Women

Sarena Kabir News Editor Deepa Venkat Staff Writer Nandini Patro Staff Writer Emerson Fuentes Alabanza Graphic Artist Anna Johnson Entertainment Editor

Emerson Fuentes Alabanza and Prasheetha Karthikeyan/Prowler for all graphics 1792 Mary Wollstonecra wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” which argues that women are not inferior, but not properly educated due to sexism. 1848 e Seneca Falls Convention was the rst woman’s rights convention in the United States which sparked the women’s su rage movement. 1911 International Women’s Day was o cially celebrated primarily in European countries, in which millions of people came together in support of women’s rights.

1680s Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a poet and philosopher, published her poem “Hombres necios que acusáis” (“You Foolish Men”), which criticized the double standard and inequality men placed on women. 1840s Ada Lovelace, a mathematician, wrote the world’s rst machine algorithm for an early computer. 1903 and 1911 Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes, one for her accomplishments in physics studying radioactivity, and one for chemistry by isolating pure radium. 1933 Dorothea Lange was a disabled female photographer whose photos documented important aspects of the Great Depressions, highlighting especially those who were homeless and/or displaced.

Given decades of the continued ght for equal opportunity, women across the globe celebrate the month of March every year in commemoration of those struggles women have faced. Women come together to cherish and celebrate the accomplishments, the victories and their importance in society. Locally, many women have pushed down the societal barriers by pursuing their jobs and passions in men-in ltrated work areas. Women in STEM

Many young women interested where teams of students compete in STEM at NPHS participate in to demonstrate their extensive activities to further their knowledge knowledge in science. Emily Ho, and learn alongside like-minded senior, and Lianne King, freshman, individuals. One of the clubs that joined Science Olympiad to facilitates this is Mu Alpha eta, demonstrate their knowledge and which allows students with a compete against other students. passion for math to develop their Ho has always enjoyed learning skills further through participating new topics in science, and being the in math competitions. While president of Science Olympiad has STEM activities may o en be male allowed her to explore the eld more dominated, students like Ananya in depth. “Science Olympiad always Arvind, freshman, and Antonia challenged me in niche topics like Ang, junior, joined Mu Alpha eta circuit building or biotechnology or to pursue math regardless. anatomy. I like how even if I brie y

Ang especially enjoys problem learn about these topics at school, solving using numbers and SciOly makes me take it to the next equations. “I have always enjoyed level of understanding,” Ho said. solving puzzles, jigsaw, Rubik’s King shares a love of science, and cubes, you name it, and I remember joining this club has encouraged how fun it was,” Ang said. “So, I her to pursue a career in STEM in decided to start up again this year.” the future. “I hope to have a career

Women’s history month is in STEM. I’m not sure what I want important for both Arvind and Ang to do, but I enjoy CS and biology,” to remember the in uential women King said. within mathematics. “It reminds me Although the number of girls of all the women who have made on the Science Olympiad team has signi cant contributions to our increased this year, Ho hopes to see society and have inspired others to more female participation. “I ended do the same. It demonstrates to me up reaching out to a bunch of rising that, regardless of gender, anything freshman girls from a local middle is possible if you put your mind to school interested in STEM to talk it,” Arvind said. to them about SciOly and other

Another STEM-oriented club science opportunities at NPHS,” at NPHS is Science Olympiad, Ho said.

Rithu

Student Organizations

Velu Many students at NPHS Mu Alpha have come together to create and Theta & participate in women’s rights-related SciOly Member clubs. One of these clubs, Periods with Pride, is a branch of a statewide organization centered around

“I believe that during women’s collecting menstrual products and history month we get to celebrate and acknowledge all the achievements that women have had in history, educating people on period poverty. Nikitha Lakshminarayanan, and it also encourages women to founder of Periods with Pride, is nd di erent ways to make more currently a student at USC and positive impacts in our society.” created the group a er a visit to a Francesca homeless shelter, where she learned some women could not a ord to Angletti buy their own menstrual products. Global “Something that I took for granted Advocacy Relations Director every single month was something that was so di cult for her to get,” Lakshminarayanan said. “We Charity Drive- Periods With Pride, a local club that provides menstrual products for decided to host a drive to collect people in need, held a Valentine’s Day drive. products within our community. The products received were donated to Many “On this Women’s History Month 2021 I re ect on the strength and And within one week, we were able to collect enough products to supply Mansions. Sarena Kabir/Prowler resilience of the women who came over 50 women for an entire year.” before me. My grandmother who is month, the organization is using its social media to educate the earned a living in the elds, growing vegetables and selling them at the town market, while caring for a family community on women who have fought for menstrual equity. “We really resonated with the fact that we really want to challenge inequality, gender of six. She taught me that hard work stereotypes and challenge ourselves to make a di erence in the world around us,” and integrity are what make us equal.” Lakshminarayanan said. At NPHS, Himani Pothulu, sophomore, is the co-president of the Newbury Park branch of the organization. “Menstruation is such a big thing that’s not Jackie talked about, normalizing it and making it talked about more, it’s really nice,” Sheng CEO of Gensun said Pothulu. She hopes that working with Periods with Pride will help normalize menstruation for everyone, especially at school. Another club on campus that promotes female empowerment is GirlUp, Biopharma, where students meet to have discussions on issues related to gender inequity. CSO of Sophia Distefano, sophomore, is the current secretary and joined her freshman Zelgen year to further her activism.“It felt like a good place to start and kind of started “Looking back at my career since I using my voice and building myself as an activist… I like to focus on women’s stepped in STEM, there have been rights,” Distefano said. many challenges and obstacles... Currently, the club is underway in celebrations of Women’s History Month One fundamental belief that never changed for me is that I rmly believe that women are not inferior by sharing information to members about signi cant women in history. “We are doing presentations on women that were really impactful in history and who use to men in our ability by any means.” their voices to kind of change society at the time,” Distefano said.

1958 Rosalind Franklin was the chemist and X-ray crystallographer who discovered the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal and graphite. 1968 Shirley Chisholm was the rst African American woman to be elected to the House of Representatives, and a huge advocate for the rights of women and minorities. She served in Congress as the Former Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. 1995 e UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing signed e Platform for Action, which committed to the “gender equality and the empowerment of women.” is was then approved by all UN nations. 2017 Cecilia Chung, a Chinese transgender woman who is an LGBTQ+ activist and promotes social justice and spreads awareness about HIV/AIDS, is featured on the ABC miniseries “When We Rise,” documenting the history of LGBTQ+ advocacy.

1965 Patsy Mink was the rst woman of color to be elected to the House of Representatives and was a key author for Title IX, a law that advanced gender equity within federal funding policies. 1969 Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera are both transgender women who are credited with starting the Stonewall Protests. e following year sparked the rst Pride parade, which commemorated the protests. 2017 e rst women’s march occurred across the country and even the world, protesting the inauguration of president Donald Trump and his policies. 2018 Greta unberg is a Swedish environmental activist who calls upon world leaders to take action against climate change. She rst addressed the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference, which started a string of environmental protests around the world.

Kinsie Flame

Co-Owner of Jacob Flame’s Tang Soo Do University

“Most of the men in my industry are very aggressive and arrogant. Being a woman in the martial arts industry has had its challenges om people not taking you seriously, to people simply not paying attention to you simply because you’re a female.”

Kavita Rai

Founder of Justice in the Classroom

“I believe our ideas, innovation and work have historically been le out of history and continue to. I don’t think it should go overlooked [that] our operations team, [in Justice in the Classroom] is WOC-led either. Our success as a nonpro t and in uence in our community is a testament to why more women need to be at decision making tables and in high leadership.”

Megan Goebel

Founder of Unity Conejo

“Being a woman has empowered me to always push harder, ght for equal rights and to stand up for what I believe in. Doing so I believe has made me a better mother, wife, advocate and human overall.”

Women in Leadership

In our community, many inspirational women have taken on leadership positions, breaking the gender barrier by being able to dictate their own lives and what the future holds for them.

Kelly Welch, assistant principal of attendance, has faced obstacles from being a woman in charge. In her prior years as the assistant principal of athletics, Welch attended the Southern California District Meetings and noticed how her remarks were taken in comparison to those of men. “ ere would be times where I felt that I would provide an opinion about something that we were deciding for high school sports, [and] there were some men that chuckled or [rolled] their eyes,” Welch said. ese struggles transcend beyond the school community. Claudia Bill de la Peña, mayor of ousand Oaks, works hard to lead the community. As a Hispanic woman, Peña believes that much of her struggle has come from being a woman of color. “When I say that I didn’t struggle as a woman, that’s because I struggled more with my ethnicity. I was told when I ran for city council that I would never win elected o ce with the last name of de la Peña, and I proved them wrong,” Peña said.

In another government o ce, CVUSD board president, Jenny Fitzgerald, has worked hard to represent our district. While campaigning, Fitzgerald noticed the public would ask her questions that were not asked of other male candidates. “Some of it had to do with the fact that I’m a woman and a mom, and there were a lot of questions about my background with things, like PTA and school volunteering...but not questions about my professional background [and] the skills that I had from that,” Fitzgerald said.

Coming from a country where women were not seen working a er marriage, Ina Casem broke the stereotype, and then transformed her passion for art into inArt Academy, her business in Dos Vientos. Casem has accomplished her dreams while balancing her family life, one of the hardest struggles a woman faces. “When I got married, I le my job as a teacher… [But] it wasn’t until I met another businesswoman in Korea who ran a franchise of [Art Hagwons, a private art institution] where I got my inspiration. She was married, had children and a thriving business,” Casem said. Casem then put her plans into motion, and the inArt Academy was born. “I knew then that I could de nitely do this...I started small and taught the children of my close friends [and] before I knew it, I needed a bigger space to house all my art supplies,” Casem said. ese four women are just a few of many who continuously prove that gender stereotypes cannot, and will not, prevent Teach- Ina Casem started inArt Academy after moving from Korea. She soon found a new love in them from pursuing their teaching kids how to paint. “The sense of achievement [and the smiles] the students have every time careers and passions. ese their work is completed [is] wonderful. When I feel and see these things, I am confdent that I have powerful women break down chosen this job well and will be able to endure it well,” Casem said. Ina Casem/With Permission the barriers put up by society.

Shivani Patel

Reporter for the VC Star

“We should ensure that the voices and accomplishments of all women are being recognized. Looking forward, it’s so crucial that we create spaces and pathways for young women to excel in order to move toward a more equitable future... is doesn’t, and shouldn’t, go unnoticed.”

Celia Daniels

LGBTQ+ Rights Director of Indivisible Conejo

“Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions throughout the world to make this world a [compassionate] place. As a trans woman of color, I have learned to appreciate and celebrate the resilience and courage women across the world everyday.”

Dawn Megli

Reporter for The Acorn

“Women’s History Month only exists because women have intentionally been edited out of history by scholars for centuries and even though we make up just over half the population... the fact that we have to celebrate this month means that when women accomplish something, it’s women’s history, but when men accomplish something, that’s mainstream history.”

IB Dance presents their virtual showcase

Deepa Venkat Staff Writer Karyss Amato Staff Writer

Showtime- IB Dance tells their story with their unique dances that the students created themselves. “We have a lot of talented dancers this year, I just think everyone has something different to bring to the table and we’re showcasing so many cultural dances so I think it’s a really great show to watch,” Hundal said. Karyss Amato/Prowler

e IB Dance showcase virtually showcased the talents of their hard working dancers on March 19. Taught by Cameo Carolan, IB Dance is a class o ered for students with a passion to learn new styles of cultural dances, such as African, Bollywood, Cha Cha and Hula.

Carolan feels that the seniors have been deprived of their well-deserved recognition, so this year’s showcase is a tribute to them. “Normally in the show I present a lei to them as I speak about them and it kind of breaks my heart a little bit that I can’t do that in the video,” Carolan said.

While learning their dances through Zoom and being unable to meet in person for a majority of the year, the dancers faced many challenges to create this showcase.

Annette Gonzalez, junior, found it di cult to learn choreography over Zoom, but persevered through her passion for dance. “It was hard to hear the music because sometimes Zoom would glitch. I also had no space in my room so I could never do anything full out. When we met in person, the dances started making a lot more sense and we all felt a lot more con dent,” Gonzalez said. e juniors participating in the concert did not previously train in di erent ethnic styles of dance, so they had to face the challenges of learning over Zoom and comprehending new styles. e showcase normally involves students choreographing various dances, but this year, they decided to make concept videos that portray di erent cultures and global issues. e students took the concepts into their own hands and made inspirational dances; some were lmed on their choice of location, rather than at the school.

Despite the di culties with learning all of the dances, the seniors were still required to complete their requirements for IB. e seniors each performed a solo, choreographed a group dance with other students and participated in several other dances.

Riya Hundal, senior, has been a part of IB dance this year and is grateful to be dancing a er her knee surgery. “I just think it’s so great to be able to showcase just like dance,” Hundal said. “I’ve been doing classical Indian dancing for twelve years so one of my solos is a classical Indian dance and just kind of getting to showcase, you know, my culture and heritage.”

Cosplayers strut their stuff

Carter Castillo Features Editor Tea Sklar - Graphic Artist

Aided by the recent rise in popularity of anime and the app TikTok, cosplay, the act of dressing up as a character from a movie, show or book, has become more popular in the teen community over the past year.

Roshnee Moorthy, senior, rst became interested in cosplay through anime and comics. “I have always been into watching anime and reading comics, which rst piqued my interest in cosplay. Eventually, one of my friends who was in the cosplay community began to show me the ropes, and from there I began experimenting on my own,” Moorthy said.

When creating her cosplays, Moorthy typically recycles items from around her. “I usually re-use what I have and repurpose it. For example, my Katara [from “Avatar: e Last Airbender”] cosplay was made out of an old shirt dress, white ribbon and harem pants from one of traditional Indian out ts,” Moorthy said. “How I drape the fabric on myself is extremely important, since it can make or break an out t. Because of that, safety pins are my best friend when it comes to the out t. ey ensure everything stays in place for the duration of the photo shoot or convention.”

To many people, such as Sydney Hardstein, junior, cosplay is another creative art form that they endeavor in. “When I make something cool, it’s fun to show it o in a new way besides traditional art,” Hardstein said.

Kai Kepe, sophomore, describes the process that he takes to create his cosplays. “I write down the small details, how to make the main pieces, what fabrics I want to use and other things that may be special to the character. I will either make the costume from scratch or nd pieces in thri stores, or on Amazon,” Kepe said.

Although cosplayers love their art, they are certainly not immune to rampant bullying, whether that be online or in person. is can be detrimental to their mental health. “Cosplayers are still people; even if you are not fond of the hobby it does not give you the right to be rude. Words can hurt, be mindful of that. Cosplay is some people’s coping mechanism or comfort,” Kepe said. “It can help their mental health. Be kind to others no matter how strange a hobby may be.” at being said, many nd comfort in the cosplay community. “You get to meet a lot of really cool people in the community, and you learn a lot about di erent interests and media,” Hardstein said.

Cosplay is an impactful way of expressing oneself, and for many people, it can be a way to make a di erence. “I try to spread awareness of POC characters and stress the importance of representation in animation and how important it is for our future generations to see characters like them accurately portrayed on the screen,” Moorthy said.

The moth- Sydney Hardstein, junior, cosplays the moth man in an extravagant black costume with wings. The moth man is “not specifcally from anything, just a common cryptid,” Hardstein said. Sydney Hardstein/ With Permission Top: Water-bending- Roshnee Moorthy, senior, cosplaying Katara from “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” “Cosplay used to be a form of escapism for me,” Moorthy said. Roshnee Moorthy/With Permission Bottom: Painting- Kai Kepe, sophomore, cosplaying Edgar Valden from “Identity V.” Kai Kepe/With Permission

with Jennifer Lockwood

Karyss Amato Staff Writer

Jennifer Lockwood/With Permission With the start of blended learning, many NPHS teachers have had to teach combo classes, juggling in person and remote students. Jennifer Lockwood, a science teacher at NPHS, is no exception. Read our Tea Time below to see how she feels about this new challenge!

What has your experience been with combo class teaching?

e rst day was a little weird because it had been the rst time I had been in a classroom with students in a year. I did notice that there may be some need for an “un-Zooming” training kind of thing because I asked the class is there something to the e ect of “Does everyone get it?” and “Are you okay?” and I got thumbs up. ere’s a lot of technology, so it is a challenge. I’m learning to teach all over again, but I feel like I had a better day yesterday than I did the rst day.

How has it been teaching in person as compared to Zoom? It is more of a challenge, just in the sense that I’m also doing the combo teaching. If it’s just in-person then there are advantages, I get to see everybody, I can look people in the eye, I can say “Do you get it?” or “Do you need help?” If there’s a way to do a lab safely in science, then I can do that, or where everybody does their own thing. But when we’re in Zoom and cameras are on, I’m able to see people face to face and be able to pull someone into a breakout room and be able to have a one-on-one conversation and no one can hear.

If there’s one big thing you would change about teaching combo classes, what would it be? I would hope that students who were at home would feel comfortable enough to ask questions. So that I can hear and help you, or let me know that you are struggling or going too fast. at’s the part that I worry about. I can see the people in class, it’s easier to engage with them, and I’m worried for the students who are Zooming in. If they don’t actively speak up for themselves, then I might not notice that they have a confused look on their face because I am doing two things at the same time.

What do you think the outcome of blended learning will be for both students and teachers? I think for teachers, we’re going to learn how to teach a whole new way. I feel like there’s how I used to teach, then there was a complete new learning in spring. I can just easily talk to you or I can hang back a er class and let everybody go, and just ask you. I think it’s easier to not dri away when everybody is in the same location. So I think it’ll help students become more engaged and on task. I think the downside is they don’t get to work as easily together.

Do you prefer blended learning or remote and why? I do miss seeing students so I feel it almost feels like we’re walking back to normal which is exciting. I’m not gonna lie, it is more work to be blended (combo) than it is to be remote. In remote, I’m doing the same thing with everybody in that group as opposed to doing two things at the same time.

The talent show must go on

Allison Nguyen Staff Writer Sarena Kabir News Editor

As this spring’s activities start rolling in, several students take this as their opportunity to show o in the annual talent show on March 24. Even though blended learning has started, to ensure safety, this is the rst ever time the talent show has been held online.

Kaiden Pemberton, senior, has been in charge of this year’s virtual talent show, and without a doubt, it is much di erent than what it used to be. “People submitted an audition video and [did] not rehearse live, since over a call, we felt we weren’t going to do the person justice with all the technical problems that could occur. [ is year, the talent show] is a pre-recorded show, with live voting and that it is much shorter, around 30 minutes,” Pemberton said.

Although the show is still happening, Pemberton feels as though hanging out with the students in person is what made the event special. “I miss the atmosphere being in and around the acts the day of. From previously being in [the talent show] before and [even] before that, being a part of the production, it is such a fun night to be with the acts the night of [the show],” Pemberton said.

Eudia Ng, freshman, has been playing the piano for the past seven years and decided to display her experience through the event. “I’m going to be playing the Praeludium by Bach...I’ve been playing it for a couple of months as I had to play it for my [Certi cate of Merit testing] as well,” Ng said. “It was kind of a spontaneous decision to do [the talent show] and participate.”

Shortly a er the talent show was over, the winner of the show was announced live, via Instagram. Jason Jimenez, sophomore, stole the show with his piano performance of “Sweden” by Daniel Rosenfeld. e win was not anything Jimenez had expected. “I was astonished that I had won. I submitted my performance intending to share a piece of beautiful music, hoping to evoke the same sort of emotion I had experienced,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez had been working on this piece for roughly two weeks; however, he had known this piece for quite a while. In the process of choosing his music, something had pulled him towards the song. “I happened to be going over my piano repertoire, and I thought this song was simple but described my feelings of nostalgia and serenity well. I felt my performance was so simple yet powerful,” Jimenez said. ere is some silver lining to having an online event, giving an opportunity to students who would not have participated if it was held in person. “I don’t think I would have actually [done the talent show] because I’m not completely comfortable like performing onstage in person,” Ng said.

Lights, Camera, Action- With the difference in surroundings this year, this gave many students a new chance to perform. Jason Jimenez, sophomore and winner for this year’s show, found this as his chance to shine. “The talent show being online allowed me to get rid of my nervousness and helped me focus on the approach for my performance,” Jimenez said.. Allison Nguyen/Prowler