that people argue that putting them on TV forces the view on people in the country and they see it negatively. I think the opposite. We need people on TV that represent the gay community because there’s tons of teenagers that don’t connect to anyone on TV. Seeing that gay figure on TV is major for the younger generation. You’re not forcing it on someone, but they have someone to look up to. We need role models for the younger generation to see that there are people like this and that it’s not a freak of nature. It’s real. You can’t change who you are. When I look back, I can see it that I was gay, and that I totally knew but I didn’t know. There was no role model for me to relate. If I had that, I would’ve come out a lot sooner. That’s where the LGBT community needs to promote so that it can be accepted in society. I ignore arguments against gay people.I’m not going to stand here and argue because it’s going to be a pointless argument because people hold on to those beliefs, and they are entitled to their beliefs. I don’t think anyone chooses this. People don’t choose to be straight, they just wake up and are attracted to the opposite sex. Same with gay people, they wake up and they’re attracted to the same sex. It’s not a choice. I think the biggest thing is making sure that having race, sex, sexual orientation, gender, religion, etc. not being associated with work. Other states can fire you because you’re gay. That’s not right. After marriage, I would say we should focus on the fact that people shouldn’t be penalized or fired from a job because of who they like. On behalf of the gay community, just be yourself, like I tell my students all the time. Just be yourself. If someone doesn’t like you, don’t talk to them again. Move on and be with people that support you. Why surround yourself with negativity? Surround yourself with people that love you and are positive.

BEING STRONG BEING BRAVE BEING YOU

Band teacher Raymundo Vizcarra shares his story and his opinion of revealing sexuality as told to Cedric Hyon

I’m not really sure if I had a first experience coming out. It wasn’t something I thought about. It wasn’t really a big event for me. So what if I’m gay? I shouldn’t have to label myself; I’ve always felt that way. Sometimes they say your mom always knows, and there’s some truth in that, but whether or not they accept it is the question. I told her. It was difficult because my mom is really religious, so it took the help of my siblings to help her understand. My siblings were really supportive and are usually the first ones to know or to figure it out. I don’t want to have to go out and tell people that this is who I am. You are who you are, and you should just accept it. I let my students figure out on their own. I thought it would be tough with middle school students, but I’ve taught at two middle schools, and it’s never been an issue. They don’t ask and I don’t tell them either. Sometimes a kid will make a snickering comment and right away a student will say, “Hey man, don’t you know Mr. V is gay?”It’s never been an issue and they’ve never asked me because they can just look me up online in this day and age of research. My husband has been the mayor of West Hollywood and we celebrated our tenth anniversary on March 28. He’s so supportive of me and my music program. We married in California in 2004 at the same time San Francisco was doing their weddings of same-sex couples. That’s when Prop 8 started coming about. We did it to make a statement. We did a domestic partnership but we celebrated it because we eventually became married as well. We wanted to make sure it would happen in case of Prop 8. I just wanted to make sure that if something were to happen to either of us we would be able to visit each other; it’s heart wrenching knowing that there are some people that have loved each other for many years and you can’t see them in the hospital because of some law. Even within the gay community, they haven’t really sent out the right message as

to why marriage is important to us. What I want to stress is that it’s not a religious issue. People don’t seem to realize that church and state are different. Churches think that the state will force them to marry people if a certain law passes, but church and state are different. Churches have gotten so much into politics that they don’t realize that they don’t have to do anything if they don’t want to, since they’re separate. We just want the same rights as everyone else does currently. We don’t want to go into your church to get married, we just want to be safe. Our message just has to be plain and simple. We don’t want to force your churches to marry us; we just want our rights to protect us. The gay community has to get that message across. I hope that the gay community can get the message across to afford the same rights as everyone else. As much as everyone say its not a civil rights issue, this is the civil rights issue of this time. Just let people be. I feel really confident that it’s changing fast, because it’s not a big deal anymore. Times are changing and the younger generation is not even going to care. They’re going to say, ‘Really? We’re still fighting about this?’ I’m very proud of what I am, even as a teacher. My students have always been so accepting of who I am and my family, especially in band. The kids will say hi to my husband, Jeff, and the parents have been

[cont. on pg. 12]

PHOTO BY JUSTIN LEE

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It’s all the same love

Sixty years ago, it was civil rights; then it was women’s rights; today, it’s gay rights Equal Signs. The human rights campaign (HRC) is one of the most prominent national LGBT rights organizations. Male gender symbols. Two male gender symbols symbolize a male-male relationship.

Transgender. Symbols identifying transvestites, transsexuals, intersexuals, and other transgender people frequently combine modified gender symbols.

Bisexual. The magenta stripe represents same-gender attraction, the blue stripe represents opposite-gender attraction, and the lavender stripe represents attraction toward both genders.

[cont. from pg. 11]

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PHOTO BY JUSTIN LEE

so helpful and they couldn’t care less about who I am because of what I provide for their kids and they appreciate what I bring for them. If you’re not hiding anything then you don’t have to be scared. I hate insults, especially the f-word. Gay has been a word that used to mean happy--it still does mean happy--but there’s so many connotations. Whenever I heard students use it negatively, I would cringe a little bit. I would ask a kid why they would say that word. It started with educating my nieces about that word. After teaching in high school, I realized it’s a normal word that they might use. To me it’s not such a big deal now because it’s just an idiom they use like OMG. It’s not malice when they use it. But the f-word is the worst. I hate that word. It’s the equivalent of calling someone the n-word. I’ve never had someone confront me about being gay in a negative way. Most of the time an argument will be about the Bible. I’m totally prepared to answer back because I know there are certain things in the Bible I can use to defend myself, because there are plenty of other things that we can’t do, according to the Bible. I’m religious. I believe in God. But I don’t let religion get in the way of

Inverted Triangle. The pink triangle was originally used to mark homosexuals in Nazi Germany. It was ressurrected in the 1970s as a symbol for the gay rights movement.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN LEE

They can’t change, even if they tried. Best friends Arriola (left) and Mosleh realized they were lesbian at about the same time. Female gender symbol. Two female gender symbols represent a female-female relationship.

Lambda. The lambda was first chosen as a gay symbol when it was adopted in 1970 by the NY Gay Activists Alliance. It was probably chosen because it is the Greek lower-case “L” for liberation.

who I am. It’s annoying that people try to use that because religion is a great thing for certain people. In high school, church was the happiest time in my life. But once a priest was talking about gay people, and I felt that he was attacking me and that he didn’t want me there. You feel a sense of happiness and security in church, but when it’s taken away from you, who wants to go to church? I pray at night, I pray to God, I ask for things, I promise things and I’ve been happy with my relationship with God. Until they accept me for who I am, I won’t be too involved in the church. For now, it’s just me and God. I believe that we’re here for a reason and we’re sent to do certain things. It’s just not a big deal to me. I don’t live my life as a gay man; it’s just who I am. I don’t go out of my way telling people that I’m gay. You are who you are and people either accept you or they don’t. It’s all in who you are. They may not like someone’s actions or traits. Even for me, there are some gay people I don’t want to hang out with. You just don’t get along with certain people and it’s not because of their label, it’s because of their actions. You are what you do.

Arriola and Mosleh came out together

Seeing Arriola’s bravery in coming out, Mosleh found inspiration to come out to her family by Cedric Hyon

Two best friends, oppressed by society, take on a world that does not approve of them. Seniors Morgane Arriola and Jessica Mosleh, presidents of Gay-Straight Alliance, came out together. “I was a sophomore when I first admitted it to myself, but it was about six months before I said it to anyone. I wasn’t totally sure of myself or anything, so I waited six months just to make sure I wasn’t going through a phase or anything,” Arriola said. Arriola’s bravery inspired Mosleh, who was in denial as well, to come out. “When she said it, it didn’t click to me because I was in denial, but then I realized she was strong enough to admit it, so it helped me realize I felt the same way, and I should be able to say it like she did,” Mosleh said. Mosleh was in denial because she was scared of how her classmates would react. “I feel most people always have that little feeling, but when you’re little you don’t understand

what it is. I remember that 8th grade people were suspecting because of rumors, and that put me in more denial,” Mosleh said. “In middle school, people are super immature, and the name calling took me to a stage of denial. When Morgane came out, it opened me to say something, and I met other gay people, and I just felt more comfortable.” Mosleh’s friends and family ended up being supportive when she came out in high school. “For my friends, I knew everyone would be supportive, so I was okay with telling them. They were all laughing, and it was fine; no one judged me. Everyone in high school is matured and really cool about it, so they weren’t mean to me,” Mosleh said. “I told my mom, and it was really really really nerve wracking. I told her because I had been keeping it from my mom for a while, and my girlfriend and I wanted to tell her so that she wasn’t upset when she found out.” Arriola’s mom was also supportive when she came out.

“I told my mom last year at the beginning of the year. We’re super close and she’s super openminded too. She was just surprised, not mad, but surprised,” Arriola said. However, Arriola does not like to define herself as a lesbian. “I don’t like to put a label on myself. I don’t think there’s 100%. I think that everyone falls on a spectrum, and I don’t feel on one end of the spectrum. I’m not disgusted by guys, but I’m not attracted to them either,” Arriola said. Arriola also likes to keep her sexuality private. “I don’t see it as necessary to tell people unless they ask me or if they’re family or close friends. It’s not what defines me; it’s just a part of me. I don’t try to hide it, but I won’t put it out there.” Mosleh does the same. “I don’t think it’s something that you should mention when you meet a person, and you don’t have to be in their face about it,” Mosleh said. “In a way, your sexuality is something private. I just say it if they ask.”

FEATURES . 13

To her, being a girl does not mean wearing dresses and doing girly things. In fact, she does not even see herself as a girl or a boy. Junior Luna Hijikata discovered that she was agender during the end of her sophomore year. Hijikata has always resented being the girly type since she was young. “I’ve just never really been a super girly type,” Hijikata said. “I’ve never really felt all that girly and I’ve never liked shopping around and wearing dresses.” Not until the end of sophomore year did she discover the term “agender.” “I know for a fact in freshman year I still didn’t know, it was probably just last year in sophomore year that I started finding out about all of these different types of genders, and when I looked into that I realized that I was agender,” Hijikata said. She first became open about it when she was with her friends, one of which who wanted to be transgender. “Last year, one of my old friends wanted to be transgender, so that was when I casually mentioned it once, and they were okay

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compiled by Kayla Nicholls

fication options on the gender classification. “Agender is one of the more unknown bits of the gender spectrum, so I don’t know who else is agender,” Hijikata said. “I’ve never actually heard someone say that they are agender.” Although Hijikata is open about it with her friends, she is not with her mom, since her mom is not aware of different gender preferences. “I’m from a Japanese family and agender is not really known to Asian cultures, so my mom doesn’t know,” Hijikata said. “I won’t tell her because she would probably be confused. She does know that I’m not really girly, though.” Although her mom understands that she is not girly, she still forces her to wear dresses to formal events. “She’s a difficult parent,” Hijikata said. “When I have to go to piano concerts, she tells me to wear my dress when I don’t want to.”

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Pansexuality

Agender

Agender or Genderlessness is the experience of having no gender identity. Gender neutral or neutrois is the experience of having a neutral gender identity. Some agender people feel that: • They have no gender identity, while others feel that agender is itself a gender identity. • They are gender neutral or having a neutral gender identity.

14 . FEATURES

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about it,” Hijikata said. “They believed me, but we just took it casually. We didn’t sit down s mo a and have a serious talk about it; it yR nd was just casually mentioned and they acMa y b cepted it.” Although she is agender, it does not affect how she feels about other people. “It’s not really like a how I feel kind of thing, It’s my own personal preference. I

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don’t care what everybody else is,” Hijikata said. Being agender does not change a person and her opinions on people, according to Hijikata. “Gender preference doesn’t really change a person or who they are, it’s just how they read themselves as a gender. It doesn’t change your opinions on people,” Hijikata said. Hijikata does not know anyone else who has the same gender preference, due to it being one of the more unknown identi-

(nonbinary.org)

Pansexuality, also referred to as omnisexual, is expressing or involving sexuality in many different forms. It describes a way of thinking where sexual instinct plays a part in all human thoughts and activities but has evolved to mean a person that is capable of falling in love with and/or having a sexual attraction to a person regardless of where they stand on the gender/sexuality spectrum. Pansexuals can be attracted to cismen, ciswomen, transmen, transwomen, intersex people, androgynous people, and everything else. (oxforddictionary.com)

roud and loud

Senior Jeanette Higgins recently discovered her pansexuality

by John Webb

There are several common responses to a person coming out, but the one that senior Jeanette Higgins gets the most is a confused face, and asking what is pansexuality anyway? “I really don’t think that my sexuality has ever given me an advantage or disadvantage because a lot of people don’t know about my sexuality,” Higgins said. “But maybe that in itself is a disadvantage.” This is not surprising though, as Higgins herself did not know what it was at first, and would not have heard about it if not for a crush she developed. “I came out in eighth grade as bi because I was sure I liked both boys and

girls,”Higgins said. “A year later I developed a crush on a transsexual guy, so I Googled all about sexuality and stumbled on pansexuality.” After reading the definition of pansexuality, Higgins began to notice that it sounded very similar to how she felt, with a slight change, it fit her perfectly. “Pansexuality means that you are open to a relationship with anyone, without regard to gender, race, sexuality, etc.,” Higgins said. “My view on it girls,” is that I am attracted to your personality, not your body or gender.” Since most people she talks to do not know about pansexuality at first, there is some “understandable” confusion about it, so some people can be rude. “People call me bi, because they say that there are only two genders, but that’s not true,” Higgins said. People assume that if she is open to a relationship with anyone, she is bi. This is not the case, however. Despite the misunderstandings she faces, Higgins could not imagine herself being different. “It would be really weird to me if I wasn’t pansexual,” Higgins said. “I

would hope I would still be as open as I am with other sexualities. I probably wouldn’t have had some of the relationships I’ve had before if I wasn’t pansexual.” Her sexuality has changed who she is, so Higgins feels she would be a very different person if she were straight for many reasons. “Being pansexual has definitely changed my life,” Higgins said. “I am now way more understanding and interested in other sexualities.” Jeanette’s close friend, senior Shelby Salerno, has always tried to help Higgins feel accepted. She is very “kind” toward Higgins and supports her “completely.” “I am happy for her,” said Salerno. “I love that she can fall in love with whomever she wants with no real limitations.” Salerno is very proud of Higgins for coming out and not being afraid to show people who she really is. “I highly respect Jeanette, considering she is so open and nonchalant about her sexuality. In today’s society, revealing one’s sexual standing takes a lot of courage,” said Salerno.

PHOTO BY CEDRIC HYON

Either or. As a pansexual, Higgins does not find a gender preference in attraction.

Not the ‘average’ son for his family

One student has had trouble coming out to his family because they might judge him by John Webb

Charlie Anderson* has recently discovered coming out is a very stressful, challenging thing, and people’s responses do not make it easier. Anderson has known he was bisexual since eighth grade, but only started coming out last year, due to problems he has had in the past with bullies. However, he has a completely different reason for not telling his family. “My brother isn’t exactly up to par with everyone else in the family,” Anderson said. “So I’ve had to be what my family needs in an average son.” Anderson’s brother has Asperger’s Syndrome, so he often feels as if he needs to fit into the mold of a “normal” son for his family’s sake. This is difficult, though, because he does not even fit into society’s view of the average bisexual person. He does not consider not fitting into that

view as bad, however. “There’s a lot of problems where people think we’re more likely to cheat than a straight person, or that we’re lying about who we are,” Anderson said. According to Anderson, many people also view bisexual men as being effeminate, or as liars while bisexual girls are seen as hot, a view which, in his opinion, does not apply to him. “I think it’s harder for a guy to be bi than gay, because a lot of people think that bi men are just gay guys who won’t come out, and that we don’t really exist,” Anderson said. Some people also have called him “half gay,” which he also does not agree with. In addition, he has gotten some ignorant and rude responses to his coming out. “The worst things I’ve been told are ‘wait

a few years, you’ll pick a side,’” Anderson said, “Or, ‘stop being greedy, figure out what you want.’” He has received positive reactions, often from his close friends.The response are usually neutral at first, or delayd as the meaning of his words is contemplated. “Probably the most common reaction is ‘oh,’” said Anderson, “But my favorite one has to be, ‘oh, that makes sense.’” Ever since he found out he was bisexual, Anderson has been more sensitive to homophobia. His good friend Olive Baker has also become more sensitive to homophobia. “Homophobia makes me upset. Everyone has the right to be who they truly are and no one should stand in their way,” Baker said. “It is different now that I know Charlie is bi, because he experiences homophobia and I can see how it affects him. It makes

me sad that other people want to make fun of people like that.” Though she is good friends with Anderson, Baker does not entirely agree with his decision to keep his family in the dark about such a big part of his life. “I will support Charlie in whatever decision he makes, because he is my friend,” Baker said. “However, I think that at some point he will have to tell his parents.” Although they do not agree on everything, Baker has always tried to be a good friend for Anderson. “This knowledge definitely has not changed my opinion of him as a person,” Baker said. “He is my friend, and when he came out to me, he needed my support. I still see Charlie as the same guy I met freshman year, before he told me. Whether he is with a guy or girl, that won’t change.” *name has been changed

FEATURES

Coach Mickey Franco will be remembered by Caitlyn Catubig

With hundreds of players and hundreds of matches to his name, beloved and honored RUHS tennis coach Mickey Franco passed away on January 18th at the age of 75. According to senior and tennis player, Czarina Goingco, Mickey coached for over 40 years and influenced all of his tennis players. “Mickey was a very passionate person. The most caring person you could ask for. He helped anybody no matter how mean he or she was were to him. He was just really helpful,” Goingco said. “I’ve been with a lot of other coaches, and I haven’t seen someone take so much of his time to help other kids.” Mickey spent many hours with his players to make sure that they were “at the top of their game.” “He had this persistence to see you do well. Other coaches, if they see you fail, they might be like, ‘Whatever.’ But when he saw you put your best foot forward and put all your effort into something, he would help you, improve you. If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t even be on varsity. Mickey never wanted any of his players to fail, because if you were willing to put in the effort, he would put in his own time and effort too,” senior and tennis player MiinJiuan Tsay said. No matter the circumstances, Mickey showed dedication towards the program and his players. “I would say he was the bravest, most generous and most influential person I have ever known. He went through cancer and

Coming Out

Iron man. 1. Mickey spending time with some of the players (from left to right) an alumni tennis player, Mickey and Senior Miin Jiun Tsay. Many of the players adored and respected him for the strength and perseverance he displayed as he fought cancer. 2. Miin-Jiuan Tsay poses with Mickey and a tennis award on the field. “If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t even be on varsity. If you were willing to put in the effort, he would put in his own time and effort too,” Miin-Jiuan Tsay said.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIIN-JIUAN TSAY

Freshman Alex Ruybalid has opened up to his friends about being gay

PHOTO BY JUSTIN LEE

16. FEATURES

had been in the hospital multiple times, but he had the will to fight whatever sickness he had because he loved teaching tennis. It was his entire life and he would be back on the tennis courts as soon as he got out of the hospital,” Tsay said. Mickey was able to use his love for tennis as a way to remind players to not just play the sport, but to enjoy and do their best while doing it. “He really enjoyed doing what he did. Some other coaches might just be in it for the money. He didn’t put his emphasis on winning. He put it on you doing your best,” Tsay said. “If you did your best, he didn’t care if you won or lost a match. I respected everything about him; it’s hard to pinpoint one thing. He was just a great person.” According to Tsay, “he was more than a coach; he was family.” “He was really scary and I thought it would be really hard to deal with him, especially because he was partly deaf when I first met him and had to shout in his ear a lot. I thought he was just going to be another old man, someone who would be really strict. Instead, he turned out to be completely different,” Goingco said. “I didn’t even want to play tennis, and the only reason why I wanted to play was to avoid pre-season soccer. So I was very close-minded before I met him. After being with him for a while now, he’s opened my mind to a lot of things, making me think about new things. If he was to teach me a new move in tennis, it wouldn’t just be another lesson for tennis; it would be a lesson for skills I can use for other things in life.”

By Sophia Ruffo

He walks through the hallways ready to face the world, tall, strong and confident. Why? He’s accepted that he’s gay. Freshman Alex Ruybalid had the courage to challenge the status quo and come out. According to Ruybalid, after coming out, he is more free to be who he is and he feels more comfortable around his friends. “It’s easier to meet people who are like you and who you can be better friends with. I do feel more comfortable around my friends because I know that when they see me, they see me as their friend, not their ‘gay friend,’” Ruybalid said. Ruybalid did not always know that he was gay. He does not remember realizing it. “I think it just kind of happened over time. I never actually realized I was gay. But I accepted it for the most part in 8th grade,” Ruybalid said. According to Ruybalid, he never had a huge coming out, he let himself accept his sexuality and told his friends if they asked.

“It kind of felt like I was lying to my friends. Also, it does suck that if you like someone, you can’t do anything about it. Being closeted is really like being shoved into a box, and wanting to get out, but being afraid to. I never really did it straight out. It was really just a turning point for me when I didn’t care who knew, and if they asked they could know.” When Ruybalid came out people reacted in different ways, most of his friends accepted him, while others didn’t. “I didn’t really know what to expect. Usually, the reactions vary from person to person. Most people didn’t really believe it. Some people think that all gay people have to be feminine and I really didn’t fit that stereotype I guess. It really changes how people look at you, and that’s not always good, and if the way people look at you changes, who you are changes,” Ruybalid said. According to Ruybalid, Some people believe they can change his gender preference.

“Well, when someone doesn’t believe it, they may try to ‘change’ me, but usually that is just funny to me. They just try to convince me that I’m not gay. That they knew that better than me, but like I said, that ispretty funny,” Ruybalid said. Although he is open about his sexuality with his friends, Ruybalid has not told his parents. “I never told my parents. To me, it shouldn’t matter to them. I don’t care if they know. I never thought it was relevant for them to know. For most parents they have to rethink everything they know about their child and I just did not want them to go through that,” Ruybalid said. For people thinking of coming out, Ruybalid’s advice is lighthearted, but resonates deeply. “You might be scared, but do it. It isn’t as bad as it seems, and it’s much more relieving when you do. Plus, you can make a lot of cool friends when you do,” Ruybalid said.

Making every single minute count

Ledesma cherishes all the time she spends with her dad as she faces reality; he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer by Vaidehi Gandhi

She thinks of the summertime, the bands she will see and all of the places she will explore--but she also thinks of her future: a future which will not include her father’s further guidance, and her father’s further support. Freshman Sydni Ledesma’s father was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year, and it has spread to the lower half of his body. Ledesma admires her father’s strength and will to persevere even in the fourth stage of cancer. “Sometimes I forget he even has cancer because he’s always saying, ‘Let’s go do stuff,’ and keeping me intact, he gets up and helps me,” Ledesma said. “He really is my rock.” Ledesma moved from Missouri to Redondo with her father in August of 2013 after finding out about her father’s cancer. “My dad grew up out here and he said that if he were to die or if something were to happen to him, he just wants me to have a happy childhood and do the kinds of things that I was not able to do in Missouri,” Ledesma said. “He wants me to have a chance.” Ledesma gets much encouragement and inspiration from her father to pursue different things and take advantage of various op-

portunities. “Being out here with my dad and knowing he’s my number one go-to-guy and will be right there behind me even if I make mistakes gives me so much more confidence. It really helps,” Ledesma said. Ledesma finds that doing things in Redondo is much more worthwhile because of the “vibes, people, and schools.” “In Missouri, I couldn’t go to the beach and our weather out there is really bipolar. We never got to experience things outside much,” Ledesma said. Ledesma plans to pursue different things not just for herself, but also for the sake of her father. “A big part of what I do is for my dad, especially because he isn’t out here a lot because of chemo. He’s so excited to see me do things like that and whenever he’s here he wants to do things with me like go to the beach,” Ledesma said. “He inspires me to do everything.” Ledesma finds that she and her father can do many more things here in Redondo, and has further developed her relationship with him. “Honestly, he’s like my best friend and I can just talk to him about everything.

.1.1. Fatherly love. 1. Ledesma and her father go to a weekend cottage for his birthday. 2. Ledesma and her father spend time together. “He inspires me 2. 2. to do everything,” she said.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SYDNI LEDESMA

Knowing that he’s not going to be here for that long makes me just want to enjoy everything with him and appreciate everything he does,” Ledesma said. “Even if he doesn’t do a lot, I know that his intentions are good. I love our relationship.” Though Ledesma is saddened by the thought of losing her father, she has learned to simply enjoy things and appreciate what she has. “I’ve learned that I can’t take things for

granted because you never know what’s going to happen next. It’s sad to think that one day your dad might not be able to walk down the aisle or hold your grandchildren-it’s hard,” Ledesma said. Despite that, Ledesma thinks of things she can do to make her father’s remaining time worthwhile. “I’ve also learned to really appreciate things because even the little things I do are the biggest things to my dad,” Ledesma said.

FEATURES . 17

Derby Girls by Cedric Hyon

Horoshack and Collazo explain the culture of roller derby

Jammer. 1.Horoshack and Collazo prepare for their roller derby practice. 2. Horoshack skates in the pack. 3. Savannah Navarro, a member of the team, skates during practice.

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN LEE

18 . FEATURES

Pain. Falling down. Cuts on the knees, elbows and legs. All for the sake of sport. With enough players, Redondo students are starting their own scrimmage team for roller derby. Roller derby is a mainly female sport where the goal is to get one player, the jammer, around the rink while avoiding blockers. “There’s one jammer on each team and she is the lead scorer for the team, and they have a star on their helmet; there’s also 4 blockers on each team. The jammer has to pass all the blockers and go around the rink. Every time they do that they get a point.” There are enough people to start a scrimmage roller derby team at Redondo, and the team has been preparing for their f i r s t bout. “ We finally have a lot of people that participate in roller derby and at least 8 girls from Redondo that are on derby with us,” Senior Jessica Horoschack said. “ We ‘ re starting a new family so it’s really fun. There’s an A and B team, and the scrimmage team will combine both of them. We’re preparing for our first bout, which is in mid-April.” According to Horoschack, roller derby creates a new persona. “We all have a number, a derby name and are all almost reunited in a new identity. Everyone calls you by your derby name. Mine’s Jesstruction,” Horoshack said. “It takes a lot of time to find a derby name that’s perfect because it has to be a good pun. I wanted to combine my name and have it be unique.” Sophomore Tori Collazo finds the bonding within the team better than any of the other teams she has been in. “Once you join, they’re very accepting. Even if you don’t know how to skate, they’re really accepting and you can find different friends and different friend groups. In other teams, if you didn’t know how to skate, they didn’t really like you,” Collazo said. The team’s size also contributes to the team bonding. “Because our team is so small, there’s lots

of bonding. Once you start a connection, you can start connections with everyone else. What our coach says is that even if you have a problem with someone, you need to leave it outside. On the track, we are sisters,” Collazo said. The team practices three times a week and focuses on improving themselves individually. “We practice with the adults and we start this whole bonding in the league. We play with all the teams in beach cities and with adult teams. Our practices are really extensive, so we do a lot of cardio and stamina workouts to be able to withstand an hour of constantly roller skating in a game while moving really fast.You gotta be quick on your feet,” Horoschack said. Because of her experience in the sport, Collazo can give input to other team members also. “Because I’m comfortable with the overall game, I get to teach other people. I can say ‘you shouldn’t do that because this person is trying to get through.’ It’s all because I’m comfortable with skating,” Collazo said. The team practices with more experienced players to raise the standards in practice. “In our practices, we do a lot of practicing on the blocking and the jamming. We have really good skaters that have been ice skaters, so they know how the game works,” Horsochack said. “What helps us a lot is that we practice with adults in their 20s and they’re amazing. They come and teach us their skills, so we get to improve way faster. When you practice with people better than you, you learn a lot faster.” According to Horoschack, the technique for roller skating is different from rollerblading. “We are not associated with rollerblading at all; rollerblading is so lame. It’s a lot of technique; you need to be comfortable on your skates,” Horoschack said. “Transitions are one of our go-to moves. It’s basically turning around while continuing to skate really fast. There’s a lot of jumping and skating backwards. but it’s all about being comfortable on wheels and having balance.” Horoschack also claims that there is a much deeper, emotional side to roller derby. “You fall a lot. You get hurt. That’s just how it is. There’s yelling, crying, sweat, but there’s so much physical contact. You’re literally on top of your team, and there’s no boundaries. Sometimes there’s even guys touching you,” Horoschack said. Roller derby, according to Horoschack, requires a lot of understanding and a certain level of concentration. “You just understand yourself and your body. You’re gonna fall, and you’re gonna get hurt, but that’s the fun of it. Some girls want to do cheerleading or soccer, but roller derby has so much more to it. There’s different aspects that other sports don’t do. You’re gonna get hurt, but you’re just gonna come back up again and you’re gonna keep trying.”

Finding the right fit

Athletes share college acceptances and look towards the future

by Sophie Maguy

Taleigh Williams

PHOTO BY TED CAVUS

Williams committed to Bridgette Schneider playing softball at Utah Schneider is attending the Uni- Valley University PHOTO BY KAMILA AOURAGH

versity of Michigan in the fall to play water polo The University of Michigan is going to receive an “enthusiastic” new student athlete in senior Bridgette Schneider next coming fall. “I can’t really pick a favorite thing about Michigan. It’s more of the fact that it has everything I’m looking for in a college and more tremendous school spirit, top notch athletic programs, and outstanding academics,” Schneider said. She is also anticipating the numerous customs that are in store at her future college. “Maybe I’m most looking forward to the traditions: the snowball fight at midnight after the first snowfall of the year, the “Mock Rock” variety show the athletes perform in every year, the rivalry against Ohio State and a whole load of other traditions,” Schneider said. Playing water polo at the University of Michigan will only add to her excitement and enthusiasm for the school, as the play gets more intense in college. “As for water polo, I’m looking forward to playing at a higher level. Everyone in college is faster, smarter, and stronger and so games are a lot more exciting. I’m looking forward to being a part of that experience and contributing to the program,” she said. Schneider’s energy about being committed to attend the University of Michigan can be summed up into two of her favorite words: “Go Blue!”

After committing to play softball at Utah Valley University, senior Taleigh Williams is excited about the opportunities that await her next fall. “I’m looking forward to finally be able to practice and play with my college team-they seem like a great bunch of girls and I can’t wait to be in the game instead of watching from the bleachers,” Williams said. Her enthusiasm is in large part due to the encouragement she has received from her future teammates. “I’ve met a few of the girls at a camp I went to and they are all very friendly and all the coaches are bursting with energy. Both the coaches and the girls are very easy to talk to,” she said. Williams is not only looking forward to the team that she is joining, but also attending the beautiful campus of UVU. “It’s really pretty. The campus is all indoors in convenience of the snow, it overlooks a lake, the off campus apartments are to die for and since BYU is right down the street, you get the ultimate college experience,” Williams said. Even though she believes that it will be “the ultimate college experience,” Williams does believe that college will be more difficult than high school. “I think it’s going to be much more difficult in college because you don’t have your parents there to help you like you do in high school,” she said. Although college seems daunting, Williams is overall excited for the beginning of her journey at Utah Valley University.

Abril Bustamante

PHOTO BY MATT MARDESICH

Although Bustamante is only a junior, she already committed to USC to play beach volleyball Junior Abril Bustamante has committed to the University of Southern California for beach volleyball and already “loves” her future environment. “I fell in love with the school as I got a campus tour. It’s so nice-I love it,” Bustamante said. “I love all of the facilities and how the athletes are treated-they have a bunch of privileges and I know I’ll be in good hands. From the coaching to the nutritionist to the physical therapist, and there are a bunch of other perks.” USC has appealed to Bustamante not only in appearance, but also in sport and their school system. “I am looking forward to the education they have there and to well representing the school through my sport, along with getting better at volleyball,” she said. The positive vibes she has received from the team at USC has also increased Bustamante’s spirit towards the school. “I know a lot of the girls on the team. They’re all really good athletes and very nice and smart,” she said. Bustamante believes that “college will be much more demanding, yet more fun” than high school. Nevertheless, she intends to“fight on!”

FEATURES

Athlete of the issue: Kelsie Currie

An all-around team player

Kelsie Currie looks to inspire her teammates with her hard work and positive attitude by Jason Clebowicz

Between working at Wanna Chill, being ASB Vice President and doing homework for her AP classes, senior Kelsie Currie spends her time being the captain of Varsity girls’ lacrosse. Being a relatively new sport, girls’ lacrosse was new for Currie coming into high school. She recalls wanting to try the sport out and eventually really enjoying it. “In freshman year I was curious about trying it, and decided I might as well. I got really into it, and now its become my main sport and a big part of my life,” Currie said. Currie’s decision to play lacrosse created a group of friends she would of never thought possible in her future. “It’s funny because through lacrosse I’ve become friends with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. We’ve become so dynamic in the way we play and work together,” Currie said. Since the sport doesn’t have the recognition of other sports, it has been hard for Currie to find inspiration for her sport. “It’s been difficult for me to find inspiration for lacrosse because it is a new sport and isn’t advertised well. I just have coach Borgia as my mentor and role model,” Currie said. According to Currie, her biggest strength

20 . SPORTS

is to be able to remain positive and keep her teammates focused when the game isn’t going well. “I think the best thing I bring to the field is my communication with my teammates and my defense. I try to always think positive and keep my head in the game, and talk to my team to tell them to keep their focus and that we can do it. I try to be a leader on defense and keep the team together by doing my best,” Currie said. To achieve these strengths, Currie likes to keep a collective yet focused mentality, which helps her perform under stress and keep the team together. “When I play I try to stay calm yet intense at the same time. I try to level out everyone and keep the team’s focus up and cheer on my teammates,” Currie said. Currie believes that it is important to be friends as much as teammates with other lacrosse players, and she tries her hardest to make a connection with every person on her team. “I think it’s really important to have a personal relationship before being teammates. That way, you will have a good foundation to build on when you play together. It helps the team build chemistry which helps you play better as a team on the field,”

Currie said. Her teammate, Allie Vorndran, sees Currie as a dependable teammate and as a good friend off the field. “[Currie] and I get to play a lot together because we both play the same position together. We’ve really bonded over the past year because we share the same intensity on the field and have a great personal connection outside of the sport as well,” Vorndran said. For Currie, lacrosse is as much as physical game as it is mental, and enjoys the exciting yet complex traits of the game. “Lacrosse is exhilarating and such a different game for me. It makes you think and you have to be able to anticipate where to be at the right time. It’s a lot of thinking and running but thats the reason I love to play,” Currie said. Her interest for the lacrosse has grown over her high school experience and she considers it to be one of her strongest passions. “[Lacrosse] is definitely one of my passions. I really enjoy playing and feel a need to do it everyday. I don’t know where I’d be without lacrosse and all the time I’ve spent in high school playing it,” Currie said. This passion has lead to her success, and

she has won multiple awards for her achievements on the field. “In freshman year I won the JV Coaches Award, then my junior year I won defender of the year for varsity as well as first team All Bay League,” Currie said. Currie is also ASB Vice President as well as an employee at Wanna Chill. She says that she likes to keep herself busy but managing her time between the three can be a challenge. “Between everything I do for school, work and lacrosse its really hard to fit it all together and balance everything out. It leaves me almost zero free time which is hard on my friends, but I still manage to find time for them. I just have always liked keeping myself busy and always having something to do,” Currie said. Currie believes that she’ll always keep herself busy and that lacrosse will always be a key part of her life because of all the things she has learned from the sport. “In the future I plan to still keep myself constantly busy and entertained whether that’s in my school work, job or doing sports. I owe so much of myself to the game of lacrosse and the people in it who have shaped me to the person I am today,” Currie said.

Busy Work

The baseball team has been working hard in preparation for their game against high-powered Loyola. by Cedric Hyon

After two rest days and countless double headers, the baseball team is practicing intensely for their game against Loyola on Apr. 5. “A lot of us have been getting hurt and sore, so we practice lightly on Monday and took Tuesday off, but we started practicing really hard on Wednesday and are continuing all this week,” senior Cain Castor said. According the Castor, the rest days on Monday and Tuesday were beneficial. “We’ve been playing a lot of double headers, so the rest days were good for us. In about a week or two, we’re playing seven games in eight days, so it’s going to be a tough week,” Castor said. The team has also been playing scrimmages to work on individual practice. “We do pretty much the same thing. We worked on throwing and then defensive practice for maybe an hour, and then we hit. When we hit, we also work on defense and it’s a lot of individual work,” senior Cassius Hamm said. Castor says that the team’s strongest point is probably pitching. “Overall, we’re pretty solid. A strong point would be our pitching because we have people like Cassius and go up there

PHOTO BY KAMILA AOURAGH

High-speed collision. A Torrance baserunner runs into a RUHS’s catcher at home plate in a game earlier this season.

and shut down the other team,” Castor said. To pitch well, Hamm continuously practices to keep up his arm strength. “Pitching is a lot of technique so I try and keep my technique down,” Hamm said. “It’s a lot of practice because you need to build up your arm strength to go out and play every day.” Loyola, overall, is a better team according to Castor. During the game he plans to lead by example.

“Loyola is a better team, I’m going to do my best to keep the other team down and make sure that everyone is doing their best, and lead by example and show we can beat them if we do our best. I’m going to do everything I can to lead us to victory,” Castor said. Hamm is excited to pitch against a team of a higher caliber. “I’m pretty excited to play against Loyola. I heard nine guys committed already and it

should be a real challenge. It’s good to see how we do against the next level, since most of their guys are at their level,” Hamm said. Despite this caliber, Hamm believes the team will have to not be intimidated to play well. “We just have take it like every other game. We can’t think too much about who we’re playing. All we can do is play our game, and prove we can compete with them,” he said.

Lacrosse willing to put everything on line against Oak Park The girls will play for a first seed in CIF playoffs against 10-1 Oak Park, and the girls are up for the challenge. by Romy Moreno

With first seed in playoffs on the line, the girls lacrosse team plans on playing their hearts out in today’s game against Oak Park. “It is probably going to be one of our toughest games,” senior Kelsie Currie said. More team members have the same thoughts. “It’s going to be a tough game and might be one of the hardest of the season especially because we are down three starters,” junior Haylie Thatcher said. One reason Oak Park will be “tough” is because their league record is 10-1. “I am a little anxious to play because Oak Park is such a good team,” sophomore Gywneth Oikawa said. “But I know that if we play our hardest we will have a great shot at winning.” The girls plan on improving certain techniques in order to get the win.

“We are all working really hard at practice and perfecting our offensive and defensive tactics,” Currie said. More things the team plans on executing during today’s game include not forcing any turnovers and “just playing their game.” “We need to come out strong in the first half because in a lot of games we have been starting off slow and slowly building our momentum,” Currie said. “Also we need to just communicate and transition down the field.” Even though Oak Park is a “tough” school the team plans on giving it all they got. “I am really excited to sell how well we will play against such a good team and see if we can match up to their difficulty level,” Oikawa said. “I know that if we play with intensity and do not lose the intensity or get discouraged, we will do great.”

PHOTO BY BRITTANY UNGERMANN

Face dodge. Sophomore Allie Vorndran fights for the ball against Peninsula earlier this year.

SPORTS . 21

Boys lacrosse loses to PV

Due to lack of capitalization of turnovers, the team loses with a 8-5 score by Joseph Blakely

However, not enough of these “key moments” occurred to secure the win. Instead the largest faults with the details. “Our coach always says that mistakes are like pebbles,” Faecher said. “Once you have too many pebbles, you

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“Playing as a team is one of the most essential parts of being a team” - COACH PHIL COMITO

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PHOTO BY JUSTIN LEE

Small mistakes added up for the team, and they cost them the game against Palos Verdes. “It’s just the little things that always hurt us,” senior Harrison Faecher said. “At first it may not seem like a big deal, but in the end those little things add up to opposing goals.” Another mistake was not responding quickly enough to opportunity. “The biggest mistake our team made would be not capitalizing on Palos Verdes’ turnovers.” Faecher said. One key to success in lacrosse is strong pre-game training. “Everyday we need to have good, productive practices,” Coach Phil Comito said. “We have to continue to improve our playing every day, every game. That’s what we have to do in order to be playing the best lacrosse by the end of the season.”

can’t hold onto it anymore,” Faecher said. “The more mistakes you have the more likely it is you will lose the game.” Looking to the future, one aspect of playing that can be improved is the team-

Swim looks to improve in the future With new progressive plans, swimmers hope to better the remaining season

PHOTOS BY CEDRIC HYON

Just keep swimming. 1. Sophomore Taylor Vigil focuses in and performs the 100 yard butterfly sprint during the North Torrance Meet by Chris Paludi

Work ethic and looks will be the focus for the rest of the season for the team. “I see the season headed in a great direction,” said sophomore Rodrigo Gutierrez. “We have a lot of strong swimmers. We’ve seen how we stack against the other teams in the South Bay and we’re pretty confident about the rest of the season,” Guiterrez said. “We have a different coach this season, and our goal is to do the best we can do as a team while setting individual goals as swimmers that will help the play of the team.” Individual goals and relays set swim apart from other, more team-oriented sports. “Having individual swimmers allows the team to support each other as individuals, where we see how each one of us can do the best we can at what we’re good at,” Gutierrez said.

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“The team mentality is forged in practice. We all have the same sets we have to do, and we all have things we have to work on in order to be our best in the pool.” Despite individual nature of swim, team chemistry is important to the team. “I’ve noticed that this year especially the team has become closer and we’re all cheering each other on and just overall really supportive; when you’re having your off days it really gets you through it,” junior Nina Gomez said. Gomez believes what many people think about swim: its members are some of the hardest working RUHS athletes. “We practice all the time, this year especially because last year the only mandatory practices were the two hour after school practices and optional Saturday which usually very few people attended,” Gomez said.

“This year we have mandatory after school, Saturday practices and optional morning practices. I think these are really great because this way we get to train every area of our swimming, which improves times and I think results in happier, more hardworking swimmers.” However, Gomez believes the level of practice is productive for the team. “Our girl’s varsity team tied second out of 11 teams at the Costa Invitational and the boys placed 4th,” she said. Gomez sees the effects of a rigorous practice schedule. “I think the extra practice also ties swimmers to the team more,” Gomez said. “You have to be dedicated, it isn’t an ‘eh yeah I guess I try at swim,’ it’s more like you don’t really do anything else but swim.”

work between players. “Playing as a team is one of the most essential parts of success. We practice a lot of it in practice and we have a lot of skilled players,” Comito said. “We have 22 kids, I trust all of them with the ball, but what we need to do better is to play more and more like a team.” Faecher finds that the loss in Thursday’s game will help him in the future. “There are always positives out of negatives. You can learn from those mistakes and do whatever is possible to make sure they don’t happen again,” Faecher said. The team hopes to resume winning in the next game and to continue strongly. “We try to approach it one game at a time,” Comito said. “But in long term, our goal would be to win the Bay League, and be as successful as we can be in the playoffs.”

Boys golf loses to South

by Reema Saad

Due to lack of practice on the course, boys golf lost 219-201 to South on Tuesday. “Today, we played one of the toughest courses that all season and the team went out and tried its best,” Chu said. “We just weren’t prepared for the mischievous greens.” Senior Scott Barr agreed that the Los Verdes greens were difficult to play on. “Los verdes has fast greens and a lot of contour to the fairways,” Barr said. Junior Garrett Stribling added that the weather conditions didn’t help them in their favor either. “Considering the windy conditions, as a team we played alright, it could have been better, it could have been worse,” Stribling said. Despite these factors, Chu does not believe that the team is meeting its expectations this year. “I think the team is not satisfying this years potential, since our scores have not been showing the true talent of the team,” Chu said. Barr believes that in order to win, they need to play better as a team, not just individually. “We didn’t play to the best of our ability. We need to shoot well as a team and not scatter our low scores,” Barr said. “We played at Los Verdes and we all had a tough day with no one breaking 40. We lost by 18 strokes but are looking to win with a comeback on Thursday at Alondra,” Barr said.

Track excels at Mustang Relays Junior Kristen Hamlin wins Athlete of the Meet and dominates meet along with the rest of the team

Right on track. 1. Senior Dustin Herald takes the lead during the mile and finishes strong 1st place at the Mustang Relays with a time of 4:16. 2. Junior and Athlete of the Meet Kristen Hamlin rockets her way to first place in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.05 1.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LAURIE BAKER

by Jennie Bao

With numerous victories in relays, hurdles, sprints, and more both boys and girls varsity tracks succeeds at the Mustang Relay Invitational and is currently working hard to qualify for the largest meet in the country, Arcadia Invitational. Girls varsity earned points at the meet

by placing first in the 4x100, 4x800, 4x200 and 4x400 meter relays. Boys varsity placed first in the 4x400 meter relay. “The team did really well overall,” junior Nicole Pederson said. “Everyone just pretty much went out and did what they had to do, and we ended up having a lot of good

relay teams with good places.” Pederson claims that the team has been working hard to improve personal records. “The team is always tough and competitive, and everyone proves the hard work they’ve put into their training during races,” Pederson said. Junior Kristen Hamlin won Athlete of the Meet for winning the 100 and 300 me-

ter hurdles, as well as participating on the winning 4x200 and 4x100 meter relays. “I felt really proud to have won it out of all of the other female athletes. It felt good to win it for Redondo for the third year in a row,” Hamlin said. Hamlin claims that her competition is what motivates her to work to the best of her ability. “Knowing that there’s someone out there that can run faster than me motivates me to work my hardest,” Hamlin said. Senior Dustin Herold, who placed first in the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:16.94, believes the team could always strive to do better. “I think we ran pretty well, but there is always room for improvement which comes from hard work. My goals are to improve my time and push my teammates to run faster,” Herold said. According to junior Amber Gore, the Palos Verdes Invitational this Saturday is a great opportunity to lower times in order to qualify for the Arcadia Invitational. “I think in order for us to lower our times we need to grasp opportunities for improvement when they are presented, like going the extra mile to make sure that we better ourselves in the competition,” Gore said. Pederson is also hoping to do well at the Palos Verdes Invitational. “To improve our times we need to keep training hard and stay focused. For Palos Verdes, we want to reach our highest potential as a team by racing our best in each event,” Pederson said.

Softball ready to take on Narbonne by Romy Moreno

In today’s game at home against Narbonne high school the girls are planning to keep to the same plan. “Narbonne is not necessarily a school that we typically keep an eye out for,” junior Kammy Fisher said. “But we still plan on and need to start the game off with a high intensity.” Fisher is not the only player that believes this. “Although Narbonne may not be one of our biggest opponents, that does not mean that we can slack off,” junior Brigid Antonelli said. “It is important that we play to our absolute best ability.” When faced against last year, sophomore Kathryn Ung expresses that it was not one of her best games. “I remember most of all not being able to make contact with the ball,” Ung said. “But that only makes me more pumped for

today’s game because now I have a chance to go out there and make up for what happened last year.” However, last year, majority of the team was able to make solid hits against Narbonne’s starting pitcher Kaitilin Buffet. “This season we have really focused on improving our batting,” Antonelli said. “So I have no doubt that we will be able to go out there again this year and drive the score up with our hits.” Other team members have similar thoughts. “With how well we have been batting throughout our season this far, I really have no worries about how today’s game will go,” Fisher said. “Just as long as we stick to what we have been doing and not lose any of our intensity, then I believe that today’s game should go very smoothly,” Antonelli said.

PHOTOS BY TED CAVUS

Hey batter, batter. 1.Sophomore Cailey Purkey is ready to take a swing at the South game

SPORTS

Boys tennis fails to keep up

With their loss 14-4, the team wants to focus on improving fundamentals and players by Reema Saad

A better than expected performance was not enough to take down Palos Verdes at their game on Tuesday. Senior Sean Mitchell said that the team has shown improvement. “Overall, I think our team did pretty well. At the end of the day we got four sets, which is an improvement over our last game,” Mitchell said. Senior Andy Chen added that not only has the team improved recently, but has also competed better against Palos Verdes specifically. “Historically we did better than previous years versus Palos Verdes and I’m satisfied with the results considering the amount of new varsity players we have and the fact that Palos Verdes is the number two team in Southern California,” Chen said. As far as singles and doubles, Mitchell believes everyone worked hard. “Our singles definitely played well today, so that’s a positive. Doubles we knew were going to be tough, but we had a couple of the sets turn out 5-7 so that’s good to see doubles have some close matches,” Mitchell said. Chen also said that doubles can be improved upon to become more competitive. “I think we can improve on our doubles as we get experienced playing against better players in our league, which is one of the toughest and competitive leagues in California for tennis,” Chen said.

Mitchell believes that making better plays and working on fundamentals will help with improvement. “For our improvements, I think we just need to make some smarter plays. Palos Verdes is a very technically sound team, so if you make poor shot choices, they take advantage of those and convert almost every time. It really shows what type of points you end up losing and shows what you need to work on,” Mitchell said. Mitchell also said that he looks forward to these improvements, as well as helping the freshmen carry on the improvements. “For the rest of the season, I think we can look forward to improvements against teams like Palos Verdes and give our varsity freshmen the experience and growth they need to be leaders in the next couple of years,” Mitchell said. Senior Jack Jarvis agreed that he wants to see the lower classmen improve so they can compete better in later years. “I look forward to getting the non-senior players better, so that they can maybe win more games next year and hopefully make it to CIF,” Jarvis said. Chen said that the team can compete at the same level as others in Bay League to become better. “I look forward to competing against the other tough Bay League teams, seeing what we can learn from them, and become better tennis players,” Chen said.

PHOTO BY MATT MARDESICH

Close dive. Senior Sean Mitchell dives for the ball in the round against PV.

Boys volleyball continues their winning streak The team continues to show that they are unstoppable after Tuesday’s game by Jené Price

PHOTO BY MATT MARDESICH

Sharp kill. Senior Vincent Pizzuti prepares to spike the ball against two PV blockers.

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RUHS boys volleyball team continues their undefeated season as they beat Palos Verdes 25-16 25-19 25-20 in Tuesday night’s game. “We came out slow and not as efficient, but as the game progressed we fell into our system,” Senior Vinny Pizzuti said. The boys volleyball team hasn’t lost and has beaten Mater Dei and also Loyola for the first time in seven years, which gave them confidence entering league. “It was the best feeling in the world beating them in four; it is no doubt the best moment of my entire Redondo career,” senior Louis Richards said.

Starting off the game the boys seemed relaxed according to coach Avery but were able to come back and the win. “We were very even-keeled and at times, too relaxed out there. But we just executed our game plan and focused on how we prepared for Palos Verdes,” coach Avery said. Going into the next game the boys are confident and hope they will get a win. They want as much support as possible from people at school. “Well it’s always nice to know you have the support of your friends and classmates and seeing them there supporting us definitely boost the morale of the team,” Richards said.