IGH H
Redondo Union High School Redondo Beach, CA October 3, 2014 Vol. XCV Edition 3
TIDE
World travelers
1. Jocelyn Lee went to Uganda for a service trip and spent time helping sick children in medical centers. Story on page 20. 2. Scott Meyer went to Israel with his youth group over the summer. Story on page 10. 3. Emma Robertson lived in Australia for three years but moved back to the States this year. Story on page 20.
1.
2.
Visting the homeland Scott Meyer travelled to Israel over the summer and learned about what life is like in the Jewish native land by Vaidehi Gandhi
TOS N; P H O LL-NIXO ILLIAMSON, E B N E TIN W Y STEV ATION B ELYN LEE, JUS ILLUSTR JOC F O Y S E COURT ERTSON MA ROB AND EM
This summer, Scott Meyer acquired a “new perspective” on life in the United States after living in Israel for three weeks. Meyer, a junior at Mira Costa, spent three weeks traveling around the country, starting in Jerusalem and moving around the northern part of the country, even living on a Kibbutz near the Sea of Galilee for a few days. Meyer and the group of 120 other teens he was with did not, however, get a chance to go to Tel Aviv, Israel’s financial center, or Haifa, the largest city in Northern Israel, because of complications relating to the IsraelPalestine conflict. According to Meyer, the leaders of the trip made sure 3.
[cont. on page 10]
page 2
News and Briefs
High Tide
news
Club sign-up day
PHOTOS BY BRITTANY UNGERMANN
Time to get involved. B-Boy and Salsa preformed for crowds
of students signing up for different clubs to be a part of during club sign-up day on Sept. 23. “I think Club sign-up day went well. I think there was a lot of energy, I think we had a good showing, and a lot of kids signed up for clubs,” Activities Director Brooke Mata said.
State of Education by Chris Paludi
1.
2.
PHOTOS BY CHANDLER ROSS
Education proclamation. 1. “Our job as schools of RBUSD is to take kids from K-12 and put the best schooling possible into students. We thank the community for Measures C and Q; we could not be more appreciative. New facilities, solar panels, Chromebooks, etc. - we cannot thank you enough for letting us do this,” Keller said. 2. Superintendent Keller and Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi headlined the event, which also featured the PTA, RBEF, School Board, and Blue Zones Project. “Redondo Beach is one of the best school districts in the state of California, and it’s always great to be here,” Muratsuchi said. “We live in a high tech world, and incorporating technology like Chromebooks into your daily education will make students more comfortable with technology and realize the full potential of multimedia tools.”
Superintendent Steven Keller spoke about the mission and accomplishments of RBUSD at the annual State of Education event at Adams Middle School on Wednesday. “I think the state of education in our district, specifically in this case the high school, is definitely on the rise,” Keller said. “We have great teachers and great staff members who want students to succeed and put them first and who are willing to look at what we’re doing and do it even better. Not only in the high school but also across the district, we have great staff members.” Keller spoke of the immediate and more distant future of RBUSD, and addressed two of the newest implementations across the district’s schools, including RUHS. “We’ve been embracing Common Core by learning more and trying to become better, more effective educators,” Keller said. “We’re excited about the Chromebooks, but we also know that the rollout won’t be perfect. We’re going to learn from our mistakes and put the kids first.” Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi also headlined the event, speaking highly of South Bay schools and school districts’ programs such as Common Core and Chromebooks. “I’m happy to say that we’ve been able to deliver even more resources for RBUSD and the other school districts in the last two years,” Muratsuchi said. “The reason why we live in the South Bay is because of our good schools and good school districts. I’m going to make sure that we can continue to be great in the South Bay.” With the current state of the economy, where South Bay school districts “took a pummeling” in terms of funding, Keller and
his colleagues are “grateful” for Muratsuchi’s advocacy as well as the confidence of the community in their work. “We thank the taxpayers over and over,” he said. “Measures C and Q--solar panels, Chromebooks, et cetera are all paid for by the taxpayers, and in these tough times we have to thank them over and over.” Dr. Keller appreciated all the community’s support. “Eighty-five percent of our community do not have kids in school, yet they voted in favor of the measures,” Keller said. “Over 60 percent of people voted for them. It says that even people with no student children say, ‘I support these kids.’ You have all of these residents with no stake in the school other than what’s right for these kids. You’ve got to hand it to them.” Keller believes that these residents are particularly supportive of RUHS. “RUHS is the center of Redondo Beach,” Keller said. “Some people say it’s the Village, some say the Galleria, and some even say the dog park, but I always say that it’s RUHS. It’s dead center. People love the school.” Keller continued with an immediate, passionate message for RUHS students as they enter the new school year. “Students, thank your staff members, he said. “Thank your teachers, your support staff, your office staff, your custodians, your administrators - because you know what? They hustle. I think that some kids take our staff members for granted - the secretaries, the custodians, the support and instructional aides, the folks who work in maintenance and operations. Thank them, because they hustle. Students, reach out and thank your staff members.”
Oct. 3, 2014
page 3
news
RUHS wins award for healthier lifestyle by Jason Rochlin
RUHS won the National Healthy Schools Award at the Silver level in Washington, DC at a ceremony on Sept. 12-13 at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Leaders Summit. Principal Nicole Wesley and Assistant Principal Jens Brandt traveled to attend the convention and accepted the award on behalf of the school. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation (AHG) honored 250 schools, a leading community organization and a corporation for becoming healthier places. The award is sponsored by the Clinton Foundation and all schools throughout the nation are eligible for the award. RUHS is the only high school in California that has received bronze or silver and one of only four high schools in the nation as of last year. “The conference was amazing for a variety of reasons. First, we had the opportunity to hear former President Bill Clinton speak on the number one health issue in our country: obesity,” Brandt said. “He congratulated all of us on our efforts to decrease the amount of childhood obesity in our country.” In 2005 the Clinton Foundation joined with the American Heart Association to form the AHG with the goal of ending the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States. The Clinton Foundation’s work has provided 20,000 American school children with healthy food choices. “This is a passion of Clinton’s, it’s something he believes in,” Wesley said. “He talked about how obesity is a problem in our nation, and how we, the people who earned this award, are setting trends in our schools and communities, bringing awareness to living healthy and being mindful of our health even if it’s just knowing when to stop eating when we’re full.” According to the CDC website, more than one third of children and adolescents in the United States are considered overweight or obese. The administration has been doing what it can to try and improve health and diets in RUHS. “All the food we serve students in our new Student Union we try to outfit to meet
2.
these requirements of the AHG,” Wesley said. “For instance, we don’t have a deep fryer, we grill everything. Our pizza dough is partially made from (whole) wheat. We make sure our serving sizes are appropriate.” The changes on campus go much deeper than the choices for foods served in the student union. “We have decreased the amount of unhealthy food served at special events, in classrooms, and at staff meetings. We even have teachers participating in our ‘Salad Fridays’ in our Faculty Lounge. Our PE Dept has also increased our Physical Fitness Test scores for the last three years; we are now at 87 percent passing,” Brandt said. Wesley stresses that this is more than just a change in availability of food choices for students; it is a broad culture change across all aspects of life at RUHS. “It’s not just for students, it’s for staff as well. There’s been a transformation on campus that’s been spearheaded by Mr. Brandt, dealing over the last three years with things like our vending machines and what we serve in them,” Wesley said. “For instance we used to have a vending machine that served ice cream, but that does not exist anymore essentially because we have to make sure the food we’re serving meets standards far stricter than what the state sets.” Each recognized school meets or exceeds stringent standards set by the AHG for healthy eating and physical activity programs and policies. “We provide services and events for students and staff to become more healthy on campus. One example is, for the last couple of years, the district has hosted for the staff a weight loss challenge. For a period of three months, people can sign up for this weight loss challenge and they weigh in at the beginning and end of the three months
with the male and female having the highest percentage of weight loss getting a monetary award,” Wesley said. This is more than just a school effort; RUHS is leading the way in helping to develop the programs and examples for the whole district. “We need a variety of other fitness opportunities for AHG, which we meet through our sports but also through our sports day with the 5th and 8th graders by establishing a mindset for incoming students that when they get here physical exercise is important,” Wesley said. RBUSD has implemented a wellness policy with Beach Cities Health District to make a conscious change in all school levels. “Changing the mindset is huge, like what are some healthy alternatives that you can use to celebrate a birthday, or what other incentives can we use other than food. Food cannot be used as a reward. We need other, better things, such as an early out to lunch or a T-shirt,” Wesley said. The school administration is already looking to the future to see what improvements can be implemented to bring RUHS to the gold level. “When we were at the conference, I
asked Mr. Brandt what we could to to try and go for the gold, and he said that we have to offer health for a full year. We’re going to brainstorm that for sure. He said we have to change our school’s wellness policy and our district’s wellness policy,” Wesley said. Adding a full semester of health will require a lot of effort and planning according to Brandt, but he believes the end result would be worth the effort. “It would certainly impact the master schedule, so it’s something we are closely analyzing and evaluating. We have to balance the academic needs of our students with our goal of being one of the healthiest high schools around,” Brandt said. Only five schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels received gold this year. Wesley and the rest of the RUHS administration hope to do what they can to join that rank next year. “I’m simply very proud of the efforts of our students, parents, and staff in making RUHS a healthy place to learn and work. After all, research has clearly shown that healthy minds and bodies positively impact academic achievement and productivity,” Brandt said.
1.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NICOLE WESLEY
Far from home. 1. From left to right:
Jens Brandt (on behalf of Jefferson elementary), Susan Wildes (Alta Vista), Kristen May (teacher, Madison), Dr. Tanaz Farzad (Tulita), Dr. Nicole Wesley (RUHS), Lisa Johnson (Birney), Sue Hall (Alternative Ed.), and Jeff Winckler (Lincoln) stand together at the AHG awards ceremony and dinner after accepting the awards on behalf of their respective schools. 2. Having time to sight see, Wesley stands in front of the White House. “We rode on bikes for about 3 hours all around the city, even though everyone thought we were crazy. We got to ride right up to the Washington Monument, and get an upclose look with maybe only a dozen people there, as well as the Lincoln Memorial and the White House and the Capitol,” Wesley said. 3. From left to right: Johnson, Wildes, Farzad, Wesley, and Hall pose in front of the Jefferson Memorial, standing out on the steps. “I haven’t been to DC since I was 13, so it’s been about 29 years since I’ve been there, really a long time,” Wesley said.
3.
page 4
Opinion: While crucial, dress code has adverse aspects The dress could should not be abolished. There should be limits on what can be worn at school; school is not the place to wear extremely revealing clothing. Yasmeen There are, however, grey El-Hasan areas on determining what clothing is appropriate. As a baseline, undergarments are not to be visible and shorts and skirts should be as long as one’s fingertips. This basis was created to simplify the standards for dress-coding students and to avoid accusations of inconsistency. But why is this the basis? Tank tops must have two inch straps. What is so provocative about two inches of skin? Are shoulders really that inappropriate? The same goes for the fingertip rule. What is the difference between the skin below and above one’s fingertips? Sports bras are not required to be fully covered. Why are visible sports bras allowed while other types of bras are not? They all serve the same purpose: supporting a body part. By deeming the bra inappropriate and thus too provocative to be shown at school, it is transformed by the dress code into a sexual garment. The theory is that certain girls’ attire distracts from a learning environment. This implies that she is a distraction. Certain, but not all, aspects of dress code that restrict girls because of the question of inappropriateness cross a line. At that point, the dress code labels high school girls as provocative. Administration, to their credit, tries to be fair. They must enforce the rules. A majority of the debate at other schools is over how the supposedly inappropriately dressed girls are distractions to the male students. This accusation is unfair to both genders. Our dress code, however, is in place for a different reason. According to administration, the dress code is enforced to ensure a professional and safe school environment. The fault here is not administration’s, nor is it the students’. Inherently, it is the fault of society that females have been sexualized to this extent. But it is now the 21st century and American culture has changed. Decades ago, female students were prohibited from wearing pants because they were considered too provocative. It is absurd to us now that this was once the norm. We have reached that same level of clarity now that these students did back then: why are we being restricted so much? The student body has deemed certain aspects of the dress code outdated, but the rules lag in catching up with society. The dress code should, but fails to, keep up with to reflect the evolution of our society.
High Tide
opinion
Editorial: Publicly shaming dress code
violators distracts students
The dress code is targeted towards girls, but it’s not sexist. There are simply more options for girls on how to dress compared to boys, and when there are more options there will be more restrictions. And, generally, the options girls have can in some cases be much more revealing and “inappropriate” than the options for boys. Short shorts and a tank top will always draw more attention from faculty members than will jeans, even if the boy’s boxers are showing. The reality is that the dress code is more heavily geared towards girls because girls’ dress in violating cases shows more skin than when boys break the dress code. However, that is not to say that boys do not also violate what’s appropriate for school. Boys’ clothes that have vulgar language or depict undressed women or references to alcohol and drugs, especially the popular socks with marijuana leaves, are just as inappropriate for school as a girl’s midriff, and should be eliminated from campus. Once someone gets dress coded, he or she goes to the office - often misses valuable learning time - and changes into an RUHS PE shirt. Walking around campus or sitting in a classroom wearing a shirt that essentially says “I was dress coded” is embarrassing for the student and disruptive in a classroom learning environment. The shirts identify the wearers all equally as dress code violators, whether they had a bra strap
ILLUSTRATION BY LUMA WEGMAN
showing or their shorts showed their entire butt. This prompts questions from classmates near the dress coded student: “Why were you dress coded?” and “What were you wearing?” This conversation is always distracting in a classroom and is in most cases far more disruptive than the person’s original “inappropriate” outfit. While the dress code is an important measure to have, it is often counterproductive. Students probably won’t be bothered by a girl’s bra strap, but they will almost certainly be more interested in asking her why she was dress coded and imagining the worst case scenario about her violating outfit than in paying attention in class.
Of 55 girls surveyed,
Editorial Board vote RUHS’s dress code is ultimately disruptive.
agree disagree
7 2
Of 45 boys surveyed,
60% think the
51% think the
93% have never
89% have never
22% have been
9% have been
82% think
80% think
dress code is sexist
seen a boy dress coded
dress coded
students should have a voice in determining what is school appropriate
dress code is sexist
seen a boy dress coded dress coded
students should have a voice in determining what is school appropriate ILLUSTRATION BY KAITA PANNOR
Oct. 3, 2014
Letters to the Editor If you have an opinion about one of the articles, letters can be sent to the editor at hightideonline@gmail.com. We reserve the right to edit them for content, grammar, and space constraints. Letters must be signed and are not guaranteed to be printed.
Is the dress code sexist? Juniors Sophia Hardy, Luke Lezhansky and Raymone Radi argue aspects of the dress code as part of three debates held by the High Tide. For video of all three debates, visit www.hightideonline.org.
High Tide
staff
Editor in Chief: Allegra Peelor
Managing Editor: Alejandro Quevedo News Editor: Jason Rochlin
page 5
opinion
Sophia Hardy
I don’t think the dress code is wrong to have. It’s a public school, and if everyone is made uncomfortable by a piece of clothing and that person gets dress coded, then the dress code has done its job. But the fact that the dress code sexualizes and objectifies girls here who are as young as fourteen is my problem. When you think of the dress code, you don’t think of a boy sagging his pants below his boxers, you think of girls getting dress coded for a bit of their midriff showing. If the style these days is high waisted shorts and a shortish shirt, I don’t think that’s anything sexual. It’s the overall sexual objectification of girls in our school that’s the issue.
Opinion Editor: Christopher Paludi Features Editors: Yasmeen El-Hasan;
But that’s the actual dress code. The way it’s executed, where only girls are dress coded, is the problem.
Vaidehi Gandhi; Caterina Hyneman; Shawn Mallen; Shaniya Markalanda; Amanda Shaw
Sports Editors: Nina Gomez; Sophie Maguy
Writing Editors: Stella Gianoukakis; Kayla Nicholls; Grace Zoerner
Sophia Hardy
Photo Editors: Ted Cavus; Chandler Ross Copy Editors: Joseph Blakely; Kira Bowen
Online Editors: Vivian Lam; Romy Moreno
Photographers: Dinah Aiad; Samantha
Luke Lezhansky
Bendall; Jennifer Blanco; Madison Brooks; Erin Czulewicz; Daniel Green; Janelle Howe; Lexi Kleen; Carla Macar; Masha Pescheryakova; Laua’e Schweitzer; Tyler Wunderli; Adam Yorke
Illustrators: Steven Bell-Nixon; Luma Wegman
Staff Writers: Dinah Aiad; Gianna Aqui-
lina; Samantha Bendall; Jennifer Blanco; Madison Brooks; Malek Chamas; Jason Clebowicz; Isabella Cordero; Erin Czulewicz; Kelly Dickinson; Micah Ezzes; Lizzie Fauver; Yasamin Fazeli; Jason Fong; Camille Gerson; Daniel Green; Ilene Guerrero; Zach Hatakeyama; Kayla Hiken; Jessica Johnson; Massa Kassab; Brittany Ketting; Jon Mallen; Marie Ona; Kaita Pannor; Sadie Pearson; Masha Pescheryakova; Samaya Rubio; Laua’e Schweitzer; Parker Scott; Mylene Silver; Ava Uema; Simrun Ursani; Tyler Wunderli; Adam Yorke High Tide dedicates itself to producing a high-quality publication that both informs and entertains the entire student body. This is a wholly student-managed, designed, and written newspaper that focuses on school and community events. High Tide is published by the journalism class at Redondo Union High School, One Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277. Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the staff writer or cartoonist and in no way reflect the opinions of the other members of the staff.
Raymone Radi
Raymone Radi
The dress code doesn’t have any sexual overtones in it - it’s just pure language.
Raymone Radi
That happens because girls tend to violate the rules more often. Sagging doesn’t show skin, that’s the thing. A lot of the dress code for females is a result of too much skin exposure. I think that’s the reason guys don’t get dress coded, because the max guys can do is wear a tank top or short shorts, and that’s it. It’s all about how much skin you’re showing.
Raymone Radi
The dress code targets and objectifies girls and how they dress. The concept is fine: You should be dressed professionally for school and wear clothes that are acceptable. But it seems that the way it’s enforced in our school is more to protect guys from seeing girls, which is completely different than girls being professional at school. In a way, his education is put over mine if I’m taken out of class because he’s distracted, instead of him leaving the class to compose himself and then Sophia come back. Hardy I don’t think it’s specifically targeted for boys who are affected by the way girls dress, but targeted in the sense that girls have more options than boys, so when you have more options you’re going to have more restrictions - that’s just a fact in life. So when there are more ways for girls to dress inappropriately and more ways for girls to dress provocatively than boys, you have more restrictions. There are plenty of ways to avoid being viewed sexually - you just don’t come to school dressed to invite that. Compared to older times, we’re naked. The moral values that were held back then, I believe should be held today. Just because society has changed and has accepted dressing in a more provocative manner, I don’t think that the rules in a school environment should change. I think that just because a girl may wear scant clothing, that doesn’t make her a slut. It doesn’t mean she sleeps around. Maybe that’s how she feels confident. Her intelligence or desire to learn shouldn’t be gauged on the way she dresses - that’s not right. I feel like our school, instead of regulating transgressions in the dress code, tries to interpret dress as trying to be sexual. Just because my shirt may come above my waistline when I raise my hand in class does not mean I’m trying to flaunt my stomach. That’s just not what I’m trying to do. It’s not a sexual thing. As Raymone said, there are more options for girls. And when it’s 95 degrees outside, I want to take advantage of those options and wear shorts and a tank top without it being sexualized.
Luke Lezhansky
Sophia Hardy PHOTOS BY TED CAVUS
page 6
High Tide
features
Freakonomics
Seniors Jason Clebowicz and Colton Williams form economics club by Shawn Mallen According to senior Jason Clebowicz, a professional club requires professional wear. “Polos only,” he said. “If you’re going to be a part of a club like this, you need to be well dressed.” Clebowicz and senior Colton Williams are the founders of Freakonomics club, a group focused on knowledge of investment banking, stock broking and marketing. “We are out of the box people,” Clebowicz said. “We’re not making this club only to give informational meetings about economics. We want to create a group of individuals with similar interests that can learn in a hands-on way. It will be a club that combines learning with a positive and fun experience. We’ll be interacting with real world programs and won’t be sitting down for long.” The club will be led by AP Economics teacher Meagan Kunert while focusing on ideas from the book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt. Although this will be led by a teacher, Clebowicz and Williams stressed that the club will not be “just another class.” “It’s not a class,” he said. “We will focus on real world applications and learn different skillsets. If a person wants to learn marketing, we will teach them different social cues and which questions to ask a potential customer to help them sell a product.” Williams says the club with be a hands-on approach to “interesting” topics that are not addressed in an in depth way in the AP Economics class, such as learning about buying and selling stocks. Another “different” idea is to take an economical, numbers based ap-
proach to situations that do not seem economical. “The AP Economics class is lecture oriented,” Williams said. “It’s a class. With the Freakonomics club, we are working to create a more immersive, personalized kind of leaning.” Williams hopes that the club will extend to younger students so that they can get involved in economics before they take it their senior year. “I encourage underclassmen to show up,” he said. “We want to create a club that holds longevity. We want a club that people would be interested in joining even after the seniors leave.” A big part of the club is the use of sites including Investopedia and Etrade, which will be used to practice trading stock. “Initially we plan on creating an Investopedia account, which will be used as a practice account to learn the basic knowledge of trading. After we gain significant experience, we will create an Etrade account and buy and trade actual stock for a profit,” Clebowicz said. Clebowicz and Williams hope to have fun while at the same time taking the club seriously. “That’s the reason for our dress code. Polo shirts are worn because we want to have an image of respect. We have fun, but we are a serious group that is serious about what we do. If you look good, you play good. And if you play good, you make money.” Clebowicz said.
PHOTO BY LINDSEY CALLAHAN
Look good, play good. Clebowicz and Williams pose in the club attire. “You can never have a second first impression, so you might as well make the first one good,” Clebowicz said.
Breakfast Club
“
Club Awesome
PHOTOS BY BRITTANY UNGERMAN
We’re trying to fundraise so we can provide food for orphans from third world countries who normally only get breakfast. We’re making jewelry, cards, and anything we can in order to raise money to get about $77 to provide one meal for a whole school. We started this club because, obviously, we’re more privileged and we want to extend our privilege to the third-world kids. We want to give back because they don’t have as much as we do.
”
-Sara Furatani
“
We aim to give students volunteering hours through Camp Awesome, have a great experience, and have colleges can look at us better and go like, ‘these people are amazing, let’s take them to our college.’ I’ll be training students how to play games with kids. It’ll be a lot of fun. There’ll be lots of games and interaction with other people. You hang out with a lot of leaders and a lot of kids, play games, and go to the beach. Club Awesome is awesome.
”
-Daniel Ferradas
Oct. 2, 2014
page 7
features
Buy, Sell, Exchange by Reema Saad It’s not quite eBay, but it’s not Craigslist either. RUHS Buy, Sell, Exchange’s club name speaks for itself, as said by sophomore club presidents Matt Mercier and Adam Porter. “It’s classified ads just for Redondo, like an eBay or Craigslist, except when they email us their product that they want to sell, they email it to me or Adam. We’ll add it to the website and then if somebody buys it, we’ll go and we’ll deliver it with the other person there to witness the exchange of items,” Mercier said. What makes the website different from other services is that it is exclusive to Redondo students. Users also do not need to create an account to use the service, which makes it easier for the seller. “We’re practically going to control all the logging in of items so they don’t have to sign in, log in, and add the items themselves, we’ll do it for them,” Mercier said, The club will work to make the website as user-friendly as possible, which both Mercier and Porter believe eBay and Craigslist don’t offer. “We’re not housing 100,000 people. We’re just focusing on really improving the school and allowing students to be able to get more reasonable and easier items. We want to get everyone’s input from our club to make sure we can make it by students, for students instead of making something super
“
complicated that many kids won’t know or like,” Mercier said. Porter agrees that the club is aiming to create a site that is easier to use than other services that can be found online. “We’re definitely trying to create a basis for a community inside the school. We’re gonna make something that’s really friendly and school oriented, so it’s a little more attractive than Craigslist,” Porter said. Not only can items such as electronics, clothing, books, and school supplies be sold, but students can also advertise services such as tutoring. In addition to that, other clubs can make themselves known through the website as well. “It can connect all clubs. If clubs want to fundraise through us they can put their items in our club and then we can sell it for them, so that’s also another option,” Mercier said. Mercier believes that the club will be able to connect the student body in many different ways. Through the Instagram page for their website, certain items can be featured for a cost of a few extra dollars, which will be donated to programs in the school. “It will create a better infrastructure for the school because it will bring the school closer and allow us to actually donate more money to different parts of the school,” Mercier said. While the club is a nonprofit, members
still benefit from the club because they are given the opportunity to attain a variety of different skills. “For us, it’s actually a learning experience, along with the kids in the club because we’re going to bring in a web designer from Interstellar Design to come in and speak with us and lay it out in a template because we don’t need something super complicated. We’re also learning how to manage and control a business. It helps us in leadership skills, I’d say, because sophomores, juniors, seniors, and hopefully freshmen will be a part of it,” Mercier said. With the website comes a few complications, which Mercier believes can be overcome as long as they are careful when it comes to the selling and exchange of items. “When we do transfer the items, we will have representatives from our club and also an adult, teacher or staff member watching the exchange of items go through, just to make sure nothing funny happens. We don’t want anything bad going through this,” Mercier said. To minimize complications, the club will carefully analyze and talk to administration to make sure an item is okay to be sold, “Almost anything can be put on the website as long as it’s legal. When they send it to us we can judge if they can sell it and we’ll check with admin to see if that item is allowed to be sold,” Mercier said.
KEYS TO SUCCESS IN BUSINESS
information compiled from http:// www.inc.com/steve-blank/9-mostimportant-elements-successful-
#1:
Value proposition
#2:
Customer demographics
#3:
Distribution plan
#4: Customer
relationships
#5: Cost structure #6: Key activities #7: Key resources #8:
Key partners
#9: Revenue streams
Social Justice Club
#Noise
It’s A capella. It’s a celebration of music. Every month, we’ll have a new genre or theme and we’ll learn new songs. We’ll perform them at elderly homes and do Christmas carolling. Our purpose is to celebrate music. At meetings, we’ll have talent shows to show different genres, languages, and music. I was in choir and I thought doing pop music and different genres will be great opposed to classical. I think people should expand their horizons when it comes down to music. A capella tests your vocal abilities and pushes you past your comfort zones. Our goals are to perform and expand horizons of music and getting a group of people together like a community.
”-Jaelin Kelly
“
The goal of Social Justice Club (SJC) is to give students a chance to be active and take a stand against sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia on campus and in their community. We want to provide a space where students can get together to stand for causes they believe in. We also want to educate students in general on social issues that are happening now and are happening around them. We want to provide students with a voice to express their opinions and make change as they see fit for the purpose of equality. SJC wants to represent awareness and activism in our highschool and we hope other students want to be involved too.
”
-Nina Gomez compiled by Vivian Lam
page 8
Perspective
High Tide
features
Alison Shater volunteered in the Dominican Republic by Vivian Lam
1.
A collective effort. 1. Shater poses with a pig. 2. A view
of the beach in the Dominican Republic. 3. According to Shater, there is very little technology or material objects owned by the people of the Dominican Republic. However, the children she met were very happy and content with their lives. 4. Shater poses with the friends she met.
2.
3.
4. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALISON SHATER
Freshman Alison Shafer formed bonds with the people she met during her volunteer service trip to an underdeveloped village in the Dominican Republic. Shafer spent two weeks with her peers expanding a school in Bahoruco village where she became good friends with the local children and her volunteer group. “Most of the kids from Bahoruco would just be doing exactly what we were doing. They wanted to be with us 24/7,” Shafer said. “Everyone ended up becoming as close as any two friends could be. I now have best friends living across the US. in NY and Boston.” Shafer’s volunteer group got closer with the kids and with each other by experiencing the type of life the local children had. “We lived together as a group in the town’s primary school. Since we were staying at the school, there were no showers.
So if someone wanted to shower, then they would have to go to the village well and use buckets of water,” she said. “There weren’t even flushing toilets.” By experiencing the minimalistic life in the village, Shafer came to admire the children. “The amazing thing about the children there is that they have nothing and they don’t care at all, they are happy living their lives without material items,” she said. “In fact most children only have three or four different pairs of shirts and shorts, which they wear for days and days at a time. Most of them didn’t even have shoes; they were all running around barefoot.” According to Shafer, the children not only had few material items, but they also had houses in poor condition, which were made up of scrap wood and tin to form a home with four walls and a roof.
“But the children spent no time at all in their houses; they would be running up and down the streets without a care in the world,” Shafer said. “Or they would be at the beach in the water with their only pair of jeans on.” Shafer and her volunteer group played with the children whenever they didn’t have to work on the projects. “Everyone was invited to play baseball with the locals, but the girls just decided to sit on the sidelines instead. And good thing we weren’t playing, because the game was delayed due to having to chase two big pigs off the field,” she said. After refurbishing the school, Shafer spent time bonding with her peers at the beach called Bahia de Las Aguilas and a mountain eco-lodge called Jarabacoa. “We cooked dinner together, played guitar around a beach bonfire, and talked with
Dominican friends,” she said. “We spent the last two days relaxing and talking together for the last time before we went home.” According to Shafer, the hardest part of her trip was the goodbye. “Knowing that everyone I had just become come friends with lived across the country was heart breaking. But all of the hard work we did paid off, seeing the kids happy was the biggest reward of all,” she said. Seeing the way the locals lived changed Shafer’s view on her own home life. “I learned to be more appreciative of the things I have and less worried about things I don’t,” she said. “Going on this trip was the biggest adventure of my life so far. I made so many new friends, in the Dominican and in the US that I will keep in touch with forever. This was my first community service project, but it is far from my last.”
Oct. 2, 2014
Finish in Second
features
page 9
Taryn Montgomery traveled to Finland for a javelin competition, coming in second place.
by Kira Bowen
Junior Tairyn Montgomery’s javelin career takes her around the nation and the world. Montgomery is part of a program called the Kultan Keihas Klub which means ‘javelin gold’ in Finnish. The club paid for her and a few other athletes to compete and train in Finland for 10 days. Montgomery enjoyed meeting Olympic athletes from Finland,
and found that they were not unlike American athletes. “The Finnish athletes weren’t that different, but they know more about the event than most javelin athletes in America,” Montgomery said. With this new experience Montgomery feels her skills in javelin improved. Montgomery earne second place in the javelin competition in Finland and her experience in a new country has taught her new approaches in the sport. “This experience has kind of changed me because I learned many techniques that can improve how I throw the javelin,” she said. Montgomery has been involved in javelin and other track and field events since her youth. “I started when I was ten years old, throwing the turbo javelin, a miniature plastic javelin. Then when I turned thirteen
I started throwing the actual metal javelin that I use today,” Montgomery said. “I got into javelin when I was in club track, and from then on I loved doing the event and each year I wanted to get better.” Montgomery l ove s j a v elin,
Dual athelete.
Montgomery participates in both cheerleading and javelin throw.
Le Petit Cirque
and is unaffected by how “unique” of a sport it is. “Javelin is just a different and fun event to do. A lot of people do not know about it because other running events are so popular in the US and I’m good at it, so it’s a plus,” Montgomery said. She spends many hours practicing in order to further improve her skills. “During season I probably practice three days a week for three hours of actually throwing and then four days a week I do technical training and conditioning for about two hours.” The unpopularity of the sport is not a hurdle for Montgomery. “It doesn’t really matter to me that it’s a less popular event because I really like it.” Though she loves javelin, Montgomery prefers cheer as her sport of choice because of the team aspect. “I would have to say cheer is my favorite sport because even though I have been doing both sports for a long time cheer is different because it’s a team. Yes, track is a team, but you will always be competing for yourself, your teammates are your competitors, too. With cheer there is no competition among the team, only against other schools which I like because we don’t have the mentality that we have to be the best on the team. We work together to become the best cheer squad.” Whatever sport she
PHOTO COURTESY OF TARYN MONTGOMERY
performs, her parents always support her, and Montgomery feels that this is a key factor in her success. “My parents’ support affects me a lot because they are at every meet, no matter what. I realize it because some people’s parents can’t make every meet. But somehow my parents do, and I think I take it for granted sometimes,” Montgomery said. “They motivate me to be better and I really do appreciate it, even if they are embarrassing sometimes.” With the help from her parents and her own drive to succeed, Montgomery gets closer to her athletic goal. “I want to be able to compete in college for the javelin and maybe try out for the US Olympic team either 2016 or 2020. If I’m successful, maybe I’ll make a career out of it,” Montgomery said. Despite her many accomplishments, Montgomery tries to remain humble by keeping her successes to herself. “I feel like if I boasted about my accomplishments then that would be bragging and I do not want to be that person where everyone is like ‘she’s so cocky’. Honestly I hate being in the center of attention; I would rather congratulate someone else on their accomplishments than have people do it to me,” she said. “I’m not that special.” For Montgomery, balancing school and track is not a challenge. “It’s not really hard because I have been doing it for so long I have gotten used to it,” she said. “But there have been some bad days where I just wanted to stop, but my parents helped me through those days and that’s how I’m here still doing it.”
Teagan Bevins practices circus arts by Caterina Hyneman She begins her routine high in the air, suspended by only two pieces of fabric. She feels free as she spins around and defies gravity. One wrong move and she could come tumbling down, resulting in serious injury. But hours of training, stamina, and conditioning have prepared her for this very moment. Sophomore Teagan Bevins studies and works in the circus arts which include aerial silks, trapeze, acrobatics, and partner balancing acts. “Circus arts are very similar to gymnastics. They’re acrobatic, like Cirque du Soleil,” she said. Bevins feels “confident” up in the air, and “loves the feeling.” “It feels like you’re flying and you can just do whatever you want. You have the freedom to just be off the ground,” she said. Bevins works for two different circus troupes, Le Petit Cirque, a traveling group, and This End Up, a more recreational setting based in downtown Los Angeles. “I usually travel with Le Petit Cirque during the summertime or over the weekends.
We’ve gone to many Cal State games, including San Diego, where we were the opening act,” Bevins said. “We do go around the country and perform, too. We’re going to travel to Dubai next summer and Palm Springs in December.” Bevins has three, three hour practices a week to condition, learn new skills and “practice routines to make sure they’re perfect.” “When I learn a new move on silks it’s sometimes kind of scary because I don’t know how I’m going to land. Sometimes you question if you’re doing it correctly. I’ve learned to take the chance and go for it,” Bevins said. “Before I started I wasn’t very athletic. So doing this I built up my strength and stamina and it’s made me more fit.” With many practices every week and performances on the weekends, Bevins has learned to balance her two jobs and schoolwork. “It’s very difficult to balance the two. I don’t have a lot of free time because of practices. I have to either stay up late and do homework, or cram it all in before the
1.
Acrobat. 1. Bevins poses in one of her cos-
tumes that she performs in. 2. Bevins practices circus arts.
weekends when I get busy,” she said. “I don’t have time to hang out with friends. Mainly the people I hang out with are the people at practice and rehearsals.” Bevins hopes to continue to study the circus arts in order to pursue a professional career one day. “I want to have a career in the circus arts. I’d love to be in Cirque du Soleil one day. But if it fails then I want to be a visual arts major.”
2. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEAGAN BEVINS
page 10
High Tide
center
Oct. 3, 2014
1947
1917
History
Lebanon
Visualized
Israel & Palestine
Golan Heights Syria
[cont. from cover] to only go to safe areas in the country. “They were in contact with security around Israel and they were in contact with the IDF, which is the Israeli Defense Force, and they were making sure that the places we were in were safe and that there were no threats in that area,” Meyer said. Meyer said that his mother was worried about his safety because of how the conflict escalated this summer, even though he was always safe and never experienced anti-Palestinian sentiment. “I didn’t have wifi 100% of the time so I couldn’t contact [my mom] a lot,” he said. “But other than that I wasn’t too bothered by it. She was worried for my safety because she didn’t know where we were, she just knew about what was going on in Southern Israel. Usually where I was the people were peaceful and nice.” By talking to the adults on his trip, Meyer was able to get greater insight into Israeli life and began to think of life in the United States differently. “On our trip I had a tour guide that lived there and he used to be a sergeant in the Israeli army,” Meyer said. “That kind of gave me a new perspective because every citizen of Israel joins the army when they turn 18, before college. People from
PHOTO COURTESY OF JUSTIN WILLIAMSON
America don’t really think about that too much; they only think about joining the army as a choice.” The 120 other teens on the trip were from many different countries around the world, and Meyer said he learned how different life in other countries was from them. “I had some friends from Turkey that were basically the only Jews in their city,” he said. “I was interested by that because I sometimes take for granted that so many Jewish people are in my city and I don’t really notice it that much.” Meyer found out about the “lifechanging” trip through his youth group and decided to go so because he thought he would “get more out of it” if he went with other teens. Ultimately, Meyer not only learned a lot about his religion, but also feels that he changed as a person by seeing the local Israelis. “I think it’s made me a little more religious because before I didn’t really care about going to temple and now I’m more connected to it,” Meyer said. “It makes me feel like a better leader in my Jewish community, like my youth group. It also made me think about what’s going on outside of where I live. There’s people living in poverty and we’re very fortunate. There’s a lot that we sometimes take for granted.”
Mediteranean Sea
The West Bank
Tel Aviv Gaza Strip Palestine
Palestine Israel
Jerusalem West Bank
Gaza
1967
1948
Egypt
Palestine Israel Occupied by Israel
Palestine Israel
1967:
Palestine Israel Occupied by Israel
The World Zionist Organization is made to advocate for the creation of a Jewish state in what was then Palestine.
1948 - 1949:
The Arab-Israeli War
1917:
1930
1920
1947:
U.N. Partition Plan
The United Nations passes a plan to partition Palestine into two separate states. It is accepted by Israeli leaders but rejected by the Palestinians, inciting riots.
1982: Sinai is returned to Egypt
1950
1987 - 1993:
The Balfour Declaration
British Foreign Secretary James Balfour approves the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
1940
1949:
Armistice reached
Starting in February and ending in June, both Israel and the Arab states reach an armistice that leaves Israel controlling 78% of the disputed land. According to U.N. estimations, about 700,000 Palestinians became refugees throughout this period.
The “one-state-solution” would create a single state by merging the Gaza strip, Israel, and the West Bank. It would then become one of two options: a single democratic country, which is favored by Palestinians and Israeli leftists. It would end Israel’s status as a Jewish state as Arabic Muslims outnumber the Jews in the region. It could also become an all Jewish state through Israel’s annexation of the West Bank and removing Palestinians or denying them the right to vote. Most believe this option to be a human rights violation.
Two-state solution The “two-state-solution” would create two independent states: Israel and Palestine. This is the most widely accepted solution, but Israeli and Palestinian inability to come to an agreement has created difficulties and led to an increased interest in a one-state-solution, as some believe this outcome to be inevitable.
1960
2014 - Present: Israel shells Gaza
After a mutual ceasefire is declared during the Egyptian summit, Israel pulls its defense forces and settlers, sometimes by force, out of the Gaza Strip and four other settlements on the West Bank.
Egypt and Israel sign a peace treaty, significant both for returning Sinai to Egypt and for Egypt’s recognition of Israel as a legitimate state. Egypt is the first Arabic nation to do this.
The Jewish Community declares itself independent within the state of Israel, and war breaks out between the Israelis and surrounding Arab countries.
1910
Hamas is a Islamic political organization that governs Gaza. It is a militant group that has waged war on Israel since its founding in 1987, and calls for the destruction of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian state.
The U.N., European Union, and Russia issue a “road map” for peace that provided a timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian state. However, plans dissolved in August after a slew of Palestinian bombings and Israeli raids and targeted killings
1990
1980
2000
First Intifada
Civil disobedience and riots spread from Gaza to the West Bank as Palestinians begin a mass protest against Israeli occupation.
1993 - 1995: Oslo Peace Process
Israel shells a U.N. school sheltering 3,300 displaced people in southern Gaza, violating international law. Although the school was designated a protected zone, ten people were killed and many were injured.
2003: Plans for Peace
1970
2000 - 2005:
The Camp David Summit & Second Intifada
After the Israeli Army withdraws from Lebanon, the Camp David Summit is held to reach a final settlement between the two states, but negotiations break down, inciting the Second Intifada.
Culminating with the signing of the Declaration of Principles on the White House Lawn, the Oslo Peace Process began the withdrawal of Israel’s occupation in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a state. The West Bank is split into three zones: Palestinian Authority, Israeli Authority, and one staying under joint control.
Gaza is a densely populated strip of land that is mostly surrounded by Israel and inhabited for the most part by Palestinians. Israel used to have a military presence, but withdrew unilaterally in 2005. Gaza is currently under Israeli blockade.
One-state solution
2005: Israel pulls out of Gaza
Six Day War
Israel captures the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and Golan Heights from Syria using military force, and the Israeli Army begins to occupy the West Bank of Jordan.
1897: The World Zionist Organization is Established
The West Bank is a portion of land between Israel and Jordan on the western bank of the Jordan River, and is home to around 2.6 million Palestinians. Israel took control of it in 1967 during the Six Day War and has allowed Jewish settlers to move in, but it is considered by both Palestinians and most of the international community to be illegally occupied Palestinian land.
Hamas Jordan
What led to the present conflict:
1900
Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. Palestinians, the Arab population that hails from the land Israel now controls, refer to the territory as Palestine, and want to establish a state by that name on all or part of the same land. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is over who gets what land and how it’s controlled.
Gaza
ILLUSTRATIONS BY LULU WEGMAN AND STEVEN BELL-NIXON
1890
page 11
center
2011:
Palestine Spring
Palestinian Authority submits a bid to the U.N. for recognition of Palestinian statehood
2010
2012:
“Pillar of Defense”
The Israeli Air Force launches Operation “Pillar of Defence,” killing Ahmed Jabari, the second-in-command pf the military wing of Hamas, and strikes 1,500 sites in Gaza while Hamas fires over 1,456 rockets at southern Israel. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are bombed for the first time since the first Gulf War.
page 12
A team effort
High Tide
features
Junior Natalia Herrera progresses with ACL surgery recovery by Grace Zoerner
As her heart rate slows and her vision recedes to darkness, junior Natalia Herrera tries to think of anything but the image of white-coated figures slicing open her skin. Herrera, a lacrosse player, underwent surgery in January of last year to mend her torn ACL. She suffered “inexplicable” pain in her knee since her freshman year, and it took three doctors to properly diagnose her injury and schedule surgery to fix it. “It felt to the point where I would never find out what was wrong,” Herrera said. “When I got a diagnosis, I was glad I could finally do something about it. It wasn’t a good outcome, but it felt like I had a place to start from to get myself stronger.” Though the notion of surgery was “scary,” Herrera felt that it would ultimately be worth it. “I was willing to go through with it because I wanted so badly to play again,” she said. Before surgery, Herrera was not allowed to play lacrosse. Eager to help whatever way possible, she assisted her coach as team manager and kept the team’s books. “It was really hard not playing, but I was happy to support the team, and it made me want to get better and play again that much more,” she said. Herrera is grateful that she was able to stay close to the field, even if she wasn’t playing, rather than staying at home on bedrest.
“I would see my team practicing and playing and it would really push me to work harder in physical therapy and be patient so I could get back into the game. I wanted to be back to my old self,” she said. Herrera’s best friend and teammate, Gwyneth Oikawa, remembers how difficult it was for Herrera to stay on the sidelines for the first game of last year. “I got off the field and looked in the stands for Natalia. I wanted to see how she was doing, because I knew she was apprehensive,” Oikawa said. “I saw her, looking lonely, and her lip was quivering. I ran to hug her. I knew what was going on in her head. She was not happy that she was not on that field playing with everyone else. I knew I had to be there for her.” After her surgery, Herrera rested at home for a week. She was on crutches for approximately a month. “It was a lot of sleeping on the couch and not being able to do stuff for myself. People had to tend to me, which I hated,” Herrera said. “I felt like I was being a burden to them.” However, Herrera was able to turn this handicap into a source of motivation towards a speedy recovery. “People told me not to push myself, but I wanted to prove that I could still do things. I wanted to get better quickly,” she said. According to Oikawa, the rest of the lacrosse team was willing to help out Herrera however possible. “Everybody was really supportive of Na-
talia,” Oikawa said. “We understood what was going on, so we were very respectful and kind about it.” Oikawa and a few of Herrera’s other close friends even made a her card and had her teammates, teachers, and friends sign it. Herrera believes that these acts of support were a major factor in expediting her recovery. “Everyone was so encouraging, even when I was hard on myself,” Herrera said. “They have definitely helped me get where I am today.” Oikawa says she is “proud” of Herrera for her perseverance. “She’s just a really strong person,” Oikawa said. “I don’t know if anyone else could have gone through similar circumstances as well as she did.” Herrera’s recovery was supposed to be complete in July. However, she is still experiencing pain, so her doctors will not allow her to resume playing lacrosse. “It should be better by now, but it isn’t,” Herrera said. “It’s even more frustrating than the first time. I’ve been through so much already.” Still, no matter what the future holds, Herrera vows to remain strong with the help of her teammates. “Even though tearing my ACL is a very difficult thing to deal with and recover from, I know my team is always there to support me,” she said. “I guess you could say it’s a team effort.”
2.
The long road to recovery. 1. An image of Herrera’s legs
following the surgery. 2. Herrera’s ACL represented in an x-ray. 3. Herrera poses for a photo during her stay in the hospital. Photos courtesy of Herrera. Illustration by Steven Bell-Nixon.
1.
3.
Oct. 3, 2014
page 13
features
Ryman Arts provides scholarships by Jason Rochlin
Three semesters of learning colors, watercolor, pastel and painting using professional supplies, all paid for by the Ryman Arts scholarships of $2,000. By applying to the Ryman Arts program, students can win a scholarship that pays for entry into a three-semester course, giving them an opportunity to create a portfolio needed to apply for college art programs. “You’re building a portfolio while learning how to use all these materials, you’re working from live models, you build and stretch your own canvas,” Roth said. “They provide a bin of art supplies with real professional stuff like prismacolor pencils, acrylics, and the scholarship pays for it all.” The courses take place in the fall and spring at California State University, Fullerton on Saturdays and Otis College of Art and Design on Sundays. “You are taking an art class, and it’s all paid for. All this would generally be really expensive. If I wanted to take an art class up in Otis for credits it would be about $500 out of my pocket. Then we’re talking at least
$200-300 per student in supplies,” Roth said. Aside from the costs of supplies and instruction, the scholarship also pays for field trips and reimburses the cost of public transportation, if necessary. “What you’re getting is an art class taught at the college level, and is very different from high-school level art,” Roth said. “In high school, students usually come to art because it’s required as an elective, but in college it’s generally your major.” According to senior Jasmine Cartagena, who participated in the program after applying in ninth grade, applying for the program is “really simple.” “The application had you do two graphite drawings of object observation, and you also had to write an essay about your achievements in art and what you hope to learn through the program,” Cartagena said. Roth believes that every student should take advantage of the opportunities offered by the scholarship. “The program taught me different art styles, and helped me out with drawing
people since before I started I didn’t know how to,” Cartagena said. “It also taught me more about anatomy and composition in general.” Exposure to the arts at the college-level had a strong impact on Cartagena’s interest in her college and career path. “Originally I wanted to be an engineer, but I’ve decided to really go with something more art related by becoming an architect,” Cartagena said. “I’d thought about animation, but I’d rather stick closer to the engineering side even with art.” Roth hopes more students can have this kind of experience with the arts with the Ryman Arts program, and acknowledges the benefits of entering even if they don’t win the scholarship. “The program is like a lot of art contests we have. Many students don’t enter the contests because they figure they’re never going to win,” Roth said. “Enter it, especially since it’s something you can put on your resume, whether you win or not. Lots of students don’t realize that.”
“I’m trying to get a soccer team going with some of the teachers and staff here this year. And one of my big goals as the Flock leader is to build a kind of a college atmosphere in the audience for our sports games,” he said. Lewis’ inspiration for the “college atmosphere” aspect of Flock comes from his experience at sporting events when he attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. “When I went to college, soccer was huge and we would have about 15,000 people at all our soccer games screaming their heads off, everyone dressed in green and yellow and chanting, it was crazy,” Lewis said.
“I think that the more people who come to support, the more enthusiastic they are, the more crazy they are, and the more fun it’s going to be. That’s why I really want to get kids to come to the games motivated to scream their heads off and get loud. I’m trying my best because we’re starting from the ground up with Flock and seeing how far we can go this year.” Not only does he believe that sporting events and being involved in a sport can be an enjoyable aspect of school, Lewis believes it’s beneficial by instilling school pride and motivation in students. “I think kids need some kind of extracur-
Brush strokes. 1. Senior Jasmine Carta-
gena works on improving her sketches with art teacher Amanda Roth. Illustration by Steven Bell-Nixon. Photo by Ted Cavus.
Lewis strives to attend every sports’ game
by Nina Gomez
The sea of students, staff, and parents donned in red and white in the bleachers stand and scream in unison as their team scores. Facepaint, cheers, and Redondo sporting events are what most of science teacher Kelly Lewis’ days consist of. “I love seeing students I know play and see what they’re good at it outside of class time,” Lewis said. “Our school is very good at sports, and it’s fun seeing my students perform in something other than what they do in class.” His passion for both being an athlete and a spectator comes from his own experience with sports in high school. “Sports were my favorite thing in high school. I liked going to class but I couldn’t wait for school to get out so I could play soccer and other various sports,” he said. “Even if I wasn’t in season I liked watching my friends play.” Lewis’ main interest in high school was soccer, playing on the varsity team for 3 years and had planned to play in college before tearing his ACL. He hopes to use his experience to coach one of the school soccer teams in the near future. “I coached a soccer team when I taught in San Diego and I want to coach here in the future,” Lewis said. “Not this year because I’m really busy but maybe next year or the following year. I do want to get on the coaching staff, probably for boys soccer but I’m open to girls soccer too.” His school-related sports plans for this year consist of improving the Flock as leader this year and trying to put together a staff soccer team.
Let’s flock together. 1.
Teacher Kelly Lewis poses with a soccer ball. 2. Flock members juniors Callie De Los Reyes, Emily Zargham and Angela Stuckey pose for photos in Lewis’s room before the home football game.
ricular activity to tie them to their school because it’s good to be busy in a productive way,” he said. “I think sports are healthy for you because it engages you both physically and mentally and it’s a fun thing to do because you’re representing your school and hometown.” Lewis is looking forward to attending most of the sporting events this year, especially boys basketball and girls volleyball. “I really like going to their games. The girls volleyball team defeats almost every team they go against. As for basketball, I loved the game last year against Loyola that we had here that I actually brought my parents to which is kind of funny,” Lewis said. “One of my favorite things about teaching high school is the competition between different schools and sports and I’m really looking forward to more of that this year.”
1. PHOTO BY TED CAVUS
PHOTO BY YASMINE GHAZVINI
page 14
High Tide
features
Teen Court helps troubled teens by Kayla Nicholls
ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN BELL-NIXON
Teen Court: everything in a criminal court done by high school students everywhere. Marie Botchie, along with Assistant Principal Lindsay Corcoran and Judge Rice, are introducing a new program where teenagers from local schools will serve in an active court in order to promote fairness and introduce the court system. “Our students are the audience, they serve in the jury, they ask the questions: there are no attorneys. The students try to get down to the bottom of what happened,” Marie Botchie said. Students will try other teens from different schools. “Any first time offenders of school vandalism, bullying or other school offenses can choose to be tried via teen court as opposed to the criminal court,” Botchie said. By having teenagers so involved in the court, Botchie
believes the sentences will be fairer and more diverse. “There are so many options in this program for how the problem is resolved. In some cases it is community service, in others defendants might have to write letters of apology or study into a subject because they seem like they don’t know all the details about it or they wouldn’t be acting this way,” Botchie said. “Guilty teens might write an essay, watch a movie or have a combination of these things.” Botchie feels teens will be able to relate more to the defendants than adults would. “Instead of having a judge determine what happens, these teens have other teens who might be experiencing life the same way or might have familiarity with this problem and it seems more just,” Botchie said. The sentences decided by the court are designed to reform rather than punish defendants. “There are ways of reforming people, not just punishing them. The focus isn’t on punishing, it’s on how to move them from where they are at now to where they need to be in order to get along in society,” said Botchie. Ruby Pacheco, vice-president of the Teen Court, appreciates the focus on reformation rather than punishment. “I love what Teen Court strives to do: to detour children from delinquency and to offer a second chance. It changes the mindet of a troubled child,” Pacheco said.
Before the teenagers can participate in the teen court as jurors or audience members, however, they must undergo tolerance training. “The core training was pretty intense and we can’t repeat that training, but we do have to train them. We want to have them attend as an audience member and then attend as a juror,” Botchie said. “We are also going to go observe a teen court at another school and they will tell us how they do their ongoing training.” Currently RUHS will participate in one teen court per month. As the program grows, Botchie hopes to participate in as many as one per week. “For it to be a full running program where we can do as many court cases that are needed, we would need a hundred kids,” she said. “Right now, we only have eight trained and a handful of others that are interested.” In spite of low attendance, the teen court offers participants with a “unique” experience. “It’s the only chance of anyone under the age of eighteen actually participating in the American justice system,” she said. “They will gain knowledge of the justice system, a feeling that they did their part, that they helped the other teenagers experience justice. Once you get in the courtroom and see somebody sitting there, you know that that person depends on you to make the right decision, that’s profound.”
ADVERTORIAL
RBEF grants funding for classroom supplements by Marie Ona
The Redondo Beach Educational Foundation (RBEF) dedicates its efforts to enrich and enhance the education of students in Redondo Beach unified schools. Through community and corporate fundraising, RBEF raised $23,400 to award innovative teacher grants to RUHS faculty in order to fill the funding gap. Science teacher Marie Botchie used the $1,000 she received to buy lab equipment for her chemistry and physics classes. “It’s allowed us to do a record number of lab experiments. It allows for actual hands on experiences instead of just reading about something,” Botchie said. Science teacher Gillian Moberg also used the grant to improve student learning in lab experiments. “It makes it so we got more accurate
readings for lab works and not so much student error in the data which makes it easier to make conclusions that are meaningful,” Moberg said. Some of the grant also contributes to various field trips among the foreign language department and the College and Career Center. “Many students have told me that their interactions with admissions counselors at the national college fair have given them a completely different outlook on finding the right college fit,” college and career counselor Shannon Rodriguez said. “Attending the national college fair is a great way to explore college life on over 200 campuses in one setting. We’ve had a great time these last two years and all of us have learned a lot.” Chinese teacher Chichen Lu hosted a field trip to St. Gabriel last year and informed RBEF how important the trip was
for the students’ motivation. As a result, RBEF granted her class more money to go again this year. “Students got to eat in Chinese restaurants, go to Chinese supermarkets, bookstores and medicine stores. It was a culture project so students can reflect. They were excited and wanted to go back,” Lu said. Of the received funds, the library and band were given the biggest grant at $5,000 each. Librarian Shaun Lloyd feels that the RBEF funds have been “very useful” to students as well as teachers. “It’s been great to have two more instruments for the students to play,” band teacher Viscarra said. “We didn’t have a tenor saxophone and melophones, which are instruments that kids don’t usually buy, but are necessary for band. Otherwise, we would have to borrow instruments from West High or Mira Costa, which is what we’ve been doing for the past few years.”
According to history teacher Nick Sklarenko, the grants will make lessons more active. “The goal is to increase student engagement and get you guys more active in the lessons,” Sklarenko said. “It’s a great way for me to access where you’re at. It gives you instantaneous feedback to how students respond, so it’s a way for me to guide my instruction and see what things students are understanding and what things we need to cover a little more in depth.” According to history teacher Julie Ferron, the clickers she received make her class more “fun and interactive” for students. “It will also give us a lot of information that we can use to access whether students are understanding what we’re teaching or not. We’re really grateful to RBEF,” Ferron said.
Oct. 3, 2014
page 15
features
ASB implements House of Representatives
by Micah Ezzes
The newly-founded House of Representatives held its first meeting last Tuesday, as 100 student delegates showed up to voice their opinions of various issues on campus. The meeting was considered a success, according to Tori Lee, the ASB supervisor of the house’s meetings. “We got great feedback for club sign up day,” she said. “[The representatives] were enthusiastic and interactive.” This fulfills ASB’s goal of making the students feel “involved and like they have a say in what happens,” according to Lee. “ASB wants to get student ideas and thoughts so they can implement them into the activities produced,” she said. “After all, everything ASB does is for the student body.” School board representative Chris Paludi, who also oversees the meetings, believes that this is what the program is all about. “I think students have not been voicing their opinions about what goes on here either because they are afraid, or have a sense of apathy about what goes on on campus,” he said. “What ASB has done is create a wellknown outlet through which students can be heard.” The process of selecting delegates began with each teacher personally choosing a student whom they say fitting to represent the class. The fact that these students were hand-picked by their teachers ensures that the delegates are engaging, says Paludi. “These kinds of students that have been selected have always had an interest in sharing their opinions and having a voice in making change at school- that’s why they
were picked,” he said. “Now that ASB has created this opportunity for them to share, there’s no excuse not to anymore.” The meetings are ran by Lee, and a variety of discussions are held, she says. “At the meetings I bring down certain people who plan events so that they can get feedback from the student body,” she said. “Also, I give announcements and we talk about concerns or really anything that the student body wants to voice.” This is a “win-win situation” for both ASB
swering, ASB works alongside school administration and the school board to get them answered. “We spend a lot of time in ASB looking at what could be improved in our events,” Paludi said. “Now that we have created this forum for outside critique, that will improve our events even more. Ultimately, this is all about people with different perspectives helping us to improve, because the planners of the events will always have a different view of the events than those attending.”
and the student body, says Paludi. “Instead of just waiting, hoping for students to give feedback, ASB gets to go out and ask, and take in what the students have to say, and the students get their voices heard at the same time,” he said. The floor is open to any representatives that have comments or questions for ASB, and topics range from club sign up day to various events ASB has planned for the year, according to Paludi. When concerns are raised or questions asked that needed an-
1.
True student government.
1. School board representative Chris Paludi answers questions from the representatives. 2. Senior Steven BellNixon gets excited for the House of Representatives meeting to begin. “It’s exciting to actually have a voice in the school,” Bell-Nixon said. Photos by Brittany Ungermann.
2. 1
Culture Shock
Assistant Principal Jens Brant spent his childhood in countries around the world by Jason Clebowicz Jens Brandt. A name you’ve heard, an administrator you’ve seen, but a story you do not know. Growing up in the countries of Germany, Brazil, Egypt, and the United States, Brandt was the son of a highly renowned international educator known as “the big man on campus.” It was during these travels around the world that he experienced cultures that helped shape him into the person he is today. “The best education I had growing up was the opportunity to live in different places around the world. It opened up my mind to different cultural experiences that have stayed with me to this day and have effected the direction of my interests,” Brandt said. At the end of his childhood, Brandt sought after college opportunities in the United States. He attended the College of William and Mary, where he received a BA in Economics to pursue a career in investment banking. However, banking turned out not
to be the path he would choose as a lifelong career. “When I got into the workforce of investment banking, I worked an office job and would sit down for the entire day. I had a strong interest for socioeconomics, but sitting down every day was impossible for me because it didn’t fit my active personality. I always need to be moving around and doing something,” Brandt said. According to Brandt, the field of education was an easy option for him because of the upbringing he had and the desire to have a more active career. “Education was an easy choice for me, and it’s something I’ve enjoyed for a long time because of my childhood. Something is always happening at my job, mostly in a good way, and things like going into different classes make the job extremely enjoyable,” Brandt said. “There is never a time I feel bored at my job. I always have something to do or improve on,” Brandt said.
Before becoming assistant principal at Redondo Union High School, Brandt taught at a school in “notorious” Watts, California. Brandt believes that this experience helped him gain one of the most “important” aspects of life: perspective. “As a 25 year old, I began teaching in Watts, California and loved it. The kids there were eager for information and saw school as a safe place amidst a dangerous town. Often coming from broken homes, I became a kind of father figure to my students. That experience alone will stay with me throughout my career and will forever be one of the best feelings I have ever achieved as an educator,” Brandt said. After teaching in Watts, Brandt taught Spanish for one year in Hawaii at the “prestigious” Punahou School before taking a job at the Redondo Beach Learning Academy (RBLA). From there he was hired as assistant principal at RUHS. As an administrator, Brandt faces many
difficulties. He sees himself as his “biggest critic.” “I think just as a human being, I am programmed to doubt myself and hold myself to a greater scale. I never feel completely satisfied and always compete with myself to do better. I try to self reflect and think about things I’ve done each day, both good and bad,” Brandt said. “It helps me better myself and come to appreciate my accomplishments and work harder with my challenges,” Brandt said. As for the future, Brandt wants to continue working in the field of education, and cgain experience as he climbs his way up through administration. “I want to continue to move up from where I am, and make change within the world of education on a larger scale. I also plan on getting a doctorate degree, furthering my education so I can be the most prepared for any situation that comes my way,” Brandt said.
page 16
sports
athlete of the issue: Megan Rice
High Tide
Rice’s success fueled by sibling rivalry by Jason Clebowicz
Blonde, 5’11”, and a mean spike: junior Megan Rice is the complete package for a varsity athlete and future division one volleyball player. According to Rice, volleyball wasn’t her original athletic aspiration, despite the fact that she has already committed to UC Santa Barbara for volleyball. She was formerly a basketball player, but was intrigued when introduced to volleyball. “Before I played volleyball, I was a highly competitive basketball player. I became burnt out on basketball, and became tired of a sport I could no longer enjoy. My brother introduced me to volleyball, and I’ve been playing it ever since,” Rice said. Sibling rivalry was the push that motivated her to get better at volleyball, and she eventually started training daily with club teams. “My brother and I are super competitive, and his extreme effort always pushes me to play just as hard to keep up with him. I joined club teams and started playing almost every single day,” Rice said. “Its funny because we always end up playing the same sport because of our competitive nature and sibling rivalry.” She now practices 14-16 hours a week, depending on her weekend tournament schedules. Her sibling-inspired drive led to success early in her high school volleyball career, and she received different achievement awards.
PHOTOS BY TED CAVUS
Playing with passion. Junior Megan Rice’s success in her volleyball career had landed her a full scholarship to play at UC Santa Barbara. “My freshman year I won MVP for the freshman team, then made varsity as a sophomore and ended up winning most improved player,” Rice said. Volleyball has had its difficulties, and Rice believes that without going through her own personal challenges she wouldn’t have grown into the player she is now. “My first year playing volleyball was especially difficult. I had to find a club team that
I could actually play on and develop, plus it was hard to fully give up basketball for a different sport. My dad was unsure about my transition, but in the end it worked out well. By the end of her sophomore year, Rice received a full scholarship to play volleyball at her “dream school,” UC Santa Barbara. “UCSB was my first offer and my top choice, so I knew I wanted to go there. I visited the campus and got a really good vibe
from all the coaches and players. That’s when I accepted their offer,” Rice said. According to Rice, volleyball has grown to be her passion, and is something that she believes you need to love in order to play. “To me, if you play volleyball, it has to be a passion. It will literally take up your entire life, and I wouldn’t see the point in putting in that much time if you didn’t love it that much,” Rice said.
Girls tennis stays positive going into Bay League matches by Romy Moreno
PHOTO BY RAQUEL TAHVILDARI
On the line. Junior Alyssa Grijalva hits a forehand against the number one singles player in Tuesday’s match against Culver City. Grijalva won all three of her matches 6-0.
The girls tennis team broke their undefeated record Thursday with a loss to Peninsula, who is the girls tennis CIF SS Div. 1 reigning champions. “We are currently undefeated and a pretty solid team overall but that doesn’t mean that this will not be a tough game for us,” senior Katherine Chang said before the match. The girls went into the game with a “Whatever-happens-happens” kind of attitude. “We have a good chance at a few matches but overall we are not expecting too much since they have top ranked players in the nation,” junior Emily Zargham said. The overall goal of the team was to win at least three out of their eighteen matches. “We know the odds aren’t in our favor but if we keep practicing every day and running through our drills, as well as putting more spin on our balls we may have a good chance in certain matches,” junior Stephanie Kingham. In addition the girls feel like practice matches against one another will also help them improve their chances in today’s match.
“We’ve practiced staying calm and not becoming nervous,” freshman Halle Bender said. “We know that no matter what will happen, we’ll all have each others support.” According to freshman Renay Charley, consistency is going to be a major goal for her throughout her matches. “There’s nothing we can do but practice, practice, practice now and try to become as consistent and try to put up a good fight against Penn [today],” Charley said. However, the girls also agreed that if things do not work out for them throughout the match the best thing to do then is switch their strategies, change things up and be there for one another. “Even if some of us do not do too well we plan to stick as a team and support everyone because that’s the only way to keep our energy up,” senior Cammy Gonzalez said. To the girls being there for one another is going to be a major factor of how the matches end up. “We are all in this together,” Gonzalez said. “So reassuring each other and keeping our spirits high is just something that we need to do in order to have put up a good fight.”
Oct. 3, 2014
page 17
sports
Football focuses on working as a team Players reflect after their loss against Mission Viejo last Friday by Reema Saad Mental errors were the greatest contributing factor to football’s 19-5 loss to Mission Viejo last Friday, according to junior Marcel Myers. “We did really good in my opinion. People were doubting us to get blown out but the thing that hurt us the most was the mental errors,” Myers said. Junior Ryan Armalin added that even though the team performed well, it wasn’t enough to get the win. “There were many plays on both sides of the ball that were good, like JJ’s intercep-
PHOTOS BY TED CAVUS
The simple things. 1. Sophomore Dallas
Branch carries the ball and sheds a Mission Viejo defender. 2. Junior Preston Faecher wraps up and stops the running back for a loss of two yards on the play. PHOTO BY MATTHEW YONEMURA
tion, Warren’s catches, Mike’s sacks, my kick return, and especially the safety we got on defense the very first play of Mission’s opening drive. All of these plays were great momentum builders, but at the end of the day a loss is is a loss and it is shown on our record. The whole game could have been played differently,” Armalin said. Myers does not agree that the game could have been played differently and that the game itself was planned well. “In my opinion I agree with all the plays the we used in the game. The game plan was excellent, just as a team we should’ve executed more,” Myers said. Despite this, Armalin said that there are three main concepts the team has been working on to be as successful as possible. “The main things that we focused on for this game was doing our jobs, not being selfish, and being disciplined. We’re a completely different team when we follow through with these three concepts and although we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, it definitely showed,” Armalin said. Looking forward, Armalin believes a few things can be done to improve performance. “We need to be consistent with everything we do. Offense must score as much as possible and defense must cause turnovers and stop our opponent from scoring as much as possible,” Armalin said. Armalin believes this bye week is an opportunity to fix mistakes before the team’s
next game. “I plan on fine tuning the little things in order to become a better overall football player. This bye week gives me and my brothers the perfect opportunity to focus on technique and the basics of the game. We have extra time to correct our mistakes and that’s exactly what we’ll do,” Armalin said. Myers adds that simple things can be worked on so the team can have better outcomes. “The offense needs to improve more with executing plays, making the right reads, catching the ball, and blocking. I can improve by catching every ball that comes my way, running my routes at the correct depth, and blocking from whistle to whistle,” Myers said, Both players are looking forward to success the rest of the season, and Myers even believes that the team will be able to win CIF. “I’m looking forward to winning CIF. We play more challenging opponents to see what we have to work on. Our record from preseason we can care less about, it’s behind us. We all know we are going to win CIF and turn this season around,” Myers said. Armalin concludes that the work the team puts will eventually show with time. “I’m looking forward to seeing all of our hard work pay off. I’m looking forward to all of the great memories to come. The season is here, and we’re ready for it.”
Beach volleyball prepares for playoffs The team is on a high note after beating Mira Costa and Windward by Allegra Peelor The boys beach volleyball team beat Mira Costa and Windward this Saturday at Dockweiler Beach in their last normal-season match of the season and are currently second in the Bay Division of the Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League. Junior Erik McCarthy believes two strong players who led the team to victory on Saturday were junior Lucas Lossone and senior Sean Michael Cramer. “They want to win every single point and they’re very competitive and they love playing the game,” McCarthy said. “Winning and losing isn’t that important to them; they just play for the experience and it really shows.” Junior Logan Gehman will play with Cramer again this weekend at the Pair’s Championship after winning matches against both Mira Costa and Windward on Saturday. “Sean and I play very well together,” Gehman said. “We have good chemistry and we have ball control over other teams and
we can use that to our advantage. We also compliment each others’ skills well.” In order to prepare for the tournament this weekend, Gehman said the team has been tailoring their training towards beating certain players on other teams. “If we know which teams we’re gonna play,” Gehman said, “we develop our game plan against specific players.” Lossone and his teammates believe that their biggest competition going into playoffs is Mira Costa. “They have really good players they have really good passing and setting-- basic building blocks for the game,” Lossone said. “They’re really skilled players and their fundamentals are on point.” In order to beat Mira Costa, McCarthy said, the team needs to work on staying mentally tough on the beach. “I think we need to work on our mental focus and be able to side out easily,” McCar-
thy said. Lossone agrees that the team has specific skills they need to work on before this weekend’s tournament. “We are gonna work on defense and siding out because that’s what the game is about and we’ll scrimmage a lot and learn how to get out of tough situations,” Lossone said.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEVE CRAMER
Spiking in the sun. 1. Sean Michael
Cramer and his partner Logan Gehman play at Dockweiler Beach. 2. Head coach Cory Glave holds a team meeting during the Dockweiler match.
page 18
High Tide
sports
Driving towards success
Girls golf hopes that victory against Peninsula last Thursday will foreshadow future success against Palos Verdes Tuesday by Stella Gianoukakis and Chandler Ross
PHOTO BY TED CAVUS
Fore! 1. Senior Yasmine Ghazvini chips the ball at a golf tournament earlier this season.
Girls golf beat Peninsula 222 to 232 in last Thursday’s match. “I felt very happy about the win because we were able to beat Peninsula High two games in a row, something we weren’t able to achieve last year,” senior Mamika Toyoshima said. According to junior Carlin Liang the team played well but could have played better and can improve on a few things. “Overall our scores shouldn’t have been so bad but we were all overwhelmed with fatigue after PVCC and just didn’t have a good round. I think we need to hone our putting skills more and try our best to be comfortable in every course we play,” Liang said. The team will continue striving for improvement in the upcoming game in hopes of another win. “Our team is going to prepare for our next match by aiming for another win so we can keep adding on to our winning streak. We also plan on earning a total score of 230 or less so we can take another step forward to qualify for CIF,” Toyoshima said.
Toyoshima believes that one of the team’s greatest skills is endurance and perseverance. “No matter how difficult the situation is, we always give it our all and never give up mid-game. I think that makes us stronger as a team both physically and mentally. We can’t be afraid of a loss. We just have to rely on our abilities,” Toyoshima said. According to Toyoshima, the team has improved since last year. “He’s [their coach, John Burke] proud of our team this year because our we’re very close and we’ve improved a lot since last season. Last year we ran into very tough opponents and very few wins. However, this season went off to a great start and I’m confident it will get even better towards the end,” Toyoshima said. Liang is also confidant in the team’s abilities and believes the team will succeed in the next game. “I’m confident our team will definitely do well because we have already played at the hardest course, at PVCC, and the rest of the courses should not pose a big problem,” Liang said.
Passing up the competition Girls volleyball is undefeated in league play and plans to continue their winning streak by Jason Fong Girls volleyball plays Morning Side High School next upcoming Wednesday, and plans to approach the game with a high level of mental intensity. Going into the game against Inglewood last night, the team was preparing with a positive mentality. “We really don’t know anything about Inglewood, but we’re going to have the same mental approach that we always do,” Junior Sophia Loila said. According to Loila, the team will take the game seriously, playing as if their season depended on it. “We will be applying the same mental approach that we use going into CIF games: to never give up, compete intensely and remain mentally tough throughout the whole game. We definitely can’t take them[or any other team] for granted and believe that we are guaranteed the win.” Loila said According to Senior Hayes Honea, the team has lofty goals for the upcoming season, including a bid for a CIF state title. “Our goals are to go all the way. We want to win CIF and state. But we really want to win the right way: honorably.” Honea said. As stated by Loila, the team’s plan for last night’s game was to dictate the flow of the game all of the way through. “Our game plan for Thursday night was
to just go out and impose our game onto them. We were definitely ready, both mentally and physically, for any curveballs thrown our way. This is the mentality that we need to maintain for the rest of the season to achieve our goals,” Loila said. As stated by Honea, the team’s biggest threat in the Bay League is Mira Costa and other tough teams in the region. “In league, our biggest competition is Mira Costa for sure. In the playoffs, really any team that we meet can pose a challenge to us,” Honea said. According to Junior Rhyan Theus, the team’s ability to support each other is what carries them through any adversity during games. “I’m always proud of the team when we fight through the adversity that we face, regardless of the outcome. We are all each others biggest fans, and I think that helps us all out so much,” Theus said. According to Loila, the keys to victory for the team lie in their ability to post for every ball and win the serve and pass battle. Honea agrees with this assessment, citing the team’s consistent practice of their serving and passing game. “We continue to work on serving and passing everyday as Coach Chaffins as well
as the whole team really believe that makes the difference between winning and losing.” Honea said. According to Senior Abril Bustamante, the team has also improved some of their technical skills in certain areas. “This year, we are definitely more solid in the back row, which was a big weakness for us last year,” Bustamante said. Key players for the team include senior Abril Bustamante, senior Yaasmine Bedart Ghani, and sophomore Megan Rice. According to Bustamante, the team’s new lineup is “working really well for us” as the “becoming more and more confident” due to recent tournament success. The team recently finished 3rd at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas, which is billed as “the best high school tournament in the country” with 64 competing teams and several nationally ranked players. Loila is confident in the team’s ability to take Wednesday’s game against Morning Side. “We are going to win and we’re not going to give in to any pressures. We definitely go out there to win as fast as we can,” she said.
Roofed . 1. Junior Norene Iosia blocks a hit from a Palos Verdes attacker. 2. Junior Casey Baker spikes the ball on Tuesday’s game
1.
2. PHOTOS BY TED CAVUS
Oct. 3, 2014
page 19
sports
The comeback kids
Boys water polo is looking for a comeback after losing against Peninsula on Wednesday
Keeping up with the competition Cross country looks to perform well in the upcoming meet at Central Park by Stella Gianoukakis
1.
by Sophie Maguy
PHOTO BY ROSE TAYLOR
On Wednesday, boys water polo lost to Peninsula High School 12-8 due to a lack of focus and application of the fundamentals of the sport, according to players. “I think the team can work on recognizing the shot clock and work on using the whole 30 seconds rather than forcing a shot,” senior JR Beck said. “We also need to keep working on lane press defense because some of our guys give the other team too much leeway on the 1, 2, and 3 positions, and we should just work on shooting in general.” Junior Blaze Bird agrees that in order for the team to achieve their primary goals, they must improve their energy in the game. “We just need to maintain momentum and focus through all four quarters. For almost all of us, our goal will be to improve our pass selection and beat Palos Verdes next week,” he said. Beck is optimistic about the teams’ chances as long as hard work is put in at every practice. “The first goal we have is to beat Peninsula the next time we play them and qualify for the play offs. Also we want to win as many games as possible, including the game against Palos Verdes and - if our team really improves - even Mira Costa. Our players are finally coming together and we look like a solid team. I think we can beat those teams,” he said. Junior Joaquin Vargas agrees that previous games have also reflected the possibility of future success. “In the El Segundo game, the team played really well and we were able to run our plays successfully in the first half. However, our team communication broke down allowing El Segundo to take the lead on us in the second half. I feel confident that we will learn from our mistakes and it will help prepare us in our future league matches against Peninsula, Palos Verdes, and Mira Costa,” Vargas said. Beck believes that the team definitely has the assets that could lead them to victories. “Our strengths are that we are starting to become more
Cross country will be competing next weekend at Central Park in Huntington Beach. “I know we’ll have a good race. Everyone works really hard at practice constantly and it shows in our races and times. Every race each team is doing better and better. We’re packing up and running faster times each race,” senior Anevay Hiehle said. According to Hiehle, Palos Verdes is probably the team’s biggest competitor. “They are a good team but so are we and every race we really execute. We are getting stronger and stronger,” Hiehle said. According to junior Andrew Zavala, the team will do well as long as everyone stays focused. “I think we can do really well if everyone pulls their own weight. We all need to stay focused and try to stay as close as we can to each other and to the top group. It is a big meet for us because we are going against some top rank teams we are excited to compete against,” Zavala said. The team will be running the same course the state meet is held on. Junior Taylor Baudoin is confident in the team’s abilities. “Our team is so full of depth that I think we’ll do great. We have been training really hard these past couple of weeks and I think we will do amazing,” Baudoin said.
2. PHOTO BY RAQUEL TAHVILDARI
Just keep passing. 1. Senior JR Beck passes the ball past a
defender from West Torrance High School on September 23 . 2. Junior Blaze Bird passes the ball past a defender from El Dorado on Tuesday.
in sync with each other as a team. We have more movement on offense and we’ve been improving our defensive skills. We are starting to run the plays we have been practicing and finishing them,” he said. Junior August Brookwell believes that with the leadership from goalie Spencer Malone-White, the team will continue improving. “I think that our Spencer is a very great asset to the team because he both helps our defense and is a fantastic goalie,” Brookwell said. Bird agrees that the team has already improved since the last games. “We have started to gel on offense and execute the plays that Coach Murin has diagramed for us. We have also improved our awareness of what is happening during the game. We plan to keep working hard, give 110% effort, and keep improving with every practice and every game,” he said.
PHOTO BY TED CAVUS
Sprint to the finish! 1. Senior Carlos Suarez runs in a meet earlier this year
page 20
Making an impact
High Tide | Oct. 3, 2014
features
Sophomore Jocelyn Lee went on a service trip to Uganda over the summer to help sick children
by Vaidehi Gandhi In the medical center, there are hundreds of kids. Ringworm, malaria and numerous other diseases plague the children in the room. Among them, a little girl is staring, afraid of the unfamiliar faces. She sees a smile, followed by a wave and takes the extended hand. Sophomore Jocelyn Lee formed many friendships similar to this one on her service trip to Uganda over the summer. “I was really blown back because I’d never been to a third world country before,” Lee said. “I knew there was a lot I was going to see but at the same time I didn’t know.” Lee chose to partake in the trip as it was “out of her comfort zone,” and felt a sudden urge to go. “The person who organizes it goes to my church, and she helped me prepare a lot. I was both excited and nervous,” Lee said. While there, Lee dewormed and checked the vitals of the children in the medical clinics. She looked forward to those visits and enjoyed working with the kids. “Seeing all these kids smiling made me so happy,” Lee said. “I was the happiest I’ve ever been. Just seeing everybody was so different, yet amazing.” However, Lee believes that she “needed to prepare [her] heart a little better,” especially when she visited a hospital’s pediatric and burn units. “After seeing a two-year old in a full body cast crying in pain and in fear of us, and all the flesh on another kid’s leg, it was really hard on me,” Lee said. “I thought that I could take it but I had to
step out.” Lee feels that she came home too quickly and that there is work she has yet to complete. “When I first got back, I was really sad because of the guilt I felt for leaving. It was still a really humbling experience and even though my personality hasn’t changed, you just start thinking of things differently,” Lee said. She believes that the trip has instilled a sense of responsibility in her, and misses the children. “I know they’re being taken care of and I feel like I should be there. It’s different because when you’re there, you feel good because you’re always doing something to help others but then at home, all of a sudden, I’m not doing anything,” Lee said. She believes that the trip was a great experience for her, and recommends it to anyone looking to try things that they wouldn’t normally do. “I just put myself out there. Although I didn’t know what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised,” Lee said. “I left there with so many memories and it was really worth it.”
2.
3. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOCELYN LEE
One friendship at a time. 1. Schoolchildren Lee met at
1.
a medical clinic in Uganda. 2. Jocelyn Lee plays with kids from the first medical clinic, which was in her bus driver’s village. “We were just singing songs and playing while they waited for their meds,” Lee said. 3. Ugandan kids from a medical clinic Lee visited overlook a slum.
Robertson lived in Australia by Roxanne Labat
PHOTO COURTESY OF EMMA ROBERTSON
Down under. Emma Robertson poses with her rowing team. “People would make jokes about me being an American, but it was never mean-spirited,” Robertson said.
She stepped off the airplane after sixteen hours and felt the hot air fill her lungs. It would take her some time to wrap her head around the fact that it was summertime in January. Junior Emma Robertson returned to Redondo Beach last month after spending three years in Australia due to her father’s job. “Melbourne is like a cross between Europe and America, but it has its own Australian-ness,”
Robertson said. “There’s a lot of public transportation; they’ve got trains and buses, and people use that to get around more than they use cars.” After moving, Robertson missed the culture of Los Angeles. “There was a bit of a culture shock and a feeling of being away from my home,” Robertson said. “I couldn’t just go to Forever 21 and buy a cheap top; I’d really have to save my money because
things are more expensive there. For the first six months, I was still missing people from over here, not to mention material things and Mexican food. There’s this place called Taco Bill, but it’s absolutely horrible.” While adjusting to her new home, Robertson assimilated to Australian culture and developed an accent. “It was scary going to a new school, but the people were welcoming,” she said.