The Fourth Estate 2019 March Issue

THE FOURTH ESTATE LAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL

VOL 26

ISSUE 3 MARCH 2019

ON OUR COVER: Senior Bennett Coy and Middle School science instructor Landon Neustadt examine a piece of street art while wandering the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Bennett and Neustadt embarked as mentors on the February experiential learning trip to LA led by English teachers Ashley Tidey and Charles Donelan. To read more about this story, see page 15.

Photos by Jack Stein

Staff

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jack Stein

SPORTS EDITOR Macy Christal

PHOTOGRAPHERS Hanna Masri

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Beau Glazier

OPINION and ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Phoebe Stein

MAGAZINE STAFF Ruth Beckmen Christian Branch Ian Brown Frances Carlson Nafisah Fathima Catie Fristoe Amara Murphy Audrey Murphy Estelle Murray Maggie Newell

COPY EDITOR Elizabeth Bisno BUSINESS EDITOR Zoë King NEWS and FEATURE EDITOR Daisy Finefrock

WEB EDITOR Natalie McCaffery WEB DESIGNER Zane Zemeckis

Madeleine Nicks Patrick Otte Emma Raith Ava Rice Julianna Seymour Wesley Schulz Maddie Walker Boning Zhang Violet Zhou FACULTY ADVISER Trish McHale, MJE

Letter from the Editor

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t is now, as the sun sets on my final third quarter at Laguna and my final third issue with “The Fourth Estate,” that this sense of finality has begun to set in. Graduation robe sizing, Senior Project meetings and college acceptances, milestones that were once in the distant horizon, now lie in the rear-view mirror.

With the spinning zoetrope of my life flashing by before my eyes, I have, as a senior, an editor, and a member of this community, come to a place of contemplation and remembrance. I am reflecting on this community that has molded me, and it is such reflection that serves as the focal point of this issue of “The Fourth Estate.”

Our responsibility as high school journalists lies in this strain of reflection. This magazine is a mirror that we hold up to the school, our words a light piercing into the nooks and crannies of our community. We find the untold stories, and, more importantly, we bring them to the forefront of the minds of our students, parents and faculty.

And what a swath of stories lies within this issue. In these 60 pages, we’ve covered dozens of facets of a life at Laguna, from stories of the dreaded plague of senioritis to the rocket-launching club to globe trotting experiential-field trips, all wildly different yet equally essential aspects of life as a member of our community.

We’ve delved into students’ lives, thoughts and lunches.

Third quarter is always a flurried time of stress and business, so it is certainly a testament to the caliber and passion of our student body to hear that every one of us remains so involved with pursuits beyond academics.

You may notice that we don’t have our regular theme or theme section this issue. This was no accident: we chose, as our end-of-year senior issue looms ahead of us, to focus on the little stories, the slices of life that makes our school so special.

“The Fourth Estate” is, first and foremost, a newsmagazine.

This issue, we prioritized on reporting the news.

As this issue comes to a close, I come once more to a time of reflection. As a staff, we’ve made leaps and bounds since the beginning of the year. While we still have so far to go, that doesn’t change the pride I have for this remarkable group of people.

- Jack Stein, Editor-in-Chief

• MISSION STATEMENT The Fourth Estate is an open forum created for and by journalism students of Laguna Blanca Upper School. We hope to use this space to cover events, interviews and topics of interest in greater depth. Our staff seeks to be a platform for creative expression and to report on events and ideas of importance to our readers and to focus on topics of significance and interest to inform and entertain the school community.

• LETTERS TO THE EDITORS The Fourth Estate welcomes guest columns and letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and must be no longer than 400 words. Editors reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and/or taste. Anonymous letters will not be published.

The Fourth Estate reserves the right to reject advertising. Opinions expressed in this publication reflect the perspectives of the staff whose goal is to inform our readers with reliable information from which to base decisions and opinions. Editorials represent the voice of the staff and are voted on by the entire staff. Columns and commentaries are labeled as such and represent the opinion of the author. The Fourth Estate publishes four issues per year with a senior insert in the last issue.

• BYLINE POLICY When two or three people work on a story, all names will be listed. If an editor rewrites a majority of a story, the editor’s name will be listed.

• CORRECTION POLICY The staff strives for accuracy. When factual errors occur, mistakes or omissions are found or brought to the attention of the staff, corrections will be printed in a corrections box in the next issue.

• COLOPHON This is the third issue and 24th volume (published in November) of the Laguna Blanca School, 4125 Paloma Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93110, magazine, The Fourth Estate. Contacts are available at tmchale@lagunablanca.org, (805) 687-2461 x317 or www.thefourthestate.net. Laguna Blanca School has an EK through 12th grade student population of approximately 400, with 100 in the Lower School, 110 in the Middle School and 182 in the Upper School, and a faculty of approximately 60. The Fourth Estate is an 8.5 by 11 general magazine, created on Apple computers on Adobe InDesign CC2019, using Avenir and Abril font families and printed on glossy paper free for students and $40 for an annual subscription.

The magazine is distributed to all Upper School students through the school’s advisory program and sent by mail to subscribers, with 400 copies printed per issue. We are associated with NSPA, CSPA and JEA.

Planting a Seed in Our Community The cross-campus Farm Club manages the Upper School garden beds and is starting a butterfly garden in the Middle School

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alking up to Sr. Flores’ classroom is always a joy, as you are graced with the view of fruit trees and whatever is growing in the three raised beds.

The Upper School garden was built in 2016, the same time the Farm club started and has been a flourishing plot of ideas and plants since then.

Some of the projects the Farm Club has completed include on-campus composting and worm boxes, weekend planting days, a reusable bag fundraiser and Middle School mentorship.

The Farm Club is a group on campus that promotes and practices sustainable agriculture. The primary goal of the club is to learn more about agriculture and farm management.

The club welcomes anyone and everyone. If you like being outside, growing food and learning about plants, the farm club is definitely for you.

“Farm club has been a great experience for me to learn about farming, agriculture, and horticulture for the first time and being able to deal with our own on-campus Upper School farm beds, said Farm Club vice president Sophia Pfitzmann ‘21.

It’s offered me opportunities to not only expand my knowledge of farming and growing foods, but also being organized, working with a team, fundraising and having some leadership opportunities in a school club. And for the future, I’d like the Farm Club to be a way for people to be more connected to the food they eat and the resources they consume. It should be a way for people to learn more about sustainable agriculture in a world working to make the future more sustainable.“ The current project of the Farm Club is to build a pollinator garden in wine barrels above the Middle School

Farm Club members handing out cherry tomatoes at the Club Fair. Sophia Pfitzmann ‘21, Giovanna Alvarez ‘20, Beau Glazier ‘20, Natalie McCaffery ‘20. and raised beds along the horse trail.

The quarter-four Swoop Group will be helping make butterfly and bee houses and the Upper School club members will be managing the seedlings for the new garden.

Local business Island Seed & Feed promotes school farm clubs by p ro v i d i n g students with free seeds for gardens. The friendly Island Seed & Feed employees help students select a blend of flowers that will make our garden irresistible to their pollinator friends.

“I’d like the Farm Club to be a way for people to be more connected to the food they eat and the resources they consume.”

-Sophia Pfitzmann

WORDS and ART by BEAU GLAZIER thefourthestate.net

News • 5

Section • 14

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Hearts of Gold

For the four days prior to the event, what was your daily routine in New York involving the Youth Choir?

We had a really early starts during the program. We’d got up around 6:30 a.m., which, on the first day, was very difficult as it was 3:30 a.m. Santa Barbara time. We’d head out of the hotel for a fast breakfast before our rehearsal started at 8:30 a.m..

It was about 15 degrees, so you could imagine it was really cold at 6:45 a.m.. Rehearsal started promptly at 8:30 a.m. and we would rehearse all our pieces with our conductor until 12:20 p.m. when we’d get an hour for lunch.

At 1:30 p.m., we sat for our next rehearsal when we’d rehearse for another three or four hours. At 5 p.m., we would begin whatever night activity they had planned for us.

On Friday night, we went to a Broadway show. I saw “My Fair Lady.” It was amazing. On Saturday, we were fortunate enough to go on a dinner/dance cruise around Manhattan Island. Lastly, Sunday night was the performance at Carnegie Hall.

Junior Performs at Carnegie Hall

A place where clients are able to create unbreakable connections through therapeutic horsemanship.

Hearts Therapeutic Center, which overlooks the beautiful Pacific Ocean is also known as Hearts, an organization that offers life-changing experiences to kids and adults with a wide range of disabilities.

The primary goal of Hearts is to help people with their needs through therapeutic horsemanship. The center holds 18 horses and weekly has an average of 95 participants.

Although there is a tuition fee for lessons, Hearts also offers scholarships for participants.

As well as having weekly lessons for each student that is designed for their specific need, Hearts also partners with physicians, parents and therapists.

A large part of the work that goes on at Hearts is thanks to the 150 dedicated volunteers who generously give their time to help individuals at the center.

As a volunteer, there are endless things to do, including cleaning the tack shack, working in lessons, grooming horses and much more. Hearts volunteer director Sarah Pugmire describes her work as “amazing and unique.” Pugmire works hands-on with the staff, volunteers and horses. “I get to use my skills to help grow the Hearts volunteer program, and I am learning more and more about just how incredible and effective horses are in a therapeutic setting.”

Pugmire also acknowledges the importance of the work done at Hearts, saying “I am fulfilled every day by my job. I know the work I do is helping riders to be strengthened physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

Quite of a few of the weekly Hearts volunteers are students within our community. Senior Grace Giordano emphasizes the importance of the work she does: “Hearts really creates a transformation for people who participate in the therapeutic riding. The physical and mental growth is very evident in each rider.”

Junior Emma Raith, who has been volunteering for Hearts for three years, said, “Volunteering at Heart’s Therapeutic has been an incredible experience. Through my time with the horses, I’ve seen riders grow and learn in ways they otherwise couldn’t.

The immense gratification kids have for the process is what really makes it all worth it.”

Why are you passionate about music? Is singing your main interest musically?

Music has always been a huge part of my life. I got my first baby keyboard when I was three and have taken piano lessons my entire life.

I would say piano’s my first love, and then singing, since every little kid sounds adorable when they sing.

Later on, I realized that I wanted a new instrument, so I taught myself guitar when I was 13 or 14.

I think because I played instruments first, I’d now much rather sing and play an instrument than sing by myself or with an instrumental recording.

Do you have a main takeaway from this opportunity? My main takeaway is that if you really want to be good at someThe same day that junior Audrey thing, you have to practice. The amazing people that I had Murphy boarded a plane to NYC, she the opportunity to learn from proved this to me. captivated Laguna audiences with her They evidently put the time and effort into perfecting performance in the school talent show. their craft, and it shows.

My voice is different from theirs, as I’m not a profes“She said she’s more nervous for this than sionally trained choir singer, but I learned a lot from her upcoming performance at Carnegie them.

Hall,” said teacher Blake Dorfman.

Audrey performed on Feb. 10 as a member of the Honors Performance Series. Here’s what she had to say about her experience.

Do you intend to take part in it again if given the chance?

As for similar performances in the future, I am going to Australia in August to perform at the What was the application process like?

Sydney Opera House, where the program is This past summer, I realized that I really wanted to participate in the performance again before I graduated. When we received the completely international.

I’m especially excited for this next trip beemail that I had been invited again, we sent in the application as cause I’m half Australian and will get to see quickly as possible. my family there! I actually fly home and have In the application, they suggested songs to apply with and the two volleyball tryouts that start the next day! to choose from were classical choir pieces in Italian. Not confident in my professional choral singing (especially in Italian), I called the company and asked if I could sing something that wasn’t operatic.

Instead, I submitted “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley, “For Good” by Wicked and “Vienna” by Billy Joel. Along with the audition recordings, I had to provide a comprehensive performance history, and answer supplement questions.

WORDS by MAGGIE NEWELL I heard back on Halloween that I had been accepted, and a few months later ART by BEAU GLAZIER they sent me the music to practice before we arrived in New York City.

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WORDS by MACY CHRISTAL

ART by BEAU GLAZIER thefourthestate.net

News • 7

UNCHARTED TEDXLAGUNABLANCASCHOOL

ART by EMMA RAITH

TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool 2019 Team Testimonials Kiki Tolles Executive Producer “TEDxLBS is my favorite class.

Everything we do furthers the ‘real world’ skills that we’ll need in the future. It is exciting and empowering to not only produce a professional event, but also to come away with a certain expertise I didn’t think I would learn in high school.”

Emma Raith Executive Producer “This year, we created an event that went far beyond our expectations.

To be apart of that process with a motivated, creative and hardworking team is an inexplicably moving experience, and I cannot wait to start planning for next year’s class.”

Sofia Anderson Curation Team “TEDx, among my other courses, was the only class that offered real-world experiences. It incorporates many life-skills which are translated into planning an incredible event. TEDx also showed me that hard work does pay off and it is evident when you see people enjoying the event.”

WORDS and ART by EMMA RAITH

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TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool 2019 yielded yet another incredible event, with speakers from across the globe and nearly 650 attendees. Now, with the second semester in full swing, seven students, Kiki Tolles, Emma Raith, Frances Carlson, Lily Connor, Sofia Anderson and Nils Lenke are laying the foundation for next year’s event in their TEDx Directed Independent Study. Here, they reflect on their experiences in the TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool class.

Nils Lenke Business Development “The TEDx class taught me many real life skills like writing a professional email and managing the expenses of an event of this scale. And did I mention that it was a ton of fun working with such an amazing team of dedicated teachers and ambitious students? In our Directed Independent Study, I am looking forward to creating a frame for the next class to help them even exceed the standards we set this year.”

Lily Connor Curation Team “TEDx has been such a trip, and I wouldn’t trade anything for it—it was and still is my favorite class that I’ve ever taken in my entire school career. During this course, I strengthened my interpersonal, professional, collaborational, and business skills, something that would not have happened had I not taken TEDx. It has really given me a glimpse into how organizations and events operate in the real world, and it has given me an idea of what job occupation I want to pursue when I’m older. I’m not lying when I say I felt lost when the class ended, which is why I’m so happy to be a part of the Directed Independent Study; TEDx has been such an amazing, positively life-changing experience, and I don’t want it to end.”

Frances Carlson Design Team “It’s hard to sum up everything that being a part of the TEDx class this year has given to me. I learned an immesurable amount of life skills that will go beyond my years of high school—whether it is crafting an email to someone I don’t know, staying on a tight schedule and non-negotiable schedule, or finding the best deals on Amazon. On top of that, I have never genuienly enjoyed going to a class as much as I did every time F period appeared on the schedule.”

Paige Levinson Publicity Team “TEDx was a very valuable experience for me. To contribute not only such an incredible event but also a wildly fun and hardworking team is something that doesn’t show up often in my life, and I am lucky to have been a part of such an important experience.” thefourthestate.net

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An Interview with Emily Jacobs Emily Jacobs, a UCSB professor, mother and supporter of women in science, shares her experiences from being a speaker at Laguna Blanca’s TEDx event to her work with students Audrey Murphy and Maddie Walker in her lab.

In a nutshell, what is your role at UCSB? I am a professor in the department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

I direct a laboratory where I oversee PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduate research. I also teach undergraduate and graduate courses in neuroendocrinology and cognitive neuroscience.

What sparked your interest and passion for your certain area/s of science?

I fell in love with neuroscience while I was an undergraduate at Smith College. I had terrific mentors and professors who shaped my love for the discipline.

My focus on women’s health crystallized while I was a PhD student and I recognized that our research efforts weren’t serving men and women.

This is especially poignant in the biomedical sciences, where preclinical studies using animal models is conducted predominantly in males.

It’s also true, albeit more implicitly, in human research in the way we frame our questions and design our studies.

This is a point I touch on in the TEDx talk. Starting in graduate school, I saw a way for me to combine my interests in neuroscience with a personal commitment to ensuring that men and women benefit equally from our research efforts.

How are Maddie and Audrey involved in your practice and how has it been to have them by your side?

Audrey and Maddie have been wonderful additions to the lab. I often have to remind myself that they’re in high-school!

One of the justifications used to exclude female animals from half a century of biomedical research is the notion that females are inherently more variable than males. In a landmark paper, Irv Zucker’s team at UC Berkeley showed the opposite - in fact male animals are more variable.

Audrey is building on this work to test similar associations using a large-scale human brain imaging dataset.

Maddie has a strong interest in Alzheimer’s disease and has been reviewing that literature.

We’re interested in why women are at an elevated risk for the disease.

How do you think your work with them is shaping their goals and interests for the future?

According to a report issued last week in Nature, half of all US female scientists leave full-time science after having their first child.

This is dismal. To be clear, women aren’t leaving science because they’re not good enough for the job. They’re leaving because the job is not good enough for them.

I had my daughter while I was a postdoctoral fellow and later an Instructor at Harvard Medical School.

I benefited from an unusually supportive network of family and friends.

Without it, I might have left before landing a tenure-track position.

My hope is that by the time Audrey and Maddie enter the profession the barriers to entry and to retaining women will be addressed.

What are the chances that a major scientific breakthrough will occur when you cut your pool of highly trained scientists in half?

Q: How was your experience as a speaker for TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool this year? And how did it feel to have a platform to share your voice and true passion for women in studies?

It was a terrific experience. I loved speaking with the other presenters and I was bowled over by professionalism, creativity and rigor of the students organizers.

And, of course, I’ll gladly except any opportunity I’m given to talk about the important of gender diversity in science!

PAGE by CATIE FRISTOE and FRANCES CARLSON ART by BRAD ELLIOTT

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Sophomore Lucas Chen presents at the TEDXLagunaBlanca event and discusses the barrier and tags that come with being a Chinese student in America.

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ou are in America. We do things our way, not your communist way.”

These were the words that Lucas Chen, a Chinese International student at Laguna Blanca, was insulted with when he offered a different opinion from his peer over the arrangement of robotics parts.

Pursuing a better education, Lucas landed at LAX two years ago full of excitement and curiosity.

The academic atmosphere at Laguna has suited him well and inspired him to chase his dream, but this hatred-filled comment knuckled him hard.

“I was frustrated and a little bit upset when he judged me by my nationality.”

“Why should the way I arrange my robotics parts be connected with where I am from?”

Imagine your nationality — that you take pride in — is brought up in a completely unrelated argument and utilized to attack you just because your opinions differ.

How would you react?

Attack that person using his or her

nationality, or try to strip away your unique identities just to fit in?

Instead of filling with animosity or being ashamed of his roots, Lucas saw the bigger picture, aimed to uncover the motives behind such actions, and presented about the issue of prejudice in the TEDx event with the hope of raising much-needed awareness.

our tags. However, none of such tags really define who we are, and when these tags are overemphasized, prejudice, which alienate people, will be generated.”

Though frustrated by his peer’s comment, Lucas did not choose to retaliate or to blame his peer, which would further spread hostile sentiments.

“I wouldn’t blame him since it’s the modern nationalist ideology that influences mindsets of him and people like him.”

“Nationalism in general nowadays is spread to people through propagandas (sic) on all kinds of media.”

Prejudice still exists in our daily lives mainly due to misunderstanding and our tendency to stick to stereotypes, and it can be hurtful to anyone.

Regardless of whether a racist comment is jokingly said or not, it cannot be tolerated.

“However, none of such tags really define who we are, and where these tags are overemphasized, prejudice which alienates people will be generated.”

— Lucas Chen

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He acknowledges that such hatred-filled comments originate from our “tags” being overemphasized, that we spend too much effort focusing on elements of individuals that cannot be determined by them.

“We are born with a lot of unchangeable identities, such as our race, gender, sexuality and nationality, and these identities may become

WORDS by JACK ZHANG ART by BRAD ELLIOT News • 13

Into the City TARC Club members ready to launch rockets on Sabino’s Ranch. Lucas Chen, Wesley Schulz, Sherlock Jian, Lucy Cao, faculty club adviser Dan Ary, Melissa Zhang, Jason Douglas, Conley Ball, Rodrick Zhu, Logan Serber.

TARC Club Shoots for the Stars

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The second-year club talks about the difficulties of competing in a nation-wide event.

fter a two-hour van ride to get to the Sabino family’s ranch club members were a bit exhausted but very excited.

Their exhaustion soon faded when they crested the hill to the launch site.

Their eyes were met with an impossibly serene landscape — the grass that was covering the valley was a verdant green, cut down the middle by a 20-foot gorge.

greeted the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) team as they launched their rockets.

The club consists of 19 members, split into two rocket teams. Kai Nakamura ‘20 and Sherlock Jian ‘20 colead the club.

Math instructor Dan Ary is the club’s faculty advisor. The club is a The sky was a bright blue after relatively new one, having just startdays of rain with little splotches of ed last year by a collaborative effort white clouds. This was the scene that of Sherlock and Ary. “To mention anyone who really came up with the idea I’d probably have to say Sherlock.

He was interested, and talked Kai into it.”

Ary feels adamant about students doing the majority of the work and sees himself as rather a voice of wisdom than a teacher in the club.

Another adult presence in the club is Mike Swanson, an employee of Lockheed Martin and the resident aeronautics expert guiding the group.

Repairing a rocket on site Sherlock In regards to his dedication Jian and Conley Ball. to the team, Ary said, “He’s

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been incredibly nice to us. He’s always there and never late. He’s always been positive. We actually owe a lot of the fact that were successful to him” But the club is more than just a meeting place for students and adults to talk about aeronautics, they’re striving to achieve a goal.

Kai expressed his goal for the TARC Club this year; “Our goal is to try to qualify for the national competition,” which is an understandably difficult goal to achieve when one understands the odds.

Last year, more than 5,000 clubs participated in the competition from around the country, and with up to $20,000 on the line, it’s no wonder kids are so interested in this program.

But for Ary, the award of the competition is only a secondary matter, the real prize he said, was getting kids interested in STEM programs.

WORDS by WESLEY SCHULZ ART by DAVID BALL thefourthestate.net

The freshman class traveled to downtown Los Angeles to learn about vulnerability

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ollowing their ethnography unit, the ninth grade class headed to downtown Los Angeles. While in downtown LA, the ninth grade broke into small groups to explore the city, talk to both locals and tourists to hear their unique stories.

One of the stories that a student listened to was the story of a man who was in Pershing Square who was in LA on a business trip.

He was just sitting in the park and reading a book when the group of students approached him, he told them his story and showed them the book he was reading and said that this was his first time visiting LA. This story is an example of the interesting people that the students met in the city. The reasoning for the trip was so that the freshman class could get a new experience with walking around downtown LA. Experiential Learning teacher Ashley Tidey said, “The Downtown LA unit has been the hardest unit I have ever worked on because of its layers and nuances and because it was so exciting to work with biology teacher Amanda Whalen and do another interdisciplinary unit like we did in the Monterey Unit but this one took things to a whole new level.”

With this unit we were connecting out of Steinbeck’s of “Mice and Men” looking at themes of vulnerability and transience and we were trying to take those themes to a real life situation of downtown LA where people are experiencing vulnerability and there’s also a great deal of movement and change.”

Without a specific guide or itinerary, the students got to experience the city to see how people in LA live and

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the how different groups of people come together.

The goal of his field trip was to have freshmen research homelessness and its effects in biology class and to research gentrification and how cultures have changed in LA over the years in English class.

“What the unit was really about, in the end, is not just about learning about others and learning about others’ vulnerability, but learning about how kids see themselves, about who they are, and what their levels of comfort are with others experiencing vulnerability; and to what extent do they feel comfortable making themselves vulnerable and reaching out to others and connecting with others,”said Tidey While there are annual spring trips to various cities, there isn’t anything quite like going down to LA and interacting with the people wandering the streets and finding out their stories.

Students got to learn in a new way by talking to people that they had never done before.

This experience is different because students got to witness what they had been researching for the past month and got to see it in real life rather than just in a book or online.

The Downtown LA trip an eye-opening experience that allowed us to dive deep into a different society. It was a very interesting trip because it was up to us, the students, to learn as much as we could and to absorb the culture of Los Angeles,” said Sofia Anderson ‘22.

WORDS by JULIANNA SEYMOUR ART by HANNA MASRI News • 15

Voices Spoken by Contemporary Art

“We got to learn about other pieces that we didn’t study in class. With our prior knowledge about Ai Weiwei’s political art, we were able to understand the artworks on a deeper level.”

Sofia Fouroohi-Martin ’19

Students in Art History class experienced art first hand in the annual field trip to Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles

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f t e r s t u d y i n g contemporary art, Art History students walked into Marciano Art Foundation, visiting the Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei’s first institutional exhibition in Los Angeles.

T h e e x h i b i t i o n c o n t a i n s A i ’s three major installation art pieces: “Sunflower Seeds” (2010), “Spouts” (2015), and his most recent accomplishment — “Life Cycle” (2018).

“Sunflower Seeds,” exhibited in the foundation’s Theater Gallery, is composed of 49 tons of individual porcelain replicas of sunflower seeds, smoothly spread over a 19 x 20-meter rectangular field.

Each “seed” was handmade by more than 1,600 artisans in Jingdezhen, China, a town known for producing delicate china by traditional procedures.

These “seeds” appear to b e d i v e r s e i n d i v i d u a l s f ro m a microcosmic perspective, yet they homogenize from the macroscopic view.

The sheer number of “sunflower seeds” and the difficulty to identify a n y i n d i v i d u a l w i t h i n i t i s A i ’s analogy of today’s vast population in China and the resulting social phenomenon of lost identities.

The work also resembles “the propaganda of the Cultural Revolution depicting Mao Zedong as the Red Sun and citizens as the sunflowers turning toward him.” In this way, Ai appeals to democracy in Chinese society .

Adjacent to “Sunflower Seeds” is “Spouts.”

As the title suggests, it is a

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similarly-installed rectangular field piled with thousands of porcelain teapot spouts dating back to the Song Dynasty.

Thousands of spouts resemble thousands of mouths year ning for their own voices. Through this metaphor, Ai expresses his longing for the freedom of speech.

In the Black Box sits the highlight of the exhibition.

“Life Cycle” reveals Ai’s response to the global refugee crisis.

The installation contains three components — a boat, suspended mythic creatures hanging from the ceiling, and Ten Windows hanging around the Black Box. Placed at the center of the installation, the boat made of bamboo is the type used by countless refugees to reach Europe.

Within the boat are animals of the Chinese zodiac as well as human figures.

Ai’s usage of the Chinese zodiac is probably a reappearance of the situation where the animals must pass a river to prove their capability of being honored as the zodiacs, which is similar to the refugees who try to pass the river to settle.

Nefertiti is also found at one end of the boat, which may be Ai’s intention to claim refugee crisis as a social problem throughout all periods and cultures.

Suspended around the boat are kite-like creatures crafted from silk and bamboo in Weifang, China, a city known for traditional kitemaking skills dating back to the Ming Dynasty.

These mythological creatures are based on a Chinese classic mythology text titled "Shanhaijing,"

or "Classic of Mountains and Seas."

Along the walls are Ai’s Windows series (2015).

Ten windows are crafted from bamboo with clear shadows on the back wall. These vignettes feature scenes concerning mythological tales, Ai’s biography, as well as homages to other remarkable 20th century conceptual artists, such as Marcel Duchamp.

A major theme throughout the 10 vignettes is Ai’s defense of freedom of speech, demonstrated by depicting his personal experience of being arrested and detained for three months by Chinese government.

“This multifaceted installation is a continuation of Ai’s ongoing engagement with politics and social justice,” according to the Marciano Art Foundation.

Ai’s use of Chinese traditional craftsmanship, his conceptual c re a t i v i t y, a s w e l l a s p o w e r f u l political appeals concerning social freedom and justice mark him an outstanding and influential contemporary artist of our time.

Through the exhibition, art history students were able to comprehend Ai Weiwei’s unique life experience and its reflection on his artistic creations.

M o s t i m p o r t a n t l y, s t u d e n t s developed a deeper understanding into the powerful voices spoken by contemporary art and its unnegligible significance in our modern society.

WORDS and ART by VIOLET ZHOU

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“It is just shocking to see all the separate pieces coming together to form a remarkable artwork. These are just teapot spouts, but Ai Weiwei organizes them and tells a different story.”

Kovid Mishra ’19

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“I was most impressed with the intricacy of the design, and I did not expect the social commentary and criticism of the Chinese government to be so overt in the piece ‘Life Cycle’.”

Lindsay Woodard, Art History Instructor News • 17

Owl Profiles Four students were chosen at random to share something most people might not know about them or something they felt was important to share.

WORDS and ART by RUTH BECKMEN

MATT BERNARD Everyone gets random headaches, but for freshman Matt Bernard, his headaches turned out to be something much worse. When Matt was five years he found out something shocking, that he had a brain tumor.

One day he was playing with his friends in the courtyard and he suddenly fell down, soon after that, he started to regularly get headaches.

His mom was concerned and she brought him to the doctors where they did an MRI and were surprised that Matt was even still alive.

They performed an emergency operation. He was expected to have crossed eyes for four to six months, but they ended up lasting for four years.

This was something that Matt struggled with outgrew.

Now, Matt is completely healthy and lives regular day to day life and participates in sports, but he has to get checkups every two years.

18 • News

SOPHIA PFITZMANN Sophomore Sophia Pftizmann is an inspiring artist.

She is currently participating in a program called TAC. MCASB Teen Arts Collective. TAC is a hands-on program that makes the contemporary art world accessible for Santa Barbara students ages 15-18.

Over the course of eight months, TAC members develop visual literacy skills, strengthen leadership abilities and begin cultivating their own creative networks. Members have exposure to practicing artists and arts institutions in the Santa Barbara and Los Angeles areas.

Sophia meets locally and internationally acclaimed leaders in art, goes to local galleries, artists’ studios and distinguished LA art institutions. She participates in workshops and discussions weekly and is curating a culminating exhibition of TAC members’ artwork. Sophia is also making a zine and a film.

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BRIAN McCLINTOCK Junior Brian McClintock moved from Philadelphia to Santa Barbara in seventh grade. Brian had never surfed before but taught himself when he first moved here.

One time Brian and his brother Cole went out surfing at Santa Claus Beach and while they were sitting on their boards waiting for waves to come when they looked out and saw an eight-foot great white shark coming towards them.

They decided to swim back in because the shark was extremely close to them, but about five minutes later Brian went back out thinking that the shark was gone.

Immediately he saw the shark coming directly at him so he once again went back into shore.

He went out once again, but this time the shark was basically right next to him, so close that he could touch it. Brian and his brother just left the beach altogether.

This didn’t make him scared of the water, but he does have an extreme fear of sharks. Surfing is Brian’s favorite hobby and wants to continue it for the rest of his life.

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IZZY SABINO Senior Izzy Sabino loves to teach kids aged five through nine how to play the piano. Izzy has been playing the piano since she was five and has loved it so much that she wanted to teach others how to play.

She teaches her students sight reading, music theory, ear training, and general performance techniques while she prepares them for the Certificate of Merit Program, a testing program that happens every spring which tests everything that she has been teaching them.

The kids won’t actually take the test until they are in middle school. At present, Izzy is teaching three students but has taught up to five at once.

She loves teaching her students the “Friends” theme song because it is just a classic. Izzy wants to continue to teach throughout college and hopes that she makes an impact on the kids’ lives.

Izzy inspires kids to be passionate about something and to work hard enough to reach their own individual goals.

News • 19

#yourspringstagrams PAGE by FRANCES CARLSON

Amelia Fowler ‘22 and Estelle Murray ‘19

Claire Tolles ‘22, Lauren Mills ‘22, Ava Rice ‘22 and Olivia Davenport ‘22

Lucy Cao ‘20

WINTER FORMAL PAGE by FRANCES CARLSON and MADELEINE NICKS ART by HANNA MASRI, BEAU GLAZIER and JACK STEIN

Charlotte Musch ‘22

20 • Feature

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Katie Pointer Feature • 21

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Through a progressive body-positive Instagram campaign, actress Jameela Jamil brings the critical construct of social media into the light.

22 • Feature

weigh: introvert, compassionate, unashamed. I weigh: anxiety, queer, disabled. I weigh: survivor, sarcastic, sensitive. I weigh Individual. Strong. Unapologetic.

To actress Jameela Jamil, most recognizably from the award winning show “The Good Place,” the only thing worse than being told that you are not good enough is believing that you are not good enough.

Fed up with the constraints of a heteronormative, Caucasian-based audience who value a thin stomach over a sense of humor, Jamil began to take matters into her own hands, creating an atmosphere where what we weigh is not the most sacred thing about us.

It all began in March 2018, when Jamil posted a mirror-selfie on her Instagram story with the title “I Weigh.”

She followed with phrases “Lovely relationship” to “I like myself in spite of EVERYTHING I’ve been taught by the media to hate about myself.”

What started as a simple protest to the constraints and expectations of media led to a viral movement.

After seeing her story, thousands of women sent Jamil their

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own version of “I weigh.” She was caught off guard, but as a long-time advocate for body positive movements, realized that this was an opportunity to change the way women view themselves: “I’m f**king tired of seeing women just ignore what’s amazing about them and their lives and their achievements, just because they don’t have a bloody thigh gap.”

She responded to the messages by creating a platform to share them: an Instagram account called i_weigh. Through i_weigh Jamil shares the posts of women and men from all over the country, providing an opportunity for them to rise above the narrow-minded views of society by owning everything that makes them Individual.

Now with over 2,500 posts, i_weigh caught the attention of well-known media sources like the Independent, Nylon and BBC, landing Jamil an interview on “Late Night with Seth Myers.”

During the interview, Jamil at first jokes that her reasoning for starting i_weigh was to get into “The Good Place,” her shows version of heaven, before getting serious and explaining that she believes that women should judge themselves on their accomplishments rather than the numbers on a scale.

Months after the beginning of the account, Jamil’s campaign took off once again, gaining popularity due to her newest protest. It started with one of the most popular singers right now: Hip hop artist Cardi B. With over 40 million followers, Cardi B’s influence spans from adults to impressionable teenagers. That is

why, when Cardi posted an ad promoting detox tea, Jamil couldn’t help but be outraged.

Detox tea sounds harmless at first — a simple drink that helps women get in shape. Sure, there are healthier ways to lose weight, but tea can’t be too bad, right? Wrong. Detox tea is actually a form of laxatives, or, to put it less delicately, a drink that helps you to poop everything you consume.

While some celebrities may promote it in a positive light, it is anything but. Jamil decided to call out Cardi B as well as the other celebrities promoting it (the Kardashians, Iggy Azalea, Perez Hilton).

Jamil targeted her main attack at Cardi B, telling the media: “They got Cardi B on the laxative nonsense ‘detox’ tea.

GOD I hope all these celebrities all sh*t their pants in public, the way the poor women who buy this nonsense upon their recommendation do.”

This response garnered the attention of the Cardi, who clapped back with the cheap out response: “I will never sh*t my pants cause there’s public bathrooms... oooo and bushes.” Taking the easy way out, Cardi decided to reply with humor rather than addressing the real issue—she didn’t deny the fact that the tea is a laxative.

Later, Jamil’s message was accompanied by a new protest: a video. In an attempt to bring further to light

the terrible repercussions of the tea.

At the beginning of the video, Jamil stands wearing a yellow dress, holding a brown drink. She starts the video by gesturing to the drink and saying, “I’ve only been taking it for three days and I’ve already lost 35 pounds, and I’ve got abs, but I’ve never done a day’s exercise in my life, and I haven’t been on a diet!” She goes on to both graphically and comically demonstrate the side effects of the tea.

legs of the model in the ad. When Jamil called the company out, they recognized their wrong, and immediately withdrew the ad and product until they could more positively represent what the product’s effects were.

Jamil continues to make social media a new intrusive platform where women can feel accepted and welcomed, no matter what size or shape.

She is in tune with the impacts that social media has on teens, as she struggled with anorexia when she was younger because of the unrealistic body images thrust upon consumers through media.

“All of my magazines were selling weight-loss products, or telling me to be thin, otherwise I wasn’t worth anything.” said Jamil on this issue.

She explains that this is precisely why she cares so much about the impacts of influencers and ads—Jamil lived through the effects it has on teens, and she knows just how damaging it can be.

Teenagers, especially females, are impressionable, and with social media’s rise of power in the last decade, the pressure is on to match unrealistic standards. That’s why Jamil’s campaign is so important: she’s giving a voice to the unspoken issues within our generation, calling out the toxic influencers and creating a platform for teens to recognize their worth... without detox tea making them skinnier.

“I’m f**king tired of seeing women just ignore what’s amazing about them and their lives and their achievements, just because they don’t have a bloody thigh gap.”

-Jameela Jamil Since the detox-tea scandal in 2018, Jamil has continued to fight for change in media—protesting against airbrushing and Photoshop; taking part in body-positive ad campaigns and calling out companies for their unrealistic ad campaigns.

This January, she called out Avon, a personal care and beauty company. They had began to advertise for a product that removes cellulite — which is entirely unrealistic, as cellulite isn’t something that just goes away.

Avon went as far as to Photoshop out the stretch marks on the

WORDS by PHOEBE STEIN ART by BEAU GLAZIER

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Feature • 23

What’s In Your Bag? Take a look inside sophomore Bea Lujan’s lunch!

1. PB&J

“For lunch I usually bring a burrito, sandwich or salad. I always have it with my San Pellegrino.” “

Despite the many areas of interests students have, one Middle and one Upper School student provide an example of how you can create the perfect balance of STEM and music.

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etting ready for the start of each new school year, kids are presented with what can seem to be a daunting list of classes to choose from.

Options range from the study of Shakespeare to the AP Chemistry.

Some don’t know what they will enjoy or how their talents will shine.

Can they do math and science and music?

What should they do? The answer is, to follow what they are passionate about.

Two students provide a perfect example of balancing music and science.

Eighth grader Katherine Ball participates in the Middle School Math Club along with taking engineering.

24 • Feature

“I liked learning about the engineering design process. In Math Cub, I like doing math problems that you don’t necessarily learn in [an everyday] math class.”

Katherine also has a strong musical side. She participated in the Vocal Ensemble elective.

She currently takes vocal lessons and is in a musical with the Lights Up Theatre Company. “[the] musical is something big to show for all the work you’ve done.”

She enjoys being a part of STEM and is engaged in music activities and “hope[s] to be able to continue with both.”

Junior Simon Lea is a member of the STEM Research Program. Currently, he is looking at the use of solar power to power salt-water desalinations plants.

In the talent show, Simon sang an operatic art song called “Che Fiero Costume” accompanied by Lucy Cao ‘20 on the piano.

“I lived in France for a year and I had a singing teacher there who was very interested in French Baroque Opera.

She got me interested in opera and how to sing it. I usually keep the music and science worlds in my head separate so each side doesn’t influence the other as much.”

I’ll think about the physics or biology behind the vocal folds and the different parts of your body that you use for singing. My singing lessons revolve around the technique and how to produce enough sound with the least amount of breath used as possible.”

Simon is still considering what to continue with in his future. “With opera singing if you don’t devote all of your time to it, you’re not going to get anywhere because it just takes so much practice and work.

With science, I can imagine after singing for 10 years, transferring to science.”

High School can be stereotyped as a place where students find themselves forced to focus on the traditional subjects. These students prove that they can forge their own paths to their true passions.

WORDS and ART by CATIE FRISTOE thefourthestate.net

3. FRUIT

“I always like to keep this in my bag for when I get hungry between first and second period.

Sometimes I also like to also eat them with nuts or some other snack item like that.“

2. SAN PELLEGRINO “I always like have to have a drink with my lunch! Usually it’s a San Pellegrino or a Spindrift.”

4. CRACKERS “I normally have Goldfish or Cheeze-its, but sometimes it changes. They’re always great to have for afternoon sports.“

5. SCOOBY-D0O FRUIT SNACKS “These are always the best part of my day. Whenever I need a pick-me-up between classes I have my scooby snacks.”

PAGE by FRANCES CARLSON

6. BARS

“I usually like to eat these as a quick snack during community time or any other break that I have in the day. I like the chocolate covered ones the best.”

A New Kind of Learning Kate Spaulding went on a semester-long adventure with Alzar School. We asked her about everything from the excursions she went on to the amazing lessons she learned.

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ays spent learning, exploring and making memories. Nights by the fire, singing, talking and becoming a family. Through the Idaho-based Alzar School, this is exactly how Kate Spaulding spent the first six months of her sophomore year.

Alzar School provides an alternative education which rivals that of normal boarding schools. According to the school’s website, they provide “rigorous academic curriculum, cultural exchange and outdoor adventure.”

Alzar’s focus is on creating leaders who will one day use their newly developed skills, which they learn over six months to make a

positive impact on the world.

Alzar’s focus is on “developing the confidence and skills of future leaders,” which is precisely what drew Kate to the program.

An avid adventurer and lover of the outdoors, she has gone on trips all over the world, including Guatemala, Peru and most recently, this past summer, to Thailand.

Spending a month in Thailand through the program Where There Be Dragons, Kate furthered her love of travel and adventure by truly experiencing the new place and engrossing herself in the culture.

The program was the perfect preparation for Alzar, giving

Kate an opportunity to get used to completely new experiences and, while only being a month — it could barely compare to her upcoming six-month trip.

This exciting and thrill-filled semester school isn’t just an opportunity for self-improvement and exploration, it is also a place of learning.

The way they learned was far from normal; schooling took place anywhere from a yurt on the plains of Idaho to a small village in Patagonia, Chile.

We met with Kate to discuss everything Alzar: from the places to the people to the out-of-the-box schooling.

Q: What did your average day at Alzar look like?

A: “On a school day, we would wake up around 7 and eat breakfast at 7:30 and then go to school.

Classes were about 45 minutes each. I took normal classes like history, Spanish, English and math, but we also had a leadership class and it ended around 4:30.

After that, we would go kayaking, hiking or do homework.

Then, we would have dinner and study hall was from 7 to 9:15. And then we’d go to bed. We had to be in our yurts by 10 p.m.”

Q: How is the learning environment different at an adventure-based semester school?

A: “Alzar was different because it’s a boarding school, so we were at school all the time, which made me close to everyone there. I’m friends with my teachers there because we would go on the expedition and basically live with them, and the class sizes were smaller.

We had a lot of class discussions, and I felt like it was easier to learn that way in a smaller class environment with up to 10 people at most.”

Q: What about adjusting back to LBS? Has it been difficult?

A: “It’s been a little different because I’m not with my friends because being with people every day for four months and then going back to not being with them at all is pretty hard.

The classes are a little different because when you’re doing two different classes and it’s hard to come back in the second semester because some of my classes are behind where I was and some

28 • Feature

of my classes are ahead of where But in the end, I made it and we were.” thought ‘I can’t believe I just did that.’”

Q: What is the biggest Q: What’s one story in challenge you faced? How do particular that you make sure you think it impacted your to share? time at Alzar?

A: “I make sure to share with A: “The biggest challenge that everyone that one time we were I faced was having asthma be- in Chile on the river and it was cause when it was really cold or raining all day, we had to portage we had to do a lot of hiking, it was through the rain and through the difficult. mud as we walked for a long time.

I had to overcome my fears of We paddled a long time and it and just understand my limits all my stuff was wet down to my and how far I could push myself. I sleeping bag. It was a really hard feel like I really got a lot stronger, day and everyone was getting in more confident in what I can do. fights but we all became such a And the other hardest part was stronger group because of it. And saying goodbye to everybody. soon that ended and we were all That was way harder than any- happy and we were staying in real thing else, way harder than the beds and it was awesome.” academics, or the hard days, or walking or paddling for 25 ki- Q: What advice would you give lometers because it’s just really to someone about to go on hard to say goodbye to people their own adventure? you’ve been with for such a long A: “I would say just have a good time.” attitude and take all the opportunities you possibly can.

Q: What experience in your If something is going differentadventure changed the way ly or not as well as you thought it you think? would go, just try and make the A: “There was this one time most out of it and be the most when we were backpacking and it positive because those are the sitwas [a] really hard day and I didn’t uations you’re gonna remember.” think I was going to make it.

We were supposed to sum- Q: Do you have any last mit two times and we were go- thoughts? ing about three and a half miles A: “I just wanna say that if anystraight up, no switchbacks, no one is thinking of doing somenothing. I was really afraid I was thing like this, it’s such a good going to have an asthma attack idea because you’re gonna learn and die. so much from it and meet such I didn’t die, obviously. I’m still amazing people. here. But we forgot to take a Even if it’s hard, that’s the part break at the first summit so we that’s fun.” just went straight through.

I didn’t know that I could do that, but my whole group was encouraging and supportive. They WORDS by PHOEBE STEIN and would walk with me if I was going NAFISAH FATHIMA ART by KATE SPAULDING a little slow or if I needed a break. thefourthestate.net

Keeping It Local; A Visit to Chaucer’s Bookstore A look into Chaucer’s Bookstore and the impact reading has on your life

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haucer’s bookstore is a special place in our Santa Barbara community. It attracts a wide variety of customers, and houses a diverse assortment of books.

“Reading has had a large impact on my life. Knowledge through reading has been formative to the way I live it.,” Chaucer’s manager and Laguna alum Greg Feitt ‘02 said.

It also helps conform what I do for a living. Having read a lot, and continuing to read a lot has tied into what our customers might like, or want. My knowledge of reading helps us curate the store better, and helps us make money eventually.”

Chaucer’s has an inviting airabout-it inspiring creativity in shoppers and nudging them to spend time browsing. ”Chaucer’s is the best book store we have in Santa Barbara.

Chaucer’s is a locally run bookstore that supports local writers,” said senior Athena Boyle.

It also has a great kids’ section, which is important in getting people interested in reading at an early age.”

In the stillness of Chaucer’s, one can spend time turning pages while listening to light, muttering conver-

sations and losing track of time.

Why read?

Reading can be one of the most enlightening experiences on the planet.

“Reading is incredibly helpful to my mental health. It is a regular way that I de-stress, unwind and relax at the end of the day, on weekends and vacations,” said science teacher Katie Pointer.

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin “Game of Thrones”

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“I find that it also makes me a more empathetic person and broadens my world view.”

Empathizing with characters going through times of pain or being drawn into a world of action or learning more about one’s field of interest reading has countless benefits.

Brain activation, increased knowl-

edge, vocabulary development and stress reduction are just of some them.

Reading brings attention to the reader’s life, making them want to improve and be more human.

Chaucer’s a haven from the world with its heavily stocked bookshelves, and it offers a rare ambiance.

Because of Amazon, the fate of small businesses is diminishing.

Thus, Chaucer’s fate is threatened.

“Chaucer’s has a variety of products including calendars, small gifts, puzzles and greeting cards. I feel like I could shop around Chaucer’s all day. I think it’s great for everyone to support one of the last bookstores in Santa Barbara,” said sophomore Elizabeth Bisno.

The popularity of social media is taking people away from the wonders of reading. Remember how much fun you had as a kid reading your favorite books: “Harry Potter,” or “Percy Jackson?”

Gradually, your interests change, but there are countless books waiting to be read.

Consider putting down your phone, or convince a friend to start reading again.

WORDS by PATRICK OTTE ART by HANNA MASRI

Feature • 29

Crisis in Virginia Community thoughts on the four recent scandals that have sent Virginia’s government into chaos

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alph Northam, the Democratic Governor of Virginia, was the first to be uncovered in the string of accusation in Virginia.

His undoing: a photo from his medical school’s yearbook in which two people were depicted standing side by side, one in blackface, and the other in KKK robes.

The photo was first published on a right-wing website called Big League politics, which was founded by former members of Breitbart News. Considering that Northam is a Democrat, the story could have passed as a smear campaign.

Northam admitted after the incident to being one of the two people in the photo. The next day he backtracked and denied being in the photo. Most of the Democratic establishment as well as both of Virginia’s senators called for him to resign, though Northam has made no moves to do so.

Next in line for his position was Democratic Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax.

That is, until Big League Politics, re l e a s e d another statement

accusing Fairfax of sexual assault.

Two women accused Fairfax of sexual assault, and, in both cases, Fairfax denies such events, claiming both were consensual in nature.

Leading Democrats, including Presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand, have called for an investigation into the accusations.

But the revelations didn’t stop there.

Virginia’s Attorney General Mark Herring was the third official to make headlines when he admitted to wearing blackface as a teenager to a Halloween party to imitate a rapper.

Herring has considered stepping down after the incident.

His numerous apologies over the issue were met with harsh backlash from the Republican Party of Virginia, who said that Herring only admitted to wearing blackface after a reporter contacted him about it amid his calls for Northam’s resignation.

They wouldn’t celebrate long, as the crisis was about to jump party lines.

Senator Thomas Norment became the first Republican to be involved in the scandals after it was revealed that he oversaw the making of his high school yearbook, which included racist photographs and multiple racial slurs.

Norment has done his best to distance himself from the 1968 publication, claiming that since he was on a team of seven editors “cannot endorse or associate [himself] with every photo, entry, or word on each page.”

He also mentioned his exclusion from the photos, pointing out his comment in the yearbook supporting the school’s integration.

• Feature

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Q: What actions should be taken against these politicians?

“I personally think they should step down, but do they have a political obligation to do so? No. It’s something that happened in the past, and people can change, so I think there should be no obligation to have them step down,” Peter Smith ‘20 Q: How badly does this undermine the public image of each of our two major parties?

“I haven’t seen much, including this event, which undermines the public image of the parties. Whatever occurs that is negative towards an individual’s party is shuffled aside or ignored and whatever is negative toward the other party is highlighted and heightened in importance...

I think the political parties are more interested in ‘winning’ than doing what is right for the country,” Kevin Shertzer Q: How should Congresspeople react towards such allegations, particularly of members of their own party?

“I think that ideological consistency is the key in any world view... Additionally, any congress-person that called on Kavanaugh to stop seeking a seat on the Supreme Court must immediately ask Justin Fairfax to resign. People who do not support racism and do not support rape culture and toxic masculinity should try to destroy it regardless of petty partisanship,” Peter Barrett, a citizen of Virginia

WORDS by IAN BROWN ART by JACK STEIN

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Allergies are passed on from our ancestors, but the question is: why are they becoming more common?

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WORDS by CATIE FRISTOE ART by BEAU GLAZIER thefourthestate.net

n classes from elementary to high school, there are students with allergies. From being allergic to gluten, nuts, dust, plants and even medicine, it is an occurrence that is rapidly growing.

Senior Kovid Mishra said, “I am allergic to basic allergies like pollen, Cyprus trees, eucalyptus trees, dust and I’m aller- gic to dogs and cats. I’ve had this ever since I was born. It runs in my family. When I was younger, I really couldn’t find the right allergy medications, so it affected my mindset as well as just my way of life.”

Freshman Matt Bernard said, “I can’t eat anything at school events or any other event, and it’s more expensive.”

According to the Fight the Cause of Allergy, the cause of allergies is still being studied, and the immune system is similar to a sensory system in that it receives input from the environment and produces an adaptive response. Our antibodies are meant to protect against the threat of invaders like bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

However sometimes antibodies see certain foods or environmental proteins (like grass or pollen) as foreign invaders, which is what creates more common allergies like hay fever, nut allergies, reactions to bee stings or the itchy eyes and sneezing that some encounter when they’re around pets.

According to Jon Heggie of National Geographic, “Allergies were discovered over 150 years ago.”

Dr. Ann Fristoe, a pediatrician, and mother of two Laguna students said, “ [Today] we are better able to diagnose and recognize the autoimmune diseases earlier. We have accurate blood testing that can detect the antibodies more specifically.”

Scientists and doctors propose the idea of exposing infants to common allergens. They believe that if a baby is fed peanut butter in tiny increments, this may be able to prevent allergies.

Allergies are increasing. But, with new research, technology and innovative ideas, we discover more about these mysterious allergies every day.

According to the FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education), “The prevalence of food allergy in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.”

Feature • 31

I am ecstatic about being able to drive soon.”

- Frances Carlson

“It’s very convenient for my family.”

“There are so many times when my parents can’t give me a ride so I am left stranded.”

“I get to skirt around.”

- Robbie Brown

To Drive or Not to Drive As the school year continues, freshmen and sophomores get closer to being able to get their license. The real question is: how do parents and students feel about drivers ed, independence and the responsibility that comes with driving.

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weet 16. That’s the birthday to remember. That’s the one that goes above all else.

Why? For freshmen and sophomore as they approach that special day they become one step closer to getting their driver’s license.

One question that leaves us all wondering is: why 16? If you become an adult at 18 and are allowed to drink at 21 why can you drive a car alone at the age of 16?

The It Still Runs web page explains that “As the automobile became more mainstream in the 1920s, states generally set arbitrary age restrictions by which a person could be licensed to drive.”

32 • Opinion

With Connecticut being the first to allow a 16-year-old to drive, many other states followed and created minimum age requirements.

In California, after completing drivers ed (which is now almost always Online) and taking several lessons with an instructor, teens can take the daunting drivers test.

Although driving is a privilege that many students strive to earn, with this topic, emotions and opinions between parents and students circle about. Some cannot wait to get their hands on the wheel because of the independence, while others avoid it at all costs because of a risk for danger.

Despite the student’s hopes, par-

ents play an important role both allowing kids to drive and teaching them to do so. Many fear that their children can’t handle such a great amount of responsibility, while others look forward to getting out of a stressful carpool.

Once they can drive independently the parent’s burden of driving their kids around, especially with early wake-ups and late nights, are gone.

The question is: how are students feeling about both the stress and excitement that comes with it?

WORDS by CATIE FRISTOE ART by JACK STEIN thefourthestate.net

The Bloody Truth The truth about the hardships before, during and after periods. Bringing light to the societal injustices surrounding menstruation as well as the hope to diminish the stigma around periods.

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henever I get my period, I get mad at the world. My body is going through so much, and I feel like I can’t talk about it. So I shove these feelings down, suppress them. But now I finally realize that these feelings must come to light.

So let’s talk about periods. It’s about time.

I remember very distinctly the first time my mom sat me down to tell me about periods. She used a book called My Body, My Self by Lynda Madaras that had a wonderfully purple cover and short and to the point explanations about the many aspects of female puberty. It had space to journal process through your feelings, and at times too realistic sketches.

My mom and I flipped through it together, stopping whenever I had questions. Finally, we reached the big times: periods. My mom told me the process by which the lining in your uterus builds up, and unless you become pregnant, sheds.

I was scared, of course, at the idea of blood coming out of me, but my mom was very reassuring.

Then I asked, “How many times does this happen?” My little 6thgrade head thought this was a oneand-done situation. But no. I didn’t realize it then, but my mom almost cried as she told me “Once a month, for a week, for most of your life.”

In one moment, my entire outlook on life was changed. How can girls survive with blood coming out of them for a week every month? I was flabbergasted.

I got my period reasonably late, in 8th grade, pretty far after most of my friends. The reality of it was thou-

34 • Opinion

WORDS and ART by MADELEINE NICKS

sands of times worse than reading about it.

Each month, you go through three phases of your period. Leading up to it, actually having it, and the aftermath. For me, it changes each month. Sometimes I become wildly depressed for a few days leading up to it, not wanting to leave my bed, not wanting to talk to or see anyone. Another time I got piercing headaches, and I usually get terrible cramps. I also get cravings, generally for chocolate, which then makes me break out, and the cramps ruin my regular appetite.

Then the blood comes. To me, the one thing that most guys don’t understand is that there is nothing women can do to stop it. It is a normal bodily function and a regular occurrence with all women.

It is not shameful, it is not disgusting. Yet girls feel the need to hide it, cover it up and never talk about it.

The world doesn’t realize that when they are sitting in class, discussing a book or listening to a lecture, girls are experiencing cramps and headaches and waves of hormones.

After Amelia Fowler read the sentence above she said, and I quote, “FACTS.” We don’t choose to be grumpy or upset or emotional; it just happens.

Boys experience a similar hormonal process, but it is slower and not nearly as frequent. A hundred years ago, having your period would mean your life would stop.

Girls would be forced to stay home, never speak of it, and just wait till it passes. This still happens in some cultures and countries, but over the years, women and girls have become more resilient.

Now, people can barely even tell when a girl is on their period because they bottle it up, and remain strong.

After your period, there is a bittersweet wave that washes over you

It is not shameful, it is not disgusting. Yet girls feel the need to hide it, cover it up and never talk about it.

some experience even more hormones after than during and depression. But most of the time, you can feel happiness and a joyful relief that it is finally over. I feel more in control, and much calmer. Sometimes, you are left with this strange empty feeling that resembles something like guilt. Some girls experience more pain and sorrow after than before.

With that in mind, a period always lasts more than a week, whether it be in the before or after stages where those extra days are tacked on.

This whole stream of events, of feelings, of hardships, occur every month. I encourage all the girls out there to speak up about their periods. There are movements and organization all around the world who are working to build period empowerment. For example, the PERIOD Organization is working to celebrate periods as well as provide products for those in need. thefourthestate.net

Plan International’s period emoji has just recently been approved, which has not only humanized and stripped periods of the drama but has “broken the period taboo” as their message reads.

All around the world, amazing organizations like the ones above are working to make periods a more comfortable topic, but it truly starts with the work of everyday girls, everywhere, beginning conversations about periods.

When you need to bring your backpack to the bathroom with you because you need pads or a tampon, and a teacher doesn’t let you speak up about what your motive is.

If you are unable to go to a sports practice, don’t make up an excuse to cover up your period- just say it.

Educate the people around you, don’t feel embarrassed and remain strong. “Period shouldn’t be a word that’s feared. It isn’t a gross word or a gross thing. It’s a natural part of every girl’s life,” said freshmen Amelia Fowler.

Luckily, menstruation is getting more and more recognition, with the 2019 Oscars proving to be a fantastic example.

I was filling out my Oscar ballot, as I do every year, trying to make my best predictions for the winners. It gets a little foggy when you come to some of the more obscure categories like sound editing and all of the shorts. When I reached the “Best Short Documentary,” I was puzzled by what to choose. I had to go based entirely off of the title since I have not watched any of them. I decided to pick one called “Period. End of Sentence.”

Since I am writing this article, periods have been in the back of my mind, and I thought I should take a shot in the dark. For all I knew, it could have easily been about grammar.

That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised when “Period. End of Sentence” won. And I was even more excited by the fact that it was indeed about menstruation.

I found the documentary on Netthefourthestate.net

flix a few days later and immediately watched it.

The documentary is set in a small district, about 37 miles outside of New Delhi in India. Though it is only 20 minutes short, each moment left a lasting impact and opened my own eyes to the complex world that is menstruation and how it received on a much deeper level.

The documentary started by asking many people, in groups or alone, who live in the town whether they knew what a period is or what menstruation was. The groups of males they asked did not. When pressed, they thought it was a type of disease applicable mostly to women.

When girls and women are menstruating, they are not allowed in the temples. They are considered to be dirty and not worthy of their normal rights during this time. One woman dropped out of school entirely because of the nuisance of changing her pad and the shame she felt in doing it.

Another woman by the name of

“Period shouldn’t be a word that’s feared. It isn’t a gross word or a gross thing. It’s a natural part of every girls life.”

-Amelia Fowler Rekha went on to talk about how they deal with the blood when it comes. She said that the use whatever old piece of clothing or cloth they find around the house. Then, in the evenings, when no one is around, they throw them into this large pit.

“Menstruation is the biggest taboo in my country,” says Arunachalam Muruganantham, “I am the man who invented the low-cost sanitary napkin machine. Our mission is creating India into a 100 percent nap-

kin-using country from the current level of less than 10 percent.”

The interviewees were then given pads. None of them knew how to use it, and most were highly embarrassed at the mere mention of them.

The documentary then transitioned into the installation of a machine where the girl can make their pad. They were shown how to use it, and once they got a completed pad, they were passed around, girls looking at them with almost a sense of wonder.

When asked, one man said he thought the machine made diapers.

Later, they showed women working in the facility with the machine.

Making the pads were their jobs.

They had time tables and working hours. They have large stacks of the finished product, with two stacks contained about 18,000 pads.

Though they hope for change, as of then the workers sell the pads door to door. Girls are tentative to buy them in shops because of the surrounding men.

But this machine and the ability for these women to earn money while providing a service has opened up a door to freedom for them, for the way that menstruation is conducted.

These people and this documentary display the deeper cuts of period stigma.

Everyone should watch this. Men and women alike. And the fact that it won an Oscar gives hope that we are living in a generation that can change.

Director Rayka Zehtabchi and producer Melissa Berton ended their empowering acceptance speech with the phrase “a period should end a sentence. Not a girl’s education.”

This documentary sparked the start of a conversation. Let’s keep that conversation going. Let’s make the next generation of women more at home with their bodies, with the process they go through.

Let’s make the entire world comfortable with the ideas of periods.

Let’s strip the stigma from them, once and for all.

Opinion • 35

CHALLENGE

Laguna’s Adopted Initiatives: 1. No finals 2. Rotating schedule 3. Limited amount of tests and quizzes per day 4. No homework over weekends (Middle School) 5. No homework over breaks

SUCCESS

Education is in transition, and good schools are taking a hard look at some of the traditional ways of doing things. Stanford-born initiative “Challenge Success” has it down

I

n 2013 and 2014, the Center for Disease Prevention conducted a study finding that suicide rates among high school students in Silicon Valley were four to five times higher than the national average.

In communities from all socioeconomic backgrounds, the number of suicide clusters — defined as multiple deaths in close succession and proximity — had increased significantly among high school students.

When Denise Pope, the founder of the Challenge Success initiative, heard of this, her first thought was to ask the question: why? What are we doing to our high school students to have them feel this way about life - that it isn’t worth living?

Why are so many bright and seemingly happy students depressed during what should be the most carefree years of their life?

Something is wrong, and the Challenge Success initiative was created to realign where the high school education system has gone awry.

Pope came to the conclusion that the helpless and anxiety-ridden feeling among high schoolers from every socioeconomic background was a result of the amount that we are asking our children to do, to the degree we are demanding they perform, and how.

As a professor of Education at Stanford University, Pope had the resources to make a difference. She began Challenge Success, a non-profit that “partners with schools, families and communities to embrace a broad definition of success and to implement research-based strategies that promote student well-being and engagement with learning.”

The initiative is determined to challenge the traditional recipe that is currently throwing “successful” yet broken high school students into the real world.

Challenge Success believes that “kids come with a wide variety of interests, skills, capacities and talents,” and that

they should challenge the status quo that has historically proven to put undue pressure on grades and archaic academic performance.

High school students are often taught that the only path to success is to be the smartest, most competitive person among your peers. Instead, the recipe is, more often than not, just to be yourself and follow your own dreams and passions.

The reason for this initiative is because something in the high school education system is evidently wrong.

When Laguna’s director of Academic Services Rose Steeber heard of the Challenge Success program, she immediately knew that this was something our small, competitive school needed: “What challenge success is doing at Laguna is not only forcing us to challenge our definition of success in students, but challenging our definition of success in teachers.

We want our students to learn, but are they learning skills with our traditional teaching methods or are we just stressing them out?”

Laguna Blanca has implemented five of the many suggestions that “Challenge Success” recommended since its introduction. Students, parents and teachers alike have already seen the stress and anxiety reduce among students, but they also know that there is still a ways to go.

What are we doing to our high school students to have them feel this way about life — that it isn’t worth living?

36 • Opinion

The Laguna Blanca Perspective “At Laguna Blanca, students are surrounded by successful and driven parents, faculty and peers. While this inspires kids to find their own passions, it can also be incredibly intimidating. I think that Challenge Success is an important institution at Laguna Blanca because it reminds students that success does not need to be entirely measured in grades or sports performance, and achieving success doesn’t need to make students unhappy.” - Izzy Sabino ‘19

According to a poll 60% of students at Laguna are stressed by their daily schedules

“It’s nice not having the same classes every day.”

- Kyle Aitcheson ‘19 “Success does not mean just academic achievement. As the parent of a child performer who has had great success in her field, I value unique gifts — and everyone has them! The trick is shutting out those societal voices that seem to tell adolescents that if they get accepted to an elite college, they’ve become successful. We’re bombarded with that message, and it’s just not accurate or healthy.” - History teacher Lindsay Woodard

Average of

1–4

hours of homework a night after sports and extra-curriculars

Challenges and Benefits

“I think that the Laguna community has benefited from the presence of Challenge Success in teacher shadow days, peer tutoring and the rotating schedule. These objectives have made the entire school more understanding of each other.

Some challenges we have faced include making drastic changes. We have made many little changes, but it is difficult to change an entire community’s understanding of success” - Izzy Sabino ‘19

Our Goals for the Future “We would love to make this school a place where success and happiness are self-defined, where feeling accomplished doesn’t mean sacrificing other important aspects of life.”

- Izzy Sabino ‘19 “I hope that Challenge Success here at Laguna can encourage kids to drop out of the rat race and redefine what success is. How cool would it be if we had a school full of students all embracing something entirely unique and interesting to them? I know it’s hard to break the mold, but I think that with small steps and lots of education about the process (both with students and families), we can start moving in a better, healthier direction.” - Lindsay Woodard WORDS and ART by AUDREY MURPHY

thefourthestate.net

thefourthestate.net

Opinion • 37

T

he constant intrinsic battle of whether to fall asleep or to continue studying is something that many students deal with every night.

The problem of getting one more hour of sleep or studying in has become a nightly conflict for most.

“It has been well established for some time now that new learning does not take place during sleep, as had once been thought (and hoped for),” Meghan Roarty, AP Psychology teacher said. “What research has uncovered, however, is that memories from the day are consolidated during sleep, thereby facilitating learning.”

Although the exact mechanisms are still unknown, learning and memory are often described in three categories: acquisition, the introduction of new information; consolidation, the process in which a memory becomes stable; and recall, the ability to access this information.

These three steps are necessary for memory function, which takes place during sleep through the strengthening of neural connections.

Is Sleep Learning a Myth?

The idea that one day we could improve our knowledge through sleeping is quite appealing; however, could this scenario even become a reality?

“What research has uncovered, however, is that memories from the day are consolidated during sleep, thereby facilitating learning.”

There are four stages of sleep: Non-REM (stages 1-3) and REM. Stage 2 is where the majority of our sleeping takes place. During this stage, brain waves continue to slow with bursts of rapid activity, known as sleep spindles. When sleep spindles thefourthestate.net

are present, electrical energy is being transferred.

Scott Cairney, a researcher at the University of York, and Bernhard Staresina, a researcher at the University of Birmingham, set out to test neural processes and its role with memory and learning during sleep.

“We are quite certain that memories are reactivated in the brain during sleep, but we don’t know the neural process that underpin this phenomenon,” says Cairney. “Sleep spindles have been linked to the benefits of sleep for memory in previous research, so we wanted to investigate whether these brain waves mediate reactivation.”

Their hypothesis was that if memory reactivation was supported, it “could be possible to decipher memory signals at the time that these spindles took place.”

Cairney and his colleagues asked 46 participants to learn associations between words and pictures of objects or scenes. Half of these participants took a 90-minute nap, while the others stayed awake. Half of the words were repeated to the members while they were asleep to trigger the reactivation of the newly learned memories.

After the 90-minutes, all of the participants were asked to recall the objects. It was concluded that those participants who took a nap had better recall: “Their memory was better for the pictures that were connected to the words that were presented in sleep compared to those words that weren’t.”

The researchers were able to see that playing the associated words triggered sleep spindles: “Sleep spindles might represent the key underlying mechanism” for targeted memory reactivation.

“Their memory was better for the pictures that were connected to the words that were presented in sleep compared to those words that weren’t.”

Cairney says that “When you are awake you learn new things, but when you are asleep you refine them, making it easier to retrieve them and apply them correctly when you need them the most.”

Roarty follows up with the statement that “This is just one of the many reasons it is so incredibly important to get a sufficient number of hours of sleep each night.

“Sleep helps with memory retention. When we are sleep deprived, memories from the day are not stored as durably. It is also one of the reasons why studying just before falling asleep can help in remembering the information even better the next day, as your brain continues to process it while you sleep.”

WORDS and ART by MADELINE WALKER

Opinion • 39

History is changing right in front of our eyes.

This last decade has been notable for LGBTQ+ rights and representation. However, this change has not extend- ed for all queer people.

A lot has changed since 1997 when actress and comedian Ellen Degeneres came out to the world in the most public forum: on cable television. The tabloids went crazy and sponsors pulled out of advertising. ABC executives went as far to put viewer’s advisory announcing that there was gay content.

Degeneres pioneered for the rights of lesbians, hosted her own talk show for 14 years and counting and made history when she won the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

However, there aren’t as many stories like Degeneres in Hollywood as the LGBTQ community would like.

Movies like “Love, Simon,” “Call Me By Your Name” and “Moonlight” highlight LGBTQ stores.

Yet, there is an undeniable absence of the ‘L’ in LGBTQ. Media seems to focus on the gay portion of LGBTQ. Unfortunately, gay men are yet to be wholly accepted by society, however, the American culture has begun to normalize them as seen in the iconic 2013 video featuring a Home Depot marriage proposal flash mob between two men or accepting celebrity couples like Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka.

All of this development in the LGBTQ community is a positive thing however that doesn’t stop queer women from feeling left out.

Queer men all around the If you don’t see yourself represented in media, how are you supposed to think you belong?

United States are in the Representation is the key to allowing people to feel comlimelight, receiving the fortable in themselves. Young queer people are most at acceptance they so deserve. risk for this issue affecting them.

With stereotypes like ‘the GBF’ (gay best friend) or lesYet there is still a gender bians being “butch,” flaky or just experimenting. The inequality even in the LGBTQ images that come to mind for a gay man are generally community. a flamboyant, over-the-top, feminine man.

Why is this? It’s because of the misrepresentation of the media.

WORDS by DAISY FINEFROCK Take the hit ABC show, “Modern Family” as an example, while some ART by BEAU GLAZIER would say the fact that there are two openly gay men with a child is a success, others would say it is just offensive. Mitchell and Cameron cast harmful stereotypes on impressionable kids which the show targets.

Mitchell often being referred to as the “husband” in the relationship, being the breadwinner and a stern influence towards on daughter, and Cameron being the “wife,” doing all of the housework.

Cameron is sensitive and feminine, while none of these traits are negative in a man who is gay and often the comedy relief, it is a hurtful trope.

The show uses his sexuality to put him in situations which ultimately end up in others laughing at him, not with him. We see Cameron as a loving character when his primary attribute is his sexuality.

The Missing L in LGBTQ

40 • Opinion

thefourthestate.net

Why don’t we have a stereotype for a straight man or woman?

The underwhelming representation of lesbians is worse. In the rare occasion that queer women are the leads in a show, they are often stereotyped.

Most of the time, queer women are there to move along the lead character in the storyline, with no layers underneath their sexuality.

Is it that film and TV studios think that by including an LGBTQ character, they’ve “checked off” a box?

They’ve got their LGBTQ audience hooked in now, and they even get the press of being modern and accepting. But how is it representation if their sexuality is what defines their entire being?

The Internet is quick to slander shows which use “queer-baiting,” a term used for when writers draw in the LGBTQ audience with a samesex friendship which they lead viewers on with insinuating messages.

The most popular show which conveys same-sex relationships is “Riverdale,” a top-rated teen drama on the CW. In “Riverdale,” the two lead characters, Betty and Veronica shared a kiss in the first episode as a way to shock the other characters.

It ended up backfiring. The writers never confirmed any relationships, but the hints would say otherwise, which ends up with fans of the show being upset because of the constant queer-baiting.

Sophomore Nafisah Fathima, who is an avid teen-drama show viewer said, “Movies that use gay people as a filler, or queer-bait shows that kill off someone at the end to tie up loose ends enforce this mindset that people on the spectrum are expendable.”

As a society, we have taken gay men as the quirky, “GBF’s” yet we can’t accept the counterpart?

The GLAAD organization, which focuses on LGBTQ acceptance publishes an annual report on film and TV’s representation. Their ultimate goal is 100 percent acceptance, which we are still far from. thefourthestate.net

The 2018 report stated that gay men comprise a shocking 83 percent of LGBTQ characters. It is still the battle of the sexes, although queer men and women are both a minority, men still are at an advantage.

Women are still treated like props.

Society may have moved past the mistreatment of women, but discrimination still lingers.

Women are hyper-sexualized by the media’s depictions of what’s desirable can be very harmful — especially when young women are the object of desire.

Media is sending messages that promote girls’ silence and emphasizes beautiful above all.

From the way women are depicted in mainstream magazines, it seems like they are simply arm candy — accompanying so-and-so.

To be popular, women have to be in the company of a hot male celebrity. Of course, this isn’t true to all, but it is apparent that it happens to many up-and-coming celebrities.

A woman has to be appealing to a man; everyday young women are exploited for their bodies.

Jane Czyzselska, the editor of Diva Magazine, explained in an interview that young lesbian artists are told to not talk about their sexuality because it isn’t “commercial… [young lesbians] need to present [themselves] as being f--kable by men, and [they’ll] sell more records that way.”

This implies that men are more likely to think of women as attainable or women they can “get with.”

According to Pornhub, a popular pornography website, in the U.S., the most commonly searched videos are lesbian porn.

However, what is most shocking is that many of these searches come from states where issues like banning gay marriage and conversion therapy are widely supported.

When women are viewed as objects, it is OK to diminish their rights.

How does this make sense?

The hypersexualization of lesbians is off the roof: their sexual orientation making them into dirty and emotionless people.

People are passing it off as girls who experiment in college and it just being a phase.

When really, there is no difference between a heterosexual relationship and a homosexual one.

Until queer women get their “Call Me By Your Name” or “Love, Simon” moment, they won’t be res p e c t e d or treated equally.

So what are we waiting for?

Opinion • 41

ON

E TH

E G ED

We all find ourselves caught up in the hedonistic pursuit of the modernized “American Dream.”

WORDS and ART by AMARA MURPHY

S S E C C U S F

O 42 • Opinion

thefourthestate.net

Success. A word that holds many meanings for different people. The dictionary defines success as, “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” Upon further exploration, the dictionary also states success is “the attainment of popularity approximately profit.” While there is not one singular definition for the word, in our modern society it seems as though the term success continuously revolves around one thing: money.

We claim to be accepting of people’s life choices, even if they differ from our own, however we often view people who might be lower on the socioeconomic chain as less successful than ourselves.

Success is relative; it’s meaning changes depending on the situation someone might be in.

Unfortunately, modern day American media pushes a sense of extreme hedonism as a marker of success.

Overconsumption and the highest forms of sensual pleasures are viewed as items of accomplishment. For example, take a luxury car; most people want to own

one, but is the reasoning valid?

While we all enjoy the luxurious aspect of a vehicle, isn’t our true intention when purchasing a beautiful new car to impress others, to show them that we have enough money and we are successful enough to own a car worth more than what some people make in a year?

“You only live once and success means finding a way to make this your happiest and most meaningful life.”

- Lauren Neubauer Will Rodgers once said, “Too many people spend money they earned… to buy things they don’t want… to impress people that they don’t like.”

Today we truly see this idea playing out in our daily lives. We shoot for fame, for wealth and popularity, but often times it is to impress people we don’t even consider worth getting to know.

The definition of success is very different today than what it was several decades ago.

What was once considered successful — a steady job, owning your own home, having a family — has drastically changed.

Today success has a whole new meaning, influencers and YouTubers have entered the scene changing what were once the fundamentals of society.

Too often we find ourselves caught up in the pursuit of glamour. This is not to critique the consumption of luxury goods, rather to bring awareness to what has become most important in our society.

“On a personal level success is achieving my vision with integrity and compassion along the way,” said freshman Lauren Neubauer.

“To me, success is growing something out of a small idea written on paper while at the same time growing on a personal and professional level, to the point where I am able to experience the world and provide for my family and friends.”

My mom’s opinion of what is considered successful differs from mine. The generational divide creates a discrepancy between adults and their children’s view on long term life success.

Generational differences in opinions on life are common and can be seen throughout history.

Whether it’s an opinion on music or your success, a simple difference in thought is not necessarily a bad thing, however, a line must be drawn between simple progression and unrealistic ideals that are slowly pushing our society to dysfunction.

We are a country of extremes, from our political standpoint to the way our society functions.

It is not to say that we can never purchase something of quality again, for everyone enjoys the feeling of owning something new and opulent, but rather to remember that in no world or society should glamour be an exchange for one’s humanity.

Freshman Fear: Fact or Fiction?

Students Playlists Maddie Kirk Playlist of my Life

The relationships that arise between grade levels can run the gamut. But are freshmen, the youngest students in our high school afraid of seniors?

W

hether it’s walking in the halls, seeing them drive up to school or interacting with them on sports teams the intimidation factor is there.

However, perceptions change over time which makes it seem like magic sometimes.

When you’re a junior, you suddenly have this ability to be intimidating to underclassmen, you may not even be aware of. And, when you’re a senior, you have this unsaid power that freshmen unquestionably acknowledge.

And even though not every senior scares every freshman, there still remains an overall feeling of overt awareness of seniors and their “territory.”

That’s not to say that freshmen are shaking with fear every time they see a senior, though this doesn’t apply to every freshman, there is most definitely a level of truth to it.

Fourth Estate editors in the class on 2008 wrote about this issue from their perspective as seniors. They had less positive opinions about freshmen than seniors this year do.

In 2008, the senior quad was covered with grass and was known as the “senior lawn,’ upon which freshmen would not dare tread or else they would face consequences. They could either choose either being publicly dunked or take a detention.

Seniors viewed freshmen as far more hindering, going on to write, “It seems as though the freshmen this year are ruthless. Ask most seniors and they’ll tell you it appears as if the freshmen walk around with no respect for anyone.

“Giving the freshmen the responsibility to roam around the upperclassmen quad has given them the attitude that they have the same power as a high school senior.”

Former senior classes have different opinions than our current seniors.

When speaking about his freshman experience, senior Hector Lujan said, “When I was a freshman, I wasn’t really intimidated, except for maybe by a few of them, like Ben Rios who was very serious, big and

strong and didn’t talk a lot which made me feel a little intimidated. I got to know him through sports and soon had a strong relationship with him as well as the other seniors.”

Senior Ava Morouse said, “I would hope that I’m not intimidating to underclassmen. I think a good way to bridge the gap is through extracurriculars, theater, and sports. Theater and sports have helped me get to know underclassmen, and made it easier for us to find common ground.”

Lower classmen have mixed opinions on the senior-freshman relationship and think of things a little differently.

Freshman Nicole Khodabandehlou doesn’t feel that air of intimidation around seniors. “The seniors are not intimidating as most would think and are actually quite friendly and easy to talk to. They are relatable and have at one time been in the same place that we freshmen are currently in.

“I feel that seniors and freshmen are all a lot closer with each other than we would be at a larger school. Since we are at a smaller school. It is easier to know the seniors and be able to talk to them without being intimidated.”

WORDS by ZOE KING ART by JACK STEIN

44 • Opinion

thefourthestate.net

Vincent Vestergaard Playlist of my Life

PAGE by RUTH BECKMEN

Thank U, Next

A

How Ariana Grande has become the pop princess of the music world.

riana Grande is everywhere.

From her millions upon millions of albums sold to her signature hoodie being one of the most popular fashion trends of 2018, she has quickly become one of the biggest names in music.

Turn on the radio to your favorite pop station and you are most likely to hear one of Ariana Grande’s newest hit songs.

T h e pop

46 • A&E

star has been in the spotlight since 2008 when she was cast as the role of Charlotte in the Broadway production 13.

Her big break was on the silver screen just one year later with her debut as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon show “Victorious.” She spent four seasons on the show exercising her acting talents before breaking off to start a solo career.

In 2013, she dropped her first album: “Yours Truly.” This was a smash hit with the lead single, “The Way,” where she collaborated with Mac Miller. “The Way” became a pop hit peaking at the billboard number 9 spot.

Her flourishing career only grew from there with albums such as Dangerous Woman and My Everything.

Her second album, “My Everything,” included hits such as “Problem” featuring Iggy Azalea which peaked at number two on the Billboard hot 100.

But her success continued for the then 21-year-old with a Grammy nomination for Best Vocal Album in 2015.

By the time her third album dropped, Ariana was a worldwide star.

Her success was fraught with challenges. During her Dangerous Woman Tour, the Manchester concert was disrupted. A suicide bombing took place during her concert — 22 fans died while 500 were injured.

Ariana was, needless to say, troubled by this. She held a benefit concert, One Love Manchester, dedicated to those lost.

Two years later, she dropped her album, “Sweetener,” which spawned three smash hits: “No Tears Left to Cry,” “Breathn’,” and “God Is a Woman.”

Fast forward to today, Ariana is making waves with her newest album, “Thank U, Next.”

The album’s leading single of the same name peaked at the number one Billboard top spot in 12 countries. It was partnered with an iconic music video.

Other top hits from the album include “7 Rings” and “break up with your girlfriend,” “i’m bored” and “7 Rings” which quickly rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts and became Ariana’s second number-one hit.

What differentiates Ariana Grande from other artists? Her fame is a byproduct of her talent. She is a triple threat, she can sing, dance and act.

With the new and innovative sound she brings to the table, she is practically set up for success.

She like many female pop artists before her, writes songs about her relationships. This relates her to her audience and captivates her fans to stay for more.

Another factor that can attest to her fame is simply the nature of the songs. They are easy to get stuck in your head.

“Ariana Grande is making waves in pop music. Her unique and original sound makes her music irresistible,” said Nicole Khodbandehlou ‘22.

Needless to say, the only way for Ariana to go is up. At the rate she is going, she will probably overcome many pop princesses of the past like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry who have fallen out of the limelight to make room for this rising star.

WORDS by HANNA MASRI ART by BEAU GLAZIER thefourthestate.net

Activism Through Fashion A recent history of acts of protest, activism and unity through bold fashion statements.

WORDS and ART by MADELEINE NICKS

2018 Golden Globes: Hollywood was forever changed as the #MeToo movement first came to light. Women spoke up about powerful male directors, producers and actors who committed crimes of sexual abuse and harassment.

By speaking out, these women empowered others all around the world to come forward and bring their experiences to light. This crucial message was further shown at the 2018 Golden Globes, where all the women and most men wore black to stand in solidarity and voice the mission of the Times Up organization.

These Golden Globes became less about fashion and who won what award, and more about celebrities beginning a wave of positive change, equality for all, unity and a new frontier of bravery for women and men all around the world.

Women’s March: For as long as anyone can remember, pink has been associated with girls. It is the color of delicateness, princesses and everything girly. Then Trump got elected and girls got mad.

The day after his inauguration, hundreds of thousands of people marched the streets of Washington in protest. Looking out onto this sea of people holding picket signs with powerful messages of equality, fists high in the air, you saw one universal thing: the color pink.

More specifically, pink beanies, which are made by the Pusshay Project and fittingly dubbed “pussyhats” both for their kitten ears and in reference and protest to Trump’s comments made earlier that year on his sense of freedom to grab women’s genitals, and to strip the word “pussy” of it’s stigma and to trans-

46• Arts and Entertainment

form it into a word of empowerment.

In that moment, pink was not just a girly color, it was a sign of the powerful effect that women can have when they unite in order to make their voices, opinions and rights heard.

State of the Union: My whole family gathered around the TV to watch the State of the Union address. I was curious to see what Trump would say, how he would interact with Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi and also to see the hopeful shift in the crowd after the recent elections.

But when the camera zoomed out to reveal the large audience listening to Trump, I saw only one thing: a large section of women dressed exclusively in white.

It was a powerful, important statement that showed all the women, more than ever before, that are now in Congress.

When the suffragette movement first began, women dressed in white while they marched to obtain equal voting rights.

Marcher wearing “pussyhat”

At the State of the Union address, women wore white to pay tribute to the women who forged the path to bring them to this amazing accomplishment.

It was a display of unity, sending a message to everyone watching and to all the politicians that women are stronger together, and that they can accomplish anything when they band together.

Nicole Kidman

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

thefourthestate.net

Tune In

Women In Music

My recommendations for hilarious, topical, and touching shows that make waiting a week for an episode completely worth it.

WORDS and ART by MADELEINE NICKS

“The Good Place” is a fantastic comedy that stars the beautiful, relatable, and hilarious Kristen Bell. This show examines, portrays and humorizes a version of the heaven and hell, and what happens when you plop four humans, a devil turned hero, and a Siri incarnate into the crazy-mixed-up world of the afterlife. Every episode is laugh-out-loud funny, topical, and utterly strange.

After watching you will feel both confused, philosophically smarter, and will be counting down the days until the next episode. “‘The Good Place’ is an amazingly creative show with tons of plot twists that keep me on the edge of my seat, excited for the next episode.” -Ben Rodgers ‘22

W

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” follows the happenings of a police precinct in Brooklyn, the daily toils and troubles that occur, and the people within. It stars Andy Samberg (swoon) as the witty, weirdly genius detective, his co-workers and their captain.

Within their relationships the show is also shaped by the many cases that they solve, giving it plenty of drama and mystery weaved within.

This show is not only absolutely hilarious, but it tackles issues of LGBTQ+ rights and racial biases surrounding the police work the characters perform. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool. Cool. (I had to). “‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’” is incredible, setting itself apart with LGBTQ+ characters, and episodes about police brutality and sexual harassment.” - Phoebe Stein ‘21 Sometimes, you just need to have a good cry. If you can relate to that, “This Is Us” is for you. Half of the show follows the lives of Jack and Rebecca, an adorable couple living in the 70s, and their triplets. The other half of the show follows those triplets, all grown up, in their mid-thirties. As events happen in the old storyline, you understand why certain things are the way they are in the modern-day storyline.

But on the flip side, things have happened in the modern-day storyline that have yet to happen in the old one. This intricate web of events with tragedies, loves, failures and successes result in an addicting show and a burning need to watch the next episode.

“What I love about “This is Us,” is that it gives us the freedom to feel what many of us feel on a daily basis. Now, the feels are extreme compared to everyday emotions but it’s a glorious way of justifying them. It makes life’s ups and downs seem manageable and normal. I appreciate that.”

-Biology Teacher Amanda Whalen

48 • A&E

omen have always had a significant presence in music. For many years women were shunned from the music industry. Recently, in the last 100 years, women became a significant part in writing, singing and playing music for popular songs. One of the most influential women artists was Ella Fitzgerald.

In her life, Ella Fitzgerald not only recorded 200 albums, and sold 40 million albums, she also won 14 Grammy Awards.

She is very worthy of the title, “First Lady of Song.” Ella specifically stood out, especially as a female of color being in the music industry through the Civil Rights Movement when it was especially hard to break the barriers that she did.

Aretha Franklin thefourthestate.net

Women have become particularly significant in the music industry; their recent involvement has lead to them becoming a major part of shaping popular music. Women have and continue to create incredible music.

Fitzgerald was the first African-American woman to win more than one Grammy Awards.

She was inspirational for women in the music industry and showed others that by working hard, she was more than worthy of her achievements.

Aretha Franklin was another essential person who shaped the music industry — even her songs ask for respect.

Franklin was the first women to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Since then, 135 women have followed in Franklin’s footsteps.

These women helped pave the path for newer modern artists and keep their legacy going by being a significant presence in the music industry today.

Today, our lives are flooded with different female recording artists: Ariana Grande, Halsey, Taylor Swift.

These artists are much more than just musicians: they are influencers and icons.

They have the unwavering ability to help shape public views and interests.

Ariana Grande has not only wowed countless audiences with her incredible vocal range and talent on the stage, but has also had major fashion influence.

Her sky-high ponytail and oversized hoodies paired with above the knee boots thefourthestate.net

“Ariana Grande’s 48 million-plus monthly listeners made her Spotify’s most streamed female artist”

have increased sales in hoodies by a whopping 130 percent.

She influences the fashion world and changes the way “modern” recording artists impact the public.

Grande’s 48 million-plus monthly listeners made her Spotify’s moststreamed female artist.

While some would argue that music today is mostly “synthesizers” and “auto-tune,” the influence of these female singers is undeniable.

One hundred years ago women first became famous in the music industry and made and created music.

They inspired others to follow in their footsteps. Now modern female recording artists have broken records because of the legacies others have left.

WORDS by AVA RICE and AMARA MURPHY ART by JACK STEIN and PHOEBE STEIN A&E • 49

MEDITATING:

One way to get touch with your inner self and thoughts is through the art of meditation and relaxation.

This technique is best accomplished in a quiet space because science has shown that our best ideas are formed when we are not engaging with others and in solitude.

English teacher Bojana Hill guides her students in relaxation before classwork begins.

She said she does it because it is “helping [her students] get in touch with [their] bodies so that [they] being to inhabit the physical self… that’s why I guide the body relaxation and little by little [they] truly do relax.”

Through relaxation methods, many people believe they cleanse their souls daily and therefore lead happier lives.

Getting rid of all the negative thoughts and focusing on the present results in fresh thoughts and ideas.

Senior Sullivan Israel meditates by “taking long walks through nature. I am inspired by what I see, hear and feel. My mind is cleared by the silence and solitude.”

Fresh air is said to be healing and inspires thoughts that a stuffy classroom can’t.

RUNNING:

Our mental health and our ability to innovate all rests on our brain’s strength. Since our brain can’t lift weights, here are some exercises to master your inner creativity.

Running is usually a dreaded activity but for the runners out there it’s more than that.

Running long distances releases endorphins, not to mention the exercise that comes out of it.

When you turn off the music and technology and spend quality time with yourself, the effects of running in nature come through.

This is something that a treadmill doesn’t do. When you breathe in the fresh air, there is something so relaxing — you take a step back to realize your place in the world.

Looking at the world with a different perspective allows one to create innovative ideas.

Being a student comes with daily stress, by running, it lets your mind wander off and allows you to de-stress. thefourthestate.net

Junior and cross country runner Caetano Perez-Marchant said, “Running does help my creativity since it gets my mind more active and engaged with spontaneous ideas.”

DREAM WRITING:

When you look at the world just through your conscious, it can get a little dull. Dreams are our brain’s way of subconsciously crafting stories.

Some dreams can be so intricate and detailed that we mistake them for reality.

The ideas that come out of our subconscious are often our best or they inspire greater ideas.

Sophomore Elizabeth Bisno, who avidly records her dreams, said, “Dreams’ tendency to be surrealistic could inspire more creative imagination.”

“My mind is cleared by the silence and solitude.”

- Sullivan Israel When you feel inspired, work is easier to do and you feel more confident in yourself. Dream writing brings out those innovative, refreshing ideas you otherwise might not think of.

When you’re dreaming, the rational part of your brain is turned off. That allows your mind to think with the most confidence and wildly imaginative mind.

JOURNALING:

Journaling is an outlet to record all things bad, sad and good. It’s a way to express your emotions through writing the day’s events.

Whether it is writing about a minuscule detail in the day or just free writing, it helps you.

Writing is an integral part of our lives, so when you practice it daily and not just for a school assignment, it lets you enjoy the beauty of writing.

“It helps to be able to write down

everything that is crowding your mind,” freshman Mike Janey said.

When all the overwhelming thoughts are filling your thoughts throughout the day, putting them down on paper is a great outlet to express your many emotions.

To look back and feel the emotions you were feeling, puts your emotions in perspective.

People who journal tend to find themselves channeling their emotions with a clearer head and thoughtful opinions.

YOGA:

Yoga opens the door to many things like flexibility, inner peace and tranquility. It also helps with your creative soul and thinking.

Yoga has been proven to have an effect on human cognition which affects the way we understand concepts.

Yoga helps you discover who you are and who you want to be through spiritual connections with nature and yourself.

Establishing this connection unlocks so many thoughts to roam free.

Even the art of concentration is important to yoga because it teaches you the importance of focusing.

So when you finally have a fresh idea to work with, you can focus on it and not get sidetracked with the meaningless distractions throughout the day.

When you practice yoga, whether it be with others or by yourself, you experience a moment of serenity and well-being. It is an experience unique to yoga.

Junior Patrick Otte finds himself in a “calmer state of mind” after yoga. “I find myself taking deeper breaths, in a social experience when my turn comes around to say something it is more thought out.”

WORDS by DAISY FINEFROCK ART by BEAU GLAZIER AND JACK STEIN A&E • 51

T

he exponential growth of would rarely recognize him. close to such dominance since then. hip-hop in recent years has Although not being stopped for Streaming has dropped CD sales, given rise to names such as a photo everywhere you go doesn’t while also increasing accessibility Drake, J. Cole, 21 Savage, seem like such a bad thing, this “be- to music. Thus, competition in the Travis Scott and so many more. The hind the scenes” position that pro- industry has skyrocketed and labels rappers whose voices are on nearly ducers are all too familiar with trans- became tight on cash, forcing proevery playlist throughout the nation lates heavily into the financial world. ducers to sit back and take financial are the ones representing the rap Labels such as Atlantic Records hits. game. While it is very easy to give have been under fire many times in The new era of music that we have all the credit to the artists, there is a the past couple years for reportedly entered into has bred new styles of whole other side of the industry that underpaying their producers. production and composition. Metro is less talked about, and equally, if Due to the fact that the gener- Boomin stands as one of the most not more important: the producers. al public recognizes the name of talented producers of this generProducers are an essential ation for his work with many piece to the process of making “School is the same as producing: huge names in hip-hop. His a song, especially in hip-hop. melodies and hard-hitIf you want to make it far, there spooky From complex hi-hat patterns ting drum patterns have alto mesmerizing melodies, the are a million, trillion people trying lowed him to stand out in the musical creativity and originali- to do the same thing. If you’re not highly competitive producing ty that top producers showcase field of today. in their beats have shaped the in over-grind mode, it’s probably On the other hand is a much hip-hop sound of today. With- not going to work the way that you less known name: Frank Dukes, out them, there would be no who’s approach is much differwant it to.” - Metro Boomin music. ent. Dukes writes full music The talents of producers and compositions, which he then rappers compliment each other in- a popular rapper and their songs, distributes to producers who can credibly well, as seen through duos not the beatmakers who create the sample the loops and use in anyway like Metro Boomin and 21 Savage, sound, producers do not have the they please.

Nick Mira and Juice WRLD and Mur- same ability to generate revenue beThe styles of a Metro Boomin and da Beatz and Migos, just to name a cause their image is not out there. a Frank Dukes go hand in hand and few.

The leverage that they have in the are molding hip-hop into a powerThe beats lay the foundation on industry is much less than someone house genre. which an artist can showcase his or like Drake, who is a household name.

The drastic shift in how people her lyricism and flow.

Especially with music streaming sys- access music has flipped the music Despite their crucial role in the tems such as Spotify and Apple Mu- industry on its head. genre, the creators of such beats sic, one’s ability to “rent” music has Many artists saw an immense ficontinue to fly under the radar much greatly diminished the power that nancial boost while producers were more than the artists do. For exam- producers hold. forced out of the picture, giving rise ple, Tay Keith, a multi-platinum proThe era when Kanye West and to the unique sounds that represent ducer with hits like “Sicko Mode,” Timbaland dominated is long gone the rap game today.

“Nonstop,” and “Look Alive” just due to the drastic shift in the music The determination on behalf of graduated from Middle Tennessee industry’s business model. producers to make a name for themUniversity.

For a short stretch in 2003, the selves in this cutthroat environment While attending, he hit the studio Neptunes owned the beats of 43 redefined the beatmaking world, with some of the biggest names in percent of the songs on the radio. and it is only the beginning of what rap, and yet students on campus No other producer has even come is to come.

HIP-HOP PRODUCTION:

“R&B/hip-hop genre represented 24.5 percent of all music consumption in the U.S. – the largest share of any genre and the first time R&B/hip-hop has led this measurement for a calendar year.”- Billboard (2017)

An Inside Look

WORDS and ART by CHRISTIAN BRANCH thefourthestate.net

A&E • 53

In the Spotlight An interview with Drama teacher Dana Caldwell on all the details and highlights of the upcoming production of the musical “Once Upon a Mattress.”

What motivated you to pick “Once Upon A Mattress” as this year’s musical?

I was inspired to chose “Once Upon A Mattress” for this year’s musical because of the whimsical and completely zany characters in this show! I was also very excited to turn our Spaulding stage into a castle!

Can you give us a little summary of what to expect?

It’s the story of The Princess and the Pea like you’ve never heard before! With a Minstrel, Jester, and Silent King, to name just a few of these hilarious medieval characters, you can expect lots of laughs!

What makes your collaboration with Jillian Honorof so unique?

It is a rare and special thing to find someone who you collaborate so well with, especially when you’re both so different and bring such different skill sets to the table. These differences really are the secret to our successful collaboration, and help us both to be better artists and better teachers. Above all else, we share the same vision for our students: we want to give them the tools they need to pursue the performing arts as far as their dreams will take them (and have some fun along the way!)

Field Day 2019 PAGE by MACY CHRISTAL

What part of the play are you most looking forward to seeing played out on stage?

We have a group dance number called the “Spanish Panic” that is going to be a blast (into which, by the way, we’ve managed to sneak a few moves from the Hand Jive because who can get enough of Grease.) Design wise, I’m really excited to see how we pull off all the mattresses on stage!

What is your favorite part of the rehearsal process?

Spending so much time with my students! I feel so lucky, every single day, that I get to do what I do here at Laguna, with these amazing, brilliant, and crazy-talented students!

How does working with student actors affect your job?

In directing students, the goal is not perfection, as it would be in the professional world; the goal is individual growth. Students bring such diverse experience with them into the theatre—whether it’s a student who has never been on stage before or one who is planning on auditioning for college, my goal is to give them the experience and tools that they need to reach their optimal potential.

And to me, being witness to that growth is pure magic and far surpasses perfection.

54 •

A&E

WORDS by MADELEINE NICKS and AMARA MURPHY ART by JACK STEIN thefourthestate.net

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A&E

• 55

O

Athlete of the Issue -Devin Hernandez-

nly in his second season playing for the Owls, sophomore Devin Hernandez was unstoppable. Dropping an average of 23 points per game, his skills significantly added to the team’s success.

Starting his basketball career at the age of seven, Devin is a player at heart. “I played for Roosevelt Elementary School when I was first starting. As I got older, I started playing for more advanced club teams such as the Vipers, the Ballers and the Franklin All Star team.”

For being only a sophomore on such a small team, Devin has had to take on a significant leadership role.

According to Coach Carlos Guerrero, Devin’s leadership added much to the team. “Devin’s role on the court is to be a leader on the offensive end and support his teammates.

56 • SPORTS

When I see Devin, I see a young man every day having to navigate through the pressure of being one of the youngest players and still be expected to lead our offense. He doesn’t back down from that challenge.”

Devin’s teammate, senior Kyle Aitcheson, also acknowledges Devin’s leadership on the court: “Devin has really led by example.

He had a lot of pressure on him all season to be the best, and he always performed in that way.”

An example of Devin’s leadership shows through Laguna’s game vs.

Cate. Devin knocked down eight three-pointers, six being in the second half. As the game ended, Devin had dropped 36 out of the 57 total points. Through this constant success, Devin describes his mom and sister as being big supporters. “It’s really nice to look up in the stands and see my little sister waving her pom-poms and hear my mom cheering my name.”

Although Devin’s skills are some of the best on the court, he is continuously striving to sharpen them and improve as a player: “My goal for next season is to get stronger and get better at getting rebounds, driving to the hoop, and also work on my defense. These are all things I need to improve on to play, hopefully, in college.”

Devin describes NBA player Kyrie Irving as a role model. “I want to be able to handle the ball like him. I want his kind of ability to control the ball and make smart passes.”

Looking forward to next season, Devin acknowledges the team’s hard work. “Although we didn’t win as much as I would have liked, our team worked harder than ever. We built each other up and improved dramatically from last year.”

Freshmen on Teams As each year passes, sports teams change and a new crop of freshmen enter the arena. However, the duties of freshmen never change

S

eason after season, freshmen are tasked with the job of carrying equipment, making waters and cleaning up after each practice.

This long-lasting tradition of freshmen being responsible for many duties is something that is still upheld by countless high school sports teams, including Laguna.

This tradition has evolved due to a couple of different factors.

Some argue that the rule is unfair to freshmen and supports an unhealthy categorization between age groups, while others look at this rule as a right of passage.

Senior Margaux Murphy captain of the girl’s soccer and volleyball teams this year said, “It’s more of a tradition to have the freshmen do equipment rather than a duty. We all had to do it, and once we moved up from that grade, we were able to teach the new freshmen.”

“...you do it out of the respect for the leaders of your team...”

- Foster Smith

Most students agree that it’s not supposed to be some cruel punishment, but instead a part of being on the team.

“It also saves from a lot of confusion, if everyone were in charge of doing it, they would always assume the next person did it when they assumed the same thing then no one has the equipment and we all run!

Putting a smaller group of people in charge of one thing ensures that they know who is responsible,” Margaux said.

On the other hand, the success of the rule can depend on the number of freshmen on the team for that given year.

Freshman Amelia Fowler said, “Because we had so many freshmen girls on our soccer team this year we had a well-working rotation that worked out fine.”

Sophomore Bea Lujan had a different experience.

“Last year when I was a freshman, there were only three people in my class that also played for the soccer team, so I had to get the waters, pennies, cones, and balls every single day. It was so frustrating.

“However, now that I’m a sophomore it’s nice to know that I won’t be doing it for the next three years,” said Bea. The rule goes beyond girls soccer.

Freshmen on the most of the boy’s teams all had these duties, along with the girl’s volleyball team, tennis team, and beach volleyball.

Freshman Foster Smith participated in boys basketball and said, “I think it is fair because everyone has done it. I think it is a thing you do

“It’s more of a tradition to have the freshmen do equipment rather than a duty. We all had to do it and once we moved up from that grade we were able to teach the new freshmen.”Margaux Murphy out of the respect for the leaders of your team and one day the current freshmen will be telling the future freshmen to make them waters.“ How fair or unfair this rule may be is up for debate, but in the end, the decision comes down to the team, and its members. Whether the justification is being part of the team, the simplicity of the tasks, or the tradition, it doesn’t look like the rule will change any time soon.

WORDS by FRANCES CARLSON ART by HANNA MASRI

WORDS and ART

by MACY CHRISTAL thefourthestate.net

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Sports• 57

March Madness’ Cinderella The Loyola Chicago Ramblers perfectly defined the term “Cinderella” with their 2018 March Madness run, their first in 33 years.

Y

ou’ve gotta get special kids that believe they can win.

This group, they’re all believers,”said Porter Moser, MVP Coach of the Year at Loyola Chicago, who led the Ramblers through a surreal 2017-18 season where the confidence of the whole team was tested.

Though their near-fanatic beliefs did not deliver them the final triumph, an NCAA Championship, they did not fail to demonstrate its incredible strength.

One of the many sources of the Ramblers’ belief comes from their chaplain Sister Jean whose presence at the game served as a great spiritual boost.

Spencer Turner ‘19 roots for the Ramblers

and admires the dedication and passion demonstrated by Sister Jean: “I admire that a nun still watches and cheers for our team, it conveys incredible school spirit and that despite being 99 years of age, you can stick with something if you truly care about it.”

For the Ramblers, 2018 was indeed a year that required tremendous faith from all sources.

Having been unable to participate in the NCAA tournament for 33 years, they came out of nowhere in 2018, finishing with an overall record of 32-6, which secured them a spot to showcase themselves on a bigger stage in March.

As if their mere participation in March Madness was not miraculous enough, they upset the No.3 seed, Tennessee, in the first round with Clayton Custer hitting an acrobatic fade-away with ten seconds left.

Keeping their momentum high, the Ramblers advanced all the way to the Final Four. This was a place few predicted them to reach, simply because they had not advanced this far in 55 years.

In contrast to all the awe regarding their performance, coach Moser had expected such outcomes: “This is not something where it just started. These guys have been investing a long time in how hard they worked and how hard they believed.”

Spencer commented on the Ramblers’ astounding achievement: “When they advanced into the final four, it made me see a true underdog and realize that we should never count someone out until it is over.”

However, a harsh reality sunk in at their battle against the Michigan

Wolverines, where they were unable to cope with Moritz Wagner’s constant attack to the basket and rebounding. The Ramblers eventually fell short, 57-69.

Coach Moser, shaking off the bitterness of losing, immediately granted the future stars of the team with leadership roles. As he told freshmen Cameron Krutwig and Lucas Williamson: “You guys are the keepers of culture now”.

Despite the miracle Ramblers pulled off last year, however, media mostly regards their accomplishment as a short-lived marvel, and holds pessimistic views toward their journey in this year’s March Madness.

ESPN staff writer Myron Medcalf said: “The fairy tale could come to an end. A team that lost three of its top six scorers could miss out on the title in a tough MVC (Missouri Valley Conference) and, with limited non-conference opportunities, miss the NCAA tournament.”

The emulative Ramblers responded to such noises by maintaining their high Effective Field Goal Percentage (EFG%) and elite defense, as well as their claim of MVC title.

Cameron especially played up to his coach’s expectation. He had 16 points and six assists as Ramblers topped Bradley 81-68 to win the MVC regular-season title.

Will the young Ramblers eventually succumb to the immense pressure imposed on them, or will they prove that the shiny trophy is up for grab for anyone including them?

Spencer has hopeful words for the Ramblers: “This year I hope they can catch fire at the right time and give some tournament teams a run for their money.”

WORDS by JACK ZHANG ART by JACK STEIN

58 • Sports

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A story must be told or there ll be no story, yet it is the untold stories that are the most moving.

- J.R.R. Tolkien