1
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Spring is in the air! For CCA students, summer is just around the corner. But tests still need to be studied for, AP exams are right on the horizon, and seniors are making their final college decisions. The year 2020 has been a roller coaster of a year, and we here at Pulse are determined to highlight it. With the spring semester comes a new team of writers for Pulse, who bring new ideas, perspectives, and intellect to the newsroom. Read about trends in pop culture with Frances Chai’s piece The Roaring 20s or Sofia’s article about the recent changes in what it means to go “viral.” Cole Colleran covers both scandal and sports in his piece Playing Dirty--a story that will entice you regardless of whether or not you follow Major League Baseball. Ella T. Lifset continues her pursuit in educating people about American politics with her Election FAQ. Continuing with the trend of current issues, Lena Chen and Jasmine Elasaad cover pandemic scares throughout history in Panic, which takes into account the recent outbreak of coronavirus. Carson McCloskey focuses on climate change and what we can do to mitigate its effects, while Peter Hong highlights five well-known businesses that have filed for bankruptcy. Check them out on page 23 and 28. The current articles featured in this issue may seem distressing, but fear not. A team of four of our writers has found humor out of the many quirks of CCA, exhibited in The Garlic, a parody of a certain satirical news publication. In CCA Unpacked, Ellyse Givens investigates arguably the most pressing debate of this campus: backpacks vs. purses. Our cover art, drawn by the talented Angela Zhang, highlights the beautiful tranquility of the spring season. In addition, art done by Isabella Kwon is featured in Bella Hirst’s piece, One Size Fits Small. Our growing team of editors, writers, and layout designers here at Pulse have been hard at work to reflect CCA’s diverse, unique, and ambitious character. With great excitement, we here at Pulse Magazine are honored to present Pulse, Volume 15, Issue 3. Sincerely,
Emily Gao and Justin Wang
2
The Roaring 20s - Frances Chai
4-5
Playing Dirty - Cole Colleran
6
Virality - Sofia Fischel
7
CCA Unpacked - Ellyse Givens
8
The New Drug - Ryan Bridges
9
Panic - Lena Chen & Jasmine Elasaad
10-11
!nk - Kate Bennett & Iris Kim
12-13
Superficial - Liam Rosenberg
14-15
CCA Garlic - Assorted Authors
16-17
Depression Memes - Hannah Quini
18-19
Election FAQ - Ella T. Lifset
20-21
One Size Fits Small - Bella Hirst
22
Climate Change - Carson McCloskey
23
Join the Club! - Carolyn Cui and Sofia Fischel
24-25
Not So Standard - Elliot Frueh
26-27
5 Companies That Have Vanished - Peter Hong
28 3
one full century apart in time
THE
ROARIN
It is 2020. When looking upon the new decade, one can’t help but wonder: what will the new twenties b years. The first iPad came out on the market, we fought over the colors of a dress, same-sex marriage w years ago, a new decade was dawning in the US. What stayed t
Smells Like Teen Spirit 1920s
Although the term “teenager” did not come into use until decades later, the teenage spirit was present during the 1920s. In earlier times, the bridge between childhood and adulthood was defined by young men abandoning boyhood games for the workforce and young women leaving home after getting married. But society no longer dictated the marriage of sixteen-year-olds, and the government began to pass national child labor standards. States also solidified schooling laws, resulting in increased school attendance. One-room schoolhouses were replaced by consolidated schools as the invention of cars and
2020s Being a teen in 2020 means going 50 mph in the parking lot to avoid being tardy after a trip to Raising Cane’s, spending time perfecting that TikTok dance (or rolling your eyes at those who do), or piling on the AP classes so some random person at some college will find you worthy. Social media is making it easier to share our lives and connect with others. We worry about the smallest things--whether or not our outfit looks flattering, or if that unsolicited Instagram like from that cute boy in math class
4
buses allowed students to travel further for their education. Functions such as school dances and extracurricular activities added to the new social scene. Parent-supervised courtship morphed into dating and privacy. Adults were less than pleased: jazz music was too “vulgar” and the new automobiles were just “bedrooms on wheels.” Unfortunately for them, once teens got a taste of freedom, they weren’t going to give it up. means anything. There’s a lot of pressure from our classmates, our parents, and the world around us. Being a teen in 2020 means having a lot to contend with. The environment is dying, children are being shot in schools, people are ostracized for their sexuality, and, sometimes, it seems like we are the only people who care. We rally behind Greta Thunberg while our president calls her a teenager with an anger management problem. We march for our lives while leaders funded by the NRA send “thoughts and prayers” after every tragedy. We attempt to fix the world while trying to find our place in it.
The Crac 1920s
In the early 1800s, the United States underwent a religious revival. During this time, Perfectionist Movements, including temperance, were all the rage. It was during the 1920s, however, when the issue of prohibition really picked up. Women supported the movement because they considered alcohol dangerous to their marriages and family life, while factory owners supported the ban to increase
2020s
There’s a new crackdown; this time, for a different audience. In the past few years, the vaping epidemic has swept through America, affecting people as young as middle schoolers. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned most fruit and mint flavored nicotine products, that hasn’t stopped teens from getting their fix. While the product was originally marketed as a tool for smokers to wean themselves off their addiction, it has entrapped an entirely new
e... a side by side comparison
NG 2 0s
Frances Chai
be remembered for? There is so much uncertainty. On the other hand, it’s easy to look back at the last ten was legalized, and the #MeToo movement took off. But what if we turn back the clock even further? 100 the same? What changed? What are the 1920s remembered for?
ckdown
Science Fiction to Fact 1 92 0s
efficiency and decrease accidents. The 18th Amendment, banning the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors was ratified on January 16, 1919, and officially put in effect a year later; however, despite the formal legislation, prohibition was difficult to enforce. The law inspired illegal manufacturing and selling through speakeasies, smuggling across state lines, and even DIY production. The discriminatory attitude of Prohibition cracked down on immigrants, blacks, and the working class while the wealthy often got away with alcohol consumption.
audience. According to a survey conducted by The Truth Initiative, 47% of Juul users vape because their friends do it, 25% use them because they “do less harm than other forms of tobacco”, 29% of users do it for the variety of flavors, and 21% are just chasing the buzz. Whatever the reason, there’s no denying that it must be stopped. As of October 22, 2019, there have been 34 Juul related deaths and 1,604 cases related to lung injury.
In the 1920s, the United States enjoyed an era of economic prosperity. Consumer culture took off thanks to mass production, improved advertisements, and the invention of new products. With more money to spend and more leisure time to spend enjoying the latest items, American culture became highlighted with buying and selling. Products were publicized through radios or marketed in mailorder catalogs. Radios also served as a source for entertainment. Families would gather around to listen to everything from sports broadcasts to the news, sermons, and even
2 02 0s
We’ve got the whole world in our pockets. With a few taps, we can read about the latest news from the other side of the world. Autopilot car features allow us to kick back and relax while still getting to everywhere we need to go. Virtual reality makes everything possible, from visiting the pyramids of Egypt during AP Art History to reuniting with deceased family members. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu let us binge-watch all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds without having to watch that Geico ad in between cliff hangers.
concerts. Henry Ford’s automobile and assembly line paved the way for cars to come into the mainstream. Engines were more powerful, interiors were more comfortable, and transportation was made faster and easier. The film industry blossomed, too. The silent movie experience was soon enhanced with the introduction of Technicolor, and America soon had a new class of Alist celebrities.
We’ve never been more connected to one another, yet face to face communication is declining. Our default is to post cryptic messages on our finstas, keep up our Snapchat streaks, and update our Facebook statuses. We can talk for hours behind a screen, but we clam up and look down at our phones during family dinners. A lot has stayed the same. Even more has changed. It’s only been three months and we’ve already given the 2020s a lot to be remembered for.
5
Cole Colleran If you don’t know anything about baseball, it’s still likely you’ve heard of the Houston Astros and their recent cheating scandal, which was first reported in 2017. Using an illegal camera behind the centerfield wall, the Astros relayed the type of pitch that was going to be thrown, also known as the catcher’s signs, to the players by banging a trash can with a secret code--one that was relatively easy to decipher. Banging signaled an offspeed pitch while no banging suggested a fastball was coming. This was information that gave the Astros a tremendous advantage. For those unfamiliar with baseball, stealing catchers’ signs without the use of technology is legal. However, when a camera or other electronic devices are used, it becomes a serious issue. This immoral sign-stealing took place over the span of multiple games. In several of those games, the banging occurred between forty and fifty times. Although there were not many rival players who seemed to notice the banging, it doesn’t mean their actions went completely undetected. Danny Farqual, a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, stated: “There was a banging, almost like a bat hitting the bat rack, every time a changeup signal got put down.” While there were other accounts of Houston Astros
6
interference during the year, there was never an official investigation. In 2017, the Astros went on to win the World Series. Suspicions started arising when people noticed that the statistics of their players differentiated substantially from postseason home games to away games. Their second baseman, Jose Altuve, achieved a batting average of .472 at home and .143 at away games. Carlos Correa, the Astros shortstop, hit .371 at home and .211 on the road. Finally, Brian McCann, their catcher, hit .300 at home and .037 at away ballparks. While it is usual for trends to occur for some players depending on the stadium, these numbers were outrageous. It wasn’t until a few months ago that something was done about the situation. Major League Baseball (MLB) conducted an official investigation and found that there was an illegal computer under the dugout. The computer was wired to the center-field camera and, during games, was monitored by an employee. The signs were then relayed to the players via banging. There were also reports that the players may have been wearing buzzers under their jerseys that would alert them to the kind of pitch that was coming. Though it took two and a half years, action has been taken by MLB. The Astros manager, A.J.
Hinch, was suspended for one year. Additionally, the organization was fined five million dollars, and they lost their first and second-round draft picks for the 2020 and 2021 season. Many have argued that the punishment wasn’t enough. They won the World Series in 2017, and many players and fans of opposing teams advocate that the title should be stripped. Almost immediately after the punishment was released, the owner of the Astros, Jim Crane, fired his general manager and manager, Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch, respectively. Moreover, the Boston Red Sox, who won the World Series in 2018, fired their manager Alex Cora. Cora was a bench coach for the Astros in 2017, and it has been speculated that he was the initial mastermind behind the scandal. This caused spectators to also question the validity of the Red Sox’s victory in 2018. The MLB season has just begun, and it will be interesting to watch how fans and other teams treat the Houston Astros. Additionally, the organization will be forced to make changes to ensure a cheating scandal like this will not happen again. Hopefully, new regulations won’t take away from the beauty of the game.
RYAN BRIDGES Why are are social media apps so Why addicting? While this should be an addicting? While easy question question to answer, addiction is easy hard for for people, people, especially for kids. hard It’s difficult for many to accept that It’s difficult for they have have an an addiction. addiction. As a result, they social media media addiction addiction can be easy social for one one to to ignore. ignore. Over time, our for society has has cracked cracked down on society recreational drugs drugs because they have recreational clear impact impact on the victim’s lives. aa clear In the the case case of of social media, it’s hard In to pull pull back back on on what has become a to crucial part part of of a teenager's life. Let’s crucial examine the the bigger bigger picture. examine The overuse overuse of social media The sites is is known known as a behavioral sites addiction. In In theory, theory, recognizing addiction. behavioral addiction addiction is much more behavioral difficult than than substance substance addiction difficult even though they even though they have similar effects. According According to the Addiction effects. Center, “Studies “Studies have shown that Center, These sites sites have have affected the brain’s These reward area to trigger the same kind reward area to of chemical chemical reaction reaction as other drugs, of such as as cocaine.” cocaine.” Not only is the such addiction similar similar to drug use, but the addiction ability for person to recognize they ability for aa person have aa problem problem is is troubling. troubling. have However, the burden is is not not all all However, the burden on the person behind the screen. All on the person behind the screen. All social media media apps apps have have algorithms algorithms social in place that keep the user “trapped” in place that keep the user “trapped” in the app. These algorithms in the app. These algorithms interpret what what the the user user has has watched watched interpret in the past to see what they may in the past to see what they may want in the future. These algorithms want in the future. These algorithms have become become so so sophisticated sophisticated they they have can easily easily hook hook users users for for hours hours on on can end if they are not careful. end if they are not careful.
Clearly, there is a massive problem with people being addicted to social media. But there are also several negative effects that social media can have on you when you’re not even actively using the platform. An article by The Independent reported that the University of Copenhagen conducted a study on people who struggle with so-called ‘Facebook Envy’. The article says, “... those who abstained from using the popular site reporting that they felt more satisfied with their lives.” The ways in which social media can be harmful are numerous. Many of the platforms make you believe that you are sharing wonderful moments in your life. Unfortunately, many people use these sites to compare their lives with others. Their feelings of selfworth are tied up in what they perceive their friends are experiencing. Many of these platforms are geared to make you think that you are capturing a moment in time when in reality, you are missing the very thing you thought you you were were getting getting through through aa thought photo or video: the experience. photo or video: the experience. Another result result of of social social media media Another addiction is is that that we we may may become become addiction jealous of our friends. Peer pressure jealous of our friends. Peer pressure applies to almost any addiction but applies to almost any addiction but is most most prevalent prevalent with with social social itit is media because almost everyone has media because almost everyone has a smartphone. People have a need to a smartphone. People have a need to post their concert-going experiences post their concert-going experiences on their their smartphones smartphones so so that that they they on can post their evening activities. can post their evening activities.
Instead of seeing everyone’s hands in the air, all you see is a sea of phone flashlights. If one person starts recording, everyone else needs that video too. The irony is that most people don't take these videos or photos to look back at the moments they experienced with their friends. They take these videos and photos to post on social media to impress their friends--and everyone else they’ve ever known. While social media can be used in negative ways, it can be used for lots of good too. It is an easy, foolproof way to connect with people that you don't see in person much. Now that we understand social media and the impact it has, how can we manage it? We have to start implementing new habits as a society. Our first instinct whenever our brain says, “I’m tired” or “I’m bored,” is to grab the nearest device. There is so much to our lives beyond the three-by-five inch screen that we carry in our pockets. And if you you make make that that first first step step today, today, that that could influence whether the person could influence whether the person next next to to you you picks picks up up their their phone phone or or not. not. It It all all circles circles back back to to my my original point about being original point about being honest honest with with yourself. yourself. Ask Ask yourself yourself this: this: Does social media hold you Does social media hold you back back from from doing doing your your best best work work and and fulfilling fulfilling your your potential? potential? If If your your answer answer is is yes, yes, then then you you may may be be addicted. addicted.
77
I have several ongoing problems in my life. I never know what to wear in the morning. Distractions lure me away from my AP Calculus homework a bit too easily and a bit too frequently. Running makes my knees hurt, a lot, but I keep doing it. I drink coffee after school and then wonder why I can’t fall asleep. I procrastinate with my journalism articles. I’m geographically challenged and find myself uneasy when driving somewhere without the guidance of my trusty iPhone GPS. But one problem that seems to always be the cause of me rushing out the door at 7:02 AM instead of the desired 7:00 is the arduous process that is packing my bag for school in the morning. You see, I use a small, mini backpack and carry my binder and notebooks-similar to
many, many other girls at CCA. And you don’t know how hard it is to fit food, pens, and mere everyday necessities in that thing sometimes. I find myself wishing I had the bag Hermione had in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: small, purple, cute, yet its capacity magically, and invisibly, limitless. Maybe if I can snag one of those, I could actually achieve my dream to become Hermione Granger. Maybe the rolling backpack that served as my daily companion each day in first grade needs to make a triumphant return. But despite how much I
8
complain about the size of my backpack and dream about the desirable aspects of a magical or rolling one, I’m probably still going to continue using my minuscule leather satchel--and why? To be quite honest, I couldn’t tell you. Could it be us girls conforming to social norms written in invisible ink on CCA’s walls? Or is it a matter of suppressing practicality's tempting offerings and bowing down to fashion’s uncompromising instructions? CCA junior Leili Delorme started using a mini backpack second semester of sophomore year because of “both social pressure and practicality.” But now, she “cannot imagine a time when I didn’t use it.” She says it’s “small yet mighty,” and that she and her friends sometimes joke about how much they can fit into
their “seemingly small bags,” often referring to themselves as “modern Mary Poppins.” Sophomore Lyna Fowler likewise says that she “personally really likes using a purse because it makes me smarter with what I actually need.” She also thinks that “girls usually use purses for fashion because it can tie together an outfit.” Contrarily, Sarah Datta, a backpack-using sophomore, says she enjoys using a backpack “mainly because it’s so practical,” and that its spaciousness prevents her from having to “hold a bunch of binders and books” in her hands. She mentions that “purses are cute, but don’t seem to have a lot of
function,” as “you have to carry all of your binders and books in your arms where you could drop them all.” “Plus, if your purse is expensive, you might ruin it at school,” she points out. Fortunately, Datta does not feel any social pressure to use a purse or small backpack. “Nobody really shames me for using a backpack, and a lot of the people I hang out with use backpacks anyway. I think girls do it because the purses and bags are pretty cute and fashionable.” Unpacking CCA’s bag habits have seemed to simply cause more confusion for me; however, I do know that in order to truly possess an environment
of acceptance here at our school, mitigation of the subtle, yet arguably notable divide between the purse and backpack users must be attempted. You know, to prevent a full-blown war (which we purse users would surely lose, as one can’t throw a punch when you have to use both hands to support your binder...) Nevertheless, as long as my fellow purse enthusiasts can embrace the occasional shoulder pain and, in my case, the recurrent late arrivals in the morning, then allow us to exist in our insensibility as we are. And let’s pledge to coexist with our backpack-donning, practical princesses peacefully. Because, after all, us girls have got better things to dwell on than our baggage. For example, becoming Hermione Granger.
Almost everyone wants to be in the spotlight. Going viral culminates the ambitions of a sycophant into a neat little package, ready for easy consumption. Virality seems accessible to most. Anyone can achieve their “4 hours of fame” from a cute, short video, a clever joke, or a catchy dance. The appeal of going viral is ubiquitous. Online, anyone can be a someone. The rise of a new wave of social media has allowed for this virality to spread exponentially. In the past year and a half, a new app has proven vital to the fame of many new stars: TikTok. The “For You” page, a “personalized video feed based on what you watch, like, and share,” according to the iOS page for the app, provides the allure that anyone can be famous. Fame is no longer just in the domain of the Hollywood superstar: actors like Leonardo Dicaprio or Meryl Streep, but in the reach of the common person. Popularity is palpable for most people, as they have seen many others, who seem just like them, shoot to Internet Stardom. There is no better example of this than Charli D’amelio. At just 15, Charli has made a name synonymous with TikTok, one that many teenagers recognize instantly. In just over six months, she has amassed over 30 million followers and counting. With her popular dance videos, she averages a growth of around 200,000 new followers a day. These new fans aren’t stagnant either: each video receives around
10 million views, with many receiving well over that. This popularity has parlayed itself into a career outside of the app: Charli was part of a Super Bowl ad for the hummus company Sabra and she has met a wide variety of celebrities, though she herself may arguably be considered that as well. TikTok built a career for her and in return, she acts as a sort of poster child for the app. She stands as a happy little example: anyone can become famous on TikTok. All you need is a little luck and the right attitude. But that’s really all it comes down to: luck. Charli’s story, though many vainly wish otherwise, was an anomaly; her rise to the top seems like a dream for most. That’s because it is. Of course, there are the fortuitous ones who break through and get a couple thousand likes, sometimes even more, but those cases are rare. The hashtag “fyp” (for you page), has been used over 773 billion times, and yet 773 billion people have not gone viral. While it isn’t new to only have a few breakout stars on social media-see examples on Instagram or Youtube--there is something different with this latest wave of social platforms. TikTok gives the false pretense that more than just a rare few can make it to the upper stratosphere of fame. Though, to its credit, the app does afford more opportunities for the average person to gain fame, as compared to the relatively small success rate of most
Youtubers who are starting out. But TikTok still does not have the level playing field for growth that most believe it to have. Ultimately, TikTok is giving a false sense of hope to a new wave of kids. They see the glamorous and glitzy life rapidly obtained by a once ordinary kid like Charli and all those around her, and they feel envious. They want the fame and popularity she received seemingly overnight. They see her as an average teenager who shot to fame and they wonder, “Why not me?” Many have let out their fury, unfairly, on her. This hate has spiraled out of control, with the Tiktoker receiving “hundreds of thousands of hate comments per week” which can be “a lot to handle,” she stated in an interview about bullying with UNICEF. People only see what they want to see of the life of someone going famous: meeting celebrities, making money, being part of expensive brand deals, and choosing to ignore the dark side that comes with it. With comments so easy to write and so accessible on social media, it may seem easy to hate without thinking of the consequences to the real person underneath the mask of fame. Going viral has changed; someone’s life can transition instantly from just one video, and not necessarily for the better.
Deserted cities, empty store shelves, forgotten objects lying in the street. People rushing to Costco to buy every item available, prepared to be quarantined at home. No, it’s not the beginning of a zombie apocalypse, although at times the media may portray this to be the case. The emergence of the coronavirus has given rise to severe issues on a massive global scale, but too often people across the world demonstrate a tendency to rush to a state of panic immediately, without being fully aware of the reality of the situation. Recently, the virus has been overstated to such an extent that news stories greatly exaggerating its risk level have become more prevalent across the world. This, in turn, has induced major problems regarding the Chinese population and thousands of infected people. The subjective media may be presenting us with information that is only eyecatching or significant to the news company, and in turn, may be hiding legitimate and worrisome problems in China or other parts of the world. But is the coronavirus really comparable to other pandemics throughout history? Past flu pandemics have resulted in the deaths of millions, yet there has not been the degree of chaos that currently surrounds COVID-19. The first cases of the current coronavirus; more specifically, COVID-19, were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. Although the virus is an illness with symptoms similar to pneumonia, millions of people have taken extreme precaution by avoiding
crowded areas and wearing protective surgical masks and respirators everywhere they go. To limit the spread of the outbreak, the Chinese government, as well as other governments around the world, have been prompted to drastically increase their safety measures. Schools have been closed, and quarantines and travel bans have been put into effect, trapping many visitors and residents and potentially separating them from their families. Citizens are so panic-stricken that stores across the globe have completely sold out of protective face masks, and the onceproductive Chinese factories have been temporarily closed. The virus has affected about 88,000 people worldwide, and as of now, has a reported death toll of 3,000 people. Although it has been shown all over the media, the coronavirus is not as deadly as society has perceived it to be. Numerous countries have grown alarmed due to its rapid spread and everincreasing amount of infected peoples, but the virus does not seem to be especially deadly so far. In fact, only a mere 2% of cases have been reported to result in death. On top of this minor percentage, most of these victims had previously suffered from symptoms of a weak immune
system, or been infants or elderly peoples. The common flu actually kills 60 times the number of people than the coronavirus does annually, but the public seems to be transfixed by this novel infection. The current hysteria surrounding the coronavirus is largely fueled by xenophobia and blame placed on China for the global health hazard. Reports of verbal harassment directed towards people of Chinese descent have become common in other countries, including the U.S. Some Chinese restaurants have even revealed decreases in their business profits because the
Pandem
Lena Chen and 10
hf Disclaimer: The eat ur ed ar t icl e wa s wr i tten pr i or closure - therefore, some opinions and presen
“cleanliness� of their food has come into question. It seems as though uneducated individuals point fingers and blame Chinese people for causing the outbreak, but race does not play a factor in susceptibility to contracting the disease. China has suffered the most from the outbreak since it has begun, yet the media there may try to hide it in order to obscure the severe details--possibly because they do not want to be blamed or cause further problems. Many doctors in China have been drafted around the epicnter of the outbreak, and new treatment centers and hospitals are being built as quickly as possible. These doctors face an extremely high risk of becoming infected, and must cover their entire bodies to prevent
exposure to the disease. It is becoming more and more difficult for Chinese citizens to stay hopeful in these desperate times. Their most festive time of
mic Scares
year, the spring season and Lunar New Year celebrations, have only caused an increase in the number of people infected with the increase in social interactions. Because of these increased risks, many authorities have decided to cancel the celebratory events due to the outbreak. Families and friends abroad are doing all they can to try and ship protective materials to their loved ones stranded in China. However, it has become a struggle to find shipping companies that are willing to fly into a country that is so plagued with sickness. Coronavirus is able to easily penetrate the majority of face masks, rendering them rather ineffective in providing a layer of protection. The virus can be transmitted through both our eyes and very small particles known as aerosols, so the best ways we can protect ourselves are by washing our hands and avoiding touching our face. The most recent form of coronavirus is just one of many global pandemics that have caused frenzy among populations. From 1346 to 1353, the Black Plague swept through Europe, Africa, and Asia, and resulted in the deaths of 75-200 million people. Believed to have stemmed from Asia, this epidemic most likely spread to different continents via infected fleas living on the rats transported by merchant ships. These ports were densely populated, making it a perfect breeding ground for the rats and fleas. The Flu Pandemic of 1918 resulted in a mortality rate of 20-50 million people. The disease
quickly made its way around the globe following World War I, infecting well over one third of our total global population. This flu pandemic differed from other past outbreaks of influenza because it was easily able to take the lives of perfectly healthy adults with strong immune systems, which was previously unheard of. Based on this fact, the coronavirus is not as severe so far. HIV/AIDS peaked between 2005 to 2012, and has killed over 36 million people globally since 1981. It was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976, and in Sub-Saharan Africa. Today, 21 million people are still living with this disease. As awareness of the pandemic has grown and more people have become infected, the development of new treatments has allowed many people to live with greater potential. Death tolls have decreased because of these advances and developments in medicine. Although the coronavirus should still be treated with concern, one must be wary that the hype brought by the media may blow the facts out of proportion. Nevertheless, reports of the virus have become increasingly more common outside of China, with several confirmed cases in California. Perhaps coronavirus will soon join the ranks of the Black Plague and the Flu Epidemic of 1918. Only time will tell.
Jasmine Elasaad
to te enact i on of stay- at- home order s and s chool nted facts may not hold true to the present day.
11
3100 BC: the first recorded tattoo has been completed. Tattoos are ancient traditions that have roots going back millennia and affect nearly every culture and community. Though the ripples of ancient customs are still felt in modern times, we now live in a world where CEOs, politicians, doctors, and teachers have tattoos. It cannot be denied that tattoos are viewed as an expression of self and identity, no longer serving as the markers of warriors and criminals. In today’s world, tattoos are much less taboo. Tattoos are found all around us--even on the mentors and role models we look up to and the peers we surround ourselves with. At Canyon Crest Academy, you can find that many staff and students wear ink with pride. Sydney Beguelin, a current senior, got her ink the day she turned 18. “My first tattoo is a little giraffe in a body of water on my ankle. Basically it came from this New Yorker cartoon by Edward Steed which said ‘oh that pool’s not as deep as it looks, cause it’s just a baby giraffe.’ But to me, it’s the overarching meaning that life’s not that deep. My second tattoo is made up of two little butterflies on my ribcage. And I got that one to remember my social activism side--what I’ve done so far and what I can continue to do.” “I’ve gotten a lot of good responses, most people think they are cool; but, I’ve also gotten people asking me if they have meaning. As if I were gonna put something permanently on my body that had no meaning.”
12
One teacher that proudly wears their ink is the sculpture teacher Mrs. Lababit. “I have a couple of different tattoos of things that mean a lot to me. One of my tattoos is of a bonsai tree that represents one of my friends who had passed away, with his name and death date. It’s a tribute to him. Another tattoo that I have is Baybayin lettering of my husband’s and
daughter’s names. When I worked in places more conservative than California (such as Arizona and Illinois), I had to cover up my tattoos, and I didn’t understand that. I don’t think my tattoos have anything to do with my job they don’t change my work habits in any way. I felt like I kind of wanted to prove these people wrong and show
Tattoos also have the power to mean the world to their wearers; senior Emma Carr is a remarkable example. “I got my tattoo in honor of my dad passing away. My mom and I drove out to Arizona, on the one year anniversary of his death, so that I could get the tattoo. I was still a minor at the time so we had to make the trip since normally in California it’s harder as a minor to get a tattoo. Even with parental consent.” “The tattoo says ‘Angel’ because that was his nickname for me. My favorite part of the tattoo is that it’s in his handwriting. I got the exact tattoo from a note that he wrote me one morning when he went out to get coffee. And I decided to have it put on my left rib, because my dad was left handed. That placement also lets it be close to my heart which is really meaningful to me. It's a nice reminder that he’s always with me.”
them that I can excel in my work even with my tattoos.” “These tattoos have meaning to me, and even though I had gotten some of mine when I was pretty young, I don’t have any regrets. That said, I think that the age you get your tattoos doesn’t necessarily matter that much as long as you really take some time to think about what you want.”
While hidden from most people, tattoos can also serve the important role of bringing something within us to the foreground, like in the case of visual arts teacher Ms. Moran. “I have two tattoos, I got both of them with my biological sister. She and I were actually adopted together. My favorite tattoo, in terms of aesthetics and meaning, is one that I got on my upper back/neck, which is my name in Korean. We got that tattoo at the same time in New Hampshire. She got our last name in Korean but on her neck and I got it on my back. So my tattoo says Emily Misuk Moran, and there are definitely strong ties to getting both my tattoos with my sister.” “But, I also really like the name one because I’ve only more recently, in my adult life, explored Korea and my past. I actually met my birth mother for the first time back in 2016, which was really cool. There’s a lot of meaning in the name, and having my full name in Korean on me. I am now embracing this Korean culture and history more as an adult, I would say, than when I was younger.”
Our cultures can also be heavily imbued into the way we choose to express ourselves, like in the instance of Profe Ancona. “My family is from the southwest Mexican peninsula of Yucatán, the heart of Mayan culture. I spent many summers as a kid climbing through these ancient ruins, looking at beautiful hieroglyphics and figures carved into the sides of sacrificial pyramids. I have tattoos running down both of my arms, and I’ve been adding onto them since I turned 23 years old. They depict images of Mayan culture. The Mayans performed a lot of human sacrifices for their gods and although many people view that as being morbid, my tattoos are essentially just a display of my culture and my identity not glorifying the idea of human sacrifice.” “These tattoos were inspired by the concepts of Mayan customs, and what experiences surrounded me as a child. An example of this would be the tattoo of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and although I personally am not religious, this tattoo means a lot in that she is a figurehead of Mexican and Mayan art. It’s funny because my father is a more conservative man and although he didn’t agree with me getting tattoos, he thought that my tattoo of the Virgin was pretty cool.”
One thing that has always and will always remain in the tradition of tattooing is the lifetime connection that the ink has to its wearer. These are just a handful of the stories showcasing the depth of storytelling that lies within some of CCA’s staff and student tattoos. Today, tattoos are much more a symbol of meaning, telling the stories of our family members, of our heritage, of the best parts of ourselves.
13
SUPERFI PLASTIC SURGERY IN TODAY’S WORLD
14
For centuries, cosmetic plastic surgery has attempted to relieve society’s inner doubts about their appearances. First performed in Ancient Egypt as early as 2000 BCE, the practice snowballed from there. From the rhinoplasties of India in 800 BCE, to the cosmetic ear surgeries that were
ICIAL liam rosenberg
commonplace in Rome, to the first facelift in the United States in 1931, plastic surgery has continuously been refined over the years as beauty standards evolved. Surgeries seemed to reach their peak in the 2000s when pop culture and “trash T.V.” ran rampant. As a result, troubled celebrities like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan inspired an entire generation to pursue liposuctions and nose jobs. However, with the advent of the iPhone, influencers and celebrities in later years began to promote even more extreme beauty standards, especially for women. In 2018, breast augmentation and tummy tucks reached astronomical highs at 313,000 and 130,000 total procedures that year, respectively. Of those thousands, 227,000 cosmetic plastic surgeries were undergone by teenagers. In middle school, Ally*, a student in San Diego, underwent an otoplasty, a cosmetic procedure to reconstruct the outer ear. However, she does not attribute her surgery to the influence of others. “I had heard of other people doing it, but decided on my own terms to get it done,” she says. When asked if plastic surgery
is on the rise because of social media, the student agreed, saying, “[Teenagers] see all the famous people getting more attention and followers for their good looks, and it might make them want to change their appearance more.” This is unquestionably a factor in how teens perceive themselves, with many celebrities either using photomanipulation apps like Facetune or fully going under the knife. Regardless, it can be incredibly difficult for the untrained eye (especially an already-insecure teenage one) to differentiate between the two. Examining popular fitness model Jen Selter’s page, it’s immediately clear that her exaggerated physique isn’t easily attainable. Selter, who has appeared in Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, and more, has publicly admitted that she is all but natural. Her seemingly-manufactured lifestyle began like any other in high school, but because of negative comments on Facebook, she felt pressured to receive a nose job at the age of 15. Despite her admitted insecurity, many of her 12.8 million followers have shelled out hundreds of dollars to look just like her. “Everyone gets a nose job in high school,” says a student from Long Island and a short distance from Selter’s hometown of Roslyn, N.Y. Are many people viewing the success of influencers like Selter as a direct result of her appearance? As plastic surgery continues to penetrate age groups as young as ever all across the country, the Instagram-intensified phenomenon has been a rite of passage in many communities for years, reports Jamie*, a mom from New Jersey. She received a rhinoplasty as a student in college. “The girls on my dorm floor were regularly getting nose jobs,”
she says. “In general, my mom was more supportive of [receiving the procedure] because of that.” Although a certain degree of faith can be placed in micromanaging your own flaws, it is much more common for young people to undergo plastic surgery due to peer encouragement. “My parents were definitely supportive. I think my mom always wanted me to have my nose fixed.” Many can relate to having plastic surgery due to a flaw perceived by a loved one. However, even more can say they’ve been discouraged by someone else. “My sister thought I was crazy,” Jamie shares. “But I still had it done when I was 18, and I think at the time it boosted my confidence. To this day, I’m thrilled that I decided to get it done.” Overall, the effectiveness of plastic surgery on improving one’s confidence varies significantly on a case-to-case basis. It can be argued that the insecurities of many who plan on going under the knife could be resolved elsewhere. Likewise, many who have done so were a great deal happier after the procedure. In a society that continues to raise our looks to progressively higher standards, plastic surgery isn’t going anywhere. In the words of one of the interviewees, “it’s really important to love the way you are. But if you’re doing it for yourself and not for others, you should do whatever makes you happy.”
Disclaimer: Names have been changed to respect anonymity of our sources.
15
“Depression” Memes Hannah Quini
18
Hearing your phone ping in the dead of night, you can only hope for one thing. You pry your eyes open to check the notification and quickly become interested: “@yourbestfriend has sent you a post from @memeaccount.” Everyone loves that extra laugh throughout the day, whether it be at two o’clock in the morning or during second period. Memes make people’s days better or do they? The point of memes is to make people laugh, and memes are as versatile as they are abundant, spanning across many everyday topics: sports, politics, or even school. Even though many memes can air on the controversial side, one topic in particular can be quite mind-boggling to some. Easily triggered Instagram users might know these as “depression memes”. They focus on the issue of mental health and its humorous sides that people can usually relate to. The ability to relate to a meme is generally what makes the captioned picture funny, so as these depression joke pictures are spread around and laughed at, it’s easy to wonder how mental illnesses such as these are actually affecting people. Canyon Crest Academy has recently taken mental health to the next level, placing it alongside our basic educational curriculum and incorporating it into our weekly schedules with school-wide assemblies and our new homeroom program. However, it’s still safe to say that high school mental health isn’t in its best state. Being the creative and hysterically humorous delinquents that we are, it would only be fitting to generate something extravagant with our emotions and place them on social media for the world to see: memes. Even the students that aren’t exactly tech-savvy have a way of photoshopping words on funny pictures pretty quickly, making it
easy to create viral memes based on current events. For example, the day after New Year’s Eve, one of the first things on social media were the memes about Australia burning, World War III drafts, and the impeachment of Donald Trump. This seems to be our generation’s medium to euphemize today’s news. Despite the mass amounts of astonishing news through January, it’s now later in the year and the meme industry hasn't slowed down. Recently, there has been a focus towards the memes that look into the deterioration of our mental health. Obviously, suffering from any sort of depression is not a topic to laugh about, but when a meme is relatable in an almost uncomfortable way, it can be funny seeing the resemblance of yourself in a picture you can laugh at. Having a page full of depression-related memes might even help reduce the intensity of the pain someone could feel. Dealing with such a dark topic, it’s important to keep in mind that the whole objective to a meme is to make people laugh, not to trivialize mental health struggles. If you aren’t the best at taking jokes, depression memes may not be the memes for you. Enjoying these images is almost too easy; our school hasn’t even blocked Instagram from the wifi (it’s probably because we need it so often for specific classes and clubs, but still it’s quite nice not having that boundary). Because Instagram is one of the few social media platforms that still works on school wifi, it tends to be used more often than others. Unfortunately, Instagram users don’t always remember that everything on the page can be filtered or photoshopped, and even if it’s not, it’s probably the best picture chosen out of at least 10. Everyone posts the best of their best on Instagram, and it becomes so easy to compare your
own life to things you see on your screen. Oh, @travelblog is in Paris, I’ve always wanted to go there @model has such a perfect figure, I wish I could look like that everyday Having these constant negative thoughts running through your head every time you open your phone can take a huge toll on one’s mental health. Recently, popular influencers have been focusing on self-love, body positivity and whatnot, but having one positive post between thousands of other profile pictures and ads won’t change much too quickly. Canyon Crest Academy, specifically, is known for its skyscraper high stress and anxiety levels. This uncomfortable topic may have faded within the last few months, but it shouldn’t be forgotten: students should feel comfortable in school. It should be a place for growth in education, not a place of stress and solitude. The implementation of homeroom and the speakers that come to campus every so often are some of the steps we have taken to better our school’s general mental health. We also have programs like PALS which allows students to connect with their peers and share experiences that may help others. Maybe this school needs more depression memes. If students can relate to, and take pleasure in viewing such images, it might be beneficial to create and release newer editions that would make students feel more relaxed and at ease. Memes are funny, informative, and enjoyable to view, which explains why they spread so quickly. The power of the meme might be stronger than we think, maybe even stronger than that intercom voice that every so often calls from the CCA heavens asking for a student to report to an office. The realm of depression memes should be expanded for the good of our mental health. 19
FAQ:
PRIMARIES
CONVEN
Ella T. Lifset What is a caucus?
What is a primary?
What are the National Conventions?
How exactly does the Electoral College work?
The caucus was the initial method for nominating party candidates. At the Republican Caucus, voters cast secret ballots, which are then counted, and a winner is declared. The Democratic Caucus runs a bit differently. Voters stand in designated areas around the room, aligning themselves with a particular candidate. Candidates must achieve a minimum percentage (oftentimes around 15%) in order to be viable. Otherwise, the group must convince others to align themselves with their candidate or switch alignments entirely.
These were invented in order to directly involve voters and is now the primary method--pun intended--of how states carry out the election right before the general one. However, not all primaries are created equal. An open primary means that a voter can decide which candidate they will select on the day of the vote. In a closed primary, voters are required to be preregistered with their party before they cast their ballot. Finally, there are the rare blanket primaries --that California implements--where voters may select candidates regardless of party affiliation. However, this applies for all primaries except for presidential primaries, where votes must be cast with the voter’s party affiliation.
The conventions were initially created in order to select the party’s nominee for the general presidential election as well as draft the party’s platform, a formal code of political goals. Today, the platforms are still drafted by delegates at the conventions, who are chosen at the local or state level. However, with modern technology, it is likely that the nominee is already known at that point, so the convention is more of a televised event utilized to energize voters for the upcoming election.
Each state is given a set amount of electoral votes, calculated from the members of Congress that represent it. So, that would mean California would get its two senators, plus the number of California Representatives, 53, who are then calculated from the state’s population. Most states, save Nebraska and Maine, use the winner-take-all method; all of the electoral votes go to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote on November 3rd. There are 538 electors in the US, so a candidate must gain at least 270 to secure the presidency.
20
NTIONS ELECTIONS
OH MY!
Why is the Electoral College so controversial?
What happens if no candidate gets 2 7 0 electoral votes?
Do non-states have a say in elections?
What is an absentee ballot?
The famous, or infamous, Electoral College is not without history. The Founding Fathers developed the system in order to prevent “mob rule,� or the political sway that the general public could potentially have over election results, as they mistrusted those who were not in the field of politics. However, this purposefully-designed method yields imbalance. A voter from Wyoming has 3.6 times more influence over the election than someone from California. In other words, thank the Electoral College for allowing candidates like Al Gore and Hillary Clinton to lose the election, but win the popular vote.
If no candidate qualifies for the presidency, then the vote moves to the House of Representatives. Each state has one vote, but this excludes the District of Columbia since it is not a state. A candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes, 26 out of 50, in order to be elected president. If there still is a deadlock in Congress, then the vice presidentelect becomes the acting president until the matter is resolved.
Residents in US territories cannot participate in presidential elections, as they do not have electoral votes. The District of Columbia has three electoral college votes, no more than the least populous states. However, territories like Puerto Rico can hold presidential primaries.
An absentee ballot is mailed to certain voters, which allows them to cast their decision prior to the day of the election. In 17 states, an excuse is required, while 33 states allow citizens to cast their votes early without an excuse. California does not require an excuse to vote via absentee ballot. All absentee votes are eventually counted, even though the results of an election can be projected right after the regular polls close on Election Day if there is a clear winner.
21
Bella Hirst Nearly every teenager has heard of Brandy Melville. The Italian clothing brand was founded in 1994, and its first US store opened in 2009. Brandy Melville is not your typical clothing retailer-despite its rapid gain in popularity, the brand does no formal advertising. Its Instagram page (boasting 3.9 million followers) doesn’t feel like your traditional clothing brand. Their page doesn’t contain links to buy their clothes and there are no promotional videos either. It feels like, well, a teenage girl’s Instagram page. It’s filled with pictures of girls hanging out with friends, going to the beach, and walking down the street. All the girls in the pictures just happen to be tall, size 0-2, almost exclusively white and blonde, and wearing Brandy clothes. Brandy Melville has faced a lot of backlash for their sizing. More specifically, their lack thereof. The brand claims to be “one size fits all,” but many have complained that that “one size” is too small to fit most teenage girls. “The fact that Brandy Melville is one of the most popular brands among teenagers right now is what makes its ‘one size fits all’ policy upsetting to so many,” says a tenth grader at CCA. “It seems that only the slimmest of people can fit into a lot of Brandy’s clothing, and this creates a false idea of the ‘perfect’ body type.” Others have argued that yes,
22
the brand’s clothes are designed for petite girls, but isn’t that the same concept as plus-sized fashion? “We can satisfy almost everybody, but not everybody,” Brandy executive Jessy Longo said in a 2013 interview. “The one-sizefits-most clothing might turn off somebody if they don’t walk into the store, but if you walk in you'll find something even if it's a bag.” Longo may have a point; the Brandy Melville website boasts a wide array of jewelry, bags, scrunchies, and headbands that realistically could fit everyone. The lack of options, however, is not what upsets people; it is the brand’s choice to exclude those who don’t fit their “ideal” body type. The reality is that Brandy Melville is a popular store. Despite the outrage of its sizing, people continue to buy from it. That is because Brandy’s sizing, while controversial, creates an idea of exclusivity. It is the same reason designer stores stay in business--of course it’s not practical to buy a Birkin bag (starting at $8,500 and going up to $377,000), but many will pay that price for the brand’s exclusivity. Brandy Melville’s popularity stems from the same concept; however, Brandy’s exclusivity does not come from wealth, but from being thin. It certainly helps that many teenage girls genuinely like Brandy’s clothing--they aren’t wearing their clothes simply
because they can, but because they want to. To keep their brand relevant, they will often employ teenage girls as brand consultants. “Product research is made up of all teenage girls.” Kjerstin Skorge, a 16-year-old from Malibu, told Racked in 2015. “There's about 20 of us. Let's say there's a cut of a t-shirt that's doing really well, they'll ask our opinion on it. Do we like it? Should we make more? If so, what colors? Should we do long-sleeve? Short-sleeve? Cropped? Not cropped? Would this t-shirt be better in this material? There are all kinds of things that we get asked, and we give our honest opinion.” While Brandy works hard to stay relevant, its size exclusivity is what sets it apart from other popular teen brands. Teenage girls want to be secure in their own skin. And not being able to wear that blue checkered skirt all your friends are obsessed with because they don’t have your size can be detrimental to your self esteem. The sad thing about Brandy Melville is that it doesn’t just exclude plus-sized girls. It excludes everyone size 6 and above, maybe even size 4. The brand’s message is not something we should be promoting as a society, but ultimately, it is the consumers who decide which brands are popular. By buying their clothes, consumers are complacent in, if not supportive of, the brand’s message: only one size is valid.
CARSON McCLOSKEY Deadly heat. Freezing winters. Record-breaking floods. These are all products of climate change. Climate change, the long-term rise of the average temperature of the planet, is a serious issue greatly affecting the planet. In recent years, the issue of climate change has come to headlines due to the rise of political opinions. It is a well-known fact that humans are a core part of climate change. We, as humans, have not been paying close enough attention to how our actions have been affecting the environment around us. The emissions from the cars we drive, the factories we work in, the plastic we waste, and even the carbon dioxide we breathe out all contribute to the warming of our planet. Scientists believe that if we continue down the path we are headed on, the world will be drastically different. Glaciers will disappear, the Arctic will deteriorate, hurricanes will become commonplace and much more intense, heat waves and droughts will be an everyday occurrence, and sea levels will continue to rise to unprecedented levels. These outcomes are grave, and should not be taken lightly. Is it too late to prevent climate change? According to NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, humans have already caused major changes in climate, and there is still more to
come. Even if we completely stopped emitting greenhouse gases, climate change would still be evident decades later. But that does not mean that we should continue with our everyday lives assuming that no matter what we do, the outcome will be the same. Every little thing helps. Yes, some of the effects of climate change are irreversible, but there is still hope for a better future. We can cut down on the majority of our greenhouse emissions by switching to fuel-efficient cars and by recycling, two important aspects of daily life that can impact the world as we know it. On a community level, energy-efficient improvements to city buildings, public transportation upgrades, and sustainable city planning can go a long way in response to climate change. On a global level, if we continue to cut down greenhouse emissions, we will begin to see aspects of climate change that we once thought were unavoidable die down and become more manageable. In your daily life, there are many ways to limit your own production of greenhouse gases. Reduce, reuse, and recycle is something that has been etched into our brains since we were young, and it is something that is increasingly essential. Reducing the waste of consumer goods may seem like something unimportant and
unnecessary. But limiting your consumption will signal to companies that fewer products need to be manufactured and produced. This, in turn, limits the emission of greenhouse gases from factories. Reusing items will prevent the disposal of old products and the replacement of new ones, again limiting the waste of consumer goods. There are numerous other ways to get involved in the fight to reverse the effects of climate change. One major issue of climate change is its response from politicians. Laws need to be put in place to ensure a better outcome, but we can’t rely solely on public policy to curb climate change. There is power in the hands of the people. Marches have been taking place across the country to try and reach the government and bystanders to raise awareness about this increasingly urgent issue. Limiting our own greenhouse emissions is crucial in reversing the effects of climate change. Urging the government to help try and solve this issue will help greatly in the long run. The more government officials hear from their constituents, the more they will come to recognize that this issue is a priority. Voting for politicians that you see fit is the first step of many. We can curb the effects of climate change, we just have to put our minds to it and fight.
23
Know Youth Rights is an educational club focused on spreading information about youth rights in California. Although a similar movement by the ACLU called “Know Your Rights” is already in existence, Lele Zhang, the club’s president and a junior at CCA, wanted to elaborate on the idea. “We realized that youth rights actually had...less clear information,” Zhang explains. As minors, they can provide insight on youth rights since these laws can be “quite specific.” During meetings, club members vote on seminar topics, such as civil rights and education, which are then expanded upon in modules and presentations. Zhang wants to continue growing the club’s audience at CCA while connecting with the student body. Know Youth Rights meets every Monday in C102. You can follow them on Instagram at @knowyouthrights.
The main focus of Key Club, a community service club that “provides students with opportunities to provide service, build character and develop leadership,” is “giving back to our community,” says Emily Gao, the club’s president. While there are many community service or volunteering clubs at CCA, Key Club “has a focus on inclusiveness and family, which is not found in many traditional community service clubs.” The familial feel that Key Club attempts to create is palpable, as exemplified through their election process for Club President and Vice President: this year, as five hopefuls tried out for 2020-2021 positions, it became apparent that a focal point of almost each speech was encouraging the lowerclassmen to become more involved and help them gain the skills they needed to become future club leaders. After each speech, the resounding applause made it clear that they all wanted one another to succeed. “Having a leadership team that is representative of all the different ages at this school helps foster relationships between upper and lowerclassmen,” comments Gao. By joining Key Club, members gain “hours that they can put on their resumes,” as well as the added benefit of “make[ing] lasting memories” and “friends that will likely last them throughout” high school. You can follow Key Club on Instagram at @ccakeyclub, or learn more through their website: ccakeyclub.weebly.com.
24
Canyon Crest Academy has gained a reputation as one of the most competitive schools in San Diego county. Not only are courses academically rigorous, but the atmosphere created by the students who attend has exacerbated this feeling. In turn, this has led to what is more of a “box-checking” approach to school and extracurriculars: I need to take ten AP classes this year, I need to create seven community service clubs, I need to get a 1610 on the SAT. Instead of participating because we genuinely want to, we’ve partly grown into a culture of “doing it for college apps.” This culture continues to exude prominence through one of CCA’s main selling points to incoming freshmen: clubs. For the 2019-20 school year, there are 288 official, ASB-approved clubs, some of which are actually multiple clubs combined. Every school has clubs. But why does CCA have so many? While there are “clubs” that aren’t really “clubs,”
such as our sports teams, the vast majority of organizations on campus are entirely student-run. Schools of a similar size have significantly fewer clubs: Torrey Pines and Del Norte are home to less than 100 clubs yet both have over 2,300 enrolled students. The most plausible explanation is that the competitive air of Canyon Crest has spurred the creation of numerous,
empty, resume-booster clubs. Compounding the issue, now is also the time of the year when freshmen start considering their sophomore year, and many sophomore students embark on the college climb. Clubs are one way students can “pad” their college application. Thus, many students “join” and “create” clubs, only to never attend or hold a single meeting. Could there be an ulterior motive to joining clubs? Impossible! Alas, it is but a direct result of doing things because everyone else is doing it. However, that and the omnipresent environment of stress should only amplify the necessity of joining a club out of plain interest and nothing more. Even so, there is still the problem of having too many clubs; for not every club may be a resume-filler, but there are so many fish in the sea that finding the right catch is an increasingly difficult task. There are numerous clubs that don’t get enough attention despite deserving more. With the hopes of discovering these hidden
gems, we used a random number generator to find clubs from the approved clubs list on ASB’s website. As expected, some of the clubs we visited appeared to not meet anymore, or perhaps they didn’t exist in the first place. We documented four active clubs. One might just happen to catch your eye.
Comics for a Cure is a club that was founded by CCA senior Yogitha Shastri after a suggestion from a friend at Del Norte, who began the initiative. As an official nonprofit recognized by the state of California, they offer volunteer hours and participate in philanthropic activities involving children. For the past two years, they’ve been going to Rady’s Children Hospital, Ronald McDonald House events, and running toy drives. Comics of Cure is currently a local effort; however, Shastri hopes that other high schools will also start their own chapters. During meetings, members organize bake sales, talk about their next goals, budget, and explore other events they can attend in San Diego. There is currently also a Del Norte chapter and a Westview chapter. Comics for a Cure meets every Thursday at lunch in C106. You can learn more about the club through their Instagram @ccacomicsforacure or their website comicsforcure.org.
Another community service club present on campus is the CCA Global Preservation Club. Focusing on “raising money and awareness about our environment,” club presidents Sachel Jetly and Zachary Hom are intent on assisting in the effort to fix problems on our planet “one dollar at a time.” These problems, such as deforestation and ocean pollution, are voted on monthly by club members. The club provides a “fun, accepting space for students to come and share their ideas.” They encourage everyone to participate in all votes and events, as well as take part in the discussion following voting. The club plans to hold a fundraiser for their current issue. For more long term goals, Jetly and Hom say they want to “continue our club and hopefully gain more people.” They are also looking into pairing with a nonprofit in order to expand their opportunities. Joining this club will open up a community that feels“passionate about what [they] do,” as well as help members gain insight into “different aspects of the environment” while inspiring others. Stop by B105 on Tuesdays to become part of CCA Global Preservation Club, or reach out to the club through their email: ccaglobalpreservationclub@gmail.com.
25
NOT SO STA DRIVING STICK
Your name is Brian O’Connor; you line up with three of the fastest racers in town, thousands on the table. Three... revs increasing. Two.... exhausts rumbling. One... GO! You dump the clutch, the tires squeal, and off you go. You do a quick shift into second gear and watch the revs go up past six thousand, through seven, and almost at eight before shifting into third. The car rumbles beneath you as you fly forward, leaving your rivals in the dust. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of having complete control over your car. Every move you make has an effect on how you’re driving. The manual transmission, also called standard or stick colloquially, requires the driver to activate the clutch and move a gear lever in order to switch from reverse to first, second, and all other gears. Like in automatic transmission cars, the number of gears can vary greatly, with early vehicles having three or four gears, while modern cars typically have six or seven. If you have ever found yourself in a stick shift car before, you’ve seen that funny looking H-pattern on the gear lever in the center console. The numbers at the end of each leg of the multi-pegged ‘H’
26
correspond to a different gear. Manual cars also have a third pedal, referred to as the clutch, on the left, which is necessary to use in order to start the car or switch gears. The driver must engage the clutch by pressing the left-most pedal. Then, while the clutch is engaged, the car can be started. After that, the shifter must be moved into first gear. After the car is in gear, the driver is to slowly disengage the clutch while applying pressure to the throttle. If done correctly, the car should start moving just fine. The problem most newcomers struggle with when driving standard is stalling the engine. This happens when the car is in gear, but revs too low. If the gas pedal is not pressed enough, the engine’s RPM, or revolutions per minute, will fall too low and the engine will stall. When it stalls, the engine essentially turns off and the car becomes dead weight. Thankfully, to fix this, the driver can take the car out of gear by pressing the clutch, put the shifter in the middle part of the H-pattern, called neutral, and starting the car once again. It takes a while to get the hang of the basics, and then the tricks come in: rev-matching and heel-and-toe downshifting, to name a couple.
All of this might seem a bit overwhelming for those who’ve only ever driven automatic, let alone a young kid who doesn’t know anything about how to drive a car. For senior Andy Janoblock, though, learning to drive a manual transmission car was a must. His father first sat him in the driver’s seat of a manual car when he was only twelve. The old, red Mini with its signature 4-speed manual transmission tempted him every day after his first taste of it, and he quickly picked up the skill to drive it around the block when his father let him. Obviously, being only twelve, he wasn’t properly allowed to drive, so he spent four years knowing the ins and outs of a manual car before learning how to drive an automatic car, and kept that passion with him. He now drives a 6-speed manual Volkswagen Golf GTI. Not everyone has the same drive as Andy, though, and that means the manual transmission car industry dwindles with each new generation. America is known for its lack of manual cars, and the stereotype that Americans can’t drive stick tends to go hand in hand with the stereotype that Americans are lazy. Taking the time to learn
ANDARD
Elliot Freuh
how to operate a standard transmission is a luxury in our society, and because of this, the American market for manual cars is dying. CarMax, one of the most popular websites in the United States to buy and sell new and used cars, reports that from late 2017 to late 2018, only 3.7% of their car sales were manual, a drastic decrease from the 1990s, when manual sales were nearly 27%. Edmonds.com, another popular carselling website, reports that in 2018 only 2% of all car sales were of manual cars, and while in 2001 nearly 46% of car models sold in the US offered a manual transmission. Fewer than 20% do today. In 2019, more electric cars were sold than manuals. According to the Edison Electric Institute, more than 1.3 million electric cars were sold as of September 30th. Tesla, the Coca-Cola of the electric vehicle industry, surprised everyone by actually turning a profit; an electric car company known for both heavy ambition and constant failure in the public eye by losing stock price and succeeded. The hype they garnered with their record-breaking cars and crazy cool factor transitioned into unprecedented demand. The Model
3, marketed as the affordable Tesla, sold over 250,000 models, says the Edison Electric Institute in their Final EV Sales Update. Tesla wasn’t the only star, though. The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf both sold upwards of 130,000+ models each, contributing to the ever-growing market of environmentallyconscious vehicles. Skyrocketing hype isn’t the only cause of decreased manual sales. In fact, writer Brian Cooley has his own theory. According to Cooley, a writer for RoadShow by CNET, there are four core reasons why we’re losing the stick shift: cost, culture, capability, and efficiency. While the cost of manual cars in most countries is significantly less than the cost of an automatic car, the average household income in the United States is higher than in many countries and the gap between prices of manual and automatic transmissions is often either nonexistent or even biased against the manuals. As far as our American culture is concerned, we Americans tend to “relate to our cars more as appliances than do drivers in other countries,” says Cooley. Americans instead aim for, as he puts it,
“convenience, entertainment, and, now, degrees of automation.” Apparently we aren’t capable, either--approximately 18% of Americans can drive stick, while closer to 50% of drivers in Europe drive a manual every morning on their way to work. When explaining capability, Cooley states, “Manual enthusiasts tell [buyers] to ‘just go learn,’ only to be met with a very tough question: ‘Why?’” As the convenience of an automatic transmission takes over the minds of modern-day drivers in the US, the experience of manual transmission driving falls further and further down the list of priorities. Driving a manual transmission car is a dying art. Mothers and fathers around the States are prioritizing convenience over tradition when teaching their kids how to drive. But learning to drive stick doesn’t only give you a skill that is more than useful around the world. It gives you more control over the car and the best driving experience possible. Most cars are simply tools drivers use to get from point A to point B. With stick, though, driving becomes something to enjoy.
27
Whether it was due to an increase in competition in their respective sectors of the economy, a lack of popularity regarding consumer interest of the brand, or unstable leadership, here are five companies that sadly dropped to their demise in the last decade. Blockbuster Video At its peak, the Blockbuster Video company once completely dominated America’s video-rental service market. The movie rental phenomenon was worth approximately five billion dollars, but due to poor leadership and an increase in the amount of competitor streaming services such as Netflix, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to increased losses in 2010. However, if one truly craves the feeling of browsing through the towering video shelves once more, there is one more Blockbuster store remaining in Bend, Oregon. Borders Group Previously, The Borders Group was a noteworthy book and music retailer chain that could almost always be found in the corners of airports, local shopping plazas, or malls. Unfortunately, this company made the disastrous decision to prioritize their retail stores over its online aspect of the business, which resulted in less and less popularity for the brand over the years. Increased demand in online retailing and additional competition from Barnes and Nobles and Amazon also played a key factor in the death of the Borders Group in 2011. Toys “R” Us Once a child’s dream destination for Christmas toy shopping, Toys “R” Us dominated a quarter of the global toy market at its peak. This toy heaven marketed over 18,000 different types of toys in thousands of retail stores nationwide. Sadly, once the digital era became more and more prevalent, the demand for the nostalgic brick-andmortar toy stores slowly died out, the company turned into a cluster of outdated stores and filed for bankruptcy in 2017, Sports Authority Previously, The Borders Group was a noteworthy book and music retailer chain that could almost always be found in the corners of airports, local shopping plazas, or malls. Unfortunately, this company made the disastrous decision to prioritize their retail stores over its online aspect of the business, which resulted in less and less popularity for the brand over the years. Increased demand in online retailing and additional competition from Barnes and Nobles and Amazon also played a key factor in the death of the Borders Group in 2011. Pier 1 Imports Once a popular destination for home goods and name brand furniture, Pier 1 Imports has seen its fair share of high sales. However, the company recently announced that it would file for bankruptcy and seek potential buyers of the company. The rise and fall of Pier 1 Imports follow a similar trend of unsuccessful approaches by American retailers to attract customers to their brick-and-mortar stores, instead of making their online presence a larger priority.
28
29
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
STAFF WRITERS
ADVISOR
Emily Gao Justin Wang
Kate Bennett Ryan Bridges Frances Chai Ethan Chang Lena Chen Cole Colleran Carolyn Cui Jasmine Elasaad Sofia Fischel Aerin Flaharty Emily Fowler Elliot Frueh Ellyse Givens Isabella Hirst Peter Hong Iris Kim Sophia Larson Carson McCloskey Hannah Quini Liam Rosenberg
Christopher Black
ONLINE EDITOR Alex Reinsch-Goldstein
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Ella T. Lifset
GUEST ARTISTS Isabella Kwon Angela Zhang
SPECIAL THANKS Jennifer Travasos