21-22 Special Edition Magazine

PANTHER PROWLER The Problem of Teenage Vaping

Editorial | 4 Senior Maps | 11-13 Marc Lion | 18-19 Local Elections | 26-27 805 Resistance | 32-33 Special Olympics | 35

Friday, June 3, 2022 Special Edition Magazine Newbury Park High School 456 N. Reino Road Newbury Park, CA 91320 www.pantherprowler.org Follow us @NPProwler

Table

Letter

of

from the

Contents 4 Editorial

Editors

Indivisible Conejo/With Permission

8 Senior Activites

Richard Bateman/With Permission

14-17 Cover Story 18-19 Marc Lion

Reese Kelem/Prowler

22 Track

Parker Bohl/Prowler

Lex Young/With Permission

35 Special Olympics

2

Hayden Meixner/Prowler

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

W

e have been through some of the most tumultuous and chaotic times in recent history, yet through it all, we at the Panther Prowler have been hard at work reporting the news; elevating marginalized voices. As editors-in-chief, we are immensely proud of all the work our staff has done despite all of the roadblocks. The Prowler will always cover the issues that relate to our student body.

So much has happened just in the last six weeks and we’ve done our best to report on all happenings truly and accurately.

The Supreme Court began attacking Women’s reproductive rights, having decided to overturn Roe v. Wade. Take the time to read our staff editorial on this critical issue on page 4.

The Panther Prowler is excited to share the paths of the senior class of 2022. On page 6, learn about some of the unique career paths that will be taken by NPHS alumni. Our highly anticipated senior map can be found on pages 11-13, showing the different schools’ graduating Panthers will attend from coast to coast-- and even a few overseas.

Since its creation, the special edition magazine has been an opportunity to tackle an important issue. For our ninth annual edition, we did not stray away from a harsh reality young adults are familiar with, and many face themselves. Our cover story, found on pages 14-17, focuses on the addictive effects of vaping and its consequences on students’ health. This is not a comfortable topic for everyone, but we cannot deny the fact that this is a prevalent issue in our school community.

We dedicated pages 18-19 to Marc Lion, a beloved NPHS English teacher who passed away this April after a battle with cancer. The Newbury Park community will remember Mr. Lion for his love of teaching, dimpled smile and quick jokes that made everyone feel welcomed.

With the easing of COVID restrictions throughout the last year, our community has had the chance to hold events that were long overdue. Friends and family gathered on May 7 in memory of Courtney Brousseau, former 2014-2015 editor-inchief and NPHS alumni, two years after his passing. Read more about his celebration of life on page 20.

We can not thank our staff enough. Despite often asking a lot from them, our staff has constantly delivered and impressed us with their work, effort and dedication. We hope you enjoy our final publication and continue to support the Prowler in our mission of reporting the truth to our school and extended community.

Carter Castillo Editor-in-Chief

Abby Gorman Editor-in-Chief

News in Brief Cameron Winick

SCOTUS leak signals end to Roe v.

Wade

O

n May 2, a draft Supreme Court opinion in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public. This leak signaled a possible end to federal protection to an abortion, a right that Roe v. Wade guarantees to all Americans up until 24 weeks. Marisa Canepa, a member of the Periods With Pride club, was saddened by the unfolding events. “When I saw the news, it was an initial feeling of shock, but then it was like, ‘why am I even surprised?’” Canepa said. Canepa discussed empathy and how necessary it is at this moment. “Take a step back. Take all of your personal bias and predisposed opinions about abortion, and just think about the position that we are in,” Canepa said.

Submitted by Indivisible Conejo

Spring Dance Concert amazes audiences

Reese Kelem/Prowler

The annual Spring Dance Concert from May 12 through 14 displayed the hard work of the NPHS beginning, intermediate, and IB dance classes during the semester. Carolan Cameo’s dance classes performed at the Spring Dance Concert and were joined onstage by the dance team, as well as the hip-hop club. The crew performed a large variety of dances, some in complete contrast to each other in terms of style. Janelle Greene, senior, is a part of both the hip-hop club and Cameo’s intermediate class. “Once we got it down, we would keep practicing until we thought it was really good, which [was not] until the concert,” Greene said. “We’ve been practicing the whole time, and it has definitely paid off.”

NPHS puts on One Acts The NPHS theater department presented their annual production of student One Acts on May 6 and 7. While the actors showed off skills they have cultivated on stage over the year, the real stars of the show were the directors who got to see their visions come to life. Ruby Redland, junior, was the director of a one act called “Supermarket”. She gives a behind the scenes look of her experience directing a stage show. “It’s hard, but I would do it at least once in your life if you could, because it was so much fun,” Redland said. “Watching your actors perform the final product is such a proud moment… It was amazing. I couldn’t be more proud of my actors.”

Julie Freedman/With Permission

America grieves more death after Uvalde shooting On May 24, Robb Elementary School faced the massacre of 21 people, including 19 children from a single fourth-grade classroom. The armed gunman, 18-year old Salvador Ramos, was also killed at the school. This has been recently recorded as the deadliest school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, which has led to many questioning how much the United States has learned since the infamous 2012 mass murder. Families of the victims continue to grieve as activists begin to encourage the regulation of guns. Respects to the victims and their families are still being paid, while protests against gun owners and distributors are just beginning to ramp up.

Marco Bello/Reuters Public Domain

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

3

We must fight to protect Roe v. Wade

O

n May 3, a leaked initial draft majority opinion of the Supreme Court voted to strike down Roe v. Wade, a historic decision providing federal access to safe abortions. If the ruling is made official, the right to abortion will be left up to each state, several of which already have triggered laws in place to ban or severely limit abortion access for people with uteruses. To remain silent and quietly accept the overturn of Roe v. Wade is to destroy years of progress and permanently cripple the American freedom principle to bodily autonomy.

Around two-thirds of the United States do not support the overturn of Roe v. Wade, according to a Fight- Protestors in Thousand Oaks hold up signs at a protest against the overturn of Supreme Court decision recent NPS/PBS poll. The extent to Roe v. Wade. Reese Kelem/Prowler which the repeal of Roe v. Wade will damage all Americans is expansive: forced birthing of unconsenting people with uteruses, overcrowding of opinion is the first step of many which will open the door to decrease adoption centers, the infringement of the American government unto all once-settled civil rights protections, such as gay marriage, provision the freedom of their people, this list goes on. Nevertheless, 50 years of contraceptives and even school desegragation.

Roe v. Wade must stand. To let this unrepresentative, dangerous and of pro-life community organizing have succeeded in systematically deconstructing the hard-won fight for equal abortion in the United decisive decision pass through SCOTUS quietly is to destroy the very crux of what it means to be American.

States at both the state and federal level.

It is vital that now, more than ever, that we take to the streets.

Abolishing Roe v. Wade will not succeed in banning abortion, nor will it decrease the pursuit of abortion in the United States. This Though protests may not force immediate change, it is protests that led decision will, however, eradicate access to safe abortions for all people to this overturn. Protests will facilitate meaningful political dialogue, with uteruses, especially those who are marginalized and impoverished. bring about efforts of true accountability and make the first step For pro-life organizers, this will not be the end; Justice Alito’s draft towards translating American outrage into legislative action.

Panther Prowler Staff

Editors-in-Chief Carter Castillo Abby Gorman

Managing Editor Tiana Hoang

Adviser

Michelle Saremi

Graphic Artists

Kai Mekari Emerson Fuentes-Alabanza Téa Sklar

4

Page Editors

Taylor Gibson Allison Nguyen Anna Johnson Anna Johnson Ariela Behar Ava Prapaniku Cameron Winick Cassandra Chavarria Dhruv Patel Dylan Kaseno Gwen Buchanan Hayden Meixner

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Josie Gardner Karyss Amato Katelyn Arrington Kira Ivarsdottir Melina Wagner Melissa Geher Nandini Patro Rohit Ukkan Sarena Kabir Téa Sklar Tiana Hoang

Staff Writers Rithu Velu

Online Editors Gwen Buchanan Tiana Hoang Adalia Luo Allison Nguyen Dhruv Patel Téa Sklar

Photographers Chief // Reese Kelem Parker Bohl Tiana Hoang Cassandra Chavarria

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Newbury Park Seniors explore unique paths after high school Rithu Velu Cameron Winick

T

he phrase senior year can often be associated with not only words such as graduation and senioritis, but it also marks the end of one journey and the start of another: college. For many, senior year is the year that students decide what career they will possibly pursue in the future. While many plan to pursue more well known career paths in the science, math and history majors, others plan to explore things “outside the box” and apply their passions into the workforce. Out of the 627 graduating panthers at NPHS this year, 45 of them will be entering paths aside from traditional college.

Exploring a form of art: piercing Through personal experience with piercings, Alex Carter, senior, has had a strong passion for a unique form of art, piercing, and plans to do an apprenticeship in that field. “I have always really liked expressing myself with jewelry, and the fact that I can have it on my face and that it can be permanently there, really inspired me to put it on other people and do more of myself,” Carter said.

Carter feels optimistic about their future career, discussing not only the logistical elements to achieving their dream but also the benefits of the job. “I would like my job more than most people, and I’ll be able to pierce myself professionally,” Carter said. “I need to work hard and study the best I can, be able to handle people [and] be careful with health and safety.”

Despite challenges that they may have faced, the sight of becoming a piercer still remains clear, and Carter hopes to share their advice to others. “If you have a goal, put your mind to it, and just work hard and get it” Carter said.

Attending Trade School An apprenticeship is one option for students to take, however, trade school also allows students to receive specific training in the field they hope to follow. Derik Galbawy, senior, plans to pursue his interests in car mechanics by attending trade school and then entering the workforce.

A continuing curiosity and delight in hands-on activities compelled him to go to trade school and follow a career in a car shop. “I’ve always found school very boring and I liked working with my hands,” Galbawy said. “Ever since I was a little kid I liked playing Legos and creating things, so I decided this might be a better way to go.”

As for the future, Galbawy plans to learn more as he progresses and work towards achieving specific goals he has in mind. “I am learning as much as I can so that I can eventually work and maybe start a shop on my own,” Galbawy said.

“

If you have a goal, put your mind to it, and just work hard and get it -Alex Carter

“

Derik Galawy/With permision

Tiana Hoang/Prowler

Serving a mission in Mexico Although a majority of NPHS graduates plan to continue an academic path in the United States, Owen Greding will be serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints in Puebla, Mexico before heading to college in hopes of becoming a chiropractor.

Through the inspiration of those around him, Greding has developed a long time passion for serving a mission, and was called to go to Puebla, Mexico, a decision that was made by his church. “You submit mission papers to introduce yourself, and then they read it and they do what they feel or what God feels is best,” Greding said.

Since Greding will be doing his mission in Mexico, he will learn Spanish and apply it to the real world. He also hopes to gain some important life experiences. “I will have to live with a companion down there, and you’ll be able to learn how to cope with people even if you don’t really like them,’’ he said.

As for the culture, Greding looks forward to the new and unique food that Mexico will have to offer. “I’ve heard the food there is really good, and I’m excited to try to makepeople happy,” Greding said.

Owen Greding/ With Permision

6

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Yearbook

PICK-UP PICK-UP @ B-9

June 2 June 3 June 6 June 7

MUST HAVE STUDENT ID for pick-up!

*log into your student store account to check if you preordered a yearbook

BEFORE SCHOOL 7:45-8:10 A.M. AT LUNCH 11:45-12:25 P.M. AFTER SCHOOL 2:05-3:15 P.M.

PURCHASE AT STUDENT STORE $115 CASH ONLY

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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Senior activities culminate the school year Melissa Geher

Hayden Meixner

Throughout the pandemic and distance learning, the senior class of 2022 has been through it all. Before attending postgrad plans, the class of 2022 is able to reconcile and celebrate one last time at the numerous senior activities NPHS administration and the Senior Class Board have planned.

Prom

Prom is a once in a lifetime high school event that many students have been anticipating for since a young age. Held at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills, upperclassmen had the pleasure to eat, dance and view the prom court winners. Along with Sunshine Roth and Carter Kawaguchi, seniors, Michael Flaherty, senior, were elected on prom royalty. “It was just a great feeling. And it kind of just feels like all my work paid off through the past four years,” Flaherty said. ”For me, [winning prom king] was probably one of the most memorable experiences.” Since 2004, Lorena Caulfield, teacher and senior class advisor, has been planning prom and is ready to host a great event in two years. “My favorite part is watching the kids walk in and have a great time. Once the students get there, it is amazing to watch how they go from different areas,” Caulfield said.

Senior Recognition

For students who have worked incredibly hard throughout their high school career, senior recognition night is a special ceremony where selected members of the class of 2022 will be recognized for their accomplishments and receive their regalia. David Cho, senior, was honored in numerous areas during the event. “It was definitely very validating to be recognized last night, but there are definitely times that I might have pushed myself too thin and maybe pushed myself harder than I should have,” Cho said. Cho will walk across the graduation stage adorned with a colorful collection of regalia, symbolizing the hard work he put in. “Pursue your passions and pursue your passions to the fullest extent that you can,” Cho said. Carly Adams has been working hard to help coordinate the event and watch it come together. “It’s fun to see all the students getting recognized for their accomplishments and some of them are pretty amazing accomplishments because some of them have been four years in the making or even just a high level, so it’s impressive,” Adams said. “I’m excited about this year because it’s in person and getting to see their families and see their kid get awarded for an award is really special.”

“

Pursue your passions and pursue your passions to the fullest extent that you can.

-David Cho

Senior Sunset Senior Celebration!- Senior class advisor Lorena Caulfield hopes for a fun and successful night. “All the prom sites we use all have different areas that you can roam around, whether it’s the dance floor, [or] a quiet area with lounge chairs,” Caulfield said. Richard Bateman/ With Permission

”

All good things must come to an end. Seniors said goodbye to their final year at NPHS at the senior sunset, the reciprocal event to the Senior Sunrise that took place at the beginning of the year. Thea Duc, senior and secretary on the senior class board, took part in planning the extensive events. Duc looked back at the beginning of the year’s sunrise. “It was just fun to have all four of us [senior officers] together, seeing what we just pulled off and it kind of gave us confidence. The confidence we needed to go into the rest of our senior year,” Duc said.

Senior Picnic

Pulling off Senior Picnic was a feat to say the least. After months of planning and secret keeping, it was revealed that this year’s senior picnic would take place at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu. During this picnic, seniors took the day off school to hang out with friends and engage in activities such as corn hole and swimming. Carly Adams, assistant principal of activities, worked tirelessly to make the senior picnic a memorable event. “Generally we try to choose a location that allows them to have some of those summer fun vibes like pool or some sort of water games,” Adams said.

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Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Day and Night- Senior class board member Thea Duc along with Micheal Lindroth, Maddy Mekari, and Carter Kawaguchi plan for senior sunset.

“I feel just very fortunate that we’re able to put them [senior activities] on and that COVID hasn’t stopped us,” Duc said. Carly Adams/With Permission

Susan Heraper retires after 12 years Parker Bohl

A

Kira Ivarsdottir

fter 12 years of tireless work in the Sage Library and 25 years of teaching in total, Susan Heraper is retiring from NPHS. From inspiring students to read to providing books and resources for students for every class, Heraper played a major role in the lives of students and staff alike.

After working at Redwood Middle School for 11 years, Heraper recalled the differences between the two campuses. “Coming to the high school, it was a lot. It was a challenge. It was a challenge that I was looking forward to,” Heraper said. “I enjoy choosing the books for the library, helping students find the right book that [I would] be excited about reading the books myself. And Newbury Park has a great reputation.”

“

Coming to the high school, it was a lot.

It was a challenge. It was a challenge that I was looking forward to.

- Susan Heraper

”

Fey Ouyang has worked as Heraper’s assistant and library technician for 5 years. “It’s so hard to get older kids to read books but [Heraper] always tried to get new ideas or different displays or different themes to try to attract more readers,” Ouyang said.

Despite a common belief that teacher’s assistants can only offer their help to teachers, Heraper influenced students, including Thea Duc, senior, to offer support in the library. “She’s such a good librarian, and just makes it so fun [and] has so many creative ideas. So it’ll be sad to see her go, but it was a good time,” Duc said.

Heraper described the changes she made to the library. “I’ve taken out a lot of the older library books that are newer books here from when the library first opened, books published in the 1960s or before, and so we really updated the collection. We really expanded the fiction. There’s a lot higher percentage of fiction compared to nonfiction now than there used to be,” Heraper said. “I think I’ve really tried to communicate, especially through the library website, which I update on a regular basis and the newsletters that I send out once a week, you know, to everyone and then also reading promotions,” Heraper said.

Christy Hodson, NPHS English teacher of 17 years, experienced at least four other librarians other than Heraper while working at the school and describes the time in which Heraper took over for the late Mr. Carr, NPHS English teacher, following his tragic death. “She was able to take over one of Mr. Carr’s classes and they met with her in the library every day. And she took them through the assignment and the fact that she was able to step up like that,” Hodson said.

Despite Hodson’s appreciation towards all previous librarians at the school, in Hodson’s eyes, Heraper was different from all of the others.

Work! - Heraper smiles for the camera in the Sage Library. “She spent, I would say, a lot of countless hours trying to find the best match for each one. And [she] reads about 100 books a year,” Ouyang said.

Cameron Winick/Prowler “She never makes people feel uncomfortable or feel a shortcoming…

I’ve always called her an honorary member of the English department because she’s just such a support to us,” Hodson said.

Retirement for Heraper not only means an end to her presence at NPHS, but an opportunity to explore the rest of the world outside of school. “I’m looking forward to being able to travel whenever I want and not just during the school vacations. I’m looking forward to seeing my family more and I’m talking about my extended family because my husband and my daughters were the only ones that live here in California,” Heraper said.

Regarding her hope for the future of the Sage Library, Heraper wishes that the new librarian finds the transition to NPHS as cordial as her transition to the Sage library was when she first started 12 years ago. “I hope that the library will continue to go in the direction that it was going because I think that I did build a strong program. [I] hope that the new person who, [we]don’t know who that’s going to be yet, will find it very welcoming here [and will] have as good of experience as I have,” Heraper said.

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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High school athletes continue their sport into college Rohit Ukkan

A

Kai Mekari

s senior athletes close out their final season of their high school career, many consider continuing their sport into college. Recruiters from all across the country seek out the top high school students to induct into their high level college programs. Although not all students choose to participate in the most elite programs, many still find ways to incorporate their respective sports into their college schedule. From Illinois to Maryland, several NPHS athletes will continue to impress with their outstanding ability in their respective colleges.

With lacrosse being a popular sport on the east coast, Sophia Laubner, senior, picked up lacrosse when she saw her cousins playing the sport in Maryland. “We’d always like to play in the backyard, like when we’d have family meetings and stuff like that. So I think that’s what made me start,” Laubner said.

Laubner recently committed to Christopher Newport University and will play lacrosse for their D3 girl’s lacrosse program. “It has all those options like study abroad and Greek life, and it’s a liberal arts school. So it has a bunch of different majors, which is good for me, because I’m not exactly sure what I want to do,” Laubner said.

Arden Miller, senior, started playing softball in fifth grade when she played on a team with her friends, leading to her pursuit of softball in

“

I just loved the team factor and how it was different, and I liked that aspect of how competitive it was.

-Arden Miller

”

high school and now, college. “In the beginning of high school I was doing three sports, and then I was like, you know what, I think I’m just gonna do softball. I just loved the team factor and how it was different, and I liked that aspect of how competitive it was,” Arden Miller said.

She has since committed to Frostburg State University, a D3 school.

Likewise, Bailey Miller, will be playing softball in college. She recently got a scholarship to a college in Illinois called North Central College and is pursuing softball as well as ROTC training. “I got a three year scholarship that pays for my full tuition, room and board and it pays some money too,” Bailey Miller said.

College athletes go through a very strategic process of photographing, emailing and visiting colleges to make sure they are being looked at from coaches. There have been many seniors in our graduating class that have had the opportunity to experience college scouting and athletic camps. As COVID-19 has changed the whole recruiting process, athletes and coaches have found new methods of scouting and getting their name out into the world. “But because of [COVID-19], it was a little bit harder to travel, especially since I was looking at East Coast schools only. But what I did was, I would set up zoom calls with the coaches,” Laubner said.

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Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Play ball!- Arden Miller (top) and Bailey Miller (right) play their sports through high and low. While Bailey is going to North Central College and Arden is going to Frostburg State University, they will both play their sports and grow with new experiences. “You have to shake mistakes off. And I learned way more than I’ve ever done in the past” Miller said. Cassandra Chavarria/Prowler

Game On!- Sophia Laubner, senior played lacrosse throughout her high school career and will further her education and continue her sport during her time at Christopher Newport University, where she also will explore the new opportunities it presents. “I realized that I wanted a more balanced college lifestyle. I didn’t want my entire world to be about lacrosse. That’s just not what I picture my college time to be, so D3 is really great,” Laubner said. Cassandra Chavarria/Prowler

CALIFORNIA S E N I O R

UC Davis

Chico State University

Cho, Eugene Dsouza, Andrea Gilliam, Megan Stepler, Edyn

Augustine, Ryan Hochevar, Joseph

MAP

California Lutheran University

Almaoui, Nina Buongervino, Thomas Byrne, Ryan Cal Poly San Luis Caputo, Emma Druian, Dylan Obispo Dirickson, Charlee Duarte, Reese Gennette, Catherine Alamillo, Danilo Henry, Paige Au, Colin Holzkamp, Ava Johnson, Anna Monroy, Dayla Tran, Luca Munoz-Vignes, Samuel Galler, Lauren Ramirez, Gillian Gorman, Abigail Wadro, Aviva Maharaj, Jacob McGinnis, Chloe Ventura City College McNulty, Molly Owens, Madison Rosu, Stefan Owens, Makayla Segal, Adam Ward, Madelynn

UC Berkeley

Corlew, Kate Merchant, Merriam Sullivan, David Tak, Erin Maher, Michela

San Jose State University Ellis, Jenna Juarez, Bryan Park, Jinyo Rasheed, Khalil

University of San Francisco Biron, Sofia Kabir, Sarena Lim, Jasmine

San Francisco State University

CSU Channel Islands Diaz, Abigail Yered, Lily Guardado, Michelle Arias, Christopher Bolisajian, Raffi Narag, Ashley

Oxnard City College Crosby, Chase Holland, Heath Lagerquist, Max Mezzi, Mehdi Phillips, Sydney Soriano, Diego Soriano, Rafael Tucker, Mason Ruiz, Aiden Bowen, Cole

Cuesta College

Magana, Karina Salazar, Mckayla

Briggs, Katherine Resnick, Sophia

UC Santa Cruz Fisher-Wasserman, Aron Henderson, Colin Isikci, Celine Moore, Jake O’Connor, Audrey Prater, Caden Villanueva, Kalea Sera, Sofia Shaver, Grace Ahlberg, Ava

UCSB

Dawson, Tamryn Blunt, Zaki Canepa, Benito DaKroob, Vanessa Darley, Alexis Lynn, Hannah Payton, Owen Penzin, Elise

CSU San Bernadino Sayre, Marcus

CSU Monterey Bay

UC Riverside

Carreon, Emilio

Oka, Kaylee Balasani, Shresta Bhamre, Riya Kanugo, Annika Pinto, Ryan

Santa Barbara City College Olson, Adam Berman, Eli Cox, Kelly Madison, Taylor Anderson, Tyler Jay, Ryan

Pepperdine University Ramirez, Alexander

UCLA

Armstrong, Amelia Cary, Logan Hoang, Tiana Mansourian, Emily

Patel, Dhilan Syed, Ayesha Vasudevan, Soomedha

Modlin, Carys Norton, Mallory Kawaguchi, Carter Champlin, Ellie Champlin, Layla Cho, David

Chabot, Harrison

USC

CSU Northridge

Mikhail, Matthew de Ruyter, Kamden

Whittier College

Santa Monica College

Fodor, Alek Chavarria, Cassandra

CSU Long Beach

Cal Poly Pomona

Viveros, Victoria Ozuna, Makenna

Wright, Cienna Gonzalez, Annette Horne, Brandon Mehner, August Thomason, Kallyn

Behar, Aidan Hodder, Lexi Hsu, Evelyn Vo, Hannah

Cal State Fullerton

UCSD

Chapman University Buchanan, Guinevere Ngo, Andy

UC Irvine

Britt, Rebekah Shin, Trentin

Castillo, Carter Dadgostar, Nikki Lindbergh, Madison Lippert, Matthew Luo, Adalia

Moffit, Alyssa Rieder, Anya Ross, Alexander Tholudur, Vikram Stuver, Michael

Allen-Young, Alanna Bacciocco, Jaiden Hollander, Benjamin Lewus, Kalyna Monzon, Isabella Racalbuto, Grace

Rose, Hannah Rosenthal, Blake Pero, Aleksa Thomas, Matthew Leff, Caden Felix, Laila

San Diego State University

CSU San Marcos

Grandpre, James Humphrey, Emily Brown, Taryne Molkenbuhr, Katherine Nissim, Landan Staiano, Luca

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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University College Dublin

C

Northwest Nazarene Boise State University University

Reverente, Monica

Wright, Brandon Knupp, Brooke

Obringer, Jami

NYU Shanghai

University of Idaho

Pierce, Jackson

Kovach, Alexander

Brigham Young University-Idaho

Mackay, James

Dakota Weslyan University of University Mendez, Genesis Nebraska

Eby, Logan

Università degli Studi di Trieste

University of St. Andrews

University of Washington

Winerman, Erica

Windham-Hughes, Oliver

Kleemann, Philip Allen, Kate

Coventry College

Sellick, Matthew

University of Oregon

Lee, Kenzo Lindroth, Michael Stepke, Petra

Utah State University

Pacific University Oregon State University

Sullivan, Lydia

Benson, Elizabeth Grandsard, Asya Saville, Oliver

University of BYU Provo Brinton, Roxy Utah

Utah Valley University

Johnson, Paige Brown, Dana Haggarty, Quinn Jones, Elise Patsch,Hudson Merrill, Christian Westminster Halpern, Max Whetten, Lauren Endler, John College Fadler, Sophia Kearney, Kendal Richey, Victoria Marchlik, Mason Nygren, Morgan

University of Arizona

Grand Canyon University

DeMelfi, Cassidy Gigante, Niklas Benic, Natalie Vernon, Jacen

Northern Arizona University

University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Carey, Sierra-Jane Schmidt, Sam

Kapiolani Community College Garabedian, Max

Arizona State University

Christian, Kayla Taylor, Delaney Johns, Kailey Ehrhart, Bella Sahlman, Colin Francisco, Aiden Stone, Samantha Hutten, Jake Kerrigan-Mize, Keeva Knieriem, Lance Mueller, Brendan Pasquini, Nicholas Patel, Sameer Reynoso, Natalia Saylors, Jane Smigiel, Kacey

Colorado School of Mines

Appleford, Daniel

University of Denver

University of Boulder

Davis, McKenna Meli, Ethan Steinberg, Zachary Weise, Adam

Navratil, Tom

Texas Tech University Newton, Katelyn

Pasco Hernandez Community College

Myatt, Heather

University

Shenoy, Ad

Moorpark College

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Abdelhadi, Nour Adams, Isaiah Anderson, Lance Andreasyan, Gohar Andreoli, Justin Aquino, Noah Bauman, Brandon Dagan, Anthony Davis, Faith De Los Angeles, Angie Albarran, Brooke Carton, John Chookey, Joshua

Aquino, Angel Askren, Sierra Austin, Zane Avellona, Brandon Avila, Alexander Babcock, Cameron Barsy, Rebekah Bierig, Chase Burbano, Daniela Calderon, Jeanette Calderon, Ricardo Castillo, Angela Carter, Jason

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Chamberlin, Brooke Collett, Corynne Compean, Evelyn Dettloff, Kyla Escobar Alvarez, Carlos Evans, Joshua Facon, Trevor Falcone, Angelica Faurlin, Matthew Fitzgerald, Caitlin Freeman, Andrew Garcia Amaya, Amy Garcia, Misael

Gengo, Fletcher Geraldo, Brandon Ghafari, Elias Gillespie, Jared Giron, Kellin Gonzalez Aguilar, Gilberto Good, Rory Graham, Luke Green, Natalie Greene, Janelle Gross, Emily Guerrero, Ofelia Gunterman, Todd

Guthrie, Logan Guzman, Brandon Hajiloo, Philip Hallock, Tessa Harley, Keira Harold, Danielle Hayes, Jayden Hedin, Karlee Helsley, Emily Hernandez, Karla Hernandez, Kimberly Jacquet, Nicholas Jarquin Herrera, Josseling

Karthikeyan, Prasheeth Kaur, Gurvir Kaushal, Arjun Keiser, McKenna Keiser, Quinn Kent, Julianna King, Makayla Labayen, Nathan Shan Lee, Jason Leon, Amelia Lewis, Stephen Lowry, Mason Mai, Connor

Class of 2022 Senior Map Lawrence University

Yasui, John

Iowa State University Mao, Wesley

University of Wisconsin

Bhunia, Apala Tarazi, Maiwand

ne

Huber, Cassandra

Miller, Bailey

University of Michigan

Art Institute of Chicago

Morris, Eliana Noorzay, Zinah Jordan, Zara

Goldstein, Rachel

University of Northwestern Ohio

Institute for American Musical Theatre University of Ang, Antonia Ditto, Joah Vermont NYU

Debler, Keene

Copeland, Justin Flores, Michael

University of Indiana

Kelem, Reese Patel, Sage

Syracuse University

Denison University

Norwich University Medhurst, Jack

Cornell University

Guyette, Daniella Larson, Kaitlyn

Mekari, Madeleine

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Gold, Hailey

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University of Pennsylvania Rutgers University

Li, Anna

Joshi, Sia

Frostburg State University Miller, Arden

Washington and Jefferson College Kerrigan-Mize, Alycia

American University Duc, Thea

Virginia Commonwealth University Balasani, Shreya

George Mason University

Baylor University Flaherty, Michael

University of Missouri

University of Mississippi

Naumann, Jenna

Lamar University

Millet, Kayden

Tulane University Zasloff, Ava

Wijetunga, Udeni

Schuetz, Emma

Ward, Autumn

University of Alabama

McDonnell, Samantha

Villa, Jackson

Martinez, Sergio Moncourtois, Austin Morales, Cassandra Mosquera, Sebastian Moya, Diana Mudgett, Benjamin Nassar, Omar Naulin, Shelly O’Brien, Casey Paradis, Alexa Paramanandam, Kethan Parish, Zachary Pastora, Rafael

Quevedo, Angelina Quintero, Jaden Ramirez, James Reinhard, Kendra Reynolds, Christopher Richter, Grant Richter, Wilson Roos, Aspen Rosales, Daniel Roth, Sunshine Saravia, Ryan Scarnechia, Angelina Schmidt, Coen

Schwartz, Jessica Scolpini, Joshua Smith, Austen Smith, Bronwyn Soberanis, Cinthia Solarte, Jeronimo Soto-Robledo, Hector St Charles, Nicole Stark, Elizabeth Stephen, Daniel Stewart, Naomi Teece, Autumn Terry, Caden

Laubner, Sophia

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y of Texas Southwestern ditya University

ha

North Central College

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Tomasi, Trent Tran, Hieu Tucker, Liam Utermohlen, Sini Visagie, Taylor Zielinski, Joshua Dominguez, Gabriel Donis Reyes, Andrea Perez, David Sackenreuter, Mark Walling, Naomi Wing, Ethan

Gap Year Anderson, Aidan Arndt, Rylan Bronaugh, Nicholas Spence, Danika Cornejo, Jack Campero, Griffin Cruz, Frank Chaffee, Bennett Castro Ramirez, Marlene Eaton, Jack Flittner, Gracie Friedman, Nica Henry, Phillip Hewig, Kyle Horvath, Vance Horvet, Jordan Maiden, Mackenzie O’Leary, Riley Ortiz, Dalia Pa’au, Jacob Salas, Naomi

Hofstra University

Hartstein, Sydney

Work Alfaro, Brianna Braddock, Gabriel Carter, Alex Duran, Alex Ferguson, Bryce Fischer, Benjamin Flanery, Jacob Flores, Chris Flores, Vania Hernandez, Anthony Hildreth, Joshua Ivarsson, Kanan Jabin, Conrad Jimenez, Allison Klevecz, Nico Knight, Luke Lloyd, Payton Nystrom, Carolina Pennock, Ethan Piccinini, Jordan Porras, Nicole Schoors, Emma Shiah, Gavin Turner, Dominic Zavala, Peter

Trade School Castro, Victor Denham, Drake Duarte, Daniel Galbawy, Derik Sullivan, Tiler Henkel, Chase Rendon, Christian Jones, Kanye Linder, Shane Palache, Brooke Flores Reyes, Josue Linder, Shane Rodriguez, Brandon Rojas Perez, Rey David Sullivan, Tiler

Military

Chavez, Kane Medhurst, Jack Ceballos, Anthony Garay, Jerry Perales, Elijah Rosales, Isaac

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

13

The vaping epidemic corrodes teen health Ava Prapaniku

Rithu Velu

Reese Kelem

Dhruv Patel

Vaping products have become vastly popular amongst teens since their production in 2006, and have expanded to appeal to adolescents through appealing flavors and the addictive chemical, nicotine.

In a survey conducted by the NPHS Panther Prowler, 119 responses were collected regarding their experience with vaping and witnessing others vape. Seventy-eight percent (78.6%) of those who responded stated that they have witnessed other students vape on campus, whether that be in the bathrooms, locker rooms or just around the corner of class. According to the CDC, nicotine products can harm adolescent brain development continuously into their mid-20s and can lead to both mental and physical damage to one’s health.

90.8%

of students aren’t aware of school resources to help quit vaping

17.6%

of students have admitted to vaping in the past

89.1%

believe that vaping has become more common amongst teens

thers have seen o us vape on camp

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Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Student Experiences

D

espite it being illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase e-cigarettes in California, 54.4 percent of students surveyed who are aware of the vaping epidemic stated that vapes are easy to obtain. Harrison Cosh*, a senior who vapes regularly, says he is able to easily walk into a store or buy a vape from other teens. “There’s also a couple stores or gas stations that if you look old enough [21], or act old enough they overlook and don’t ask you for your ID, or still sell to you,” Cosh said. “Most of the people selling [vaping products] take Venmo and cash and everything gets delivered.”

Students start vaping for many reasons and at various points in their lives, but survey showed that the majority of students are exposed to it in their earlier years of high school. Jamie Stark*, senior, began vaping in sophomore year during a time when she was struggling with her mental health.

“Honestly, a lot of kids just do it to be cool.

Maybe some just do it to fit in and be cool, but some may have an actual reason,” Stark said.

According to the FDA, nicotine in e-cigarettes can rewire the teen brain to crave more of the substance, and since it is a larger dose, addiction quickly develops.

Thus, it is common for those who vape to frequently use their device often. “I vape multiple times a day. It’s always on me, when I go to the bathroom, at work, at my house, even just playing video games, I’ll sit there and hit it,” Cosh said.

This constant use can lead students into developing a strong dependence on nicotine

and can feel sickening withdrawals when attempting to stop vaping. Martin Shays*, a senior who has been vaping since freshman year, has attempted to quit several times but has been unsuccessful. “Every time you stop, you feel constantly really crappy and you don’t want to do anything. You kind of lose motivation without it too,” Shays said.

Several students who vape do not hesitate to bring their devices to school, and for students like Shays, it feels more like a necessity rather than an option to vape at school. “It’s pretty difficult not to have my vape at school…because I constantly feel the need to be hitting it in order to feel any sort of relief,” Shays said. By hiding vapes in sleeves, backpacks and pencil pouches, students are able to easily carry a vape around and use them when nobody’s looking. “It’s really easy to hide a vape at school and it’s easy to use a vape in the bathroom. But it’s easy to get caught too, if you’re not being smart,” Cosh said.

According to Michael Godfrey, assistant principal of athletics, if a student is found in possession of a nicotine device, they will first receive a saturday school referral and suspension after the third occurrence. Due to this punishment, Stark (who insisted on being anonymous) is not scared of telling other students that she vapes, but would never tell a teacher or administrator. “With our school, [you would] get in trouble and then they would be like, ‘Oh, do you need help?’, but [you would] get in trouble first.

And then I don’t even know if they’d offer help,” Stark said. However, Godfrey reassures that if a student comes to administration to

“

Reese Kelem/Prowler

I vape multiple times a day. It’s always on me, when I go to the bathroom, at work, at my house, even just playing video games, I’ll sit there and hit it.

- Harrison Cosh*, senior

”

voluntarily turn in a vape and ask for help, he would be there to help them.

CVUSD offers resources for students with alcohol and drug addiction as referenced in the Resources section of this article. These include counseling and student assistance programs such as “Breakthrough.” However, according to the survey done by the Panther Prowler staff, approximately 90.8 percent of students are unaware of any school resources for those who want to quit vaping.

After gaining a dependence on nicotine devices, some students who vape are aware of the damaging effects of vaping but do not believe they will be able to quit. “I noticed my breathing is a little shallower, it can get harder to exert myself walking upstairs,” Cosh said. “People who are inhaling it constantly, similar to me, the lungs kind of get coated in it and it gets detrimental to their health.”

Although some students genuinely enjoy vaping, many also claim that they wish they did not vape, but do not have the power to stop. “I really hate it but being addicted, it’s kind of hard to stop. So the best thing you can do is [to] just not start at all,” Shays said. *These students were identified with altered names in order to protect their personal privacy.

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

15

Medical View of Vaping

A

ll it takes is one try; one try that can change someone’s actions one after another. One choice to try something “new”, sparked by curiosity and intrigued by the selection of fun flavors. And what is thought to be just one, takes a quick turn and leads to another, and then another.

According to the Truth Initiative, vaping sellers are constantly marketing vaping products to appeal to a younger audience, which corresponds with their sudden surge in popularity in 2016.

Throughout the past years, countless studies have been done showcasing the harmful effects of vaping.

Various factors come into play as more and more young adults find themselves captured by the addictiveness of vaping products.

Dr. Pamela Ling is a certified doctor and researcher on tobacco marketing at the University of California, San Francisco. “For young people, it’s a mixture of curiosity, seeing their friends doing it and curiosity about the flavors. It can seem normal if you have parents that smoke cigarettes or sometimes kids get them from older people in their lives,” Ling said. “If you’re exposed to vapes by seeing someone who is trying to quit smoking, it might seem relatively good. But for a young person who’s never smoked cigarettes or never used nicotine before, then you’re just getting yourself addicted.”

Dr. Janelle Bohl, pediatric doctor at Kaiser, explains the true effects nicotine products take on students. “Nicotine use interferes with attention and learning. A person using nicotine is more likely to have higher levels of anxiety. If you’re becoming dependent on something, you may not be aware of how it’s changing your priorities,” Bohl said. “In my own practice of pediatric medicine, I see changes in the throat, I can tell if they’re vaping by how their throat looks, their nutritional status declines and they’re more susceptible to respiratory infections.”

With vape sales increasing throughout recent years, one brand in particular, JUUL, has been one of the top selling brands in the vaping industry. However, one pod of JUUL contains an equal amount of nicotine as a whole pack of cigarettes. “Even just experimenting with a few JUUL pods can easily get you a lot of nicotine, so vapes are addictive. The arousal, it’s not water vapor, it’s actually a mixture of chemicals and the arousal that comes out of vape has a lot of really fine particles and those can be damaging to the lungs and also damaging to the cardiovascular system,” Ling said.

Although there have been attempts to eliminate the use of e-cigarettes, vendors have found loopholes in regard to what they can sell to the public. “If flavored e-cigarettes were very popular and then a federal law is made saying these flavored e-cigarettes can’t be sold, then the next year the statistics show that menthol flavor, the one that the law didn’t eliminate, then that becomes most accessible and then most used,” Bohl said. “Menthol vapes sales increased because the current FDA policy is not broad enough. Changes in FDA policy can help further reduce access to the loophole products. The tobacco industry finds the loophole and then we see what students are using and it always seems to match the loophole.”

“

I can tell if they’re vaping by how their throat looks, their nutritional status declines and they’re more susceptible to respiratory infections.

-Dr. Janelle Bohl MD

”

Vaping can leave many feeling desperate for help as they struggle to find guidance with their addiction, but truly there are many outlets for those in need. “You’re not alone, there are thousands of teenagers who are trying to quit vaping. It often takes many tries to quit successfully but if you keep trying you can quit. And don’t try to quit on your own, seek out some help because if you use help it at least doubles your chances of quitting successfully and there are free and confidential supports for teens who are trying to quit vaping so use those supports,” Ling said.

1 Pack of Cigarettes

1 JUUL Pod

1 Puff Bar

=

20 Cigarettes

=

41 Cigarettes

=

50 Cigarettes

Information taken from Standford Medical Department

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Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Resources for Students

Quit- Many Anti-Vaping Campaigns like Truth promote teens to quit vaping by many methods including the trend of dropping one’s device in water. By doing this, the person will deactivate their vape and have no choice but to stop using it.

Reese Kelem/Prowler

A

s vaping continues to impact and influence many high school students, Newbury Park High School and CVUSD have been developing numerous support programs including BreakThrough Student Assistance and the Wellness Center.

The BreakThrough Student Assistance Program works directly with students who are struggling with alcohol, drug usage, social-emotional issues and vaping. Brenda Rachels, a school counselor that works with the BreakThrough Program, collaborates with students and parents to help them through their struggle. “We do interventions by meeting with the students specialized and tailored to what they’re struggling with and really giving them specific coping strategies on how they can [manage] stress and life,” Rachels said.

Similar to the BreakThrough Program, the Wellness Center is a resource on campus that not only has therapists who provide student tailored assistance in the process of overcoming addiction, but also serves as a therapeutic area for students to access during the school day.

Where to go: The Wellness Center

Page Pensivy, a Professional Clinical Counselor at the Wellness Center, works to help students with their addiction. “We focus on putting little steps into place, maybe getting them connected with a 12-step program or Breakthrough outside of school, or going through administration if that’s something they’re comfortable with,” Pensivy said.

At NPHS, students who voluntarily turn in a vape or seek for help are not faced with punishments but instead are provided with both in school and external assistance. “They’re not going to get in trouble [and] we’re not here to bust people. So if anybody’s actually reaching out to an adult here on campus, we’re going to do everything we can to get them help without having some sort of consequence,” Godfrey said.

However, if the student fails to ask for help and are caught vaping by admin, they will be subject to Saturday School the first two times, and a suspension the third time.

Brian Mercer, the director of the high schools in CVUSD, designed educational disciplines to make sure the students are properly educated on vaping. “Students will need to complete these modules and each module can consist of an educational video or a discussion,” Mercer said. “Students read and report back so they’re becoming educated about the dangers of vaping and how it affects them and their health.”

Ever since the educational modules were put into place, the amount of students who have been caught vaping for a second time has gone down significantly. However, upon reentering from a disciplinary action, students are scheduled to attend a meeting with school admin and therapists at the Wellness Center. “We provide counseling for them in hopes that there’s something that comes out of it,” Pensivy said.

Whether it be vaping or anything else that students may be struggling with, Godfrey shares a message in hopes for students to overcome the challenges of addiction. “Ask for help, whether it’s from a friend or parent. Nobody wants to be addicted to anything and it’s not a way to go through life. Just know that help is out there and if you can find a way to get a vape, you can find a way to get help too,” Godfrey said.

“

Know that help is out there and if you can find a way to get a vape, you can find a way to get help too.

-Michael Godfrey

Who to call:

”

(855) 523-1424

Hotline for Addiction Help

Visit room A3 for free counseling and help Téa Sklar/Prowler

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

17

Marc Lion touched the hearts of many Ariela Behar

M

Téa Sklar

arc Lion, beloved NPHS English teacher, was known by students, family and coworkers alike for his humor and his loving nature. He loved teaching, playing the bass, the color blue, his friends and his wife, Sandra. On Monday, April 4, Marc Lion passed away after battling cancer for two years.

Teaching Sandra Lion, Marc Lion’s wife who knew him for over 43 years, remembers her husband as being a compassionate, generous person.

“He was very loving. He was very caring. He was selfless. He was a good teacher. [He had a] really good heart and he always wanted to give back. He got a lot from students he could teach…. He took on any challenge and he conquered it,” she said.

On the subject of teaching, Sandra Lion recalls her husband’s unbridled passion for educating his students. “He just, he wanted to make sure that the light bulbs went on and he also wanted to give them the confidence and the support, you know, that they needed.

If, you know, to accomplish what they were capable of accomplishing but didn’t know it.

He just wanted to build like better, better little human beings to graduate,” Sandra Lion said.

Christine Hodson, coworker of Marc Lion and fellow English teacher at NPHS, admired his thoughtful ways of teaching. “When I was Michelle Saremi/Prowler

his department chair, I had the opportunity and pleasure to go into his classroom and observe his teaching. When you’d walk in there, it would be quiet because the students were working except for the sound, some soft jazz playing,” Hodson said.

Marc Lion was always looking for ways to help his students grow and learn. “Mr. Lion was really a conceptual teacher. He never stopped thinking about how he wanted to evolve some practice in the classroom…

He had extreme compassion for the people around him,” Hodson said.

Music Marc Lion’s passion for music was a part of him that was hard to miss, especially for Sandra Lion. “Well, we love the Motown, you know the Motown music and we love like R&B. Like, you know, just the bands that were good dancing music…Marc would be a better dancer because he knew everything about

Parker Bohl/Prowler

music. That was his passion too, his music,” Sandra Lion said.

Michelle Saremi, friend and coworker of Lion, specifically loved their musical connection. “I think most importantly the thing that we really shared was our love of music. I was more classically trained and he was kind of like self-taught. He had a love for all music but he really loved classic rock, and he exposed me to cool songs and new bands or bands that I have never heard of before,” Saremi said. “And then I would expose him to something I was working on…I really loved the romantic period of classical music…I would come in with a piece I was working on…

We loved playing for each other and we loved working on stuff together and jamming.”

John Abney, English teacher, fondly remembers when Marc Lion would bring his musical talent to the campus and make a joyful experience for his fellow staff members.

“One time we performed “Somewhere over the Rainbow” for another teacher who used to work here years ago when she retired.

Steve Johnson/With Permission

Family- Everyone found an aspect of family and belonging in him. “He’ll really be missed and and I really loved him,” Sandra Lion said. From left to right: Marc Lion celebrates his last birthday, a student collage of artwork honors Marc Lion at his funeral, and Panther colleagues gather at a retirement party.

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Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Personality Saremi always looked forward to her conversations with Marc Lion due to the liveliness he brought to a conversation. “He was always very funny, and we enjoyed roasting each other. He had an equally sarcastic humor as I…he had a lot of dirty jokes...I enjoyed sharing them with him,” Saremi said. When asked what word Saremi would attach to Lion’s overall personality, she chose the word optimism. “His optimism was contagious,” Saremi said.

Sandra Lion loved all of her husband’s qualities, but most of all, she appreicated his sense of humor. “He always would make me laugh. He would come out with things that I wouldn’t expect.

Also the ways we would finish each other’s sentences or say the same thing at the same time,” Sandra Lion said. “He was just very kind and he always made me feel loved and cared for and he was always available.”

Abney remembers the impact of Marc Lion’s presence during everyday life. “He was the type of guy that would drop everything he was doing to help you out. He always had a listening ear. He always saw things in a positive light or tried to put things in a positive light…Lion loved his job. He loved what he did,” Abney said.

Marc Lion’s students, fellow teachers and his wife all felt the extreme compassion that he had for the people around him, and they undoubtedly returned the feeling. “He always like always smiling. Always responding, always sharing, always totally engaged. And just never complaining. When he got sick, he never complained. People love to talk to him because he just was always in a good mood,” Sandra Lion said. “His favorite saying was, ‘First write it, then write it right.’ He made a lasting impact that has changed them forever. It just was easy. We always did everything. He did everything for me and I did everything for him…. It’s going to be really hard getting a new life, a different life,” she said.

Always smiling- He is remebered by his constant optimism and his glass half full type of personality. He had an especially big heart for his students. “He just really wanted to try to clue into that to give them [his students] the tools they need once they graduated. That was his goal,” Sandra Lion said. Sandra Lion/With Permission

“

His favorite saying was, ‘First write it, then write it right.’

Performance- Lion’s band performs the final song they ever wrote together, with Lion’s recorded bass in the background. It’s as if Lion performed at his own funeral, he performed one final time. Parker Bohl/Prowler

- Sandra Lion

”

Having composed a poem for the eulogy, Lucia Lemieux, fellow English teacher, reflects on her writing process. “I was asked by his wife to write a poem…and I was very happy to do it. It took me seven and a half revisions to get it right…

It’s mostly about what a good friend he was to me and how as I walk down the hallway here and walk past his room I still sometimes see him sitting there and so from that perspective is where I started the poem,” Lemieux said. “A lot of people loved him for his humor, and I did as well, but I was notoriously horrible about getting his puns and so I mentioned this in the poem; we got to a point where he would say a pun and he would start timing me until I laughed. I put that in the poem too because I was really lame at getting puns.

Lemiuex, in the poem, also comments on other aspects of her friendship with Lion, including their comforting and intellectual conversations. “We would have some very deep conversations about life and what happens later and you know, things in the world, difficult things, the challenges of teaching, the challenges of difficult students, the challenges of just the profession in general, and relationships. You name it; any kind of deep subject…we could get down to the nitty gritty really easily. I don’t think most people knew that about him; he’s incredibly smart and he read a lot,” Lemieux said.

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

19

Community honors Courtney Brousseau Abby Gorman Carter Castillo

T

eachers, family, friends and community members. All of these people and more felt the impact of Courtney Brosseau, honored during a celebration of life service on May 7, 2022.

200 people gathered in the NPHS quad to share stories about Brousseau’s endless drive, big heart and quick wit.

Brousseau was a member of the NPHS class of 2015. During high school, Brousseau was involved with many clubs, serving as Chief Justice of Miller Youth and Government and co-editor-in-chief of the Panther Prowler. Brosseau went on to study at UC Berkeley, a 2019 graduate. On May 1, 2020, Brousseau was shot in Dolores Park in San Francisco and passed away from his injuries 4 days later.

Brousseau’s mother, Rekha Garg, began the service by reflecting on what it has been like in the aftermath of her son’s passing. “The past two years have been like a nightmare, and I keep hoping that when I wake up Courtney will be there. I’m so thankful for all the support and love, for all of you who are here today and those of you who were unable to attend his celebration of life,” Rekha Garg said.

“

It was just really amazing to see how much heart he put into the work we were doing every day -Grace O’Toole

”

Countless other family members were in attendance as well, including his uncle, Sonny Garg. “What was remarkable was it didn’t matter what age you were, Courtney touched you. You may have been younger, you may have been the same age. He was consistently empathetic and caring. It’s the amazing consistency of what everybody said,” Sonny Garg said. “He understood that protecting the most marginalized people and fighting for them [was important], and he understood the power he had as an individual.”

As editor-in-chief of the Panther Prowler, Brousseau never backed down from a challenge. Grace O’Toole, Brousseau’s co-editor-in-chief, recalled the constant effort he put into every publication. “He had such great attention to detail, such an eye for designs. It was just really amazing to see how much heart he put into the work we were doing every day,” O’Toole said.

Panther Prowler adviser, Michelle Saremi, echoed this sentiment, explaining the many ways his legacy lives on in the Prowler today.

“When Courtney joined the Prowler staff his freshman year, he immediately began making an impact,” Saremi said. “He took us from print to online, which is incredible, he started social media accounts that I couldn’t even keep up with, he was too fast.

Many of Brousseau’s former teachers attended the event, including Sean Flaherty, speaking on his careful negotiation skills following a difficult quiz in the class. “Courtney came in at lunch on his own

20

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

Grads- Grace O’Toole, Michelle Saremi, and Courtney Brousseau (left to right) pose for a picture after the 2015 NPHS graduation. “Courtney taught me what it meant to be brave.

He stood for so much and he never backed down, he was so diplomatic and mature and intelligent that his level of persuasion surpassed mine by a long shot,” Saremi said.

Michelle Saremi/With Permission

time and handed me an envelope presumably from him. I soon opened it up to find a letter, typed no less, in which Courtney made a mature, reasoned, respectful request that I consider reducing how much I would weigh a quiz,” Flaherty said. “Courtney’s score on the quiz was by no means the worst in the class and he was never one to quibble about points for a higher grade. No, he made his case for the good of the entire class, and even for my own good, as someone who would, or should want to, ‘deserve to be known as a fair and right-minded person.’”

Activism was a very important aspect of Brousseau’s life. He formed the organization “Students Transforming Education” at age 16, prompting him to reach out to State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Marshall Tuck. “You don’t get an email from a 16-year-old kid every once and while saying, ‘I launched an organization, I’ve got thousands of signatures,’” Tuck said. “We saw this, and we thought okay, this kid must be coming from Oakland, or Watts, but this kid was coming from Thousand Oaks. All these policies weren’t impacting Courtney, the policies he was fighting against and the policies he was organizing tons of kids around were issues that impacted kids he didn’t know at all.”

Perhaps Brousseau and his whimsical character are best remembered by his last tweet, posted only hours before his life was taken. The tweet reads, “I just ate a delicious burrito in Dolores Park and for a brief moment everything felt okay.”

Students lead and learn with Interact Club Téa Sklar

Ariela Behar

Strike a pose!- Ria Dudhia, sophomore (left), and Nandini Patro, sophomore (right), take the stage for the memorable Bollywood number during Dance for Hope. Emerson Fuentes Alabanza/Prowler

S

Gather ‘round- Members of Interact club got together for their beach cleanup. Top row: Micheil Patterson, Brandon Janes, Lexi Hodder, Ana Chow, Jeffery Shanburn, Samantha Stone, Mayka Ahamadi, Shea Grohs. Bottom row: Sage Patel, Tiana Hoang, McKayla Salazar, Isabella Boggs, Chloe Um. Interact Club/With Permission

Students with a passion for leadership, collaboration, and being active in their community may find themselves joining NPHS’ Interact Club. The organization functions under the guidance of Rotary International, a humanitarian service association, which has nearly 15,000 clubs worldwide.

The club puts on many lively events throughout the year to promote volunteer services and fundraisers, such as Caroling for Cans, Manna Food Drives, donating Easter baskets to foster Children and the staple Annual Dance for Hope.

Brandon Janes, English teacher, is the advisor for the club. He believes that the purpose of Interact is to encourage students to be active problem solvers. “The purpose of Interact is to identify problems both in our own community and the world in general and try to find solutions and play a small part in just making the world a better place than how we found it,” Janes said. “One of the things I really enjoy about being the Interact advisor is the fact that we can take relatively small steps to make a difference in our community.”

Andrea D’Souza, senior and publicist of the club, appreciates the many skills and connections she has been able to make thanks to Interact. “[The club] allowed me to grow closer with the members in the club and my community overall. I was able to learn how to manage and plan events, as well as the impact they have on our surroundings,” D’Souza said. “It gave me an outlet to engage with my peers in order to better the public in a school setting.”

Featuring cultural dance styles, the club held its biggest event of the year, Dance for Hope, on April 29. Isabella Boggs, freshman and member of the Interact club, watched as the fundraiser for the American Cancer Society successfully came together. “The end result is really cool to see everyone’s like hard work come together, and to know how much we were helping just by doing this,” Boggs said. “I

Ta-da!- The audience cheers as Dhilan Patel, senior, shines under the spotlight.

“It’s one of our biggest events and it takes a lot of planning. We’ve been planning since the beginning of the school year,” Patel said. Emerson Fuentes Alabanza/Prowler know that the board members were working insanely hard all year.”

The club’s co-president, Sage Patel, senior, has had a strong connection to Interact since she first walked on campus, particularly through her sister. “My sister was on the board and she was in the club starting her freshman year. And so that really caught my attention towards it. But then like I went to future Panther Night and all that

“

[The club] allowed me to grow closer with the members in the club and my community overall.

-Andrea D’Souza

”

stuff you do as a freshman and club rush, and I really just liked their engagement and how vocal they were there,” Patel said.

Since joining, Patel has discovered that her favorite aspect of the club is the synergy the members have with each other. “I love hearing from not just the board members, but members in our club. We’ve always tried to engage them as much as we can and told them like if they want to implement any ideas into our club, we’re really open to it,” Patel said. “Hearing what they have to say and just honestly like building a community within our club is really helpful. That was really helpful for me, so I’ve really tried to do my best and try and do that for others.”

Interact Club gives students the opportunity to start a lifelong journey of helping their locality and gives them the chance to find interest in working with others. “With Interact, it really can be the start of a lifelong commitment that can be used to find opportunities for leadership, for growth or making changes in your community and beyond. There’s so many different routes with Interact and stay involved with it and this is just the start of the journey,” Janes said.

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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Pressure does not prevent NPHS runners from making history Dhruv Patel

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Nandini Patro

ewbury Park High School houses the fastest runners in the nation. Fans from all over the country know them for the unbelievable records they set. The stars of the running world include senior and Northern Arizona University (NAU) commit, Colin Sahlman, and juniors, Lex and Leo Young, and Aaron Sahlman.

These four are known for their incredibly fast times, but behind these exceptional runners are ordinary people with varying interests and passions.

Starting off, who would have known that the fastest highschool runner in the country enjoys watching the critically acclaimed Game of Thrones. “[I love] all the unexpected events and great characters,” Colin Sahlman said. On the other hand, the fastest twins in the country enjoy more lighthearted shows like New Girl and Modern Family. “I’ve probably seen every episode about as many times as it’d be healthy to watch and I’ve enjoyed all of it,” Leo Young said, in reference to Modern Family.

Champions - Ending their cross country season as national champions, the NPHS varsity cross country team poses for their team photo after setting a new national 5k record of 14:14. “I think at the end of day, we got to realize something that’s really special.. Just go for it. Don’t worry what anyone else thinks.” Dev Doshi said.

Even with their extensive training, these athletes still find time to exercise their hobbies. The Young twins even have their own YouTube Channel, L&L, where they talk about their hobbies and adventures. “We started our YouTube channel, I think in 2016, when we were in middle school, just as an excuse for us to use a camera because we always loved cameras, and we just wanted to get better at shooting and editing,” Lex Young said. The channel has now reached 22,000 subscribers with one of their videos reaching 150,000 views. “We have a nice situation where we’re making videos because we like to make videos and we like to use the camera,” Lex Young said. “There’s actually people who want to watch the videos and want to support the channel. So it’s pretty sick.” The Young twins are not the only ones who enjoy photography. Among Colin’s hobbies, photography is one of his favorites. “It’s a fun thing to do to get out of the house,” Colin Sahlman said.

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Giving back to their community has always been a priority for these runners. Lex and Leo Young both help out their old youth track team in Camarillo, Camarillo Cosmos. “We help run the workouts and we help motivate [the runners] and talk to them and

“

I think that honestly the best part of it is the pressure, [it’s] what basically makes us drive everyday and wake up and be like, let’s go do something.

”

support them,” Leo Young said. The twins enjoy spending time with young runners who were once just like them.

Behind the scenes, the runners’ families work to cheer and support. Colin Sahlman feels that support from his family helps him perform well on the track. “It is a great feeling to know that they have my back and will fight to help me get the best opportunities,” Colin Sahlman said. Similar to Colin’s support system, Lex and Leo both feel their family’s unconditional support for whatever they do. “They’re very supportive of what I do. And they acknowledge that I’m just trying to do me, so they support whatever I want, what I think is best for me,” Lex Young said.

Above all, the runners all value quality time with their family and friends. Family traditions and fond memories have played a crucial role within their lives. Lex and Leo Young believe nothing compares to the value of family, “We eat dinner together every single night as a family. There’s always been the importance of that, that my parents have stressed, as we’ve grown up,” Lex Young said.

Colin Sahlman spent countless afternoons racing with his dad when he was younger. “At first he used to beat me but after a while I caught up and he couldn’t catch me. I believe this helped me with some of my speed,” Colin Sahlman said.

Apart from their running and training, each of these runners lead unique lives with different hobbies and pastimes. The support they receive from their family and friends all contributes to their accomplishments today.

Love to run - Leo Young sets the three mile record at the Woodbridge invitational. “I’m usually a very tightly wound person. But as far as running, I feel like I’ve been able to transform it into mostly like, a de-stressing thing where I feel good when I run,” Young said.

Mental health support needs to help the mentally ill Emerson Fuentes-Alabanza

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ccording to my medical history, I have never had major problems with my health aside from appendicitis and the occasional flu. However, when looking closer you will see a history of mental illness. Notes from therapists and psychiatrists, hospitalizations for suicidal ideation and an attempt and admittance to a psychological facility in west Torrance. But these are hidden, internal ailments that are surrounded by stigma and negative connotations.

I have dealt with these issues for most of my life, but have only recently been able to get help. As early as eight years old, I felt a sense of impending doom and sadness. I felt alone and confused, and wondered why I felt so sad all of the time. At thirteen I found out that I had abnormally low baseline serotonin levels and started medication.

In January 2022, I was rushed to the hospital and sent to a psychiatric facility in Los Angeles after a suicide attempt. There is a big stigma around psychiatric facilities and most people do not realize that the reason many people end up there is not because they are seeing things or hurting others, but because they have hurt themselves or planned to. In my experience, the healthcare providers were more aggressive than the patients that society had labeled as “crazy.” In reality, the patients were just traumatized children who had no control over their situations, whether that was home life, genetics or both.

Days in the hospital were filled with worksheets written out in crayon and intensive group therapy. Every emotion was measured to determine when you would be able to leave.

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The whole place was run more like a prison than a center for healing, which is a testament to society’s perception of the mentally ill.

-Emerson FuentesAlabanza

”

The staff led with callousness rather than compassion and empathy, and often yelled at patients when they asked for water or going to the bathroom, which we were not allowed to do ourselves.

When I got out, as well as others I met during my stay, we reconnected and we all had the same anxieties about going back to our lives, regardless of the length of our time at the ward. The way emergency psychiatric facilities are run is not the right way to deal with mentally ill people, much less children. The reason we go about dealing with the mentally ill poorly is because we perceive it as “dealing” with an issue rather than trying to help those in need of support. By putting this issue in the context of having to “deal” with people, society lost sight of trying to help us. Instead, people focus on how they can make handling people with mental illness easier for themselves. The intention is not to help the mentally ill, but rather to give support to those who send their loved ones away.

We need to reevaluate what it means to help people with mental illness and we need to listen to each other on what will help us.

This reevaluation must be done with compassion and empathy.

We must focus on helping those in need rather than adapting for other’s comfort levels. Talk of suicide and mental illness should not be dialed down to increase comfort because the only way towards progression in situations like these is empathy.

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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NPHS Prom evolves

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Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

1978

Fifty-five years ago, Newbury Park High School was created.

Founded in 1967, NPHS has gone through major developments since that time. Seven generations of students have attended the campus we walk through almost every day. Prom, being a highlight of the high school experience for many, has served as an evolving event that has changed greatly in the past 55 years. Take a trip through NPHS dance history to compare and contrast past proms with present, and how your high school experience compares to that of your teachers and alumni.

In the year of 1978, NPHS hosted both a prom and a Senior Ball. Like present day, the Prom was open to upperclassmen whereas the ball consisted exclusively of seniors and their guests. However, the year 1978 specifically stood out because of the unique location.

The Senior Ball was held at the PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles. This was the exact location where Robert Kennedy was assassinated just ten years earlier. The location was especially intriguing to Steve Johnson, former student at NPHS who attended the 1978 dance and is now a history teacher.

Twenty years later, another NPHS alumni and teacher attended his own prom. Joseph Calaba, history and philosophy teacher at NPHS, remembers his prom fondly especially because of the unique setting. Every year, ASG finds a new and exciting place to hold the prom, and Calaba’s graduating year was not different. The prom of 1998 had a theatrical twist.

“It was unlike any other prom that we had up until that point,” Calaba said. “I got super lucky because we had a student that went here whose father was one of the vice presidents of Paramount. So through that connection, we were able to rent

1998

Reese Kelem

After school events being mostly on hiatus for two years, the NPHS prom committee was ready to bring students a dance like no other. Located at the Odyssey in Granada Hills, over 800 students attended the 2022 prom, which was filled with dancing, snacks, and even poker for all to enjoy. Desmond Perez, junior, has been helping plan prom since the beginning of the school year with 3 other students on the junior class board .

“I think the main reason that I wanted to coordinate proms and dances is because I just wanted to get involved…

I know that I had a lot of ideas for how they could be worked, and how they could be added to and like what greater things you could make prom into,” Perez said.

The Odyssey sits atop the Granada Hills and overlooks the entirety of the San Fernando Valley, so students like Carter Kawaguchi, senior, were able to catch a gorgeous glimpse of the sunset. “A couple years ago it was voted best view in LA County.

I think it lived up to the expectations of that. it was a really pretty view. I know people were dancing and stuff, I was just sitting there looking out the window for a minute,” Kawaguchi said.

Of course, many classic traditions were seen at prom, including several unique promposals made by students for their dates.

2022

Gwen Buchanan

through generations “It was obviously a tragedy, but it was fascinating for me to see that place where this thing had happened,” Johnson said. “Me being the history nerd, I wanted to see where it happened. I don’t think my date appreciated the fact that seemed to be my focus… it reflected my immaturity on one side but also my interest in something on the other side. I think that’s a pretty good reflection of who I was at that one time.”

However, NPHS stopped hosting the Senior Ball, most likely due to high costs and the dance’s similarity with Prom. “I think that maybe traditional dances where you went with dates, I think that kind of went out of style… as time went on and kids changed about how they wanted to enjoy their high school activities,” Johnson said.

When looking back, Johnson stated that the biggest change from his prom to the present day was the fashion. “I think there is less in terms of formal, and more individual style has crept into what students wear,” Johnson said. “If you were looking back in the seventies, every guy would have one of maybe three designs of tux.

Whereas now both the guys and the girls are doing great things and expressing themselves, and that’s great to see.”

Johnson estimates that he has chaperoned for 25 proms since teaching at NPHS. He encourages students to attend prom because it is an important experience. “It’s great to see everybody getting dressed up and having a great time, and it’s one of those special times when you’re with some of your friends for one of the last times,” he said.

the backdrop of Paramount for our prom, which was called New York Street. So if you’ve ever seen the second Austin Powers movie, it’s supposed to be in London, and it was actually there that our prom was.”

When looking back on his prom in comparison with the proms at NPHS today, Calaba notices that the major differences are due to an increased use in technology among students. “Mobile phones existed but almost nobody had them. So at the time, they gave us disposable cameras which was cool because everyone was taking pictures around the prom,” Calaba said.

Because of this technology, Calaba believes that it is easier for students to make plans and connect with each other. This ability

for immediate contact affects prom plans today and general communication among teens and their high school activities. “The connectivity of students today is nothing like the connectivity of students twenty years ago. Students can instantaneously reach out to each other, and record, take pictures, things like that. There’s a lot of creative freedom to make plans and those sorts of things. I actually really like it,” Calaba said.

Although Calaba has not chaperoned any proms since attending his own, he enjoyed his experience and attended this year’s prom as well. “The environment itself was really cool. Super fun, I had a great time,” Calaba said.

Sunshine Roth, senior, was happily surprised when her boyfriend, Austen Smith, senior, proposed to her during a hike in the Botanical Gardens in Thousand Oaks. “He pulled out this sign that said, ‘Will

prom committee had students nominate eight students to be in the Prom Court and two would be selected to be Prom Royalty. “This might be a little bit of an adjustment for some people. But we think that it’s really important that we make it more inclusive than it was in past years with, you know, the traditional kind of values that prom should have,” Perez said.

However, for the first time in Newbury Park history, there was a three-way tie for the Prom Royalty, and Sunshine Roth, Carter Kawaguchi and Micheal Flaherty all won. “It was really funny because I’ve known Michael since we were like four and Sunny since like sixth grade. So I was excited. All three of us got it, we were just laughing it off,” Kawaguchi said.

Although there were some minor criticisms of the prom event this year surrounding the food and music, most students said the experience was worth going to, and they had an enjoyable time.

“I think like all of us were kind of longing for those sort of senior experiences or just like high school experiences in general for all the class of 2022 because we missed out on over two years, pretty much, of our experience in high school. So I think that the prom was a really fun event,” Kawaguchi said.

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We think that it’s really important that we make it more inclusive than it was in past years.

-Desmond Perez

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you be my sunshine at prom?’ Is what it said on like a bright orange poster paper… he pulled it out and I was like, Oh my gosh,” Roth said.

Unlike the typical Prom King and Queen nomination, the 2022

First 6 pictures Joseph Calaba/With Permission Last 4 pictures Richard Bateman/With Permission

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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Candidates run for Ventura County elections Dylan Kaseno

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Katelyn Arrington

Taylor Gibson

uring the Midterm elections in June, citizens will decide who represents them in various offices. The offices that will affect Newbury Park are the Board of Ventura County Supervisors and the Sheriff ’s department. The election for the next sheriff is heating up with debates and campaigns between the incumbent, Bill Ayub, and another candidate, Jim Fryhoff. On the other hand, three people are running to be the next supervisor for Ventura County, Tim McCarthy, Claudia Bill-de la Peña, and Jeff Gorell.

Sheriff Elections In the past few years, crime has become an increasingly prevalent issue in Newbury Park. The sheriff elections will impact how crimes are dealt with, the main two candidates being incumbent Bill Ayub and Jim Fryhoff.

The sheriff ’s job is to maintain the law and the constitution of the United States of America. They are responsible for maintaining the county jail and patrolling unincorporated areas of the county.

In Ventura County, there are 10 incorporated cities, five of which have their own police department and the other five work with the sheriff to provide police services. Oxnard, Ventura, Simi Valley, Port Hueneme and Santa Paula have their own police department while Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Fillmore and Ojai do not.

The person holding the title of sheriff is largely responsible for how safe a community is.

Ayub, who did not respond to a request for comment in April, currently holds the position of sheriff and is up for reelection this year. He was elected in 2018, and has been in law enforcement since 1985. In an effort to keep Ventura County safe, Ayub is dedicated to keeping the community crime free.

“I’ve got zero tolerance for drug dealers, smash and grab thieves and gang members. We run various youth programs and keep officers in our schools to keep students and teachers safe,” Ayub says on his website.

The other candidate running Bill Ayub, an incumbent, is re-running to for Sheriff, Jim become the Sheriff of Ventura County.

Fryhoff, is a 31 Bill Ayub/With Permission

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year police veteran. One of Fryhoff ’s big focuses is on school safety. “On the heels of a lot of school shootings that we were seeing happen across the nation… we need to do something better than what we’re doing now,” Fryhoff said. Due to this concern, Fryhoff created a Threat Assessment Program, which allows students to report potential threats to the police or administrators so a shooting can be stopped Jim Fryhoff is also running to become the new before it Sheriff of Ventura County. Jim Fryhoff/With begins. “All the schools were Permission taught to create a threat assessment team, which is a school counselor, a school administrator, and then…somebody in law enforcement so that if a student, volunteer, or a parent called and said, ‘Hey, this student is posing a threat,’ then we can look into it before tragedy strikes..I’ve been teaching that to the county since 2008,” Fryhoff says.

Fryhoff also has a predominant focus on keeping the community safe by spending more of his time on the needs of the citizens than of criminals. “There are people out there that are evil doers that we need to take to jail. But there are way more people doing the right thing than not. We need to work with those people to try and find those who are causing harm and hold them accountable so that we can all be safe,” Fryhoff said.

Sheriffs Elections end on June 7, and anyone over the age of 18 is able to vote for the candidate of their choice using a mail-in ballot that was sent out in early May.

Supervisor Elections District Two is made up of Thousand Oaks and areas of Camarillo. A highly contested seat on the board of Ventura County Supervisors for District Two is now open, and three candidates are running to fill it.

Deputy Commander Jeff Gorell, former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles is a candidate for the board of County Supervisor. Gorell has many campaign objectives he hopes to fulfill. “As Supervisor, I would work to create a supportive environment for our small businesses to recover and local workers to prosper while ensuring our schools and businesses always remain open,” Gorell wrote on his website.

“All [of my] experience has given me an opportunity to exhibit some leadership in very significant ways. Leadership in a combat zone, leadership as a lawmaker and legislator and leadership as an attorney and a prosecutor,” Gorell said.

Tim McCarthy, a local security business owner, is another candidate running for the board. McCarthy developed ideas he hopes to implement if elected. .“ The more I researched, listened to speakers, read assembly bills and new laws, and talked to other people, I realized that our government leaders were failing us. Now that I am aware of how the government is trying take over all aspects of our life, I have had enough and decided to put my education, experience, love for America and people, and tenacity into action… to run for the Ventura Board of Supervisors,” McCarthy wrote on his website.

“The US Constitution dictates how people live, not the government. People can make their own decisions related to health and risks. Government should be small, allowing citizens to make their own futures without interference,” McCarthy said.

Claudia Bill-de la Peña, a city council member for Thousand Oaks, is running for a seat on the board of county supervisors after 20 years on the Thousand Oaks City Council, during which Bill-de la Peña has served as mayor four times. If elected to the board, Bill-de la Peña hopes to follow through with many goals. “We must face the challenges of homelessness, mental health services, climate change and increased fire risk… My fearless stewardship on the Council will no doubt benefit the Board of Supervisors. I pledge to continue with my commitment to fairness, independence and honesty,” Bill-de la Peña wrote on her website.

“I’m a consensus builder…I am pragmatic and I just fight for the people. I have always fought for the people, the taxpayers, the small businesses, that is what I will continue to do,” Bill-de la Peña said.

June 7, the day of the midterms, is the time to make an informed decision. Voters can locate a nearby ballot and cast their vote for the election.

Candidate- Jeff Gorell wants the election to be in his favor. “I think that my priorities are consistent with the voters’ priorities, and they are to prioritize public safety,” Gorell said. “Keeping our communities safe must be our County’s top priority. As a former Criminal Prosecutor, I am dedicated to maintaining Ventura County’s high level of Law Enforcement and Fire protection service,” Gorell said. Courtesy of Jeffgorell.org

Elections- Tim McCarthy describes his determination to win the election. “I have the desire, passion, resolve, support and knowledge to be successful,” McCarthy said. “The current elected officials ignore the ‘people’ and the US Constitution, McCarthy wrote on his website. Tim McCarthy/With Permission

Vote- Claudia Bill-de la Peña hopes to earn your vote in the upcoming election. “I have always fought for the people, the taxpayers, the small businesses, that is what I will continue to do,” Bill-de la Peña said. Claudia Bill-de la Peña/ With Permission

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Chiefs’ political commentary Abby Gorman

Carter Castillo

Stop the cycle of gun violence

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n May 24, 2022, 21 people were killed by the hands of a gunman in Uvalde, Texas. This tragedy is not the first of its kind, and neither is this article. We have all been through this before, a tragedy caused by gun violence, coverage in the media and then people forget and move on, all while nothing substantial changes, and so the cycle continues. The U.S. is the only developed nation that has this problem, and yet we are still supposed to believe the bewildered politicians who claim this is just another random chance tragedy. The bottom line is that nothing will be done if basic regulations on gun ownership are implemented, and none of that will be possible if we as a society continue to let all of the lives lost go forgotten.

Coach of the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr, surmised the frustration at inaction after the shooting in Uvalde at a press conference that afternoon. “I’m tired. I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I am so tired of the excuse, I am sorry, I am tired of the moments of silence.

Enough.” The reality is that the news has become inundated with coverage of massacre after massacre. What is frightening is the fact that constant exposure to these tragedies without any justice can lead to desensitization. Yet we can not let ourselves be numbed by all of the horrible violence, but instead we must remain committed to combating domestic violence.

It is shameful that we continue to have politicians that profit off of donations from gun lobbyists like the National Rifle Association (NRA). Ultimately, the responsibility to make change and prevent change lies with the alt-right that is so adamant to even the most basic form of gun control.

Parker Bohl/Prowler

Local politicians set dangerous precedent

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ur city has been plummeting with disinformation intended to split our community at the seams. We have recently seen politicians benefit from this divisiveness and further perpetuate the cycle. As we have mentioned in our letter from the editors, we hold truth and integrity in very high regard at the Panther Prowler, and the fact of the matter is that we have not seen a good-faith effort by certain prospective politicians to uphold those values. Local politicians hold the responsibility to dedicate their service to better their community.

Perhaps the first to come to mind in terms of controversial local politicians would be a former city council member and Godspeak Chapel pastor Rob McCoy. McCoy resigned from the Thousand Oaks City Council in April 2020 due to frustrations with church services being categorized as “non-essential,” and thus an inability to comply with restrictions on indoor gatherings.

Therein lies one of the more problematic elements of McCoy’s political presence. As a vocal head of a church, McCoy must devote special attention to maintaining a separation between church and state. However, McCoy’s resignation in favor of his church proves that he is unable to maintain a secular leadership position and serve the best interests of all.

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McCoy recently announced his intent to run for the city council seat he voluntarily resigned from. In the past few years, McCoy has disregarded the needs of his hometown and turned towards attracting brief glimpses of the limelight through his affiliation with various national right-wing groups like Turning Point USA. In 2019, he went to Virginia to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

It is evident where McCoy’s true ambitions and desires lie– his own brand and attempts to garner national attention, not within the Conejo Valley. The organizations he very loudly supports perpetuate hatred and far-right extremism. But, even beyond that, they are all far removed from the Conejo Valley, reiterating the fact that his intentions on the city council do not reflect the needs of the community.

It seems that each year there is more defined division in our community down partisan lines, and this election cycle only further emphasizes this point. Prospective politicians and leaders are taking advantage of these differences by appealing to specific ideological groups. Elected officials are responsible for advocating for what will benefit all members of the community, regardless of political affiliation.

Musicians express their passions through Tri-M Josie Bayer

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Allison Nguyen

ocated in a small room on NPHS campus, musicians part of the Tri-M [Modern Music Masters] Music Honor Society gather together every two weeks to explore music in different ways, perform in various small groups and brainstorm ideas on how they can showcase different musical abilities. The program is a part of the National Association for Music Education which provides opportunities for students to express their gifts and passion for music in the community and to be recognized for their achievements.

David Kwon, junior, will be continuing as the Tri-M performance coordinator for his senior year. Despite only being in the program for a year, Kwon found a new family within the program. “I’ve had a great welcoming experience in Tri-M, being surrounded by a group of people who share the same passion for music as me. I enjoy being able to talk about certain pieces of music at a high level with my peers and being able to coordinate and perform those pieces in various ensemble groups,” Kwon said.

For those who do not know about the program, Tri-M may just seem like an average National Honor Society group; however, there is much more to it. “Tri-M is set apart from other national honor societies because its members are able to demonstrate proficiency in academics and music, whereas most other honor societies primarily prioritize academic excellence only,” Kwon said. “Properly inducted members of Tri-M are recognized for their diligence and dedication in multiple fields.”

Tri-M offers a number of different performance opportunities, from entertaining shoppers at the Oaks Mall to performing at the Stagecoach museum. In March, the program was able to host their first ever in-person concert in the PAC, the Student Musician Showcase. Rachel Lee, sophomore, was one of the musicians that got the opportunity to arrange and perform her own song at this concert. “We spent a lot of time choosing songs and getting a list of

Harmonize!- Although numbers were smaller in the past, Tri-M has grown in members and hopes to expand their goals towards more musicians in the future. “We pretty much quadrupled the number of students we’re getting inducted this year. We have also really grown in terms of our precense in not just strings, but band and choir,” Huang said. Cameron Winick/PantherProwler

Orchestrate! Student conducter leading fellow Tri-M members through a beautiful piece. “I think my favorite part about Tri-M this year was arranging the song Isabella’s Lullaby and performing it at the student musician showcase” Lee said. Tina Huang/Submission

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Music is able to convey messages and stories untransferable by any other means of expression.

-David Kwon

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people who were going to perform and which songs they were going to do and with who,” Lee said. “Then, we had to make a list of tasks for people at the concert, like ticket sales and passing out flyers, or setting up chairs and stands, and then each group performing had to rehearse on their own time and send in videos of their progress once in a while to Mrs Huang.”

Tina Huang is a music teacher on campus and the head of NPHS Tri-M. Huang sees Tri-M as a way to integrate students further into the music community of the school across programs. “We’d love to draw from just other talented student musicians from outside of the music ensembles, any potential student composers, and we’d also like to try to foster more collaborative pieces,” Huang said.

Although this school year is coming close to an end, Tri-M still has a lot to show off. With creative ideas and a newly selected board for the next school year, the musicians are excited for what the future will bring. “I am excited to continue to work with Mrs. Huang and other musicians to further expand our range of service to the community with our music,” Kwon said. “I truly believe that music is able to convey messages and stories untransferable by any other means of expression.”

“I am excited to continue to work with Mrs. Huang and other musicians to further expand our range of service to the community with our music,” Kwon said. “ I truly believe that music is able to convey messages and stories untransferable by any other means of expression.”

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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Get to know the humans of NPHS

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Anna Johnson

Cassandra Chavarria

Karyss Amato

he campus here at NPHS is saturated with tons of diverse identities and cultures. Although many different people make up the student body, with so many people walking from class to class, it can be a difficult task to assign a name and identity to all the faces passing by. Read on to get to know some of your peers at NPHS.

Q. What has been your favorite class to take?

A. I have two. Biology with Mr. Erikson was one of them

because my best friends were in that class with me. Mr. Erikson made the class very engaging and I always looked forward to going. The other was 10th grade English with Mr. Lion. Although I only had him for a brief period, he made me feel seen, and like everyone’s thoughts mattered.

Monica Reverente, senior

Q. What is the most valuable life lesson you have learned

thus far?

A. The most valuable life lesson I have learned so far is that being nice is so so important. I’m passionate about staying positive no matter what, because it makes every situation better.

Gabi Prusinski, sophomore

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Q. What motivates you to work hard?

A. What motivates me to work hard is the thought of

what I am working for. I feel as though I become the most motivated when setting goals, for I feel that completing a goal is an accomplishment and makes the journey more exciting.

Mika Silander, sophomore Q. What is something you wish someone would've told you before you started freshman year?

A. You're going to go through a lot of growth. I mean, you

can't really tell someone this, but it's important to accept that your friend group will change and your relationships will change and and to constantly be open to those new connections. That would've been nice because that was a shock having the dynamic shift and everyone kind of finding their own thing that they want to do.

Sophia Di Stefano, junior Q. What’s the best lesson you’ve learned from your

time at NPHS?

A. Time doesn’t slow down, so it’s best not to

take what we have for granted. During freshman orientation I should have listened better when the student volunteers said that these next four years will fly by.

Catherine Gennette, senior Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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805 Resistance creates change in the Conejo Valley Adalia Luo

A

Sarena Kabir

Melina Wagner

bove a large “Join Us” button, the homepage of 805 Resistance (https://805resistance.org/), a local Black-led and womenled grassroots advocacy organization, reads, “There is no growth without resistance.” Founded in 2020, this local activist collaborative has become a household name in the 805 as a pillar for meaningful advocacy focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. The voices and work of the members echo in city council legislation, school board meetings, Juneteenth celebrations, protests and every space where meaningful improvements must occur. Dedicated to being the voice of the voiceless, the members of 805 Resistance are steadfast in changing our community for the better.

Origins

she has done. “It’s really making [advocacy] a part of your daily life…trying to make it more of a daily practice of keeping in mind how [our ingrained beliefs] work against certain groups and exclude certain groups, and how they really do benefit other folks like myself as a White person,” Sullivan explained.

Ríccí Bester Adams is 805 Resistance’s social media volunteer. “I grew up around politics…I’m not a stranger to it,” Adams explained, “but I wanted to find my voice.” As a single mother and student, Adams found that being a part of 805 Resistance allowed her to manageably prioritize advocacy alongside her family, schoolwork, business and other responsibilities. “I’m there to help out the cause as best as I can… and I try to give as much as I can with what I know,” Adams said.

Created as a collaborative, Aaron sought to ensure the volunteer

“

Activist- La Shaun Aaron, the founder of 805 Resistance, created the organization two years ago in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

805 Resistance/With Permission

La Shaun Aaron, the founder of 805 Resistance and a single, working mother and USC student, knew that she wanted to get more involved in the politics of our area. In 2019, the organization was an idea in Aaron’s mind, and after George Floyd was murdered in 2020, Aaron worked to realize that idea. “[My co-founder and I] got together and decided that we wanted to do something that produced action items,” Aaron explained. “[805 Resistance] is it. This is what we do.”

After posting a couple of flyers at a protest, registering a Facebook account and having a few passionate conversations with like-minded friends, 805 Resistance was born, Aaron at the forefront. As the organization has grown, a diversity of members have joined in the effort.

Stephanie Sullivan, 805 Resistance’s administrator, began volunteering during a Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) arts showcase in 2021. As one of the few non-BIPOC in then organization, Sullivan reflects on the learning and unlearning

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Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

It’s really making [advocacy] a part of your daily life…trying to make it more of a daily practice of keeping in mind how [our ingrained beliefs] work against certain groups and exclude certain groups, and how they really do benefit other folks like myself as a White person.

-Stephanie Sullivan

”

organization’s ability to represent marginalized voices. Currently, every member is a working mother, and many, like Aaron and Adams, are also college students, business owners or both. “Along with our personal lives and busy schedules we make the time for advocacy and community organizing,” Aaron explained. “This is why we continuously encourage people to get involved no matter what they have going on. It is possible to facilitate change when we all share the workload.”

805 Resistance is committed to maintaining this structure of shared responsibility. “We might have different ideas of how to achieve the same thing,” Sullivan said. “What’s really wonderful is we can come together and discuss those things, and figure out what path we want to take.”

Today, 805 Resistance stands proudly for their original goals. “We are anti-capitalism, anti-racist, and about community organizing and advocacy as well as education, “ Aaron emphasized. “We [want] to have tangible, tangible work being done.”

Advocacy Work

Play- A group of children play tug of war outside at a community event led by 805 Resistance. 805 Resistance/With Permission

With 805 Resistance making its mark in the community, new events arose in the community, celebrating what they stand for. In 2021, 805 Resistance hosted the first ever Juneteenth event that has ever occurred in the Conejo Valley. “It was great, but I had mixed feelings. It’s always nice to be the first but it’s also kind of sad, you know, there are all these other groups and it has never had never been done,” Aaron said. “We got a great response from the community. A lot of people emailed and sent us messages about how meaningful [ Juneteenth] was, and how they were just so happy that we did that in our community.”

805 Resistance also has made an impact within CVUSD, bringing

forth an anti-hate resolution that has been implemented within the schools. “The one for the district is still watered down the same way we had to do with the city. But I think it has a couple of things that are a little bit more specific in terms of anti racism,” Aaron said.

Aaron also strives to educate students and people about what racism is and how it impacts the community. “Lots of people don’t understand White supremacy and what it is. They think it’s [about] burning flags on someone’s doorstep, and that is a piece of it, but I think one of the biggest ways we’ve been impactful is through the educational process is through having those difficult conversations and educating people,” Aaron said.

Currently, 805 Resistance has been working on a project within the school district as well. “We’re working on a proposal for…removing [School Resource Officers (SROs)] from schools because we really do believe that students deserve more care as opposed to punitive measures. Regardless of how great a SRO is, the system itself is designed to be punitive,” Sullivan said.

As a whole, the organization is trying to gear their attention to not only the major outward acts of racism, but also more of the minuscule things, especially within the systems in our community. “We are also concerned with the more subtle ways that racism and white supremacy is ingrained in our systems and the way that we carry ourselves,” Sullivan said.

In addition to these systems, a major goal of 805 Resistance is to incorporate more people of color. “Having more black and people of color and different ethnic groups, within governments, so they have a voice too. So I know, those are two key components that, you know, five is definitely behind, and such and just, you know, just having more cultural cultures represented within the community,” Adams said.

Getting Involved 805 Resistance’s future includes advocating and influencing people beyond Thousand Oaks. “One of the things that we have been talking about is to branch out. And when I say branch out I mean beyond Ventura County,” Aaron said. Currently, members of 805 Resistance are planning on expanding further into California, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Aaron is also focusing on working behind the scenes to collaborate with other like-minded organizations and more community based projects, especially surrounding the educational aspect. “To continue to grow as far as you know, doing more community based projects. We have a couple of workshops already put together,” Aaron said.

Sullivan explains what the future of 805 Resistance looks like to her. “Just to be in solidarity with the other folks in 805 Resistance and to work towards those goals. And, you know, we sometimes have, Jump!- Kids at a community event hosted by 805 Resistance play with bubbles it’s great, because we can all share different ways of discussing those in a park. 805 Resistance/With Permission things,” Sullivan explained. “And we might have different ideas of how to achieve the same thing. And that’s what’s really wonderful is we can ourselves and trying to make it more of a daily practice,” Sullivan said. come together and discuss those things, and figure out what path we 805 Resistance is about supporting several marginalized groups want to take”. that’s actively shown through the organization’s volunteers and staff.

As more community projects happen in Thousand Oaks, members .

“I really strongly feel there’s a space for everyone. You don’t have to of 805 Resistance encourage students and peers to get involved. “It’s be well versed in anti-racism. You have to have the desire to want to do really making it a part of your daily life. It’s realizing how the things that something about it,” Aaron said. we are trying to change have impacted our beliefs, our, the way we carry

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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Special Olympics fosters inclusivity on the field Tiana Hoang

O

Ava Prapaniku

n a cool Saturday morning, the cheers of students, parents and staff alike roared from the football field. Taking a closer look, students are seen getting their faces painted and running across the field with their buddies. On May 14, the annual Special Olympics took place, organized by the NPHS National Honors Society (NHS). The event strives to promote inclusion through numerous athletic activities that both children and adults with disabilities take part in, from relays to the long jump to softball throws.

“

By having students growing with individuals with disabilities, when you guys go into the world and you’re in the government, you’re at a business, you’re thinking, ‘How can we include others?

-Anne Alvarez

”

After attending Special Olympics at another school nine years ago, Anne Alvarez, NHS advisor and Learning Essentials Academic Program (LEAP) teacher, decided to bring the event into NPHS several years ago. Now, the event includes students from school districts all over Ventura County. “Special Olympics is an opportunity for [students with disabilities] to show off their talents in a different way than everyone is used to. This gives them the opportunity to compete in a meet and feel good about themselves, and everybody in the meet gets medals no matter where you place,” Alvarez said.

Unite- Crowds gather on the football field as students participate in a variety of activities. “My favorite part is the day of, just seeing everyone enjoying themselves, having fun, competing in friendly sports, and showing off their medals,” Stapler said. Hayden Meixner/Prowler Students took on the great task of organizing Special Olympics this year, including Edyn Stepler, senior and NHS member. “It’s a great opportunity to hangout with families from around our county, getting to know people and their stories, and it’s just a great way to help out the school and our community,” Edyn Stepler, junior and volunteer, said.

Preparation- Students begin setting up booths, events, and fun activities for the day ahead. “The thing that excites me the most is coming out here at six in the morning and seeing hundreds of high school kids out there setting it up and getting excited,” Alvarez said. Hayden Meixner/Prowler Special Olympics involves a number of roles and the intermixing of these demographics is what truly fosters awareness and inclusion. “Being Race- Sara Mansourian, sophomore prepares with Leo Hutson a mom of a 23-year-old with a disability, I live this life; I’m on both before his big running event. “I just like seeing everybody win. sides of the dichotomy,” Stewart said. “By having students growing with Everybody wins, it might not be first place, but they’re happy and individuals with disabilities, when you guys go into the world and you’re in the government, you’re at a business, you’re thinking, ‘How can we they’re winning,” Stewart said. Hayden Meixner/Prowler include others?’”

Sammi Stewart, adapted physical education teacher and With another successful Special Olympics coming to a close, Alvarez Special Olympics co-organizer, has been volunteering for appreciates all the community members who lent hands to make the Special Olympics since she was nine. “I like the inclusion aspect day as spectacular as possible. “I love seeing all the activity, all the of all the athletes getting partnered up with a buddy,” Stewart involvement, and that I didn’t have to be there telling everybody what to said. “My favorite stuff is seeing the families be able to see their do,” Alvarez said. “And then to hear the comments from the parents, how students dominate the track, seeing what their kids really can excited they are to see their kids and cheering them on when they get do and then the volunteers making connections with each other their award–that’s special, really special.” or the buddies.”

Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022

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