Sequoia’s swaggiest seniors

Mackenzie Jackson (right), who won the senior superlative for best dressed, first got into fashion in her sophomore year over quarantine.

“I think quarantine gave me like, a lot of time to really develop my own sense of style,” Jackson said.

Like many people, Jackson took the internet and online platforms to find looks she liked.

“I use Pinterest a lot to develop what I like and just pick pieces that seemed like me and just put it all together,” Jackson said.

For Jackson, someone dressing nice doesn’t necessarily mean they have nice or expensive clothes but rather that it looks good on them and they are confident with what they wear.

“Everything goes together nice, the colors look good together, and just fits their personality,” Jackson said.

The other winner of the best dressed senior superlative winner, Belal Ismail (left), has been into fashion ever since he was little. For Ismail, fashion is all about feeling good and confident while looking good.

“You just feel good when you look good, so why not have confidence every day when you can look like that,” Ismail said.

Fashion also serves as a way for Ismail to connect with other people.

“You get to just talk to people about fashion and it just builds community,” Ismail said.

Just like the other seniors featured, Reese Hsu first got into fashion due to his boredom over quarantine.

“Well [there was] nothing else to do so might as well just upgrade upgrade my physical appearance,” Hsu said.

Hsu proves that name-brand or bright colored clothing aren’t necessary to have a good outfit, leaning towards more earthy tones and baggy clothes found in thrift stores to achieve a more vintage look.

“It doesn’t have to fit perfectly and anything that I can make work, I’ll make work,” Hsu said.

Aside from Pinterest and online platforms, Hsu gets his inspiration for outfits from other people he sees when playing music in San Francisco.

“There’s a lot of like people around [the city] that are inspiring just to see in person and musicians especially are people that I that I draw inspiration from,” Hsu said.

BY RYLAN BUTT Editor-in-Chief

Jeffry Suruy’s interest in fashion also started over the distance learning era.

“I remember I was looking back at photos for freshman year, and I was wearing like, tight khaki pants. I thought that was like super cool at the time and it really wasn’t and at that point, I was like alright, I have to start changing up my style,” Suruy said.

Recently, Suruy has been into the baggy clothes trend, opting for looser fitting clothes and jeans when he shops. He finds most of his clothes at local thrift stores like Savers.

When asked about his fashion inspiration, he says he gets his outfits from Belal Ismail.

BY AMARA BAKSHI Multimedia Editor

For many Sequoia students, college is the first taste of freedom students have experienced in their life. Alcohol consumption is seen as an integral and inevitable part of the college experience, despite its potential risks. As universities, colleges and communities comprehend the effects of excessive drinking, some are exploring the factors that contribute to this behavior and ways to address it.

“There’s about 100 freshmen that live in my building. I have noticed that a lot of them have never really drank before college so it was a big deal for a lot of people. Coming from a country where you have to be 21 to drink and suddenly the age is lowered and having alcohol is super accessible,” Sequoia alum and New York University (NYU) London Madeline Carpinelli said.

Although underage drinking on college campuses has become a highlight and an unavoidable part of independence, there are risks that come with excessive drinking and disregard for limits. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA) defines binge drinking as, “a pattern of excessive drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08%—or 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter—or more.”

Drinking in this way at a young age can pose serious health and safety problems, and a higher probability of car crashes, driving under the influence (DUI) arrests, sexual assaults, and injuries later on in life. Long term effects of frequent binge drinking can lead to damage of the liver and other organs.

“I think in that way, a lot of people drink and drink, and drink just to get drunk,” Carpinelli said.

As the academic year starts to progress and anxiety sets in, students may turn to alcohol and partying as an avoidance technique to not have to think about schoolwork or the stress that comes with it. Student expectations and social pressure to meet new people are high towards the beginning of the school year.

According to the Alcohol Rehab Guide, “The high-risk period of binge drinking for college students is during the first six weeks of their freshman year. Many of these students fall into peer pressure and begin drinking soon after the first day of classes. Alcohol use is commonly viewed as the “college experience” that students desire. They want to fit in and make new friends, so they keep drinking without thinking about the potential consequences involved.”

Factors like setting and school traditions also have an effect on drinking habits throughout the entire campus. Colleges and universities with high priority and status on sports and Greek life will tend to drink more than other schools and organizations. In terms of living arrangements, students who are a part of sororities and fraternities have the highest level of alcohol consumption, juxtaposed to students living with family.

“If you’re involved in Greek life, drinking is a lot more common, especially during initiations or hazing. Living arrangements might also affect drinking habits because there are some buildings that have people that like partying and are hosting more dorm parties so that can definitely affect you,” senior Sofia Sandoval said.

Other social situations like peer pressure affect the drinking habits of college students. Peer pressure refers to the influence or opinions of members of one’s group. When someone makes decisions based on acceptance from friends or others, those choices may have been guided by peer pressure.

Offers and accessibility of alcohol can range from civil conversations and gestures to intense provoking or commands to drink. For most college freshmen, fitting into social norms is heavily dependent on how you “manage the party scene.” The perception by the college experience enhanced my media like movies and songs can provide an unrealistic expectation into how new students should act. This accompanied by the influence of other people, like friends, may lead to an abuse of alcohol.

“It has a lot to do with conforming, which oftentimes has to do with social identity theory, and like wanting to belong to part of a group. It’s human nature to want to belong, whether that be a group of two or 50 and people often conform to fit in with a group. I think the drinking probably is part of that,” IB Psychology teacher Erin Cespedes said.

Some think mandatory classes and lessons should be set in place for future college students to be more educated about the risks and consequences that come along with excessive college drinking.

“Colleges could create a mandatory class for freshmen that you take your first quarter that just talks about the risks of alcohol and how they can be prevented,” Cespedes said.

Although, students may not want to pay much attention to and just fly right through it. Because of this, there is no way to solidify that every student is adequately prepared for college and the risks associated with drinking.

“Before I came to [NYU], I did have to do an hour long online training where they tell you about the risks of alcohol. I feel like most people definitely just skip through it. But, I think that if you really didn’t know that much about drinking, those resources are definitely available,” Carpinelli said.

While maybe far away from home, families can provide support to college students by educating them on the safety of drinking responsibly.

“Encouraging loved ones to be aware of the risks, so if colleges aren’t going to force kids to take a class about it, parents could help educate their teenagers about the risks of binge drinking. Again, just encouraging them to find people who will support them in college, even if they’re choosing to not participate,” Cespedes said.

Drinking in college is going to happen, but make sure to be educated about what might and will happen if something goes south. Stay safe Sequoia.

“At the end of the day, most of the students at college are adults so they will take responsibility for their own actions and they will decide whether to be responsible or not,” Sandoval said.