The Flash | Volume 28, Issue 1 by Rocklin High School Student Media

Thriving in the Chaos

Look back at the transition to the AM/PM schedule page

FLASH THE

Rocklin High School Volume 28 Issue 1

From the Editors In the midst of this chaotic blur of a year, my hope for The Flash has been to bring back a sense of normalcy to Rocklin High School. So, although we haven’t had a full year of magazine production like we had hoped, we’ve been making the best of this last semester. We hoped to capture every detail of this crazy, unique year by reminding students of the small victories, huge transitions, and unexpected changes we’ve faced since last March. Emily and I have poured our hearts into this issue of The Flash, and our staff has worked incredibly hard to bring you this content. I truly hope you enjoy our take on remembering this wild year. Morgan Fitzgerald, Editor-in-Chief

The last year has been a challenging one to say the least. We had a spring break that turned into one blurred summer. We went back to school online in the fall and then to hybrid and then to a new class schedule and then another hybrid schedule. As we we’re thinking about what we wanted this magazine to represent, our main goal was for it to be hopeful and uplifting in a time full of everyday challenges. Morgan and I have certainly missed journalism and we’re so grateful to be able to produce this magazine, something we’re truly proud of. Thank you to Mr. Rubinstein for giving us all the suport and vision an adviser can. We coukdn’t have done this without you. Hopefully this will give you a sense of how Rocklin students have worked hard to thrive in the chaos. Emily Broad, Editor-in-Chief

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Table of Contents: 2 Podcast Recap 4 Mars, Space, and Beyond 6 AM/PM Schedule Change 8 Sports Update 10 Game Stonk 12 Esports Team Victories 14 Attack on Titan: Modern Classic 16 Shifting to Thrifting 18 Sustainable is Maintainable 20 Twins for the Win 22 The Good, the Bad, and the Sunburnt

Side Hustles Continued

Thrifting Takeover

Modern Classic

Investment Success

Side Hustles

RHS Flash Staff Reporters: Brianna Peck Chloe Entrican Noah Howard Dustin Hayes Ryan Barbieri Ian Shaw Julia McLean Delaney Lawrence Photos by: Allie Mongahan Sean Motley Dayna Garcia Taylor Hughes Olivia Kleinschmidt Jaden Clifford Armin Arfaee Azad Olivia Jeffra Lilly Moylan Jack Hyde Adviser: Joshua Rubinstein

RHS Podcast: “Live from M5”

The Psychology of Astrology By: Julia McLean, Staff Reporter

When you hear the word Astrology, the first thing that pops in your head is most likely your sign. Astrology is essentially that the position and movement of stars and planets influence humans and the world around them. Long ago babylonians and ancient greeks used astrology to explain the weather, how the crops will grow, peoples moods, and why it is hot or cold or raining. Modern Astrology now focuses on the individual only. There are twelve astrological, or zodiac, signs that are recognized all around the world today, ‘Aries, Sagittarius, Leo, Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Pisces, and Aquarius,’ with the signs that certain collectives of people have across the globe according to their birth date, and each sign has its individual strengths and

Sneaker Side-Hustle

By: Chloe Entrican, Staff Reporter

During his senior year at Rockln High School, Marcus Pompa took on the responsibility of starting his own sneaker business that resells authentic shoe brands. “First came my passion for shoes and streetwear, and it just kind of turned into reselling,” Pompa shared. He was initially inspired by seeing other kids wearing cool shoes around school; shoes that he wanted for himself. Additionally, Pompa stated that he has “always been interested in doing side hustles, you know ways to make extra money.” Reselling shoes turned out to be one of the best ways for him to do just that. Pompa’s combined interest in shoes and reselling sparked the beginning of his business. “One thing turned into another and it just spiraled into what it is now,” Pompa explained. The process of reselling shoes is often

weaknesses, ‘which are debated as fact or fiction.’ In the past year, Astrology has grown in popularity, it’s all over TikTok and Instagram, and I bet you’ve probably seen posts about, ‘your daily horoscope’, ‘your strengths and weaknesses’, or ‘what the new moon has to offer you’ across your feed at some point. Some people get really into it, like really into it. We all know someone who judges others because of their sign or their sun, moon, or rising. But, some of us might also have a friend who is on the opposite side of the spectrum. They believe Astrology is a bunch of nonsense, because how could the stars affect my personality? So what is the truth? And why do we love Astrology and believe in it so much? To answer this question, I sat down with Mr. Mark Hardy and Mr. Eric Sturgeon, Rocklin High School’s psychology teachers. Hardy and Sturgeon radiate knowledge, and I won’t lie, it can be a little intimidating. So lengthy, involving both luck and strategy. For example, Pompa described how he has to use online bots in order to make his purchases: “Online, I use bots to buy stuff faster than any human can… I’ll wake up at like four in the morning and sit on my computer for a couple hours, trying to like get as many pairs as I can.” Another way that Pompa is able to make money is through holds. “I’ll try and find a certain shoe that’s undervalued and then I’ll hold it for like, lets say, a couple months and then try and sell it for more after,” he shared. However, this is not the only way that Pompa makes a profit. As an alternative, he will just go into a store and look at their selection, deciding which shoe or shoes to buy based on intuition. Pompa states that “It takes a lot of time… but I certainly enjoy it more than hourly jobs.”

after a quick mic check, we got down to business, and I began our discussion with the question; Is Astrology accurate, and does it actually work? This question is loaded, and Mr.Hardy unpacked it with eaze, beginning with, “People are fascinating. In other words, there is very little that is more interesting than things like personality, temperament, [and] interaction,” so when it comes to Astrology, “ People are longing for significance and understanding. In a time when there is a lot of stress, there is a lot of pressure, we see it sociologically, we see it politically. For a lack of a better term, people are feeling kinda lost and feeling untethered and [I] think astrology gives something to hold on to, and...” (continued on page 20) Pompa shared. Beyond the issue of space, Pompa’s profit margins are fairly slim. His business has been moving into something known as “bricks” which only allow for very slim profits. “Bricks are basically shoes with really really small profit margins that I can get large quantities of. I’ll just like walk into the mall and buy like 10-15 pairs of shoes and then make like ten dollars off of each one,” Pompa explains. This strategy is very risky, yet still profitable. One of the main struggles that Pompa faces with his business is the mental battle: “Probably one of the biggest challenges that I have is learning to let go of all the cool shoes that come into my inventory… I do keep some of those shoes. I probably have like 20 pairs of shoes, but in terms of shoes that I resell, probably like 5 or 6. I just buy them undervalued and I wear them a few...” (continued on page 20)

While Pompa is able to see his business possibly continuing on into college, he still faces several management concerns. “One of the main concerns I have is storage. Because obviously I’m not gonna have enough space to do all of this. My room is already stacked floor to ceiling with shoes, which is an issue,”

“S

cience is about doing. . . Even if the math is beautiful, if you don’t have a way of showing physical evidence via the scientific method, then it’s not science, it’s math,” said AP physics and computer science teacher Geoffery Clarion. On Rocklin High School’s podcast, Live from M5, Andrew Grant and Mr. Clarion discuss interplanetary travel and the importance of investing in science. “The strategy, right now, is to send humans to Mars ASAP. I don’t share the same strategy because from my point of view, human life is extremely important. . . We need to focus on having our robots do a lot of the initial exploration,” said Clarion. Mars’ entire population, as far as we know, consists only of robots. Unlike Earth, which has a temperate climate and a breathable atmosphere, many obstacles stand in the way of the Red Planet becoming a habitable zone for humans: weather, temperature, lack of oxygen, and radiation. Grant explains, “If a human were to live on Mars, they would die within weeks because the radiation poison from the sun is so high, we would have to build a habit that prevents the radiation. Like some sort of electromagnetic sphere. . . I think it’d be more realistic to build a colony on the Moon and then from there launch off the Moon onto Mars.” Due to its smaller size and closer proximity to Mars, the Moon would serve as a perfect launch point for future missions. But once on Mars, the dilemma is how to keep astronauts alive and healthy. Grant continues, “I also read this article that the government has proposed a few ideas to get the dynamo effect on Mars to reduce radiation. They want to nuke the core.” Terraforming Mars is a process that would take millions of years, or at least hundreds of thousands due to the size of the planet. Therefore, scientists have discussed “nuking” Mars to raise the temperature, and create an artificial atmosphere. Making the planet habitable before humans even touch the surface. And what about after Mars? If Mars is successfully terraformed and colonized, surely exploration will continue. Perhaps to Venus? “It would be really cool if we had a cloud city like in Star Wars. Venus’s atmosphere is just so dense that the only place life could survive on Venus. . .would be in the highest reaches of the atmosphere,” shares Clarion. “But I think after Mars, it would be exploring some of the

Earth-like moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Some of those moons we think contain entire oceans that are teaming with life miles and miles below the surface.” Resources and money are what stand in the way of future exploration. So, before we look beyond Earth, we must become more creative with the technologies we currently have. “I’ve always been a huge fan of exploring nuclear energy. . .It’s cleaner than fossil fuels and the tiny amount could power us for a very long time. And on top of that, it would make our space travel so much more efficient and we could power ourselves to go faster and further,” shares Grant. Nuclear fusion and fission could be the start of humans moving away from natural gas and chemical propulsion. Grant shares that despite the incredible opportunity nuclear power provides, it holds a stereotype of ‘dangerous. “In 1986, we had Chernobyl which gave nuclear power a pretty bad reputation. The United States, Soviet Union, and Japan, all three world powers have access to nuclear capabilities but all have had accidents. So people see it as dangerous, but at the end of the day it’s a miracle in the way we can use it,” said Grant. Clarion added on, “Fission and fusion have to do with interaction in the nucleus. . . Right now there is a problem with the breakeven event, which means that the amount of energy we get out of the system needs to be more than the energy that we put into a system and right now we aren’t there yet.” The media and politicians, although not directly involved with the scientific method, serve as huge contributors to science. Clarion explains, “We gotta convince world powers to go out into space. And those world powers have an electorate and those electorates have to decide whether it’s a good idea or not. . . The politics behind putting money into a space program is really, really important because we can’t do it without it” But why care at all about space or the red planet? Maybe it’s just a simple fact of curiosity. Clarion concludes with, “That’s an amazing question. Where do we come from? And why are we here? Are we here by ourselves? If so, why are we here by ourselves in this vast vast universe? It just gets me emotional thinking about how we could use science to figure out these questions that are really meant for philosophers and even religious figures.”

MARS, SPACE, AND

BEYOND

Podcast Hosts interview Geoffery Clarion and Andrew Grant about the Perseverance Mars Rover, future terraforming plans and the future of space travel

By:

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A LOOK BACK AT THE

TRANSITION TO 1 Controversy, 10 Voices

On December 14, 2020, the Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD) Board of Trustees voted for a model that has students attending school five days a week, in AM/PM groups to reduce the number of students on campus at one time. For Rocklin High School (RHS) families and teachers, this presents the third transition to a new schedule in the five months they’ve been in school.

RHS students have been outspoken about the schedule change, as some will face more stress from the change. For senior David Ziebert, two of the biggest concerns are with the shorter class periods, and the structure that will be ripped away from AP classes. In most AP classes, every minute of the block is used for the teacher lecturing and teaching content, but with a short 40 minute class period, there isn’t much time for teaching before students would have to do the learning at home on their own. Not only will the students’ learning be affected by the change in schedule, but the teachers’ curriculum will be impacted as well. David is also concerned that, “The 40 minute classes will really be detrimental to the learning style of RHS. Teachers have had a full 80 minutes for years, so this new schedule will force them to completely remake lectures, tests, and homework to fit an everyday schedule, all of which will trickle down to impact the students.” RHS students also feel that the consistent schedule switches will create instability. Junior Georgia Remmers says, “This will affect my ability to save for college because my employers will not be very flexible with my work schedule, so that’s really stressing me out.” With the A/B hybrid model, she had her work schedule all figured out, but now she will have to plan around a drastically different school schedule.

Students are also concerned about the little representation that they get when it comes to the RUSD board making their decisions. “I am also just frustrated about how little the board is listening to us right now as well… I’ve talked with numerous seniors, and they feel that the [A/B] hybrid schedule is so much more beneficial to them because they are already used to it, and use their time accordingly,” Georgia says. Mrs. April Kenitzer, an RHS history teacher, is also concerned about the lack of representation for students and teachers, “They didn’t ask the students or teachers. It was strictly parent opinion… I think you need to ask all stakeholders,” Kenitzer says, “I only feel heard because of our [teacher] union. I know many people feel that [the teachers] are out to get the parents and don’t want to work, but that is not the case.”

upset at yourselves. Because if you had all been doing what you were supposed to be doing, then the asynchronous days would have been working.”

Students and teachers seem to Kenitzer predicts her main struggle agree that being in school five days will be in reconfiguring the pacing of a week will give students a greater how she moves through her content. feeling of being in school Her main concern is in how prepared her AP students are going to be for their exam in the spring, than the hybrid model did. The daily “I have to prepare them for their check-ins with teachers will allow for test in May and I can’t even give more productivity in the classroom and them adequate time to do a full more accountability with students. multiple choice test or essay. With the 40 minute classes, we In the short term, this schedule change will be flying through material,” should still be effective and give students Kenitzer said. more accountability and hopefully it won’t need to stay for the long term. RHS language arts teacher, However, RHS Principal Davis Stewart feels Mr. James Grace, believes strongly that, “It’s a culture shift to create the reason for the transition independent learning, not just from our staff lies with the students and students, but also our community, our who haven’t been parents. It’s going to take all three to make working at home on their sure that that’s what we’re building.” asynchronous days in the A/B hybrid model, “When Written by: students complain about Emily Broad and Morgan Fitzgerald, it, I’m thinking you’re Editor-In-Chiefs the ones that should be

SPORTS TAKEOVER After the long wait caused by COVID-19, Rocklin High School sports are picking back up again!

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After an abrupt shutdown for spring sports last March, when schools closed due to COVID-19, Rocklin High School coaches and athletes were eager to start up with practices again in hopes of having a season during the 2020-2021 school year. Since June, the football team has been on and off the field, as restrictions were lifted and placed again due to Coronavirus numbers. In order to get in what training they could, the football players were conditioning and doing weight training, and occasionally getting on the field when they could. Other teams like girls and boys water polo have been training on and off since the fall, in order stay in shape for if their seasons could start back up. Girls Head Coach April Kenitzer described what it was like practicing with the restrictions they had at the beginning of the fall: “We definitely started off in pods and then it kinda progressed into [passing and sharing] a ball… and it definitely put a huge damper on our training because even sharing a ball is just a very little part of the actual game… It was just a lot of conditioning and that does start to wear on kids after a while.” Kenitzer reflected that even with the restrictions making it difficult to construct fun practices, the safety they provided was worth it; the team even took breaks from their training in order to prevent the spread of COVID when it became present among the girls. Due to the color tier system for sports beginning again, water polo is one of the many that has not been able to officially start their season yet. Once restrictions are lifted as the COVID situation gets better, there will be more normalcy with more sports teams up and running again. For now, Rocklin is lucky enough to have multiple teams starting their seasons, leaving coaches hopeful for outdoor moderatecontact sports to begin as well. As of the first

week of February, the track and field team, as well as the swim and tennis teams have been able to hold official practices. Matt Eckman, Track and Field Head Coach, held their first practice on Feb. 3. Their season is one of the more unique ones for this year, as they have many different events for their team, including the distance (cross country) program. For distance runners, their track season in the spring would normally be compounded with a cross country season in the fall. However, since the two seasons have been cleared to take place now, there would be a conflict if meets were to happen at the same time. To combat this issue, the distance runners will have their meets prior to spring break, and the track team will hold their preseason, without their events. That way when they start league dual meets, the distance runners will also be able to participate. In order to maintain a safe environment for sports, students are only allowed to participate in one sport at a time. This means that a lot of multi-sport athletes will be unable to play both of their sports if they take place at the same time. However, since the track team works in tandem with the cross country program, those runners are going to be able to participate in both track events and cross country meets. “It’ll be interesting because kids will have to choose [between which teams they participate with], so it’s a little bit less stressful for the distance kids for sure,” commented Ryan Spears, Rocklin High School’s athletic director. Of course, as COVID restrictions decrease, Rocklin’s athletics will continue to command the campus’s attention; it’s only a matter of time before the Thunder starts to rumble again. Written by: Editor-in-Chief

Photo provided by Geoffrey Clarion

Photo provided by Ryan O’Donnell

ver the past few weeks, the GameStop Corp. (GME) stock value has increased at an unprecedented pace and the growth has created a dramatic shift in the standings of this year’s virtual stock market competition. The competition is a tradition for Rocklin High School students taking AP microeconomics, but the fluctuation in GME share price has meant the standings from this year are unlike any before. The rapid growth of GME stock price is unprecedented because the COVID-19 pandemic has limited shopping at GameStop retail stores. Additionally, many people have lost their jobs and are less willing and able to buy video games and consoles, leading to a decrease in sales overall for the company. According to the GameStop website, their earnings from the third quarter of 2020 were down over 30% from what they had been the previous year. These trends led hedge funds to anticipate a decrease in GME stock value, further leading them to short shares. As an investor would short shares of any stock, hedge funds like Melvin Capital promised to purchase positions in the stock soon in exchange for being able to sell their shares for the current market price later. That way, they could make money off of selling their positions for the higher price, instead of the lower price as the stock declined. It was such a compelling opportunity that a number of hedge funds shorted large positions,

something that the subReddit WallStreetBets picked up on. This is noteworthy because WallStreetBets had previously been a group of individuals who struggled with investing and would lament about their poor financial decisions. However, combined with investing apps like Robinhood and the power of Twitter, these small investors were able to change the price of GME stock by a staggering amount, nearly 2000% on just Jan. 27. So, instead of the decrease in stock price, there was a rise in individual investments in GME positions that drove the price of GME stock even higher. This rise led to hedge funds who tried to short GME losing over $5 billion as the price increased from the price they bought it at and in turn created a short squeeze where big investors had to buy the stock at a higher price than they could sell at. “This creates a dilemma for these big short sellers who have big short positions,” said AP microeconomics teacher Mr. Mark Hardy, “they see the price rise… and they have to make a decision at that point whether to wait and hope it comes back down or cover their shorts. They basically, in a sense, are forced to buy the stock to limit their loses. This causes the stock to go even higher.” When junior Treyger Lawanson started in the virtual stock market game, he browsed Reddit for investment advice and after

reading some threads on WallStreetBets, he bought nearly 300 shares of GME on Jan. 19. “I invested when it first had a little spike but it was nothing where people were following it, people who had nothing to do with the stock market,” Treyger said. Despite having already been in the number one slot of the competition because of his successful investment in Blackberry shares, the dramatic increase in value of GME meant that Treyger’s returns on Jan. 27 were over 165% and were historic for the competition. “I don’t want to say that it was all skill,” said Treyger, “because it definitely wasn’t. I totally got lucky on this one… I was a little better informed that everyone else thought. That and a little bit of luck really helped.” These trends with GameStop worry Hardy, “What we have is a few people that have taken a huge lead in each of my classes, and that bums me out a little bit because it has caused some people to kind of lose interest.” With Treyger having been so far ahead, Hardy was concerned that students would feel they couldn’t catch up and then not put any effort into their portfolios. He is mainly concerned that students will start investing in stocks they expect to have short-term high returns instead of in ones that will steadily increase in value over time,

GAME How one investment with massive returns had a junior dominating RHS stock market competition

“I don’t want my students to learn that this is the main way you make money in stocks, through some crazy fluctuation and trying to time it right. I want to teach more long term steady investing in quality companies that will gain you money over time.” As for the long term effects of this change in the market, Treyger feels that, “There’s definitely going to be change, but I’m just

not experienced enough to understand the true scope of that change… In the long term, I would say that you’re going to see these larger firms being a bit more cautious.” For now, GME prices are still fluctuating dramatically and it remains to be seen what the long term effects will be on the company’s stock.

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Written by: Emily Broad, Editor-In-Chief

GAMING ON THOUGH THE TEAM IS JUST A COUPLE YEARS OLD, THUNDER ESPORTS HAS MADE IT TO THE NASEF OVERWATCH FINALS. TWICE.

The thought of playing video games competitively may seem strange for some people, but it certainly isn’t for the at least 600 million viewers of eSports (Statista) worldwide. As popularity continues to increase, collegiate teams are getting better, and Rocklin High’s Overwatch team has even made the eSports finals. Overwatch is a 6v6 team-based first person shooter, in which players choose characters with the roles of tank, damage, and healing. Each team uses these roles in order to create a situation where players assist each other. The objective varies from game to game, but one common gamemode is Assault, in which one team tries to take two objectives by maintaining position in them, while the other team defends (Gamepedia). Though Overwatch was released in May 2016, the RHS Thunder eSports Club started in late 2018, with Mr. Werner as the club advisor. Senior Eugene Tai is the Team Captain of the club, and was also the main reason the club was formed to begin with. “There are a lot of competitions for high school eSports starting to emerge… and I saw an opportunity in eSports at the high school level so I decided to start a club,” said Eugene. The club was initially very popular, as many people were excited at the thought of possibly getting a scholarship to play at the collegiate level, but not everyone has made it that far. The club also plays other games like Valorant, another team-based shooter, but their main focus is on Overwatch.

“I know some people that have joined the Overwatch team didn’t expect to make the main roster, but after putting in a lot of hard work they have,” said Eugene. There aren’t many high school teams better than Rocklin’s, so they actually scrimmage against collegiate teams like UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Berkeley for practice. Having a constructive and supportive team can allow Rocklin to grow and take on these collegiate teams. In the summer of 2019, Rocklin was the only high school team invited to compete at a collegiate eSports tournament at the California State Fair. Rocklin came in 2nd place, but only after beating UC Berkeley by a lot. When it comes to High School tournaments, Rocklin came 1st place in the 20192020 North American Scholastic eSports Federation (NASEF) tournament and was 2nd place in this year’s tournament. There were a lot more teams put into this year’s tournament, so it lasted for two days. Rocklin was the 1st seed, but they had to play for almost eight hours on day two when they ended up in the loser’s bracket. They climbed their way back to the championship match, but ended up losing to Diamond Bar High School from East Los Angeles County. “It was really draining, it was probably the most Overwatch I’ve ever played,” said Eugene. “Our loss resulted mainly from burnout, as we were already six hours in, but they were also very good. They are probably

the best [high school] team out there.” When there are hundreds of schools competing, however, a 1st and 2nd place for a school looks amazing, especially when collegiate teams are scouting out. Eugene has already received a scholarship to play eSports at UC Irvine, the first public University to start an official eSports program, and the program is now ranked in the top 5 schools for eSports (Best Colleges). “[eSports popularity] is probably at its peak right now, and it’s probably only going to go higher,” said Eugene. RHS Thunder eSports also plans on creating a small eSports arena on campus, which may become a place for practices, scrimmages, or even tournaments and anyone is invited to check it out when it’s done in the near future. Written by Ryan Barbieri, Staff Reporter

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Photo provided by Thunder Esports

ANOTHER LEVEL 13

ATTACK ON TITAN A MODERN CLASSIC “Attack on Titan” is an anime and manga series created by Hajime Isayama, which was first published on September 9th, 2009 and the final chapter of the manga will be published on April 9th, 2021. “Attack on Titan’s” anime series first aired April 7th, 2013 and experienced a meteoric rise in popularity which was only comparable to the huge shonen anime hit One-Punch Man. The show is currently airing its final season, with episode 12 estimated to air on February 28th. So what even is “Attack on Titan?” It is set in a world where humanity lives inside cities surrounded by enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans. The story follows Eren Yeager, who vows to exterminate the Titans after a Titan brings about the destruction of his hometown and the death of his mother. The plot goes through multiple arcs across 4

seasons, and is widely regarded as one of the best modern anime. Popular anime youtube personality Gigguk even cites it as “shaping up to be one of the greatest anime of all time.” So why do people like this series so much? It could be the blistering fast action sequences, the fiery opening themes, the somber moments, or the triumphant victories and powerful scores that lurk in the background, illustrating the feelings of the characters. I asked RHS sophomore and close friend of mine, Ben Schmidt, his opinion on the show, and he responded with, “I like it for it’s story and cliffhangers. I love the design and details put into the environment and characters and effects, plus the music is sick as well. Overall, if I had the time, I’d binge the whole series in one sitting.” Freshman Reiss Van Nieuwburg says, “I like it because it has a lot of cool fight scenes and the art style is good, plus

the plot is amazing too.” These interviewees and legions of fans all agree that this series is a lot more than meets the eye. Ask any serious anime critic and they will tell you that Attack On Titan will go down as one of the best anime of the modern age. The first few episodes are widely regarded as one of the best hooks found in anime; they grab your attention and hold on, without letting go. Each season goes through multiple arcs, and the character development really is something to behold. Obviously this article has been spoiler free, but once you see the basement reveal in season 3 part 2, you’ll want to tell everyone you know that Attack On Titan is one of the greatest of all time, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Written by: Ian Shaw, Staff Reporter

MAN ON THE MOON: THE CHOSEN ONE MUSIC

REVIEW

Scott Mescudi, better known by his stage name Kid Cudi, recently released the third installment of the legendary Man on the Moon trilogy. The album, titled Man on the Moon III: The Chosen was released on December 11, 2020; over ten years since the last installment Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.

soon as it came out and then finished it the morning after. Initially, I thought the album was very good, with no skippable songs on the album whatsoever. When I kept listening, I realized that the album lacks the depth that the last two installments were able to reach.

As of January 13th, the album has 256,990,149 streams on Spotify alone. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was Kid Cudi’s fifth top ten album in the US. Taylor Swift’s album Evermore and Jack Harlow’s album That’s What They All Say were both released on the same day as Kid Cudi’s, with Evermore debuting at No.1 on the Billboard 200 and That’s What They All Say at No. 5. The Album starts out with a heavy trap vibe with features from Pop Smoke and Skepta, but slowly transitions into the classic, euphoric-sounding Kid Cudi that so many fans grew up listening to. In the outro of Another Day, Kid Cudi recycles lyrics from his classic song Mr. Rager; leaving listeners with a nostalgic remembrance of his early work. I listened to the first half of the album as Photo provided by Brady Freeman

“In my opinion, the album was very chill and laid back, and was exactly what I was expecting from Cudi. My favorite songs were Tequila Shots and Damaged,” said Brady Freeman.

The first Man on The Moon album felt to me like a window into his childhood and early life, and how he struggled growing up without a father. The second album of the trilogy highlighted the downsides of Kid Cudi’s fame, and how he felt as though a life of drugs, alcohol and partying was ruining him. This third album lacks the feelings and emotions Scott was able to imbed in the previous albums. This album also showcases how Cudi has grown since starting music; he no longer lives a life filled with drugs and parties, since he has gotten over his depression, which he originally used to pour emotion into his music. Although I felt the album lacked the usual transparency into Kid Cudi’s mind that shaped his career, the album still had a flood of euphoric and mellow feelings that has always been present in his discography. Kid Cudi’s specialty is his ability to relate to thousands of fans through his lyrics, because

of how open he is with his emotions. People hear Cudi talking about his experience of living with depression and that is special because very few other rappers are that transparent about their mental health. I felt as though his relatability was not as present in this album as the previous ones, but some songs on the album did fulfill the relatability to his lyrics so many fans were hoping for. His most relatable songs on the album, in my opinion, were The Void and Elsie’s Baby Boy (flashback). The Void touches on how Scott feels when the depressive thoughts overcome him; as if he is falling into a void. Elsie’s Baby Boy (flashback) speaks about Scott’s relationship with his mother throughout his childhood, and his experience growing up with no father. Overall I would rate this album an 8.5 out of 10, and a must-listen for any Kid Cudi fans or anyone who likes relaxed, mellow music.

Written by: Noah Howard, Staff Reporter

Photo provided by Beau Seipler

Photo provided by Eli Hardy

“I liked it a lot because of the new trap beats that were incorporated in it, but I think for OG Cudi fans it wasn’t their thing. My favorite tracks were Heaven On Earth, Another Day, and Sad People because of his amazing production,” said Eli Hardy.

“Personally, I think it was really good. It was a little different from previous music he’s put out before, but I really enjoyed it. His album made me feel a sense of calmness and peace. I think people who didn’t like the album or call Cudi “trash” don’t know how to expand their music taste. Kid Cudi is for those with amazing music taste. Favorite tracks: The Void, Tequila Shots, Mr. Solo Dolo III, Sept 16, and Sad People,” said Beau Seipler.

SHIFTING TO THRIFTING Need new, but sustainable clothes?

Joanne Pe, a senior at Rocklin High School, turned her passion into a profession by initiating the start of her own thrifting business over quarantine. She runs this business through an account on Instagram, reaching customers through her posts on social media. Inspiration struck Pe during one of her thrifting trips in July, and made her realize that she could sell the clothing she was finding. “I started on Depop actually, but Depop takes like twenty percent of your earnings. So it’s not that profitable. I turned to Instagram and I have a lot bigger of a market there because I have a lot of friends on Instagram,” Pe expressed. Pe started this business locally but over time it grew, allowing for her to make new friends through the thrifting community.

Check out her Instagram at @joannethrifts.

Even though the process of running an online business may seem easy to some people, it’s more challenging and time consuming than expected. When asked about the responsibilities, Pe said: “I have to be on Instagram the entire day because I get DMs constantly… thrifting of course takes a lot of time, and then you have to package everything and go to the Post Office… I do deliveries and have to take pictures too.” One of the biggest difficulties that Pe faces is being consistent about posting. Pe revealed that,“If I’m not posting for like a month period where I didn’t do anything, that brings my engagement down so much.” Therefore, the profits of Joanne’s business are directly linked to her levels of activity on social media. Additionally, there is lots of frustration when someone backs out of an order, “I just end up going to the next highest bidder… if

everyone backs out then I post again for the set price on Depop. Depop is always like my backup.”

When it comes to seeing how this business will progress long term, that is still up in the air. Joanne Pe shared that she wants to venture outside of the thrifting world and into different territories: “I don’t necessarily want to do thrifting the entire time because it takes a lot of time out of my day… I got into sewing recently [and] I kind of want to make my own stuff, like a sustainable brand, but we’ll see how that goes.” She isn’t quite sure what she wants to make yet, however, her general idea is to keep up with trends and make them sustainable. When focusing on the profits coming from her thrifting business, you could say it is very successful. “I actually have a part-time job aside from the thrift business and I make more from thrifting than my part-time job,” Pe explained. In addition to the monetary gain of running this business, Pe finds joy in her work, and declared that,“it’s also really rewarding so even if I’m spending a lot of time on it, it is worth it to me because there’s a lot of people that are my friends and will be like, ‘I wore your clothes today.’” Not only did this business affect Pe’s income and social life, but her style as well. Pe said, “before I was not very adventurous with the things that I was wearing, but when it came to going to a thrift store, you see a lot of stuff that is new and kind of unique.” On the other hand, it is often difficult to find certain trendy pieces, “if you’re going at the right time, the right place, sometimes you get really lucky but it can be hard because there’s just a lot of stuff so you really have to look,” Pe shared from her own personal experience. Written by: Chloe Entrican, Staff Reporter

17 Photo provided by Joanne Pe

Photo provided by Olivia Shin

SUSTAINABLE IS

MAINTAINABLE Rocklin High School freshman, Olivia Shin, is passionate about sustainable shopping. “There’s a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t buy from bigger brands and I feel like making a small business is a way to just help other people shop sustainably,” Shin shared. In person, Olivia is personable and warm; however, this did not diminish her determination to start her own business selling trendy clothes through Instagram. On the other hand, this small business varies from bigger brands because it is ethically sourced. When it comes to shopping sustainably, small businesses are the way to go. Sustainable fashion refers to clothing that is manufactured, managed, and distributed in environmentally friendly ways. In fact, this movement is fostering change, not only affecting the production of clothes themselves, but also moving the whole system of fashion towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. Despite how tempting it may be to buy from these bigger brands, several environmental and social consequences follow that very decision. Fast fashion is known for its exploitation of child labor, which Olivia Shin does not support, “I think it is a really easy way to start getting rid of so much fast fashion.” There is a significant environmental footprint from both its production and disposal. Specifically, clothing production requires a considerable amount of energy and resources, while contaminating fresh water and air in the process.

In addition to finding ethically sourced clothing, Shin manages this business in an ethical way as well. “I don’t sell anything more than the original retail price because I feel like that’s incredibly unfair to buy something for cheap and then sell it for like thirty dollars more than what the retail price was,” Shin described. In fact, her business would not be successful if her products were overpriced. “You don’t want to overcharge more than what the website is because then the people would, well, just buy from the website,” Shin stated. She buys clothing from Depop and organizes the pieces in “drops”. “Drops” are pictures of new merchandise posted for sale. These pictures have multiple items of clothing and she arranges them in preparation for the individual pieces to be available. Eventually, the clothes actually drop and people are able to buy them.

Over time, selling clothing has affected her own style as well. “I started going into more detail and paying attention, like focusing on what is actually trendy… like brown and cream colors which are really popular right now,” Shin shared. Sometimes she will come across clothes and keep them for herself instead of selling them. “I’ll buy something and I don’t think I’ll like it but I try everything I buy to just make sure nothing is wrong with it or anything. And then I’ll put it on and be like ‘oh my god this is cute,’” Shin expresses. Written by:

Staff Reporter

One of the obvious upsides of running a small business is being a part of a larger network. “It is like a community around here where a lot of people do the same thing as you and then you are able to take a lot of inspiration from them,” Shin continued, “It’s really fun though because everyone’s really nice and I’ve met a lot of [new] people.” Even though Shin started this business simply because she was bored, she found that she liked managing her own business and wants to see where it goes. “Obviously I don’t wanna work right now because of covid and I feel like this is easier. You know, cause I like buying clothes and I need some way to make money.”

Joey and Angela:

Twins for the Win

During this crazy whirlwind of a year, seniors Joey and Angela Passalaqua have done nothing but make the best of the circumstances. Both Angela and Joey actively participate on Rocklin High School sports teams, while also pursuing their academics and other extracurricular activities.

Photo provided by Joey and Angela Passalaqua

On top of her athletic involvement, Angela is Commissioner of Special Programs for the Associated Student Body (ASB), and this year has been crazier than ever for her. The Special Programs team is normally responsible for all the fun activities that ASB puts on for students at Rocklin High, such as dances and rallies. However, due to all the restrictions for COVID safety, most of these events have not been able to happen. This means the Special Programs team, including Angela, have been left with other tasks and the huge responsibility of planning a socially distanced graduation for the class of 2021. There is also a tentative plan for a socially distant and outdoor Senior Ball as well. This is no easy feat with the restrictions and requirements that must be met in order for these activities to get approved by the district. Joey noted that, “she’s always… having meetings with the principal and she’s always practicing top of that, so I have a lot of respect for her… and how much she does for the school.” Angela and Joey are each other’s number one fans, and throughout all of high school Angela has been to every one of Joey’s cross country and track meets. This year, she got to support him while he swept the league 6-0 and won the SFL championship for cross country. Angela openly expressed that she is so proud of Joey and can’t wait to see how he continues to excel in his upcoming track season at RHS. Throughout all the races, and all the meetings and even senior prom proposals, Joey and Angela are there to support each

other. They grow together and push each other to improve; Angela explained that, “He’s my best friend ever, and we couldn’t be closer…even though we aren’t involved in the same things.” Written by: Morgan Fitzgerald, Editor-in-Chief

Listen t o episode this o from M5 n “Live ” here

“...a way to believe there is control.” When times feel unpredictable, people need something to focus on. Astrology gives people a source of happiness and control. They can watch their astrological chart and track the stars. It eases that feeling of worry. Sturgeon added that, “We are constantly trying to make order out of chaos and [how] we are [always] trying to explain things… [because] we don’t like the unknown.” That feeling of not knowing drives us crazy, we need an explanation, and what’s better than to say, “Oh, it’s because Mercury is in retrograde.” Astrology also gives a description of ourselves that we like to believe,telling us our strengths and how people perceive us. It’s dangerous if you think about it, because it gives people a preconceived notion of one another. But can we really be so sure that certain traits are specific to each and every zodiac sign? It’s kind of hard to judge people off their astrological profile when they didn’t even choose it. This is when the Barnum effect comes into play. As Hardy explained it, “The Barnum effect is basically if you make general or vague statements to people...they will see as if it is typically applying to them,” and this is why, “it’s really understandable why people

ts as . dc d.. Po ue S tin RH Con

The Psychology of Astrology: Continued

Sneaker SideHustle: Continued believe [Astrology is] accurate and why they see themselves in it. “ Long ago, Astrology was the closest thing to a science, but now it’s difficult to call it that. Sturgeon elucidated that, “Science uses a method, order and operations need to be replicable and all these sorts of things that need to be met and [i’m] not quite sure Astrology meets all of those requirements.” Long ago, this was our closest source of science. At the time, it made the most sense. As Sturgeon said, “It was the best thing we possibly had with all of those unknowns.” This comes back to the main reason that we must love Astrology so much; it gives us a sense of structure. When there is something we don’t know, we want an answer, and Astrology satisfies us. Hardy made an attractive claim that, “It satisfies some of that spiritual longing for deeper meaning, but without the accountability or without needing to be submissive to some sort of authority.” Astrology is almost a religion, where the higher power is the universe. It is very freeing for the believer, where most of their future is up to them, and they know what lies ahead. In the end, I was given mixed signals. Astrology is hard to prove or disprove. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But, it did make me realize how much our society likes structure and the feeling of security in our day to day lives. So if you love Astrology, I think it’s safe to say you should keep loving it. And if you never loved it from the get go, well, have fun I guess. Scan below to listen to part one of our podcast series on astrology, hosted by Julia McLean.

“... times, and then I just sell them for more,” Pompa explains. This way, he doesn’t lose money and still gets to wear the more expensive shoes that he likes.

The demographic of this sneaker business mainly consists of women. “That’s like the new sector of sneakers, where it’s gone, because it used to be predominantly men always collecting sneakers,” Pompa discloses. In order to match this new demand, Pompa has released a lot more women’s shoes in his inventory. However, the women’s shoes are available in a limited number of sizes, only going up to 10.5, and Pompa finds this quite annoying. Not only does Pompa sell to local people and students around the Rocklin campus, but to larger businesses as well. “I’ll sell to Stadium Goods or Stock X, apps like that… on Discord is where I find like bulk-buyers and bulk-sellers,” Pompa shared. When it comes to terms of payment, Pompa prefers cash and in person exchanges. “I used to be super loose with what I accepted, but then I got charged back on a few things through Paypal,” Pompa revealed, “so basically like Zelle and Cashapp, but the best thing is just straight cash.” However, he still has to ship a majority of the shoes he sells because his clientele is usually looking for wholesale, meaning that he has to move bulk quantities of shoes at once. Pompa even noted that, “All the people at the post office know me by name now.” When shopping for a new pair of shoes, buying from Pompa can benefit both the buyer and the seller. “With me, you cut out the fees. It’s a win win. I can charge you more for what I’m selling because I get less fees so I can sell them for a higher price… and you get to avoid all the fees and taxes,” Pompa explained. For example, according to Pompa, you could save approximately forty to fifty bucks on a 200 dollar shoe. Feel free to check him out on Instagram @orangesneaks. Make sure to check out the podcast on ‘Live from M5‘ that features Marcus!

ACCUTANE: THE GOOD THE BAD, AND THE SUNBURNT. Accutane, sometimes referred to as Isotretinoin, has been used by hundreds of thousands of people throughout the years as a treatment for chronic acne. It is widely believed to be some sort of cure-all for all acne, with many people seeing success after use. But with a list of side effects long enough to put you to sleep it’s time to answer the question, is it safe for teens to use? First, let’s go over a little history. Isotretinoin was first discovered and studied by Roche Laboratories, a swiss pharmaceutical company, during the ’60s and ’70s. The drug was originally studied as a cure for skin cancer of all things. In 1971, it was concluded that while Isotretinoin was ineffective against skin cancer, it was extremely effective against acne. However, due to the realization that the drug caused very serious birth defects, Roche abandoned the drug until 1975 when official testing began in which subjects were specifically chosen so no women who were pregnant or very likely to become pregnant would be included in the study. The trials went on for several years before the drug was finally approved by the FDA for the public in 1982. However, throughout the years there have been many debates on the ethics of this treatment as the birth defects that it causes were among the most reported side effects. To combat this problem, many warnings are present when getting your prescription of Accutane about the possible side effects that may occur regarding pregnancy. Today

the FDA requires what’s called the iPledge program, where any female who takes Isotretinoin must sign an agreement to take two forms of birth control for a month before they start taking the medication until a month after. But these are the precautions that are taken for only one of many side effects. To better understand how Accutane really affects patients, a podcast interview was done with seniors Morgan Fitzgerald and Dylan Cassyare, both of whom have completed a full treatment of Accutane. One of the side effects felt the most by patients is joint pain, and Dylan is no stranger to that. during a podcast interview, he expressed, “The first side effect I noticed was back pain, and it was in my lower back … It felt like I had some genuine joint pain. That was probably the first thing I noticed before the rest of the side effects came.” But for most, the most painfully obvious side effect was dry skin. For many, it seemed as if the medicine just absorbed all the water from your body. Morgan felt this stronger than most, stating in her interview, “The dryness was the most prominent side effect so it was probably the first that I noticed because I had chapped lips and just really dry skin. For me, my hands would get so dry that I would have rashes on the back of my hands because my hands were just super super dry. And that was the most frustrating part because you can only put on so much lotion or Aquaphor

or do so much to help your skin because at the end of the day you’re still going to have dry skin.” While there are many physical side effects that affect a majority of people, one major thing is the mental aspect of this drug. Many patients report new or increased anxiety, depression or mood swings. In some cases, full-blown psychosis has been reported. Whether this comes as a result of a loss of self-confidence or an actual chemical change due to medicine is still up for debate in the medical community, but the fact of the matter is for many people Accutane has caused mental health problems. And for teens, a group already very susceptible to poor mental health, this can be extremely detrimental to their overall well-being. Dylan, while being fortunate enough to not suffer from poor mental health due to Accutane, knows people who weren’t as lucky. He admitted that, “One of the things I was kinda concerned about was the potential side effect for mood and things like that because I’ve known people who’ve been on Accutane and have had serious side effects with chronic headaches and besides from the regular side effects they became depressed and had serious mental health problems because of Accutane.” Similarly, Morgan said that, “I can definitely see how during the first four months, or however long it’s making your acne worse, It’s really easy to fall into that mindset that

Listen to this episode o n “Live from M5” h ere

this is never going to get better.” But it’s time to answer the question, should you take it? When asked if others should take Accutane, Dylan had this to say, “I would recommend it to someone who’s ready… It has to be at a point where you really want to get rid of the acne. So if you’re ready, take it, it works. If you’re not, wait.”

So after doing research and interviewing people who have gone through the struggles of Accutane, it is clear that people should ask themselves several questions before considering it as an option. The first one being “have I tried everything else and is nothing else working?” Accutane is one of the most extreme acne medications made available to consumers and is a big step up from alternatives like Proactive or Curology. Secondly, people should reflect on whether they are willing to give up everything required. While on Accutane, there are a ton of substances and activities you cannot do. Some of those include both drinking alcohol and smoking weed. While both are illegal for teens to do, many are still active users of these substances. So patients must be willing to give up these things for the opportunity at better skin. And lastly, consumers have to ask themselves, “am I ready for this both mentally and physically?” Not only does it take a toll on the human body, with chronic pain and extremely dry skin being very common side effects, but so has been shown to worsen mental health. And not all teens can handle these changes, so Accutane may not be an option for everyone. If a potential consumer has gone through all these steps and decided they’re ready, then it’s time to see a dermatologist and see what the options are. While Accutane may not have the greatest side effects, it has been proven to work. So the question of whether someone is ready to take the dose lies nowhere else other than with that person. Written by: Dustin Hayes, Staff Reporter Photo provided by Morgan Fitzgerald

Instead of a newspaper, we have an online news site to post stories on anything from local news to music reviews. Scan for the link to The Flash news website.

The ‘Live from M-5’ and ‘B Sides’ pods are available anywhere you get your podcasts. Scan for the link to our Anchor.

Follow us @rocklinmedia to get the latest Rocklin HIgh School news and coverage of current events. Scan for the link to our Instagram page.

Follow us @RocklinMedia to get the scoop on the Rocklin Flash and yearbook news as it happens. Scan for the link to our Twitter.

Instead of a newspaper, we have an online news site to post stories on anything from local news to music reviews. Scan for the link to The Flash news website.

The ‘Live from M-5’ and ‘B Sides’ pods are available anywhere you get your podcasts. Scan for the link to our Anchor.

Follow us @rocklinmedia to get the latest Rocklin HIgh School news and coverage of current events. Scan for the link to our Instagram page.

Follow us @RocklinMedia to get the scoop on the Rocklin Flash and yearbook news as it happens. Scan for the link to our Twitter.

Want to create our magazine, podcast, or website? Apply for Intro to Journalism next year or go see Mr. Rubinstein in M5!