High Tide: November 18, 2022

AROUND REDONDO

Playofs provide students opportunities to perform

by London Carbone

Q: What did you and your team do well this season that led you to playofs?

A: “Our consistency and how we always had each other's backs [helped lead us to playofs]. We were also really close as a team and I feel like that really helped us maintain our strong bond throughout the whole season and stick together all the way till the end.”

-Abby Zimmerman (girls volleyball), 9

Q: How do you feel about your overall performance during

“[During some of my races], I was able to PR [set a personal record] because my teammates were super motivating. Every race, we always have the boys team and the girls who aren’t racing cheering us on. Seeing that they drove out just to support us really helped. I’m also defnitely proud of how I did. I did fairly well during the hill portion of the course because I’ve learned a lot about how to approach them, and I also had the mental strength not to give up.”

-Devyn Townsend (girls cross country), 10

Q: What emotions were you feeling going into playofs?

A: “For sure elation—after the frst and second games it was surreal. It’s just every water polo player's dream in high school to make it to at least quarter fnals in CIF and just have a solid run. We were all just relieved and happy about it.”

-Derek Schafer (boys water polo), 11

high tide staf

editors-in-chief

Katarina (Haven) Beches Ruby Crosthwait Elise Haulund

online manager Zelia Lerch news editors Erika Glass Sara Miyake-Singer features editors Mia Dowdell Emilie Takahashi Marley Van Pelt opinion editors Scarlett Mische Romi Riss entertainment editors Allie D'Amato Sydney Lamich sports editors Ethan Chi Ty Soria

copy editors

Marin Cantrell Cristina Couch Stavyah Naveen Zoe Rossi Mia Schrift writing editors Lauren Greene Ethan Lerner Simra Zargar

online editors

Cristina Couch Lucy Davis Rena Felde Lauren Greene Ria Lopresto Stavyah Naveen Troy Nevil Kat Otey advisor

Kerri Eastham

staf writers Ariya Anvari Ava Anzivino

Luca Artiga Hadeel Azzam Danielle Bellamy Calvin Bonn London Carbone Nicholas Carrozza Lauren Choy NyAire Davis Charlene Elam Izzie Escobar Yasmeen Ford Daniella Gross Scarlett Kindt

Isabella Kohler

CaraMia Leal Valentina Masoni Andrew McKenna Summer Puterbaugh Amina Raïss

Priya Ramcharan Avery Rapoport Aaliyah Roberson

Victor Simoes Sadie Simmons Aidan Tseng Claudia Turner Sofa Villanueva Malina Young

A: “I would say the ofensive line and the defensive line were playing really well. We also had really good pass coverage so [our opponent] wasn't able to move the ball. Through the playofs, the defense just got better and better. They were getting to the quarterback, we were getting interceptions and had good defense. The whole team and I [may be disappointed] that we weren’t able to get a ring, but overall we played really well and were able to [grow as a team], becoming better at the game.”

-Sam Bosse (boys football), 12

photographers

Marin Cantrell

Olivia Flanders

Jazmine Jimenez

Pete Paguyo Sascha Perdue

advertising & circulation manager Nicolas Tomsio

illustrators

Esperanza Carolipio

Allie D’Amato Lola Diehl Kaitlyn Hodac Bella Langa Scarlett Mische

Samarah Nuques

Q: How do you feel about your team's overall performance during playofs?

We're all-cove in this together!

by Danielle Bellamy

With free and low-cost access to career and family assistance, therapy, substance abuse support, college prep help and physical health services, allcove Beach Cities, a new youth wellness center in the South Bay, opened on Nov 1. The space, created by Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) in collaboration with Stanford University, is located on the fourth foor of the BCHD Building.

allcove’s Youth Advisory Group is composed of eight members who are 16 to 25 years old. The group met with allcove Beach Cities employees for about half a year to discuss the layout of allcove and methods through which they could gain support and traction for this project.

One of the members of the Youth Advi-

sory Group is junior Colin Chia, who feels a sense of “connection to allcove’s construction,” having experienced mental tribulations himself.

“As a teenager, my mental health has always been fragile due to academic demands, sports and social acceptance. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the situation has exacerbated. I feel that there is a stigma among teenagers about recognizing the need for help, especially as it relates to mental health,” Chia said.

allcove’s design is made up of bright colors and furniture that are “refective of allcove branding and the therapeutic space,” according to Amanda VerWys, the clinical coordinator for allcove Beach Cities. The initiative was implemented as part of

a project co-created by the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health & Wellbeing and the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commision (MHSOAC). A grant from the MHSOAC gave BCHD an opportunity to, according to VerWys, create a space that has “international backing, but is also very localized and supportive of beach communities.” Additionally, BCHD received a one million dollar grant from the US Congress to fund the project. The Youth Advisory Group added their own personal touches to the building by selecting furniture, snack oferings and service providers.

“It's really nice to be able to respond to what our young population wants and needs, and letting them lead the charge has been pretty cool to see. Young people know what they need, and us adults need to let it happen and provide the space for it,” VerWys said.

For Chia, seeing the space’s transformation after working towards allcove’s opening for so long was "gratifying." He explains that it gave him a sense of accomplishment and pride as he felt the group’s hard work “paid of.”

any life or character. But, after months of construction and planning, the space was completely transformed and we were fnally able to see the results of weeks of planning and work,” Chia said.

Though the center is now fnished, Chia says the group of teenagers will continue implementing new ways to “improve the space.” VerWys notes that BCHD wants to make the center feel “open to the youth,” and ensure people are aware of the large amounts of diverse services it provides.

Chia, VerWys and other members of the Youth Advisory Group and allcove Beach Cities team hope that allcove will not only "brighten" the future of Beach Cities communities, but also help students improve mentally, academically and physically by increasing their accessibility to resources and creating a safe space for them.

allcove Beach Cities is located on 514 N. Prospect Avenue. Services will be provided to individuals aged 12 to 25 from 1 to 7 PM Tuesday to Fridays and 10AM to 2PM on Saturdays

INFORMATION FROM BEACH CITIES HEALTH DISTRICT

“The greatest thing about the allcove Beach Cities center is that it was designed with, by and for the youth. By having the same young people who understand and experience mental challenges design the space and oferings, allcove creates a service that will hopefully support and uplift the youth in our community,” Chia said.

“My favorite part of the opening process was the frst time the Youth Advisory Group visited the allcove space after construction was complete. Roughly six months ago, the space was an empty foor that was void of

The center is open from 1 to 7 PM on Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 AM to 2 PM on Saturdays, with professional support ofered to individuals ages 12 to 25.

Am I your (blood) type?

ASB hosted the biannual UCLA Blood Drive on Nov. 9

by Daniella Gross

According to UCLA Health, donating one pint of blood can save up to three lives. On Nov. 9, 116 students did just that at the biannual UCLA Blood Drive.

For the past fve years, the UCLA Blood Drive has given students the opportunity to donate a pint of their blood in exchange for a free ticket to a movie of their choice. The donated blood was sent back to UCLA Health where it will be given to patients who are in critical condition or in need of a blood transfusion.

As the ASB commissioners of school relations, seniors Brooke Pollock and Charles Steerman were in charge of running the blood drive. They explained that it is one of their biggest and most important events of the year.

UCLA Health Community Liaison Noelle Lai who is in charge of connecting UCLA to schools, churches and businesses who are interested in hosting blood drives. Lai says that school drives are benefcial not only for the community and those in need, but also for the ASB student organizers.

“[Blood drives] give ASB students an opportunity to run a large event,” Lai said. “It’s a lot of work. You’re active ly recruiting people to donate and then you prepare to put on this enormous blood drive. It’s a big task,

work, which included a consent form and health questions to ensure they could donate. They were also provided with snacks and water to prevent dizziness and nausea. After eating, students did a health check with one of six nurses. Then, students who were checked and ready to donate were given blood bags and seated with a nurse who

a positive way,” Cannon said.

Like Cannon, senior Misha Ponomarenko donated because it “felt like an easy way” to aid the community and hopes others will follow suit.

“It’s a great way to help people because it takes less than an hour out of my school day to donate [blood] and doing so is such

MISHA PONOMARENKO SENIOR

but these kids are fantastic.”

“We wanted to get as many students-donors as possible, especially because there's been a big lack of blood donations since the pandemic started. We're happy to help groups like UCLA Health who are looking for people willing to donate blood and save people's lives,” Pollock said.

Pollock and Steerman were aided by

To provide a safe space where the donations could occur, the small gym was transformed into a clinic. On the day of the drive, student donors, all 16 or older, were given paper-

The allcove center, located in the Beach Cities Health District Building, opened on Nov. 1

Junior Finn McGonigle donated his blood because he is "lucky enough to have the health and opportunity to do so." PHOTO BY MARIN CANTRELL

“It's a great way to help people because it takes less than an hour out of my day to donate [blood] and doing so is such a small thing to do that can go a long way.

allcove Beach Cities features furniture with bright colors and provides spaces for teenagers to relax. The center is located on the fourth foor of the Beach Cities Health District building. PHOTO COURTESY OF BEACH CITIES HEALTH DISTRICT

Triathlons: triple the tenacity

Caroline Melo participates in her eleventh triathlon race

by Isabella Kohler

After training since 5th grade and competing in ten other triathlons, the time fnally arrived once again for freshman Caroline Melo to put her myriad of skills to use, all in an efort to successfully complete the Cal Tri LA triathlon and follow in her father’s footsteps.

“My dad always loved triathlons. I always saw him training for them, and he talked to us a lot about his previous triathlons,” Melo said. “He just wanted to share that experience with us, and I'm really glad he did.”

On Sunday, Oct. 23, Melo competed in her eleventh triathlon, a race consisting of three sections of physical exercise, with her parents and younger brother. The race included a 0.47 mile swim, 12 miles of cycling, and a 3.1 mile run, taking about two hours to complete.

“I’m not really a strong runner or biker. My legs started hurting many times during the race, and there were times when I wanted to give up because it was really challenging, but I just pushed through," Melo said. “I remember having two miles left and I was just done. I was so exhausted, but I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, I'm almost there,’ and I actually did it.”

The Melo family as a whole had spent one week training for this triathlon. However, Melo’s training is a year round ordeal. As a member of the water polo team, she spends approximately eight hours a week

in the water, bikes for two hours and runs a total of 2.5 miles.

“For water polo we do a lot of swimming conditioning, which increased my endurance. We do a lot of long distance swimming that improves my stamina, and we do many drills that help with our swimming form and muscles,” Melo said.

Melo, also a Junior Lifeguard, has a great deal of experience when it comes to physical activity.

“It would’ve taken someone with no experience months to train, but I have been swimming for a long time, and my time with Junior Lifeguards helped me with the part where I had to swim in the ocean,” Melo said. “I also did many running classes, and my dad is really into biking so a lot of the time we went biking as a family.”

Melo’s training with her family allowed for the four of them to bond since they would spend hours together preparing for the big day.

“One day we biked 15 miles. My parents taught me how and when to change the gears, and they helped me build my stamina. Another day we went around the neighborhood to run a few miles,” Melo said.

Whether it is a long and challenging race or a short sprint, Melo’s father, Alvaro Melo, takes advantage of the time his family gets to bond.

“I’m very happy that Caroline is participating in the triathlon races with us. It’s

truly a privilege to be able to do this as a family,” Mr. Melo said.

Mr. Melo has participated in a variety of triathlons of all diferent lengths requiring diferent levels of stamina but all with their own difculties. Caroline, on the other hand, typically competes in shorter and slightly less advanced sprints.

“I have competed in all distances from sprint to Ironman,” Mr. Melo said. “Caroline, her mother and brother participate in the sprint distances, but just because it is shorter doesn’t mean it is any easier. Typically, in shorter races, you need to go all out to have a chance at winning.”

The extensive amount of practice ensured Melo’s confdence and independence. She did not have her parents by her side all throughout the race, so she had to pace herself for the stamina she needed to complete the race.

“[My family and I] were together at the beginning, which was really nice because they were really good at encouraging me and getting me ready. But, after that, we kinda just did our own thing,” Melo said.

Melo not only completed the race, but succeeded in fnishing frst in her division and 100th overall. Melo plans to compete in many more triathlons with her parents and brother

again in the future and encourages others who enjoy a good challenge to “give it a try.”

“When you get to the fnish line, you get this overwhelming feeling of accomplishment,” Melo said. “You're completely exhausted and you just want to collapse on the foor all throughout the race, but you keep going, so when you fnish, it just feels unbelievable. It's the best feeling.”

by NyAire Davis

Hockey, known for intense contact, speed and cold environments, is a sport popularized as predominantly “masculine.” Only 9.6 percent of hockey professional players are women, according to Zippia’s player demographics, a statistical sports website. Nonetheless, freshman Natalie Woo proves that hockey should not be confned to a gender, leading her travel hockey team to victory as team captain.

“It’s really tough, because the boys always look down on you because they think you’re not competitive enough or tough enough to compete with them,” Woo said.

“It makes you stronger as a person and a player.

“[Since] hockey is a male dominated sport, women having the opportunity to play, even if it’s with boys, is important.”

Woo has played hockey for eight years, starting out because of her dad.

“My dad grew up in Canada, so he played hockey growing up. He put me in some skating lessons and I started to enjoy it,” Woo said.

When Woo started out in the sport, she noticed the lack of women players. Not letting it deter her, she instead used it as a drive to continue.

“After [I grew up in] Atlanta, I moved to Texas. I started playing

recreational hockey there with boys where I was the only girl on the team. Since hockey is a unique sport that not many girls play, it’s competitive. You always play with the boys, so it made me tougher,” Woo said.

Woo plays in a center position for the Los Angeles Lions in the fall. She plays for the Wade Warriors as well as Western Selects in the spring season.

“My fall team is 14 and under, so you compete against girls all 14 and under. For spring you can choose to go above your age group,” Woo said.

Four to fve times a week, Woo practices for two hours on the ice, leading to a struggle in balancing school and hockey. When she isn't practicing with her team, Woo trains at the gym or at home so she can improve her individual skill and stamina. As a result of her intense regime, she plans to move to a preparatory school along the East Coast so she can better balance her academic and athletic life.

“It’s more competitive playing against East Coast girls. It’s a more elite level and, especially growing up in California where there’s not many girls playing, being able to play with girls more on your level [is better],” Woo said.

Being on a travel hockey team has given Woo opportunities to go across the United States to compete in places such as Illinois, Minnesota and Alaska, also visiting cities such as Boston and Chicago.

“I usually travel once or twice a month through August to March, then there's also summer hockey,” Woo said. “Right now, it's just across the U.S. but, hopefully, soon it'll be international.”

Along with the experience of traveling across the U.S, hockey has also given Woo a taste of how diferent women’s hockey is outside of California.

“The diference is not even comparable. [In California], there's only three teams in the state at our level,” Woo said. “Playing against girls that have way more resources

than us is much harder. They're defnitely more competitive, stronger and more aggressive.”

According to the National Hockey League and Premier Hockey Federation, the number of professional women's teams makes up less than 19 percent of professional men’s teams. Currently, there are 32 men NHL teams nationwide, meanwhile there are only 6 women’s teams. This contrast in numbers has discouraged Woo from considering a career in hockey past college.

“I’m not planning to play pro hockey because [there's] not enough women. It's not going to be a stable life after college. College hockey, right now, is the goal,” Woo said.

As the only returning player for the Los Angeles Lions this year, Woo received the title of captain, and stepped into a leadership role.

Woo’s teammates appreciate her work ethic as captain, and use it as encouragement to advance in their own plays, according to freshmen teammate Harlie Schopp.

“She’s friends with everyone. It brings a more friendly and open vibe to the team. She always boosts morale,” Schopp said.

Woo leads team lunches, dinner and other team bonding exercises, and her dedication to the team doesn’t go unnoticed.

“This is my frst year playing with Natalie. As the season continues, she is becoming a better and better captain,” Schopp said. “She’s one of those people that always tries her hardest no matter what. It makes us all want to work our hardest to catch up.”

Woo takes charge in her new role and becomes a bigger part of the team.

“[My responsibilities] are being a leader on and of the ice, being able to do the drills right, knowing the concepts, and how the team works,” Woo said. “If they have questions, or if they think they’re struggling, they can always come talk to me.”

Natalie Woo competes on an elite hockey team, despite it being a male-dominated sport

1. Woo poses with her 1st medal at the Pacifc District championship game, the deciding match to go to the USA Hockey Nationals.

2. Woo, as center, goes after the puck.

Melo and her family take a moment to celebrate after a race. PHOTO COURTSEY OF CAROLINE MELO.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATALIE WOO

I HELPED

AP Gov. students work the state midterm elections

The chime of the e-pollbook rings after the 702nd ballot issued. AP Government seniors work at the polls during the 2022 midterm elections. Senior Abby Johnson signed up to handle the poll sites and voters as a part of her long-running passion for the political sphere.

“I was moved [to volunteer at the polls] by the controversy of the 2016 election and how family dinners and Thanksgiving were so hostile. It was crazy how something could divide people so much. It made me want to use politics to better the world rather than divide it,” Johnson said.

Another AP Government senior, Luke Chambers, worked 37 hours at the polls and also dealt with voters who explicitly broke election policy.

“There was a guy who looked like he was 300-years-old. He was wearing a Make America Great Again hat. This was against

by Priya Ramcharan

the election codes because voters can’t have campaign material 100 feet near the polls. I thought, ‘Oh God, we have to tell him.’ I was really nervous. The poll site leader also looked nervous going up trying to tell him without setting him of. The man got mad and heated when he told him and took of his hat. I was super nervous the whole time. I didn't want it to be a whole scene,” Chambers said.

Johnson also encountered voters who were skeptical of the security of their votes while she checked voters' documents, counted the ballots and dealt with provisional voters.

“Some people I encountered were skeptical about the ID's and the technology and thought the machines were changing their votes,” Johnson said. “I had to reassure a man that his ballot was fne and help them re-do and print out his ballot.”

Other than those experiences, Johnson

and Chambers enjoyed being at the center of democracy.

“Working the polls was tiring but really cool. I felt the passion of the voters and their patriotism. People were being active in the process. I remember some adults were talking to me about my future and what colleges I want to go to. It was sweet,” Johnson said.

Johnson has aspirations in politics beyond working the polls; she wants to eventually represent her country on the international stage by majoring in political science, with an emphasis on international relations. Her highest ambition is to become a diplomat.

“Since the 2016 election, I realized I had to really engage myself,” Johnson said.

Chambers wishes he could say he wants to major in political science, however, he just enjoyed seeing the Democratic process. There was downtime in between voters

when he wasn't busy, and he could indulge in being a kid, even as a college-bound senior, doing homework and playing card games.

“We found the Jeferson Middle School recreation room, and they had giant boxes of yarn. We used it and made a scarf. I wasn’t too good, so I made a tassel. It was funny because the yarn was on our hands, we couldn't take it of. When a voter came, we would hide our hands under the table. That was a highlight,” Johnson said.

Johnson says this generation brings a “unique idea of progress that includes voting, engaging, and fghting for change.”

Black Student Union comes together to fundraise for their students

by Aaliyah Roberson

The 55 students spilling out of Spanish classroom 502 are all facing a screen displaying a recent racially charged assault case at the University of Kentucky. They are all part of the Black Student Union (BSU) that has reunited to address social issues and bring together students on campus.

Junior Reiss Collier, who is president of BSU, started the club in the second semester of her sophomore year after noticing the large number of Black students at Redondo and wanting to make a change.

“I wanted to start it so people have a safe space in a campus full of people who don’t look like them,“ said Collier. “It makes us feel like we have a community we can lean on, no matter what our situations are.”

BSU meets on Thursdays on top of the cafeteria to talk about the black community on campus and around the world. These discussions address their own experiences and controversial topics, such as the use of discriminatory language, afecting students on campus.

“We talk about current issues that are

happening on our campus and in society in general. I feel it has a positive impact because it makes us feel good. I’m not just by myself all the time,” said Collier.

This is the frst year BSU is able to hold food-drive fundraisers due to COVID-19 restricting most activities for the past two years. A “Walking Taco” fundraiser is being held on-campus after Thanksgiving break in Room 502, selling potluck food in order to provide scholarships and opportunities for their members.

“One of the big ticket items the club wants to do is be able to go to the Black College

fundraiser selling walking tacos and lemonade,” said Senora Sarah Robinson, the club advisor.

The club has a “lively” atmosphere and participation in their discussions, according to Robinson.

“It’s a really important opportunity for Black students to be able to learn about the issues that afect their fellow classmates. We’ve talked about how some of the students have felt that they are sometimes treated diferently or perceived diferently based on the color of their skin. It’s perfect,” Robinson said.

BSU is a diverse club that helps students connect to other students and “share information and experiences."

“I joined to educate people on the Black community and the struggles that we face, because too many people don’t know and that’s why they are so quick to say some insensitive things,” said sophomore Similoluwa Adefemiwa.

The Black Student Union gives students a chance for their voices to be heard relating to tough situations and connect to other Black students.

“I think that more people are informed and more people of color want to come just to be around other people who are like them and look like them. People who just have the same experiences as them,” Adefemiwa said.

student union with lunch provided.

1. and 2. Johnson and Chambers sit at their check-in stations with their e-pollbook devices to check the voter's voter record. PHOTO COURTEY OF ABBY JOHNSON AND LUKE CHAMBERS 3. GRAPHIC COURTESY OF WWW.LAVOTE.GOV

Dancing in the DARK

by Ava Anzivino

Watching the studio change year by year with dancers coming and going, skills progressing and bonds forming, junior Henry Deane sees it all through a diferent lens than his fellow female dancers. In his thirteen years dancing at The School of Dance and Music, his perspective as a male dancer in a predominantly female feld has continuously grown as he's matured as a dancer.

At a young age, Deane understood that socializing would be challenging among his mostly female peers.

“It got easier in high school because the idea that girls only hang out with girls and boys only hang out with boys was thrown away, but growing up [at the studio] up until that point was hard. The girls were more mentally mature than I was, which made the gender gap more apparent,” Deane said.

Nevertheless, Deane continued to pursue dance, a choice he said he “had no reason for,” but fell into naturally.

“I joined the jazz company, a competition team at the studio. I always liked dance; at the time it was something I thought I would really en joy. I joined and just never left,” Deane said.

The male role models spotlighted in classical ballet lead to Deane’s love for ballet more than any other style.

“I like the sense of how they have this bravado to them, but it’s not over the top. When you look at dancers like Baryshnikov, who do ballet variations so amazingly, it gets me to keep danc ing,” Deane said.

Even though his love for the dance is “constant, Deane acknowledges the inconsistencies of the competition world once he started competing with his studio’s elite team.

“[Judges] tend to score male danc ers higher at competitions, to encour age more guys to dance. So I feel like

I’ve been pretty lucky at competitions, because it’d be more difcult as a girl since there isn’t as much bias from the judges,” Deane said.

According to Deane, male dancers being “in demand” in dance is because choreographers feel they can be more creative with them. With the ability to perform partnerwork—lifts and duets with female dancers—especially in ballet, male dancers have opportunities to be involved in anything they’d like to try.

“If I'm partnering, I’m guaranteed a partner, but all the girls who are potential candidates for me to dance with aren’t guaranteed to be

fortable” of an atmosphere, describing himself as being “kinda just out there.” With a change of attitude studio-wide, that feeling faded.

“[The pandemic] gave people a long enough amount of time to realize if they wanted to be there or not. So, all the people that stayed are people who value dance over anything else. They’re more dedicated, and it makes it easier to share more common interests with them,” Deane said.

Even from an outside perspective, Deane has become more outgoing with his fellow dancers, allowing him to enjoy the art form even more.

“[Deane] is pretty close to us now. He just speaks his mind whenever, no matter who it is in the studio. It’s a family setting in that sense,” Caldwell said.

As Deane looks to his future in the dance industry, he hopes to get into the Boston Ballet Company. With the joy he fnds in making friends and performing with them, he’s “ready to focus” and take on the challenge that comes with auditioning for a ballet

“That goal will help me strive to be my training, to use the left at the until that audition process begins,” Deane

Elaina Stanitis takes lessons to become a pilot

by Avery Rapoport

Sophomore Elaina Stanitis put the throttle in full force and began to take speed down the runway, feeling the familiar adrenaline rush as the plane lifted. But this time was not like all the others because in all the excitement of takeof, she didn’t realize the latch to the window had come undone. Hundreds of feet in the air, the window swung open, thudding against the side of the plane. Although frightened, she pulled herself together and was able to turn around and land the plane safely.

“It all happened so fast that I barely remember anything,” Stanitis said. “However, I do recall making the mistake of looking out the open window and seeing almost a thousand feet below me.”

Aside from this single incident, Stanitis learns how to fy and manage a plane safely during her fight lessons at Torrance Airport.

“I grew up around the fying environment because my mom is a fight attendant,” Stanitis said. “So, when my dad gave me the option to start taking lessons, I was excited and gave it a try. I’m so happy I did because I really like it a lot.”

Although Stanitis is “not sure” if she wants to follow a career as a pilot, she has still been working towards her pilot’s license for the past year in order to travel. The farthest she has fown so far is Fullerton, but as soon as she gets her license she wants to fy herself all the way to France.

“I travel with my family a lot, so I have a really deep connection with travel and seeing new places,” Stanitis said. “It would be so amazing to travel wherever I want without having to go through the trouble of airport crowds and lines.”

Stanitis has been “extremely curious” about fying and how planes work since she was young. Fear of fying has never been an issue for her, because she knows the instructors take care of her and it is “extremely unlikely” that something could go wrong.

“Seeing and knowing how to work all of the controls is a dream come true,” Stanitis said.

One of the main reasons Stanitis looks forward to her fying lessons is because she views it as a way to break away from the stress of everyday life.

Flying a plane takes “tons of attention,” not leaving any room to think about school or sports.

“There are so many important things to focus on while fying a plane,” Stanitis said. “It is easy to get in the zone and block out other stuf.”

Another “plus side” to these fight lessons is that Stanitis gets to connect with others about her unique passion.

Sophomore Ava Warman few with her earlier this year, since they have the same instructor who wanted them to learn from each other. Stanitis few them to lunch, then Warman few them back.

“It was so great fying with [Stanitis],” Warman said. “We weren’t close before, but now we always smile and wave at each other at school, because it was such a bonding experience.”

Stanitis has two hour lessons every other week, and whether she is learning new maneuvers in the air, practicing take-of or learning the mechanics of the plane, she is always enjoying herself. She loves “learning new things each lesson” and is “excited” to continue growing as a pilot.

“Learning how to fy is a magical experience,” Stanitis said. “It brings me so much joy.”

Henry Deane performs in "Pas de Deux" from The Nutcracker. PHOTO COURTESY OF HENRY DEANE

It got easier in high school because the idea that girls only hang out with girls and boys only hang out with boys was thrown away.

HENRY DEANE JUNIOR

“

Junior Henry Deane's thirteen years of dance experience may just be the beginning for him

of ballet dancers are male

CROCHET it ain't so!

by Claudia Turner

Weaving in and out to an invisible beat, the yarn loops around her hook, creating another row of perfectly-spaced stitches. The future of this garment is still unknown; perhaps the woven stitches will become a cozy sweater, a tote bag birthday gift or maybe another granny square to donate to her ever-growing charity blanket. For junior Allison Lin, the adventure of choosing what creative fantasy to fulfll is what keeps her hooked on crocheting.

"I've made bags, skirts, shirts, scrunchies and scarves," Lin said. "Making certain pieces of clothing that I would want to wear is so cool to me, because when I see something trendy online, I can just go home and make it for myself."

Most of Lin's crocheting methods are ones she's taught herself with the help of YouTube videos. To further expand her skillset, Lin joined the Squares for Care Club (SCC) in her sophomore year. The club dedicates itself to sewing granny squares, a type of stitched fabric square. These squares get sewn together to create blankets, which the club then donates to people in need. SCC is run by Lin's close friend and fellow crocheter junior Natalie Goldman, who started the club as a way for herself and fellow crocheters to put their stitching skills toward a good cause.

"Last year [Lin] made around 31 squares, which was the most out of everyone in the club," Goldman said. "I'm so happy that she joined my club and has contributed so much to it."

Junior Madeline Jo Langa, Lin's friend since frst grade, also attributes Lin’s dedication to Squares for Care, citing all the

squares Lin has produced during her free time outside of club meetings and school hours.

"One time, [Lin] went to her brother's soccer tournament in Orange County. She spent the entire tournament crocheting little squares," Langa said. "By the end, she had gotten so many that you could stack them up into a huge pile."

Lin's extensive crocheting journey started long before her time in Squares for Care. Her frst real exposure to the craft was in 2016 through her fourth-grade summer CDC (Child Development Center) teacher. After dropping it shortly thereafter, she began re-learning the skill in her sophomore year and has pursued crocheting ever since.

“I was bored and in need of something to do, which is why I picked it up again,” Lin said. “Now I crochet whenever I get the chance.”

However, these chances are becoming increasingly more difcult for Lin to come by, as her hobby seems constantly at odds with her “busy” schedule, flled with competitive soccer tournaments, volunteer work as president of Key Club and schoolwork for her AP courses. As motivation to work around this hectic calendar and keep consistent with her crocheting diminishes, Lin focuses on the satisfaction she gets from making pieces for others.

"I feel encouraged when I'm making things for my friends, like for their birthday or if I’m just in the mood to give someone a gift," Lin said. “For my friend's birthday, I'm crocheting her a little sweater right now. I try to work on it at least once a week, but because of school, sometimes that doesn't end up happening."

Junior Allison Lin taught

Langa, a recipient of one such present, can personally vouch for the practicality of Lin's gifts.

"The bag she made me is honestly my favorite bag,” Langa said. “I use it every weekend whenever I go out, and it's so helpful for when I need a place to put my important items, like my camera or my wallet."

Despite the ever-growing market for small businesses, which, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration has grown by 2.2 percent in the last year alone, Lin isn't quite ready to put her creations up for sale, at least not until she has the time to serve customers.

"I've debated selling, but it's just a fun hobby for now," Lin said. "Maybe I'll try something out over the summer when I can spend my whole day crocheting, but for right now I barely have any time to make anything."

Though the pressure to fnish projects for both personal items and gift projects can be stressful, crocheting has become a

therapeutic process for Lin, as it helps her to "destress and relax" after a long day. "It's very satisfying once you get into the rhythm of the motions," Lin said. "When following a pattern, it's easier to me than free drawing. Crocheting gave me a new way to express myself and my artistic abilities."

Senior Ben Siegel runs and designs for his own fashion brand, stavnt

by Aidan Tseng

With his own stylish streetwear look on his mind, Ben Siegel made his own fashion company, stavnt. Difculties with thrifting inspired this brand, which Siegel created in 2021.

“When I go thrifting, I always can’t fnd what I want. So I fgured, why not just make it myself?” Ben Siegel said. “I like how I can design and pick what I want on each clothing piece.”

Although the brand is Ben Siegel’s “brainchild,” he is not the only one involved. His brother, Zach Siegel, shares his interest in fashion and is often Ben’s mannequin, modeling many of his designs before they are released.

“He just shows up in my room, and he’s like ‘Okay, can you wear this?’ It’s really dope because I like to wear my brother's stuf, and it's also really stylish,” Zach Sie-

Siegel emphasizes the importance of social media to a brand’s growth, saying it is one of the "most important things" needed to grow a business in today's climate. Despite only starting the account in November, as of Nov. 17, 2022, Ben’s Instagram account, @stavnt, has over 6,000 follow-

“[Social media] brings a lot more attention to my brand. More people are able to know about the brand [through Instagram] so that [hopefully it] becomes a popular name that everyone knows about,” Ben Siegel said.

To others who want to start a business, Siegel says it’s important to put in the

hours. He attributes the improvement of his work ethic with the creation of stavnt.

“You gotta start somewhere, and it takes a lot of time. You can’t just do it all in one day. You have to work with a lot of other people in the manufacturing company for example to make all the clothing the right way. I have to make sure all of it looks good before I put it out onto the website and publish it.”

Through stavnt, Siegel exercises another one of his passions: graphic design. Not only does he design for his clothing brand, he creates graphic designs for one of Soulja Boy’s producers, Ricky Desktop, and has made album covers for underground artists such as Shef G, Dre Wave and Mick Jenkins.

“I made one of [Ricky Desktop’s] merch a long time ago. He had a contest on his Tiktok, and I won the contest. He wanted me to design some album covers for Shef G. After I made it, the designer wanted to use it and put it on all his hoodies and crewnecks.”

Ben Siegel’s describes his passion for graphic design as something that came naturally to him.

“I just started as something I was curious about, and it began as a little hobby. It’s become a cool way to express my mind, and I use it as an outlet for my creativity.”

Ben Siegel says his “endgame” with stavnt is to end up selling his clothes at Pacsun. He plans to pursue communications and possibly fashion design in college.

“Make sure to follow @stavnt and cop the drop,” Ben said.

1. The "stavnt" logo. 2. Ben Siegel's brother, Zach, models the "stavnt" grey sweatshirt design.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BEN SIEGEL

1. Allison Lin models her white crochet bag.

2. Two of LIn's crochet bags, which she keeps for personal use. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALLISON LIN

herself how to crochet clothing, bags and other accessories for her friends

ALL ONE FOR

by Lauren Greene

There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’; that is, until individual athletes are afected by the pressure of maintaining their team’s success.

A baseball player since he was four, junior Reid Kaluger notes that pressure in his sport stems both from the team’s desire to win games and from an individual’s determination to secure their spot on the feld or in lineup.

“The higher the level you get to [in baseball], the better the competition is. So, it's harder to earn a spot among other players as it gets more intense. It puts more pressure on us, but it also makes me work harder and makes me stronger mentally,” Kaluger said.

According to Kaluger, each member of the baseball team must support the team as a whole. However, Kaluger appreciates this pressure, as he feels “satisfaction” when he “pulls [his] weight for the team.”

“If you're a pitcher, you're holding most of the responsibility of the game, and most of the pressure will be on you,” Kaluger said. “If you don't hold your own weight and the game goes downhill, you have a lower chance of winning, and the game is in your hands.”

Senior Abby Johnson, who has played defense in soccer since she began the sport at four years old, similarly believes that individual team members can feel pressured to secure the team’s success.

“For defenders specifcally, our job is to protect the goal. And if we don't do that, the blame falls on us from [ourselves], from other players and from spectators. Even if we make one mistake, that could change the whole outcome of the game,” Johnson said.

For Johnson, team environments need efective communication to prevent negative energy from infecting the whole group.

“We have to learn how to give and take advice in a productive manner. There's a fne line between being mean and being helpful, which can

sometimes create tension on the team. So it's about trying to make [not only] yourself the best player you can be but also your teammates the best players they can be,” Johnson said.

Johnson further notes that while cliques are inevitable in sports, it is up to the team members to prevent them from harming team morale.

“There's no way of avoiding friend groups [on a team] because you're always going to prefer some people over others. But, what you can do is prevent them from becoming toxic. Even if you're not best friends with everybody, you [need to] know how to get along with them and respect them,” Johnson said.

For Kaluger, collaboration is key for success on the feld, but this can be difcult because players with negative attitudes can easily afect the team’s mentality as a whole. In turn, it becomes “a challenge to keep negativity out of the game.”

“There are going to be guys that don't get along when you put 30, 40 teenage males together, but we just have to push past that during game time,” Kaluger said. “Everyone has that same mindset of, ‘I'd rather win this game instead of argue with you. So let's play right now and win this game.’”

Johnson further believes that collective team success may be threatened by coaches who favor their stronger players over all athletes’ development as players, which in turn can “corrupt a player’s love for soccer.”

“Favoritism happens in every sport, where players feel that their coach doesn't see their own strengths and only picks on them for their weaknesses,” Johnson said.

In addition to the mental repercussions of coach favoritism, Johnson sees the social harm it creates both on and of the feld.

“[Favoritism] can damage the team's overall work ethic and competitiveness if players feel their spots are secured without actually having to work for them. I think that can also damage

them beyond the feld because your spot on the feld teaches you to work for everything in life, and not to expect anything. It also can create animosity between players if they feel a girl is unfairly taking their spot,” Johnson said.

On the feld, Kaluger receives pressure from coaches, who “want [him] to perform well,” from teammates, and from him self, but this pressure often benefts his performance.

“If you're pitching and your teammates are on the feld, they are not nagging you to do better, but they are encourag ing you. It's positive,” Kaluger said.

Both athletes see the larg er-scale value of being part of their team. Ac cording to Kalguer, baseball has also allowed him to develop stronger social skills both on and of the feld. It has helped him “come out of [his] shell” and meet new people.

“I've learned to cooperate with people. And I've learned how to adapt to diferent people’s attitudes and how to keep people in a more positive mood,” Kaluger said. “If you're around someone for a long time, you learn what can ag itate them so you learn how to work better with people.”

Johnson has similarly formed strong bonds with her teammates, resulting from the reli ance on others demanded by the sport.

“[On a team,] you get a whole bunch of diferent girls who may have never be come friends in any other outlet of life,” Johnson said. “But here we have to de pend on each other. We have to work with each other. We have to learn how to put all [our diferences] aside, because the player you may not get along with outside of the game is your biggest sup porter on the feld.”

The team dynamic of high school sports teams builds a strong sense of community and collaboration, but presents unique challenges

of high school athletes move from high school sports to NCAA sports according to NCAA

The girls soccer team celebrates a CIF win in 2022. PHOTO BY RALF STIER, COURTESY OF MARIN DAVIDSON

Mele Corral-Blagojevich.

PHOTO BY ANNE MARIE CLARK, COURTESY OF MELE CORRAL-BLAGOJEVICH

Delanie Corcoran. PHOTO BY RYDER SULIKOWSKI

PHOTO BY EMILY BYARS

PHOTO BY GEOFF MALEMAN

College athletic recruitments are a double-edged sword: they provide exceptional opportunities, but also lay down intense pressure

GAME GETCHA HEAD IN THE

by Mia Dowdell

When it comes to college admissions, some seniors may view the advantage athletes have with jealousy. After all, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), only a 2.3 GPA minimum is required for athletes to qualify for Ivy League recruitment, whereas non-athletes are expected to reach closer to a 4.0 GPA. But, many student athletes understand there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Depending on the season, senior Mele Corral-Blagojevich practices up to 20 hours per week, not including independent workouts and training. Because volleyball comes above most things in her life Corral-Blagojevich felt that everything rested upon getting recruited for college. Being the kind of person to “never worry,” recruitment created a kind of stress that didn’t make sense to her.

“[Getting recruited brings] a mix of emotions. On one hand I’ll think, ‘I feel great and I want people to watch me,’ but at the same time, I’ll realize, ‘People are watching me, and I don’t want them to.’ It’s a very fne line to walk. But as time went on, I thought to myself that I needed to get used to not focusing on [the recruiters] and just focusing on the game.”

Corral-Blagojevich grew up valuing her education, and while she didn’t start playing volleyball for a scholarship, it became a way to achieve the education she was looking for.

“I didn’t start thinking about playing in college until I realized how competitive [recruitment] was. You start comparing yourself to everyone else on your team and think that only the people who are popular get the most ofers,” Boyd said.

Recently, Boyd sufered a hamstring injury, causing her to miss a month of her season. Although Boyd reports the injury to be minor, seeing her teammates practice without her left her feeling “frustrated” with how little she could contribute.

“I put more pressure on myself [to play well] instead of getting it from those around me. I get in my own head a lot, thinking that I can’t make mistakes, when in reality, I need to understand that everyone makes mistakes,” Boyd said.

Senior Dylan Curtis, pole vaulter for the boys’ varsity track and feld team, shares these sentiments. Towards the end of his sophomore year, Curtis tore two tendons in my foot during a pole-vaulting stunt. His injury failed to heal over the following summer, and forced him “back to square one” at the start of his junior year.

“I thought my season was over,” Curtis said. “Injuries are often normalized in this sport. I’m still dealing with hip issues and I’m going to training every day on my own to hopefully prolong my recovery.”

by

11

Make an account on recruitment websites, such as ncsasports.org.

22

“I wanted to do this because I love volleyball and it’s fun for me. But the idea of the college application process and narrowing down a college list happens a lot sooner for athletes than for regular students. If I’m talking to my friend and I’m like, ‘How is the recruitment process going?’ and she’s like, ‘I’m getting this many emails and this many phone calls,’ there’s defnitely that feeling that I should be getting that many too,” Corral-Blagoje-

Being the frst to go to college in his family, Curtis feels a “huge strain” to live up to their expectations, and an athletic scholarship would help him complete this goal.

“

When you’re talking to a college recruiter, and they tell you they’re looking at you and two other people, they’re essentially comparing you to these people. It damages your self confdence, and it’s really hard to get out of that when that’s all you hear."

MELE CORRAL-BLAGOJEVICH SENIOR

The pressure to meet these expectations can take its toll. According to a National College Health Assessment poll, around 31 percent of male and 48 percent of female NCAA student athletes reported developing depression or anxiety symptoms as a result of their tournaments.

“When you’re talking to a college recruiter, and they tell you they’re looking at you and two other people, they’re essentially comparing you to these people. It damages your self confdence, and it’s really hard to get out of that when that’s all you hear,” Corral-Blago-

Senior Brillana Boyd, who plays point guard for the girls’ varsity basketball team, feels she needs to prioritize eating well and getting enough sleep each day due to how “physically challenging” and time-consuming

“A lot of the activities a normal teenager would do, I might have to miss out on for practice. I spend a lot of late nights practicing, and if I’m tired from Friday night’s practice, I end up tired for Saturday’s practice. It’s an endless cycle,” Boyd said. “I try to balance it well, but I defnitely do have to restrict myself compared to how often my friends get to hang out.”

Boyd kept her worries about college recruitment to a minimum, instead focusing on playing basketball for her own personal enjoyment and for the community she found through her team. This began to change at

“Last year, I was ranked ffth [in the state for pole vaulting], and I felt like all these kids were going to beat me every time I competed against them. I would think, ‘I know I’m not going to win, why am I here?’ But I know what I have to do is come back strong and not let that mindset get to my head, Curtis said.”

Support from her family and advice from athletes who have gone through recruitment helped Corral-Blagojevich fnd comfort in the process.

“I defnitely felt those feelings [of wanting to quit]. I defnitely thought, ‘Am I good enough? Will I get there?’ But I was fortunate enough to have such a caring family who told me, ‘Look at all the amazing things you’ve accomplished. All of that is not worth throwing away just because one coach doesn’t want to pick you up.’”

Corral-Blagojevich will attend the University of Oklahoma next year on a volleyball scholarship. She is relieved to make it out of the recruitment process, but her nervous feelings have shifted into “a diferent kind of energy.”

“It’s not so much worrying about getting in anymore, but more about preparing for when I’m actually in college. There’s this pressure to make this lifetime decision at such a young age. We need to make sure everything is the right ft and feel like the place we choose actually feels like home. There’s even a bit of pressure after you come into the school to represent your high school in the best way possible. It’s something that makes you grow up really fast,” Corral Blagojevich said.

According to Corral-Blagojevich, not many people are aware of the stress that comes with being a student athlete, and any athlete going through the recruitment process comes out of it “mentally tough.”

“One thing I would change would be to shift my mindset from thinking that the number of colleges that look at you is equivalent to how good you are, because that’s not the case. There are a lot of great players who only get a few colleges looking for them, just as there are great players who get a ton of colleges looking for them,” Corral-Blagojevich said. “It doesn't matter if I get 100 ofers or two ofers. I know what I can bring to the table.”

Start contacting college coaches via email, text, phone, etc.

33

Invite coaches to attend your sports games and matches for inperson evaluations

44

Coaches extend verbal ofers

Sydney Lamich

Aaron Thomas. PHOTO BY PETE PAGUYO

Senior Tomas Lopez committed to Columbia University for baseball.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOMAS LOPEZ

Fear of Fame

by Marley Van Pelt

Growing up is never easy. From childhood to becoming an adult, your body, your mind and your perspective all change. For celebrities, this transition is documented on the internet, and the choices that one makes can become potential liabilities in the future.

My childhood refected a sense of carefree fun in which I didn’t feel the responsibilities or pressures I struggle with now. There were some insecurities and moments of doubt, but my life belonged only to me, never to the whole world. Celebrities, on the other hand, live their lives with fame, which often show the “perfect” side of the life they lead, not the underlying pressures they have to deal with on a daily basis.

Children who grow up as celebrities have to adapt to society's ever-changing expectations. The media became a tool used against them, so much so, that some cut it out of their lives entirely because of the hostility associated with it.

Millie Bobby Brown, an actress best known for her role in “Stranger Things,” turned 18 in February 2022. Brown started acting in the franchise around the age of 12, her rise to fame coming with severe repercussions. In an article from “TheThings," Brown became the subject of “intense cyberbullying and sexualization on social media since the beginning of Stranger Things.”

On a podcast “The Guilty Feminist,” Brown explains her reaction to the numerous negative comments she receives by the media: “[I’m] defnitely seeing a diference between the way people act and the way the press and social media react to me coming of age. It’s gross,” Brown said.

With intense critiques and comments coming from the media, the once bubbly actress turned into a target of sex ualization the moment she turned 18. These attacks started to increase in intensity as memes were created of Brown, tying her with homophobic statements and slurs, and,

The media is detrimental to a child star's mental health as they grow under the public eye

according to "TheThings," “She removed all social media apps from her phone and no longer checks Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or any other app.”

Another victim of these harsh comments, Emma Watson, known for her role in playing Hermione Granger in the sensational movie series “Harry Potter,” expressed the struggles associated with her commitment to the movie industry as a kid. According to "Porter Magazine," Watson said, “[I've] spent more than half of my life pretending to be someone else. While my contemporaries were dyeing their hair and fguring out who they were, I was fguring out who Hermione was and how best to portray her."

Watson starred in her role at the age of ten. She then grew up on screen for the next two de-

you. My parents wouldn’t let me have social media until my freshman year of high school, and looking back on it now, I realize that limit was set in place only to protect me-a protection Watson nor Brown had.

Some celebrities, such as "iCarly" actress Jennette McCurdy, had parents who were the cause of their stress that carried on into adulthood. Her Nickelodeon stardom was “all a lie," according to “The Washington Post.” In this article, Jennette spoke to the double life she led as a child celebrity. “There was this half of my life that was so cheesy and so polished and so glossy and so fake,” McCurdy said. “Then there was this other part of my life that was so painful and real and raw and hurting, and that part was going completely unseen.”

McCurdy had eating disorders as a child and had a mentally and physically abusive mother who took part in forcing her into the movie industry. According to “The Washington Post," “McCurdy never wanted to become an actress. Her sole motivation for performing, from the time she was 6 years old, was to please her mother.”

Though McCurdy has come a long way since her childhood, she’s still on the path of recovery. With the death of her mother, she no longer feels the pressure to please her and make her life into something she doesn’t desire.

“That time of my life was so drenched in the baggage of not wanting to be there, of my mom, of the environment that I was in,” McCurdy said. “I'm grateful for the fnancial stability that career provided me, and I'm grateful for friendships I've made, and I'm grateful that it put me on

Though many stars have the chance to relish in the wealth their fame gives them, they still have to bear the pressures of everyday life. Their legacies become tainted with the trauma of diferent struggles. Celebrities don’t have a heart that operates in a diferent way than ours, they still feel pain and happiness. Showing someone a little joy and understanding doesn’t cost us anything. When we don’t, it

Stigma around period products highlights the need for inclusive conversation

by Lucy Davis

Igot my frst period in seventh grade. It was as if society placed an invisible weight on my uterus, saying, “Welcome to maturity! No one can ever know.”

As a gift of inauguration to the next forty years of my life, my mother came home from work with a bag full of pads and tampons. She told me that I needed to fnd what worked best for me: leak-resistant, wings, no wings, sports endurance–whatever it took to make me comfortable going about my day-to-day life. (Also with the goal to never bleed out of my pants, because that would be utterly mortifying for a middle schooler whose classmates’ peak “humor” was phrases of the female reproductive anatomy.) But as I’ve gotten older, I realized that the weight of menstruation–its inner workings, its stigmatization and the multibillion-dollar industry that grew from its products–should not be carried only by people with uteruses. Menstruation is a conversation where everyone has a seat at the table. Personally, my “time of the month” is more like a cooperative house guest than the arch nemesis of my reproductive system. I don’t usually experience headaches, nausea or cramps, but I do play sports, and I know all too well the feeling of wanting to skip practice in the name of Aunt Flo’s visit. According to a May 2022 survey held by period underwear company Modibodi and athletic brand PUMA that surveyed 1000 women and girls worldwide, 1 in 2 teen girls refrained from playing sports because of their period. They also found that “3 in 5 skipped sport as a teen due to fear of leaking or revealing their period” and “3 in 4 experienced anxiety/lack of concentration when participating in sport and physical exercise while on their period due to fear of leakage.” There have been many rounds of golf where I’m worried that the tampon I put in isn’t going to get me through nine holes, or instances where I’m layering up pads and thinking, “there has to be a better way to do this.”

While menstrual product options are expanding,

there’s always a stigma around trying something new. The frst menstrual discs debuted in 1994 and Diva Cups were brought to the mass market in 2003 as more comfortable, eco-friendly options to tampons and pads. According to market researchers Absolute Reports, the global menstrual underwear market was valued at $200.7 million in 2020 and is expected to reach $1206 million approaching 2028. All are encouraged to upkeep an active, comfortable lifestyle during monthly bleeding. Here’s the thing, though: I’m terrifed of the Diva Cup. I’ve never tried one because no period participant ever recommended it. I don’t have a solid understanding of how they work or how my body responds to them. My mom is a tried-and-true tampon user, so I took after her.

That itself begs the question: why is society so afraid to talk about periods and period products? Throughout my multiple years of Positive Prevention Plus, RBUSD’s current sex-ed plan, the curriculum never even addressed menstruation, let alone how to fnd the product that worked best for you. It never explained how some users can be allergic to the cotton used by certain pad and tampon brands, and never listed the pros and cons of each sustainable alternative. My mother–a gynecologist, conveniently–supplemented my lack of knowledge, but even her experience has limits.

The stigma around menstruation adds urgency to the need for more comprehensive, updated sex education plans in schools. I’m not saying that I want to see Omar and Natalie in groundbreaking 4K, but there is so much ground that the material doesn’t cover. Even now I have many questions about my period and what my options are.

When the time arrives for that nitty-gritty, sit-down talk, it’s essential that menstruation is not a gendered conversation. Men have just as much responsibility to understand the complexities of periods as anyone else; while they aren’t frst-hand experiencers, all of them have mothers, some have siblings and many of them will have partners

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voice column

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who receive a period each month. Teaching all youth about menstruation raises a more educated generation. Where girls can work hard on the court and feel unrestricted by their fow. Where girls aren’t scared to try what accommodates their bodies best. One where every boy carries around a tampon just in case someone needs it, one where future legislatures and voters make in- formed decisions on bodily autonomy, one who isn’t afraid to have the conversations that matter. We just have to lift that invisible weight.

“Welcome to maturity! Here’s everything you need to know.”

PHOTO VIA PEXELS

Voice column: Stuck in the middle in a world of binaries

by I. Langa

b. Male

My mouse hovers over a question on the EXACT Sports website, which athletes use to connect with colleges and recruiters. There are several things that anger me about this question. The frst is that female and male are sexes, not genders. The second is that the question doesn’t want to know my gender, it wants to know which team I am going to play for. The third is that this kind of question even exists.

I am nonbinary. I am also the captain of my “girl’s” soccer team. To answer the question at the beginning of the article, I selected “A,” which felt grossly invalidating but was necessary to be considered by colleges. The only current space for me to play a sport I love involves my silently enduring being consistently misgendered by coaches, programs, referees and the general environment: every event I attend, every tournament I play, I am exclusively referred to as a “woman.”

If I could select “B” (even though I am not biologically male) and compete as a “man,” I would still feel equally out of place. Current nonbinary athletes face the same choice: shut up and pick one, sidelining their gender. We’re tired of being sidelined.

Sports are an overwhelmingly binary and exclusive aspect of society. Binary trans and intersex athletes already fnd themselves at the center of furious debate over their rights to participate. The Olympics primarily classify athletes as male or female depending on their testosterone levels, but the requisite levels vary between events.

Furthermore, other methods of sex determination, such as chromosomes and physical anatomy, continue to infuence the debate on who is “allowed” to be female. Further muddying the waters is the confation of sex with gender; for clarifcation, sex refers to one’s physical anatomy, hormones and chromosomes, while gender is a social construct that. Despite the common assumption that both are rigidly binary, science supports that both gender and sex exist on a spectrum. Intersex people may be born with a variety of hormone levels, anatomy and chromosomes that do not fall into strictly male or female phenotypes. Nonbinary people may be assigned a binary sex at birth, but their internal sense of self difers from the roles they are expected to play.

SPLASHING Not a

by Hadeel Azzam

Current debate over the intersection of gender, sex and sports still centers around this fawed binary view. With this inherently exclusionary system, no matter how much we move the goalposts of how we defne “female” and “male,” “man” and “woman,” as long as we try to form two succinct and non-overlapping categories, someone is going to be left out.

The way we categorize sports into genders is inherently exclusive, and until the current binary system based on a murky entanglement of gender and sex is revised, we as a society cannot purport to foster an open, welcoming, and inclusive environment for all athletes.

othing screams “the government should reallocate resources to help those in poverty,” than throwing perfectly good cans of soup at paintings. In the past two months, Just Stop Oil, a UK activist group, has gained international attention due to their outrageous and nonsensical protest tactics.

Just Stop Oil is demanding that the UK government abandon their plans to license more than 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025 and for the government to end reliance on fossil fuels entirely. The frst demand is understandable, but their second is completely improbable. If they wanted to make real change they would not come of insanely aggressive with their demands or with their protest tactics.

On Nov. 7, Just Stop Oil protesters blocked trafc moving through the M25, one of the busiest roadways in the UK, during rush hour. This is just disruptive to everyday people. According to statements made by Just Stop Oil in previous protests, one of their main concerns is that despite gaining more licenses to increase fossil fuel intake, the price for fuel has not been lowered and is still unafordable for many.

Stopping trafc and making people sit still on a major freeway is not going to lower fuel prices, it wastes fuel. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, only when a car is completely of will they stop using gas. So in their protest of fossil fuels and high fuel prices, Just Stop Oil contributed to the problem by forcing everyday citizens to waste their already expensive gas and force them to fll up their tanks earlier.

NTheir “smaller scale” (because here they aren’t risking their lives by climbing onto freeway signs) protests included throwing food, specifcally pies and cans of soup, at famous pieces of artwork then supergluing themselves, yes supergluing, to the wall underneath. One of these protests took place on Oct. 14 when two protesters, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, threw a can of Heinz tomato soup on Vincent Van Gogh’s painting Sunfowers.

Plummer then went on to give a long winded speech asking questions like “What is worth more, art or life?” My question is why did art get involved? Just Stop Oil attempted to bring two extremely diferent things together. Art and oil do not correlate, and confating them weakens the message and does not prove a point.

The point they are trying to make is also very hypocritical. Celebrating Van Gogh’s work is celebrating a life, his life. These protesters essentially made a mockery of that by belittling not only Van Gogh’s work but belittling the value of art in general. But I digress.

"The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of the oil crisis. Fuel is unafordable to millions of cold, hungry families,” Plummer said. My next question is how does throwing food help “cold, hungry families?” Again, no correlation. Wasting food does not prove a point, it just weakens their argument.

Just Stop Oil speaks of trying to help people, but nothing they are doing is helping anyone. Instead they are wasting food, wasting gas and wasting people’s time. These types of protests have been proven to be inefective in sending a positive message to the public. According to "The Guardian," many people on the road during their M25 protest were voicing their complaints and yelling violent threats out of their windows.

A network of citizens who monitor politicians’ opinions on the climate named MP Watch, has spoken out how these protests have “made it too easy to demonize environmental activism.”

According to Jessica Townsend, co-founder of MP Watch, there is an increasing number of citizens who are concerned about the climate crisis but feel as though they have no place to go with their worries because of extremism groups such as Just Stop Oil.

“If there are moderate, dynamic campaigns for them to join, we are likely to see more people engaged and the possibility of an alliance across all political and social groups,” Townsend said.

There have been less drastic protests in Europe that have shown activists in a better light. In the spark of Italy’s energy crisis and rising energy bills, thousands of major cities have been turning of the lights of their major tourist attractions. Small business owners have also been displaying their gas and energy bills on their windows to spread awareness. While it is a minor act, it creates a big diference and spreads their message in a positive manner. According to Bloomberg, Italy is working on an aid package that will lower energy and gas prices.

If they wanted to make real change, Just Stop Oil would use practical and efective forms of protest, such as gatherings and rallies with other major activist groups to sympathize with the majority population. Instead they’ve turned themselves into a laughing stock for the whole world to see. They’ve gained attention but lost their reputation.

“What is your gender?”

a. Female

It is inefective and outrageous to throw soup at historic paintings as a form of enviromental protest

CLIPARTVIA FREEPIK

success

Current nonbinary athletes face the same choice; shut up and pick one, sidelining their gender. We’re tired of being sidelined."

I. LANGA SENIOR

“

Long live the king

by Allie D'Amato

Back and better than ever. Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” premiered on Friday, Nov. 11, serving as a sequel to the immensely popular and beloved “Black Panther.” As a self-proclaimed Marvel afcionado, I’ve reviewed a lot of Marvel projects in the past, and even though I say this every time, I truly believe this movie is one of Marvel’s most emotionally driven and visually captivating flms yet.

The time frame of the movie is ambiguous, but it’s safe to say that it takes place after all of the phase-four Marvel movies and TV-shows released thus far. It starts of by addressing the death of King T’Challa, formerly portrayed by the late Chadwick Boseman, due to an unidentifed illness. Wakanda is left devastated and hopeless as their beacon of strength, the Black Panther, is no longer. Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) are forced to navigate this loss, and oversee the continuation of Wakanda.

Amid the loss of T’Challa, political conficts arise when other countries, notably the U.S., intercept agreements made with Wakanda to preserve the use of vibranium. U.S. forces implement the use of a vibranium detector, which leads to a myriad of

cascading problems. The U.S. detects vibranium in the ocean, and Wakanda learns about the secret underwater nation of Talokan who is also a producer and harvester of vibranium. Wakanda is threatened by Talokan to both halt other countries' invasions and search for vibranium and kill the scientist responsible for designing the vibranium detector (as the leader of Talokan, Namor, feels it is a threat to his nation). A seemingly complicated storyline which is, in actuality, very easy to follow while watching the movie.

I’m not going to lie–it’s true that I will always rave about Marvel, their genius concepts and their insane ability to bridge connections throughout a series of never-ending movies. However, the “Disney-fcation” of Marvel has been incredibly apparent in some of it’s most recent projects, and while watching, I can’t help but cringe at the forced attempts to implement awkward jokes, childish dementors and over-convoluted plotlines (cough cough, “Thor Love and Thunder”). But I must say, “Wakanda Forever” was masterfully written, flmed and pieced together–it really felt like an authentic Marvel movie with mesmerizing fght sequences, true themes of family and perseverance, visually pleasing cinematography, naturally fowing dialogue, palpable emotion and a painfully poignant and touching tribute to a Marvel-community favorite, Chadwick Boseman. Dare I say, I felt like “Wakanda Forever” was much better than its frst installment.

Every time Shuri and Ramonda mentioned T’Challa and his impact on their lives and the Wakandan society at large, my heart broke a little more. I could see the devastation and intense grief that not only Shuri and Ramonda harbored for T’Challa, but also Letitia Wright and Angela Bassett had for their dear costar and friend–the tears and the frustration were real and deep-rooted. I appreciated the fact that T’Challa’s untimely death was portrayed as more of a celebration of life and an opportunity for particularly Shuri to heal, cherish his deep insight and allow herself to be guided by his morals. T’Challa’s “presence” really takes Shuri a long way and it helps her become a strong leader, a ferce fghter

and a fortitudinous woman.

Shuri was truly a joy to watch, as she adopted a more prominent role this time around. Her growth throughout the movie is admirable, and I felt the writers did a good job of portraying her with a dynamic nature. She learns to take charge and control her emotions, rather than falling susceptible and letting them control her. She shows mercy and grace to the “enemy,” and (SPOILER) watching her transition into being the next Black Panther was kick-ass. Beyond Shuri’s character development, Wright did an amazing job at advancing Shuri’s story. Though Wright has been problematic in the past due to her anti-vax claims on Twitter, her performance as Shuri completely shatters expectations, overshadowing my complaints. Her comedic timing is exquisite, and her ability to skillfully transition in and out of diferent

ing the same exact game on two diferent titles?

moods and emotions contributes to the fow of the movie.

Additionally, I wanted to mention one prominent detail which I greatly admired: women empowerment! There were defnitely moments that paralleled the scene in “Avengers: Endgame” where all the female superheroes joined together to fght Thanos. The female leads carried this movie. They plotted. They fought. They cried. They rose. They grew. They learned. Watching females at the forefront of this movie was incredibly uplifting and touching, and it reminds audiences of women’s capabilities, strength, and resilience.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” exceeded my expectations. It shaped the trajectory of future Marvel movies, and it did a great job of promoting important, meaningful themes. Let’s just say if you’re going to see it, bring a box of tissues.

by Ty Soria

I’m not the frst one to think the proper name for this game should be “Overwatch 1.5” because it’s more like a big update than an actual sequel. Just like its predecessor, “Overwatch 2,” made by Blizzard Entertainment, is a team-based game where players can play as diferent characters called “heroes,” each with individual attacks and special abilities. Each hero is separated into diferent types called “classes” and each team is allowed one tank, two damage and two support heroes per match. The graphics and animation are essentially the same as the frst, and most of the original maps stayed the same except for the time of day. Minor balancing tweaks were added to most of the heroes as well.

Although the game had little fundamental changes from the frst iteration, the most signifcant change of the game was its replacement of 6v6-structured teams to 5v5-structured teams. Players often complained about having to shoot through two tank heroes in the original because they took all the damage and slowed the game pace down, so changing the team dynamics improved the fow of matches dramatical-

ly. However, this was compromised with a health boost, making the tank class too overpowered as they can kill opponents much more easily, making them more offensive than defensive.

mental changes, the game also added new maps, game modes and three heroes to the roster including Junker Queen, Sojourn, and Kiriko. Another positive is that de spite the shoddy launch, the queue times have also been completely faster, meaning that getting into matches was quicker. The cost of this, how ever, was the shutting down of the origi nal’s online serv ers, because what was the use of all the players play

The new game mode, “Push,” is simple and enjoyable to play because it is a creative way to have a control point. In this mode, two teams have to escort a robot to the delivery point. The team that controls the robot controls its direction and the team that pushes the robot the furthest wins. I like the constant tug-of-war action of this mode because the action moves all around the map, allowing for more strategic opportunity. Diferent classes and characters can beneft from certain terrains within the maps, so having a moving objective makes all character’s abilities imperative to winning each match.

nine-week seasonal model, Overwatch 2’s $10 premium battle pass holds objectively less value than other popular online games like “Fortnite,” “Apex Legends” and “Call of Duty.” The “Overwatch 2” battle pass only features 80 tiers of cosmetics while the others have 100 per season for the same price or cheaper. The other three games also allow players to collect enough in-game currency in the premium battle pass to buy it back the next season, while “Overwatch 2” only gives players half the amount to buy another battle pass. It’s still a better deal than “Valorant’s,” but it is still not worth it to spend $20 every three seasons when I can have infnite battle passes for $10 on other online games.

The campaign mode it was supposed to come with was delayed to a later release. As a sucker for game lore, a game that tells a good story keeps me invested with the game and its characters. Without a continuation of the story (at least on its ofcial launch), it is not really a continuation of the game, and it’s harder to fall in love with it.

There was a two year gap between the last Overwatch update and Overwatch 2’s launch, so the changes they made gameplay-wise are well-thought out and well-executed like the new game mode and the 5v5 structure. Overall, the essentials that made the frst game special like the dynamic cast of characters and large variety of modes still make “Overwatch 2” a highly enjoyable game to play with friends in both competitive and casual settings. But, I am not the biggest fan of the economic choices for this game, and it is crystal clear that Blizzard tried to quickly save their game by adding a shameless “2” slapped onto a large update.

Marvel's tribute to King T'Challa and Chadwick Boseman is beautiful

Although "Overwatch 2" makes adequate changes, it's "free-to-all" format is deceiving

PHOTO VIA WDW NEWS TODAY

Not a Crowning Acheivement

by Sara Miyake-Singer

After obsessively watching four exquisite seasons of “The Crown” and impatiently waiting two years for the next release, I had high expectations for the series’ ffth season. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed as I watched its weakest season yet.

Premiering on Netfix on Nov. 9, “The Crown’s” ffth season details the British royal family’s turbulent time during the 1990's with, in my opinion, too heavy of a focus on Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s divorce.

Of the ten episodes, eight featured the couple’s marital troubles. Many drag on and make seemingly juicy drama boring, including: “Queen Victoria Syndrome,” which doubles as an hour-long whining session about the royal family’s yacht, “The System,” an incoherent episode also showcasing Prince Philip’s carriage driving and “No Woman’s Land” and “Gunpowder,” which detail Princess Diana’s Panorama interview and should have been condensed into one episode.

On the fip side, other captivating episodes made their marital troubles more bearable to watch by efectively combining other members’ similar drama with the couple’s struggles. “Annus Horribilis,” showcasing the Queen’s self-confessed “horrible year,” “The Way Ahead,” detailing Tampongate as well as Prince Charles’ vision for the monarchy and “Couple 31,” featuring the fnalization of the Wales’ divorce, all kept me interested in the season’s divorce plot and added new dimension to it.

Despite several entertaining episodes on the matter, the show’s Diana-Charles obsession causes it to lack what it traditionally does best: detailing historical/political events through Queen Elizabeth ll’s

perspective as she navigates her relationship with her family and the British public.

Sadly, there was only one politics-centered episode this season: “Impatiev House.” This episode, detailing the Romanov’s relation to Philip and Elizabeth, along with the couple’s visit to a newly-democratic Russia, demonstrated that the political element of the show is essential to its excellence. It was a welcome break from Charles and Diana and successfully continued the enthralling Philip-Elizabeth plot, which has been central to the show since its frst season.

“Decommissioned,” which is partially about the British handing over Hong Kong, could have also given us this well-needed break by explaining the history behind the British occupancy and showing the diminishing of the British Empire. Instead of taking advantage of its potential, the episode again falls into the same annoying Diana-Charles cycle.

Ironically, the season’s best episode, “Mou Mou,” hardly featured the royal family. The episode, which biographizes Egyptian billionaire Mohammed Al Fayed, Diana’s future boyfriend’s father, was an enjoyable watch as it offered insightful commentary on British aristocracy and detailed the Al-Fayeds’ and Windsors’ little known connections.

Another problem I have with this season is its insistence on reminding the audience about the monarchy’s ever-growing irrelevance by the characters constant discussion of it, telling viewers about the family’s irrelevance without showing it. Season fve informs us of the family’s irrelevance through blatantly-stated metaphors.

I get that the outdated royal yacht is similar to the Queen, and I get that the

Queen’s reluctance to get a new television represents her being stuck in the past. But please, I can understand these metaphors without the Queen outright saying them fve times an episode.

The performances of season fve’s new cast members (the show changes casts every two seasons) were a mixed bag.

Aided by her resemblance to her late Majesty, Imelda Staunton’s portrayal of Queen Elizabeth ll was authentic. Staunton successfully mimicked the Queen’s public behavior while ofering a believable continuation of Olivia Coleman and Claire Foy’s performances in previous seasons. Likewise, Elizabeth Debicki is a fantastic Princess Diana and at times made me believe I was really watching the late princess. She gives a superior performance to season four’s Emma Corrin and is defnitely a standout. Additionally, I enjoyed the performances of Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker Bowles, Senan West as a young Prince William and Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret as they allowed me to empathize with each of the characters.

However, these performances were detracted from by the male leads’ lackluster ones. Dominic West, who looks nothing like his real-life counterpart, does a mediocre job as Prince Charles. He does well showing Charles’ delusion and whining and his accent is - around 75 percent of the time - on point. But, he doesn’t depict Charles’ mannerisms or overall behavior as well as Josh O’Connor did in seasons three and four. Like father like son, Jonathan Pryce does a poor job as Prince Philip. He portrays none of Philip’s wit, arrogance, humor, mannerisms or sheer audacity and didn’t remind me of the Duke at all. Because of the show’s lack of politics,

as Major is

personal therapist, unlike previous prime ministers about whom I learned more about in the show. All three are decent soap-opera characters, but none really stand out as resembling their real-life counterparts.

to

Despite the gripes I have about some performances, I liked that they all gave nuance to the characters. In real life, King Charles lll launched a media campaign against the show out of fear it will villainize him. I’m not going to hypocritically preach the ethics of nonconsensually creating media about living people, but relative to the unfairness other victims of this are subjected to, I don’t feel Charles nor his family are treated too badly. Although the show falsely portrayed certain events (Charles consulting with prime ministers to force his mother to abdicate) and is occasionally unnecessarily cruel (dramatizing Prince William and Prince Philip’s childhood trauma), ultimately, Charles didn’t have to worry. With the admiration and respect the show has for the family, “The Crown,” by showing multiple sides of their personalities, portrays the royals somewhat fairly and humanizes them. Frankly, it isn’t the worst thing that could happen to a family surviving of of attention.

Overall, season fve of “The Crown” was an okay watch and, while of course fctional, provides a decent insight into the royal family in the 90's. But, considering its great source material and the quality of the show’s previous seasons, I couldn’t help feeling that this season should’ve been better than it was.

"Enola Holmes 2" is an enjoyable watch, promoting important themes

by Romi Riss

The game has found its foot again. “Enola Holmes 2” premiered on Netfix on Oct. 27, and it’s safe to say that it defnitely lives up to the hype. Fans anticipated the second flm, hoping it would answer the many unanswered questions from the frst installment. Will Enola and Tewkesbury fnd love? Will Enola’s mother return? Will Enola survive in the big city?

In the frst “Enola Holmes” movie, the young protagonist Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown), sister to Myroft and Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill), travels to London to fnd her missing mother (Helena Bonham Carter), but gets wrapped up in the case of the missing young lord, Viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). The movie is captivating, entertaining and funny, but the ending feels unfnished.

Eager and determined, Enola Holmes opens her own detective agency in London at the start of “Enola Holmes 2.” She is approached by a young girl, Bessie Chapman, who seeks her services to fnd her missing sister, Sarah Chapman. Enola dedicates herself to the case, following leads that place her in dangerous situations that she always manages to skillfully escape. At the same time, her brother, Sherlock Holmes, is stuck on his own mystery case following a money trail from bank to bank. The ending provides closure but still leaves fore-

shadowing of a potential third flm. Skillfully written and produced, the plot weaves all the storylines, tying them together like a true mystery. It allows the audience to solve the case alongside Enola and Sherlock, and it designs shocking discoveries and plot twists. Every hunch, idea or revelation that Sherlock and Enola have about their cases are explained through fashes of images and past scenes, letters foating and rearranging or a fipbook illustrat ing their thoughts. On top of the incredible design and editing, the layout allowed viewers to engage with the mystery by having an actual under standing of the clues.

The set and costumes

transport viewers into nineteenth-century Britain, despite small historical inaccuracies. Enola appears in glamorous gowns, casual dresses, men’s outfts and all types of disguises. All her outfts, as well as the cast’s, are extremely detailed, thought-out and appealing. Throughout both flms, Enola has the tendency to ofer fve pounds in exchange for an outft swap as an urgent disguise measure. In the second movie, one scene comedically features the product of this exchange, a young man standing in Enola's dress.

Enola develops as a character, as Brown confdently embraces Enola’s wild

and fery spirit. As a ferce independent young woman, Enola had an unusual education. She is well versed in solving puzzles, unencrypting messages and the art of Jiu Jitsu. Her martial arts skills add to her independent character, but in the second movie it was overplayed with too many fght scenes. While her distinct personality comes of too quirky at times, Enola's silly antics, clever maneuvers and peculiar mind fashion a charming and lovable protagonist.

She learns that making connections and working together is not a sign of weakness as she develops her relationships and accepts help from Sherlock, other young women and Tewkesbury.

Women’s sufrage, individuality and progress are themes present throughout the movie. This message continues into “Enola Holmes 2” but takes the route of women empowerment, rebellion and uniting to fght for a cause. The flm is loosely based on an historical women’s rights activist named Sarah Chapman, a leader of the 1888 Bryant and May Matchgirls’ strike, which promoted the progress of industrial workplace safety and gender equality. While the movie doesn’t follow the exact events of the strike, I liked this aspect because it highlights an important activist and feminist fgure.

“Enola Holmes 2” is a must-see flm, especially for fans of the original movie.

Season 5 of "The Crown" fails to shed light upon crucial political events in the British Monarchy

I have no idea whether Johnny Lee Miller accurately portrayed Prime Minister John Major. I learned nothing about his political views or public persona,

delegated

the royal family’s

PHOTO

Varsity boys football concludes their session with a 7-33 loss

by Cristina Couch

Returning home after winning the previous away game by a close two point lead, varsity football took the feld at Sea Hawk Bowl, with a spot in the CIF semi-fnals on the line. Although they fell short, losing 7-33 to Lakewood on Nov. 11, senior safety Zane Hull was still “proud” to qualify.

“Most teams didn't even make the playofs, or they lost the frst round, so we were happy we made it that far,” Hull said.

Acknowledging the competition was going to be tough, the pressure of the game did not afect the Sea Hawks' performance, as they held their own against Lakewood throughout the frst half.

Lakewood scored on Redondo during the frst thrid of tas they tied up the game just before the end of the frst quarter. Lakewood’s ofensive formation the shifted in the second half, and Redondo couldn’t adjust according to junior running back and safety Colin Kelly. Redondo conceded three touchdowns by the end of the third quarter, and another in the fourth quarter.

Although their mindset did not falter, Kelly and Hull both acknowledge that improvements could be made and some plays could have been better executed. According to Hull, the team “missed a lot of tackles and just didn't move the ball well on ofense.”

However, according to Hull, the team additionally sufered from numerous injuries.

“We struggled with being healthy,” Hull said. “I got hurt on the frst drive, so I was out the whole game.”

As the game unfolded against their favor, the team managed to keep the same level of fght according to Hull.

“There's a lot of seniors on the team, so everyone knew that potentially this was their last game ever,” Hull said. “The emotions were high, and we kept trying until the end but unfortunately we fell short.”

Despite the outcome, being in a position to compete in playofs and the overall CIF qualifying year's 8-4 game record allowed for an “exciting” opportunity for both Hull and Kelly.

“We haven't gotten this far in seven years,” Kelly said. “So being here was really good for the bond between the guys.”

According to Kelly, the game allowed them to "set the standards" for the program's future.

“[We] got to show the younger generations and everyone coming out how Redondo football plays,” Kelly said.

Not only did qualifying bring a great sense of pride to the team but getting this far was “defnitely really big for our team,” according to Kelly. And looking to next year, the team plans to keep the success going.

“Next year the team is just going to continue to get better,” Hull said. “We have a lot of sophomores on the team and they defnitely will be getting better and able to contribute more as the years go on.”

The team plans to take advantage of the of season and summer sessions by continuing to develop their skills and work out harder according to Kelly.

Although disappointed with their season coming to a close, both Hull and Kelly are hoping next year the team will bring home a championship title.

“Redondo football is on the rise, and we're not going down hill, that's for sure,” Kelly said.

Varsity boys water polo wins second CIF game 6-5

Boys water polo played in the second round of CIF, a “dream come true” for the team, according to junior Derek Schafer. The boys were up against Dana Hills High School on Thursday, Nov. 3, in a tight game that concluded with a winning shot made by Schafer, in the last three seconds of the fourth quarter.

Right of the bat, Redondo claimed the frst goal of the game. They confronted Dana Hills with a strong defense, with sophomore goalie Declan Goldstein blocking several shots within the frst quarter. Their tough defensive plays, matched closely by Dana Hills, resulted in numerous counterattacks down the pool, and a score of 1-0 with Redondo in the lead by the end of the frst quarter.

tion and suspense. However, Redondo continued to sustain their defense, exemplifed by multiple two-meter steals made by setguard Samuel Hendrickson.

“The boys’ willingness to keep fghting for all four quarters really brought [the win] for our team,” Head Coach Jase Emery said.

Redondo soon pushed back into the lead, scoring several goals on counterattacks and 6-on-5 ofensive opportunities, leaving the score by the end of the second quarter at 3-1. Redondo continued to maintain their strong defense, meanwhile displaying their ofensive zeal within the frst half of the third quarter. They gained two more points, the second being a skip shot into the high corner of the goal.

by Stavyah Naveen

“I think our [success] really came down to those third and fourth quarters,” Schaffer said. “[Those were] the times we really had to stick together and have each others' backs. I think that really is the best form [of success].”

With 53 seconds left in the game, and a disquieting score of 6-6, both teams were

“I think that we ran our defense the way we intended to,” Schafer said.

“We knew that defense was going to be how we would win coming into this game. We knew that we had to focus on shutting down [Dana Hills’] counterattacks and their two-meter plays, and we did just that.”

Following Redondo’s temporary onepoint lead, Dana Hills soon pushed back, scoring their frst goal of the game during the second quarter. This tied the score to 1-1, consuming the stands with anticipa-

However, Redondo was soon met with tough resistance, as Dana Hills regained possession of their points, reducing Redondo’s lead to a tight 5-4.

During the fourth quarter, Dana Hills pushed forward to gain a penalty shot, which raised their score and caused them to gain a 5-5 tie. At this point in the game, tensions were high, as Redondo fought to gain the upper hand. Both teams displayed a powerful defense, as the ball was urgently passed across the pool.

vigorously endeavoring to gain the upper hand. With 18 seconds left in the game, Redondo gained a 6-5 advantage, winning narrowly with a shot made by Schafer in the last three seconds of the game.

Emery explains that the game-winning shot made by Schafer was something they had to practice “maybe a hundred times in the pool,” and the fact that it showed up in the game was “incredible.”

Emery believes that the boys’ hard work and positive spirit throughout this season have been essential to their success and is “proud” of the way they keep showing up to put up their best fght during practices and games.

“I think our team bonding has been critical to our success,” Emery said.

“The boys’ willingness to keep fghting for all four quarters really brought [the win] for our team,”

JASE EMERY HEAD COACH

“

by Andrew McKenna

Just a week removed from a strong showing at Bay League Finals, both boys and girls cross country teams headed to Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) on Friday, Nov. 11 for their next challenge: CIF Prelims. Despite the lofty expectations the team had for themselves entering the postseason, they were met with some unforeseen challenges heading into this meet. A group plagued by sickness in recent weeks, both teams were tasked with running at less than 100% with their season potentially on the line.

Despite the challenges of not being at full strength in a postseason meet, Redondo had one small positive going for them: they had experience on this course, notorious for its hilly landscape, many turns and dry air, which proved useful for Redondo.

“I knew what to expect going in since we’ve run Mount Sac before,” junior Lyla Fedio said. “I knew that there wouldn’t be many spots to speed up at, aside from the switchbacks. Since I knew this, I was able to mentally prepare for the switch-

backs before I got to them, which defnitely helped me.”

Picking up the Pace

The experience paid of, as Fedio went on to lead all Division 1 female runners with a time of 17:54.50. She was one of three Redondo girls who fnished in the top 20 of their heat, leading them to a third place fnish in the heat as a team. This was more than enough to guarantee them a spot in the CIF Final. Feeling “happy to move on," the group has already shifted their attention to preparing for that meet.

“You have to stay a little more concentrated than usual (this week), but the focus otherwise stays the same. We’re just gonna try to keep it steady and consistent with our training.” Fedio said. “Our goal as a team is to eventually move on to the state meet, so you just have to make sure you continue to place high so that you can continue to move on to the next week.”

Following the girls’ race, the boys team took to the starting line for their chance to advance to the CIF Finals. Fresh of their frst Bay League title since 2008, the boys were riding high; this confdence could be both a blessing or a curse if you aren’t careful. According to junior Connor Ruhe, the team made sure to not let their recent success get to their heads too much.

“We had to make sure that we weren’t overconfdent heading into the meet,” Ruhe said. “Even though we’d just won Bay League for the frst time in a while, we had to make sure we were still on our game. You still have to try hard each race, no matter how well the last race went.”

With the aforementioned sickness looming over the team, Ruhe was one of a few runners who was forced into a larger role for this race. Already down the number three runner on their squad, senior Aaron Thomas (the team’s top runner) was clearly hampered by an illness himself, fnishing sixth out of seven on the team: an unprecedented stat for the stand-out athlete. Luckily for Redondo, Ruhe and his teammates were prepared

to step up when they needed them to.

“I knew that I had a good shot at hanging with these guys,” Ruhe said. “I was just working on making sure that I could work with them during the race, and I focused on making sure I could hang on with them for at least the frst few miles. The toughest part of the race was probably the last mile. I was exhausted by that point, but just having the guys around me helped a lot.”

In the end the boys proved how deep their roster is, with the top fve runners all fnishing within the top 25 of an 85+ man heat. The boys fnished frst overall in their heat, comfortably advancing them into the CIF Finals on Saturday, Nov. 19.

“We went out fast, so I was dying from the second mile onward. I just tried to keep my teammates inside and continue to work with them, and it was cool that we were able to do well and win in the end,” Ruhe said. “We just need to make sure that we continue to show up to practice each day with a good mindset, and also make sure we take some time to rest.”

by Ethan Chi

While girls varsity volleyball started out strong in the California State Championship, shutting out San Clemente 3-0, their road to victory was cut short when they faced Huntington Beach High School. On Thursday, Nov. 10 girls varsity concluded their season with a 0-3 loss to Huntington.

Coming of a win, Redondo went into Thursday's game energized and ready to fnally beat Huntington after losing to them in the preseason.

“The whole season, we were hoping we could play them again to just prove that we were the better team,” senior team captain Mele Corral-Blagojevich said. “There was defnitely just a hunger that I felt our team had to beat them.”

Redondo’s desire for victory going into the game was put to the test early on. In the frst set, Huntington’s offense competed toe to toe with Redondo

as both teams battled for the opposition.

“Their outside hitters are very good, and we knew that going into the game,” junior outside hitter Victoria Henkel said. “Their outsides got much better from the last time we played them and they ran the middle more.”

Even though Huntington's outside hitters contributed to their strong ofense, Redondo wouldn’t let up.

“I think we put pretty good surface pressure on them. I defnitely think our servers did a really good job of making them [Huntington] struggle,” Corral-Blagojevich said.

Even though Redondo put up a fght, there were some passing errors and inconsistencies in the frst set, according to Henkel. Ultimately, Redondo’s eforts were not enough to pull them through, resulting in Huntington winning the frst set 20-25. With Redondo already trailing, the team needed to make up some ground fast.

The second set started with Redondo eager to bounce back, but two points in, Corral-Blagojevich got injured and was not available the rest of the game.

“Nobody wants to see their teammate go down, plus they had to fgure out a new lineup right there on the court,” Corral-Blagojevich said.

While this set was neck and neck, Redondo still couldn’t gain the upper hand resulting in a 21-25 loss in the second set. One more set went wrong, and Redondo’s season ended. The stakes could not have been higher at this moment, according to Henkel.

“After state championships, there is nothing else. You lose, you are out,” Henkel said. “There is a lot of pressure on everyone on the team because we have to win, for our team and for our seniors who aren’t playing next year. It is more of a need than a want.”

the ball well,” Corral-Blagojevich said.

Even though Redondo's energy and skill were there, Huntington was just the better team, according to Henkel. They outplayed Redondo in the third set 1925, bringing the team's season to an end.

MELE CORRAL-BLAGOJEVICH SENIOR

Motivated, the girls hoped to come back in the third set and beat Huntington in fve sets, according to Henkel.

“I think ofensively we did a good job of placing and being able to move their set around. I think defensively we were getting a lot of really good swings up, and we were getting a lot of tips because they were also placing

“I think if it were a diferent situation, we would have come out and won, but Huntington just really had our number and knew what we're gonna do. It's hard to beat a team when they're playing their best volleyball,” Corral-Blagojevich said. Unfortunately for Redondo, the girls could not continue their state championship journey, meaning this game signifes the last match of the season and the last time Redondo’s seniors will share the court with the rest of the team. However, even though Redondo ended their season on a loss, they placed 11th in CIF and made it to D1 for the state championships.

“It was my last game with my team, so to me, I just wanted to go and play. I mean, obviously, I wasn't hoping that we would lose, but after I got hurt, I was grateful that I was able to be on the court with this team at least one more time and fnish of our season,” Corral-Blagojevich said.

Girls volleyball sweeps San Clemente in state tournament but loses to Huntington Beach in the second round, ending their season

1. Junior Lyla Fedio runs the scenic Mt. SAC course. 2. Varsity boys packing together at the beginning of the race. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JACOB DICK

“I wasn't hoping that we would lose, but after I got hurt, I was grateful that I was able to be on the court with this team at least one more time and fnish of our season.”

HEALTHY BODY,

HAPPY

by Rena Felde

Stress, strain and sweat. Often seen as an outlet for stress accumulated from responsibilities, the gym has become increasingly relevant to teens. This trend is theorized to have been infuenced by a growth in gym-based media tailored towards young adults, resulting in the gym playing a more prominent role in students’ lives than in previous decades.

Sophomore Leah Mori has been going to the gym for nearly ten months. She continuously found herself going home after school with nothing to do and wanted to fnd a new hobby. After watching TikToks of others going to the gym, she decided to “try it out” for herself. Over the summer, she went six days a week, but now with the time burden of school, she goes about half as often.

What's keeping me motivated is having a lot of other people that work out now, and also knowing that I can improve myself, get stronger and further [my] goals."

SHEA CORKERY SENIOR

Despite originally feeling intimidated, Mori found that over time she became more comfortable with going to the gym. She says it has become a distraction from stressful situations such as those in school, and it also helps her improve her productivity and time management.

“When I go to the gym, it gives me the responsibility of [managing my schedule] and practicing where I have to be at what time,” Mori said.

Like Mori, senior Shea Corkery has also found solace in the gym, going fve to six days per week. His increased gym experience has expanded his interest in ftness, while consistently going to the gym has helped him build mental strengths in determination and perseverance. Physically, the gym has helped increase his body security by fostering "an image [he] can be confdent with."

“I used to be a little overweight, so I was def nitely concerned and insecure,” Corkery said.

Students claim that they have had many posi tive experiences with the gym, from meeting new people to physical self-improvement and mental stability. Despite its benefts, however, burnout is common among many gym-goers.

“Sometimes, there will be days where I just don’t want to go [to the gym] but I force myself to go,” Mori said. “[In the end], I never regret going.”

Like Mori, junior Laura Shea has found that she is also susceptible to burnout and impatience. Her

According to a 2018 survey of 15,000 high school students by the Journal of Adolescent Health

music.

“What’s keeping me motivated is having a lot of other people that work out now and also knowing that I can improve myself, get stronger and further [my] goals,” Corkery said.

Personal records (PRs) play a signifcant role in the gym realm, as they symbolize improvement and growth for many athletes.

“Hitting [a PR] makes you feel good, and for the rest of the workout, you feel stronger and more motivated to be consistent,” Corkery said. “But when you don’t hit it, it can be a knock-back and you might not do as well in the rest of the workout. Sometimes I try to use that failure to do something better in the next exercise.”

According to Corkery, the “mixture” of emotions going through his head from earlier in the day all “transfer into the gym.”

“Sometimes you’re sad, and you’re just going with the fow. Sometimes you’re angry and you use that anger as energy,” Corkery said. “Usually, I’m pretty happy before I get to the gym because it’s my place.”

For both Corkery and Shea, the gym has been like a second home.

“Everybody’s so nice, and they’re very motivating. It feels really nice having the support from other people,” Shea said.

But some people are less supportive than others. Shea has noticed some gym-goers giving negative comments or teasing others "for the way they work out or the way they look," specifcally if they are overweight or underweight. She’ll see videos

percent

17-30)

to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association

“[The boys] want other people to know how funny they are, and they want to feel like a bigger person,” she said.

Mori claims that if more women went to gyms, they would be less male-dominated by default, resulting in women feeling more comfortable.

“There would be times where I was in one part of the gym and there were no other girls, and I would feel left out,” Mori said. “Now that I see more girl athletes at the gym that are also high schoolers, I feel more included.”

With the rising gym content and motivation on TikTok and other social media platforms, gyms will continue to rise in popularity and thus become more crowded, according to Corkery. Despite the perceived downside of gyms becoming more full, Corkery and Shea agree that the more people going to the gym, the better. Mori also believes that more people going to the gym will make the environment more supportive and inclusive.

“Some people go [to the gym] just to say that they go but don’t actually [work out],” Mori said. “But when I see people I have a common interest [with], going to the gym is a good way to spend quality time [together].”

Going to the gym has helped improve students' confdence and has fostered better life habits, but the toxic culture surrounding physical expectations still taints the experience

Now that I see more girl athletes at the gym that are also high schoolers, I feel more included."

LEAH MORI SOPHOMORE

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of people who go to the gym are young adults (ages

according