February 2022

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Volume LXVI, No. 4 • February 11, 2022 • Larkspur, CA

Sports Spotlight: Charlie Treene P. 19

Photo by Allie Vasquez

Redwood High School 395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur, CA 94939 www.redwoodbark.org Editors-in-Chief:

Copy Editors:

Opinion Editors:

Hollis Belger

Casey Braff (Head Copy)

Shyla Lensing

Taylor Elliott

Samantha Elegant (Head Copy)

Declan McDaniels

Kent Goodman

Annie Goldstein (Head Copy)

Chloe Bishop

Alex Coe Art Consultants:

Allie Vasquez

Feature Editors:

Keely Ganong

Bella Piacente

Sam Kimball

Brooke Leslie

Calla McBride

Sydney Liebhauser

Peter Biss

Claire Silva

Stella Bennett

Ella Kharrazi Business Managers:

Gemma Strauss

Lifestyles Editors:

Keegan Williams

Justine Fisch

Charlotte DeForrest

Caitlin Beard

Kate McHugh

Ingrid Houtkooper

Samantha Michaels

Lily Reese

Dani Steinberg

Anna Royal

Maddie Sofnas Nina Geoghegan

Sophie Smallhorn

Multimedia Editor: Natalie Tress

Sports Editors:

Reporters:

Julia Frankus

Alex Fisch

Libby Hughes

Survey Manager:

Ani Svendsen

Hannah Sellers

Chloe Craft

News Editors:

Cole Seifer

Kelly Chuang

Social Media Managers:

Emilie Erickson

Rori Anderson

Caroline Scharf

Kana Kojima

Ava Razavi

Natalie Welch

Matt Benbow

Podcast Editors:

Sabrina Kizer

Review Editors:

Sofia Ruliffson

Sophia Buckholtz

Nathan Ash

Zach King

Dylan Zorn

Gemma Favaloro

Video Editors:

Senior Staff Writers:

Spanish Editor:

Hannah Morgan

Abigail Shewmaker

Gillian Reynolds

Sylvan Gordon-Wagen

Annalise Sandrich Ava Koblik

Development Director:

Web Designer:

Avery Aguero

Arjun Aujla

Sterling Lazarus

Caroline Goodhart Chris Vargelis Will Baker

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Volume LXVII, No. 4 • February 11, 2022 • Larkspur, CA

Coach Abuse

14

Starbird Chicken

17

Wellness Specialist Semester Abroad

22

redwood high school ● 395 doherty dr., larkspur, ca 94939 ● volume LXVII, no. 4 ● february 11, 2022 ● www.redwoodbark.org

Principal David Sondheim announces retirement

By Ava Razavi On Jan. 20, 2022, Principal David Sondheim sent an email out to the Redwood community announcing his retirement at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

“With tremendous gratitude and quite a bit of sadness,” Sondheim wrote, “I want to share with you that I will be retiring at the end of this school year. I have been wonderfully fortunate to have been the principal of such an incredible school in such a supportive and giving community for the last 11 years.”

Administrative Assistant to the principal, Dina Craft, describes a bittersweet feeling upon hearing the news. She wishes him well and supports his choice, but is also saddened by the departure of her boss.

“It’s a great but mixed feeling. I’m really happy for him; I think he deserves to enjoy the rest of his life doing exactly what he wants to do … and for him to be able to make this choice for himself and his family is great,” Craft said. “But personally, I’m really sad, and I’ll miss him very much.”

Junior Lucie Garbo is also disheartened

by Sonheim’s announcement but looks forward to the changes that are to come with the incoming principal.

“I was a bit sad [when I heard about his retirement,] but I am just hoping the new principal will be as great as Sondheim,” Garbo said. “I hope [the new principal] will continue the things that Sondheim has set in place and maintain his values and goals like his dedication to racial equality or mental health awareness through the

Wellness Center.”

Sondheim recognizes that now is the right time to end his journey as principal and believes that the school is ready for administrative change.

“For me and my family, it’s the right time. We have activities we want to do — travel, recreation and some different things,” Sondheim said. “I also don’t think someone should be principal for 25 years at a time; [Redwood] needs change. I’ve come and done what I can, and it’s time for someone else to come and do what they can and hopefully succeed where I haven’t.”

Craft hopes new leadership will maintain Sondheim’s energy, but will miss the unwavering optimism he expresses towards students and staff members.

“I hope the new principal will have the same positive outlook that Sondheim has and continues to keep the school moving in the same forward direction that it has been,” Craft said. “I am going to miss his happy, positive greeting in the morning — with that same smile that you can see even with a mask — and the generous energy that he brings every day.”

Through 11 years of great lessons and experience, Sondheim imparts some advice to the incoming principal.

“Talk to students as much as you possibly can, and find out what is going well and what still needs to be done. There’s no shortage of things that need work,” Sondheim said. “Be open to different types of change that might make us better … and work with others to make those changes.” arazavi@redwoodbark.org

Photo courtesy of The Log

AFTER 11 YEARS in his position as as principal, David Sondheim announces his retirement effective at the end of the year.

Recent toll increases impact commuters across Bay Area

By Sam Kimball

In January of 2022, toll prices rose one dollar for seven of the Bay Area’s bridges, including Marin’s RichmondSan Rafael Bridge and the Bay Bridge. The rise in this fee is due to Regional Measure 3, a bill that was voted on

by Bay Area residents. Following the approval by voters, Measure 3 increases toll fees a dollar in January 2019, another in 2022 and finally in 2025. Currently, the toll prices stand at a standard seven dollars, one dollar more than they were last year.

Deputy Executive Director of the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA), Andrew Fremier, has worked in the transportation field since he graduated from college, starting his career at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Then in 2005, he was recruited by BATA and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

“When it comes to keeping the bridges open and safe, meaning painting, pavement, redecking and collecting the

revenue, the BATA has unlimited toll setting authority,” Fremier said.

Fremier also recognized the functions of the specific Bay Area bridges and acknowledged that every bridge benefits another in a unique way.

“The way that the bridges were built is very interesting,” Fremier said. “The Bay Bridge is the [main focal point], as more cars cross the Bay Bridge than any other structure in the Bay Area. However, most of the tolls from the smaller bridges have helped pay for the new Bay Bridge, and now the Bay Bridge is repaying that and helping the other bridges.”

The toll increase provides significant funding to aid the development of bridges across the Bay Area. Anne Richman, the Executive Director of Transportation Authority of Marin since 2019, oversees an agency that develops and funds transportation projects across the county. Richman observes that this support is vital for the continuous upgrades bridges rely on.

“I really enjoy the combination of infrastructure and technical tissues with policy and how it affects peoples’ lives every day,” Richman said. “While I love the industry, I don’t think everyone understands the importance of maintaining these bridges to keep up with our everchanging society.”

However, Richman acknowledged that an increase by one dollar does not carry the same weight to everyone in the county.

“For some people, an extra dollar is probably not a big deal. While for some, it is a bigger deal … [but] really depends on the person and their transportation budget,” Richman said.

While the Golden Gate Bridge is not being affected by this toll hike, tolls in general are still impacting those commuting from Marin to San Francisco.

Senior Robyn Stephens works at Brandy Melville in San Francisco and realizes how the toll increase on the other bridges impacts commuters’ lives.

“Every time I go over the Golden Gate Bridge to work, my parents have to pay,” Stephens said. “There are many people that are going to be affected by increasing the tolls.

Part of every paycheck that everyone is going to make goes to pay for the tolls.”

Stephens also notices a need to improve transportation in the Bay Area, which she said will offer a cheaper way for commuters to access the city.

“It would be nice to improve the transportation system from Marin to San Francisco. The Muni and trains in the city work really well, but the public transportation could definitely be improved from the suburbs like Marin,” Stephens said.

Whether it is by a significant amount or not, the toll increase will impact those entering and exiting Bay Area cities; it will make commuters, in particular, think about how much of their paycheck is spent getting to work.

Photo courtesy of ABC News

ENTERING THE BAY Bridge, commuters pay the increased rate of $7 as of January 2022. Currently, the toll funds help to pay for future bridge maintenance projects.

skimball@redwoodbark.org

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Page 2 • News

February 11, 2022

Photo Survey What is your guilty pleasure song?

“‘Before He Cheats’ by Carrie Underwood. I’m not big on country, but that’s a really good song.”

“‘Lost’ by Frank Ocean because I really like the beat. A lot of my friends don’t like it but I enjoy it.”

“Definitely ‘Shots’ by LMFAO. I listen to that song [when I am] driving to school.”

“Probably ‘Come A Little Closer’ by Cage the Elephant because ... [it is] just very catchy.”

freshman

sophomore

junior

senior

Jaden Woods

Jack Corvi

Georgia Pineda

John Dempsey

Fighting through Marin’s Omicron wave Redwood’s Approach After returning from winter break, Redwood decided Defining Omicron to take a preventive approach to deal with the Omicron First detected in South Africa on Nov. 24, 2021, the variant. All students were encouraged to take an antigen Omicron variant of COVID-19 has since spread across the (rapid) test multiple days before coming back to school. globe, taking over schools, hospitals and other facilities. Those who tested reported their result to the school upon The variant, with less severe symptoms, still poses serious returning. threats to public health. Its contagious nature has caused Vice Principal and public health liaison Saum Zargar the number of cases in recent months to skyrocket. was surprised with the results of the testing.

Jumping from 40 to 646 new cases from December to “[The county] hypothesized that of all the people who January, Omicron has significantly impacted Marin County reported their results, one to two percent would be positive. despite the What we 94.7 percent realized vaccination is that it rate for the was double eligible that rate. The population. percent that Infectious tested positive disease specialist before coming to at a Bay Area hospital, school was closer to Dr. Hui Zhao, noted the four to five percent,” main difference between the Zargar said.

Omicron variant and previous Zargar oversaw the daily variants is its contagion. testing of students and faculty “Just the sheer number of that occurred throughout the people infected is unprecedented,” month of January. Teachers were Zhao said. allowed to test weekly at school; should She acknowledged that another unique they test positive, the administration had trait of the Omicron variant is its lower Illustrations courtesy of Canva conferred with faculty regarding their incubation period, meaning those infected options. develop symptoms sooner after exposure. While the Delta “To support our teachers, they can still teach their variant had an incubation period of approximately five class [over Zoom] and not necessarily use their sick days days, Omicron symptoms are commonly visible three days … if they have no symptoms or if they feel okay enough after exposure. to do so,” Zargar said. This option remains available for Emergency physician at Marin Health Medical Center teachers, though unmandated. and Redwood parent Dr. Tami Gash-Kim also identified a Student prevention options, however, differ from those difference in symptoms of the Omicron variant. of faculty. During the month of January, students were “There’s overlap [between Omicron and other variants,] not provided the option to test weekly. Positive students but it is still subtly different,” Gash-Kim said. “There are are now required to reach out to their teachers to find a similar upper respiratory tract infection symptoms, but not new way to complete the assignments, as Zoom classes so much the loss of smell and loss of taste [associated with were only required in the month of January. They must do the Delta variant]. It’s predominantly the sore throat kind this until they test negative or after 10 days of of symptoms.” quarantine.

Hospitals Advanced Placement Language and The high infectivity rate has led to an employee Composition teacher Dr. Fiona Allan has shortage across the nation for all professions. However, made further efforts to ensure safety in the issue is most prevalent in hospitals, where healthcare her classes. In addition to keeping her workers are often exposed to the variant. classroom’s windows open at all times “Toughest part right now is [that] not only is the and washing her hands frequently, hospital busy with the number of patients infected with Allan sent a video from the Center for Omicron but there is also the lack of healthcare workers,” Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Zhao said. “Because the healthcare workers themselves to her students and their parents about are getting sick, there is a lack of staff to take care of these how to properly wear a mask using the people.” knot and tuck method.

The rising count of cases also leads to the unavailability “A lot of students haven’t been of beds for patients without COVID-19. taught how to wear their masks. They “If [a patient with COVID-19] is taking up a bed, it have their masks down beneath their means one less bed for someone who needs a hospital bed noses, so I’m reminding them that for another condition. If the hospital’s full, people who they need to wear the masks properly,” need outpatient surgery and a bed afterward have to delay Allan said. their surgery,” Zhao said.

Allan also keeps extra masks in Hospital resources are further depleted when those her desk to aid students who come in who cannot find COVID-19 tests crowd emergency rooms wearing cloth masks, which have been — one of the only reliable sources for tests. proven less effective than surgical or “The number of people needing [a COVID-19] test is N95 masks. straining our healthcare system. People sometimes can’t Despite the recent spike in the number of cases, the get a test for a week and then they go to the emergency administration and district have not detailed the criteria for room thinking they can get a test sooner, but that crowds fully online learning. the emergency room and delays care elsewhere,” Zhao “We want kids in school. We want teachers in school said. and when [teachers] cannot physically be in school then

By Rori Anderson and Ella Kharrazi

we are giving them the option to Zoom in while they are quarantining and keeping safe,” Zargar said. “Our intention is to keep schools open. We believe the safest place for kids to be is in school.”

Effect on Redwood Throughout the first semester of the 2021-2022 school year, Zoom school was not an option for students who contracted COVID-19. However, when the Omicron variant started an uptick in cases over winter break, the Tamalpais Union School District (TUHSD) started providing Zoom links for students in quarantine.

Junior Mia Solomon tested positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of January after being unknowingly exposed at swim practice. Solomon quarantined for 10 days, testing positive on both the fifth and seventh days. She found that in addition to staying home, Zoom school proved to be a challenge.

“It was very lonely. In a lot of my classes, I was the only person on Zoom,” Solomon said. “It was really different from Zoom [in 2021] because the teachers didn’t really pay attention to what was happening on Zoom. They just focused on the [physical] class. I could only sort of hear what they were saying from far away, and they just let [the Zoom] run.”

In addition to the students that felt a loss of connection, teaching proved more difficult with some students online.

“There is magic that happens in the classroom. The balance of teaching [both in-person and on Zoom] is a fine one to strike. It’s like dividing yourself in two,” Allan said.

Switching back and forth between the Zoom and the in-person class was confusing; the balance of last year’s Zoom took time to master, but this year’s constantly changing conditions made adapting even harder.

“Once we get it, things change again. It’s just always a stance that’s constantly changing, and the goalposts are always moving. Sometimes I feel like we are a bit in triage mode,” Allan said.

Current Update The number of new cases in Marin are already dropping. With a decrease of 110 cases in the last 14-day period, the wave of Omicron in Marin seems to be passing.

Additionally, Redwood ceased to require teachers to provide Zoom links for students who are ill or quarantining, as this mandate was only for the month of January, due to the decrease in COVID-19 positive students at Redwood.

Teachers and students are unable to take a COVID-19 test at school as of Feb. 1.

“There’s always changing policies, either within the organization, from the CDC, from the California Department of Public Health or even local calls. Trying to catch up with that can be challenging,” Zhao said.

Even in the past few weeks, a new subvariant of Omicron, BA.2, has been detected. Scientists have found that the symptoms and effects are similar to that of BA.1, the current variant, but it is around 1.5 times more transmissible. According to Zhao, as COVID-19 procedures and variants are ever-changing, it is vital to remain updated on CDC guidelines.

“The main thing right now is definitely to get vaccinated. And number two is, like throughout the entire pandemic, masking, hand hygiene and social distancing,” Zhao said. bark@redwoodbark.org

Page 3 • News

www.redwoodbark.org

Marin Water lifts severe water restrictions

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By Hannah Sellers

On Tuesday, Jan. 18, the Marin Water Board of Directors voted unanimously to repeal customer water-use limits and associated penalties set earlier this winter. The action to nullify Ordinance No. 454, established on Dec. 1, 2021, came in response to recent rainfall restoring local reservoirs to near-full capacity after a year of alarmingly low water levels.

As of Jan. 27, reservoir storage capacity sits at 96 percent compared to the 56 percent capacity on this same date last year. Yet, with the Board’s decision to revoke these water-use restrictions, Marin Water communications manager, Adriane Mertens, reminds residents of California’s unpredictable climate variability and encourages the community to keep up their watersaving practices.

“We want residents to remember how quickly we can return to a water shortage,” Mertens said. “We know our reservoirs are full enough to get us through the next year or two, but if we have another dry year or two, we could be back in the same place we were [in most of 2021].”

Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) teacher Mitch Cohen also advises others to continue to use water with caution and consider Marin’s historical trend of droughts.

“I think that people should really get in the habit of conserving because, even though the reservoirs might be in good shape for the moment, climate changes aren’t going away, and we’re going to see other droughts down the road,” Cohen said. “People need to view water as a valuable resource and not waste it.”

Having experienced many of Marin’s devastating droughts, Cohen integrates several water-conserving habits into his lifestyle. At home, Cohen uses low-flow showerheads and toilets. In his yard, he saves water by turning off his drip irrigation and collecting rainwater through a catchment system. He then uses the rainwater to self-irrigate his lawn.

“It doesn’t make a single bit of difference to me that my [low-flow] toilet takes one and a half liters to flush versus three or four gallons. It still does the job,” Cohen said.

To combat future water shortages in Marin, Cohen additionally claims that the price of water should reflect its utility.

“Water is really cheap. We get a gallon of fully treated drinking water delivered to our house when we just flick a switch, and that costs about a penny,” Cohen said. “I’ve always challenged students to try and think of anything that you can buy that is a better value than one gallon of

Photo by Hannah Sellers

REFILLED FROM RECENT rainfall, Phoenix Lake boasts high water levels.

Photo by Hannah Sellers

FOLLOWING 41.16 INCHES of rain in the past seven months, Marin’s reservoirs are now almost full, with 96 percent capacity. fully treated drinking quality water delivered to you on everyone is willing to commit to and make a plan to cut demand.” back on water, whether that’s taking Marin Water already partially reflects fewer showers or reusing greywater.” this concept in their tiered pricing As APES paved the way for system: a cost structure aimed to promote Ritter’s water- conscious behavior, water conservation by charging residents she hopes others will take advantage different rates that increase with water of opportunities in and outside of use. However, one of Cohen’s annual school to learn more about water in-class labs in which students examine systems and conservation. their water bills from home repeatedly “People see water as a kind of a reveals that, for many families, the resource that’s really easy to waste prices are not set high enough to reduce and they think it is a really abundant household water use. resource. I think a lack of education Mitch Cohen, “As long as you’re using water on the actual problem is why more below the first tier, then it can be cheap, APES teacher people don’t conserve,” Ritter said. but when people go over that allotted Even with near-full reservoirs and amount, I think that the tiered pricing Marin Water’s decision to rollback system could become more severe. I’ve had students that restrictions, Ritter plans to maintain have had water bills that are up in the thousands of dollars her current water-saving routine. because they have a pool and they have a spa and they “I know how quickly things can change, and just have a lawn,” Cohen said. because we re having a good year doesn’t mean that every According to a January 2021 Bark survey, 67 percent year is going to be a good year,” Ritter said. “It may be of Redwood students take action to consciously conserve good that [Marin Water] is relieving stress for people who water when they can. Motivated after taking APES with freaked out about water restrictions, but I think it’s very Cohen during her junior year, senior Katherine Ritter now important to continue to be conscious so we do not get reduces her water use on a daily basis. Her conservation back to that place that we once were.” efforts include placing a bucket in her shower to collect The Marin Water Board of Directors plans to meet greywater, a name for uncontaminated domestic again on Feb. 15, to discuss further modifications to wastewater. She then uses the excess water to sustainably restrictions that remain in place like irrigation limits and flush her toilets. Ritter encourages other students to start bans on pool filling. In the meantime, live updates on open conversations with their families about realistic reservoir water levels can be found on their website at water-saving goals. https://www.marinwater.org/water-watch. “[Saving water] is actually pretty simple,” Ritter said.

“Yes, it does require a little bit of planning, but once you start doing it, it’s really easy to continue, and it’ll make you feel good for doing something good for the environment.

I recommend that others talk to their families, see if hsellers@redwoodbark.org

People need to view water as a valuable resource and not waste it.

Bark Patrons

Seth and Kelli Anderson The Ganong Family Graham Banks Paul Gehrman The Beard Family The Gersch Family The Belger Family The Ginsburg Family Timi Leslie Kristin Bennett The Glickman Family Louise Lo The Bishop Family Marty Goldstein Jane Maier Leanne Bober The Goldstein Family The Marotto Family Colleen Bourke Tonia and Dave Golt Jennifer Mazzullo Harrison Barbara Bradley Kathleen and John Goodhart The Mcride Family Donal and Brenda Cindy Goodman Ruth McDaniels The Buckholtz Family The Hartung Family The McHugh Family Lucy Churton The Herbst Family The Michaels Family Greta Cifarelli Leonard & Dolly Hom Sally Middleton Sonya and Greg DeForrest Julie Houtkooper Jacqui Miranda Chanticleer Street Tamara Hull Cindy Morris Nick Desin Erica Hunt Ann Morton The Elliott Family Sylvia Jones Sean Nick Naz Erickson The Khaver Family The O’Connor Family Courtney Finnegan Jon and Janie Kimball Denise and Ian Olson The Fisch Family Sarah and Rachel Kimball Dawn Valler and Peter Byck Erin Fish The Kimball Family Hali Croner and Eugene Palmer The Fishburne Family Jennifer Kipp Fran and Bob Piacente Rod and Hannah Fliegel Eliza Koeppel The Povich Family Cathy Flores The Lazarus Family The Reese Family The Frankus Family The Lensing Family Timothy and Lesley Reidy

The Ritter Family Anna Royal The Sellers Family Christopher and Corinne Seton The Shewmaker Family Jena Shore The Smallhorn Family Daniel and Teresa Solomon The Song Family Jill Steinberg Corey Stodolnic The Strotz Family Christy Swildens Kimberly Tully-Sutton The Tupper Family Eliza Turner The Vargelis Family Caroline Wabl Tonya and Jeff Way The Weir Family Holly and Mike Welch Barry and Barbara Wenglin

The Wolfers Family The Wolfert Family The Zirpoli Family Simon Zornoza

If you would like to support the Redwood Bark, online donations can be made by scanning the QR code above or by visiting www. redwoodbark.org. Payment by check can be made out to The Redwood Bark and mailed to Redwood High School. Thank you for your support!

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Page 4 • News

February 11, 2022

A LOCAL ANGLE ON GLOBAL NEWS

RHS alumnus reflects on Kazakhstan’s unrest

By Chloe Craft

Photo courtesy of Raine Conti

BASKING IN HER win, senior Katherine Berkowitz is deemed the ‘Micetro’ during rehearsal.

Micetro premieres

By Sarah Goody

Prior to COVID-19, the drama department produced an annual performance of “Micetro,” an improvisation show where student performers compete in improvisational games. This year, the department is bringing back the tradition, after one year away, and will be performing a total of eight shows throughout February.

The overall premise of “Micetro” is to out-perform other cast members in a series of improv games. The audience scores the improvisers after each round, rating performances on a scale of one to five. The best performers will continue to advance to the next round until there is only one actor remaining. The last performer is then deemed the ‘Micetro.’

Redwood alumna and “Micetro” director Jill Turner has loved the show since she first saw it during her high school years. “‘Micetro’ changed my life. When I was younger and saw the older students doing it. I thought it would be impossible [to do]. Since performing ‘Micetro,’ I haven’t stopped doing improv,” Turner said.

“They’re all amazing improvisers, and they work as an ensemble, but the scoring is what makes it fun to watch and interactive for the audience.”

Junior and cast member Gracie O’Connell also believes the audience is a fundamental part of the show.

“The audience is as important as the improvisers.

[The improvisers are] not really performing for you.

It’s almost like you’re performing with them because you’re getting to be a part of the scene by participating and interacting,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell has not had the opportunity to watch “Micetro” due to COVID-19 cancellations in previous years; however, she is excited to have the opportunity to perform this year, despite various regulations.

“Wearing a mask [makes it] hard to see the emotion that people portray. [It is hard to have] the same connection through facial expressions [when wearing masks]. But, I do think that it is fun to see how actors have worked through [these challenges]. You can still see so much emotion through the actions that people have and their different voices,” O’Connell said.

Junior Maddie Epps is also performing this year and has felt the effects that COVID-19 has had on her “Micetro” experience.

“Our director actually got COVID-19, and a few rehearsals had to get canceled, so we’ve only been rehearsing for about three weeks. With [that] and all [of the various regulations], it’s been a lot more difficult,” Epps said.

After overcoming hurdles, Epps is eager for the department to showcase their work and to experience the excitement of live audiences.

“I think it’s a really good way to wind down and have a laugh with your friends,” Epps said. “It’s a great experience and a lot of fun to watch and participate in as an audience member as well.”

Turner is proud of all that the cast has accomplished and hopes other students will fall in love with the show as well.

“They’re an amazing ensemble, and everyone should get to see ‘Micetro.’ There’s a reason we’ve been doing this show for more than 20 years,” Turner said. sgoody@redwoodbark.org

Citizens of Kazakhstan are reeling after weeks of nationwide protests against government corruption and poor living conditions. According to a Jan. 25 release by the General Prosecutor’s Office of Kazakhstan, ​​at least 225 protesters were killed and 4,300 injured since Jan. 5. Currently 898 detainees face various criminal charges, including terrorism and mass rioting, with an additional 63 already sentenced. Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims to have received dozens of reports of unlawful arrests and mistreatment of detainees, as detailed in a Feb. 1 statement

by Europe and Central Asia director Hugh Williamson.

“Kazakhstan’s arbitrary detentions of peaceful protests and abuse of detainees is a cause for deep concern,” Williamson said. “Kazakh authorities should immediately put a stop to the abuses, ensure that every detainee’s rights are protected and bring to justice those who beat or tortured them.”

The protests began as nonviolent demonstrations over rising gas prices the first week of January. They soon progressed into nationwide riots against corruption in the Kazakh government. In response, authorities cut outside communications, beginning with localized internet outages on Jan. 3, then instating a nationwide internet blackout– shutting down cable and internet providers and banning social media and messaging services on Jan. 4.

While visiting family and friends in Kazakhstan, Michael, a Redwood alum currently attending College of Marin, who wishes to remain anonymous, started to notice issues with the Wi-Fi around Jan. 4.

“I was supposed to go [stay with] family friends, but our Wi-Fi [at home] got worse and worse,” Michael said, calling over an encrypted communications app. “The next day, people were saying there was a protest, and then WiFi shut off completely and we were blind to the situation.

We only got our news from 10 minute gap of Wi-Fi at night.”

On Jan. 5, authorities initiated another internet blackout, lifting it only for a short televised announcement that Russian security forces would be arriving to quell the protests. Throughout the week, reports of violent unrest and internet shutdowns increased.

“Everybody started calling people [to ask what happened]. News was just word of mouth [from] people

Photo courtesy of Pavel Mikheyev

ARMED AND READY, Kazakh security forces prepare to clash with protesters in Almaty’s city center.

who … saw [the protests]. They called their friends, and word spread fast,” Michael said. “I [heard] they called the army, … and then it became non-peaceful.”

On Jan. 7, reports arose that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev issued orders to “shoot to kill without warning.”

However, the riots persisted, only beginning to subside around Jan. 11. The violence was reportedly the deadliest experienced by Kazakhstan since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Redwood History teacher Nickolai Butkevich recognizes the importance of understanding the political context surrounding such conflicts.

“We see uprisings where people are upset about gas prices. … But under the surface, it looks like the president, [Tokayev,] who was a pawn of the former leader [Nursultan Nazarbayev,] finally took real power,” Butkevich said.

Nazarbayev served as first president of Kazakhstan from 1990 to 2019, and due to unfair elections and Nazarbayev’s cult of personality— dedicating numerous monuments, public holidays and Kazakhstan’s official capital, Nur-Sultan, to himself — his presidency has been considered a dictatorship. His political power through close alliance with Tokayev is one target of recent upheaval. “[Nazarbayev] stepped back and used Tokayev as his frontman, having a role where he would let [Tokayev] do the day-to-day stuff. [Nazarbayev] would intervene only on big issues or if his wealth, power [or] connections were threatened,” Butkevich said. “Those sorts of games that are under the surface they are not covered enough in our media.”

Senior and President of Model United Nations Nicole Hoelzle believes that Americans need to recognize international issues in order to obtain a broader global perspective. “[Kazakh] issues are just as important to us [in the U.S.] and complex as American issues are. Even though we might say, ‘well, it has nothing to do with us,’ it has everything to do [with us]. Decisions happening in that country will impact the U.S. socially, politically and economically,” Hoelzle said.

The original protests over oil prices highlight a significant economic issue that Hoelzle claims will likely impact America.

“Kazakhstan has a lot of oil reserves that provide to lots of big powers like the U.S., and they’re nestled near Russia and China,” Hoezle said.

Butkevich emphasized this relationship between Kazakhstan and major world powers, adding that these concerns are not only relevant now but will be critical to understand in the future.

“We here should care [about Kazakhstan] as Americans because the competition between China and the U.S. is going to be a defining issue for centuries to come. Not only is [China] a dictatorship, but it has close ties with Kazakhstan. What happens to Kazakhstan is important to China, and whatever happens to China is important to us,” Butkevich said.

As fallout of the unrest continues to unfold, the relevance of the issue and its context are very present on the current global stage. From his perspective in Kazakhstan, Michael is glad that information is being shared outside of Kazakhstan and hopeful the conditions will improve.

“In the next couple of weeks, I think that the situation should slow down. The government has already started implementing changes; this proves that people are able to make big changes collectively,” Michael said. craft@redwoodbark.org

opinion

Page 5

A PASSION FOR ACTION

Online advocacy calls for AP Government and Politics

By Chloe Bishop On June 2, 2020, most Redwood students’ Instagram feeds were flooded with black squares in a collective movement to stand in solidarity after the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. On Sept. 1, 2021, the Texas state legislature banned abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, and many Redwood feminists attended local protests to show anger at the decision. Throughout the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic, teenagers have spread commentary on public behavior and government decisions regarding pandemic protocol and other regulations. There is no doubt that Generation Z and generations to come are as politically active as ever, so why don’t Redwood’s course options reflect this?

With the pandemic further perpetuating a large cultural shift towards communication via social media, many students have taken to the internet to express their political views or learn more about government-based topics.

According to a Tufts University study about pandemic-driven social media politics, “70 percent of young people had gotten information about the 2020 election on social media, and 36 percent reported posting political content in the week prior.”

However, popular social media sources can be misleading to students interested in learning about politics. An advanced course in government and politics is where students can form or strengthen educated political views of their own aside from biased online platforms. The regular level Government course will not suffice for the majority of students anymore. Redwood must offer Advanced Placement (AP) United States Government and Politics or “AP Gov.” With course selections due Feb. 11, juniors who enjoy and hope to continue a path in humanities-based classes or are interested in politics have found themselves in a tough position. The only option for

a passionate social studies student is AP Economics, a year long course. This drives civic-minded students away from in-person government classes and instead prompting them to enroll in AP Gov. on outside platforms, such as with Brigham Young University (BYU), because they don’t have the room in their schedule to dedicate to both, and would choose this AP over no humanities AP at all. With that being said, online courses are expensive — often hundreds of dollars — and require resources that are not accessible to every student, further constraining Redwood’s politically active population. It simply isn’t equitable for only wealthier students to have advanced knowledge about politics.

Redwood has an abundance of AP and Honors courses in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) departments such as AP Environmental Science, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Statistics and more. But it is unfair that students with other interests, like social studies, aren’t given the same opportunity to study those topics at a higher level and for college credit with no expense in-person.

Schools have the responsibility

Don’t scrub art of its meaning Story and Illustration by Abby Shewmaker In the fall of my sophomore year I read J.D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye.” While reading this book I was conflicted. I hated Salinger’s narrator, Holden Caulfield. His whiny, misogynistic, homophobic narration made me slam the book shut in disgust on more than one occasion. (I may or may not have thrown it across the room at one point.)

It took a few heated classroom discussions and an evolution in my thinking to place Holden in my mind; he is a character who exists in a very specific time and place in history. I didn’t have to approve of Holden’s narration to appreciate the story that Salinger wrote or the message he attempted to convey.

I realized it’s worth reading, watching and listening to things that provoke us. In fact, it’s more than worth it. It’s essential. Art and politics go hand-in-hand; however, art that doesn’t perfectly follow what is socially acceptable today should not be discarded as “problematic.” Film, literature and television, etc. are tools for cultural documentation, exploration of ideas and critical thought.

Limiting the creation of new art to the confines of what is “acceptable” or “right” hinders the expansion of the collective consciousness and any change brought by the disruption the art creates.

This limitation stems from “cancel culture,” a phenomenon of ostracization via social media. “Cancel culture” has changed from the public bringing forth allegations of mistreatment, to a source of backlash for more controversial art and media.

The HBO hit show “Euphoria” received criticism on social media, in light of the release of its second season, for allegedly glamorizing drug use and addiction.

“Euphoria” explores a number of dark topics through the eyes of high school characters. To say that “Euphoria’s” coverage of touchy topics is sensational robs it of the opportunity to comment meaningfully about the world we

Illustration by Julia Frankus

and potential to inspire and shape the next generation of voting adults in our democracy. However, a self-directed online course will do little to promote civic engagement and would not serve the same purpose as a collaborative classroom environment. With 17 to 24 percent of seniors fulfilling their Gov. requirement outside of Redwood according to census data from the past four years, the best solution is to offer it in person.

According to the College Board’s AP Gov. Course Framework, “President Eisenhower declared that ‘politics ought to be the part-time profession of every person who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage.’” So when Redwood is withholding advanced civic education for students and forcing them to find it on their own, they are restricting a generation of upstanding citizens.

Further, the AP Gov. curriculum established by the College Board involves many skills that students can apply to other areas of study. Because the course is concentrated in reading and writing, it benefits students interested in English,

inhabit. Dismissive reactions on social media rob artists of their voice and those watching of the chance to confront difficult, challenging material.

This material has the ability to spark conversations and create greater meaning as it reaches audiences.

Artists themselves also feel the hindrance of mainstream media expectations on their creations. “Art is not media. A novel is not an ‘afternoon special’ ... A novel is not BuzzFeed or NPR or Instagram or even Hollywood,” novelist Ottessa Moshfegh said at a recent Bookforum symposium. “A novel is a literary work of art meant to expand consciousness. We need novels that live in an amoral universe, past the political agenda described on social media. We have imaginations for a reason ... We need characters in novels to be free to range into the dark and wrong. How else will we understand ourselves?”

One of Moshfegh’s more well-known novels, “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” explores themes of depression and drug abuse through a wealthy and snarky narrator.

Moshfegh’s character is challenging, exhausting and clearly flawed, but surprises readers with her intelligence and wit, eventually helping audiences understand and empathize with her mental illness. If empathy and understanding are goals of engaging with challenging art, there’s a bigger cultural opportunity, too.

Some argue that in order to create a better, more progressive society, the stories told should push us to think about what that looks like. While that is true, the only way to imagine a brighter future isn’t just by viewing how things “should” be. Throughout history, what has been

psychology, history, sociology, political science, law and a majority of other fields of study or work.

While social studies teachers may argue that AP Gov. should not be offered at Redwood because current regular Gov. classes are not full as is, this is simply because of the problem mentioned above; that kids are seeking higher-level social studies classes. Should Redwood offer AP Gov., the social studies department would most certainly see a shift to full classes of students eager to learn and participate, an idea all teachers and administration should be in favor of. Plus, given Redwood’s competitive academic climate, it’s fair to say that if this AP class is offered, students will take it. In fact, according to a February 2022 Bark survey, 56 percent of students said they would take AP Gov. if it was offered.

In 2018, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation published a national survey which found that “only one in three Americans (36 percent) can actually pass a multiple-choice test consisting of items taken from the U.S. Citizenship Test, which has a passing score of 60 [percent].” Statistics like this underscores the necessity of advanced government education for those politically passionate kids.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. has become politically polarized, with both parties growing continuously more radical, partially due to misinformation and the shift to online politics. With social media activists playing a role in this, given their young and impressionable audiences, now is the time for Redwood to step in. Not only would offering AP Gov. help ensure the rising online and offline activism culture at Redwood is free of deception, but it would also provide opportunities for students to dive deeper into their passions, paving the way for their future. If the STEM students can have such an array of options, why can’t we? cbishop@redwoodbark.org

considered taboo or wrong or shameful has changed, and art has been used to explore those ideas. For example, in 1985, “An Early Frost” graced the screens of televisions as the first major motion picture to bring the topic of the AIDS crisis to a large audience. The film shows a gay man with AIDS who must come out to his family while facing the effects of the virus. The film garnered critical acclaim and several awards; however the network that aired “An Early Frost” lost $500,000 in revenue due to advertisers’ reluctance to sponsor the film about such a controversial topic. At this time, even showing members of the LGBTQ+ community on screen was controversial, but now, art reflecting the experiences of the LGTBQ+ community is considered acceptable and necessary. What may be taboo or controversial now may be a cultural revolution in the future, and art is what can fuel that revolution.

Art can provoke. Art can be challenging. Art can anger, and art can frighten. It can also change us. Art can unite us in what it means to be human if we’re willing to let it. ashewmaker@redwoodbark.org

bark Page 6 • Opinion XOXO Gossip... is actually good continue to depict gossip in ignorant ways, usually through degrading, superficial Gossip. Whether it be with your friends fights between fictional characters such around the lunch table or in the family as in “Mean Girls” and “Gossip Girl.” group chat, we all do it. Despite it being Because of this cultural upbringing, gossip human nature, our society tends to frown has become known as a harmful and upon gossiping, likely because we have negative activity. However, we should not only been taught one version of it. As we be so quick to deem gossip as completely grow up, we see gossip within detrimental. In reality, gossip can be our families and friends beneficial in kindling human connections as well as through and holding people responsible for their the media. These actions.

Evolutionary and anthropologic outlets psychologist Robin Dunbar focuses on this concept in her book titled “Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language.”

“Idle chatter with and about others gave early humans a sense of shared identity and helped them grow more aware of their environment, thus incubating the complex higher functioning,” Dubar said in her book.

The unique ability of people to create a communal identity through gossip is ongoing.

A study conducted by the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma found that if two people share negative feelings about an additional person, they are likely to feel closer to each other rather than if they both felt positively about that person. While negative gossip should not be encouraged, the benefits to it may outweigh the moral implications; individuals are able to develop more profound camaraderie through gossip. They get to know one another on a more Illustration by Julia Frankus intimate level by connecting through

By Gemma Favaloro

February 11, 2022

their view on society and their community.

Not only does it foster relationships, but gossiping can also enable people to grow and mature. Researchers Roy Baumeister and Liqing Zhang reported in the journal “Review of General Psychology” that gossip encourages reflection among research subjects. The results suggested that “positive gossip inspired self-improvement efforts.” Positive gossip can be defined as conversations that involve prosocial behavioral responses. For example, if a person shares information that is beneficial to the group as a whole and can help them in some way, then this is a form of positive gossip. The study also uncovered that hearing negative gossip often leads people to learn lessons from the situation. This promotes accountability and self-reflection across different communities. If someone is hearing gossip about themselves, they are likely to become more self-aware of their actions, encouraging a culture of self-resilience. Being a victim of negative gossip may have advantages on your future self.

Jared Piazza and Jesse M. Bering, two researchers evaluating evolution and human behavior, found that the fear of an influx of gossip that could ruin an individual’s reputation encouraged increasingly generous and cooperative behavior within the social setting. The results indicate that if individuals know that gossiping is a consequence of their actions, they will be more aware of what they do, allowing for a more development conscious to guide them in the right direction. According to an NPR poll 97 percent of people believe that gossip is the most inappropriate office/ workplace behavior. Gossip’s negative reputation people will most likely refute gossip’s benefits as its notoriety comes

predominantly from the perception that all gossip is inherently cruel and meant to hurt someone. Negative gossip can be extremely hurtful if it becomes a constant pattern that leads to bullying. It could be argued that gossiping in a bad light can also lead to more drama among groups of people and become all fronts. Talking behind people’s back in a mean way is incredibly unhelpful to any situation and distracts from the real productivity that positive gossip can have.

However, in a 2019 meta-analysis published in the journal “Social Psychological and Personality Science,” Robin Dunbar and her colleague found that during the average 52 minutes of the day spent gossiping, three-quarters of the gossip was neutral. Therefore, most gossip that occurs on a daily basis is neither negative nor positive, but simply a circulation of information about a person or event.

If gossiping can increase the spread of information within communities, it can teach younger generations useful lessons from an early age on how to act behaviorally. Children can begin to analyze different social situations better by becoming aware of their moral compass and societal norms.

To have a well-functioning society, we must be able to engage in thoughtful conversations that generate different perceptions and opinions. Gossip allows for these conversations to be held by encouraging the heightened spread of new information.

Anyways best of luck on your gossiping journey, keep it positive… XOXO gossip girl. gfavaloro@redwoodbark.org

Arianna Delane’s story should be her own

By Stella Bennett “My daughter jumped up and said, ‘Daddy, I’ve been hit’ and I was shocked until I [saw] the blood and I realized my 4-year-old daughter was really hit,” Derrick Delane told American Broadcasting Company (ABC) Houston station KTRK in an interview. “She didn’t know what was going on. She was asleep.”

On Jan. 1, 2022, gunfire erupted on the second floor of Arianna Delane’s apartment. Just before 3 a.m., she was shot and wounded while sleeping. The Houston police did not arrive until 7 a.m., four hours later, which is an unusually delayed response. In 2019, the Houston Assistant Chief of Police Henry Gaw claimed that their police officers typically respond to Priority One calls, like the Delane’s, within 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

Without police assistance, Arianna’s mother rushed her to the hospital, where Arianna underwent surgery and fortunately survived. The bullet entered her torso, puncturing her lung and liver and bruising three ribs. News of this event spread quickly with well-known publications reporting on Arianna’s story.

However, in all media content covering the shooting of Arianna, authors neglected to refer to Arianna by her name, but rather employed a different title to draw more attention: George Floyd’s niece.

Floyd made international news headlines in 2020 when he was murdered by police officers in Minneapolis, Minn.

His death sparked a widespread outcry against police brutality and inspired 4,700 racial justice demonstrations by the end of June 2020.

Due to Floyd’s substantial impact on the Black Lives Matter movement, the majority of headlines reporting on Arianna’s story have some correlation to Floyd, but hardly any of them mention “Arianna Delane” by name. The fact that Arianna is Floyd’s niece has more importance than the shooting itself. One headline states, “Niece of George Floyd ID’d as girl shot in Houston home on New Year’s Day,” and another reads “George Floyd’s niece wounded in New Year’s Day shooting.” As of now, Arianna does not have her own story; she is just an accessory to Floyd’s and an excuse for publications to gain more readership.

Regardless of how important Floyd was, Arianna’s story should not be overshadowed by her uncle. The injustices Arianna faced are valid and should be at the forefront of these reports. Arianna has her own story — one that almost took her life and one that she will never forget. It is necessary to keep these accounts separate, as Arianna’s name should first be associated with someone who is resilient and brave, not as the relative of Floyd.

Andrea Collier, a multimedia journalist and awardwinning author, advocates for storytelling through literature and speeches. In one of her articles titled “Why Telling Our Own Story Is So Powerful for Black Americans,” Collier cites Virginia Hamilton, the author of “The People Could Fly,” when describing the origins of storytelling. Hamilton stated that storytelling was the first opportunity for Black people to “represent themselves as anything other than property” in offering one explanation as to why individual storytelling, especially for the Black community, is necessary.

“There is no question that storytelling for black America is a way of saying ‘I am here and I matter,’” Collier writes.

Collier is referring to storytelling in general, and in Arianna and Floyd’s case, just because they are relatives does not mean they share the same narrative, despite what headlines may suggest.

Some might argue that including Floyd’s name will convince readers to become familiar with Arianna’s story as well. Although this may be the case, reporters using Floyd’s name take the spotlight away from Arianna and the injustices she has also faced. Simply changing how we address Arianna will improve this issue, and if subscriptions or views are what news outlets are Illustration by Julia Frankus seeking, alternate headlines centered on Arianna’s narrative would still attract readership.

While Arianna waits to tell her own story, it is important we ensure she will have a platform when the time comes.

This includes drawing attention to her account through education and awareness, so Arianna can one day share her own experiences.

Using popular names to attract readers is an issue, and, in this case, it overshadows someone who deserves her own story. In fact, according to a February Bark survey,

79 percent of Redwood students have not heard about Arianna’s shooting. This demonstrates that the majority of students possibly do not know Arianna’s story for two reasons: either they know the shooting through the title of Floyd’s niece, or they have never heard of this horrific event. If this is the case, it turns into a Redwood problem, as it reveals that students are not well-educated on current events. Change needs to occur so students can understand how Arianna’s shooting shows that systemic racism is built into institutions.

There is a reason why the police arrived so late, and whether it be the color of her skin or her relation to Floyd, Arianna’s story is important because it highlights yet another flaw within America’s institutions, one that might be overlooked.

Students at Redwood need to be educated about these events and what is happening outside of Marin, especially when it pertains to the intersections of racism and gun violence.

These issues must be talked about in school, as they affect students, and can be crucial points of learning for all grades. Whether this is the responsibility of the school’s publications, Administration, Student Leadership Anti-Racism (SLAM) or the students themselves, change needs to be made. We need to know Arianna Delane’s name.

sbennett@redwoodbark.org

Page 7 • Opinion

www.redwoodbark.org

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bark

Redwood High School 395 Doherty Drive Larkspur, CA 94939 www.redwoodbark.org Editors-In-Chief Hollis Belger Taylor Elliott Kent Goodman

Fixing drug education: The first step to saving lives

editorial “Shifting our view on addiction.”

POLICY: All editorials are unsigned and have been approved by the majority of the Bark staff.

In late December 2021, two more former Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) students died from fentanyl poisoning — a Tamiscal graduate and a 2019 Archie Williams graduate. Their deaths are two more tragic reminders that the war against drugs isn’t solely an abstract reality, but also here in our own community. Let our community be the beginning of change, with new holistic approaches to drug education.

This starts with revising the quality and duration of substance abuse prevention in TUHSD schools. At Redwood, the current curriculum is restricted to a brief unit in the single-semester Social Issues class during freshman year. While students receive an introductory education on nicotine products, marijuana, drinking and other drugs, lessons are crammed into a three-week unit, not giving students enough time to digest these intense topics. With increased exposure to substances during upperclassman years, the district must continue drug education when students are more likely to experiment. Having more knowledge of the effects of drugs leads to more thoughtful decision-making. Rather than having teachers deliver monotonous presentations pulled from outdated textbooks, the drug education curriculum should include local guest speakers who have experiences and powerful anecdotes to share. In a recent Bark article about the fentanyl crisis at large, Michael Triolo, a 2006 graduate of San Rafael High School, explained how his battle with addiction led him to overdose on fentanyl five times. Having someone like Triolo speak to students would be a unique lesson they would remember, rather than a definition they will soon forget.

The curriculum taught over four years should be more comprehensive, with units building off each other to provide a holistic education of drugs. The new drug curriculum should be taught in required courses so all students are included. During freshman year, students should receive a general introduction to drugs, learning about the most prevalent kinds and how to recognize them. In sophomore English courses, implementing discussions and Socratic seminars about drug abuse using nonfiction novels would give students a better idea about the real effects of drugs. For instance, the novel “Tweak” by Nic Sheff is an accurate account of a Marin teen struggling with drug abuse and addiction.

In junior year chemistry, students should learn about the physical effects that fentanyl and other drugs have on our brains.

During junior and senior years, hosting local guest speakers can give students stories that resonate with them and hopefully deter them from experimenting with their lives in the balance. The TUHSD could bring in recovery coaches like Triolo and other community members who have been personally impacted like Michelle Leopold. Michelle lost her son Trevor Leopold in November 2019 due to fentanyl poisoning after he struggled with addiction throughout his time at Redwood. Also, in the later years of high school, students should learn about Narcan, an overdose antidote, which is another effective mitigation measure. While there are current efforts to supply Narcan to all classrooms and train all staff on how to administer it effectively, schools should educate students too. Since students are most likely to encounter situations involving overdose, educating our youth will save lives. The tragedies in our community have been unpredictable and took place outside of the classroom, so it only makes sense

A BARK to the 200+ students on the track team. We thought everyone hated the mile.

A BITE to Russia stirring up conflict with Ukraine. Now Biden will have to Putin U.S. troops to resolve the conflict!

A BARK to Starbird for opening in Town Center.

Looks like that’s a Wrapp on boba everyday.

A BITE to Milltown Mel, New Jersey’s groundhog who passed away the night prior to Groundhog Day. You were supposed to see your shadow, not see the light!

to prepare students to be ready at any given moment.

Improved drug education is a great step, however, the district should invest in more drug safety equipment, in addition to Narcan, and resources to protect students who cannot be dissuaded from drug use. As Parker Leopold, Trevor Leopold’s brother, stated, “For my brother’s sake, it could have taken as [little] as a $2 Amazon test kit to save his life.” It would be negligent to believe that we can prevent 100 percent of drug use. Therefore, Redwood and other TUHSD schools should provide free drug testing kits that students could access anonymously. Some will argue that readily available drug testing kits will empower students to use more drugs because they know they have a safety net.

However, research shows that these kits can positively impact drug use behavior. According to a 2018 study by the International Journal of Drug Policy, fentanyl test strips are positively correlated with improving drug usage behavior. Users who test their drugs consume less at a slower rate and throw contaminated batches out. Test kits don’t encourage use beyond what an individual was already planning to consume; they are just another measure to save lives.

Drugs are often used as forms of self-medication for mental health issues in teenagers, and this was the case with both Trevor Leopold and Alex Movahedi.

As a high school where these losses have occurred, it’s disheartening that nearby middle schools, such as Del Mar, do a better job of providing their students with mental health resources by dedicating a whole week to wellness. Redwood should mirror their actions and introduce a mental health awareness week with guest speakers and other resources.

Additionally, the current program in the Wellness Center to connect students with long-term therapists needs more recognition. Therapists at Redwood are not licensed to diagnose mental illness or prescribe medication, so the district should better advertise their referral program to psychiatrists who can supply students with this kind of support. Finally, a major component of improving mental health resources is destigmatizing mental health issues. This can begin with more parent education on mental health, as parents are often scared of what medications or diagnoses can mean. Destigmatizing therapy and prescribed medications can save many kids by steering them away from the self-medication route. While peer-to-peer support, including Tobacco Use Prevention Education and Peer Resource, are important, we can not rely solely on peer education.

Drug abuse is increasingly problematic as 50 percent of teenagers have misused a drug at least once.

This alarming number is a reflection of the issues with drug education inside and outside of our school district, and it cannot go overlooked. We need to take action now before drugs take the next life in our community.

Have an opinion regarding anything that appears in The Bark or in general? We encourage our readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters to The Bark should be 500 words or fewer, typed if possible and signed.

They must emailed to bark@redwoodbark.org.

A BARK to season two of Euphoria.

“We’ve never EVER been happier...” for it to be Sunday!

A BITE to people spoiling the daily Wordle. We have some letters for you. The first one is “f” and the second one is “u.”

A BARK to Rihanna and A$AP Rocky for announcing their pregnancy; they have baby on the brain.

A BITE to Tom Brady only mentioning the Bucs in his retirement statement. Looks like someone is more of a traitor than a patriot!

A BARK to the condom balloon floating around at the basketball game. Thanks for making sure our boys are playing it safe on and off the court!

A BITE to Mr. Sondheim’s retirement announcement.

“No David!”

BARKS and BITES are the collective opinions of the Bark staff concerning relevant issues. BARKS are in praise of accomplishments, while BITES criticize decisions or events.

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bark Page 8 • Opinion Inequity prevails with voting rights in jeopardy

By Declan McDaniels After centuries of fighting for basic freedoms, rights and justice in America, our country has progressed its standards for protecting civil liberties. Thanks to an era of continuous outspoken activists, national tension and arduous conflict on issues of oppression, we have made major strides in our values and practices, such as the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote in 1919 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While these advancements are substantial, systemic obstacles continue to plague minority communities and individuals. Racism and inequity have become covert within our systems and institutions, and the discriminatory ways in which minorities have been disenfranchised sparks a need for federal reform. Still, 58 years after supposedly promising the protection of voting rights of African Americans, we are not able to agree on a simple concept: the access and availability surrounding our constitutional right to vote.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, between Jan. 1 and Dec. 7, 2021, at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting voting access. During this time, an additional 440 bills with provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states, and 152 restrictive voting bills in 18 states will carry over into 2022. These constraints include voter ID laws, shortening voting times, restricting registration and prohibiting providing food and water to people waiting in line to vote.

These contemporary restraints create strenuous voting circumstances that disproportionately impact minority groups. A 2014 Government Accountability Office study found that strict photo ID laws reduce turnout by 2-3 percentage points, which can translate into tens of thousands of votes lost in a single state. Additionally, research from the Brennan Center for Justice in 2012 presented studies showing that around 11 percent of eligible voters do not have a government-issued photo ID. They report that this percentage is higher for seniors, people of color, people with disabilities, low-income voters and students. The main reason for this lack of official identification is the expense associated with documentation like birth certificates or driver’s licenses, as a report published by Harvard Law School showed that the expenses linked to receiving an ID can be as high as $1,500 when adding legal fees. Requiring an ID

considerably reduces the quantity of Americans who are able to vote, and this decrease is more prominent with those who are systematically disadvantaged.

In addition to voter ID laws, many states are implementing restrictions on voter registration that unnecessarily complicate the process. Arizona passed a bill to remove individuals from the Permanent Early Voting List if they do not cast a ballot at least once every two years, and Florida approved a similar law. Georgia, Iowa, Michigan and Texas have also signed bills preventing proactively sending mail application ballots to voters.

There is no legitimate reason why we shouldn’t provide all American citizens with easy access to voting registration; we should be making voting painless, not more difficult.

Even if an eligible voter hurdles every unyielding barrier to become registered, a considerable percentage of people endure insufficient and stagnant experiences with polling places. A report from the Public Religion Research Institute outlined the inaccessibility of polling places when attempting to vote, and it was found that Black and Hispanic Americans are roughly three times more likely than white Americans to have problems at the polls.

Additionally, a study led by economist Keith Chen from the University of California, Los Angeles found racial voting disparities when matching anonymous location data from 10 million smartphones to 93,000 polling places. The results showed that, on average, voters in predominantly Black neighborhoods were about 74 percent more likely tan those in white neighborhoods to wait for more than half an hour. Given this distinct difference in waiting time at the polls, efforts to prohibit providing food and water to people in line blatantly and disproportionately affect minorities.

While the unconstitutional discrepancies in voting seem undeniable, Republicans attempt to justify these bills by claiming that it is for the purpose of election security.

This erroneous rationale is a consequence of the continuous right-wing allegations of a faulty election, which was initiated by former President Donald Trump. Contradicting these claims, Trump’s own U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials released a statement days after the election asserting the 2020 election the most secure in American history. Directly following this assurance from government experts, Trump fired Chris Krebs, a longtime Republican and former head of the Cybersecurity and

February 11, 2022

Illustration by Peter Biss

Infrastructure Security Agency—a component under the DHS. Despite overwhelming evidence of a fair and protected election, Trump still tried to encourage former Vice President Mike Pence to illegally overturn the results.

As a response to the numerous irrational and inequitable efforts to decrease voter attendance and accessibility, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act was brought in front of Congress in hopes of combating these constraints. This act has two main goals: to guarantee all eligible American citizens have equal voting access and to establish standards to improve security, transparency and trust in elections. This bill passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 219-213, but came to a halt in the Senate, as the vast majority of Republicans oppose the legislation.

Given the fact that election security is better than it has ever been, there should be no reason to dispute legislation that simultaneously expands voting access and strengthens election integrity. Yet, in this politically and economically driven society, politicians often choose to act in the interest of themselves and their party, rather than recognizing the glaring inequalities and taking action to protect our rights as American citizens. In our prosperous and privileged community, we must recognize the injustice occurring for a substantial number of people in our country, and we must use our societal advantage to push for action and change. dmcdaniels@redwoodbark.org

Memorization is our measurement of academic ability

By Anna Royal Oftentimes, my classes consist of long, tedious lectures. My eyes constantly dart from the board to my paper as I scribble down notes as fast as my hands will allow.

In these lectures, teachers throw a stream of terms at class, equations or events at students in a fast-paced manner without stopping to encourage critical thinking among their students. Unfortunately, this is not an unusual experience at Redwood.

According to a February 2022 Bark survey, 74 percent of students agree that teaching and testing at Redwood are mostly based on memorization versus an actual understanding of the class material.

With these faulty measurements of knowledge, schools and teachers lose sight of the purpose of lessons: for students to think critically about subjects beyond face value memorization. Educators must put an end to testing how well students can memorize information and instead focus on helping students build connections and an understanding of the subject.

Fortunately, more and more teachers across the U.S. have come to realize, especially during COVID-19 lockdowns, how unnecessary it is for students to memorize concepts that are readily available on the internet. In an Atlantic article, Ben Orlin, a high school math teacher from Oakland, Calif., wrote about his experience with implementing memorization in his classroom. After asking his class what the “sine of π/2” was, his students responded with the correct answer in unison.

“They didn’t really know what ‘sine’ even meant. They’d simply memorized that fact. To them, math wasn’t a process of logical discovery and thoughtful exploration. It was a call-and-response game,” Orlin wrote. “Some things are

worth memorizing--addresses, PINs, your parents’ birthdays. The sine of π/2 is not among them.”

As Orlin implies, teachers often fail to address the importance of the information in their curriculum and its connection to a broader picture.

The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) has explored the issue of memorization in schools as well.

Linda Darling-Hammond, an education professor at Stanford University, believes the emphasis placed on memorization has

that implemented “deeper learning” as their curriculum. AIR found that “Students – regardless of their prior levels of academic achievement – attained higher scores than their peers on standardized tests in such subjects as English Language Arts, reading, mathematics and science and were more likely to graduate from high school on time.” Many of these “deep learning” style schools assign group research projects on relevant topics where students can showcase their ideas in creative ways such as through student-made documentaries.

Illustration by Keely Ganong and Calla McBride

“obstructed learning.” According to SCOPE, Darling-Hammond argues that “students have been losing or squandering most of the information they acquire in school. But if that information is applied or actually used to solve problems, students will leave school with a much richer education.” To resolve the issue of memorization in schools, DarlingHammond believes in “deeper learning.”

“Deeper learning” utilizes strategies and resources, such as projects and internships, to effectively teach students core subjects through critical thinking. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) studied 22 high schools in California and New York

Rather than traditional methods of teaching, it would be beneficial for Redwood to partake in “deeper learning” projects to ensure students obtain a greater understanding of the subject.

Memorized presentations and speeches are ineffective methods of teaching and evaluating. Although most teachers expect students to be able to speak somewhat freely without following a memorized word-for-word script, the idea that all kids can deliver presentations without a memory “crutch,” such as a script or a notecard, is unrealistic. According to the Mayo Clinic, public speaking is a commonly held fear. This anxiety causes

many students to resort to memorization when they are not given a notecard in order to prevent freezing or forgetting during speaking. Ergo, students memorize and regurgitate scripts and information without much critical thinking to ensure a satisfactory grade. These memorized public speaking exercises detract from the overall learning experience since students often focus on memorizing their lines to A-grade perfection rather than spending that time researching and learning about the topic more in-depth.

Public speaking should be taught regardless since it is an inevitable part of life. However, speeches and presentations with notes, as well as discussions and Socratic seminars, lean away from the idea of memorization while also teaching students to be comfortable speaking in front of others.

However, some argue memorization in school is important for students to build their hippocampus and prevent brain disorders like dementia.

While memorization may contribute slightly to a stronger hippocampus, there is no credible, widespread evidence to prove these claims. Research suggests that regular exercise, maintaining good mental and physical health and keeping our brains active through activities such as reading or learning new hobbies are the only ways to better our brain’s strength and lower the risk of dementia, according to Stanford Health Care.

To remedy our flawed educational system, Redwood must acknowledge the issue of classes employing memorization as an alternative to teaching. We must abandon our traditional methods of “teaching” and testing and encourage critical thinking and genuine comprehension in our classrooms. aroyal@redwoodbark.org

Page 9 • Opinion

February 11, 2022

Julian Assange’s prosecution is a threat to journalism

By Alex Fisch The U.S. intelligence community is not necessarily known for its warm hospitality. For decades, our most powerful agencies have employed torture, arbitrary arrest, detention and unconstitutional searches and seizures. Yet, as dubious these agencies have acted, their power has always (to an extent) been kept in check by incredibly brave reporters and whistleblowers who have documented their dirtiest secrets. That type of adversarial journalism is now in serious jeopardy, all due to an Australian activist who dared to publish exposing truths about some of the world’s dominant institutions.

The case of Julian Assange, though severely underreported by most legacy media outlets, is probably the most consequential free speech case of our generation.

In order to fully comprehend the ramifications of this case, it’s important to analyze how we got to this point.

In 2006, Assange, previously a skilled hacker and assistant to Australian police, founded WikiLeaks, a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing classified information from anonymous sources. WikiLeaks was a massive undertaking that uncovered crucial stories, many of them implicating the United States, that were previously sealed from the general public. These ranged from an army manual for holding and torturing prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, to 2016 emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) suggesting that they attempted to give Hillary Clinton an advantage over Bernie Sanders in the primary election, and many others.

As such, Assange has become public enemy number one in the eyes of many world leaders. In 2010, the Swedish government charged Assange with rape and sexual assault.

Assange denied these claims and in 2012, he was granted asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. These charges were later dropped, yet Assange would still spend the next seven years essentially under house arrest in the Ecuadorian embassy. While the Obama administration sought to go after him legally, they carefully considered the ramifications for press freedom and decided otherwise.

Things changed drastically, however, during the Donald Trump era.

Though Trump initially thought positively of Assange (due to the DNC leaks,) those around him at the Department of Justice and broader intelligence community certainly did not. In 2017, then CIA director and future Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, claimed WikiLeaks to be a “hostile intelligence service.” While this claim was as outlandish as they come, as what Assange did was textbook journalism, it was just the beginning of their attempts to silence him.

On April 11, 2019, the Ecuadorian embassy gave up Assange after “violating his terms of Asylum.” That same day, the U.S. charged Assange with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

The charge revolved around one of WikiLeaks’ biggest stories. In 2010, a classified video showed a U.S. helicopter opening fire on a group of men in Baghdad, with those operating the helicopter laughing

about it afterward. It’s estimated that up to 18 people were killed, including two Reuters journalists. The video is absolutely horrific and justifies nearly all skepticism of U.S. military presence in the Middle East. That video was leaked by Chelsea Manning, a former soldier and U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst. When Manning leaked the video to WikiLeaks, Assange had allegedly attempted to help Manning crack a password to get access to military computers. Assange was unsuccessful, yet was still charged, with the U.S. Department of Justice claiming he had violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), despite Manning already having authorized access to the documents listed in the indictment.

Even if Assange had been successful, it would not have made much of a difference other than to maybe allow Manning to better remain anonymous.

While these initial hacking charges leveled against Assange were incredibly flimsy, there was widespread speculation that these were only a precursor to a much more significant set of charges. Those speculations turned out to be correct.

About a month later, Assange was charged by the U.S. with 17 counts under the Espionage Act for publishing secret documents. While the hacking charges may have been sketchy, this was downright authoritarian.

This probably shouldn’t need to be said, but publishing confidential information received from a government source is a protected right by the First Amendment.

Some of the most important journalistic revelations, such as the Pentagon Papers and recent Afghanistan Papers, came to light due to the leaking of classified government documents. It would be impossible to maintain a functioning democracy if any attempt to publish damning, albeit confidential material, was suppressed by the very government outlined in said material.

The U.S. Justice Department tried to make the case that Assange should not be considered a journalist, making him ineligible to publish classified material. While it can be debated whether or not Assange’s journalistic credentials were legitiamte, it shouldn’t matter. As outlined by the first amendment and reaffirmed in multiple Supreme Court Cases, there is no such standard by which someone can and cannot publish certain information. The same treatment is applied to all writers and publishers, no matter their status or prestige. This is precisely why this case is such a danger to the future of investigative journalism. If the U.S. government is able to use underhanded tactics to prosecute Assange, what is to stop them from prosecuting major news outlets that publish documents similar to, or in

bark

Illustration by Peter Biss

many cases, the same as those published by him.

With all of this information in mind, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand what went down here.

Assange disclosed information that the U.S. government did not want the general public to know about, and as a result, they exhausted every bogus legal avenue possible to throw the book at him. As of now, they have succeeded.

Even though there has been a change in administration, there has been no change in the approach to Assange.

He has been incarcerated for three years in London’s Belmarsh prison and his extradition to the United States, while initially denied, was granted just two months ago.

While President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris may constantly make public statements about the “value of democracy,” those words ring hollow if Assange is still in prison for doing what otherwise would be standard journalism.

Assange was not a perfect human being, far from it.

But there’s no denying that the work that he did to expose necessary truths is of vital importance to any democratic nation. Anything short of a pardon or acquittal may put any and all similar journalistic projects in serious jeopardy. As famous NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden once proclaimed, “When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are being ruled by criminals.” Let’s make sure that this statement doesn’t come to fruition. afisch@redwoodbark.org

bleslie@redwoodbark.org

feature

Page 10

Midnight in Marin An exploration of vivid dreaming

By Kelly Chuang February nights are cold and dark. A car tearing down the street echoes through the stagnant night, but for the most part, Marin County is quiet and still. Mount Tamalpais, nicknamed the Sleeping Lady for its outline against the sky, is deep into her sleep cycle. The clock hands signal midnight; senior Katie O’Shea, whose assignments have kept her awake, turns in for the night.

On some nights, sleep can be challenging, so tonight she puts lavender perfume on her wrists and has a cup of green tea to relax.

“I love to sleep,” O’Shea said. “A while ago I had a really hard time sleeping, but I found multiple methods to help me fall asleep. Ever since then, it’s been super easy for me, and [sleeping] is usually what I look forward to throughout the day.”

And on a monthly basis, during a three-day window, O’Shea typically has something thrilling to look forward to once her head hits the pillow.

“I used to have very vivid dreams on or around the 20th of each month,” O’Shea said.

Her last dream like this was in November of 2021.

“I can remember every detail from them,” O’Shea said.

“I wrote down my dreams in a little note on my phone, and I noticed the dates were around the 20th,” O’Shea said.

Her dreams often consist of riveting adventures, taking components from Disney classics or recent blockbuster movies. The night of Nov. 20, 2021, she was the protagonist battling a giant eye.

“It started off with a bunch of my friends in an empty roller rink in an arcade,” O’Shea said, reading off the notes from her phone.

She left the rink alone, and the landscape shifted to resemble the kingdom of Asgard from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And of course, with every great

kingdom comes a great enemy.

“The main threat to this kingdom [or] universe was something called The Eye,” O’Shea said. “The Eye was basically a gate to another dimension, and it showed up when there was a negative thought about yourself; it doesn’t matter how big or small. It would try to abduct [you] or change your mind, and twist it into something only negative and turn you against the ones you love.”

O’Shea adds that those who are “changed” by The Eye often go insane and go on killing sprees, similar to the plot of Netflix’s 2018 “Bird Box.” Unknowingly, she spoke with the king, who had been changed by The Eye. “I looked him in the eye, started to see green and I woke up,” O’Shea said.

Although O’Shea has not uncovered why that window of the month has held her most enthralling dreams, science shows that most vivid dreaming generally happens during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. During this phase, typically 90 minutes into the sleep cycle, the eyes move around rapidly in all directions, but no visual information is sent to the brain. This sleep phase is when the organ is most active; according to the Cleveland Clinic, brain activity levels are similar to those during the day, and thus cause more intense dreaming.

Psychology teacher Jonathan Hirsch notes the REM phase can be easily achievable through healthy, uninhibited and consistent sleep patterns.

“If you’re having a healthy night of sleep — in terms of limiting things like drugs, alcohol and other medications that can inhibit REM sleep — [you are] likely to do the most dreaming and remember [your] dreams,” Hirsch said. “And if you’re engaging in healthy, consecutive sleep cycles, you will dream. So then it becomes a question of, ‘What are we dreaming about?’”

For junior Bryce Kim, it tends to be exceptionally realistic dreams, particularly due to their life-like settings. He dreams about once every two to three weeks.

“What I dream about most are three common factors,” Kim said.

“Most of them are at night, have to do with me driving somewhere and

Illustrations by Katie O’Shea

are in a big city, whether that’s San Francisco or somewhere on the other side of the world.”

Curiously, Kim does not often venture into San Francisco in reality. Rarely, he will cross the bridge to have lunch with friends or other activities found only in San Francisco, but generally, Kim considers trips to the city to be a “waste of gas.” “[My dreams] may come from parts of me that enjoy those things. I find myself enjoying things I do at night, driving … and going to the city, but I avoid doing those things to save gas,” Kim said.

Kim hypothesizes his dreams manifest either from activities he enjoys, or activities he refrains from out of inhibition. Due to their complex nature, there is still no definitive answer as to where dreams come from.

Based on Hirsch’s research in the field, there are varying perspectives on the content of dreams and what they mean.

“The general consensus from the research I’ve read is that [dreaming is] processing and repackaging the [daily] experiences that we have in four-dimensional ways,” Hirsch said. “This reprocessing of information may have meaning and it may not, but the more stressed we are, the more likely those kinds of things are to come up in our dreams, because they’re such a powerful influence on our [subconscious].”

For O’Shea, a potential stressor manifests in a common thread in her dreams: eye contact. In her only reoccurring dream, O’Shea is chased by the Grim Reaper around the pool of an abandoned greenhouse. The dream ends when she makes eye contact with the Reaper.

“I’m a pretty shy and anxious person, so I try to avoid eye contact with new people I meet. So maybe that’s a part of it: I just avoid eye contact [in real life], and then in my dreams, the eye contact is what jolts me awake,” O’Shea said.

Hirsch emphasizes this personalization of dreams.

Using his wife’s dreams as a reference point, he notes these late-night conjurings are often formed without conscious control.

“My wife will wake up the next morning and be like, ‘I was dreaming about this,’ which is something she was stressing about the other day,” Hirsch said. “That’s what I mean when I say dreams are really individualized and personal — not just to the extent that we can’t analyze each other’s, but [in that] one person is going to have stress bubble up in their dreams a lot more than another.

And why that is? That’s a great question.” kchuang@redwoodbark.org

www.redwoodbark.org

Page 11 • Feature

Marin strives together by embracing fitness platform Strava Aside from analyzing segments in races, Strava includes other features, like heat maps that allow athletes to With dirt and gravel crunching under discover heavily trafficked trails to try for his tires and a colorful piñata secured to themselves. The app is ideal for Marin, the front of his bike, junior and Redwood where hidden trail gems are everywhere. mountain biker Luca Quaroni coasts down Additionally, the platform promotes Mount Tamalpais (Mt. Tam). Unbeknownst outdoor safety with its premium beacon to most, tucked into Quaroni’s gear is the tool. Members can allow an emergency app Strava, tracking his ride contact to have access to and tracing his every turn. their current location in Wind batters his face the event of an accident. and the rocky descent Beyond these rattles his fingers, but features, Strava is soon Quaroni’s cruise also a social network. down Mt. Tam ends. As Users can check out the his ride comes to a finish, activity feeds of friends, Strava completes his activity, family, teammates and uploading a map with an even professional athletes, orange line trailing Quaroni’s giving “kudos” just as one route across the mountain. likes an Instagram post.

Named after the Swedish The opportunity to connect word meaning “to strive,” with other people through Strava is a San Francisco Strava is making exercise based global fitness platform more approachable. that allows users to share Claire Brockman, a and record over 30 forms current Division I rower at of exercise, from stationary Princeton University and cycling to roller skating. As former Marin Catholic High one of Strava’s 86 million School (MC) cross country users, Quaroni first joined runner, has tracked runs, the platform as a way to hikes, rows and more with supplement his mountain Strava over the past biking experience, logging years. Upon joining rides to track his annual Strava, her use of the mileage and total app created a stronger altitude, as well as to connection to collect a compilation her running of biking routes he teammates could look back before trying on. Strava has rowing, tracked over 200 especially of his rides, filling when she was his activity feed unable to run with statistics due to an injury such as a personal during her record of 32 freshman year consecutive miles of high school. pedaled in a single Strava offered activity. Quaroni, Brockman a who transferred to social outlet during Redwood as a sophomore, a time when she even used Strava’s metrics needed to connect as evidence in gym class back to what she during quarantine. loved.

“The first people [at “[Strava was] Redwood] that I met were especially important the kids at mountain biking to me when I was injured … because otherwise, … and all my best friends through Zoom, you can’t were cross-country really meet anyone,” Quaroni runners. Every day said. “[During Physical after school they would Education (PE) over Zoom,] I go to cross country told my teacher, ‘Look I don’t practice and I would want to do the [required] … go see my physical PE [exercises]. I just want to therapist or go home. I mountain bike.’ To prove it, felt like I was missing I would send him my Strava out,” Brockman said. ride.”

“With Strava, I would Besides routing his see all the runs they PE assignments, Quaroni would do. It kept me in employed Strava’s ride the loop of the running analyses to improve his world when I felt like I mountain biking performance was falling out of it.” for his team. Like Quaroni, Once Brockman many other Redwood joined MRA as a athletes use Strava to sophomore, the app track their achievements in became an even bigger their respective competitive part of her life as rowing spheres. became her main sport For instance, senior Alex and running became Odland, a current varsity cross-training. Tracking athlete at Marin Rowing runs gained more Association (MRA), uses importance to Brockman Illustration by Keely Ganong Strava to record her fitness since she was no milestones. Odland can longer on a formal track and reflect on her races, learning how cross-country team. she can improve.

“When I started rowing, I started to use “I love looking at [my Strava] race Strava even more because running became [maps],” Odland said. “One [race] in more sacred to me [as] I wasn’t on a team,” particular, called the Head of the Lagoon, Brockman said. “It was more of a hobby is a really winding course … It’s 5,000 at that point because I wasn’t running meters, but if you steer it properly, you competitively, so posting on Strava and can get under 4,900 meters, which makes running just became that much more a huge difference in the grand scheme of special to me.” things … A few seconds is huge, so being Additionally, Strava’s interactive social able to see [how we can do] that [with features have created greater unity between Strava] is really cool.” athletes who appreciate the outdoors. Beau

bark

By Shyla Lensing and Hannah Morgan

Photo courtesy of Alex Odland

SENIOR ALEX ODLAND poses with teammates after tracking her 5,000-meter rowing race on Strava.

Harding’s posts are consistently filled Detels, a former four-year rider with the Redwood Mountain Biking team, has with positive mantras, humorous captions used Strava to digitally record his love and small life updates. She welcomes for the sport and find those who share his the app as a way to share her passion for passion for exploration. Detels’ Strava bio exercise and the outdoors.

However, Strava is not free from flaws. even reads “Whether [mountain biking is] training or an addiction is very debatable Odland finds that, like other social media apps, Strava can become a ground for …”

“Strava was really nice because my constant comparison to others. “[For me, Strava] [high school] social started out as a social life was not going to platform, but it became a lot of parties. I spent addicting … You would all of my free time compare the workouts in the mountains … that you were doing and biking and fishing,” the splits of your runs Detels said. or the distance, or how “It was cool to many hours you were have an app that putting in,” Odland said. pertains to sharing “It’s really motivating … those kinds of once you get past the activities, as opposed Claire Brockman, comparing yourself to to Snapchat and others part … Strava [has Instagram where … Princeton University now become] a really it’s harder to show cool place for people that that.”

Detels, now a current freshman at the love being active to come together. I’ll see University of St. Andrews, uses Strava people, some of my friends, going on a daily, posting his rides with amusing titles, bike ride or doing a certain workout, and such as his recent Jan. 10 post: “The best then [I’ll] comment on that [and] ask them way to see if the camped out ranger is about it, and then [we’ll] end up doing handing out tickets for biking after sunset something together.”

To Brockman, Strava has become is to let an Electric-bike go first as bait … ” These small moments give a look into his more than just the community that Odland describes. It is her personal journal of every life beyond the metrics.

Strava’s raw perspective on the people run she has been on, making it a capsule of within its platform is why Lily Harding, memories.

“Strava to me is like my own a varsity cross-country runner at Brown University and Marin native, continues to chronological diary of my life. Especially turn to Strava as her go-to social media now that I’m in college, scrolling through my Strava is scrolling through my own platform. “[On Strava] you don’t just see the diary,” Brockman said. “I can remember highlights … With Instagram, so many specific areas in my life by the runs I was people post once a month or a big end of doing and the people I was running with.”

With Marin’s unique ability to soar semester photo dump … On Strava, you just get a little glimpse into people’s daily among the mountains one hour and dive lives,” Harding said. “Sometimes life is into the ocean the next, Strava is constantly good, people had a really good race or being used to explore and connect likethey went on a beautiful bike ride or hike. minded outdoor enthusiasts as they reflect But sometimes it’s like, ‘this felt bad’ or on and pursue athletic goals, milestones ‘darn, I’m going back to school today.’ It and progress. just feels more like a real connection and there’s less pressure to make it polished.” bark@redwoodbark.org

Strava to me is like my own chronological diary of my life.

THE TROUBLED UTAH’S DA

By Peter Biss, Alex Fisch and Kent Goodman Utah, a state characterized by its natural beauty and preserves, has always maintained a national presence for tourism. Its five national parks and 46 state parks hold picturesque panoramas and wildlife rivaling those of the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. People flock to the landscape, hoping to see colossal stone arches, ski on white mountain peaks or enjoy riveting white water rafting. That being said, Utah carries a dark secret that has only recently received national attention; over the past half-century, Utah has become the epicenter of what is now known as the “troubled teen industry.”

Gaining significant notoriety in Paris Hilton’s 2020 documentary, “This Is Paris,” the troubled teen industry is a network of rehabilitation facilities that attempt to provide their services to young people struggling with addiction and mental health. While the troubled teen industry is not confined to Utah, it has been able to thrive there due to under regulation and limited oversight. On a surface level and through advertisement, these facilities offer programs that seem to have good intentions in mind. However, they have come under intense scrutiny in recent years due to their business models and alleged treatment of participants. Dr. Amira Mostafa, head of Special Education for the Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD), shares many concerns over the ethics of these programs.

“This is a very, very, very lucrative business. [It is] a big business model with lots of arms, preying on the vulnerability of well-meaning families, parents, students and districts, and it turns into a multi billion dollar industry,” Mostafa said. “I have placed students at these residential facilities, but very few and far between.”

Getting a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of these facilities is difficult, however, the comments from participants as well as numerous investigations paint a picture of a tumultuous experience. Former Redwood and current Terra Linda student Galen Justis attended Second Nature Wilderness Program in Duchesne, Utah, during the summer prior to his freshman year. He described his arrival at the program as similar to that of a kidnapping.

“I was woken up in the middle of the night, confused and scared. My parents were standing in the corner of the room, and these guys came in. My parents didn’t even say anything,” Justis said. “[The men] came in, and they just took me out of my room. I was screaming and fighting back against them. But, I was a little kid; I couldn’t really do anything. They brought me into a minivan and took me to the airport.”

Feeling blindsided and left out of the conversation, Justis described a tattered relationship with his parents thereafter.

“I lost a massive amount of trust with my parents. I felt like they betrayed me,” Justis said. “I wish they just talked to me about it before or came to an agreement with me on something reasonable. It really, really affected our relationship. It broke that trust, and trust is lost in buckets and earned in drops.”

Taking unwilling students from their homes without any prior knowledge is commonplace among several of these facilities. Many participants, including a former Tamalpais High School (Tam) student, who wishes to remain anonymous and will be referred to as “Julia,” illustrated a similar situation at her wilderness rehab center. Julia attended Aspiro Wilderness Adventure

Therapy (Aspiro) in Sandy, Utah, and had paralleling sentiments to that of Justis regarding how she was taken to the facility.

Once Julia arrived, the program only provided her with traumatic memories.

Lugging 40-pound backpacks, her group walked from six to eight hours almost every day. Julia claims she lost 20 pounds in the course of a month, living off of beans and rice or trail mix for meals. In addition, Julia, who attended due to alcohol abuse and mental health problems, did not find the “therapy” offered by the center to be helpful.

“We had these group therapy sessions once a week; the clinicians would monitor us and our behavior each day, and they would share to the entire group our faults and why we did not deserve to leave. Sometimes it would end in girls crying or arguing, but a lot of times there was victim-blaming, making us feel responsible for our trauma and the bad stuff that has happened to us,” Julia said. “It wasn’t actually therapy; it was just public humiliation.”

With minimal contact with parents and the outside world, Julia was forced to bond with the girls at Aspiro. Over the three months at the facility, she became close with the other nine girls in her program, finding her family away from home as well as a source of comfort.

“We basically became sisters. We argued all the time but we also looked out for one another and spent all of our time together. And because of how rough it was, we had to depend on each other just to survive. Sometimes it would get so cold at night all ten of us huddled together under a tarp for warmth,” Julia said.

Although Julia befriended those around her and found a strong community, she believed that the overall program was not the right fit for her.

“I think that wilderness therapy is much more about discipline than it is about actual support,” Julia said.

“For most of us with mental health issues, [as opposed to behavioral issues, the program] didn’t actually provide treatments which helped the root issue. Because of how extreme it was, I’d really only recommend it for people with extreme behavioral issues like fighting, stealing or doing hard drugs.”

The experiences of Justis and Julia are not outliers compared to others within the system. Many of these facilities are subject to several inspections and critical incident reports by local officials which frequently contain graphic details of sexual and physical abuse, attempted suicides and missing persons. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Provo Canyon School, one of the largest and highest-earning of these wilderness programs, had the police called on them 55 times by staff in the span of a four-year period for both sex offenses and violent crime. Copper Hills Youth Center, another relatively large facility, had the police called 65 times for similar offenses in that same time period. In fact, because of incidents such as these, the wilderness program Julia attended is now under investigation and being sued for child harassment.

The fact that many of these wilderness programs are often being reported to the police or under investigation, one may be led to believe that all the “bad” programs

would be shut down. Brodie Beckham, a Redwood senior currently conducting an Advanced Placement Research project on the troubled teen industry, explains how some facilities are able to remain afloat despite coming under significant scrutiny. “[In specific instances,] there’s enough complaints or coverage about a certain program [such as North Star Expeditions, that] they’ll close down and then open up another location nearby under a different name,” Beckham said.

From these experiences, it may seem as though parents have little incentive to place their kids in this system; however, many parents feel as though their hand was forced. One such parent, who wished to remain anonymous and will be referred to as “Ryan,” made the decision to place his son in a Utah wilderness center based on concerns of substance abuse and social isolation.

“He’s a very social person and was starting to become very withdrawn,” Ryan said, referring to his son. “He had a lot of anxiety and depression and was starting to abuse substances and alcohol as a way to soothe and selfmedicate.”

While aware of the criticisms that had been leveled against such facilities, Ryan remained confident that his son was in the right place.

“If he hadn’t gone to therapy, I think he would be in a really bad place right now. This has given him a second chance and enabled him to address some of his mental health and emotional issues.”

Mostafa, while not putting as much trust in the facilities, did share the notion that enrollment was being driven by a sense of urgency among parents.

“I think that there is a lot of desperation for our parents, unfortunately,” Mostafa said. “You get families who feel like their kids are addicted, and there’s nothing that they can do locally to support them. So they send them away where they think the kid will be away from drugs, peers and influences, believing [their kids] will get cleaned up, get all this mental health care and everything will be fine.”

Marin has a higher drug use than the state average according to a 2020 California Healthy Kids Survey, so it is no surprise that the county has been particularly targeted by this industry. In addition, the fact that most of these facilities are incredibly costly, with some ranging from $500 to $600 a day, significantly limits their services to affluent communities like Marin.

“The facilities are extraordinarily expensive,” Mostafa said. “In Marin, or in any kind of high-income community with many mental health needs and stressors for students, you are going to have a potentially greater increase in parents with resources to pursue options to address those

TEEN INDUSTRY: ARK SIDE offering their services and making a profit.

“I think [it is important to make] sure that everybody has done their due diligence and researching while being aware that this is a multibillion-dollar industry and then making an educated decision as a parent,” Mostafa said.

bark@redwoodbark.org

Illustration by Julia Frankus

needs, even if the options are potentially harmful.”

While the troubled teen industry in Utah has been historically underregulated and unchecked, there have been recent attempts at reform. After “This Is Paris” aired and Hilton described an experience very similar to that of Justis and Julia, she testified before the Utah state judiciary and created a petition calling for the closure of the facility she attended along with several others like it.

The petition currently has over 180,000 signatures. Hilton going public with her stories kickstarted a movement called “breaking code silence,” in which participants share their stories through various social media platforms, advocating for change within the industry. The movement may have resonated in Salt Lake City as in late March of 2021, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill that would implement certain restraining tactics, drug treatment and isolation rules, while increasing the number of inspections on certain facilities. It is the first piece of legislation of its kind passed in over 15 years that addresses these wilderness programs.

Even with more awareness and legislative action, this industry is not going away any time soon, and Marin County, and others like it, will continue to be prime targets.

“I would say that right now, I have a lot of kids who are being sent to [these programs],” Mostafa said. “I’m getting kids coming in from the feeder school districts who don’t even walk through Redwood’s door because they’ve been placed [into these institutions] straight out of eighth grade in the summer. So [the participants are] getting younger and younger, particularly coming out of [COVID-19].”

As long as there exists a severe mental health and addiction crisis among young adults, there will be those within the troubled teen industry

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

bark Page 14 • Feature Standing Silent on the Sidelines

February 11, 2022

Sources identify coach abuse as an underlying problem in the athletic community

By Hollis Belger, Annie Goldstein and Libby Hughes

Abuse in Youth Sports: Starting Young “[Nassar] would come to [gymnasts’] cabin rooms at night, and he’d tell these girls to get completely naked. ‘I’m going to do [physical] therapy on you,’ and he would tell them, ‘Oh, you have lower back pain, there’s a procedure where I put my hand in you. It’s supposed to be a physical release of pain,” said competitive gymnast and senior Lydia Kallas. “Something that actually terrifies me to this day was when I was at that camp in Texas, I don’t know if [Nassar] was there or not, but that is when I started having back pain. They sent me to the doctor, and they just gave me a pack of ice, but it scares the life out of me. [The abuse] could have happened to me. I was nine years old.”

Kallas attended the Karolyi Ranch Gymnastics program located in Huntsville, Texas, in May of 2014. Dr. Larry G. Nassar, the team physician for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, was a well-respected doctor who frequently treated girls at the Karolyi Ranch. Having worked at four Olympic Games for the USA Women’s Gymnastics Team, Nassar was a well-known figure in sports medicine. On Sept. 12, 2016, The Indianapolis Star published an article detailing allegations of sexual abuse against Nassar. Given Nassar’s status as an acclaimed physician, the allegations against him were shocking. Since the Indianapolis Star’s initial investigation was published, over 150 victims have come forward with personal accounts of abuse by Nassar.

After the Nassar cases took the gymnastics world by storm in 2016, other international sports programs and teams revealed disturbing incidents of their own. In September 2021, multiple players of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) accused Paul Riley, Head Coach of the North Carolina Courage, of coercing his players across various professional teams into sexual acts and sexually assaulting them since 2011.

National Women’s Team players Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe blasted both Riley and the NWSL via Twitter.

Morgan stated that “the league was informed of these allegations multiple times,” and “failed to protect its own players from this abuse.”

Riley was fired a few days later, but has denied all allegations of sexual abuse. Both NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird and NWSL General Counsel Lisa Levine were removed from their positions following the allegations of misconduct, due to their lack of regulation and investigation.

From Nassar to Riley, high-profile coaches are increasingly

being called out by athletes in the media for misconduct. And while it is difficult to imagine that ongoing coach abuse of this kind could be prevalent in a community like Marin County, reports of wrongdoing are becoming more frequent.

What is the Tamalpais Union High School District’s Coach Policy?

Despite its athletic dominance in the Bay Area, Redwood is no stranger to controversy when it comes to coach abuse.

According to a February 2022 Bark survey, four percent of respondents reported that they have experienced or witnessed sexual abuse directed towards themselves or a teammate on a Redwood sports team.

Five percent reported episodes of physical assault, and sixteen percent reported incidents of verbal misconduct.

To prevent incidents before they can occur, the Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) follows a clear and consistent process to hire quality coaches.

For each school within the TUHSD, the athletic director primarily leads the task of hiring coaches. Site administrators, including the principal and assistant principals, also have a role in this process, according to Wes Cedros, assistant superintendent of human resources for TUHSD. Due to the legalities involved when contacting a person’s references, it can sometimes be hard to gauge why someone left their previous job. Redwood’s Athletic Director Jessica Peisch manages this obstacle by fostering constant communication with other athletic directors at schools in the TUHSD and across the Bay Area through monthly MCAL meetings.

Following the initial hiring process and screenings, a new hire is required to take district-mandated classes for coaches. These classes include sexual harassment training, mandated reporter training and other safety evaluations, including first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and cardiac arrest response.

In cases where a coach needs to be let

Illustration by Brooke Leslie

go, the district does not have to provide any explanation for their termination.

Additionally, because coaches are “atwill employees,” they can be fired or released without cause at any time, and rationale is only required if the coach was already an employee of the district.

Given the flexibility that the district has, they can fire coaches even if there are just claims of abuse. However, the district will investigate claims in order to do right by all parties involved.

Due to the district’s policy of evaluating situations on a case-bycase basis, oftentimes, when emotional or verbal abuse is involved, the line blurs; it is hard to decipher what is or is not abuse.

Because this line is not defined in the district’s policy, it makes it more difficult to differentiate when coaches are being abusive versus when Lydia Kallas, they are just being senior demanding or tough.

Despite this, Peisch emphasizes that while it may vary by case, there is always a common goal of protecting the athlete, the team’s athletic needs and the community.

“The biggest thing to take into consideration is the student-athlete which we are here for always. That is the first thing … then the next would be, can people make improvement plans?” Peisch said.

What are the Psychological Drivers Behind Coach Abuse?

With coaches being the main drivers of sexual, verbal and physical abuse in youth sports, it’s also important to recognize that parents play a significant role regarding the prevalence of coach abuse. As the Nassar cases demonstrated, many parents witnessed their child being sexually abused but tried to identify medical justifications for Nassar’s behavior, because they wanted to see their child succeed and pursue their passion for gymnastics.

“I cannot help but think, how did I miss the red flags? How is it that I misinterpreted [Nassar’s] intent so wrongly? I wanted my daughter to get better, to achieve her dreams, to participate and succeed in a sport she loved,” said Anne Swinehart to Nassar in court back in 2018 after her daughter came forward about the abuse she endured.

Parents can find themselves blinded by their desire for the athletic awards which can impact t h e greater mental pressures in youth sports. Jeff Greenwald is a local sports psychologist and physical therapist who founded Fearless Tennis, an organization supporting athletes worldwide to master the mental component of sports in order to achieve athletic success. Greenwald notes that the pressures of winning and success on parents, coaches and athletes can exacerbate the psychological stress that often emerges from unhealthy parenting or coaching practices.

“Coaches, parents and athletes are all a part of this system … and you can see coaches and parents getting overly involved. There’s excess focus on winning, ego and self-worth. Parents, coaches and players [all] share these fears, they just manifest them differently,” Greenwald said. “[Coaches] can criticize you instead of being calm enough to praise [you].

Often in the heat of the moment, just like their athletes, their brains get hijacked.”

Greenwald emphasizes that the competitive nature embedded across generations contributes to the pressures young athletes experience from their

parents.

“If you look at this generation of parents, particularly in Marin, there’s been a lot of success and achievement, so there are expectations for kids to emulate that. The bar is very high [and] … those standards can often impede their development and certainly [athletes’] enjoyment of the game, which all deteriorates their performance,” Greenwald said.

High parental expectations can blur the lines of abuse, and athletes are left to suffer.

A local parent involved in Marin’s athletic community, who shall be kept anonymous for confidentiality purposes, points out that parents often interfere with their athlete’s physical and mental wellbeing due to miscommunications regarding their desire to commit to a sport.

“I think parents forget to listen to their kids and how far they want to go [with their sport] and how seriously they want to take it. You’re guiding your kids of course, but you really need to listen to what they want, even when they’re young,” the anonymous parent said.

In addition to the miscommunication between parents and athletes, barriers between coaches and athletes can present challenges, especially when a coach is being verbally or physically inappropriate.

“I think because the coach is superior and they hold the reins as far as how much you’re going to play, kids, especially when they’re young, may not know how to respectfully stand up to a coach who isn’t treating them fairly. I think there’s a fine line of, ‘How do I push back without being disrespectful, myself?’ Kids get silenced in that way because they’re scared of what can happen [if they stand up to a coach],” the same anonymous parent said.

In order to prevent problems down the road, Greenwald encourages the triad of athletes, parents and coaches to embrace highly communicative relationships.

When there is a disconnect between coaches, parents and players, abusive behavior, specifically overlooked forms such as emotional and verbal abuse, is more likely to occur and not be properly addressed.

A New Normal In June 2020, Netflix released “Athlete A,” a documentary detailing the Nassar case and exposing the trauma his athletes endured. Kallas noted that her gymnastics facility addressed the Nassar incident as soon as it went public. Her coaches took multiple safety and regulatory measures to avoid a similar event occurring at their gyms.

“When ‘Athlete A’ came out, my coaches rounded up all the girls and said ‘We want you all to watch this documentary,’ which is difficult because a lot of these girls [at my gym] were really young. You don’t want to freak them out with something like that,” Kallas said. “Also their parents might not be comfortable with them learning about sexual abuse when they’re seven or eight years old. You shouldn’t have to learn about that. That’s the messed up part because it was occurring to girls who were their age.”

Kallas recalls a poster in the coaches’ office at her gym that explicitly states ‘What to look for in grooming,’ with a series of signs for gymnasts to be aware of in any environment. This has become the new normal for Kallas and many others.

[The abuse] could have happened to me. I was nine years old.

To read more, visit the Bark website at redwoodbark.org

bark@redwoodbark.org

español

Page 15

Mejores películas para ver en el día de San Valentín Por Zared Vera

Con el día de San Valentín a la vuelta de la esquina, es hora de comenzar a elegir qué películas románticas ver.

Aquí vamos a ver dos opciones de películas en español que harán que tu día de San Valentín sea perfecto. Esta película es triste pero aún es una película icónica para ver el día de San Valentín. Titanic fue creada el 19 de diciembre de 1997. Ha ganado 11 premios Oscar y 14 nominaciones. Es una gran película para ver este día en San Valentín en pareja o con amigos. Fue basada en una historia de la vida real a la cual le agregaron una historia de amor, donde dos personas con diferencias sociales descubrieron su amor. La historia comenzó por caminos distintos: Jack subió al barco por necesidad de trabajar y Rose iba de vacaciones. Todo empezó cuando Jack jugaba un juego de poker con unas personas por dos boletos para irse de viaje en el Titanic que iba directo a la ciudad de Nueva York. Rose era una persona comprometida que se iba a casar con Caledon Hockley. Jack y Rose se vieron una vez en el barco pero ellos nunca esperaron volver a encontrarse.

La historia de amor entre Jack y Rose comienza cuando Jack le salva la vida a Rose cuando ella quería tirarse del barco. Desde esa noche la vida de Jack y Rose cambió ya que nació una historia de amor. Desde ese día ellos se veían cada día a escondidas. Jack y Rose se empezaron a enamorar y tuvieron una aventura de amor muy loca. La mamá de Rose nunca aceptó a Jack ya que no estaba a la altura económica de la familia. Lo que ella no sabía es que su amor superaría cualquier clase social.

A Jack y a Rose nunca les importó lo que los demás dijeran. Lo que a ellos les importaba era la historia de amor que había entre ellos. Podemos ver en la película que Jack amaba a Rose y que él haría lo que pudiera para estar con ella y para protegerla. Con una excelente actuación de Leonardo Dicaprio y Kate Winslet esta película es una de las mejores películas románticas para ver en el día de San Valentín.

La segunda película que es una cita obligada es Crepúsculo. Fue creada el 21 de noviembre del 2008.

La película Crepúsculo trata de la relación entre una adolecente y un vampiro. En el comienzo de la película podemos ver como Edward Cullen (vampiro) trata de evitar a Bella Swan (adolecente) a pesar de la atracción que siente. Edward sabe que es un peligro estar cerca de ella. A pesar de eso podemos ver cómo pasan cosas entre ellos que hacen que se vayan uniendo. Después de un tiempo ella se da cuenta de que Edward es un vampiro.

Imagen cortesía de fanpop BELLA Y EDWARD, las protagonistas de Twilight, se sientan en un campo de flores, enamorándose aún más.

Imagen cortesía de blogspot.com JACK Y ROSE, los protagonistas de Titanic, miran al mar desde el Titanic, juntos.

Edward le confiesa cuánto le gusta y cuánto la quiere y para ver este día de San Valentín ya que se trata de unas quiere comenzar una relación con ella. Edward tiene un hermosas historias de amor que puedes ver con tu pareja carácter diferente al de los otros vampiros. Cada uno de o con amigos. los vampiros tiene un don. Él puede leer las mentes de la gente excepto la de Bella. Estas películas son muy buenas bark@redwoodbark.org

pbiss@redwoodbark.org

review

Page 16

Looking for a great Valen-time? We have you covered!

By Casey Braff and Caroline Scharf

Valentine’s Day is coming up this Monday and if you are drawing a blank for how to spend your holiday, we have options for you! We have compiled a list of the best movies to watch, the best gifts to give, a playlist for every relationship status and some great date locations around Marin County and San Francisco. Even if you aren’t in a relationship, Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the people you love— and we have you covered for all ways to celebrate!

Movies: “About Time” “About Time” is the perfect blend of comedy and romance that will be worth your time to watch. It follows Tim (Domnhall Gleeson), who learns he has the power to travel through time, as he chases the woman he falls in love with, Mary (Rachel McAdams).

Based on a sci-fi concept, “About Time” stays true to an indie film with a serious heart. This is a story not just about romantic love, but about family and valuing those around you. “About Time” is available to stream on Netflix and scored a 7.8 on IMDb, making it a must-watch.

“Palm Springs” “Palm Springs” is definitely not the classic Valentine’s Day movie, but it will guarantee some laughs and definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) are two wedding guests who get stuck together on an unlikely adventure.

“Palm Springs” will ease any awkward first-date tensions, because it is not the most romantic or steamy movie.

Critically acclaimed, “Palm Springs” is a quirky and light-hearted rom-com, perfect to watch with a friend or perhaps, someone whom you’re more than friends with.

“The Princess Bride” “The Princess Bride” is a classic and timeless adventure-romance that will pull on your heartstrings and never leave you with a dull moment. Buttercup (Robin Wright), the most beautiful woman in the land, falls in love with her family’s farmhand but must marry an awful prince when her love is killed by a pirate. However, she is soon taken by a group of bandits and the film follows the adventure that ensues. Full of twists and turns, laughs and lots and lots of love, “The Princess Bride” is a movie that everyone needs to watch at some point in their life.

“10 Things I Hate About You” Loosely based on Shakespeare’s play “Taming of the Shrew,” “10 Things I Hate About You” is a charming film that is sure to leave you swooning and smiling. When the new kid Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) instantly falls for a girl named Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) on his first day of school, he is soon hit with the crushing reality that Bianca is forbidden to date until her completely

Photo courtesty of IMDb

THIS ROM-COM IS sure to make any date or Valentine’s Day plan filled with smiles. undateable older sister Kat (Julie Stiles) dates as well.

In order to get the girl of his dreams, Cameron hires bad boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to ask Kat out, which soon leads to something more. While slightly cliché, “10 Things I Hate About You” is filled with lovable characters and is the perfect movie for those who can’t resist a good enemies-to-lovers storyline.

Date Locations: Picnic at Rodeo Casual but romantic, a sunset picnic at Rodeo Beach is a perfect Valentine’s Day date idea. Only a 15-minute drive from Redwood, the picturesque Marin Headlands roll onto the Pacific Ocean at Rodeo. Grab dinner in Mill Valley or in Larkspur on your way out, lay it all on a picnic blanket on the beach and take in the beautiful scenery. If you’re up for it, you can hike up about a mile to the bunkers where you can get views of beautiful San Francisco and the ocean. Rodeo never disappoints with its gorgeous sunset, and you can walk up to a lookout spot of the Golden Gate Bridge to watch the sun slowly dip below the ocean.

Chestnut Street For a night on the town, Chestnut Street in the Marina is the ideal place to spend the afternoon or evening. Start by grabbing dinner at any of the numerous restaurants on the block (Tacolicous is our personal favorite,) but don’t forget your vaccination cards for dining in San Francisco.

After dinner, try some delicious ice cream at Over the Moon Creamery, and if you’re feeling particularly bold, take the 10-minute stroll to the waterfront. With views of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin, you can walk along the water or sit on the grass to appreciate the lights over the Bay as the sun sets.

Northgate Ice Rink If you’re feeling a bit adventurous and want to display your skating skills, the NorCal Ice Holiday Indoor Ice Rink is a great place to show off your moves. Located inside Northgate Mall, and open until Feb. 27, it only costs $13 for admissions and you can rent a pair of skates. Who knows, maybe it’s the perfect place for your date to quite literally swoon into your arms! You can also head into the Northgate mall and check out the restaurants or the movie theater.

Gift Ideas: Chocolate from See’s Candies There is nothing more classic than chocolates for Valentine’s Day! You can Illustrations by Brooke Leslie and Keely Ganong

go to the local See’s at Town Center and pick up a box for your friend or significant other. They are always stocked around this time of the year, especially with perfect heartshaped candies. If that’s out of your price range, no one will complain if you get them their favorite candy from Lucky’s or Safeway.

Philz Gift Card We all need a pick-meup throughout the day, and what says “I Love You” like a gift card to one of the few places that will keep teenagers awake. These gift cards are always sold inside the store and can even be purchased online. They’re the perfect gift if you are looking for something affordable and one that will most definitely be appreciated.

Photo collage Want to share your favorite memories with your Valentine? Photo colleges are the perfect gift to show how much your friend or date means to you. Just drive over to your local craft store, grab some scissors and glue, and you’ll be on your way to a successful gift. This gift really highlights how much love you have for that special person in your life, and that’s what Valentine’s Day is all about.

Flowers Looking to make someone’s day? Grabbing a bouquet of flowers — from somewhere like Safeway for only $5 — is sure to put a smile on someone’s face. Paired with candy? Even better.

No matter how you spend your Valentine’s Day, the holiday is all about celebrating with the people you care about and Bark wishes you a day filled with love!

Playlists for each stage of love: Falling in love “Can’t Help Falling In Love” - Haley Reinhart “Like or Like Like” - Miniature Tigers “Crush” - Tessa Violet “Butterflies” - Kacey Musgraves “i wanna be your girlfriend” - girl in red Single and thriving “Single Ladies” - Beyonce “No Scrubs” - TLC “I Will Survive” - Gloria Gaynor “Truth Hurts” - Lizzo Breakups “Better Now” - Post Malone “thank u next” - Ariana Grande “Potential Breakup Song” - Aly & AJ “traitor - Olivia Rodrigo “Last Kiss” - Taylor Swift Happily dating “Lover” - Taylor Swift “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” - Frankie Valli “Out of My League” - Fitz and the Tantrums “Marry You” - Bruno Mars “18” - One Direction Want to listen to the Redwood Barks’ Valentine’s Day playlist?

Scan here!

bark@redwoodbark.org

Page 17 • Review

www.redwoodbark.org

Starbird Chicken is the new star of Town Center

By Natalie Tress With a bright, yellow awning and bold lettering, Starbird Chicken in the Town Center mall easily catches the eyes of individuals seeking a filling, delicious meal, especially kids. Starbird Chicken, a fried chicken-focused restaurant with several locations in California, opened in Corte Madera on Jan. 31, 2022.

With many different options on the menu, it was overwhelming to choose what to order, especially with all of the complicated flavor options and combinations.

Ordering food was a slightly slow process, with the choice of either using a self-order kiosk or the register. Due to Apple Pay not being set-up and obstacles from the first day

Photo by Natalie Tress

TOPPED WITH EDAMAME and crispy chicken, the Chicken Katsu salad was delicious despite its lack of hearty ingredients.

of opening, the register took much longer to get through than the kiosk. That being said, that did not impact the quick speed at which the food came out.

To start, I ordered the Classic Chicken Tenders and was pleased with the outcome. A seasoned, crunchy exterior paired with their signature Star Sauce created the perfect bite. The base of the fried chicken is all gluten-free and I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious they were.

The fries that came with the chicken tenders were crispy and not oversalted, which complimented the chicken well.

Out of the various menu items that I ordered, the Classic Chicken Tenders were my favorite by far. After, I tried the Sweet Thai Glazed Chicken Tenders, which were similar to the Classic Chicken Tenders but included a Sweet Thai Glaze, Asian herb mix, crispy shallots, sesame seeds and Spicy Herb Aioli. The Sweet Thai Glazed Chicken Tenders left me wanting more Classic Chicken Tenders as the extra sauce and toppings were overwhelming.

I had a similar experience with the chicken sandwiches as I did with the Sweet Thai Glazed Chicken Tenders.

While the Nashville HotBird Sandwich — containing Nashville Hot Chicken, classic slaw, dill pickles, Greek Yogurt Ranch and mayonnaise — has soft bread with a delicious and crunchy texture, the spice was relatively flavorless and barely lingered. As for the Cali Bacon Dutch Crunch Sandwich, the flavor was better than the HotBird Sandwich, but the addition of bacon was underwhelming and didn’t really add anything to the sandwich.

The Chicken Katsu Salad consisted of shredded green cabbage, cucumber, edamame, red pickled daikon, crispy wonton strips, green onions, sesame seeds, katsu sauce and Creamy Ginger Dressing and was a refreshing option on the menu. The dressing was delicious and creamy, with subtle ginger notes that added a bright flavor to the salad.

While it tasted good, this salad lacked substance, as the lettuce was partially wilted romaine and there was not nearly enough cucumber or other crunchy vegetables to balance out the other ingredients or add variety.

bark

Photo by Natalie Tress

SENIORS JEFFREY DYER and Katie Connors enjoy the chicken sandwich and tenders.

I paired my food with a lemonade, which, while being on the sweeter side, was still refreshing. I then finished my meal off with a dessert of churros and maple syrup.

While the churros tasted more like waffles, they were delicious with a satisfying texture, displaying the popular flavor combination of chicken and waffles.

Overall, the hype of Starbird Chicken was higher than the outcome. But, if you are looking for a local place to get a filling, delicious plate of classic chicken tenders, Starbird Chicken is the place for you.

ntress@redwoodbark.org

The ultimate guide to find your secret hammocking spots

start at is Fishbits trailhead in Kentfield, Calif. because there are plenty of places to go off-trail and set up hammocks in the various trees. On the left side of Cataract Falls, right outside of Stinson Beach, there are views of the waterfall and a glimpse of the ocean out of the trees, making it hard to not show people this special spot.

By Lily Reese

Rolling green hills, towering redwood trees and weaving hiking trails surround everyone’s lives here in Marin County, so it is no wonder that hammocking and granola culture has shaped the Redwood community. Outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and even rock climbing all contribute to this culture and are becoming increasingly popular. With more love for the outdoors, the question presents itself: where is the best place to hang your hammock? The Bolinas-Fairfax Ridge, Marin Headlands and Ring Mountain all are established favorites, no longer holding that secrecy that we Redwood students strive for. Because of this, I’ve has compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you find the all-time best secret hammock spots in Marin.

Get outside The all-time best way to find hammock spots is to uproot yourself from your bed and get out into nature. One place to start is the large variety of hiking trails that surround our community. Crown Road, Blithedale Ridge, Phoenix Lake and Lucas Valley are just a few of the hiking areas I favor. As you venture onward, look for little trails that snake off the main, marked trail because this is your best bet for finding more secluded areas, perfect for hammocking.

Look up and around There are two things to keep an eye out for while searching for a perfect hammocking experience. First, look up at the trees to see if they are climbable and sturdy enough to hold your weight. Some particularly sturdy trees in Marin are the tall grey pine trees and the coast-live oaks.

Climbing higher and higher, a breathtaking view of Marin County emerges regardless of where you may be, which makes these tall trees perfect to hammock in. Another important tip is to be on the lookout for low-hanging trees. These trees are the ones that reach over a canyon, ledge or are on a downhill slope. They allow for beautiful valley views depending on where you are, looking on Homestead Valley Road or even off of Mount Tamalpais, where these hanging trees are abundant.

Photo by Lily Reese

TUCKED AWAY IN the trees on Mount Tamalpais, a great spot is waiting for your next hammock adventure.

Personally, I hammock off of the Octopus Follow the signs Trail in Corte Madera, where there are Many teenagers often feel the need plenty of spacious oak trees. There, ferns to find a place away from their parents cushion the floor and create the perfect and a typical escape is the woods and ambiance for a good read. Another spot to beaches that surround their homes. With these locations gaining in popularity, it is, unfortunately, no surprise that trash and other leftover items from hangouts are discarded in the trees. Often when I'm hiking I notice trash, ranging anywhere from food to empty beer cans. As much as litter is unnecessary and harmful to the environment, it is helpful to follow because littering on off-road trails often indicates that people have found something. Most times when trash is hidden, it is a sign to scour the area. Although this method isn’t always effective, make sure to keep your eyes out for trash, and even if it leads nowhere, always take the trash you find to the nearest trash can and help protect the forest you are spending time in.

Bring friends and ask around Hammocking and hikes are always better with company and hammocking with friends means more eyes to scour for the perfect spot. Friends also offer a different perspective, and they may even have a spot of their own. Don’t be afraid to ask people where they hammock! Most times, when you ask people they will be eager and proud to have a spot to show you; there is no gatekeeping when it comes to nature.

Leave it how you found it The most bothersome fact of all the niche spots in Marin is when nature and perfectly healthy plants are destroyed.

When hiking and setting up hammocks, be conscious of your surroundings as well as of living animals and plants. Leave the space as you found it! If you see trash, pick it up and take it with you. Hammocking can be a great pastime, but only if you keep the places you go pristine and clean. Now don’t leave these unfound spots hanging, go hammock!

lreese@redwoodbark.org

Photo by Lily Reese

SPRINKLED THROUGHOUT MARIN, my personal favorite hammock spots are found deep in the woods

February 11, 2022 bark Page 18 • Review Never fear - your new self-defense keychain is here!

By Hollis Belger

In case the skills learned in your sophomore selfdefense unit are not adequate enough when you’re in a life-threatening situation, there are substitutes that can enhance your safety and provide a sense of comfort in the case of an emergency. In step with increasing cultural appreciation of self-protection, brands recognize that there is a market for products offering teenagers access to defense options that will strengthen our safety and appeal to our style. Brands like Safe Babe Self Defense have ignited the popularity of a stylish self-defense keychain with several protective products, ranging from whistles to stun guns. Below are the essential items needed to complete your very own self-defense keychain that will satisfy your aesthetic and employ maximum safety.

The first item you need on your self-defense keychain is a travel-sized pepper spray or mace. Both POM and Saber Red offer pepper spray flip-top keychains, which you can purchase on Amazon for less than $15.

The POM version is easily linked to a keychain or lanyard and is accompanied by a safety cap to prevent accidental usage. Once the cap is flipped, the product is instantly released with a gentle push. Weighing in at only two ounces and available in multiple colors, the POM pepper spray shoots 10 feet with up to 25 bursts and sells for $12.95. Slightly less expensive ($9.99 on Amazon) but also a bit heavier (four ounces,) the Saber Red spray offers a strong spray (also 10 feet) and advanced grip technology that makes for quick and accurate engagement. A twist-lock is located at the top of the product to avoid accidental usage or discharge.

Like the POM version, this product also comes in several different colors, including mint, lavender and dusk purple.

The next self-defense essential is an alarm, which you can use to alert those around you when you’re in danger and illuminate your surroundings. While a whistle can be an effective option, it won’t be available to you if your mouth is compromised in an emergency.

Therefore, a hand-activated safety alarm might be a more useful purchase. I recommend the SLFORCE Safe Personal Alarm for only $11 on Amazon, as it has both LED light and siren capabilities. A large button in the middle of the product stimulates the light with maximum intensity to guide you through emergency scenarios, you can pull out a small pin on the side of the product to generate a piercing sound. While the alarm

Photo courtesy of DHgate

Photo courtesy of Amazon

PERFECT FOR WINDOW BREAKING, the Roskinski’s metal Kubaton stick serves as a defense tool. only comes in a few basic colors, you can easily clip the product to a keychain.

Aside from alarms and pepper sprays, every keychain should be equipped with a more aggressive weapon of defense, such as a knife or other sharp metal device. What better way to distribute said items than as a party favor for you and your friends! DHgate sells keychain-fit aluminum metal stick party favors for only $1.50 each, an effective source of weaponry perfect for window breaks. However, if a single metal tool doesn’t feel protective or intimidating enough, I recommend a small Swiss Army knife set that can be conveniently attached to your keychain. For only $8.81 on Amazon, this 7-in-1 “Key Ring Multitool” contains several small knives, as well as an LED light and bottle opener. And if neither of these products suits your fancy, you can always opt for the world’s smallest bright pink Stun Gun, complete with a flashlight and safety switch, which is available for purchase on Amazon for $24.99.

Traveling with a number of these small devices can be cumbersome, so if you would prefer a more compact set to combine all of your self-defense necessities, there are alternatives both on Amazon and other online retail sites. The Rosinski Safety Keychain Set sold on Amazon offers selfdefense equipment, as well as a variety of stylish components that improve the overall aesthetic of your keychain. For just $21.99, the set comes in six different color themes, ranging from Black Marble to Red Lipstick. In addition to a survival whistle, safety alarm with a built-in LED flashlight and a small metal bottle opener, the set comes with its own lanyard, decorative pom pom, hand sanitizer holder, AirPods

COMPLETE WITH STYLISH components, the Rosinski set is available on Amazon for only $21.99. case and ID holder. While the set is aesthetically pleasing and includes all the basic essentials, the items can feel slightly cluttered and heavy and may not be suitable for high activity or transportation.

For a more simplistic bundle, I recommend browsing through the Safe Babe Self Defense website to look for more basic yet functional items. Their keychains include pepper spray, a whistle, a sharp, metal Kubotan stick, a faux fur pom pom and a chapstick/hand sanitizer holder. This bundle is slightly more expensive costing around $40, but it includes pepper spray, which is not found on the Rosinski set.

Gone are the days of big and bulky pepper sprays and relying on whistles for personal protection. With so many functional and stylish options available, we’d be crazy not to take advantage of these products, especially those of us soon graduating from the confines of Marin County. Regardless of who you’re with or where you are, it never hurts to have a comforting and accessible source of defense right at your fingertips, and having them on your keychain means you’ll never leave them behind! Pro-tip: none of these options should replace the skills and empowerment that come from a self-defense class, which I highly recommend for all teens either at a local martial arts studio such as Practical Martial Arts right in Corte Madera!

hbelger@redwoodbark.org

Emily in Paris is a train wreck you can’t stop watching

By Sofia Ruliffson If you’re interested in watching a “Sex and the City” rip-off with a wardrobe highlighting your grandma’s floral prints, then the Netflix Original “Emily in Paris” is the show for you! A season full of unnecessary drama and random plot twists, the second season of “Emily in Paris” made its debut on Netflix on Dec. 22, 2021. Within the first week of its release, the show made its way up to number two on Netflix’s top 10 show list. The new season has fans eagerly watching, as the main character, Emily Cooper (Lily Collins), continues to settle into her new life in Paris, France. Fans receive the dreadful opportunity to watch Cooper continue to navigate this never-ending soap opera journey. By the end of this season, you will certainly become disturbed by the fashion pieces and over dramatic episodes in season two, if you haven’t already from season one.

The fashion in t h i s season starts off weak, due to the uncoordinated pieces Emily wears throughout the episodes. At least in

season one, the acclaimed fashion director, Patricia Field, eased the transition of Americas fashion into a more European style. Sadly, in season two it seemed as if Field developed memory loss during her styling of Emily.

It was incredibly shocking since Field is a well-known fashion designer within the television industry, and has an esteemed reputation for designing outstanding outfits for various celebrities. It’s hard to believe a fashion designer like Field could go from the forefront of the fashion world to such a tasteless Netflix show. “Emily in Paris” desperately needs the fashion sense that Field s delivered in “Sex and the City” to the main character Carrie Bradshaw. Emily’s gaudy patterns and nausea-inducing designer pieces that she pairs with her Gucci slippers will make you want to burn the next pair of Gucci slippers you see.

As if the interesting fashion choices weren’t atrocious enough, Emily, an American marketing executive, annoys her fans every time she pouts, whines or sulks when she confronts an obstacle.

(Spoiler alert) Throughout the second season, the writing staff clearly lost interest in the

show by constantly relaying the same “love triangle” that was already heavily overdone in season one. Emily remained oblivious to the idea that hooking up with her best friend’s boyfriend behind her back was wrong on many levels. At least in this season fans got to watch Emily put more effort into learning French. Emily’s attempt to learn French, however, was nothing short of painful. Sadly, it seems as if Emily was more focused on having an affair with her friend’s long-term boyfriend than paying attention in her French class.

Director Darren Star’s Emmy-nominated Netflix comedy can be interpreted through multiple lenses: a biting satire of femininity, a converted “Sex and the City” fan fiction or a deeper insight into how much the French hate Americans. As expected, the French have no sympathy for Americans, which was clearly demonstrated throughout the entire show. Hopeless and confused, Emily continues in her attempts to improve her

painfully disorganized life in Paris. As the season progresses, her actions do not become more manageable as she continues to neglect Parisian culture and constantly speaks on behalf of her co-workers at her job as a marketing executive which, shockingly, makes her some enemies.

“Emily in Paris” has caught the attention of many, bringing endless second-hand embarrassment to fans as they watch Emily attempt to pull her life together for 10 painfully long episodes.

Seasons three and four are already set to air towards the end of 2022. Hopefully, that will provide some more laughable material for viewers. After the second season, Emily isn’t the only one posting the hashtag #OhCrepe.

sruliffson@redwoodbark.org

Photo courtesy of Netflix

TRYING HER BEST to look engaged in the conversation, Emily attempts to be friendly in a new city.

sports

Page 19

Humble giant by chance, leader by choice

By Arjun Aujla Standing at 6 feet and 7 inches tall, senior Charlie Treene towers over students in the hallways. Since elementary school, Treene has been the tall kid that just kept growing. While Treene played basketball and baseball growing up, he made the decision to focus solely on basketball in sixth grade. Ever since then, Treene has not looked back, having his eye set on playing basketball in college.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 made it difficult for Treene to get exposure to coaches, which is an essential element to being recruited during his sophomore and junior years. However, Treene was able to attend college camps and tournaments in Arizona and Southern California in 2020 and 2021. The summer prior to his senior year, he played exceptionally, and in early October of 2021, Treene committed to play basketball at Pomona-Pitzer College.

Treene started playing basketball in third grade for his Christian Youth Organization (CYO) team and then played travel ball in sixth grade for North Bay Basketball Association (NBBA). His experience playing in bigger tournaments across the state for NBBA shaped him into the versatile player he is today. Once high school started,

Photo by Allie Vasquez

EMBRACING HIS COACH, Charlie Treene takes a moment to appreciate his senior night game.

it was clear that Treene had a bright future.

“Freshman year was big for me. Playing freshman basketball, I worked my way up to earn more playing time. At the beginning of the year, I was coming off the bench, and by the end, I was starting. That really helped my confidence moving into the next year and especially during that summer of travel ball,” Treene said.

Treene began on the freshman team and made varsity his sophomore year. Now, he has become a key starter for the varsity basketball team and is one of the team’s best players. Third-year varsity head coach Jay Demaestri has high praise for his power forward.

“Day-to-day he’s tough, not many teams have a 6’7” [player] that can move and shoot and attack the rim very well. We are able to put a lot of pressure on [opponent] teams especially when they are undersized,” Demaestri said.

Treene’s senior season did not start the way he wanted after he injured himself in the very first game. He was out for over a month and the team wasn’t the same without him. Treene’s fellow teammate and junior, Ainsworth Fish was also out for the beginning of the season. Redwood suffered three losses without Fish and Treene including one against archrival Marin Catholic. However, once Treene made his return, and the Giants had their full roster, they started to play to their full potential. They won the Acalanes tournament in Napa, Calif. during the holiday break and got retribution against archrival Marin Catholic on Jan. 20, defeating the Wildcats 63-40 with help from the 20 points

by Treene.

Treene’s impact cannot be underestimated; he can shoot, pass, rebound and take it down low into the paint for the hard-fought points. Recently Treene tallied up 29 points in a blowout win against Tamalpais High School.

He has continuously demonstrated his ability to lead his team and hit crucial shots when the team was in a tough position. Fish, who is a captain and a starter for the team, shared how valuable a player like Treene is to their overall team success.

“When we are missing layups and free throws or when I am having a bad game, having a guy like Treene to pick up the slack is huge and helps us win games,” Fish said.

Treene and Fish are the only two current players to have been on varsity since Demaestri’s first year coaching in 2019. Having been his teammate for three years, Fish talked about the kind of teammate and friend Treene is.

“[Treene] and I are the last two [players] from [Demaestri’s] first year, so we’ve been practicing together for a while.

We were the underclassmen on the varsity team, so we’ve taken the beating for a couple of years. I think that has definitely shaped us pretty well,” Fish said.

Although Treene was not appointed an official captain, everyone on the team looks up to him. His humble and reserved aura translates onto the court; he always stays present and cool in the moment.

“I told him in the beginning of the season: just because you’re not a captain doesn’t mean you’re not a leader. He’s a guy that everybody looks to if we’re in a tough spot,” Demaestri said.

Aside from his athletic success, Treene has maintained strong grades in school to gain admission into Pomona-Pitzer College where he will be playing basketball next fall.

“Because it’s a Division III school, they don’t offer any scholarship money, so I had to get in like everybody else and then only did I get the opportunity to play basketball Photo by Allie Vasquez there and I’m very grateful that the coach offered me and gave me that opportunity. It definitely took a lot of work in the classroom,” Treene said.

Going forward this season the basketball team has high hopes. Led by Treene the team will control their own destiny come playoff time.

“Our goal is to put up banners, that’s all I can say,” Treene said. aaujla@redwoodbark.org

Volleyball star Emma McDermott commits to UCSB

By Sam Kimball “I was not expecting that call to be ‘the call.’ Right after I got the offer and hung up the phone, I ran downstairs and [said to my family,] ‘Guys I got an offer.’

I couldn’t believe it. It was one of the craziest moments of my life,” junior Emma McDermott, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) women’s volleyball commit, said.

McDermott, an outside hitter on the girls’ varsity volleyball team, has been playing club volleyball since fifth grade, choosing to play at a more competitive level in seventh grade. Although quitting soccer and gymnastics was a difficult decision to make, she was ecstatic to direct her attention to the sport she felt truly passionate about.

Photo Courtesy of Emma McDermott Ursula Gruenert, the girls’ varsity volleyball coach, first met McDermott in ANNOUNCING HER COMMITMENT to eighth grade when she coached her on an UCSB, Emma McDermott shows off her Absolute Volleyball club team. Gruenert spirit. has seen McDermott’s development Despite not being on Gruenert’s varsity first hand and has enjoyed coaching her team, McDermott was a stand out player, contributing to her team both on and off throughout the years.

“When I met McDermott in 2018, she the court.

Senior Sophia Shaw was a part of the was 5’6” and super scrawny, but I saw something special in her,” Gruenert said. JV team with McDermott and remembers “I saw a deep passion and determination the passion she played with.

“While I was not very close to her, that is hard to find. The year I started coaching her in club, she transitioned from [McDermott] was always fun to be around a back row player to the front row, which and always played with a passion that blew me away,” Shaw said. “She was committed was a big step.”

McDermott decided to continue her and came everyday to develop her skills volleyball career at Redwood, joining the and to get better.”

At the start of her sophomore year, junior varsity (JV) team as a freshman.

McDermott made the varsity team. As she started to work with Grunert once again, her goal became focused towards sharpening her skills to meet the demands of playing on varsity. Shaw moved to the varsity team with her and noticed improvement from the year before despite a shortened season due to the COVID-19.

“During our time on the JV team, McDermott was one of the strongest hitters, but coming back after the COVID-19 break, she had improved so much,” Shaw said. “She was our best hitter and was the outside that played all around. She was crazy good.”

As this season began, McDermott’s bond with Shaw became stronger, influencing her attitude towards the game.

Throughout the volleyball team’s record breaking season, McDermott contributed with game changing kills and blocks.

These plays combined with a positive mindset that shifted the team’s overall play. Shaw believes that McDermott was a crucial piece to the team’s 2021 state championship victory, especially with the optimism and collaboration that she brings.

“Even when [McDermott] makes a mistake, she turns around, smiles and moves on,” Shaw said. “It is so important in volleyball to stay positive because I think volleyball is a mental sport. She is a positive player and has been such a great teammate.”

Having one more year at Redwood, McDermott is ecstatic about being able to bond with her teammates as well as grow into a better volleyball player.

“I have a lot to improve on before I get to UCSB so this year will allow me to do that,” McDermott said. “I am excited to see what we can do this coming year with the returning players, and I look forward to spending some time with friends while playing highly competitive volleyball.”

On June 15, 2021, high school volleyball players from around the country were allowed to start talking to colleges about recruiting. McDermott was talking to coaches, sending emails, calling representatives—and doing it all by herself. She was not sure that she would be granted an offer but wanted to try the recruiting process —and it paid off. After countless hours of hard work and many phone conversations, McDermott was offered a spot on the UCSB volleyball team and believes the school fits her hopes for both her education and volleyball career. She looks forward to what UCSB has to offer and what the future holds.

“I am very much looking forward to having such an intense team and environment,” McDermott said. “I can’t wait to have that shared love of volleyball with a whole new group of players that I can bond with. If five years ago I was told that I would go to UCSB for volleyball, I would not believe it. I am proud of the work that I have put in so far and am so excited for Redwood volleyball next year and then continuing at UCSB the year after.” skimball@redwoodbark.org

bark Page 20 • Sports Sports opinion: Behind a curtain of beauty How racism and fatphobia drive the ballet world

By Ani Svendsen and Julia Frankus Ballet is a practice judged by the aesthetics of a dancer’s body, so much that it is widely considered an art form rather than a sport with teams and winners. Most athletes work to strengthen certain muscles solely to enhance their athletic performance; however, in ballet, the goal is not only to achieve a certain athletic capability through strength but also to meet a visual body standard.

According to an article in Dance magazine titled, “The Culture of Thin,” dancers who were anonymously interviewed claimed that, “Weight gain can get them fired while thinness can help them advance.” Pressure to acquire the “ideal ballet body” is not in an effort to improve a dancer’s athleticism, but rather to improve their physical appearance—this aesthetic is a priority in ballet.

In an additional article by Julie Oliveira, Dance magazine called, “Let’s junior Stop Talking About Racism and Fatphobia as Separate Issues,” the writer states that stereotypes within the ballet world often come from ballet’s systemic racism and fatphobia. Ballet’s history of exclusivity toward one body type, both by skin color and shape, is still prevalent today. Lea Marshall, an author at Dance magazine, speaks to this norm, stating, “Think of the many stories of both racism and bodyshaming that emerge from the experiences of dancers asked to whiten their skin, or lose just five more pounds, in service to an ideal of uniformity grounded in westernEuropean aesthetic preferences.” The inordinate value of skinny, young and white girls is still prevalent in ballet culture today.

Margot Johnson, a senior and dancer at the Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM), recognizes the stereotypes surrounding ballet dancers and what is idealized in the community.

“The [ideal] ballet model is a stereotype. It would be

difficult for [dancers and audiences] to break the mindset that that is not the only option. This model is built into the art form, how [ballet is] taught and what [dancers] attempt to achieve,” Johnson said.

It is hard to change the stereotypical image of a ballerina, as this ideal is instilled in aspiring ballerinas at an early age. The light pink color of pointe shoes, small legs and tiny arms of porcelain ballerina dolls and lack of diversity among the uniform ballet dancers, are only some examples of the way in which whiteness and the skinny “ideal” are prevalent in the ballet world.

“The first thing that comes to mind [when I think of a dancer]—this was especially true when I was a little girl—is the music box with the spinning ballerina. In every box, the doll is the same: white, skinny and flawless,” Johnson said.

This uniformity among dancers is expected within the ballet community, where the goal is to create a group of people who all look alike and dance in sync.

PAAM dancer, sophomore Olivia Svallin, sees this expectation of dancer’s firsthand at her studio.

“I think there is still an expectation that every dancer is supposed to look the same. When we’re doing the group dances, [teachers] put similar [looking] people together, but not every dancer is going to look the same because we are all different,” Svallin said.

In addition to this, negative body image can take away from the artistry of dancing for ballerinas. Kathleen Gao, a former Redwood student and current company dancer at New Ballet in San Jose, has dealt with negative body image, having danced professionally for over two years now. Gao found that the mirrors in a studio can contribute to low self esteem and as such can feed a negative mind set.

“If [a dancer] is having really poor mental health or is in a bad headspace, they’re not going to look into the mirror and think, ‘Oh wow, this is such a great tool that I can use to fix my technique,’” Gao said. “It’s [often] more

Often those who were slimmer, had lighter skin or [had] blonde hair were put in lead roles.

Photo courtesy of Kathleen Gao

February 11, 2022

[that dancers] will look in the mirror and think, ‘I need to fix some aspect of my weight,’ or the way they look. [Ballet] becomes less about the art and more about [one’s] appearance.”

Similarly, Savannah Levy, a dancer at Marin Conservatory of Dance (MCD) and student at Tamalpais High School, has experienced that stereotypes and expectations in ballet can take away a dancer’s ability to focus on the dancing itself.

“When I don’t feel good about myself, my dancing is [definitely] worse. I am not able to concentrate on what I’m doing, and instead, I am concentrating on how I look,” Levy said.

These stereotypes can also cause ballerinas to compare Illustration by Julia Frankus themselves to their peers.

Julie Oliveira, a junior at Redwood and ballerina at Marin Dance Theater (MDT), has also been affected by ballet’s rigid expectations. Oliveira began to notice differences between her and her peers’ body types starting in her early teens.

“As I got into my teens, [body image] has affected me more. When I was little, most girls in my class had the same [type of] body because we hadn’t grown. But then, when we grew up, we all [developed] different body types,” Oliveira said.

A ballerina can stretch their feet and practice their splits every night to increase flexibility, but they cannot change the structure of their hips, length of their legs or color of their skin in order to meet a societal expectation.

“I am Brazilian, so a lot of my family is a little more curvy. I noticed that a lot of ballerinas around me didn’t have that [feature,] and often those who were slimmer, had lighter skin or [had] blonde hair were put in lead roles that sometimes I wouldn’t be cast as,” Oliveira said.

No one is to say for certain that those lead roles were cast based on race, but either way, there is clearly a lack of diversity in the ballet world. According to research

by Data USA, only about two percent of ballerinas in the U.S. are African American, while over 65 percent are white.

Johnson explains that in order to see change within the ballet community, both ballet companies and audiences will have to shift their outlook on what makes a ballerina beautiful.

“I think people don’t understand that many body types can make ‘those lines’ even if it doesn’t exactly resemble the ‘ideal’ ballerina [body],” Johnson said.

Despite the challenges the ballet industry faces, Svallin has hopes for a more inclusive future.

“It’s 2022 and the world is always changing. Our generation is usually more accepting of [different] body types,” Svalllin said, “I hope that as things [in society] change, the [ballet] community continues to change as well, which means loving people of all body shapes and sizes.”

POSING FOR AN audition photo, professional ballet dancer Kathleen Gao makes strides in her career at New Ballet in San Jose. bark@redwoodbark.org

bark Rachel Balkovec strikes gender barriers out of the park Page 21 • Sports

www.redwoodbark.org

By Sarah Goody

On Jan. 9, the baseball community erupted into applause for 34-year-old Rachel Balkovec after she made history by becoming the first woman to manage a minor league team in the Major League Baseball Association (MLB). Balkovec was appointed as the team manager of the Yankees minor league team, the Tampa Tarpons. In light of this historic achievement, there is both tremendous excitement for the future of sports management and a reflection of the current lack of diversity among players and coaches.

Balkovec is no stranger to making historic firsts as a female in the professional baseball world. Previously, she was the first woman to serve as a full-time minor league conditioning coach and hitting coach in the minor league.

“I knew when I signed the contract with the Yankees that I have two jobs to do. Being a hitting coach and also a visible idea for young women as much as humanly possible,” Balkovec said in an interview with Fox News in January 2022.

For the girls’ varsity softball pitcher, senior Katie

Photo courtesy of NJ.com

DEMONSTRATING A BATTING stance, Balkovec shares feedback with her team.

Connors, the issue of gender inclusivity hits closer home.

Connors has been playing softball since she was five and has witnessed blatant gender biases working as a coach with Marin Baseball, her father’s organization.

“It takes more time for people [and players] to respect me [as a female coach]. If they don’t know my abilities or talents as a player or as a coach, it takes longer for them to realize [my capabilities] and to have [that] mutual respect,” Connors said.

This respect is also important to Connors’s teammate, junior Georgia Pineda, who fondly remembers experiences with female coaches, both on and off the field.

“The female coaches that I’ve had are usually a lot more knowledgeable [than male coaches] in terms of fundamentals and athletic specifics and they need to be acknowledged for that knowledge,” said Pineda In a study done by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), as of Jan. 1, 2021, 22 women had either on-field coaching or player development roles, in comparison to three in 2017. After hiring Balkovec to the Tarpons and Kim Ng as the league’s first general manager with the Miami Marlins, it is clear that more women have made headway with their involvement in the MLB and sports management.

As a research analyst for the Redwood football team, junior and sports fan Sam Zlot has noticed an increase in female managers.

“We are entering a whole new era where women can actually do professional sports. Stereotypically, boys are more interested in sports, but the stigma that girls can’t be coaches [is disappearing],” Zlot said.

It is increasingly obvious that more females and getting involved in sports, and pressure is mounting on sports officials to recognize that women have the capability to be powerful leaders in the industry.

“You [can] go to college to get a degree in marketing, advertising, management or sports management, so it’s not like the knowledge that you have is [only] developed through playing the sport. It’s developed for learning and that is learning that women and men should be able to do equally,” Pineda said.

Regarding the future of gender diversity in professional sports, Connors, Pineda and Zlot all claimed that the key to increasing female leadership is prioritizing respect on and off the field.

“Once women have the respect that they deserve within the industry, they will feel more comfortable taking part in it,” Pineda said.

Seniors’ final hurrah with winter sports

Photo by Allie Vasquez

SMILING BACK AT his mom, basketball player Aiden Squiers walks toward his teammates with his rose.

Photo by Allie Vasquez

GIRLS ON VARSITY basketball lift up senior and captain Haley Rothbart, the mightiest guard.

Photo by Emilie Erickson

STRIDING TOWARDS THE ball, soccer player Matt Jessen (4) locks down his defense.

Photo by Allie Vasquez

CHEERLEADER ROXY SHADOW links arms with her mom holding her senior gift.

Connors’ sister Annie Connors is a senior at San Diego State University (SDSU) and participates in the SDSU Sports Management Initiative. This program provides opportunities for students to learn about the many career possibilities in sports and connect with leaders in the industry. “[Annie] had an internship where she was a manager for a sports team near the Giants and having resources [like the Sports Management Initiative,] where young adults or young females can learn how to do sports management, is really awesome,” Connors said.

As Balkovec starts the season with the Tarpons, the world will be watching to see how baseball reacts to this historic first for women in sports.

“If Balkovec has a losing season, people will say ‘oh, she’s a woman, she can’t do it’” Pineda said. “They never blame it on the manager [if they are a man,] but I just know that if she has a bad season, people are going to count on her for it.”

Photo courtesy of New York Times

MANAGING THE YANKEES Tampa Tarpons, Balkovec inspires girls to get involved in sports management. sgoody@redwoodbark.org

Photo by Allie Vasquez

BASKETBALL PLAYER LENA Shuwayhat hugs her coach after an injury-free season.

Photo by Allie Vasquez

SOCCER PLAYER RILEY Anderson celebrates her recognition alongside her parents.

lifestyles

Page 22

Adeline Turner spends a semester in the mountains

By Ingrid Houtkooper

From the coast of Maine, to the beaches of the Bahamas and even the ancient city of Rome, many students in Marin County are taking whatever opportunity they can to immerse themselves in new experiences and push themselves outside of their comfort zones. For junior Adeline Turner, changing her learning environment meant enrolling in the semesterlong school High Mountain Institute (HMI) in Leadville, Colo. Backpacking through valleys and exploring nature, Adeline spent four months with 45 other teens building deep relationships and discovering new things about herself and her surroundings.

Having grown up backpacking with her family, Turner was drawn to HMI for the wilderness and outdoor appeal, specifically the backpacking expeditions. Over the course of the semester, there are three backpacking trips, each lasting at least 10 days. “[Each day we would wake up and] backpack or hike anywhere from two hours to four [and hike] anywhere from one mile to six or seven, but there’s no trail most of the time, so it’s hard navigating,” Turner said. “We would go a mile but it would take us two hours because we were going through a slot canyon or were having to retrace our steps to figure out where we were, but that part was fun.”

When they were not hiking through canyons, cooking themselves dinner or searching for drinking water, the students would have school lessons integrated into the expeditions.

“Once we got to camp we would set up our tarps and sometimes do classes like survival skills or an English class because we brought books. Then we just got to hang out at the camp, which is really fun, or sometimes just go wander around or explore,” Turner said.

Despite not knowing anyone on her first expedition, there were plenty of ways to break the ice. After backpacking all day, the group would sit in a circle and play games to get to know one another. One specific game was called “Circles.”

“One person gives their life story in one minute and then each person in the circle will ask them a question.

They’re supposed to ask deep questions and there’s a different person doing that each night,” Turner said.

Activities like these helped the 46 kids attending HMI connect with one another, something that was very intimidating at first.

“I was the last bus to get [to the school,] so everyone was already there and unpacked. Everyone was so nice, asking things like, ‘how are you?’ or ‘where are you from?’ ‘How did you find out about HMI?’ [The faculty] mixed up table groups each night for the first week so we could get to know each other. It’s terrifying, but once you get to know everyone, it’s super fun,” Turner said. Although it was nerve racking to be the last to arrive, Turner felt lucky to have been in contact

Photo courtesy of Adeline Turner

ON HER FIRST expedition, Turner and her fellow students pitched their tents on the Sawatch Mountains in Colorado. with Chloe Cullen, another student at HMI who attends kind of learning.”

Marin Academy in San Rafael, Calif. The two of them met The students were provided with Chromebooks for through a mutual friend who knew they were both going school, but otherwise it was a tech-free environment, to HMI. meaning the students did not have their phones. Although “We ended up booking the same flight so we could the lack of technology limited Adeline’s contact with her fly out together and it was super nice to be able to talk parents, Eliza was more than happy for her to be smartto someone who was also going,” Cullen said. “It made phone-free for four months. me feel better because [Turner was just as] nervous going “I think it would be hard to settle into your own new and meeting all these new people. When we got off the world if you’re constantly trying to connect with your plane [we] had to find a huge group of people. It was old one. So I knew that no news was good news. She overwhelming, but it was nice to have a familiar face that probably called every two weeks and we could write her I could talk to.” letters. I was fine with it. I totally trusted that she was For both Cullen and Turner, having a partner alongside in good hands and that she was living a really rich life,” them relived some stress. Eliza Turner, Adeline’s mom, Eliza said. understands that transitioning to a new environment can For Cullen, not having her phone also allowed her to be scary. remain present on her trip.

“It’s stressful going to a new place with people that “I felt so much more motivated to go out and do you’ve never met from all over the country. [In Marin,] cool things, like go on walks with people or go on runs. it’s all so familiar so I think [many teens are] aching for I didn’t have that distraction or that thing that I could something a little unfamiliar at this point too,” Eliza said. fall back on if I was bored. I had to find things to do. It Although there may have been regular courses, such just felt so much more natural and I felt so much more as English, math and science, school at HMI was an grounded,” Cullen said. unfamiliar experience. Schooling remained a very big Having gotten away from her phone, Marin and her part of the students’ lives, having classes Monday through typical routine, Adeline says she learned a lot about Saturday. herself and what she appreciates about life and friends.

“We rotated through [six] classes... and they were each “I would definitely recommend [HMI,] you don’t 80 minute periods. They were pretty long, but definitely even have to like the outdoors. If you just want something super interesting. Each day there was a different schedule,” new I would definitely try it. I feel like I was doing the Adeline said. “They were definitely challenging; all of same thing for the last few months, or even years, and it the courses made me really think. But I really loved the was really nice to do something different,” Adeline said. classes and there was a lot more interaction and hands-on ihoutkooper@redwoodbark.org

Photo courtesy of Adeline Turner

BACKPACKING THROUGH THE Sawatch Mountains in Colorado, Adeline (far left) poses for a picture with HMI friends, Jewell Stillman (middle) and Selayni (far right).

bark Musical theater students take their talents to the next stage Page 23 • Lifestyles

www.redwoodbark.org

By Ava Razavi For many, college applications consist of writing a plethora of essays, scheduling dry interviews and filling out activity lists. However, a select few take a different route.

Students who are applying to college for musical theater engage in a unique application process; from singing to dancing to acting, applicants work to showcase their talents through minute-long videos and bars of music. Applicants send prescreens, which are videos of themselves singing and dancing in various musical styles, such as classical, contemporary, broadway and more, in order to showcase their talents. If colleges are interested in accepting the students, then they are called back to do a live audition on Zoom or in person.

Many who engage in this application process believe that their art has an immeasurable influence on their life.

Senior and musical theater applicant Maisie McPeek, accredits musical theater to building her confidence and stepping into her true identity. “[Musical theater] has always been an emotional outlet for me and somewhere where I could channel any negative emotions I was feeling. You get to become someone else for a bit and transform yourself,” McPeek said. “It was the first thing that I could relate to my self-confidence. I liked that I was really good at [musical theater,] so it helped develop self-love.”

A fellow senior and aspiring musical theater major, Ellie Lauter, discovered her love for musical theater by seeing a musical in action.

“I saw Matilda the Musical when I was really young in London, and it was kind of weird because there’s a part where they throw paper planes into the audience, and [one fell on me and] it said my name ‘Ellie’ on it. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is a sign,’ and decided I wanted to do musical theater,” Lauter said.

Although many follow their passions during high school, few carry them out to college. College and Career Specialist, Becky Bjursten claims that because of the rarity of students applying to college for performing arts, those applying for arts strongly identify with their medium.

“[College] is very individual, but I think a student who chooses the [artistic] route really knows that [their art] is at the core of who they are and is something important to them,” Bjursten said.

Regardless of the different ways in which McPeek and Lauter fell in love with musical theater, they both felt that they wanted to pursue their art medium professionally once they recognized their talents.

“I would love to do it as a profession. … It’s fun and something that I’m good at. [I] would regret it if I didn’t try to pursue it,” Lauter said. “I’ve done [musical theater] for so long that I don’t want to stop now. I want to keep going and take it to the next level.”

However, the process is extremely thorough and can be difficult at times. As a result, McPeek tries to keep an open mind about criticism and advises students only to apply if they are sure of their intentions.

“If a program doesn’t want you, it’s not a ding to your talent … There’s just someone else that’s doing the same thing as you and they liked it better. Try not to compare yourself to others,” McPeek said. “If you are not 100 percent sure that this is what you want to do, don’t do it. It’s a lot of work for someone [who is on the fence].”

Bjursten recommends that students who are unsure about the commitment can attend colleges that integrate art into their college life in the form of extracurriculars.

“I think that there are a lot of levels of how to explore performing arts in college,” Bjursten said.

“Whether it’s clubs, or singing groups or drama, sometimes you don’t have to be a part of the actual major program to do [performing arts]. There are a lot of different variations. If [majoring] is too strong of a focus, there are still other avenues to do it.”

Despite knowing that she can still fulfill her passion for musical theater through extracurriculars, Lauter is sure of her path. Pursuing musical theater is a dream for Lauter, and she is looking forward to her future being surrounded by like-minded people.

“It sounds so exciting to major in what I love to do because it’s obviously something I have had to put on

the side with Redwood’s academic program. So it’s exciting to have musical theater as my main focus and be surrounded by a bunch of theater kids,” Lauter said. arazavi@redwoodbark.org

Photo courtesy of Ellie Lauter

PERFORMING IN SHOWS since grade school, Ellie Lauter hopes to pursue musical theater in college.

Mr. Lovelady ‘Skips’ into his new future

By Sofia Ruliffson Every day around 5 a.m., Skip Lovelady wakes up and begins his morning, hoping to arrive at school before sunrise. Once fully settled into the classroom, Lovelady sets up the lesson plan and patiently awaits for his Honors Biomedical Sciences (Honors BioMed) class to energetically walk through the door 30 minutes early around 8 a.m.

Once the students arrive, the class begins with their lesson plan, which consists of labs and hands-on experiments. This has been Lovelady’s routine for the past 25 years at Redwood. However, as his retirement approaches at the end of this school year, things will change for the Giants’ science department.

Currently, Lovelady teaches Living Earth, Chemistry and Honors BioMed at Redwood.

Before his teaching career, Lovelady attended Dominican University and double majored in biology and chemistry. Despite his scienceconcentrated background, he started his Redwood career teaching strictly math courses as a part-time teacher in 1993.

Towards the end of Lovelady’s first week at Redwood, the teacher in charge of

Photo courtesy of Skip Lovelady

the Advanced Placement Biology program left Redwood. The administration later turned to Lovelady to take on the class; however, Lovelady had a different idea in mind for the class and decided to invent the Honors BioMed program. Honors BioMed is an advanced class offered to juniors and seniors who applied the previous year. Lovelady notes that despite the opportunity, at first, he was hesitant to take on the program.

“At the time, I refused to teach the course because my son had [just] been born and he needed my full attention.

[However,] I was the only teacher [eligible] to teach the course and I knew I needed to step up and take on the task,” Lovelady said.

That summer, two then retired Redwood science teachers worked with Lovelady at his house to help create the Honors BioMed curriculum.

The program turned out to be a huge success despite the challenges due to the advanced content and time constraints. Twenty-five years later, the current course work is still very similar to the original curriculum.

“I designed the course to be an upper-division college molecular biology course. That was my background from college and we took it from there.

But,

[throughout the 25 years] of teaching Honors BioMed, we’ve also had a few simple goals we wanted to achieve in the curriculum [to help the program grow],” Lovelady said.

Lovelady has dedicated a significant amount of time outside of class toward developing the science department and also participating and leading several other extracurricular activities over the past two and a half decades. These programs are now crucial elements of Redwood’s current community. He was the science department chair for 12 years, wrote various course curriculums, led the peer tutoring program for 24 years and even coached the varsity football team for 12 years.

Lovelady has faced multiple obstacles throughout his time at Redwood, yet one of the toughest has been the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless, this did not stop him from filling his virtual classes with laughter and bright smiles.

Junior Rowe Stodolnic was a student in two of Lovelady’s science classes and his SMART period during the 2020-2021 school year. Stoldonic noted the different tactics Lovelady used to keep his class engaged over Zoom.

“Lovelady always taught from his classroom, never from home. He was one of the [only] teachers [who did],” Stoldonic said. “Lovelady incorporated a lot [of engaging methods] to make Zoom more enjoyable and help relieve the [feeling] of being on Zoom all day.”

Lovelady is also loved by his Honors BioMed students. Over the past 27 years of being a full-time teacher, Lovelady has only missed 12 days. Senior Sarah Steele, recognizing his dedication to his teaching, reflects on the significant impact he has had on her academic career over the past two years.

“Throughout one’s [high school career,] there are teachers that change your life forever, and Mr. Lovelady [is] one of those teachers. He’s one of those people that, from the first day you meet [him,] makes a lasting impact [on you,] and I

Photo courtesy of Skip Lovelady

PARTICIPATING IN THE Davies Med Center Field Trip circa 1997, Lovelady shared his passion for science. will never forget him,” Steele said.

While the Honors BioMed course is extremely difficult, Steele explained that Lovelady’s humor helped make the class more digestible.

“What I love most about [Mr. Lovelady] is that he tells so many funny stories. He never fails to make me laugh [and is also] very passionate about his job, loves teaching kids, loves interacting with us and puts his heart and soul into Honors BioMed,” Steele said.

As the spring semester of the 2022 school year progresses, Lovelady will be missed dearly and will always be remembered for the influence he has had at Redwood. One of Lovelady’s colleagues and close friends in the science department, Mitch Cohen, recognizes the impact Lovelady has made over his time at Redwood “I [will] miss Lovelady as a colleague and as a personal friend. His contribution to the whole Redwood community has been enormous, and the entire community owes him a giant thank you for all he’s done over the years, both in and out of the classroom,” Cohen said. sruliffson@redwoodbark.org

LaSandra White named Archie Williams’ principal

By Ingrid Houtkooper and Dani Steinberg On Feb. 1, 2022, it was announced that beginning Feb. 2 LaSandra White would become the permanent principal of Archie Williams High School (Archie.)

White became Archie’s interim principal in August 2021, after spending 18 years as vice principal at Redwood. Although her departure was bittersweet, Redwood students and administrators were excited to see her career progress at Archie.

In a Bark article from June 2021, Principal David Sondheim expressed his gratitude for the work White accomplished during her time as vice principal.

“We’ll lose a wonderful assistant principal and a really great friend. [White is] someone whose experience and ability to connect with students is a model for all of us,” Sondheim said.

Since the beginning of her career in education in 1997, White has worked in a variety of positions, including academic workshop teacher, school counselor, vice principal and now principal.

“I never wanted to leave the district, so to be able to have the opportunity [to be a principal] in the district where I have worked since I started [my career in education], has been great,” White said.

Not only has White worked in Marin County for her entire career, she also grew up in Marin City and attended The Branson School. Throughout her adolescence, White noticed a lack of education and resources being provided from schools to students during their transition to college.

“I noticed that some of my peers who I grew up with were very smart, bright and capable. [But] they didn’t always have the information or the support [and] resources they needed to go from high school directly to four-year college. So that became a passion of mine,” White said. “I got my master’s degree in counseling so I could help make sure that all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status or race, knew about their options [after high school].”

Being one of the only black students at The Branson School when she attended and having worked in the TUHSD for 25 years, White is familiar with being one of the only people of color in her work places.

“It’s my life. It’s what I’m used to. I’ve been that since I was younger. The only Black or one of few Blacks...” White said.

Working in various administration positions in Marin schools has allowed White to reflect back on how she was

treated as a student and how TUHSD is evolving today. “[Growing up in Marin] was a really good experience. It’s interesting now working in this community with a lot of the things we are learning about or that are happening, in terms of microaggressions and racism,” White said. “I look back and think, ‘Were there [microaggressions] that happened to me that [I didn’t recognize]?’ Obviously, there were things that happened that I was aware of, but it is interesting seeing how things have evolved.”

As well as White’s childhood experiences influencing her career path, her background with counseling has been just as impactful. Jolie Jacobs, White’s executive assistant, sees White’s background in counseling as an asset to her becoming a successful principal this year.

“People that work with counseling have an automatic empathy and understanding, and I think that is really needed in the position she holds,” Jacobs said. “Staff and students alike were so excited to meet her and get to know her.”

Working side by side with White, Jacobs has seen the admirable ways in which she connects with the community.

“It’s important to get to know the community that you’re serving, and I see her do that regularly. … A principal needs to have a really strong vision of how they want to see the school progress, and I have seen White really [get involved],” Jacobs said.

By reaching out to students and staff in various ways, White has been working to connect with the community and fulfill the goals of Archie’s mission statement.

“The mission statement is about creating a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for all students including their experiences both in and out of the classroom,” White said. “My vision [for the school] ties into the mission that the school had

already established prior to me.”

As the year progresses, White looks forward to continuing to get to know staff and students at Archie, while making changes and improving the school. The Redwood community is just as excited to see what White accomplishes as principal.

“Change is hard but I’m happy …. To be perfectly honest, I do miss the connections I had at Redwood, but I look forward to developing those same connections here,” White said. bark@redwoodbark.org

Photo by Dani Steinberg