RAVEN REPORT SEQUOIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSMAGAZINE VOLUME XIII, NO. 3 // MAY 2020
THE SENIOR ISSUE
COLLEGE MAP
ADOPT-A-SENIOR
BLM PROTESTS
The SeniorTssue T
Chalk Art by Claire Williams & Blaise Baker
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Claire says, “With the craze of chalk art going around because of shelter in place, Blaise and I decided that we should start doing some chalk art of our own. We started with geometric shapes on the street, to putting motivational messages on the sidewalk, to creating an abstract rose for Mother’s Day, a pikachu for a class project, a paper crane, and finally the Sequoia logo. With each drawing we were able to shorten the amount of time taken to complete the coloring and outline of the drawing. Working with the chalk has provided a creative outlet that we can share with others.�
Protests for #BLM in Redwood City
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Virtual Graduation
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New Mural on campus
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10 Ways to survive Quarantine
6 Senior Chalk Art 12 Senior Map
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ABOUT THE COVER
TABLE of CONTENTS
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Nationwide enforcement of Covid-19 safety measures inconsistent
Printing and web posting funded by
Letter from the Editors What a year it has been. It has easily been the most volatile year for us as journalists and leaders. As third-year journalism students, going on fourth year, we’ve had quite a few curve balls thrown at us over time. But nothing like this year. We’ve worked with a new advisor every year, but this was the first time we’ve ever changed advisors in the midst of the school year. It certainly was not easy and made it close to impossible for us to maintain order and organization in such a youthful class, but we made it through. This was the first time we’ve ever changed rooms during the school year. We’ve always worked in room 243; the journalism lab upstairs, down the computer lab hall, containing filing cabinets packed with old Raven Report issues from long before our presence here, with walls painted in newspapers and magazines from the last few years, as well as our infamous hand-painted Raven Report sign made by our beloved Raven Report alumni. We miss that room greatly. It holds memories of a slightly less stressful time in our lives as student journalists. But this year, we started in a history classroom. After a few weeks, we moved into the Media Center, which, thankfully, ended up being a fine place to put a magazine together. And a few months later we knelt to COVID-19 and left to reside in our homes to prevent its spread, and our publication made some shifts to adapt to such changes. And now, here we are, communicating through Zoom calls, text and email, yet working towards the same goal; to create a phenomenal newsmagazine for our Sequoia community. Was it easy? Absolutely not. But once again, we got through it. Over the years, this publication has taught us how to persevere and persist, no matter the situation you’re in if it is for something that you love. And we love this magazine! But we would never have been able to get through all these changes if it weren’t for some extraordinary people around our campus:
Thank you, Ms. Snow, for rescuing us from our early disasters this year, gifting us with the media center, and being one of the best, most dedicated, intelligent and tech-savvy advisors we’ve ever had. Thank you to the administration for supporting our work and keeping up with frequent check-ins and communication to ensure the stability of the journalism program. Thank you to the SHSEF Board for providing us the necessary funds to turn our hard work and creativity into a beautiful, colored print magazine. Thank you to the editors and journalists who came before us, for guiding and educating us through our ineptitude as well as spearheading the publication to a point where we could take up the mantle and create impactful content in your place. And of course, thank you to the students, parents and community members who read our content and motivate us to continue doing the work we have for so long now. After all, we made this for you, and we will continue making it for you until we are on our way to our adult lives. Being juniors, we were not expecting to head the publication so early, but we are absolutely ecstatic to have another year to run this incredible publication before we pass on the torch. The only thing we can expect for the upcoming year is the unexpected. But regardless of the adult who advises us, the room we are in, or whether or not we are together in person, we will be here to continue this publication and work to improve our newsmagazine until the very end.
ABOUT
The Raven Report is a Sequoia High School student publication produced in the journalism class through the efforts and decisions of the staff and the publication’s editors and adviser. The Raven Report is a public forum for students, staff, parents and community members. The Raven Report strives to provide Sequoia High School with informative, engaging and relevant news. The staff will exercise integrity and adaptability while promoting justice and transparency through professional reporting about the school, the community and the world.
CONTACT
The Raven Report staff welcomes signed letters to the editor so that readers might share in the opportunities of the scholastic free press in open forum. The written views of students, parents or community members must be responsible, in good taste and free from libel, slander or obscenity. Letters may be edited for grammar or content if necessary; furthermore, editors will not guarantee that letters will be published. 1201 Brewster Ave. Redwood City, CA 94062 www.ravenreport.org ravenreport17@gmail.com
Raven Report // 19-20 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Jay Tipirneni Taylor Gayner MANAGING EDITOR Madeline Carpinelli FEATURE EDITOR David Ramirez
OPINION EDITOR Ray Evans MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Zoe Dufner STAFF REPORTERS Bella Burns Hope Callaghan
Alexander Chang Alexander Cottrell Madeline Cowgill Caitlin Dulsky Ignacio Dominguez Chloe Johnson Gus Kirkpatrick Nicholas Lawrence Carlos Luna
Eli Mihaly-Baker Oscar Nolf Greta Reich Tess Restaino Carla Roberts ADVISER Betsy Snow
RAVEN REPORT | MAY 2020
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BLACK LIVE by Jay Tipirneni Co-Editor-in-Chief
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esidents protest police brutality following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man from Minneapolis, at the Redwood City courthouse square on Tuesday, June 2. Beginning at 4 pm, protesters gathered around the courthouse square to listen to numerous speakers passionately voice their concerns on over-policing, injustice in the justice system, and how to improve law enforcement in our community. After the speakers finished, protesters splintered and marched around various sections of the city. One of the larger groups marched along Broadway towards Woodside
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road where they were met with a blockade of police officers at the entrance/exit towards highway 101. Protesters kneeled in front of police officers, a call back to Colin Kaepernick’s iconic kneel during the national anthem in protest of police brutality. Among the crowd were numerous Sequoia students and alumni, some of whom even participated as speakers during the initial gathering. Many students joined as a way to show solidarity for the black community and to push police reform. “My motivation came from how an oppressed community needs to grow and fight for their rights,” rising Senior Dahlia Bahamondes said. “Although I am not African-American, it’s important that Latinos also
take part in fighting for them just like how they’ve fought for us.” Along with that, many students believe it is their duty to speak up, calling silence complacency. “The cops have been terrorizing black and brown people for way too long and being silent when I’m a minority myself is the worst thing one can do because that’s saying you’re ok with minorities getting shot and harassed every day,” rising senior Abraham Barbosa said. Students also believe that our schools should promote discussions involving race and that students should acknowledge their privilege. “[We should] encourage students to use their
ES MATTER voices constantly, treat it as an ongoing issue. Don’t let students forget that this is something going on where they live. Often times people hop on this ‘trend’ and quickly ditch the idea to live their own lives. [We should] encourage students to use their privilege, since Sequoia has a good amount of white students, and to speak about this topic. [We should] open the conversations in classrooms as well, students should speak on their ideas and we should encourage them to fight for other issues,” Bahamondes said. Overall, many students and protesters just want one common thing; for their voices to be heard. “We got to let our voices be heard at the end of the day,” Barbosa said.
Photography by Taylor Gayner and Jay Tipirneni
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As the weather warmed, seniors were drawn to the patio to show of their college choices in chalk, an emerging pandemic artform.
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Virtual graduation better than nothing by Greta Reich
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hough not nearly the same as a traditional graduation ceremony, virtual graduation is certainly something that will be remembered by all those who participate and by those who watch. All of today's seniors are experiencing something never experienced before, and they are doing it with open-minds. The class of 2020 has proven to be resilient. They not only went through all of this unluckiness, but came out on the other side still committing to colleges, getting jobs, and making decisions for their futures. It is for this reason that their graduation has to be something special. Many students and parents at Sequoia have been wondering about how graduation is going to work now that we cannot have the traditional ceremony. Sequoia’s wonderful graduation company has created the next best thing. Though it is in no way the same, a “Virtual Graduation” will be held to celebrate all of the 2020 Seniors leaving Sequoia. On June 5, at 10:00 a.m, the virtual ceremony will be uploaded to YouTube with specific slides dedicated to each senior who filled out the necessary forms (which many unfortunately - did not). They have been given the option to make a video message to go with their picture and an audio message that will be playing over it with their name. The caps and gowns have already been distributed by parents and staff who handed them out to seniors according to their last names in a safe and orderly fashion. This process was a celebration in itself, as these parents and teachers lined the parking lot with posters, balloons,
and cheers to the arriving graduates. When explained only in a factual manner, “Virtual Graduation” sounds bland and boring, but senior Brad Parmer-Lohan gives insight about what it really means. “It’s nowhere near what’s ideal or what was in peoples’ minds or what they were thinking was going to happen, but I think the administration and everybody at Sequoia has done a great job to put this together and everyone has really done their best to make this graduation the best it can be under the circumstances,” he says. “I think it’s going to be fun to see everybody’s video clips and the pictures they took. Having that video is going to be really nice and I’m looking forward to not having to spend however many hours in the sun.” Though as Brad says, this graduation is not ideal, it will certainly be unforgettable. High schools around the world are doing the same as Sequoia. “Virtual Graduations” will be remembered throughout history, possibly even taught in textbooks. If this pandemic had happened fifty years ago, this type of ceremony would not be possible. Another very special thing about this graduation is that former President Barack Obama gave a commencement speech for every high school on Saturday, May 16, on several channels (ABC, CBS, NBC) and streaming platforms (Facebook, YouTube, TikTok), and included many other famous guest stars such as Malala Yousafzai, Lebron James, the Jonas Brothers and more. The class of 2020 may not have the memory of walking to Pomp and Circumstance in their cap and gown to collect a diploma, but they will go down in history for having the most memorable graduation ever.
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Boosters Fund New Mural by Greta Reich Staff Reporter
The lively murals that define the Sequoia campus just got a little brighter. Now, the people who painted them are back to give us a new take on the Sequoia Raven. Kurt Godula started Kourt Graphics back in 1975, just after he got out of high school. His son, Keith, joined 6 years ago, and together the father-son duo paints murals for high schools, colleges, and NBA teams on the road. Kurt designed and painted the old Warriors logo that was on their gym floor at Oracle Arena, and when the Warriors moved to Chase Center, the Godulas were asked back to paint the logo that we see on their gym floor today. The raven on the Sequoia basketball court and on the gym wall was done by them as well. In fact, it is because of those that they pro-
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posed the idea for this new mural. The Sequoia Boosters’ raised the money through the Fund-a -Need at the annual crab feed. “It started with us designing that logo in [the gym] because you guys were just ‘S’, ” Keith Godula said. “We wanted you guys to have an identity and a mascot, so we said ravens…We designed the raven logo for you and did all the stuff inside and then we’re standing there just looking at this wall. It’s right where you walk into the football field, so it’s a perfect spot for this.” Not only is it unavoidable when entering the football field or basketball gym from the gym side, but it also calls attention to our mascot, the raven, who cannot be seen anywhere on the football field, and was recently adopted as the officialschool mascot after years of discussion over the previous one.
Keith, only half of the Kourt Graphics duo, stands by the self-designed Warriors logo, and on the new Raven adorning Gym 1.
RAVEN RAVENREPORT REPORT||MAY MAY2020 2020
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The PTSA went out of their way to make senior cap and gown pick up special, handing out customized lawn signs, stickers, t-shirts, and pre-sorted caps and gowns with stoles and honor cords, in the Elwood parking lot on May 6. Students stayed in their cars to comply with social distancing measures.
RAVEN RAVENREPORT REPORT||MAY MAY2020 2020
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2020
University of Washington (5)
Western Washington University (1)
Pacific Northwest College of Art (5)
University of Montana (1) University of Portland (1) University of Oregon (7) Colorado State (2)
Menlo College (1) SF state (2)
Chico State (5)
University of Nevada Reno (2) University of the Pacific (3)
UC Davis (12) De Anza College (1) UC Berkeley (11) College of San Mateo (11) Foothill College (8) CSU East Bay (1)
UC Riverside (2)
Ohlone College (2)
Long Beach City College (1) Sacramento State (1) CSU Stanislaus (1)
Cañada College (9)
UC Santa Barbara (4) Universty of Southern California (2)
Stanford Univers (2) UC Merced (8)
ClaremontMckenna College (1) Loyola-Marymoun University (1)
Concordia University Irvine (1)
Pitzer College (1) UC Los Angeles (10)
Cal Poly Pomona (18)
Chapman University (1)
Santa Clara University (1) University of Arizona (1)
California Baptist University (1) University of San Diego (6) San Diego State (6)
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Azusa Pacific University (1)
UC Irvine (1)
San Jose State (6)
Cal Poly SLO (18) CSU Long Beach (1)
UC Santa Cruz (5)
CSU Northridge (1) UC San Diego (2)
Texas A&M (1)
Where are they going? University of WisconsinMadison (1)
Northwestern University (1) University of Michigan (1)
Syracuse University (2) Tufts University (1)
Lawrence University(1)
Juniata College (1) Northeastern University (1)
College of William and Mary (1)
ity sity
Vanderbilt University (1)
nt Workforce (3)
Gap year (2)
University of Florida (1)
Cardiff Mcgill University University of British Columbia - University - Wales (1) Montreal (1) Vancouver (2) University of Hawaii (1) Southern Methodist University (1)
University of Mississippi (1)
BYU Hawaii (1) King’s College - London (1)
Grambling University (1) NYU Shanghai (1)
International/Hawaii
RAVEN REPORT | MAY 2020
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Virtual Signing Day
Signing of the times
by Caitlin Dulsky Staff Reporter
Senior athletes have worked hard throughout their past four years of high school, working on their craft and bettering their skills to compete at a high level. On Friday, May 22nd, Athletic Director Melissa Schmidt held a virtual signing day to celebrate these hard working athletes for committing to play at the next level in college. Since these athletes did not get a chance to have a signing day at school due to the stay at home order, Schmidt wanted to make sure that their work and determination was honorably recognized before they graduate. It is important that we acknowledge these seniors for the hard work they put into their sport and congratulate them on becoming college athletes. Sequoia class of 2020 athletes will be continuing on their athletic careers in a variety of places: ANNA LEDBETTER, top left, is going on to swim at Chapman University. Ledbetter has been on varsity swim for all four years of high school, she played JV water polo sophomore year and varsity water polo junior and senior year. She was a varsity captain her senior year. She earned most im-
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proved freshman and sophomore year for varsity swimming and the varsity water polo team her senior year were league champs. She will be going on to earn a BFA in art at Chapman. LITA BILLMAN, bottom left, will be playing soccer at the University of British Columbia. She played varsity soccer at Sequoia all four years. Was first team All- League and goalkeeper of the year for the past two years. She will be studying to get her Bachelor of Arts at UBC. CONNOR POULOS, bottom right, will be doing track and field at Rochester Institute of Technology. He played football for three years, one year on Frosh Soph, and two on varsity. Did track for three years, one
year on JV, two years on varsity, and one year of wrestling on JV. Poulos was a PAL finalist and CCS qualifier for Track. He will be studying software engineering at RIT. ALVIN FUENTES, not pictured, will be playing soccer at Juniata College. He played two years on JV soccer and two years on varsity. He was on the all league team for JV his Freshman and Sophomore year. He is going in undecided at Juniata.
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by Tess Restaino Staff Reporter Amidst social distancing and self-isolation, many activities and hobbies have been stripped from teens. During such trying times, it is difficult to not have activities to distract from the fear and uncertainty of day to day life. In order to combat this, Sequoia Players decided to put on a production from a distance. Mr. Broome, the Sequoia Players director, chose a production that was specifically written for actors to perform on Zoom, a video conferencing application. Instead of one fluid story, the play was written as tiny vignettes. The cast rehearsed on Mondays and Thursdays at 2 oclock for about 3 weeks. On the week of the show, they had a dress rehearsal and then the performance on May 15th at 7 pm. About 140 people attended, making the show a huge success. However, the audience was not even the most successful part about the show. “Rehearsal was such a fun time. It really was an escape for all of us. I looked
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forward to seeing my cast mates at rehearsal each week, and we always had a good laugh together.” Said Logan Chin, a dedicated Sequoia Player. As a tradition after shows, Mr. Broome gives out stars to each Sequoia Player. The stars represent how many shows you’ve done at Sequoia and are often displayed proudly by Sequoia’s performers. For this show, Broome d e l i v e re d masks with the show's logo on them. This specialized gift brought joy to every cast member. A l though performing arts and other hobbies are on hold
currently, certain educators are going above and beyond to enable students to keep doing what they love from a safe distance.
Nationwide Disparities With COVID-19 Safety Measures
Carla Roberts Staff Reporter
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s COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc worldwide, disparities in national responses to COVID-19 are gaining clarity and publicity. States like Oklahoma, Oregon, and Florida have been reopening since late April, whereas states like California, New York, and Washington are still facing the economic and social repercussions of statewide closures. In Mid-may, I returned home from Seattle, Washington. Over the course of the two weeks, I was there, mandates requiring shoppers and employees to wear masks went from nonexistent to strongly enforced. However, a few days after these laws were passed, I made a trip to a large international market in the suburbs. Of the some 350 people there, not one was wearing a mask. The same was true at Uwajimaya, an Asian supermarket in a similar area. However, at every American grocery store, the
law was strictly enforced, or at least strictly followed--or so I thought. That same trip, I traveled to rural Washington for a brief camping trip, and the people there shared the same mask-wearing tendencies as the aforementioned international markets. Interestingly enough, the reason for this doesn’t appear to be due to a lack of education, as one might assume of rural communities. Rather, the people I talked to believe it is their right to evade laws requiring citizens to wear masks into stores. “The government thinks they know what’s best for everyone,” said Fritz Braunberger, a scientist and inventor living in Mineral Lake, WA. “But that’s not the case--we live in an area with such a low population that we shouldn’t have to wear masks and social distance here. No one has the virus, but the government is too busy knowing what’s best to look at the facts.” This perspective is shared
among many people who live outside of non-metropolitan areas, where mandates issued by the statewide government are more relevant. Lisa Roberts, a realtor living in Seattle, agrees. Sure, these laws make sense for somewhere like Seattle, where the population is large and dense,” she says, “but it’s not a law that should be applied everywhere in the state. Why not open up the local economies of smaller, rural areas? It increases income without the high risk of COVID-19 spreading.” While it’s clear that national and statewide governments are doing their best to curve the number of COVID-19 cases, it might be time to reconsider which regions are entirely open, closed, or perhaps somewhere in between. The effects of national closures on the economy are grave, but there may be a way to improve that issue for certain areas without greatly increasing the overall case counts.
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2020
Challenges Continue... Sequoia Events March 21 - Virtual Sequoia Boosters Crab Dinner May 2 & 9 - Dance Zoom Extravaganza May 6 - Senior Cap and Gown Pick Up May 15 - Sequoia Players virtual production of “10 Ways to Survive Quarantine” May 22 - Virtual Signing Day June 5 - Virtual Graduation National events: March 20 - Governor Gavin Newsom announces shelter-in-place order March 27 - Congress passes stimulus bill to help struggling Americans April 2 - Asian-Americans targeted in coronavirus-related hate crimes April 20 - Protests against shelter-in-place spark in certain regions April 28 - U.S. reports 1 million cases of COVID-19 May 4 - “Murder hornets” found in Washington state May 20 - Over 30 states begin to reopen, California and others in regional reopenings May 25 - Minneapolis resident George Floyd is murdered by local police May 30 - Protests against police brutality spark nationwide Some Good Stuff: May 16 - Lebron James, Barack Obama and others host virtual graduation ceremony for class of 2020 May 24 - Anonymous donors pay off 400 students’ student debt May 29 - Instructional calendar ends a week early May 30 - Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 is successfully launched
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