High Tide: April 7, 2023

Reality Check

The Wellness Center hosts their "R U Prepared for the Future?" group for juniors and seniors

by CaraMia Leal

In the Wellness Center, where counselors promote a safe space, juniors and seniors settle themselves onto the couches every Tuesday for the “R U Prepared for the Future?” group to learn life skills they’ll utilize in their adult lives. Mental Health and Wellness Counselor Rachel Andrews created the group with Jocelyne Esquivias, an intern at the Wellness Center, to help students learn about responsibilities they’ll encounter in the future other than college, such as taxes, budgeting and problem-solving.

“It would be super important for students to come just to learn about things that they're going to be exposed to later in life,” Esquivias said. “I feel a lot of the topics that’ll be talked about in the group are things that can be related to anybody, and they can really be put to use in their life at any moment.”

The group meets during snack and through silent study hall every Tuesday from March 28 to May 23, and will cover goal-setting/problem-solving, fnancial literacy, communication/college life, consent/healthy relationships, social skills/ networking, self-awareness/jobs, personal healthcare/frst-aid and coping skills. Hosted by Esquivias, this is a drop-in

group where students are able to pick a day where the topic interests them or skip a day and go to the next one. In order to help students further understand each of the topics, Esquivias provides worksheets or starts discussions during each meeting.

“I had a worksheet [on problem solving] that I handed out to everybody [on March 28]. I also have examples of a W-2 form, a W-4 form, what taxes look like, why they're necessary and what to look out for,” Esquivias said. “For the day that I'm talking about jobs and communication, I have scenarios in mind. We'll be going through those and getting to know what people have experienced.”

According to Esquivias, regular academic classes don’t instruct how to navigate through future responsibilities, but the group provides students with an opportunity to be prepared for such responsibilities. Junior Sadie Dixon, who attended the frst session, appreciates the opportunity to learn new life skills that are useful after high school and outside of college.

“Obviously you need to have education skills, but school doesn't really prepare you for the real world in terms of talking to other people, etc.,” Dixon said. “It's good to get support with your peers because then you

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“R U Prepared for the Future?” is different from the normal groups that cover mental wellness topics rather than life skills ofered by the Wellness Center, but it is appreciated by older students, such as Dixon, who are soon to be of on their own. Dixon fnds it helpful that the Wellness Center has created such a group.

“I thought [the group] was a cool idea. I've been to some of the other groups and I like the support, so that's why I went. I thought it would be cool because it was more focused on, not just emotions and how people feel at home but also, getting out into the world and the future,” Dixon said.

Junior Hudson MacDonell, who also attended the frst session of the group, tries to attend each group the Wellness Center ofers because of the insight the counselors provide.

“In the frst session, I learned about setting goals and ways to think of your future after high school,” MacDonell said. “The Wellness Center counselors have been really insightful in the previous groups I've been to and I really appreciate the [“R U Prepared For the Future?”] group.”

Torrance's annual Cherry Blossom Cultural Festival celebrated Japanese culture and marked the start of spring

Pink petals futter by in the chill spring air as people walk by tents and eat lunch at picnic tables. Looking up, they see the bright pink trees flled with the cherry blossoms that are in bloom at this time of year.

The city of Torrance hosted its annual Cherry Blossom Cultural Festival at Columbia Park this year on March 26. Lasting from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the festival boasted over 65 vendor stands, 11 food stands and multiple performances from Japanese culture groups such as the Fujima Seiyumi Kai dance group, Asano Taiko US Advanced Youth and LATI Gumi.

Torrance hosts this event annually at the start of spring and encourages local shop owners and businesses to participate in the festivities. One such company was Amore Soap, a natural, handmade soap and body care business run by Cherie Collazo.

“One of our friends who sells at farmer’s markets told us about this event and said we had to come. So, we called up Torrance. I love the idea of it being cherry blossoms because I’ve never seen them before and I think it’s really neat,” Collazo said.

Collazo and her business partner have been running their business for two and a half years, but have only been selling products at events like the Cherry Blossom Festival for one year.

“Our very frst booth looked very diferent from how it looks today. I learned a lot about merchandising and marketing and how to display things,” Collazo said. “We’ve done a lot of looking at how other people display their things and we wanted ours to

by Ria Lopresto

appear clean and simple because it refects our products.”

At their booth, Amore displayed collections of soap, body butter, lip balms and scrubs and other miscellaneous body care products.

“We love doing anything that’s part of the community because we live here, and we like to support our community. We love coming out, seeing and meeting new people and sharing our product,” Collazo said.

However, vendor booths were not the only attraction for the festival, as there was a stage set up for dance groups and performers to showcase their talents.

Senior Malia Panganiban attended the event and enjoyed watching these performances.

“The best part of the festival was probably all the performances. They were all really unique and cool to watch, especially the little cheerleaders,” Panganiban said.

“From my understanding, there were a lot of cultural and traditional dances with traditional music, so that was special to watch. There were also some dances showing people modernized ways that the culture has evolved, which I thought was really interesting.”

She attended with a group of friends and thought that the event would be enriching in learning about Japanese culture and cuisine.

“I thought it’d be really cool, and I’d learn a lot about Japanese culture and be educated about more of it. I also was just excited to see the cherry blossoms, eat some really good food and hang out with friends.

I also love walking around and looking at small creators, so that was a plus,” Panganiban said.

Panganiban’s favorite booth was run by a woman selling small handmade shrugs.

“She got the idea for [the shrugs] when one of her family members wanted something to cover her arms that wasn’t as long as a cardigan. So she made the design for the shrugs, and I really liked the material and their style. It was really cool and super creative,” Panganiban said.

Despite her interest in the booths and performances, Panganiban was disappointed in the Japanese emphasis of the festival and felt underwhelmed by it.

“My expectations were that it would be a little bit more bustling, and I thought I was going to learn more about Japanese culture and eat some Japanese food, maybe see some arts and crafts for the younger kids,” Panganiban said. “It didn’t really meet those expectations; they only had one Japanese food booth, but it didn’t seem really authentic. I feel like many of the small creator booths also were not Japanese-inspired.”

Still, she enjoyed the community of people who gathered to partake in the festival and had a positive experience.

“There were a lot of families there, lots of dogs, people with their friends, school groups. I thought the community was pretty nice,” Panganiban said. “There were a lot of people trying to connect more with others who are like them and who wanted to see small businesses and learn about the culture.”

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Junior Hudson MacDonell listens as intern Jocelyne Esquivias explains budgeting during the April 4 session.

PHOTO BY PETE PAGUYO

AROUND REDONDO:

GET

by Romi Riss

“My favorite thing to do is go to the beach no matter the season. It’s special just being able to enjoy each other’s company with no drama and just being able to stop worrying about anything hangout

LET'S

“My best advice is to just get out there. Sometimes I'll go with people and we’ll just go out and do whatever without having a concrete plan. I would just see where it takes you. Also, I think it’s really fun to just go to your friend's house to hang out and watch TV.”

Theatre Arts successfully put on their rendition of "Les Misérables"

by Marley Van Pelt

The time is now. The day is here. Since January, when preparations began, and more recently over the past few weeks, the bell music heard around school announced the premiere of RUHS Theatre Arts’ production of “Les Misérables,” affectionately shortened to “Les Mis,” featuring 123 students of cast, crew and orchestra.

“A great hangout is going to the park. Just spending quality time with your friends and doing even the most simple things means the most to people. It's just the fact that you're all together and able to

“Les Mis” is a story based on the June Revolution in France that started in 1832 and is centered around character development, romantic plots and action battle scenes to create an overall story of revolution, freedom and community.

Ready to “challenge” the program, director and choreographer Melissa Staab saw the musical, “Les Mis,” as an opportunity to bring diferent talents together to succeed at something originally seen as “too difcult.”

said. “I hope that the audience recognized that every single person in the production put in a lot of work for it.”

Learning over 30 musical numbers, Lu acknowledges the importance of the music matching the emotions of the singers and “following along” with the story. This aspect of keeping in line with the story of “Les Mis” was a task the production’s crew department had to take on as well. Seniors Zoe Inzer, who served as assistant costume designer, and Cliona Philp, who served as wardrobe master of the production, ensured the actors’ clothing refected the historical fction story of “Les Mis.”

“Other productions tend to modernize [the costumes] or put elements from the present that wouldn't normally be in the shows, but for this show we tried to hone in on the historical fashion,” Inzer said.

portrayed him], and I feel like Jean Val Jean’s emotions are so powerful and very expressive so you can tell what he's feeling at any given point,” Horrocks said. “I hope people felt all the diferent kinds of emotions because I think one of the good things about ‘Les Mis’ is that it's funny, obviously sad but also hopeful.”

Horrocks’s costar, McGonigle, has participated in theater since freshman year and saw the challenges in executing the different aspects of the production.

“‘Les Mis’ has been, by far, the hardest show I've ever done as it's a show that has maybe one actual piece of dialogue in the whole production,” McGonigle said. “Everybody knows ‘Les Mis’ and along with the hype came the challenging vocals because this is a show that a lot of people doubted our high school doing.”

Working up until the last second preparing, the “tremendous” efort put into the production by everyone was showcased to over 600 people per performance night, according to Staab.

“I like to drive up to PV or just drive around and try to fnd some cool spots or a cool view to take photos, even with just a phone. Also, thrift ing is good

“What sets ‘Les Mis’ apart is that we took a show that was ambitious and that not a lot of schools would do, and not only did we pull it of, but it was a huge success,” Staab said. “The score is very demanding vocally, you need to have really strong and talented singers. It also contains more challenging subject matter and has what’s known as an operetta, which is when a production is sung all the way with no actual dialogue,” Staab said. “A lot of people were very skeptical and didn't think we would be able to pull [the show] of, but I knew it'd be the perfect capstone for the 22–23 season.”

Having already participated in previous productions since freshman year, senior Amelia Lu sees what sets “Les Mis” apart from other productions. With 14 years of musical experience, she played the keyboard for orchestra.

Conducted by senior Troy Nevil, the orchestra is mainly student-run, which posed a challenge in organization and navigating music as a group, according to Lu.

“What I've noticed from being in so many productions is, even when there are adults involved, it takes a lot of commitment from students. Everyone is great, dedicated and shows up to rehearsal,” Lu

Actors such as senior Thatcher Horrocks, who played the lead character of Jean Val Jean (a former prisoner who became the leader of the revolution that took place in the show), and junior Finn McGonigle, who played the antagonist Javert (a policeman set on hunting Jean Val Jean down for violating his parole after being in prison), saw this production not just as a challenge but also as a way to showcase growth and community. For Horrocks, playing his “dream role” of Jean Val Jean allowed him to be a part of this “legendary show” that he’s loved ever since watching the movie.

“I listened to the 10th Anniversary Concert of ‘Les Mis’ a lot to learn the iconic points of Jean Val Jean and how to best portray all of them. I also studied a lot of previous Broadway actors [who

“The main obstacle we didn't anticipate was the set because we love the turntable [a set piece used for the rotation of other set pieces], but it's a challenging technical aspect to get right,” Staab said. “[Challenges also came from the fact that] most actors had fve or more costumes in the show. We have 45 actors, so costumes were a really big piece and you as an actor might be wearing seven pieces on you. It was a show where we needed the rehearsals just to get everything routine and the set crew needed the time to learn how to do the set changes.”

On closing night (April 1), “Les Mis” had over 1,000 attendees, breaking the auditorium record.

“We really strive to show how every single person is important to the production as a whole. There are no weak links and each person's role is just as important,” Staab said. “Without each person, we are not our production. At our core, we build a community into our foundation as a program here.”

Students share ways to have fun afordably

After General Lamarque's death, the students of Paris prepare for their fght on the eve of the revolution.

PHOTO BY MARIN CANTRELL

A lot of people were very skeptical and didn't think we would be able to pull [the show] of, but I knew it'd be the perfect capstone for the 22-23 season."

MELISSA STAAB DIRECTOR AND CHOREOGRAPHER

I hope people felt all the diferent kinds of emotions because I think one of the good things about 'Les Mis' is that it's funny, obviously sad but also hopeful."

THATCHER HORROCKS SENIOR

“

PHOTOS BY PETE PAGUYO

Nathan Robertson, 12

Catalina Kahan, 11

Bella Forbes, 10

Sienna Fong, 10

LEARNING NEW FIELDS

RUHS students went on a feld trip to the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC) on March 29

by Victor Simoes

ASB reinstitutes third period class representatives

by Yasmeena Ford

This March, ASB reinstituted third-period representatives, or student delegates.

Last implemented during the 2019–2020 school year, the 47 delegates were appointed by a teacher or voted for by their class.

The meetings occur monthy in the bingo room during SSH. The representatives inform their third-period classes of upcoming school events, sporting events and opportunities that RUHS ofers. They also supply both their own input and that of their class.

"It's nicer to have a face belonging to someone in your class telling you information [regarding school events]. It gets students involved with their high school experience. I feel that as an ASB member, we know that sometimes the kids [in ASB] don't represent everybody on campus," ASB vice president Sammie Hall, senior, said.

The pressure to attend a four-year college can be intense, but alternate pathways are more available than they seem. On March 29, RUHS students went on a feld trip to the Southern California Regional Occupational Center (SCROC), a career technical education facility that ofers a pathway to direct career experience and certifcation for students, to discover the courses available and become familiar with the campus. Students enrolled in schools that are part of the joint power agreement, which includes RUHS, can attend classes for free at SCROC and receive free transportation. Classes available as SCROC courses can also count as elective credits at RUHS.

RUHS students arrived at the SCROC facility in the afternoon and were greeted with snacks and a presentation by the Director of Programs and Student Support Services Dr. Burgundy Montoya. There, she spoke about the courses available and

cording to Dr. Montoya, in felds such as emergency medical frst response, high school students can complete courses, receive a career certifcation and get a job by the time they graduate high school.

After taking the web design class at RUHS, sophomore Sofa Magdaleno hopes to take “more in-depth” classes to pursue a career in graphic design. She believes that SCROC is a “good opportunity” to learn skills she will need in her desired career feld.

“I think [the feld trip] was a really cool new experience and that it was eye-opening. They go more in detail at SCROC, so we can learn a lot more there and expand our prospects,” Magdaleno said.

RUHS students were introduced to several active classes such as medical assisting (MA) and dental assisting (DA). In MA, blood drawing demonstrations were held, and in DA, students practiced on mannequins with real human skulls and teeth. The trip also included a stop at the Automotive Garage Shop where students worked beneath car lifts on donated vehicles and real clients' vehicles.

these programs. It was really cool to see all these rooms have specialized programs,” Kouno said.

In cosmetology, high school and adult SCROC students were busy practicing on mannequins, themselves and each other. Junior Amelia Maher wants to practice kinesiology, as a future career and is also currently enrolled in the cosmetology course

RUHS students can attend SCROC classes, which can as elective credits, for free. They also receive free transportation to attend.

the history and purpose of the campus. Then, the students were split into groups to tour the campus.

“I was able to get the lay of the land of the place. It defnitely showed me around more. It's a huge campus, so by going and having the tour, I was able to get around, explore a lot better and learn more about the campus,” junior Amelia Maher said.

SCROC ofers courses that RUHS doesn’t provide, such as pet health and grooming, welding and general electrician. The courses are a part of a variety of disciplines the school ofers which are organized into the schools of Art and Design, Public and Consumer Services, Health Services and Engineering and Design. Ac-

“Seeing the actual rooms where the classes are held and learning more about the practice and how much is actual work [helped me make up my mind on joining SCROC]. Knowing that the automotive class is more hands on than book learning really makes me want to take the class,” junior Daisy Baker said.

Entering the room for character design and animation, RUHS students saw clay models of characters and faces that could be animated, and in the video game design room, a slideshow showcased car models and 3D environments. Interested in art and animation, Nicole Kouno was impressed by the facilities available at SCROC.

“I didn’t realize how much stuf, resources and equipment they have for all

at SCROC. She believes it is good to have “real experience under your belt.”

“It's an amazing start. I'm doing cosmetology right now for the fact that I can have my license by the end of my senior year. I don't want to be a cosmetologist [for all of my life], I want to go into the medical feld. When I actually go through med school, I can make money with my license,” Maher said.

With the diversity available at SCROC, there is a course that can ft into almost any student's path.

“SCROC is super duper awesome, I've had a great experience. It's super easy to get going, and it's free. I recommend it to everybody because it provides students with so many opportunities and there's something for everybody,” Maher said.

Although similar to the ASB election in that representatives are elected, this process contrasts from applying to be an ASB member as the selection of a delegate is limited to a single class rather than one or multiple grade levels. According to Hall, this provides a stronger sense of community and connection at RUHS.

"[Last meeting,] we talked a little bit about prom ideas," Hall said. "But, I think the biggest thing we did was improve communication across such a large student body."

Due to the pandemic and the susbsequent lockdown order, the program was abruptly interrupted, limiting its reach and infuence. Now that RUHS operates like it did pre-pandemic and restored the delegate program, Hall hopes to see its positive infuence return.

"For this year, I think the idea is to set the groundwork so that next year's ASB knows what to do and can get it running from the beginning of the year," Hall said. "Hopefully, that will help them do something bigger with their House of Reps."

Nominated by his third-period class by majority vote, sophomore Enzo Lim also shares the common goal of inclusivity with Hall. Despite only having participated in one meeting, he plans to continue the program in his junior and senior years.

"I want to represent the majority of people, of course, but there are also some who are overshadowed, those who don't say anything at all," Lim said. "Those who might be sitting alone in class, who never say a word or are never in a group of other people. I wish to fnd out about and represent their opinions."

Lim says that his involvement with various clubs and extracurricular activities broadens his view of the student body, advising him on what can improve and what should remain unchanged at RUHS. According to Lim, building your ethos or credibility in your classes is vital for the selection of class representatives, especially among the diverse student population.

"I want everyone to be seen and heard, and [I want] to relate to them somehow," Lim said "I think that's the whole point of [the House of Reps]."

It's an amazing start. I'm doing cosmetology right now for the fact that I can have my license by the end of my senior year.

AMELIA MAHER JUNIOR

INFORMATION FROM DR. BURGUNDY MONTOYA

Students partake in a medical assisting class. PHOTO BY ADRIAN RODGRIGUEZ

by Lauren Choy

Coding with Creativity

As her eyes fash across the computer screen, reading the puzzles like a chess master, junior Amy Safer has found a natural passion and talent that lies in computer science. She further advances this passion as she devotes her time to a job where she teaches kids coding.

Taking AP Computer Science Principles, Safer has honed in on her skills, which the teacher, Benjamin Wakefeld, has seen over the course of her time in his class.

“She can unlock [puzzles] like a locksmith, which is amazing. People around her can sense her confdence and ask her

Junior Amy Safer teaches coding to students while enrolled in AP Computer Science Principles

coding.

ILLUSTRATION BY ESPERANZA CAROLIPIO

for guidance,” Wakefeld said. “She's intelligent enough to not just give answers, but to guide people towards answers, and it's very helpful having her around in class.”

Safer took this class for the frst time this year because of a want to explore new career options, which helped her gain a deep passion for coding. Learning the criteria within this class proved easier than expected, according to Safer, and she found new talents for herself within the learning process.

“The ability to code is something I've learned about myself more recently. I’ve always been good at math, but I never really

knew about the computer science part of it. I don't have many life skills so this is a new discovery,” Safer said.

As she got further into the year, Safer developed a strong interest in computer science, which she hopes to continue to major in college. This newly found goal, coupled with her technical abilities, made her an ideal candidate for the job that Wakefeld recommended to her. Her job has also increased the number of hours she dedicates to coding, as she now has to be sure she can not only understand the material, but teach it.

“Before [I started coding], I only thought about it during class, but now I'm constantly involved in thinking about it,” Safer said. “Even when it's not my project, I think, ‘How would I do this? How would I explain it to someone?’ I make sure that I understand it to be able to explain concepts.”

Safer has worked with elementary and middle school kids since February at theCoderSchool in Redondo Beach one to two times a week, and she hopes to continue throughout the rest of high school. Here, she helps work on projects with the kids and appeal to the coding language that resonates with them. She works with one or two students, and her goal is to establish an environment where they can learn.

“I had [Safer] in mind as soon as I heard of the job. She has a combination of actual coding acumen in addition to the ability to methodically and politely talk to people. She is very patient, so those things combined made her the perfect candidate,” Wakefeld said.

Although she maintains a strong determination to go into computer science, this job has exposed her to new challenges that Safer faced regarding her ability to teach

“I've defnitely had times where I was worried because I don’t know how they think and what they’ve learned before,” Safer said. “It’s nerve-wracking to be able to explain something because I want them to be able to learn from me and I want them to learn well.”

Despite these difculties, Safer is awarded an eye-opening new job experience that gives her a glimpse into her future life.

“It's an added sense of responsibility because it's something that I have to do, but it's also helped me gain more freedom,” Safer said. “I've also started making my own money, so I feel like I'm doing something for myself.”

Even with both her parents in the engineering feld, Safer has never felt forced to pursue engineering and took the job as an opportunity to gain a new experience.

“My parents defnitely want me to do well, and they want me to go into a feld that has as many job opportunities as engineering does,” Safer said. “But going into engineering is something that I want to do for myself as well. This job is something I want to do in the future, so it’s important to me to start working towards it now.”

Even though Safer has identifed her passion, for a while she wasn’t certain about what she wanted to pursue as a career. Now, she acknowledges that uncertainty is all part of the process.

“If you just try new things, as I did, some will work out and maybe some won’t. But, at the end of the day, if you still don’t have a passion, you’re still fne,” Safer said. “Worrying that you don’t have a passion is not going to help you fnd it any faster. We are still in high school, so we have time to make decisions because we have a full life ahead of us.”

Sophomores Clapp and Collins host a DVD drive to donate to local hospitals

by Mia Dowdell

Amovie a day keeps the doctor away, or so it is for sophomore Natalie Clapp, president of the Kids for Kindness club.

As part of an initiative asking students to donate their old children's DVDs, Clapp and the club’s secretary, sophomore Nick Collins, set up a box in the library for collecting donations. By the end of May, the DVDs will be donated to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

With strong emphasis on the idea that kids should give back to other kids, Clapp began the club this year as an efort to appeal to all students who recognize themselves in children younger than them.

“I believe in helping kids in need because kids are the ones who will lead the future. Young people like me are the ones who are shaping the world we one day hope to live in, and I hope to build a world with compassion and kindness,” Clapp said.

Clapp came up with this idea for the drive when her mother, a nurse for a large hospital in Los Angeles, told her that younger patients are required to go through major procedures involving large technical equipment, such as ultrasounds and MRIs. While in recovery, hospital staf will often play a movie for them to ease any stress the procedure might have brought on.

“Kids who are dealing with long-term illnesses usually have to watch the same

movies over and over again because hospitals typically only have a few movies to choose from,” Clapp said. “I thought doing a DVD drive would be a great way to help kids who are dealing with illnesses feel more comfortable during their stay at a hospital.”

Up to 13 percent of children’s hospital patients showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress and anxiety following an intense hospital stay, according to the National Institutes of Health. This disorder, known as pediatric medical traumatic stress, can be avoided with the help of distractions from the source of trauma (like entertainment) or reassurance to the patient.

“Many of the kids that we’re helping have spent a lot of time in the hospital and it isn’t always the most comfortable experience, despite the aid of facility members there. One of the main goals was to create a more comfortable and fun environment for these kids, especially as they battle through [their illnesses],” Collins said.

To set up for the drive, the club used Clapp’s mother’s connection to other hospitals to their advantage, asking local hospitals if they were interested in receiving donated DVDs for young patients who are required to go through lengthy and intimidating procedures. Although they were unsure about the outcome, feedback had been “nothing but positive,” according to Clapp. Seeing the emotional support their donations have given to the hospital, Collins echoes this message of positivity.

“Many of us have the privilege to not

know what it is like to constantly live in and out of the hospital, so it’s important to acknowledge this and give back to our community and the children that aren’t as privileged as us,” Collins said.

Despite receiving the green light from children’s hospitals in their community, the club faced minor setbacks. With such a wide variety of events and volunteer-based activities that students can be involved with on campus, Collins feels that getting the word out on their drive has proven to be challenging.

“We’re trying to plan many more ways of publicizing the drive,” Collins said. “We were planning on making more fyers to post around school along with promoting it on so cial media. We are also planning on introduc ing the drive to the middle and elementa ry school levels.”

For Clapp, the DVD drive is just the be ginning. Through the Kids for Kindness club, she hopes to continue to fnd new ways to help kids who are at a disadvantage in her community and

inspire others to make greater changes. In the future, the club aims to bring more attention to the cause through fundraisers and resource drives for children in need.

“Although it’s probably not life changing, I hope this drive is a small act that will brighten someone's day, especially if they are going through a tough time,” Clapp said. “Some- times watching a new movie can put a smile on some - one's face. I mean, who doesn't love movies?”

Collins (right)

sions lately, I’ve been able to [focus on ex pansion]," Johnson said. “I had help from my parents with marketing at the begin ning, but now I fnd clients by myself be cause I know what type of people might be interested. With even more practice, I think I could make a full-time business out of this."

To keep his shoes wearable and long-lasting, Johnson frst uses a de-glazer to remove the base layer of the shoe, then paints on top of that using layers of his various paint markers, sealing the whole drawing in with a layer of varnish. Since this process includes many fallible steps, Johnson has to be extra careful when ap plying his color.

"When something goes wrong I either

SOLE PROVIDER

By the time in-person school had started again, Johnston had made multiple pairs of painted kicks, all of which were wearable, as well as visually fascinating. Once he started wearing them to school, people took notice, including Tangalos.

"I saw him wearing these shoes and he told me he made them," said Tangalos. "That was the frst time I found out about his business, and I thought it was really cool. A lot of other people gave him compliments as well, even strangers."

Recently, his clientele has expanded beyond

by Daniella Gross

Modeling was never the plan. However, it ended up being the perfect hobby to boost junior Ashlyn Fischer's confdence. Because Fischer is 6-foot-1, people recognized her height as a unique feature perfect for a modeling career.

“My entire life, people have told me I should model, and I always said it wasn’t my thing. But a year ago, I thought, ‘Why not try it out?' If people have told me for so long that I’d be good at it, maybe I would be,” Fischer said.

Fischer has just recently begun doing photo shoots and attending galas, about a year after she initially started preparing for modeling jobs by taking classes at the Manhattan Beach Model Studio. Her instructor, Diana Gallo, has taught her tricks to walking and the workings of photo shoots.

“I fnd that sometimes with my students, Ashlyn included, when they come in, they don’t know what to expect. They have a fear of the unknown and an uncomfortable feeling about doing something new. They don’t know if they’re good enough, or if they will be okay,” Gallo said.

by Claudia Turner

Finally painted, varnished and dried, freshman London Johnson took a step back to admire the results. This work of art, which had taken weeks to complete, was none other than a painstakingly designed pair of Nike Air Force 1s.

To start the process of making the shoes, Johnson will either buy a pair of shoes as a template for requests, or someone might come to him with a specifc shoe that they want altered. Once a shoe is acquired, the artistic process will be done in chunks, taking him up to a few weeks to complete.

Each pair of customized shoes costs around $100-$200 and can be purchased through his Instagram (@lj_custumz), a leap in cost from his original pricing, which was only around $30-$60.

"Since I've been doing more commis-

have to layer over it, or restart the whole

just high schoolers. Johnson's latest customization was a pair of sneakers for local

Ashylyn was at frst “scared” and worried about taking the classes and pursuing modeling, as she was concerned for her safety and didn’t feel prepared for what she would face.

“When it comes to school, the [modeling] classes I’ve taken have improved my confdence in the way I present myself in public. My coach Diana is really good about teaching me to believe in myself, which sounds cliché, but it feels more real when an adult tells you,” Fischer said. “To build confdence, she has me do the model walk when I’m walking down the street or wear heels to the grocery store.”

Gallo is "excited for Ashlyn's future" in modeling.

ally fun to work with and I think the shoes terms of plans to expand, Johnson looks forward to watching both his skills and business grow over the next couple of years. Though he doesn't have it all mapped out yet, he plans on building his passion into a profession.

"I want [my business] to keep getting bigger because my goal is to start doing stuf for people like NBA players," Johnson said. "I also want to keep doing sports too, so I might look into going to an art school that also has a good sports program for basketball. That's the

Painting on shoes, though not a traditional art form, still takes quite a bit of practice to hone and perfect, according to Johnson. Despite all the messy shoe designs he's gone through over the years, Johnson has been able to work through these failures due to his genuine love for

“Art is all about passion, and everyone has their reason for doing it,” Johnson said. “Mine is because I love making people cool art to wear and show of."

“She’s a very bright girl and I have seen her grow so much. Ashlyn is putting herself out there. She’s taking risks, out on the streets of El Segundo, taking pictures in public while passersby watch and she’s okay with that," Gallo said. "When they see themselves in a diferent light with their hair done and professional makeup, they say, ‘Wow, that's me,'” Gallo said.

To help her students feel comfortable with themselves, Gallo has them practice confdence-boosting activities. She does her student's makeup, sets up photo shoots and has them try on new clothes. According to Gallo, the students slowly start to notice their improvement. On March 12, Fischer attended an Oscar viewing at a Hilton Hotel where she got the opportunity to encounter new people and enjoy her frst gala.

“When you’re a minor, the industry protects you a lot more. But once I turn 18, things get messier. I don’t want to be taken advantage of,” Fischer said. “There are constantly people coming up to you who try to give you their [information] as a ‘modeling agent,’ and it’s really easy to get scammed.”

Fischer's next step is fnding an agent, and from there on she wants to fnd more runway jobs, as she aspires to be a runway model. Despite her hopes for the future, Fischer still has concerns and worries about the precariousness of the modeling industry.

“Modeling made me pretty nervous at frst," Fischer said, "but I’ve started appreciating it for its creativity and expression.”

1. 2. 3. and 4. Johnsons' handpainted designs on the box of custom Nike Air Force 1 shoes he made for a local fre fghter.

5. Johnson holds up the fnished product.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LONDON JOHNSON

Junior Ashlyn Fischer builds her confdence through modeling

Freshman London Johnson hand paints his own sneaker designs

FINISH LINE Reaching the

Senior Jett Collins breaks 11 seconds in the 100-meter race, becoming the third person in school history to do so

by Summer Puterbaugh

Watching the fog roll over the crowded track amid the mufed murmurs of his teammates, senior Jett Collins could already feel the satisfaction of success wash over him.

“I knew when I was warming up for that race that something special was going to happen. I just knew it,” Collins said. “The wind was on my side. I thought, ‘Wow. This is perfect.”

Collins’ intuition was proved right just moments later when he became the third person in school history to break 11 seconds in the 100-meter race, with a time of just 10.96 seconds. His success also marked the fourth consecutive meet in which he beat his best time.

“At frst I couldn’t see my time, but when it [appeared] everyone started screaming. I was so [confused]. When I fnally saw it, I just couldn’t believe it. It was really surreal,” Collins said. “I was actually crying after that race. I was thinking about my past self over quarantine. All that hard work was worth it. All the training, all the hours, all the throw-up, everything. It was all worth it.”Collin’s cut of 0.39 seconds over the course of four meets was achieved in part due to his dedication to a strict practice regime. To improve his strength and running form, he trains at 24hour Fitness, stretches for four minutes each night, and runs with the South Bay Speed Team alongside regular after school practices. However, for Collins, his diet is one of “the most important” aspects of his regimen, and he ensures to eliminate all soda and fast food while increasing his protein and carbohydrate intake.

One second might seem insignifcant to many, but for sophomore Farah Bowles, one second made all the diference. This one second lead to Bowls breaking the Redondo breaststroke record, fnishing in one minute and fve seconds.

However, this wasn’t the frst time Bowles was competing for the record. Bowls planned to compete last year, but after training two to fve hours a day, Bowles overworked and injured her back, preventing her from competing.

“My low was probably last school season. It was really hard not being able to swim since it’s what I love doing,” Bowles said.

Bowles had been swimming since she was four-yearsold, constantly improving, but her injury prevented her from swimming and made her eager to recover.

“I was just like, ‘What can I do to make it better?’ I didn't care, I wanted to do anything to make it better,” Bowles said.

To continue healing, Bowls went to physical therapy

“I always try to work on my weaknesses every day, little by little. Just getting into small habits every day has helped me a lot,” Collins said.

According to Collins, most of his mo- tivation comes from within, rather than from sure from coaches or peers. ability can be each meet. I always myself, I’m only focused on my race. I always try to get frst but if someone pulls ahead of me, I’m just going keep doing what I’m doing. Be cause if I do anything else, I’m going to slow down. I’ll start to lose my form and it all goes wrong after that. I’m really only focused on myself rather than other people,” Collins said.

While Collins is mostly self-driven, the fruition of his eforts has also been guided by the aid of his coaches, both in and outside of school, who he claims to have helped him push past his limits.

“I’ve been [motivated] by coaches that believed in me and helped me achieve what I wanted to achieve, rather than what was expected of me. Some coaches will just tell you to run [certain events]. But others will ask, what do you want to do? And then we train specifcally for that, which helps a lot. Coach Jack, the head track coach, is the one who believed in me the most. He always wanted me to try my best to beat everybody,” Collins said.

Collins claims that running is an important “outlet” for his stress and avoids succumbing to any pressure or negativity towards the sport that could alter his performance. Instead, he repeats his motivational mantras and focuses on his goals to boost his motivation and maximize his speed.

“I like to think of myself as an athlete who goes to school on the side. School is just a small part of my life, but athletics is a huge part of it. During practice, I’m thinking, ‘Oh my god, fnally, I get a break from this.’ I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but I put athletics frst. I love tice and running because I feel really plished after,” Collins said. lins’ next goal is to break the record for the 200-meter race, ing him to drop his current two-tenths of a second, which “a lot” for such a short race.

“I’m on the right course right now. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing and stay healthy. The huge goal is to play professionally,” Collins said.

“I understand that that might not work out, but I’ll always be working towards it. Let’s go see what I can

Sophomore Farah Bowles breaks the school's breaststroke record at one minute, fve seconds

by Ethan Chi

summer, I started getting really down on myself. [While] I was practicing, I was thinking, ‘Why is this so hard?’. I had new teammates who were all so fast, so I wanted to train as hard as them, and that’s when I started dropping more time.”

While Bowles was still recovering from her back injury, she was developing new techniques to keep improving.

“I worked on holding my breath and having a high rhythm while being able to grab water but still move my arms fast, not just splashing,” Bowles said.

As the day of the competition rolled around, her nerves Bowles got of to a head start, the second half the race wasn’t exactly smooth sailing,

kept going. Then on that third turn the girl next to me beat me, and I was so nervous. I was like, oh my god what am I doing?” Bowles said.

However, after picking up the pace, Bowles managed to get the edge on the girl next to her. When Bowles had fnished she noted feeling as if her “heart stopped” when she looked at the scoreboard as she just realized she set the new breaststroke record.

Bowles acknowledges that this record was in no way handed to her. Bowles mentioned sacrifcing weekends and school hours just for this opportunity, but credits senior Sammie Hall for setting a great example.

“I look up to her so much. She stays on top of her school work, does her volunteer hours, keeps up with their friends, puts in the work and is always trying her best. It's so motivating to be able to train with her,” Bowles said.

According to Hall, she takes the responsibility of being a role model seriously and is glad she can inspire Bowles and the other girls she swims with.

“I know how valuable it would have been to have somebody I could talk to when I was in their situation, especially going through the college recruiting process, because I always wished that I had a friend or somebody that I felt comfortable reaching out to. Knowing that Farah or any of the other girls know that they can come to me is really exciting. I'm glad to be that person that they can turn to,” Hall said.

Both of these swimmers understand that swimming isn’t just about how fast you go, swimming is an outlet.

“When I’m in the pool I can't think about anything else. School out of my head, all my problems and stress just goes away. It’s the best feeling,” Bowles said.

Bowles’ passion for swimming allows her to continuously improve, which is why she was able to beat her record again on Mar. 31 by two seconds at the 100 relay.

“After everything I went through, this race made it all worth it,” Bowles said. “I feel like I put my stamp on the school and people know I'm here.”

In sync with her competitors, Bowles (pink suit) leaps into the water at the start of the race. PHOTO COURTESY OF FARAH BOWLES

Posing next to the head track coach, Collins wears his medals following the race. PHOTO COURTESY OF JETT COLLINS

BREAKING THE BUBBLE

Community afuence afects campus culture and education, though there is equal opportunity

by Cristina Couch and Stavyah Naveen

cean view classrooms and ample resources aren’t the only things that refect RUHS’ privilege as a school. With a wide variety of programs and educational opportunities, students living in the afuent community that is Redondo Beach are able to achieve success throughout school through those. Underneath all appearances however, students who don’t ft the same fnancial model of their peers can feel left out and unsupported by a school meant to ofer accessible opportunities to all.

Coming from a diferent fnancial background than some of her peers, anonymous sophomore Margot acknowledges that the school covers a lot of expenses for supplies, including “textbooks, notebooks, and pencils.” Margot mentions that, while these supplies are meant to assist students, students must have “a lot of courage to step up and ask for these things or let teachers know of what’s going on.”

“I was in a program last year for which I really wanted to buy merch. I went to my mom and she told me that we couldn’t afford it at the moment,” Margot said. “It was really embarrassing for me, but I did go up to my teacher and she ofered to pull money from the program funds in order to support me. So there are situations where I can have the same things as other kids, but I often have to pull from the source instead of from my own home, and that does feel isolating sometimes.”

However, Margot acknowledges the stark diference between simply providing students with the bare necessities, versus supplying students with the greater luxuries that make them feel like they truly belong in the school environment.

“Chromebook insurance is very expensive,” Margot said. “A lot of the time it's not a student's fault if a Chromebook stops working. And I think that having to pay for Chromebook insurance is very inconvenient. There are also many other things, like having school spirit gear, that students often have to pay for in order to participate. A lot of students want to have school spirit, but simply can’t pay for spirit gear.”

Beyond being unable to aford spirit gear and school supplies, according to RBUSD Executive Director of Educational Services, Lisa Veal, there are about 1554 students in RBUSD who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. In order to qualify for these lunches, students must be at a specifc fnancial threshold; this includes eligibility for food stamps from the government or the student’s household's inability to meet a certain annual fnancial income. For example, for a household size of four people, if the annual salary barely meets $39,000, the students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. Beyond simply providing lunch, though, the district aims to create the

Obest possible learning environment for its students.

“We want our students to be inclusive and we want a culture of empathy,” Veal said. “When we talk about having students with diferent needs and diferent backgrounds, it’s important to not only be welcoming of those needs and those backgrounds, but also try to understand them more and to better learn from them.”

Taking advantage of the more rigorous courses ofered at RUHS, anonymous senior Jake is enrolled in AP classes to prepare for a career in computer science, many of which “require a lot of hard work.” Since he is able to grasp the concepts on his own, he does not feel the need to pay for a tutor or standardized testing courses, although he acknowledges that accessibility can difer based on fnancial support.

“The school does a pretty good job of providing [support] for our students, but I think that's just because I am the type of student that the school caters to,” Jake said. “I'm pretty naturally gifted in many aspects, my parents are really smart and that helped because I have those resources at home. But, I am also really good at standardized tests. There are plenty of other types of students in this school that the teaching style and the grading style does not refect their abilities nearly as well.”

Expanding his academic interest beyond the classroom, Jake is a member of Model United Nations. This year, he earned an invitation to an international conference in New York, but could not attend due to fnancial factors.

“[The conference] was just the sort of thing that I'm not going to [attend] twice, so I'll see if I can go next year. It was $2,000 to go, and [my parents and I] agreed that we can use that money for better things,” Jake said.

Regardless of missing the conference, Jake is optimistic about other aspects of the club that he had the opportunity to participate in.

“For the most part, money doesn't [affect the experience of MUN]. You’d have to get invited to go to New York in the frst place, so I was happy just to be invited.”

Jake also swims varsity for RUHS, and though “Redondo swim is completely free,” besides the monthly fee to rent out pool space, he sees how fnancial privilege separates his teammates through his commitment to club swimming outside of school.

“On the swim team, you either swim with a club or you don’t. That can be dividing because it’s a label that people put on [others],” Jake said. “The extra hours that I have at club do help, but if someone just went to club and didn't actually put in efort I doubt they would improve.”

Jake,

whose parents are teachers, considers his family to be more money-conscious than others in the community, noting that they “don't have all the luxuries” that many RUHS students enjoy.

“I’ve heard the thing about how teachers are underpaid, but I didn't really have a good picture of what [the fnancial diference] was like. We’re doing fne. It's just that everyone here has quite a bit of money,” Jake said.

Junior Giulia Paganelli who lives in a single-income household fnds that her lower socioeconomic status plays a significant role on her ability to participate in extracurricular activities.

“If you're a part of a club, obviously nothing is mandatory. Nobody is forced to buy a piece of merchandise or buy dinner during workday, but there’s always a kind of underlying [pressure] to join in or do what everyone else is doing,” Paganelli said.

However, Paganelli, a member of the RUHS swim team, acknowledges that the school’s athletic program does its best to make events and supplies as accessible to the team as possible.

“Most sports teams will fundraise and then use that money to increase participation for trips or tournaments,” Paganelli said. “For example, the swim team went on a travel trip to San Diego, and everything was paid for, including the hotel.”

Despite economic disparities that may exist between her and her peers, Paganelli sees swim as an “even playing feld” thanks to program support.

“[The school] does a good job of creating opportunities for everyone,” Paganelli said. “I wouldn’t expect them to do anything more because they already cover everything, so your [socioeconomic status] doesn’t really matter.”

THURS

7 p.m. ACT tutor

MON 7 p.m. ACT tutor TUES 5 p.m. Trumpet lesson WED 6 p.m. Dinner reservation FRI 8 p.m. SZA @ the Forum

by Stavyah Naveen

With heavy rains and leaks throughout her home, and if a roll of duct tape isn’t handy, anonymous sophomore Jane is often required to towel dry her fooded living room on her hands and knees. Jane recollects the conditions of her mom’s rented apartment in Redondo Beach: the outside paint of the building chips as a result of minimal maintenance, the water pressure “sucks” and within fve minutes of a shower, the water is already freezing.

As the daughter of an immigrant mother from Brazil and a father who spent most of his life outside of the U.S., Jane categorizes herself within a lower socioeconomic class than most of the students at RUHS and is aware of the sensitive relationship between personal fnances and friendships.

“Living most of my life in apartments, I started to understand the importance of money early on, so much so that now I feel very guilty whenever my parents give me money,” Jane said. “I defnitely try to spend it wisely. And if my friend buys something for me, I want to pay them back.”

Jane recognizes that her mindset towards money infuences all aspects of her life, but most particularly impacts her academic pursuits of higher education. She notes that some of her more afuent classmates don’t understand how her fnancial inadequacy often infuences her “passionate but anxious” mindset towards both her high school

with “high paying, stable jobs,” which she claims is the root of their misunderstandings of her family’s fnancial situation.

“I think that in the millionaire/billionaire economy we are in today, a lot of people think that they aren’t that rich,” Lily said. “I go to the mall a lot with my friends, and they usually shop with their parents' money like it’s no issue. They’re like, ‘Let’s go to Urban Outftters’ or, ‘I really want this pair of pants, but I also really want this other pair of pants, so let’s just buy both.’ That's not something that I can aford or ask my mom to pay for.”

This social stigma contributes to Lily’s “inability” to fully open up to her friends and explain the real reason behind her decision to refrain from spending an excessive amount of money.

“I don't like [indulging in my friends’] savior complex,” Lily said. “[My more fnancially stable friends] will sometimes just say, ‘Oh, I'll get that for your birthday,’ or, ‘Oh, it's not that much money,’ or, ‘Oh, sorry to hear [about your situation].’ They'll try to understand, but it doesn't mean they actually will, and then it just gets awkward for everybody. [There are times when I think], ‘Maybe I shouldn't have [opened up].’ We live in such a well-of community that I don't want to be an attention seeker.”

Anonymous sophomore Margot, whose parents divorced when she was around two or three years old, adapts to the circumstances of living in a “small” apartment when she’s with her mother. Margot addresses how living with her mom truly highlights the stark contrast between living in her mom’s single-income household and living in her dad’s double-income household with his fancée.

“There’s a big diference between having a small apartment that has to be very neatly organized to be functional, and having a big house with money to spare,” Margot said. “Usually double-income households are able to aford their own laundry machines, which we don't have at my mom's house. We live in a really big apartment complex that has multiple laundry rooms, which makes doing laundry a heavy chore.”

However, in spite of the noticeable

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grades and her college applications.

“People often tell me that I shouldn’t be so stressed out about college and my grades. They tell me I should have more fun and value my happiness,” Jane said. “There are people who go to Starbucks every morning. And every afternoon after school, they hang out at the plaza and buy food. I can't do that. Not just because I don't have the money, but because I don't have the time since I'm forced to focus on schoolwork to have a better chance at [college].”

According to a study conducted by psychologists at the University of Cambridge, 14-year-olds who saw themselves as “poorer” than their friends were eight percent more likely to report being bullied or victimized, compared to those who felt economically similar to their friends. The fndings also revealed that adolescents who recognized their lower economic position than their peers were more susceptible to experiencing difculties with a “sense of belonging.”

Anonymous junior Lily acknowledges how her family’s lower socioeconomic status is not well-understood by her more afuent friends. The majority of Lily’s friends come from households

States

fnancial diferences between her parents’ households, Margot has “never” felt ashamed or embarrassed about her living situation with her mother.

“Sometimes I do choose to organize events, like birthday parties or hangouts, at my dad's house because it's bigger and there's more space for people,” Margot said. “But I have everything I need in my mom’s house, and I'm happy with that. Having a small house is normal for me and I don't see that as a bad thing. So I don't ever try to de-

ter people from coming to my mom's house, because I'm proud of the place I live in.”

Margot emphasizes the importance of inclusivity within the student community, and encourages students of a lower economic status to not feel demotivated by seeing families of greater afuence in Redondo Beach.

“It might seem like people have more money than you, but it's important to remember that every family chooses to put their money in diferent places and although it can look like a student is very lucrative in the economic area, a family might just be putting a lot of money into how they look instead of how they actually are,” Margot said. “On the other hand, some students might look like they don't have a lot of money in their house when really they do. It really depends on how the family chooses to spend money. And how things look is usually not how they actually are.”

$123,874

They'll try to understand, but it doesn't mean they actually will, and then it just gets awkward for everybody. [There are times when I think,]

‘Maybe I shouldn't have [opened up].'"

Lower socioeconomic status at RUHS can contribute to social stigma and stress

“

Makeup menagerie

More often than not, when buying designer/luxury beauty products, you are paying for the brand, not the quality

Katarina (Haven) Beches

Trendy. Overhyped. Worth/not worth the cost. You’re buying the brand. Dupe. All of these phrases have been used to describe the seemingly endless products in the rapidly growing beauty industry— an industry set to be worth $571.1 billion this year, which is no small sum. Infuencers and advertisers will have you dying for the Charlotte Tilbury setting powder one minute, lusting after Glossier boy-brows the next and (wasting absolutely no time) preparing to kill for the right shade of Rare Beauty’s creme blush. Constant exposure to up-and-coming products on TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram raise the question: are these products worth the hype and the often questionably steep price tag? Or, is their marketing simply topnotch?

I’ll be the frst to admit that there’s a certain je ne sais quoi you feel when whipping out a luxurious, well-known makeup product as if to announce to the world, “I’m wearing something expensive, look at me!” All of this to say, you feel pretty spify when you buy into the hype.

cially their dewy serums, eye-catching eyeliners and never-failing lip gloss, I’m the frst to admit that buying for the brand is real.

Case in point: the Dior lip oil that has taken social media and the beauty world by storm. Scroll through any social media feed and at some point, you’ll come across a raving review. In my quest to uncover whether or not beauty brands’ cult-like followings are worth it, I did some source gathering. From friends and acquaintances alike, the verdict on the lip oil was as follows: although satisfactory, you can fnd a drugstore equivalent for a fraction of the $40 price tag. The caveat mentioned time and time again was the brand; there is simply no replacement for a Dior experience or fexing moment.

In 2022, store-based global health and beauty sales were estimated to have a value of 836.5 billion U.S. dollars and are forecast [sic] to increase by over 3555 billion U.S. dollars by 2027

INFORMATION FROM

I bought my frst Glossier product not because I knew anything about the brand or its products, but because I saw my friends sporting their signature stickers on water bottles and reapplying their Balm Dotcoms in class. I wanted to be in on the trend. As awful as it sounds, I did not care about the actual product I was shelling out hardearned cash for ($14 for one tube of lip balm? I can get a tub of Vaseline for $3.99); rather, I cared about the name, a frequent reality for those who invest in, and are regular customers of, beauty products.

While I’m now a die-hard supporter of Glossier, espe-

Another facet of this debate is the judgment associat - ed with

conducted by accredited SWNS Media Group, 67 percent of Americans admit to judging fellow shoppers for what they buy, period. While this may seem like a relatively neutral statistic, the fear of being judged harshly, especially in a world where everyone cares too much about what other people think of them, is relevant and very much there. What’s more, drugstore brands such as Elf and Esse have been shown to, at times, outperform their luxury counterparts. Personally, I’ll take a $15 Elf setting spray over La Mer’s $85 or even Tatcha’s $49.

more afordable, drugstore brands— many of which can deliver an equal, and sometimes better, product.

According to a survey

letters to the editor

Nicholas Carrozza

Ihave never been a kid that brings their lunch to school; I couldn’t be bothered to deal with a lunchbox and I didn’t necessarily care what I ate.

In elementary and middle school, all food was equally satisfying for me. As long as I ate, I was fne.

I was pleasantly surprised when I entered my freshman year and saw that the cafeteria was like a food court in comparison to elementary and middle school lunches. The cafeteria provided appetizing options for only $4 a meal, from bacon cheeseburgers from The Grill, to orange chicken from the Asian Cuisine station, to the burritos from the South of the Border counter. I had options, and that was incredible. However, for reasons beyond just its taste, I now fnd this menu a lot more appealing than the current school lunch options.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 19.7 percent of children aged 2–19 in the U.S. were aficted with obesity between 2017-2020. They also state that obesity prevalence has been proven to decrease in accordance with the head of the house’s education level. Nearly one in fve children struggle with obesity, and this disproportionately afects children from lower-income families, who often rely more heavily on school nutrition programs.

The issue of school nutrition comes down to lack of choice: if students have to eat school lunches because home situations prevent them from packing their own, they must eat what the school serves that day, or they simply don’t eat. If the school is serving food that is less nutritious, then students may not feel as if adequate meal options are available to them. As such, the school has a responsibility to provide enough variety of food to qualify as a healthy diet.

With that in mind, the quality of school food at RUHS may lack nutritional value. While it still fulflls the base re-

quirements for lunch, with one meat, one grain and one fruit or vegetable, it doesn’t do much more than that. According to Titan School Solutions, who hosts the menu for our school online, the meat is usually a chicken or beef patty. The grain often comes from either a bun or rice that accompany the meal. There’s also dairy, like mac and cheese, string cheese or milk. There is at least one fruit or vegetable served. These range from a bag of celery to carrots, apples or pears. Of course, these fruits and vegetables are often forgotten or thrown away. This food waste is a primary issue in terms of how our lunch menu is organized.

One of the ways we can resolve this issue of wasted food, and thus a lack of a vital part of our nutrition, is by ofering more choice. The frst way we can do that is reintroduce salads onto the daily roster of foods, either as standalone meals with chicken on top or at the salad bar. I personally fnd the salad bar to be the better option, as it allows students to have a more balanced meal of a burger and salad, for example, rather than only selecting one or the other.

The reason that the salad bar was removed upon re turning from lockdown was because it was deemed unsanitary. This is the case for standalone meals consisting of sal ads with some sort of meat to go with them. If the meal is contained entirely like in a chicken wrap, there is an unlikely chance of disease transmission. However, I think standalone salads are a bad option for two reasons: because it forces students to choose when they don’t need to, and the solution is far easier.

Forcing students to choose between options that could be more nutritious and options they want cre

The High Tide encourages greater input of perspectives from both students and staf. If you have an opinion about one of the articles, letters can be sent to the editor at hightideonline@gmail.com

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voice column

The High Tide aims to share the voices of a wider swath of the RUHS student population, beyond just our staf members. If you have a story to share, a unique outlook on something, or a personal opinion, fll out the form linked at the QR code.

ates a confict when there does not need to be one. This results in wasted food and also forces the kitchen staf to dedicate a lot more time to portioning out greens for meals that aren’t in very high demand, which will put more pressure on the staf.

I believe that the solution, therefore, is to portion of a section of the cafeteria for the salad bar and creating a short line for it, which can be done by taking one of the metal dividers in the cafeteria, and have a hand sanitizer dispenser in the line so people can disinfect before assembling their salads. Then, school lunches have added variety with minimal cost.

I would love to see a return of the 2019 menu, with all its variety. But for right now, I’m just fne with giving students the opportunity to add that variety for themselves.

We can solve the complaints around unsatisfactory menus by ofering students more choices

Voice column: César Chávez belongs in RUHS history classes

by David Padilla

Being a frst-generation Mexican-American, my parents never informed me of the historical roots of César Chávez Day in the United States. I would always hear phrases thrown around in my house such as “la raza” and “viva la causa” growing up, but I was never taught about their impact on the Latino community within school. Similarly, I feel that students have a vague sense of who César Chávez was, what he represents, but his legacy should be carried on through an educational curriculum taught at school.

Before high school I was never taught anything about César Chávez within the classroom. All the information that I knew about him was how he helped to organize huelgas for farm workers and most of all, his famous catchphrase “¡Sí se puede!”

When I had the opportunity to take AP Spanish Language & Culture during my junior year, my eyes were opened to the years of history that explain my cultural background. This course is divided up into units such as global challenges (“desafíos mundiales”), the infuence of language and culture on identity (“la infuencia de la idioma y cultura en la identidad”), and contemporary life (“la vida contemporánea”). AP Spanish defnitely broadened my perspective of United States history and the history behind my Mexican heritage. Through these units, Señora Magñone taught my classmates and I about the East L.A. Walkouts, Ruben Salazar, the culture of the Aztec civilization, and the “huelgas,” or protests, of César Chávez.

Throughout this course, I discovered how Chávez was more than just the catchphrase “¡Sí se puede!” He became the face of a socio-cultural movement known as “El Movimiento” (The Chicano Movement). César Chávez helped to bring awareness to the discrimination and inequalities that the Latino community within the United States experienced for years (and still continue to do so). Dolores Huerta and Chavez’s non-violent eforts of bringing attention to the rights and living conditions of farm workers would accumulate in the creation of the United Farm Workers (UFW). Chávez would later go on to infuence the philosophy of other Latino activists such as Rodolfo Corky Gonzalez and Guadalupe Briseño. He was one of the frst Latinos to be the voice for “la raza” and stand up for the community. The impact that Chávez had on countless Latino families is tremendous and that is why he is deeply admired within the community.

In 2014, former president Barack Obama announced the federal holiday of César Chávez Day to be celebrated on March 31 every year. The day commemorates the legacy and activism of César Chávez. Last year California Governor Gavin Newsom declared César Chávez Day a state holiday.

When I took AP Spanish, I began to notice the lack of attention that Redondo Union High School has paid to César Chávez Day. Our school has not educated their students enough to understand who Chávez was and his contributions to the Latino community. In the realm of education, schools are tasked with the concept of transferring knowledge to their students so that they can develop a basic understanding of an idea or person. However, I feel as if Redondo Union has especially failed its Latino students by not educating us enough on the prominence of César Chávez and other Latino leaders.

According to the RBUSD Annual Enrollment Data, approximately 24 percent of Redondo Union students identify as Hispanic/Latino. Considering the ever-growing population of Latino students in the Redondo Beach Unifed School District, it is important that RUHS ensures the representation of Latino history within its curriculum.

Although the school district does not recognize César Chavez Day, in the Hispanic Honorary Society on campus, we try our best to educate our members of the history behind this prominent day. You may have noticed the posters around school that highlight some of Chavez’s famous quotes or our Instagram announcements. I hope to see that in the future RBUSD begins to recognize César Chávez Day as a school holiday to commemorate the civil work that Chávez accomplished for the Latino community.

Arguably one of the most culturally signifcant moments was when Lady Gaga sang, “Baby, you were born this way.” However, some still refuse to accept queer expression and culture.

On April 1, a Tennessee law banning all drag performances in public spaces (and anywhere in the presence of minors) was set to take efect—just before a federal judge temporarily blocked it.

Funnily enough, the bill wasn’t blocked for its homophobic, discriminatory undertones—rather, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker cited “broad language,” and in two weeks, the bill will be back on the table, according to Time Magazine.

Tennessee, which has recently been in the news for its GOP congressman Andy Ogles’s eyebrow-raising Christmas card, where he, his wife and children are smiling and holding assault rifes, seems to be the capital of controversy. For now, the controversy is postponed, but in two weeks, all of that could change. However, Tennessee is not the only state introducing such legislation. Republican Bryan Hughes of Texas proposed two bills attacking drag expression, most notably, TX SB12.

This bill restricts “sexually oriented” performances on public property, on premises of a commercial enterprise or in the presence of minors. This behavior can be defned as a male or female imperson ating the opposite sex using clothing, makeup or other traits while dancing, singing or performing in front of an audience—essentially, drag, which is a monumental fac et of queer culture. While I wouldn’t support promoting sexualized content to elementary school children, just as I wouldn’t condone teacher’s showing “Fifty Shades of Gray” in class, this bill is not just addressing that. Minors are not the only ones being prohibited from

by Katarina (Haven) Beches

participating or witnessing drag performances, which is a massive overstep. In essentially banning drag, lawmakers are targeting LGBTQ+ individuals in a blatant act of legislative discrimination.

I want to hone in on the “commercial enterprise” idea explicitly mentioned in this bill, because according to Cornell University’s Law Department, a commercial enterprise can be defned as “any for-proft activity formed for the ongoing conduct of lawful business” that is either “publicly or privately owned.” This bill’s vague language (much like Tennessee's) is not lost on me, nor is the notion that a privately owned business could be subject to a prejudiced law that would outlaw all forms of drag expression. Drag shows, drag bars and many other worthy establishments would be in violation of this law. No amount of reasoning can convince me that singling out LGBTQ+ individuals is in line with America’s values of equality and expression.

If TX SB12 is signed by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, it will go into efect on Sep. 1 and will subsequently put many drag queens, whose profession is essentially made illegal in this bill, out of work, while simultaneously shaming the LGBTQ+ community for promoting “wrong ideas” to children. But who’s to say queer representation is dangerous for kids? Who’s to say that drag queens living their lives should be regulated with stricter scrutiny than guns are? Who’s to say that a queer man who says “y’all” can’t have the duality and the freedom of expression—granted in our very own U.S. Constitution—to put on some lipstick, wear a dress and sing their heart out? Not Texas, not Tennessee, not a politician and most certainly not a homophobic bill.

by Priya Ramcharan

The other side of the tracks— separating the higher income from the lower income—is perhaps most striking when you look at the public schools on each side. The Beach Cities are some of the most afuent cities in California. However, at RUHS, 17 percent of students come from low-income families (which means families that make 50 percent below the median range in Redondo Beach, $123,874).

More mixed-income levels in schools can both bring students from lower-income neighborhoods out of poverty and widen the perspective of the wealthy. Increased access to well-funded public schools, such as RUHS, via permits is mutually benefcial.

A school serving primarily students from wealthier backgrounds garners more investment in the community by way of taxes, which results in improved infrastructure and public services that beneft everyone attending that school.

Students born into low-income families and living in low-income communities are enrolled in school districts that lack funding. On top of the stress at home, these schools simply can’t provide them with the same resources and opportunities, which they need to excel, that better-funded schools aford their students. Thus, the cycle of poverty is perpetuated, and the answer is better education, but it is out of reach for so many. These disadvantaged students can have the desire to work hard, but in schools with no support for them, they are left in the dust.

Despite arguments that schools decrease in quality when there is a vaster range in income, economic diversity can help poor and afuent students learn from each other. A case study at Rosemount Center, a preschool serving both highand low-income communities in D.C., demonstrates this. An evaluation by the Children’s National Medical Center concluded that compared with national norms, the Rosemount children, well-to-do and underserved alike, had well-developed social skills and relatively little problem behavior.

In Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redon do Beach, most students come from afuent fami lies. Families who can aford to live in Manhattan Beach, for example, make an average income of $169,586 (as of the 2021 U.S. Census Bureau) with a poverty rate of 3.1 percent. When kids grow up in pri vate schools and gated communi ties, they may fnd it more challenging to understand others’ experi

ences. When they grow up, because of this lack of exposure and understanding, they may be less inclined to fund programs that beneft others, such as healthcare and education.

Furthermore, according to recent studies by Eric Chyn, an economist at the University of Michigan, low-income children who grow up in mixed-income neighborhoods make more money throughout their lives than those in entirely low-income areas.

Academics have posited that mixed-income schools fail due to micro-segregation, where neither rich nor poor families can thrive. Citing cases such as Pasadena Unifed School District (PUSD), which became economically more diverse after its racial desegregation in 1970 (in accordance with Brown v. Board), such perspectives argue that the mixing of incomes led the school to sufer academically.

However, this argument fails upon closer inspection. In the case of PUSD, the sufering of the school was caused by systemic racism; when the school integrated racially, many white families, driven by their racism, pulled both their kids and generational wealth out of the district, according to the Century Foundation. The district as a whole lost funding, which put the school at a disadvantage in resources.

Underserved schools are lower-acheiving not because the individuals who attend them don’t come from well-of families, but rather because of a dearth of resources. By creating more opportunities across the board for students to attend well-funded schools by way of accommodating more mixed-income levels at such schools, and ultimately increasing funding nationally for public fools, students from impoverished communities would have more opportunities to thrive.

This is worth trying in communities like the South Bay. We have so much potential to integrate diferent economic statuses into our high-performance schools, and economic integration can yield numerous benefts. RUHS should make the change and bring that 17 percent up. Of course, this takes planning and work—I am not discounting the logistical and practical difculties of this—but it can be done with money and support. If other Beach Cities should follow suit, it will help lessen the sharp class divides and inequities among school districts.

Mixed-income schools are the key to deconcentrating poverty, and increasing equity of opportunity

1. PHOTO BY JANNOON028 ON FREEPIK'

2. GRAPHIC BY MACROVECTOR ON FREEPIK

3. PHOTO BY LESTUDIO ON FREEPIK

Recent bills in Texas and Tennessee that ban drag target the queer community and should be dissolved

drag Don't be a just be a queen ,

A stroke of boygenius boygenius' new album brings peak lyricism and emotional melodies

by Meara Fay

If you’ve been yearning for an album with tracks you can dance and scream to one minute and then sob the hardest you ever have the next, boygenius’s frst full length album “the record” is the masterpiece you’re searching for.

Recognized by Rolling Stone as “the supergroup we need,” boygenius—Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus— collectively combines three of the most unique voices of indie music into one cohesive band.

Without notice, the group released three songs in early January after not coming together in the studio since their self-titled EP in 2018. “The Boys” had been working together on the album since early 2021, but fans only caught drift of the band’s reunion after boygenius was listed in the 2023 Coachella lineup. Considering Bridgers’ repeated denials that the band was getting back together, their debut songs “Emily I’m Sorry,” “True Blue” and “$20” promptly broke the internet after release.

The three pre-released tracks were indi vidually sung by one member of the band, each accompanied by the artist’s distinc tive style. “Emily I’m Sorry” refects Gram my-nominated Bridgers’ melancholy aura of slow paced yet powerful lyrics, while Baker’s “$20” packs a punch with fastpaced electric guitars and Bridgers’ iconic screaming in the background.

As a die-hard boygenius fan this was hard for me to admit, but upon frst listen of the three singles, I was not impressed. But after relistening a couple of times and digesting the lyrics, I can confdently say that the songs live up to the band name and are absolutely genius. And that's exactly the beauty of the group; they prioritize their lyricism rather than meaningless rhymes.

The main reason I don’t like most of the songs that play on the radio is because their lyrics don’t have real val ue. Many pop singers are so focused on making words rhyme that they miss con veying an actually meaningful message,

but boygenius manages to create poppy songs without sacrifcing their lyricism for stupidity. For example, the fourth pre-released track “Not Strong Enough” is a ballad about depression that’s worthy of dancing to in your room—an incredibly difcult combination that the group still manages to pull of with minimal faults.

The full-length album, released on March 31, opens with angelic harmonies led by Dacus and an almost demo-like rawness in “Without You Without Them.” Singing of gratitude for love and friendship, the trio perfectly captures their compatibility as both artists and people, asking “Who would I be without you, without them?”

For a group of artists that typically make music for self-pro- claimed

with lyrics about true love and a message of happiness. The song represents a major switch from Dacus’s most popular song of her 2018 album “Historian,” “Night Shift,” which depicts a one-sided relationship in which she is longing for equally returned love. But in “True Blue” through the lyrics

“It feels good to be known so well, I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself,” Dacus details what it’s like to be in a happy relationship, and expresses her gratitude for fnally being shown the love she deserves.

Shifting from their debut EP’s indie-folk style, “the record” explores a variety of styles and speeds and features backing instrumentals ranging from banjos to bass guitars. Despite diferences in sound, the group still managed to pay homage to their

my room without looking for you,” in contrast to the devastating lyrics of “Me & My Dog,” where Bridgers sings “I wanna be emaciated, I wanna hear one song without thinking of you.” This evolution of boygenius’s iconic lyrics in “Me & My Dog” encapsulates the most prominent theme of the album—growth—and tells Bridgers’ story of maturing and leaving a toxic relationship. In an interview with Rolling Stone on the song, Bridgers stated “That song is about when someone has so much power over you, they stop being a person.”

Just like Dacus, Bridgers sings of no longer needing someone that was terrible for her, exemplifying her personal development that’s shown all throughout “the record.” The group shows a distinct diference in this work versus their last by placing increased emphasis on their happiness, demonstrating their growth as not only musicians but also people in the last four

Appearing on the cover of “Rolling Stone,” boygenius has managed to catch the eyes of many famous names in music, even earning support from pop queen Taylor Swift. Swift reposted a photo of boygenius on her Instagram story Tuesday, captioning it “This [boygenius] album is genuinely a masterpiece, if you don’t have it on repeat I’d go ahead and do that,” and she could not have restated my thoughts any better.

Melanie Martinez's album "PORTALS" completes the "Crybaby triolgy" perfectly

by Scarlett Mische

“I’m back from the dead, back from the dead… I’m back.” This 30 second part of Melanie Martinez’s new album “PORTALS,” marked the end of an era.

At the same time that this clip was released, Martinez took down all of her old instagram posts from her past albums, as well as changing the thumbnails on all of her YouTube videos. All of this would lead up to Martinez announcing the release of her new album on March 31.

I’ve been an avid Melanie Martinez fan from a young age and waiting from March 19, 2022 all the way until Feb. 18, 2023 for a new Instagram post was agonizing, but one-thousand percent worth it.

This new album perfectly completes Martinez’s “Crybaby trilogy.” Her three albums are all symbolic for the stages of birth, life and now, fnally, life after death. Her frst album, “Crybaby” introduced us to the main character of Martinez’s music, a fantasy version of Martinez’s younger self, named Crybaby. Throughout the frst album, we see a lot of Crybaby’s childhood before school and we’re given insight as to the adult things that she has to experience as a child.

Eventually, Crybaby will grow up and have to go to school, leading into Martinez’s “K-12” album, which is also a feature flm on YouTube. By the end of “K-12” Cry-

baby has to make a decision as to whether or not she has to go through a portal and leave behind her mortal life.

Due to Martinez still not releasing her new feature flm, I don’t know whether or not she went through the portal or not. However, given that the “DEATH” music video (the frst song in PORTALS) starts out by showing a tombstone inscribed with “RIP CRYBABY,” I can assume that she either dies after ”K-12” or entered into the portal.

However, I will say that, regardless of whether or not the mortal version of Crybaby is still around, Martinez’s music has defnitely not failed to stay up to par with her past two albums.

The new visual aesthetic of Martinez was apparently “of-putting” to many people who were avid fans of her old albums; however, I must say that her new fairy-esque vibes match perfectly with her theme of “life after death.” The new color palette and prosthetic makeup that Martinez has on for her new album is so unequivocally “Melanie Martinez.” Gone are the pastels and split hair dye, and in their place the mushrooms and fae-like creatures certainly fll up the “void” left in their wake.

This album’s score blends in perfectly with Martinez’s new visuals and I couldn’t be more thrilled or comforted by the concepts that she brings up in her songs. These

new songs have a sense of completion to them in a way that her other albums did not. Rather than in her previous albums where she alludes towards more mature themes and then hides them under playful metaphors, her new album addresses these themes in a much more straightforward manner. Each message was much clearer than in her previous albums, which fts very nicely with the more eerie vibes that these songs give of.

Not only was every message extraordinarily clear, but every song, along with each message, ft together and fowed in a way that none of her other albums have. Although her other albums tell a story, they do it in a more fragmented way; this new album is like one large story rather than small pieces of one. In “K-12” and “Crybaby,” each song felt like a book within a series, whereas in “PORTALS,” each song felt like a chapter in a book.

The opening song, “DEATH” immediately grabbed my attention. It was such a powerful song, not necessarily powerful in terms of message, but powerful in terms of making a statement. After listening to “DEATH,” I got an immediate feel for how this new album would be, which in short is: loud and proud. Nothing was held back in this album, and I feel like the two songs that really personify that aspect of this album would be: “VOID,” and “THE CON-

TORTIONIST.”

“VOID” was my personal favorite song in the album. It is the only one that is exclusively written and produced by Martinez, and I’m not sure if that’s the reason that I love it so much or if it would have been amazing regardless of who wrote it. But, I can say that it was probably the catchiest and most profound of the songs in her album. I feel as if I’ve listened to that song more than I’ve listened to half of her “K-12” songs.

However, even though I enjoyed these songs individually, no single song is sticking in my mind in the way that the songs from her other albums are. It’s like the whole album is so intertwined that I can’t help but think of every song when I think of one of them. The craftsmanship and effort put into this album is completely unmatched. I could not have possibly hoped for a better album, those 3 years of waiting for a new album were beyond worth it.

Songs like “Training Wheels,” “Fire Drill,” “Highschool Sweethearts” and “Glue” will always hold a place in my heart, but these new songs, such as “VOID,” “DEATH,” and “THE CONTORTIONIST,” are more than worth the listen. I implore everyone to listen to all of Martinez’s albums, as they have all helped to shape me and are masterfully created to tell a story like no other.

PHOTO FROM NPR

With her ninth studio album, Lana Del Rey, the current reigning queen of sadness and allure, takes her listeners on a journey of her life before fame, presenting emotional grief and uncertainty of her future, all while still staying true to her enchanting vocals and cry-worthy lyrics. Released on March 23, “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” is Del Rey’s most autobiographical and emotionally compelling album yet to be published.

Much of this album, even stated by Del Rey herself, is purely poetry—meant to spark conversations on situations she has had to deal with herself. The sixteen-track album is a lyrical masterpiece and arguably one for her best projects yet.

Opening up with “The Grants,” a song recapping her memories with her family, Del Rey, with her real name being Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, sings on how when she passes away, she will take the memories of her family with her. It is a perfect tone to set from the start; she’s essentially saying, “This isn’t your ordinary Lana Del Rey album.” The impactful harmonies in the beginning vocals set by singers Meloyde Perry, Pattie Howard and Shikena Jones, coupled with piano and orchestral music in the background introduce the album in such an angelic way.

The title track swiftly follows to the music of piano and violin. While it may sound heavenly, the song itself is actually a depressing connection to how Del Rey feels about her life now and how she is fading out of the people’s eye.

For context, the eponymous “Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” is the abandoned

Hidden tunnels, hidden truths

Lana Del Rey's ninth album is an

by Luca Artiga

Jergins Tunnel located in Long Beach, California that closed in 1967. Exploited by the media for her looks and relationships more than for her music, Del Rey apparently connects to this abandoned tunnel, as she now feels just as irrelevant as the tunnel is now.

One song that keeps me coming back for more is the album’s third track, “Sweet.” The song is about Del Rey, herself, diving into her own personality, aspirations and life that she desires. Although it’s shorter in length compared to the rest of the album, the vocals and catchy chorus on “Sweet” pair to provide an intimate glimpse into Del Rey’s thoughts, ofering a melodic and captivating efect.

Shortly after, the song “A&W,” an acronym for “American wh*re,” opens with a stunning guitar and piano duo that are just what we need to continue this journey into the ultimate Lana Del Rey brain dump, all encapsulated into a seven-minute song. The song highlights Del Rey's experience of feeling objectifed by today's society. She feels tossed around and used up by the media and music industry, even admitting that she has been sexually assaulted, but never came forward due to her sexy, alluring behavior being accused by the media as “her asking for it”.

“A&W” is a raw, emotional song that expresses a lot of unseen details into Del Rey's personal life. It’s one of her best, with the ending completely shifting into a whole diferent song where she discusses one of her past drug-addicted boyfriends.

Straight after, the dazzling “Candy Necklaces (feat. Jon Batiste)” is a pleasantly surprising song with a pretty piano

melody and enchanting chorus. Reiterating the fact that this album wasn’t meant to be written for hits, but rather for an emotional diary for Del Rey, the track opens another door into one of her most toxic relationships. With alluring vocals added by Grammy-Award winner Jon Batiste, this song was a refreshing listen, topped with a spark of self-love at the end.

One of the more sadder songs with an even more melancholic meaning on the album is “Kintsugi,” referring to the Japanese art of putting broken pieces of pottery back together and lining the cracks with gold; the correlation of the name of this song couldn't have been a more apt metaphor for what it is about. Containing a somber melody and tear-jerking lyrics, Del Rey recaps the grief of loved-ones and how it has shifted the way she views her future and our time on this earth.

Similar to “Kintsugi,” the next song, “Fingertips,” also extends to the idea of her future’s uncertainty. With a fowy rhythm paired with up and down wistful gushes of vocals, Del Rey sings on her family’s loss, life and livelihood. This song was pure melodic storytelling, which is a part of Del Rey that we really haven't heard since her album “Lust for Life,” which allows her listeners to catch up on what she has been doing.

One of my personal favorite songs on the album, “Let The Light In (feat. Father John Misty)” was a brightening listen, brought on by the rusty voice of Misty. It’s a classic Lana song with beautiful harmonies, a tender melody and great use of guitar, all adding up to make a memorable song. Similarly, “Margaret (feat. Bleachers)” was the

icing on the cake for the emotional themes embedded in this album. Written for Margaret Qualley, the fancée of one of Del Rey’s producers, “Margaret” makes the album special not only to Del Rey, but also to the people who contributed to it.

One of the more popular songs on the album, “Peppers (feat. Tommy Genesis)” was also one of my favorites. The upbeat chorus and unexpected beat drop at the beginning of the song ventures into an alternative hip/hop feel with help from Canadian Rapper Tommy Genesis. Even though the lyrics are repetitive, the beat is very much infuenced by Del Rey's album “Ultraviolence” and is another stimulating song to hear on an album flled with a lot of piano and technical vocals. Del Rey repeats, “Hands on your knees, I'm Angelina Jolie'' over and over again in the song, representing a symbol for power, allure, sex appeal and confdence, all encapsulated into one word, Angelina Jolie. And it was nothing short of perfect.

The last song on the album, “Taco Truck x VB,” is a decent, but short-coming song with a surf-rock type of vibe at the beginning, transitioning into an excellent beat drop. The shift from “Taco Truck” to the “VB” portion of the song, a remix of “Venice B*tch” of of her previous album “Norman F*cking Rockwell,” adds an unique touch. Keeping its original style, with added rhythmic beats, “VB” is still as good as it always was.

“Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd”’s essence as an album is a soul-searching experiment that will age timelessly and leave future fans just as in awe as fans are now.

by Isabella Kohler

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston fghting bad guys in the dazzling city of Paris—what more could you possibly want? The pair returned to our screens ready to keep us on the edge of our seats and chuckling at their witty remarks while twisting our minds trying to fgure out the killer.

A sequel to “Murder Mystery,” “Murder Mystery 2” follows Nick and Audrey Spitz, a married couple struggling to succeed as detectives. When their friend Vikram announces his upcoming marriage, the two travel to his private island to attend the ceremony. The vacation starts out relatively peaceful and pleasant, but of course, trouble has a tendency to follow the Spitz’s.

If you have seen the original, you know that on their last vacation, things didn’t go so well; some people were killed and mishaps occured. Well, it happens again, but this time, Vikram is kidnapped on the night of his wedding when he is supposed to be making his surprise grand entrance on an elephant.

Instead, his newly hired bodyguard, Lou, arrives on the elephant, disguised as Vikram and collapses. The only people that knew about the surprise entrance were his sister, his ex-fancée and her friend, his current fancée, and the groom's friend, leaving the Spitz’s with fve defnite suspects and one bafing case.

Let's be honest, anything with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler is automatically a 10 out of 10. The two have undeniable chemistry that carries the entire flm. Not only their romance, but their hilarious and impeccably timed dialogue makes the movie that much more enjoyable.

While the wheels in my mind turned throughout the entire hour and 24 minutes, the flm also fawlessly weaved in humor at the perfect moments to relieve the tension. Adam Sandler’s character, Nick, had countless one liners that kept me laughing consistently. When you throw this witty humor in with Jennifer Aniston’s character, Audrey’s, hilarious misadventures, you get one heck of an entertaining story.

The mystery starts of with Nick and Audrey arriving on the lavish private island, surrounded by all things rich—people, clothes, food, etc.—providing for some extremely comedic dialogue between the couple. When they get to their guest room after the wedding, Nick discovers a block of cheese (which he likes very, very much) and the sentences exchanged between him and his wife had me laughing so much I had to turn up the volume.

At frst glance, the flm may seem to be average and just another rom-com with an extended plot, but it is so much more than that. Of course there is a sense of comedy to it, which at times seems to overpow-

er the mystery, but the plot of the story is so well developed in a way that keeps you wondering what will happen next. Not once did I pull out my phone to go on Instagram or text my friends because I was bored. In fact, the en tire time I was sitting up in my bed picking away anxiously at my nails.

As if it couldn’t get any more wonder ful, the mystery takes them to Paris where the Spitz’s battle it out with the kidnapper on the Eifel Tower, making for some very magical ac tion shots. Paris, the city of lights and romance, comes alive in the flm, set ting the stage for the cou ple's “perfect movie mo ment.” With both Nick and Audrey facing near death multiple times

in the glittering, enchanting city, viewers like me are left somewhat starstruck by the action.

I wish I could watch this movie again to re-experience the shocking plot twists that just hit you one after another. Just when I thought the case was cracked, the truth hit me like a truck, leaving my jaw on the foor when the credits rolled in. “Murder Mystery,” both 1 and 2, will always hold a special place in my heart because of its incredible cast and the magical experience that was watching it. No matter what people’s opinions on it are, it is a wonderful escape from reality that completely captivated me the entire time and left me feeling ready for any challenge.

impressive, glamorous work of self-mythogy and verity

Despite what critics say, "Murder Mystery 2" is a comedic must-see on Netfix

PHOTO VIA BILLBOARD

PHOTO VIA NETFLIX

Moving Forward

Girls lacrosse beats Newbury Park 20-9, improving overall record to 11-2

by Aidan Tseng

The girls lacrosse team bounced back from their loss to Mira Costa with a blowout win over Newbury Park High School 20-9.

According to junior midfelder Cameron Kelly, the girls had redemption on their mind as they took the feld the evening of March 28.

“After the last game, we were not super proud of how we played. I think we really wanted to come back and play the way we knew we were capable of and go back to what we know we can do,” Kelly said.

The girls put the pressure on the Newbury goalkeeper, fring 26 shots on goal. This ofensive output resulted in fve goals for senior captain Sofa Gonzalez.

“We like to think that ‘you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.’ We aim to get a good shot percentage [and] make the ratio [of shots on goal to goals] good, so we just try to take every shot that we can,” Gonzalez said.

The team moved the ball up and down the feld efciently, setting up great looks the entire game. Thirteen of their 20 goals were goals from an assist. The team consistently found junior attacker Piper Flaherty and sophomore midfelder/attacker Presley Wildes open behind the goal to set up good looks. Their strategy paid of, as Flaherty and Wildes combined for fve assists.

“When I see Piper on the feld, I want to get her the ball because I know she'll take care of it, and be smart with it,” Kelly said.

According to Gonzalez, getting Flaherty and Wildes the ball in that area was part of the game plan as they were constantly fnding open cutters near the goal for shot opportunities.

“We look for the cutters specifcally l and we honestly sometimes use cutters as a distraction to create an open space,” Gonzalez said.

Caitlyn Kelly also had a productive game with four goals, two assists and three ground balls. Not only did she make her mark on the feld, but she was also heavily involved in the huddle. Despite only being a sophomore, she had the whole team’s command.

“I love playing with Caitlyn, she's a super great motivator. Caitlyn creates so many opportunities for herself [and] for other players,” Cameron said. “She brings a lot of energy and skill to the team and has a great passion for the sport.”

As the team gears up for the fnal stretch of their season, they are determined to prove they belong among California’s elite. Currently ranked 11th in the state by MaxPreps, Redondo’s ranking, along with their status as back-to-back defending Bay League champions, create a target on their

back.

“I think teams especially like Costa and PV, who we've been beating for years now, they come into the game like ‘we want to beat Redondo’ because we've been at the top of the game for quite a while now. So we [believe] it’s definitely a goal for many [different] teams to beat us, ” Cameron said. According to Gonzalez, this team is one of the best she’s been on and they haven’t reached their full potential.

“This is a really strong team this year. I believe we can make it to the fnals and we just have to have confdence in every game and be aggressive.”

Upcoming Schedule:

@ Peninsula at 3:30 vs. Mira Costa 4/19 vs. Palos Verdes 4/21 vs. Peninsula 4/26

Boys volleyball holds 5-1 record in Bay League after beating Palos Verdes 3-0

by Ava Anzivino

Abundant in confdence and consistency, boys volleyball continues to stand their ground this season. They kept the energy high as they beat Palos Verdes in three straight sets this Monday, April 3, demanding attention to their exemplary skill set.

The boys knew what to expect as they planned to oppose PV, and it seemed that their game emulated that. Throughout all three sets, the boys were secure enough in themselves to dominate.

“We didn’t want to overlook them, we knew that they were a really good team, but we also knew that they had their weaknesses. It all came down to our ability to break them down,” freshman opposite Carter Mirabal said.

It was clear from the beginning that Redondo’s strengths outweighed any of PV's abilities. With only one real obstacle, PV’s outside hitter, the team was able to focus all of their energy on him, instead of worrying about more aspects of the game.

The boys controlled the frst set, win ning 25-10. Using that momentum from the frst set, Redondo’s drive became un stoppable. While PV tried to put up a fght against the boys’ tight defense in the sec ond set, Redondo’s forces were not to be messed with.

“We were picking up everything they sent over, we didn’t really make many mis takes, and everyone was willing to make the plays themselves, instead of look ing at whoever else was in the back row and hoping they’d do it for us,” Man silla said.

Upcoming Schedule:

@ Peninsula at 4:45 vs. Palos Verdes 4/17 vs. Mira Costa 4/19 vs. SDA 4/21 (tournament) vs. SDA 4/22 (tournament)

“Our blocking came in clutch because they had a really big outside, he’s a senior and has committed, he’s a really good guy. But we just shut him down and blocked the life out of him and once we shut down their only real player, we were solid,” Mirabal said.

Reassured by their defense, Redondo was able to thrive. They utilized every player on the court, which gave them the ability to deliver some harmful blows to PV’s side of the net.

“We were putting the balls away pretty efciently, and we passed a lot which made our setters’ job really easy. Their defense wasn’t super strong so we did a good job of killing the ball when we could,” senior outside hitter David Mansilla said.

Closing of the second set with a score of 25-17, the team kept their mo mentum going, whether that be on or of the bench. According to Mansilla, the “exciting” part about this game was the fact that Redondo could imple ment all of their players on the court that day.

“Our bench defnitely helped us out. We had some bench guys coming in, and the guys who weren’t on the court at that time were bringing a lot of energy. It was great because guys who weren’t warm that came in for sets two and three, they had the energy it took to be on the court just because they were so excited on the bench,” Mansilla said.

With the combination of the team's ca maraderie and clean technique, they were able to defeat PV, ending the fnal set with a score of 25-13. Redondo’s consistency on their side of the net, whether it be on oftheir regular season rears

to an end, it’s their three fnal Bay League games that “matter most.”

“We just want a good battle, we know that we can take on [Peninsula], but they’re a good team," Mansilla said. "At the end of the day, we want to focus on enjoying the battle while also playing as best as we can.”

1. Senior Zane Marquez jumps up for the serve. 2. the team celebrates after gaining the point. PHOTOS BY REBECCA SCHIMA

1. Junior Sidney Cherry sprints past a defender. 2. Caitlyn Kelly celebrates after her goal. PHOTOS BY LILIANA ROMERO

Redondo girls swim placed in the Wilson HighSchool Klaus Barth Invitational

by Malina Young

After spending the weekend in San Diego at the Granite Hills invite, the varsity girls and boys swim team grapple with another long week of competition. The teams made their way to Long Beach to compete at the Wilson Highschool Klaus Barth Invitational. Prelims took place on March 28 and 29, and the fnals were hosted at Long Beach City College on Friday, March 31. Coming of of a long weekend the teams focused on the details and pursued a win against teams outside of the bay league, including, Wilson, Los Alamitos, Cerritos, LB Poly and Millikan High School.

Captain Sammie Hall was disappointed she placed fourth in the 200 individual medley and second in the 100 butterfy. However, her times contended her for the fnals, where she then placed frst in both events. Hall also competed in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay on Friday with Maddie Malone, Catalina Kahan, and Farah Bowles, where they also won both events.

“On Wednesday I added ten seconds to my best [200 individual medley]. Although it was discouraging I knew that [my time] was abnormal, and I knew I could do better. Also, reminding myself that I’m not in my prime right now and not stressing too much. I knew if I got closer to my best [time] I could win in the fnals,” Hall said.

Although Hall placed frst, she didn’t break any of her times and is striving to set a new school record for the 400 freestyle relay this season.

“We all swam great races, but hopefully we’ll break [the record] at Bay League when we’re in a peak position,” Hall said.

Hall states one of her roles as captain, besides her administrative duties is to keep her team motivated during long swim meets. She states that she helps answer questions for freshmen and leads cheers with her co-captain Madie Malone.

“I’ve always kind of felt like a leader since I was a freshman because I was put into relays and people saw me as a stronger swimmer. So, I’ve already been kind of looked up to in terms of swimming technique. However, now that I actually have the ofcial position, I can hopefully make changes in the team culture,” Malone said.

In Prelims, Malone swam the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, and in the fnals she competed in the 200 medley relay, the 400 medley relay, the 50 freestyle, and the 100 freestyle, securing a frst-place fnish in all her events.

“It’s always exciting to see your name at the top, but at the same time, the goal is to improve your time. Sometimes it can be disappointing, especially when you're trying to break your best [time],” Malone.

Junior boys varsity captain Chris Yook competed in the 100 freestyle at Prelims but didn’t qualify for the fnals. With waterpolo as Yook’s prioritized sport, his goal as captain is to push his teammates and have fun this season.

“I’m not too bothered if I lose. I like when my team does well. I want everyone on the team to improve and get faster and for everyone to have a good time here,” said Yook.

Redondo baseball narrowly lost to Chaminade High School 3-1

by Ty Soria

Three balls, two strikes, two outs and the bases are loaded. Forty-fve degree weather with the wind making it even colder sweeps through the feld. Fans and players, hot chocolate in hand, waiting in anticipation for the next pitch. Three heckling Redondo students hype up the team and crowd until voices give out. Now this is base-

In a four-hour pitching showdown between Redondo and Chaminade, the baseball team fell short 3-1 after a tworun homer in the

said.

Redondo gave up one run in the ffth and it took until the seventh inning (the fnal inning in high-school games) for them to

were making hard contact and balls were going right at people. I think we had to capitalize, but it's tough. We were getting hard line-drives but nothing was falling,” McArthur said. “I think we had a little bit of bad luck. Some of those fall for us and that game has a diferent result.”

Perhaps the highlight of the game was when McArthur struck out a batter with a

Although Re dondo lost, junior Maddon McArthur, who pitched in the 10th, believes the pitching proved to be immaculate throughout the game.

“The pitchers did a pretty good job today,” McArthur said. “Everybody went out and did their job and we just [struggled at the end].”

Cole Stokes’s fastballs overpowered

retaliate. Junior Simon Landry walked and got to second base from a sac bunt by senior Aden Laureano. When senior Tomas Lopez few out to right feld, Landry rushed to third. Fortunately the throw to third end ed up out of play and by rule Landry got to bound pridefully into home plate, tying the game 1-1.

of [the] night got more fun as the game went along because my adrenaline was pump ing,” Leof said.

do only had fve hits throughout the game, batters consistently got on base and were patient at the plate, col lecting nine walks and by-pitch.

full count, two outs and the bases loaded while the game was tied in the top of the 10th. It took a while, but the batter fnally missed on the 11th pitch and at that moment, the momentum seemed to be on “We played PV a couple of weeks ago, I was in the same exact situation. I just stick to mechanics and throw a fastball down the plate for Though heartbreaking at the end, the game tested Redondo’s ability to perform in clutch situations. The pitchers stayed locked in, the batters were getting on base, but the team was just one step away from winning a game that came down to the wire. Before the second half of Bay League, the boys will be spending their spring break competing in Palm Springs, against Milikan, Palm Desert and Desert Mirage high

Chaminade to start the game, pitching four innings while allowing zero runs on 10 strikeouts and one hit. The team followed suit and each Redondo pitcher only gave up one hit each and reaped 17 K’s in total. Junior Dylan Leof pitched 3.2 clutch scoreless innings from the sixth to the ninth.

“We were throwing a lot of strikes and we were good at locating our pitches,” Leof

seventh well as Re ners

sometimes. Hitters

“We're going to work hard and get some reps in and hopefully head into Peninsula and Costa [with mindit for McAr-

1. Junior Cooper Couig getting ready to swing on a fast ball.

PHOTO BY CATHERINE WONG

2. Junior Alex Yin runs back to his position after chasing lose ball.

PHOTO BY CAITLYN CISNEROS

3. Junior Bryan Camou getting ready to bat in the frst inning.

PHOTO BY REBBECA SCHIMA

4. Senior Aden Laureano sliding into home and giving readono another run.

PHOTO BY CATHERINE WONG

Stuf happens sometimes. Hitters were making hard contact and balls were going right at people. I think we had to capitalize, but it's tough. We were getting hard line-drives but nothing was falling."

MADDON McARTHUR JUNIOR

“

The overall feel of last night got more fun as the game went along because my adrenaline was pumping."

“ 4

KICKIN' UP DUST

if the opportunity

With its state of the art facilities, 30 Advanced Placement and honors classes ofered, award winning extracurricular programs and high school ranking, RUHS is sought after. But, for the students who don’t live within RBUSD’s borders, securing a permit to attend is a difcult process.

For anonymous senior Avery’s parents, enrolling Avery and their siblings into RBUSD schools was imperative due to their local area’s low academic ratings and issues involving drugs. In order to do this, Avery’s parents initially lied about Avery’s address, citing a family member’s instead.

“My parents were extremely against me attending [my local school district],” Avery said. “So, we lied and one day, they were doing house checks, and we were caught. Luckily, we managed to explain everything and get a permit, but when we weren’t sure about that, we were applying to other school districts. For my mom, [my local school district] was the last resort.”

According to RBUSD’s website and Executive Director of Student Services Anthony Taranto, in order to obtain a permit, a student needs to get a release from their local school district. Then, the family must complete the RBUSD Inter-District Permit Application. If there is enough space, students will be either admitted or entered into the RBUSD Inter-District Permit Lottery. If there is a lack of space (student enrollment and applications vary year to year, according to Taranto) students will be placed on a waitlist.

Priority is frst granted to children of permanent RBUSD employees, applicants who have siblings currently attending an RBUSD school and students who previously

attended RBUSD schools but moved into a new district. Senior Caelia Vallejo fell under the frst category, as her mother works as a teacher at Adams Middle School.

“I’m not entirely sure of the process [of getting a permit] because I was really young when it happened, but I was really lucky. At the time, we lived right outside the border and I’m pretty sure all my mom had to do was talk to the school district about getting me a permit,” Vallejo said.

93% RUHS has a Average Daily Attendance

nected to community events here. But, I have other friends who are here on permits and since we don’t feel connected to Redondo Beach, we’ve banded together and feel connected to each other.” Similarly, Avery has felt some social differences involving their ability to go out as their mom “is really strict and doesn’t know or trust people in [Redondo Beach]." They’ve also felt difculties regarding racial diversity.

“Also, over here, because everyone is primarily white, it’s hard to talk about your culture and feel represented. When you’re in elementary school, you just want to ft in but it’s really hard because there’s nobody else like you,” Avery said.

30 RUHS ofers AP and honors classes

Having studied in RBUSD schools since elementary school, both Avery and Vallejo feel they have many more opportunities than their local school districts provide.

“Redondo Union is very blessed to have the support that it does fnancially. They have a lot more programs that [schools in Carson] don't have, and individually, I have a lot more resources as well,” Vallejo said. “Teachers that I've had have been amazing, and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve gotten to do choir for all four years, and I've gotten to pursue my passion for art because the program here has a lot of supplies.”

Although Vallejo is grateful for all of RBUSD’s opportunities, being an out-of-district student has come with some challenges.

“I’ve defnitely felt some social diferences going [to RUHS]. Pretty much my entire life is here and I do everything here. I don’t have my driver’s license yet, so I need to get a ride everywhere and it can be harder to hang out with people,” Vallejo said.

“I also don’t feel as con-

While students don’t have to continually reapply for permits each school year, students on permits are expected to maintain certain standards. According to the RBUSD website, this includes maintaining a 2.0 GPA, a good attendance record and lacking behavioral issues. “I’ve felt some extra pressure [to maintain those standards]. Most years have been fne but sophomore year when COVID-19 hit, it was really stressful because distance learning was really hard for me,” Vallejo said.

99% RUHS has a Graduation Rate

90+ RUHS ofers Student Clubs

Avery believes that permit students face a stigma and wishes they weren’t “so judged” as it renders their educational experience more unpleasant.

“I think it's super unfair how [permit students] are judged based on the area that they live in, [which is] usually based on [socioeconomic] factors. I’ve heard comments from students and even teachers who talked about how RUHS used to be ‘so much worse’ because they used to let more permit students in. It’s pushing a really bad stereotype,” Avery said.

To overcome this, Avery states that permit students “work hard” as staying at RUHS is essential for their education.

“My parents really wanted me to come here because they didn’t want me to miss out on the opportunities [RUHS provides.] I’m really lucky to be here,” Avery said. “[As a permit student,] I try harder since I always have the threat of getting my permit revoked hanging over my head.”

Students attending Redondo through Interdistrict Permits face struggles and additional academic pressure, but are grateful for the access to more resources, classes and extracurriculars