January 2021

volume 68 - issue 4 Arcadia High School 180 Campus Dr, Arcadia, CA 91006 arcadiaquill.com

THE

january 2021

ARCADIA QUILL

e st. 1952

OPINION: OUR NAME CHANGE

@ a r c a d i a q u i ll q u o te o f th e m o n th : “K ite s r is e h ig h e s t a g a in s t t h e w i n d - n o t w i t h i t .”

- W i n s t o n C h u r c h i ll Here’s a timeline of events leading to our name change: July 9 - Conducted all-student meeting discussing possible name change logistics.

Aug. 4 - Discussed name change w/ Ms. Dillman and Dr. Bhakta.

Aug. 5 - Collected AHS staff/alumni input regarding name change.

Aug. 26 - Contacted ASB and Mr. Press about name change procedures. ASB began developing an official name change process for student organizations.

Oct. 8 - Received official name change procedure from ASB. Oct. 10 to 21 - Surveyed Arcadia community on name change; 95.6% of participants voted in favor.

Oct. 26 to 28 - Polled staff; 97.4% voted in favor of changing our name.

LOOKING BACK: A section from the 1953 AHS yearbook about The Apache Pow Wow. A pow wow is a pan-tribal gathering which honors American Indian culture through festivities, dances, singing, and other forms of traditional expression. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, pow wow “derives from a curing ritual, originated in one of the Algonquian nations of the Northeast Indians.” Current-day pow wows are celebrations of Indigenous culture, tradition, and pan-Indian identity.

Since our founding in 1953, we, the school newspaper, have continuously published under the name The Apache Pow Wow. But beginning in 2021, we will embark on the next leg of our journey as The Arcadia Quill.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, AHS students called attention to our school’s appropriation of the Apache name. As an organization, we came to the conclusion that our organization cannot embody the term “pow wow” nor give it justice. As a community, we live in a world far removed from the experiences of Indigenous peoples. “Pow wow” belongs to American Indians, not our paper.

Over the past months, as we conducted public opinion polls within AHS and the larger Arcadia community, it became increasingly evident that this change was long overdue, with 95.6% of respondents voting in favor of a name change.

As a student-run organization, we wish to best represent the student body of AHS. With so many voices calling for change, we felt it necessary for us to undertake this first step. After months of deliberation, we decided to re-title our paper The Arcadia Quill, a name suggested in our community survey.

We’ve worked closely with our staff and members of the community to undergo this process, and hope our new name will represent our organization for years to come.

L .A . H E A LT H C A R E S Y S T E M E X P E R IE N C IN G C R IS IS P G . 4 -5

Photo courtesy of HEALTHLINE.COM

NEWS: Due to the recent surge in thousands of new COVID-19 cases, L.A. County healthcare workers—from doctors to nurses to paramedics—are now forced to make difficult decisions everyday and are experiencing things that are unfathomable to some.

WHAT’S INSIDE

T H A N K YO U N O T E T O K E A N U R E E V E S P G . 6 -7

OPINION: In my 18 years of living, I have never ever liked an actor beyond their roles in movies and television shows. Sure, I would geek out about their characters, but nothing more than that.

That is until I watched John Wick for the first time.

“Never did I think that I would derive emotional support from Keanu Reeves during these stressful times, but here I am.”

Nov. 4 - Voted on final name! The Arcadia Quill topped other choices by 19 points in ranked-choice voting with three other potential names.

Nov. 10 - Sent official ASB name change petition for ¾ staff approval of the new name.

Dec. 11 - Received notice of name change approval from ASB and administration.

Dec. 21 - Changed domain name.

Jan. 6 - Redesigned website and social media; logo and masthead designed by staff writer Kate Larrick!

R ATAT O U IL L E : T H E M U S IC A L P G . 1 4 -1 5 ARTS &

ENTERTAINMENT: What originally started as a cooking trend with the song “Le Festin” from the Pixar film, Ratatouille, transformed throughout 2020 into a TikTok-produced musical. This leap happened when a parody song was released by an elementary school teacher Photo courtesy of TODAYTIX.COM named Emily Jacobsen.

i n t h i s i s s u e : p o lic y 2 | e d ito ria l 3 | n e w s 4 | o p in io n 6 | fe a t u re s 8 | s t u d e n t life 1 0 | c e n te r s p re a d 1 2 | a r t s & e n te r t a in m e n t 1 4 | s p o r t s 1 6 | c a m p u s fo c u s 1 8

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POLICY the

arcadia quill Social Media & Comments Social media will be used to promote appropriate media, to promote published content, and to engage with Arcadia and Arcadia High School’s community. The Editorial Board reserves the right to remove comments deemed inappropriate, offensive, or threatening. The information posted on social media platforms (i.e. Instagram) will be held to the same standards as all other reporting in terms of information gathering and fact-checking.

Bylines If more than one person works on a story or an editor has to rewrite a significant portion of a story (as determined by the editor), all names of contributing writers will be listed on the byline of the article. All articles, graphics, photos, and other media, with the exception of staff photos, will be bylined with the photographer or contributor’s name. All bylined writers will be held accountable for their work and the information contained within.

Corrections Policy Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff. Original stories will carry bylines but additional contributors to a story will be listed on the byline.

Plagiarism Plagiarism of any form will not be tolerated. Story ideas and article content are to remain completely original with the exception of the use of outside graphics/images/quotes, which are to be duly credited.

Quotes Quotes are representative of a single opinion; they do not represent the beliefs of the student body and staff. Quotes are to be written in past tense with the correct style guide format.

Editorial Policy The Arcadia Quill will not print anything in our publication (online or print) that

is deemed libelous, obscene, or otherwise offensive or inappropriate, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s justified standards.

Rights are reserved to postpone, edit or withhold from publication anything submitted which does not meet the specifications.

Unsigned editorials represent the view of The Arcadia Quill Editorial Board. It does not necessarily represent the view of other Arcadia Quill staff members. The Arcadia Quill refuses to print criticism which is not constructive and not supported by fact or evidence. The editors and adviser will make the final decision on all material appearing in The Arcadia Quill.

The Arcadia Quill will not intentionally invade the privacy of any person or publish facts and quotes given off the record. Opinions will be clearly marked and found on the editorial pages or as designated on other pages (i.e.- front page). Signed opinion articles and commentary are the expressed opinions of the author and not of The Arcadia Quill and its editorial board, adviser, or Arcadia High School’s faculty or school board.

Staff members are guided by the Canons of Journalism of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, a code of ethics which outlines the principles of responsibility, fairness, and accuracy.

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general staff Staff Writers: Saket Akalamkam, Emily Banuelos, Brandon Chan, Catherine Chan, Amanda Chang, Angela Chien, Lilian Chong, Jorge Espinoza-Gonzalez, Vritti Godani, Joy Herrera, Merrick Hua, Shirley Huang, Logan Johnson, Siddharth Karthikeya, Kate Larrick, Bryan Lim, Linda Qiu, Kaytalie Shang, Ashley Sioeng, Maggie Sun, Lorin Teng, Avari Wang, Greg Wang, Janell Wang, Stephanie Wang, Chloe Wong, Kailani Yamashiro, Sean Yang, Madison Yee, and Pamina Yung Design Staff: Catherine Chan, Amanda Chang, Angela Chien, Kate Larrick, Linda Qiu, Kaytalie Shang, Audrey Siong, Lorin Teng, and Avari Wang Photography Staff: Emily Banuelos, Lilian Chong, Logan Johnson, Janell Wang, Kailani Yamashiro, Madison Yee, and Pamina Yung Adviser: Mrs. Lesley Lee

JANUARY 2021

editorial board Editors in Chief: Cassidy Chhay, Margaret Lin, and Jocelyn Thao News Editors: Leslie Chen and Rebecca Tao Opinion Editors: Emma Chen and Michelle Lee Features Editors: Abby Choy and Anya Yang Student Life Editors: Robinson Lee and Tanya Lee Arts & Entertainment Editors: Ariana Parizadeh and Jenny Qiu Sports Editors: Enzo Goebel and Zoe Lin Campus Focus Editors: Melody Lui and Ashley Zhao Design Editor: Kate De Prima Photography Editor: Kylie Ha Publicity Manager: Becky Chen

azhao@arcadiaquill.com

JANUARY 2021

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On Jan. 19, College Board announced that it would be “no longer offering SAT Subject Tests in the U.S.” and discontinuing “the optional SAT Essay after the June 2021 administration.”

While this is good news for most students, it is difficult to ignore the fact that these significant changes for students all across the country are simply overdue. College Board’s system of standardized testing has often been a target of criticism, and reform was bound to happen under the pressure of COVID-19 impacts and restrictions.

Now it’s time for reform to shift over to College Board’s equally controversial AP system, which has failed and continues to fail students during the pandemic. When the events of 2020 dropped a bomb of upheaval and distance learning on students all across the U.S., College Board was standing there, lighting the fuse with online AP exams.

Students at AHS, who paid $110 early in November 2020 long before any certainty about what colleges they were going to in the future, were committed to taking these tests if they wanted to maintain competitiveness and college credit. In their rush to maximize profit, College Board stumbled through 2020, highlighting the flaws in standardized testing as a whole.

How can we hold onto standardized testing, knowing that the environments we take these tests in aren’t standardized at all? The quarantine has only widened the wealth inequality between students. In 2020, the lack of digital access became a heavy problem. College Board distributed about 7,500 devices across the nation for AP testing, but there are at least 11 million students without access to a computer for online learning.

This doesn’t even account for the number of students who struggle getting stable internet access, a majority being made up of American Natives, Black people, and Hispanic people.

Beyond this digital divide, situations have worsened as parents struggle for employment and to provide food on the table due to the economic impacts of the pandemic. Lower income has been correlated with lower standardized testing scores, and it’s to be expected for this trend to continue into the pandemic. This struggle for stability trails heavily into 2021.

Despite it being less than four months away from the dreaded weeks of AP exams, one of the most important and nerve-wracking times in an American student’s career, College Board has failed to provide students with decisive updates regarding the in person or online status of these tests on top of keeping them of full, three-hour length and with coverage of the complete subject matter (unlike 2020’s exams), despite the majority of students learning these subjects virtually and with condensed or limited curriculum.

According to College Board’s website, this monumental decision has been passed on to separate AP Coordinators, meaning that each school district will vary in the in-person or online status of their exams. Although this new system attempts to accommodate differing public health situations, it actually deepens the already existing disparity among students.

EDITORIAL

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To compare the results of a student who takes a three hour test online and another who will be taking that same test in person is the very epitome of inequality, as both situations can yield very different results and disadvantages.

It’s still unknown how College Board is going to tackle this inequality. For instance, how will it monitor cheating amongst students who are required to take the test online? Access to websites, personal notes, a textbook, and other sources for cheating puts one student at an incredible advantage over the other.

What about students whose home environments are not conducive to taking a three hour exam (such as students with several siblings in the same house, or those without a private room to take it in)? To further make a student go through a three-hour make-up exam with some of these possible interferences is unjust to that student, and could put a strain on their mental health and test results. The fact that the location of this test isn’t standardized is a contradiction to the test’s existence and purpose.

The lack of clarity surrounding the circumstances of this year’s AP Exams also takes a hit at teachers who are uncertain about how they should be preparing their students halfway into the school year, especially with the circumstances of distance learning.

In AHS AP Language and Composition teacher Mr. Maertens’ case, one of the biggest issues is time. “We only meet for almost three hours a week as opposed to five hours,” he said. “So we’re losing [about] 30% of our instructional time or so, but the [AP] test hasn’t changed to reflect that.”

Junior Kyle Chen said it would be “way easier” if he could just know the status of AP exams as soon as possible so he can prepare accordingly. Instead, there are only three months left to prepare, and the uncertainty not only leaves him helpless but “anxious” and “impatient.”

As an organization that has so much control over the education system and the college decisions of millions of students, College Board should start putting in more action to make tests fair for everyone: students of different backgrounds, teachers from different schools, etc. This is an ongoing conversation that doesn’t seem to have a concrete solution yet, but hopefully College Board stays true to its commitment to “excellence and equity in education,” and prioritizes it.

In the meantime, we as students need to realize that these exams should not be at the expense of our health. The most we can do is hope that decisive updates will arrive in a more efficient manner as we anxiously prepare for the next few months.

After all, we still have some good news to celebrate, such as the previously mentioned cancelled SAT Subject Tests and optional essay. Until then, it’ll be interesting to see how our education system adapts and if any dramatic change will happen soon.

achoy@arcadiaquill.com bchen@arcadiaquill.com

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NEWS

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JANUARY 2021

PRO-TRUMP MOB STORMS CAPITOL HILL

By CHLOE WONG Staff Writer Pro-Trump rioters engulfed the nation in chaos after forcefully breaching the U.S. Capitol, one of the government’s most sacred establishments. On Jan. 6, hundreds of agitators stormed the Capitol around 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), waving Trump banners and American flags. They broke through the Capitol’s perimeter, clashed with law enforcement, and found their way into the building shortly before the House floor was evacuated. This dissent comes during President Trump’s repeated urging to resist the electoral votes’ ceremonial counting, a procedure that would certify Joe Biden’s win as President-elect.

President Trump had spoken to his supporters that morning, that he would never concede. The president encouraged his base to march on Capitol Hill. He also called on Vice President Mike Pence to reject Biden’s win. Pence refused, pronouncing that it was his “considered judgment that [his] oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains [him] from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.”

Developments played out on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. As the mob scaled walls, shoved fences, and smashed windows, violence erupted within the Capitol. More than seven people’s injuries sent them to the hospital, with three passing away from medical emergencies. It is confirmed that one woman died from a gunshot wound and that a police officer succumbed to his injuries. Police used smoke grenades and pepper spray to clear rioters, some of whom were armed. Tear gas filled the air—it is unclear whether rioters or police deployed it—and lawmakers in the House chamber sheltered beneath their seats as people

attempted to force their way inside. Officials were evacuated wearing gas masks, calling family members to assure them they were safe.

The National Guard was activated.

“You could hear a pounding on the doors on the outside,” Maryland Democratic Representative David Trone said in an interview from an undisclosed location on Capitol Hill.

“At that point, they had us get our gas masks out.”

Amidst this frantic scene, rioters broke into offices, brandished Confederate flags, and postured in the Senate chamber. One photo showed a man kicking his legs up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk, just before he left the congresswoman a threatening note.

Another Trump supporter smiled as he walked around the Capitol, holding Pelosi’s pilfered Speaker podium and waving. Others posed for selfies, rifled through lawmakers’ private offices, and live-streamed the event. A man in red, white, and blue face paint screamed “Freedom!” as a noose swung outside Capitol Hill.

D.C. police have begun to investigate and identify individuals who were involved in the riot. They have also encouraged people to submit tips and to turn over information on anyone instigating violence during the storming.

Multiple pipe bombs were located and detonated during the day, including ones placed in the Republican National Committee’s headquarters and throughout the complex.

The FBI has since offered a $50,000 reward for information of those behind the pipe bombs.

“We will not allow mob rule to undermine the rule of law,” said New York Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries.

By 3:30 p.m. ET, the Senate floor was cleared of demonstrators, as police had managed to force them towards the Rotunda (dozens were detained during this mayhem).

Around 5:00 p.m. ET, authorities jostled rioters

away from the east side of the building, and 20 minutes before Washington’s emergency 6:00 p.m. ET curfew, police managed to push them from the grounds entirely. The sergeant-atarms declared the premises secure at roughly 5:40 p.m. ET, according to CNN. The last time the U.S. Capitol was overrun was during the war of 1812, when British forces torched the building to the ground. To many, this shocking, dystopian exhibition of insurgency marked the deep division among Americans. It also raised questions about how police forces in America treat different groups of protesters. While federal police gassed peaceful Black Lives Matter marchers last summer in Lafayette Square, pro-Trump rioters were able to overrun police and penetrate the Capitol, meeting much less strength with much more ease. But most of all, the assault on Capitol Hill speaks to the fires President Trump has fanned with his claims of election fraud, and the lengths his supporters would go to resist what he purports to be a Democratic steal.

Pressure mounted on the president throughout the day to speak out against the violence, as those within his inner circle quickly denounced it. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, characterized the group of supporters as “wrong and not who we are.” Hours after the attack began, Trump spoke directly to his supporters in a now-removed video.

“I know you’re hurt,” the president said, “We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it. Especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace.”

He added further thoughts in a tweet, also deleted by Twitter: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long.

By PAMINA YUNG

PRESIDENT TRUMP BANNED FROM SEVERAL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Staff Writer

Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”

To some, what occurred on Capitol Hill was an attempt to subvert the election and undermine American democracy. Minnesota Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar stated that she was drafting articles of impeachment against the President; if convicted, he will not be able to run for office in 2024. His expulsion, Omar said, was crucial to preserving the republic and upholding the oath of office.

“I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election,” former President George W. Bush wrote.

Bush also blamed the attack on Trump supporters misled by election-related falsehoods. “Our country is more important than the politics of the moment. Let the officials elected by the people fulfill their duties and represent our voices in peace and safety.”

The Electoral Vote Certification resumed on the evening of Jan. 6. Biden, whose presidential victory was verified by the joint debates, emotionally pleaded for the rioting to end.

“I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege,” Biden said in a televised responsive address aired minutes before President Trump broke his silence.

“To storm the Capitol, to smash windows, to occupy offices… threatening the safety of duly elected officials,” he added. “It’s not [a protest.] It’s [an] insurrection.”

In a speech delivered the evening of Jan. 7, President Trump acknowledged his defeat and admitted that there would be a transfer of power.

cwong@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of NBCNEWS.COM Hours after the ban of his personal account, President Trump used the official president Twitter account, @POTUS, claiming that Twitter employees have banded with the Democrats and radical left to quiet him and his voters.

Twitter immediately deleted the new tweets. However, President Trump will not have control over the official presidential and White House Twitter accounts for much longer, as they will be handed to the Biden administration on Jan. 21, the day after Presidentelect Joe Biden is inaugurated. If he continues to attempt to circumvent the ban by publicly communicating through @POTUS, Twitter will temporarily restrict features for the account.

Twitter allowed Mr. Trump to openly vent online, but with his account ejected, he lost his only outlet along with the 88.7 million Twitter followers he had at the time of the ban. President Trump has been recently steering away from live television interviews and public appearances, as they have become less reliable sources for communication, with many reporters demanding answers on the spot. But as he continues to be deplatformed, people wonder how he will broadcast messages to the public.

Twitter (TwitterSafety). “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” 8 Jan., 3:21 p.m. Tweet.

Twitter’s decision to ban President Trump’s account was influenced by the U.S. Capitol riot, which the president is accused of triggering.

Before the permanent suspension of Mr. Trump’s account, it was locked down for 12 hours on Jan. 6 after he posted multiple tweets that violated Twitter’s policy against the glorification of violence and rules about spreading election misinformation.

“These isolated actions are both too late and not nearly enough,” said Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner to The New York Times.

But Twitter hasn’t been the only social media platform to take action against Trump online. Discord, Facebook, Shopify, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitch, Reddit, Pinterest, and YouTube have all either banned Mr. Trump or disabled accounts associated with him. Amazon, Google Play, and Apple’s App Store have suspended Parler, a social networking service pyung@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of STANDARD.CO.UK heavily used by Trump supporters.

JANUARY 2021

news.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

NEWS

GEORGIA SENATE RUNOFFS

By STEPHANIE WANG Staff Writer With this election season almost over, Democrats eke out historic gains in Georgia’s Senate runoffs, flipping both seats blue as well as taking control of the Senate. In two highly contested elections, Reverend Raphael Warnock defeated incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, and former investigative journalist Jon Ossoff defeated Republican incumbent Senator David Perdue. Both Loeffler and Perdue have since conceded to their opponents.

With the two wins, Senate Democrats gain two more seats, splitting the Senate evenly in a 50-50 tie. However, because Democrat Vice President-elect Kamala Harris holds the tiebreaker vote, Democrats are still considered to have the Senate majority. While their slim majority in the Senate doesn’t guarantee full control, as a 60-vote supermajority is typically needed for most bills, and both Democrats and Republicans need cooperation from party centrists anyways, the slight majority makes it significantly easier for Democrats to push through legislation and confirm appointments.

While Senate races are fairly common, taking place every two years after each group of Senators’ six-year terms, dual Senate race runoffs in the same state are highly unusual, and only took place in Georgia due to the state’s special election laws. Loeffler was appointed to succeed former Republican Senator Johnny Isakson, who stepped down for health reasons in 2019, by Georgia’s governor. As per state laws, she was required to run for reelection in the next Senate election, which occurred this year when Perdue’s Senate term expired. Additionally, a first election for both races was held

at the same time as the presidential election in November 2020, but Georgia law dictates that if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in a general election, a second runoff election is held with the top two candidates. Both Republican incumbents fell just short of reaching the 50% threshold, forcing runoff elections.

Both races were filled with heated rhetoric and intense competition. Ossoff called Loeffler out for “campaigning with a Klansman” and labeled Perdue a “crook” and a “coward.”

Warnock attacked Loeffler for her implied support of Trump’s election fraud claims and insider trading, and both Republicans shot back at their opponents, painting them as “radical socialists.”

Perdue and Loeffler were also accused of running racist campaign ads targeting their opponents. Perdue came under fire for running an ad depicting Ossoff, who is Jewish, with an enlarged nose, and Loeffler was accused of running another ad that darkened Warnock’s skin.

The races shattered spending records, with the Perdue-Ossoff race topping the list of most expensive Senate races in history and the Loeffler-Warnock race coming in second. In total, donations totaled over $830 million.

In addition to an outpouring of financial support, the two Democrats were able to win both seats with the help of significant Democrat canvassing efforts. The product of years-long Democrat efforts to raise voter turnout, through groups like ProGeorgia, Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, GA Stand Up, Black Voters Matter Fund, finally came to fruition as both Senate seats in an once reliably-red state flipped blue. Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost in her 2018 run for Georgia governor, has also been credited for combatting voter suppression

and increasing voter turnout.

Changing demographics in the state also contributed to the political shift. Georgia’s population has rapidly increased in the past decade, gaining more than a quarter million new residents between 2010 and 2019, with many coming solidly blue states like New York amd California. Population growth has especially increased in metropolitan areas like those around Atlanta, places that vote overwhelmingly Democrat. Over the same time period, the percentage of minority voters and number of college-educated residents, both groups that tend to vote blue, has also increased.

Republican efforts, weakened by infighting and distractions, weren’t quite as fortunate.

Upon being asked why Republicans had lost the runoff elections by Politico, a senior Senate Republican aide simply replied, “Donald J. Trump.”

After a narrow loss to President-elect Joe Biden in Georgia, Trump claimed that the election results had been rigged, attacking Georgia governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger—both Republicans—for defending their oversight of the election. Just this past weekend, recordings of Trump harassing Raffensperger over the phone to find more Republican votes were released, much to the chagrin of fellow Republicans.

Trump’s accusations of voter fraud also possibly discouraged Republican voters from participating in what would just be another “rigged” election, and pro-Trump lawyers Lin Wood and Sidney Powell even went as far as to urge a boycott of the runoffs. Despite the ruckus he stirred up in Georgia, however, Trump didn’t really help Loeffler or Perdue’s campaigns much beyond a few tweets and rallies.

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With the damage done and both Senate races lost, several Republicans have already begun pointing fingers: some calling for Republican National Committee chair (RNC) Ronna McDaniel to resign, others lambasting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s blockage of the Trump-backed $2000 stimulus bill, and more denouncing the president for not backing local Republican efforts enough.

Still others have also accused the president of overstepping and undermining Georgia Republicans.

Trump “is the Dems’ best base animator.

Look at how high turnout was on their side compared to historical trends. Look at how much their candidates raised,” one Republican strategist told Politico, referring to record turnout and spending in both the presidential and Senate races. “He steps back after Election Day and denies them that oxygen. He didn’t.”

The implications of Wednesday’s election results go beyond just the two newly-Democrat seats at face value. For Democrats, they spark a renewed hope and lay down a road to brighter prospects for the future. For Republicans, they illuminate the deep conflicts and long-term damage a Trump presidency has caused.

“This should not be close,” former RNC chairman Michael Steele said in a MSNBC appearance. “We should be going for beers right about now because the evening would have been over. And the reality of it is, it’s not, because of what this president has done to the Republican Party.”

swang@arcadiaquill.com Photos courtesy of APNEWS.COM and POLITICO.COM

L.A. HEALTHCARE SYSTEM EXPERIENCING CRISIS

By AMANDA CHANG Staff Writer Many healthcare workers in California and especially L.A. County have been working hard since the beginning of the pandemic to help each patient and their family, while also taking care of the people whom they care about, not to mention themselves. However, because of the recent surge in thousands of new COVID-19 cases, healthcare workers— from doctors to nurses to paramedics—are now forced to make difficult decisions everyday and are experiencing things that are unfathomable to some.

Ambulances circle hospitals for hours, searching for places to offload critical patients, “with at least one EMT waiting as long as 17 hours to offload a critical patient,” reported the Los Angeles Times.

The hours spent searching are caused by the surge in COVID-19 cases and an uptick in emergency calls, which leads to more patients in the intensive-care unit and paramedic traffic.

“AMR and Care, the county’s other major ambulance service provider, are responding to a combined 1,500 emergency calls a day, officials said—roughly 30% more than in earlier months of the pandemic, when calls decreased during initial stay-at-home orders. The L.A. Fire Department, which provides ambulance services within the city, is responding to roughly 800 to 1,000 emergency medical calls each day,” according to the L.A. Times.

There are discussions of a city policy that will allow paramedics to offload patients to the care of EMT firefighters. The firefighters will then take care of a few patients at a time. However, the policy will only allow paramedics from over-crowded hospitals to offload patients to the EMTs. “The county’s directive also advised ambulance crews to not transport patients who have a limited chance of survival—a scenario that is increasingly likely as the number of sick patients climbs,” wrote the L.A. Times.

A rationing of oxygen had to have been done a few times before. This, as well as

offloading patients to EMT firefighters, is not something that anyone has had to do or decide before.

The healthcare system has been stretched so thin that it has begun to ration care. Public hospitals have also been told to begin creating a team of “triage officers,” or a team of doctors who will decide which patients are worth continued treatment from the patients who are beyond saving.

But the pandemic can’t keep going on as more healthcare workers get diagnosed with COVID-19 and the deaths and pressure of the pandemic take a toll on the mental and physical health of frontline healthcare workers.

“Doctors… struggle to take care of their own emotional health while also being a source of support for their colleagues, patients and patients’ families. But that’s becoming a more daunting task as the death count rises and hospital conditions worsen,” wrote the L.A. Times.

“There’s an emotional distress that’s happening that you can’t put words to…I am worried about the next few weeks. I’m scared

and I’m scared for all of our staff—I worry for them. Nobody can seem to fill their bucket with positive energy,” said Dr. Marwa Kilani, the director of palliative care at a Mission Hills hospital.

“I’m acting as a stand-in to calm the fears of patients who cannot breathe. The look of fear in their eyes is enough to give someone nightmares… It’s emotionally, mentally and physically exhausting,” said Katie Blake, a charge nurse in the progressive care unit at the same hospital as Dr. Kilani.

However, hope and relief is on the way.

“More help is expected to arrive soon as 75 Air Force and Army doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel have been deployed to California hospitals… according to Army officials,” reported the L.A. Times.

Vaccines are also slowly being distributed to healthcare workers throughout California.

But will they come soon enough?

achang@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of HEALTHLINE.COM

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OPINION

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By JOY HERRERA

JANUARY 2021

There is also a difficulty in storing the vac-

Staff Writer cine as it is held at around -100° F. This makes

storage much less accessible.

More than nine months into the pandemic, These difficulties for vaccine distribution the coronavirus has become the new normal for are ones that should be expected to continue as people across the world. However, with this ris- the demand for the vaccine and the scale of the ing sense of normality comes another danger. rollout are unprecedented. The medical system Pfizer’s vaccine has brought hope to many, but is struggling to balance this while still providquick results are simply not realistic. The Unit- ing care for patients. As the pandemic stretches ed States continues to experience increases in on, hospitals are understaffed and overburdened cases in the thousands every week, with losses by an influx of patients and a lack of resources continuing to shake millions of households. as the medical industry is one of the most heavThis sense of normality can be harm- ily affected by the virus. ful as it can lead people to become laxer with Despite the need for the vaccine, there are their precautionary measures, and therefore put many Americans who are hesitant to receive themselves and the people around them at risk. it. This could prolong the time it takes to fully Many prominent figures have also contributed reopen. According to a Pew Research poll conto this feeling of relaxation of safety precau- ducted in November, around 39% of Americans tions. said they would not be taking the vaccine once it In particular, many Los Angeles influenc- became available to them. This hesitancy stems ers have thrown parties or even gone out of the from the timeline of the vaccine development country for vacations. Although these often ex- with many people wanting to know more about tremely wealthy individuals may provide pre- the long-term effects. However, the Center for cautionary measures for their guests like CO- Disease Control states that most side effects of VID-19 tests or sterilization measures, the Los the vaccine are mild with the most common beAngeles County Department of Public Health ing headache, fever, and tiredness. recommends that there be no gatherings with The Biden administration has pledged to more than one household. administer 100 million vaccines in the first hunAnother factor that is also making peo- dred days; however, the administration admits ple relax precautions is the hope that the vac- that this will not bring the pandemic to an end. cine brings. However, the vaccine will not be It is important to keep up morale in these difan instant solution. According to Los Angeles ficult times, but at the same time, we must all be Times, only about 586,000 of the two million prepared to continue exercising precautions to doses that California received have been admin- the best of our ability. istered. This is much lower than the goal of one million doses over this period. This delay was jherrera@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of FONTSPACE.COM predominantly due to problems in the software and HEALTHTALK.UNCHEALTHCARE.ORG that is used to handle the vaccine distribution.

By CATHERINE CHAN Staff Writer It is May of 2020. You browse through your news page to be faced with a plethora of images depicting Black activists being teargassed, shot by rubber bullets, beaten by batons, and overall violence being projected onto people who are fighting for their lives.

This is none other than the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM), where countless police officers in tactical gear sprayed the crowd with tear gas in over 100 cities, from Albany to Beverly Hills. The police officers were called upon to constrain these “rioters’’ who were fighting to dismantle a prevailing injustice: systemic racism.

In these protests all over the United States, over 14,000 protesters were arrested and 19 individuals lost their lives.

The police officers treated Black men and women as criminals. Throughout the 49 cities in America that participated in the BLM protests, there were unnecessarily large numbers of police officers and security to stop the protesting.

Being in such a polarized nation, the Right responded to the protests of BLM by gaslight-

ing them as “rioters” over Twitter.

Writer Siobhan Neela-Stock shares that “a prime example is the ‘All Lives Matter’ slogan, which was created in response to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.” This form of racial gaslighting during the BLM protests perverts Black Lives Matter’s message by implying that Black people only care about themselves. In reality, Black Lives Matter is trying to shine a light on the constant dehumanization of Black people.

Now going back to recent times, on Jan. 7, your local news stations CNN, FOX, and ABC are inundated by countless articles that were all headlining the attempted MAGA coup d’état against the 117th United States Congress and raid on Capitol Hill.

A mostly White mob of extremists, loyal to President Trump, smashed their way into the U.S. Capitol, shoving police officers to the ground, harassing Congressional officers, and posting photos with stolen items. The police took a decidedly more hands-off approach.

On Jan. 6, Americans began to dissect the muted police response to such an attack on the seat of the government. The violence emerged as a central focus in the long-standing national

discourse about race and policing.

As images emerged, individuals on social media kept asking “What if it were Black people on Capitol Hill?” Consequently, social media, newspapers, and radio stations erupted to scrutinize the double standards of police behavior during the attempted coup and the BLM protests. Images depict the police calm escorting MAGA terrorists out of Capitol Hill, heavily contrasting with the images of seriously injured BLM protestors.

Ultimately, the mayhem at the Capitol was responsible for the deaths of at least five peopleand led to more than 50 arrests by late Thursday, Jan. 7. Dozens of officers were injured during the attack, said Steven Sund, chief of the Capitol Police.

A visiting professor at Howard University, and a professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Delores Jones-Brown, described that the violence in the nation’s capital “demonstrated that law enforcement can exercise restraint.”

She continues to speak on how “[i]t marks how racist a society we are and how law enforcement is more readily willing to facilitate behavior of white protesters,” Jones-Brown

said. “There was a clear acquiescence to these rioters’ unlawful behavior. The lack of preparations says something about how law enforcement thought these individuals should be treated as opposed to those who participated in Black Lives Matter.”

President-Elect, Joe Biden, publicly recognized this double standard in a video statement on Jan. 7. He shares that “[n]o one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they would have been treated very differently from the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol,” Biden says. “We all know that’s true. And it’s unacceptable. Totally unacceptable.”

The double standard of police officers is truly sickening. Essentially, police officers are abiding criminals while oppressing minorities, the voices that truly need to be heard. Racism lies in the fault of America, to the point where police officers favor punishing Black individuals fighting for their lives, over the white supremacists threatening our democracy.

cchan@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of ABCNEWS.GO.COM and FONTSPACE.COM

JANUARY 2021

By ANGELA CHIEN Staff Writer In my 18 years of living, I have never ever liked an actor beyond their roles in movies and television shows. Sure, I would geek out about their characters, but nothing more than that.

That is until I watched John Wick for the first time. Fascinated by the sheer will to kill and the cemented determination in the eyes, I was captivated (more like swooned) by Keanu Reeve’s performance as an assassin. On top of that, the portrayal of John Wick, a calm and composed man never wasteful of his bullets, left me in awe. Because, wow, he can assassinate me anytime!

Prior to watching, I was aware of the hype around the actor who played John Wick. Keanu Reeves, loved by many, is an actor harboring a comforting aura with a tinge of awkwardness and animated hand movements. Virtually no haters, he is Hollywood’s treasure who led a quiet and humble life. Albeit aware, I didn’t understand the frenzy and hype until I finished John Wick, when I hurried to find the sequel on my YouTube TV account.

“Man, I have to wait two weeks?” I sighed.

Upon finding John Wick Chapter 2 on YouTube TV, I was slapped with the reality that the movie had not yet been recorded. Two weeks without Keanu Reeve’s swag and coolness was not a pleasant experience that I would like to go through, so I raked through all my streaming apps the next day for Keanu Kontent. Then I remembered: The Matrix Trilogy. In short, the series did nothing but further my liking towards

By SEAN YANG

OPINION

opinion.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

Staff Writer

The streaming platform Twitch has over hundreds of emotes that allow users to express themselves when watching their favorite broadcaster stream. One of these emotes is PogChamp, the most-used emote on the platform. Emotes are constantly used on Twitch as users rapidly spam the chat with emotes when the situation calls for it as PogChamp is used to represent excitement. However, this emote was actually removed after the “face” of the emote, Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, made some comments regarding the assault on the US Capitol. Although the comments made by the face of the emote were insensitive, I do not believe that the emote should have been removed.

Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez is a member of the fighting game community as well as an avid Trump supporter. Even though the emote is so popular on Twitch, Gutierrez himself actually dislikes it as he is unable to get himself known as anything other than the “PogChamp guy.”

To affirm that point, emotes on Twitch usually have no relationship with their origin.

the actor as I realized that he was swaggy and cool even in his younger years.

Some, including my parents, notified me that I was late to the party, the Keanu Reeves Appreciation Party. But hey, I’m just glad I made it. Never did I think that I would derive emotional support from Keanu Reeves during these stressful times, but here I am. Betweenfilling out supplements for college and procrastinating on calculus homework, I am watching Keanu Reeves talk about his motorcycle collection and company or revisiting that one clip of Neo fighting Agent Smith unbothered.

So thank you, Keanu Reeves, for making me feel less insane during college application season. I thought I was going about to lose my sense of self thanks to the endless intervals of retrospection and introspection, but your acting transported me from my desk to other-worldly (literally) worlds, allowing me to take a break from all the chaos. Your humbleness in real life contrasts the formidable and powerful characters you play, reminding me to stay true to myself while strategically maneuvering through life. The action-packed scenes in your movies offer rushes of adrenaline, and it makes me want to be just as confident and cool and swaggy as your characters. Even though the instilled confidence may be temporary, the confidence boost doesn’t get any less than the first time I watched it.

A THANK YOU NOTE TO...

KEANU REEVES

achien@arcadiaquill.com Photo by DLPNG.COM, EMOJI.JJ, SUBPNG.COM, and PINTEREST.COM

Nobody on Twitch used the PogChamp emote because they were directly referencing Gutierrez.

It was used because it meant excitement.

Whenever a thrilling situation occurred, users would immediately spam the emote to indicate that they were feeling immense joy. Sure, Gutierrez himself as a person may not be the best individual as he supported the riots on the US Capitol, but it’s unlikely that anyone was deliberately thinking of committing crimes when they used his emote.

Additionally, it is ironic that Twitch immediately handles this issue while not immediately handling a lot of the other issues occurring on their website.

One of these main issues is the DMCA takedowns of channels. If a streamer plays just a small portion of copyrighted music on their stream, they could be punished with jail time.

07

Even some of Twitch’s biggest streamers have been banned by the platform for having played just a few seconds of copyrighted music in the past. Twitch’s solution to this problem is just to delete the streamer’s broadcast after they are done streaming, which essentially tells creators to delete their life’s work. The removal of PogChamp was completely unnecessary as Twitch should be focusing on this copyright problem to keep their most famous streamers happy.

Since the removal of the original emote, Twitch has now implemented a system where the emote will change every 24 hours. Although streamers think this is a pretty nifty solution, they also agree that the recent emotes have been pretty lackluster.

An alternative solution would be to keep the emote but to allow people to change it if they wanted to as people who are offended by Gutierrez’s comments would be happy with the result while others would be able to keep their beloved emote. Overall, I believe that removing PogChamp was unnecessary and by removing it, Twitch is associating the emote with Gutierrez.

syang@arcadiaquill.com Photo by FONTMEME.COM, NME.COM, and STICKPNG.COM

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FEATURES

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By KATE LARRICK Staff Writer

By JOY HERRERA Staff Writer The year 2020 symbolized the worst year in many people’s lives with political turmoil and constant changes in the status of the world. This, for many people, was incredibly damaging to their mental health.

It also led to an increase in doom scrolling, the practice of getting caught up consuming large amounts of negative news on social media.

Many social media apps are programmed to try to keep people on the app for as long as possible. This means feeding into cycles of thought and at all costs keeping people scrolling. Technology is addictive and our brain chemistry works against us as our outrage and fear triggers chemicals that drive us to seek out more information.

“As humans we have a ‘natural’ tendency to pay more attention to negative news,” says Mesfin Bekalu, a scientist at the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

Bekalu noted that while the news that is broadcasted is overwhelmingly bad, due to survival instincts, our minds prioritize information that is upsetting or makes us anxious. In today’s society, this tendency keeps us trapped in a cycle of doom scrolling for hours.

Furthermore, the endless scroll is a mechanic on social media that exploits the human impulse for automaticity. We

all have habits and social media apps make it easier to continue scrolling than to stop and consciously think about what our actions are doing. We can lose track of time and our thumb can seem to move up the screen reflexively.

However, there are ways to stop doom scrolling. One main way that we can break out of doom scrolling is by being conscious of how we consume news. Bookmarking a few pages we enjoy and setting clear limits like a timer or a designated hour to check the news can be ways to reduce this tendency. Although, it may be tempting to try to keep up with the 24-hour news cycle, it is often counterproductive and can leave us discouraged and less eager to learn about the world. Even when breaking news happens, we must try to make a conscious effort to try to get straight to the facts of the situation rather than obsessively checking in for any type of update.

Rather than preparing us for the world, doom scrolling can make us anxious to engage with it. A more productive way of keeping in touch with current events is finding applicable ways of actually improving the state of the world rather than feeling like we are trapped in passively observing it. Signing petitions or finding ways to donate money can be more helpful than trying to constantly observe the stream of news. There is a way to be an informed member of the world and also protect your mental health. jherrera@arcadiaquill.com Graphic courtesy of CSSAUTHOR.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

Like taxes and software updates, TikTok is virtually unavoidable in our current world. The social media platform boasts 1 billion monthly active users and 2.6 billion total downloads, making it one of the most popular apps of the past decade. Many users have a love-hate relationship with TikTok: it has wilted our attention spans, sucked away an embarrassing number of hours, and made celebrities out of too many tactless teenagers to count. However, there is a scientific explanation behind the app’s success.

Essentially, TikTok simulates the addictive qualities of gambling. As you scroll through the For You Page, there are videos that you enjoy and videos that you don’t like, which motivates you to continue scrolling as you search for entertainment.

According to Dr. Julie Albright, a USC professor and author of Left to Their Own Devices, the psychological term for TikTok’s design is random reinforcement.

“It means sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” Albright said in an interview with Forbes magazine. “And that’s how these platforms are designed...they’re exactly like a slot machine.”

This comparison illustrates just how easy it is to spend hours at a time on TikTok—scrolling is the ideal mechanism for keeping people engaged. Another feature that adds to TikTok’s addictive nature is the way videos replay over and over until the user scrolls. When the user finds a video

JANUARY 2021

that catches their attention, they often watch it multiple times: “it’ll just auto-load and you’ll just be in this pleasurable dopamine state, carried away. It’s almost hypnotic... you’ll keep watching and watching,” Albright explained.

Even other social media giants have adopted this specific method of providing content. Regular users of various media apps may have noticed the recent implementation of features like Snapchat’s “Spotlight” and Instagram’s “Reels,” both of which mimic TikTok’s scrolling video function; in fact, both Spotlight and Reels are mostly just TikToks reposted onto other apps.

Unfortunately, this structure can have a detrimental effect on the brain, especially for young people whose brains are still developing. A recently published study from researchers at the Technical University of Denmark explained why the constantly increasing amount of available information shortens the average attention span.

“Content is increasing in volume, which exhausts our attention and our urge for ‘newness’ causes us to collectively switch between topics more regularly,” said Philipp Lorenz-Spreen, a researcher who participated in the study.

TikTok has transformed the way we consume media, but its negative consequences will likely be observable as our generation ages. klarrick@arcadiaquill.com Graphic courtesy of CLIPARTKEY.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

features.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

JANUARY 2021

By CATHERINE CHAN Staff Writer Wildfires blazed across California, torching over 2.1 million acres of land in 2020 alone. The year’s hurricane season consisted of 30 named hurricanes, greater than any year in history. Global sea levels are rising around 3.3 millimeters annually, threatening millions along coastal cities. The UN now forecasts over 200 million climate migrants by 2050.

Since his presidential inauguration in 2016, Donald Trump and his administration have left the Paris Climate Accord, opened up federally protected land to oil drilling, and filled countless governmental seats with known climate change deniers. Fortunately, President Joe Biden has rejoined the Paris Climate Accord just hours after his presi-

By SEAN YANG Staff Writer Although the Pokemon genre is well over 20 years old, it still remains extremely popular to this day. One reason for this is its immensely popular trading card game. The card game has recently once again risen to popularity as popular YouTube stars open packs in the hopes of obtaining some of the most expensive cards, with some worth more than $100,000. Let’s take a deep dive into why so many celebrities are getting back into a 20-year-old card game.

The card game first started receiving attention again after popular YouTube star Logan Paul bought an extremely rare Charizard card from a collector for $150,000. After that, rapper and songwriter Logic bought an old-school Charizard card for $183,000.

With all of this buzz surrounding the card

FEATURES

09

dential inauguration program ended. As human industrialization is heightened by the damaging effects of climate change from the previous choices under Trump, the Biden administration must face the effects of global warming, as its legislative initiatives in the coming years will determine the fate of the planet. As the current inhabitants of this world, we must take responsibility and act to preserve our planet.

Campus Environmentalists Club member, sophomore Nathalie Chiu said she understands the urgency of this crisis and believes that the longer the Biden administration takes to implement environmental changes, the greater the consequences will be.

“As a lot of our generation is aware, environmentally, things really are not looking good,” Nathalie said. “Climate change is currently a problem, and it’s getting to be an even bigger problem, and if we don’t start making

changes now, those changes will become increasingly hard to make, if not impossible.”

Nathalie elaborates further that with Biden coming into power, she hopes to see a transition to clean energy usage and a distancing from the utilization of coal and oil for energy. Additionally, Nathalie said that for her, it is critical for large fossil fuel corporations, such as ExxonMobil and Chevron, to take responsibility for the carbon emissions they produce.

“I get frustrated when a lot of environmental change gets put on everyday people rather than big corporations,” Nathalie said.

“Though switching from a plastic straw to [a] paper straw helps the environment, oil and coal and fuel companies are causing a great deal of the problem, so people shouldn’t feel that it’s only on them to change their lifestyles. These companies have to take responsibility for the damage they’ve made.”

Another Campus Environmentalists Club member and activist sophomore Erin Li said she hopes to see Biden prioritize people of color when tackling the climate crisis.

“My family voted for Biden because he promised to prioritize helping communities of color, [who] in the past haven’t been at the forefront of environmental justice, though they are the most affected by environmental inequalities,” Erin said. “Fracking on reservations and concentrating communities of color in places where pollution is higher is just really common in this nation. People in Detroit, Ohio, Memphis, are chronically ill due to living in highly polluted areas and near toxic facilities.”

Erin said she hopes people will make their voices heard and push Biden out of leniency and towards critical environmental justice.

“You can call your local representatives and encourage them to push for environmental justice, which voices your concerns to people who have control and tells them what is important to you,” Erin said. “Signing petitions and participating in protests are also great ways to get your voice heard.”

Nathalie also shared that although the effects of climate change have enormous repercussions, she hopes people will understand global warming’s direct effects on their own lives. Erin explained that this issue is not a matter of politics, but one of life or death.

She believes it is essential to hold corporations accountable for their carbon dioxide emissions and that these companies must be regulated to prevent further damage. Erin also said she was greatly disappointed that during the Trump administration, people in power made many inaccurate claims about climate change. Erin said this is exemplified, for instance, when Trump publicly denounced global warming’s legitimacy because daily weather was particularly cold on a given day.

“Our lives are on the line, and corporations and elites have given us a dying world,” Erin said. “A lot of people on the front lines, especially Black people and Indigenous people, are suffering right now from the effects of climate change. It’s a fight for our lives, and it’s just scary. We’re seeing that politicians and mega-corporations just don’t care, and we need to act now.”

game, a group decided to purchase an unopened box of rare cards for $375,000 while hosting an event that would start the investment of Pokemon cards.

Although the cards in the box were all fake, the excitement around the event got many people interested in the card game once again.

After this happened, many people began to search through their old Pokemon cards in the hopes of finding something that would be worth a pretty penny today.

“I remember that I collected some cards back in the day and was wondering if they would be worth anything today.

Even though nothing was very valuable, I still had a good time reminiscing collecting these cards in my childhood,” said senior Anthony Ko. Many people online are sharing similar stories as reliving childhood memories can be a positive way to spend time in quarantine.

Even though nostalgia is definitely a big factor in the Pokemon card craze, the value of the cards is still what people are after. Google trends show that searches for Pokemon card prices have increased dramatical-

ly, specifically Charizard card prices. This has caused a spur in the amount of Pokemon cards that are being bought as fans scramble to unbox something of value.

“I bought a box of cards in the hopes of pulling a rare and valuable Charizard card and even though I wasn’t able to get it, the experience I had while I was unboxing the cards was nothing less than pure joy,” said senior Jaydon Chan.

As the year 2021 continues, it seems like the card game will only get more popular as new fans get introduced to the concept of unboxing cards every day. The Pokemon Series will also become 25 this year, which will most likely lead to a big event occurring in the future.

cchan@arcadiaquill.com Graphic courtesy of CNN.COM

syang@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of KINDPNG.COM and POKEMON.COM

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STUDENT LIFE

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JANUARY 2021

By AVARI WANG Staff Writer Birthday celebrations are just another thing on the long list of activities that are negatively affected as a result of the pandemic. A typical high schooler’s birthday might be spent with their friends and going out to have a nice meal or taking a road trip to a place with a nice view to take cute pictures. The presence of COVID-19 has restricted all activities that include meeting other people that aren’t family, going to public areas (with a lot of strangers), and let alone traveling, so how are students making the most out of their birthdays?

Although students may not be able to go to fancy restaurants for their birthdays, they can still cook up elaborate and fancy dinners at home.

Senior Rachel Loh said that “For [her] dad’s birthday, [they] had a picnic at the park and ate ribs and homemade chocolate cake.”

This is just a fraction of the endless possibilities of scrumptious dishes that can be enjoyed without engaging in direct contact with strangers. If your family does not feel like cooking, “Doordashing” or “Postmating” dinner is another great option.

As for fun pastimes to enjoy during birthdays, a few students reported that quarantine has allowed them to spend more time than usual bonding with their families.

Junior Cathy Shin said, “I have spent more quality time with my family. I had birthday breakfast and dinner with them and shared past memories as well.” If it weren’t for quarantine, some cherished birthday memories with family would never have been made. Cathy also stated that she hasn’t “been able to meet with [her] friends, but still [wishes] them happy birthday through text messaging or Facetime.”

Sophomore Alexa Litonjua stated that her family “spent [their] birthdays watching movies, doing puzzles, and just bonding as a family at home.”

A few other safe yet fun activity ideas include decorating birthday cakes, playing board games, decorating the house, listening to upbeat music to bring up the mood, watching movies with friends through houseparty, and even possibly having a small car parade for the birthday person. Thanks to all the technological advancements our electronics have gone through, Zooms and other types of video calls with long-distance family members and friends are great alternatives to risky traveling and meeting them in person.

It is rather unfortunate that COVID-19 has forced most of us to alter our usual birthday plans, but it is also both refreshing and wonderful to hear that our fellow students are still finding ways to have fun and enjoy their birthdays even in quarantine.

awang@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of ISTOCKPHOTO.COM and PINTEREST.COM

By BRANDON CHAN Staff Writer Over these past few months, seniors all around the country have been busily preparing countless supplemental essays and refining their applications in hopes of getting accepted into their dream college. Whether it’s applying to an Ivy League school or a small liberal arts college, this process is incredibly tiring and time-consuming. However, as the calendar flips to a new year, most college applications will be complete and the stress that comes along with it will be lessened.

To recap, at the start of the college application season, students were able to apply either early decision or early action. Applying early decision gives you a somewhat better chance of being accepted because it shows you are committed to the university. Since early decision is binding, you must withdraw your application from all other colleges if admitted. This can be a bad thing; for some, indecisiveness or not wanting to commit to one college can lead to a lot of regrets.

The problem is that you won’t even be able to see if you got accepted into the other colleges you applied to. Early action, on the other hand, is not binding and essentially is just an earlier deadline date to get some applications out of the way.

“I applied early action to a few colleges that I wanted to go to. A couple were even safety schools,” senior Zachary Green said. “It allowed me to get a feel for the supplemental essays colleges would be asking for. It definitely helped prepare me for completing my regular decision college list, which was much longer.”

After the end of the early decision and early action process on Nov. 1 (students got their results early to mid-December), the University of California (UC) application’s due date was coming right up on Nov. 30 (later postponed to Dec. 4). Essentially, there was no layoff between

those two deadlines. For the UC application, you had to complete four essays out of eight essay topic prompts you could choose from and fill out the typical activities, personal information, and grades sections.

“I liked writing the UC essays more than some of the supplemental essays for the Common App colleges because you were given eight choices to choose from,” senior Joshua Yeh said. “It gave me a lot more freedom and creativity.”

Finally, after the UC application was complete, students applying regular decision to private and public colleges out of state had to finish the long Common App application. It is very similar to the UC application in that you fill out your information and it gets sent to all colleges you apply to. For the Common App, you also have to get a counselor and a couple of teachers to write your recommendation letters. Recommendation letters are a very important aspect of every student’s application because it allows the colleges to understand who you are in the classroom. As for the Cal States, the deadline was Dec. 15 this year, and you had to fill out their online application.

If you wanted to attend a community college instead, the process was very similar in that you have to fill out your community college’s online application, provide your transcripts and high school diploma, submit your FAFSA, and take placement tests in mathematics and English.

“I had about 20-25 college applications to complete on the Common App,” senior Emme Chen said. “It took every weekend leading up to the deadlines to complete it because I wrote so many drafts. Hopefully, it was all worth it.”

Good luck to all seniors applying to college this year!

bchan@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of COMMONAPP.ORG and SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

JANUARY 2021

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STUDENT LIFE

Medical Clubs and Classes at AHS

By SIDDHARTH KARTHIKEYA Staff Writer Whether you’re an aspiring doctor, are eyeing the medical field with some interest, or simply want to test the waters and find out what you like, chances are that AHS has the clubs and classes for you.

AHS offers several classes for college and career preparation. Among these are a selection of medical classes, including Life Science, Physical Science, Psychology, and Medical/Therapeutic Principals of Sports/Fitness. These classes are all great choices for students looking to explore the different branches of medicine.

Life Science, for example, would be a class similar to biology. For students interested in the more biological aspect of medicine, this class would perfectly fit their interests. Although it’s a class available to all students, this class is not UC-approved so students would still have to take a biology class to earn five credits towards the life science requirement.

Physical Science, on the other hand, focuses more on the natural world around us. This class is perfect for all students more interested in physics and the chemical aspect of medicine.

This class is UC-approved as an education elective but lacks UC approval as a lab science course. Regardless, it’s a great class to introduce students to aspects of physics and chemistry.

In addition to its many classes, AHS also offers several medical clubs which provide countless avenues for exposing yourself to the wondrous world of medicine. One such club is the AHS Neuroscience and Psychology Club.

“With our club we are able to have an outlet for psychology which will help broaden career choices for students as well as give students an opportunity to explore their interests in psychology and neuroscience,” said the officers of AHS Neuroscience and Psychology Club when asked about their mission statement.

The club officers voiced their dedication towards pursuing neuroscience beyond a scien-

By KAILANI YAMASHIRO Staff Writer

11

tific level and touching upon the mental health aspect of psychology. This makes the Neuroscience and Psychology Club a great on-campus club option for students interested in branches of medicine closely associated with neuroscience, such as psychiatry.

The officers also talked about how their mission aligns and expands upon the curriculum in the psychology classes offered on campus.

“AHS offers a psychology class, however, we plan to focus on topics that may not be discussed in a traditional classroom,” they said.

Another club for students interested in medicine that has a bit of a different goal, is the Red Cross Club.

As a global organization, the Red Cross is widely recognized as one of the most trustworthy nonprofits out there. With their education on disaster relief operations, club members are given exposure to the types of disasters that require humanitarian aid. This prepares club members for scenarios in the medical field where disasters prompt assistance from medical personnel.

AHS’ Red Cross Club also educates their members on the importance of engaging in community service.

“We have many events during the year that encourage students to participate in biomedical services. One of these events is blood drives,” said Sophomore Red Cross Co-Membership Director, Taanish Alam.

By providing opportunities to engage in community service, Red Cross hopes to push members to give back to the community and push the agenda of pursuing medicine to help others.

So thanks to all these medical clubs and classes at AHS, all you future doctors have a wide selection to choose from and a bright future ahead of you.

skarthikeya@arcadiaquill.com Graphics by FORBES.COM and STUDY-IN-GERMANY.DE

Ava explained the importance of the bonds and meaningful experiences for not only the kids but for the volunteers too. It gives children an experience that promotes literacy and keeping the program alive. Ava believes that this is very beneficial for the reader and kids. It gives the kids much-needed interaction in a controlled environment and she describes the kids as “super interactive and quite adorable.” For the volunteers, it is an amazing way to practice their public speaking skills and just get the feeling of making someone smile.

That being said, the road they have laid out is bound to have bumps in it. They anticipated it being hard to keep the kids engaged and entertained during the computer meets. Junior Emme Chen found it surprising when the kids were attentive during the zooms. Another problem they feared was showing the books would be difficult.

Fortunately, “Book Buddies over Zoom have been successful and I expect it to run smoothly with hopefully over 15 kids attending each time,” Emme said.

There is a Book Buddies session at least once a month where kids will be able to listen and interact with volunteers along with many other amazing opportunities to support and help through this pandemic.

If I had a younger sibling I would have loved for them to be a part of this. Assisteens has adapted amazingly under the circumstances that were given to them. They continued to grow by doing Thanksgiving gift cards for families in need during the holidays.

They are currently only accepting Arcadia elementary school students and more info can be found at the Arcadia Public Library website. You can learn more about Arcadia Assisteens on their official website.

With COVID-19, schools and other establishments are finding ways to transition to being online. Many programs or clubs that help out in the community, whether it be volunteering or simply attending an event, have had to pause their club or do virtual things among the club. The Assisteens League is an organization that funds ongoing philanthropic programs that benefit the community. There are multiple locations throughout the U.S., and luckily, we have one at our school.

The Arcadia Assisteens League has been involved in countless volunteer opportunities over the years, but they have all been in person. Due to this, they have had to come up with new ways of supporting our community through this trying time.

The transition to a completely virtual organization was “a lot of work and imagination from our officers and myself as coordinator,” said Arcadia Assisteens League Coordinator Leigh Chavez.

They have found ways to do meetings and collaborate with other members. They made virtual cards and gifts for the birthday bag philanthropy. They also have the Bargain Box, which is essentially a thrift store run by Assisteens. Currently, they are doing a trial run; the store is only open on Wednesdays with adults working it.

The Arcadia Public Library and Assisteens have worked together since 1998. Members would volunteer to go to the library and bond with the kids through books and out loud reading.

The officers made decisions on what they should focus on and what they should put on hold given the circumstances of current times.

“I’ve always enjoyed the in-person Book Buddies programs because of the bond you kyamashiro@arcadiaquill.com creGraphic courtesy of ASSISTANCELEAGUE.ORG ate with your buddy for the short time you’re with them,” said Book Buddies chairman junior Photo courtesy of YELP.COM Ava Woo.

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By ASHLEY ZHAO Campus Focus Editor As 2019 came to a close, we waited with bated breath in anticipation for what was to come in 2020. But in contrast to what most of us had hoped for, 2020 was full of surprises nobody––not a single soul––had asked for.

Beginning in January, tensions soared between the U.S. and Iran after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, which resulted in missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. This conflict sparked fears of WWIII among the public, but President Trump decided to respond diplomatically rather than with military force. Next began the Senate trial on the first impeachment of the president for obstruction of Congress and abuse of power, which ended weeks later with the Senate voting to acquit the president of all charges. Across countries like Australia, Russia, and Indonesia as well as the Amazon and the west coast of the U.S., wildfires massacred acres upon acres of land, threatening the wildlife population and the human communities in and around them.

On Jan. 26, legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi Bryant, died in a fatal helicopter accident along with seven other passengers. The same day, singer Billie Eilish swept the top four categories at the Grammys–– song, record, album, and new artist.

In February, the U.S. declared a public health emergency as the infection and death toll from COVID-19 began to rise even further in China, with the death toll beating out that of the severe acute respiratory infection syndrome (SARS) outbreak on Feb. 25. At the Oscars, Parasite won four Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Film and Best Picture.

March brought on the start of a global pandemic, with the Trump administration issuing a travel ban on non-U.S. citizens traveling from Europe on Mar. 13 and California issuing a statewide stay-at-home order on Mar. 19. Although most adhered to social distancing rules, many violated these precautions in favor of gathering in large groups and contributing to a

total of 1 million COVID-19 cases worldwide.

Starting in May, the world rose together in anger to protest the unjust, brutal killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and a countless number of other Black lives.

Streets across cities in the U.S, the U.K, South Korea, and Germany saw clashes between protestors and police forces, which sparked talk of police reformation, defunding, and implementation of new, de-escalating training procedures. Statues of slave traders and Confederate figures were also removed and thrown away as the Black Lives Matter movement grew in support. With the election months away, President Trump started a trial rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, only to have less than half the stands full as kpop fans bought tickets and then didn’t turn up.

In July, Kanye West then held his first rally to promote himself as president, most of which consisted of West ranting on a variety of topics, speaking on abortion, abolitionist Harriet Tubman, and stating how “everybody that has a baby gets a million dollars.”

At the start of August, an ammonium nitrate explosion devastated Beirut, Lebanon, leaving at least 160 people dead, 6,000 people injured, and 300,000 immediately displaced out of the city. In the U.S., Democratic candidate Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris to be his vice-presidential candidate––making her the first woman of color to be selected by a major party for one of the highest ranking offices in the country. On Aug. 28, actor Chadwick Boseman died at age 43 after a private battle with colon cancer.

Feminist icon and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed away in September at 87, with Amy Coney Barrett nominated

by President Trump to fill Ginsberg’s vacancy.

On Sept. 20, the first presidential debate of the year began and was quickly dominated by much shouting, interruption, and misinformation. In October, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, with the president returning to the White House after three days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. With a vote of 52 to 48, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate as a Supreme Court associate Justice. On Oct. 27, the Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to secure the team’s first World Series title since 1988.

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As votes came in during the peak of the election season, President Trump joined several lawsuits aimed at stopping vote counts in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan. On Nov. 7, major news outlets declared that Joe Biden had won enough electoral college votes to win the spot for U.S. president. A day later, longtime “Jeopardy!” show host Alex Trebek died at 80 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna announced, according to preliminary data, that their shots may be 90% and 94.5% effective, respectively.

In December, Attorney General William Barr reported that the U.S. Justice Department had discovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 election. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on Dec. 11, with the first COVID-19 vaccinations being given to healthcare workers and other at-risk groups three days later. On Dec. 14, the electoral college confirmed Joe Biden as the next president of the U.S. Although this year has been nothing but a struggle for everyone, we can put our hopes into 2021 and take our new knowledge and experiences to help us with whatever we may face the coming year.

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By CATHERINE CHAN Staff Writer “I would say that it is much easier to play chess without the burden of an Adam’s apple.”

The Queen’s Gambit by author Walter Tevis is an American novel about a young chess prodigy by the name of Beth Harmon.

This book, published in 1983, was adapted into a 2020 Netflix show. We are introduced to her story when she is only nine years old, finding her new life at a strict, Christian orphanage for girls, following her mother’s death.

Walter Tevis weaves a classic Bildungsroman novel addressing themes of chess, feminism, adoption, addiction, and alcoholism.

Set during the Cold War in mid-20thcentury America, Beth Harmon ultimately triumphs in a chess world dominated by males.

The story skillfully dismantles the trope that “women cannot be intelligent.” Beth is again and again faced with many signals of sexist attitudes and barriers. Beth ultimately works each obstacle, starting when she registers for her first tournament, where she is not uniformly welcomed and even met with condescend-

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ing attitudes.

After being interviewed, Beth unhappily remarks that all the article cares about is that she’s a girl. The piece doesn’t really talk about her chess playing; it doesn’t even mention how she plays the Sicilian. This is a reflection of prevailing cultural attitudes of the 60’s, which were wildly sexist by present-day standards: the woman’s place was at the home, cooking, cleaning and raising children. The article revealed that she was interesting not because she was a remarkable chess player, but because she was a female doing well at a “male” activity.

The interest was predicated upon her gender, not so much her skills and accomplishments.

She knew that male players would not have received such treatment, and she just wanted to be treated as an equal. To be respected.

Although a fictional tale, the story unearths a more profound meaning through the lens of sexism. Everyone besides the janitor who taught her chess, Mr. Shaibel, and her closest friend Jolene, had all judged her for being a girl playing chess.

The struggles of this story’s heroine reached the attention of a real competitive chess

JANUARY 2021

U.S. Women’s Champion and current player, Judit Polgar. Like Harmon, Polgar made headlines during her career because she regu- director of the women’s program at the U.S. larly beat the world’s top players, even the No. Chess Federation, Jennifer Shahade, reflected 1 chess player, Garry Kasparov, in 2002. As the how she was once self-conscious about playonly woman to ever rank in the Top 10 or play ing chess seriously. Out of the 74,000 memat the world championship, Polgar shared that bers total, Shahade reported that only 10,500 she felt a sense of “déjà vu” when watching this of them are female. With the inspiration of Beth Harmon, Shahade is determined to enNetflix series.

There was only one aspect about the series courage more women to play chess. Shahade that Polgar simply could not relate to, and that began an online chess club in April 2020 to was how nicely the male competitors treated engage female players during the pandemic, Beth compared to herself in reality. While the and after some time, was able to get over 100 series touched upon the discriminatory com- women to join.

Remarkably, The Queen’s Gambit is not ments that the public made when females were succeeding, Polgar revealed that it was worse only the story of Beth Harmon but that of myriad women who face enormous obstacles in a in real life. sexist world. Through the spirit of Harmon, “They were too nice to her,” Polgar said.

During the period in which she was ris- we learn to never succumb to disparaging ing in the world rankings, Polgar shared that comments and to be our genuine selves. The men frequently made disparaging comments Queen’s Gambit shows how authenticity is in towards her about her “inadequate” ability in itself an act of feminism of the highest order. chess, as well as jokes that were truly hurtful.

Polgar recalled “there were opponents who refused to shake hands” and even one male cchan@arcadiaquill.com competitor who “hit his head on the board after Graphics courtesy of PINTEREST.COM he lost.” and 1001FONTS.COM

By AMANDA CHANG

By SEAN YANG Staff Writer

Staff Writer

After the passing of Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, the game show was in no rush to fill the gap, as Trebek had already shot enough episodes to finish the year. However, the role has to be replaced eventually, and the show producers are having a hard time finding a dedicated successor to Trebek, who had been the face and voice of Jeopardy! for so long.

Trebek will definitely live on in the hearts of the audience as the true host of Jeopardy! as the final episode with Trebek featured a series to the beloved host. The episode ended with a montage of Trebek saying “So long!” as he would usually do before walking offstage. The final message read, “Dedicated to Alex Trebek, Forever in our Hearts, Always our Inspiration.” Trebek will be remembered by fans of Jeopardy! forever.

He “educated millions around the world,” said prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.

Instead of deciding on a permanent successor to Trebek, the show’s producers decided to try out different hosts for short periods of time. The first is Ken Jennings, who is known to all of the Jeopardy! community due to his longest winning streak on the game show. He is also the highest earning game show contestant of all time. According to a spokeswoman on the show, Jennings has already taped 30 episodes.

Jennings has recently received criticism for posting insensitive tweets in the past that he has apologized for, which could have some effect on whether or not he will come back to guest host for the show again. However, fans of the show have shown their enthusiasm for Jennings, which may allow him to come back again.

Although it is unconfirmed by the show producers, the Los Angeles Times has reported that former talk show host and news anchor Katie Couric will be the next host of the game show. Being on the game show will allow the public to see Couric again as she has not been on television since 2017. Having Couric host the show will also allow the producers a chance to breathe, as they will no longer have to deal with the controversy surrounding Ken Jennings.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has revealed that he will be guest hosting an episode of Jeopardy! as well.

“One of my idols growing up was Alex Trebek. I’m excited about that opportunity,” said Rodgers.

As producers scramble to continue to find host after host, one thing is for sure: Alex Trebek will always be the face of Jeopardy! Another host may take his place for now, but Trebek will be remembered long after the game show ends. Others may have the charisma to take on the tasks of being host, but none will have the magic that Trebek had.

As many Americans and people around the world could see, the rioters who insurrected the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. damaged much of the historical building while trying to storm it. Once the riot at the Capitol subsided, curators took to combing the Capitol for damage to the art, artifacts, and actual building itself. “‘All of the art in the Capitol is basically on view,’ said Dr. [Barbara] Wolanin, 77, who served as Curator for the Architect of the Capitol from 1985 until she retired in 2015. ‘There aren’t a lot of things hidden away,’” reported the New York Times.

However, some of the art in the Capitol did not go untouched by the mob of pro-Trump supporters. A bust of former President Zachary Taylor from the 19th century was tarnished in what appears to be blood. Other artifacts were also damaged or stolen; a scroll with Chinese characters was ripped and a photo of the Dalai Lama was taken. Metal benches were also broken during the raid.

“Seven pieces of historically significant art were covered in ‘corrosive gas agent residue,’ according to a spokesperson for the Committee on House Administration,” said the Washington Post. The artifacts included a statue of Thomas Jefferson, marble busts of House speakers Joseph Gurney Cannon, Joseph W. Martin Jr., Thomas Brackett Reed, and Champ Clark, and portraits of James Madison and John Quincy Adams.

One of the artifacts most infamously looted from the Capitol was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern. Her office was stormed by the rioters, leading to damage to the placard above her door and a 19th-century gold mirror. But the artifacts inside the Capitol aren’t the only items considered as art––the building itself is art, too.

A spokeswoman for the Architect of the Capitol also told the Washington Post that “on the West Front, the teams identified graffiti on the building near the Inaugural Stands and two broken Olmsted light fixtures...statues, murals, historic benches and original shutters all suffered varying degrees of damage...all original materials will be used in repairs where possible.” This means that things like smashed windows are not simply replaced like an ordinary window at home––they are repaired using materials like that of the original.

However, “It could have been much worse, Dr. Wolanin said,” according to the New York Times.

The 18-foot paintings in the Rotunda, the statues in the National Statuary Hall, and original paintings of George Washington, among others, were vulnerable to defacement but were left untouched. While some historians want to keep some of the infamous memorabilia of the day, they also noted that “it [is] important to do it in a way that [does] not grant the rioters hero status.”

syang@arcadiaquill.com Graphic courtesy of FONTMEME.COM and PINTEREST.COM

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JANUARY 2021

By MADISON YEE Staff Writer HBO Max is rapidly making its way to the top as it takes the world by storm. With its extended variety of movies and shows in both adult and kid content, subscribers are head over heels—while other streaming platforms including Netflix and Hulu are beginning to downgrade, due to the lack of choices available.

Offering the service for $14.99 a month, HBO Max grants access to exclusive series and additional programs to watch, on top of what is already included with HBO. It has hubs including HBO originals, Studio Ghibli, CNN, DC Comic productions, its blockbuster Warner Bros. selection, and many others available at your fingertips. What’s not to love?

Allowing over 10,000 hours of streaming time, the service has fan-favorite shows like

Euphoria, Big Bang Theory, Game of Thrones, Friends, and Gossip Girl—some of which had fans utterly disappointed for their departure from Netflix. To add to the bargain, it also has movies like The Lord of the Rings, 13 Going on 30, Crazy Rich Asians, Wonder Woman 1984, Witches, etc. Not to mention, the service has an organized design and format, to eliminate any hassle when scrolling through the catalog of options.

Most of the HBO Max audience has been lured to subscribe due to its deal with Warner Bros. Through this, it

By JOY HERRERA Staff Writer TikTok is the place where trends are made. The short videos allow people to endlessly collaborate with others and have allowed many creators to find ways to innovate.

One such trend that took TikTok by storm was Ratatouille: The Musical. What originally started as a cooking trend with the song “Le Festin” from the Pixar film, Ratatouille, transformed throughout 2020 into a TikTokproduced musical. This leap happened when a parody song was released by an elementary school teacher named Emily Jacobsen.

“Remy, the ratatouille, the rat of all my dreams,” sang Jacobsen on her viral TikTok that channeled the interest around the Pixar film into actually creating a full-blown musical.

Her TikTok blew up when a popular creator on the platform, Brittany Broski, used the audio of the song in her own TikTok. After the audio began to gain popularity, the song was remixed by Daniel Mertzluff, another popular TikTok creator.

He arranged the audio into the traditional Disney musical style. This created a trend on TikTok where people created songs to add to the fictitious musical based on the characters and plot of the popular Pixar movie.

Beyond just songs for the musical, people created costumes, playbills, set designs, and choreography. Even more impressive was that the creators who participated in the trend ranged from professional choreographers to aspiring singers. The different levels of experience but equal enthusiasm for the project created a wealth of quality content.

As the trend gained popularity, it was launched into the mainstream with the official Disney TikTok account referencing Jacobsen’s TikTok and the official Pixar Twitter account using the lyrics in one of their posts. For many people on TikTok, this seemed like a revolutionary endeavor as it was an entirely crowddeveloped musical.

Musical theater, as a genre, has long seemed inaccessible to the common audience. Most people are not able to visit Broadway and may never become a part of the musical making process. This trend allowed fans of musical theater and other users on the platform to connect to the theater in ways they were not able to before. TikTok has played a large part in reinvigorating the interest in musical theater even beyond its established audience.

This all came to a culmination in late 2020 when the original creators of the trend collaborated with several Hollywood actors to form a full length live-action version of the musical, which was released on Jan. 1 as a charity effort for the Actors Fund. It raised $1.8 million and displayed a star-studded cast with Titus Burgess playing Remy, Ashley Park playing Colette, and Andrew Barth Freedman playing Linguini. Although the virtual musical elicited a less than glowing review from The New York Times, it did show that TikTok has the power to create enormously popular trends and bring success into the mainstream.

jherrera@arcdiaquillcom Graphics courtesy of PINTEREST.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

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decided to of movies same time it

debut its 2021 lineup user friendly. It has a solid search function and on HBO Max at the several ‘hubs’ with more in-depth catalogs, is released in movie from Turner Classic Movies and DC to Studio theaters. Since many Ghibli and Crunchyroll. The curated ‘collecpeople don’t have ac- tions’ of movies and shows range from the bacess to these theaters sic (Family Movie Night) to the sublimely silthis year to be safe from ly (HBO Max Book Club, featuring on screen COVID-19, this has be- adaptations of books like The Wizard of Oz, come a huge advantage The CW’s sexy Nancy Drew, and The Art of for subscribers Racing in the Rain),” said Caroline Framke, to still watch Variety‘s Chief TV Critic. new preWhile this platform is currently getting miers at a a lot of good press, many have said that it is fair cost. That not predictable of HBO Max’s success in the said, it has cer- future, because the true test will be whether or tainly helped to not it will be able to persuade its subscribers boost their viewer to stay past its deal. rates and numbers, steering more popularity towards the platform. myee@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of ADWEEK.COM “The HBO Max interface is impressively

By ANGELA CHIEN Staff Writer In light of the new COVID-19 wave, the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards will be postponed to Mar. 14. They were set to be presented on Jan. 31, but due to the surge in coronavirus cases in California and concerns over the new mutation from Britain, The Recording Academy concluded that it would be best to push the Grammys to a later date.

“The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do,” said The Recording Academy, its broadcast partner CBS, and the event’s executive producer, Ben Winston, via a statement issued on Jan. 5.

Where the new location will be is still unclear. In past years, the ceremony was held at Staples Center, which is where this year’s award ceremony had originally been scheduled to take place with no audience. It is highly likely that the Grammys will mirror other award shows’ ceremonial procedures with performances from soundstages and awards accepted remotely. A representative for Trevor Noah of The Daily Show confirmed to Rolling Stone that he is still set to host.

This year’s Grammy Awards ceremony was supposed to be a reset button for The Recording Academy following former president and CEO Deborah Dugan’s accusations of sexual misconduct against Neil Portnow (also a former CEO of the academy) and Joel Katz, the academy’s outside general counsel. Atop of the multiple allegations, Dugan, replaced by Harvey Mason Jr., further accused the academy

of financial mismanagement and vote-rigging.

The Recording Academy is no stranger to controversies. Despite its attempt to mark a new era, the academy once again raised many suspicions over its nominations. After the nominations were announced, rapper Drake took to Instagram to speak out for the Weeknd, whose album After Hours was not nominated despite it being 2020’s best selling record.

“I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards,” said Drake. He also mentioned that the time has come to “accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones that come after.”

The Weeknd, who was asked to perform, called out The Recording Academy for its lack of transparency, calling it “corrupt.”

“Collaboratively planning a performance for weeks to not being invited? In my opinion zero nominations = you’re not invited!” said the Weeknd via Twitter, expressing his disbelief.

In terms of nominations, Beyoncé is at the forefront: nine nominations in eight categories. Taylor Swift also has multiple nominations in the bag, and Dua Lipa follows closely with her hit single “Don’t Start Now.” Nominations such as BTS’s “Dynamite” and Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” are also highly anticipated.

Despite the pandemic and controversies, the Grammy Awards remain one of the most iconic moments of the year for the music industry. This year is no exception.

achien@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of NATEDSANDERS. COM and 1001FONTS.COM

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SPORTS

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JANUARY 2021

BECKY HAMMON BECOMES FIRST FEMALE HEAD COACH IN NBA

By GREGORY WANG

Staff Writer

History was made on Dec. 30, 2020 when Becky Hammon became the first woman to be the head coach in a NBA game. Following an argument with the referees, Head Coach Gregg Popovich was ejected from the game. With a simple “You got ‘em,” Hammon became the head coach for the rest of the game.

Hammon started coaching for the San Antonio Spurs in August 2014 after retiring from her position as a point guard for the San Antonio Stars. She became the second female assistant coach in the NBA, and the first full time female assistant coach. She was also the first female head coach of a summer league, and was acknowledged by Coach Popovich and team members for her talent and competitive spirit.

“You’ve got to tip your hat to her, I pay attention to all those little things. She’s been here since I got here. I’ve been watching her talk to every single player, whether he was a veteran dude or a young dude. Just using her voice and her knowledge of the game,” said Spurs player Dejounte Murray.

“Obviously, it’s a big deal,” said Hammon when interviewed after the game. “It’s a sub-

LOS ANGELES DODGERS MANAGER,

TOMMY LASORDA DIES

stantial moment. I’ve been a part of this organization, I got traded here in 2007, so I’ve been in San Antonio and part of the Spurs and sports organization with the Stars and everything for 13 years. So I have a lot of time invested, and they have a lot of time invested in me, in building me and getting me better.”

After being ejected from the game, it took a while for Popovich to recognize the monumental occurrence. Popovich later said that Hammon deserved her position, and that she earned her position as assistant coach. He was also firm in his belief that there were other capable women who could be coaches, but that they were limited by societal stereotypes.

After the game, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel acknowledged her talents.

“I’ve talked to her a bunch in coaches conferences and whatnot, and she really knows her stuff.

Obviously, she’s here for a reason. She’s equipped. She’s intelligent. The guys have a great respect for her. And I think she’s going to be a head coach in this league someday,” he said.

With Hammon’s coaching, the Spurs came very close to a victory. However, they ended the game 109-118, in favor of the Lakers. Yet despite the loss, Becky Hammon has paved the way for future female coaches to become head coach. gwang@arcadiaquill.com Graphic courtesy of SIKIDS.COM and SPORTSAREFROMVENUS.COM

By BRYAN LIM

Staff Writer

Tommy Lasorda, the Hall of Fame manager who guided the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles in the 1970s and the 1980s has sadly passed away. Lasorda lived to the age of 93-years-old. Lasorda spent over 70 years working for the Dodgers organization. On Jan. 7, he suffered sudden cardiopulmonary arrest.

“Tommy Lasorda was one of the finest managers our game has ever known. He loved life as a Dodger. His passion, success, charisma, and sense of humor turned him into an international celebrity, a stature that he used to grow our sport,” Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner said.

Lasorda was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania in Nov 1927. He first started playing professional baseball when he was 18-years-old as an undrafted agent with and for the Philadelphia Phillies. Lasorda’s first connection with the Dodgers started in 1949, where he was drafted as a pitcher, and Lasorda eventually became one of the team’s most recognizable players.

Most Dodgers fans remember him delivering big wins during his 20 years as a manager.

Lasorda’s smarts and experience have put him in a group of legendary baseball managers with Casey Stengel and others. In 1996, he stepped down as manager due to a mild heart attack. Lasorda was also known for continuing to practice pitch batting in his 60s and nine of his players won the NL Rookie of the Year award. Those players included Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Sax, Steve Howe, and more.

“In a franchise that has celebrated such great legends of the game, no one who wore the uniform embodied the Dodger spirit as much as Tommy Lasorda… He was a champion who at critical moments seemingly willed his teams to victory. The Dodgers and their fans will miss him terribly. Tommy is quite simply irreplaceable and unforgettable,” Dodgers chief executive Stan Kasten said.

Over the past few years, Lasorda had been in or out of hospitals because of heart, shoulder, and back problems. After his retirement as a major league manager, Lasorda helped the U.S. Olympic Baseball team win a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Games. Lasorda was also known to be a fearless left-handed pitcher and even with 1,599 victories under his belt, Lasorda wasn’t considered to be a great innovator, but instead was a great motivator and had a great sense of managing players.

Overall, Lasorda was a great manager and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and it is upsetting that he had to go. Rest in peace, Tommy Lasorda. blim@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of DODGERTHOUGHS.COM

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JANUARY 2021

SPORTS

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NCAA PLANS FOR MARCH MADNESS 2021

By STEPHANIE WANG

Staff Writer Following the disappointing cancellation of the highly-anticipated March Madness in 2020 due to coronavirus concerns, the NCAA officially announced that the college basketball tournament would proceed in 2021, with adjustments made to counter the spread of COVID-19.

“The 2021 version of March Madness will be one to remember, if for no other reason than the uniqueness of the event,” Dan Gavitt, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball, said.

This year, the 67 tournament games, which are typically held in 13 cities across the country, have been condensed to one city, Indianapolis, to decrease travel and lower the chances of player exposure to COVID-19.

Indianapolis was partially chosen because of the organization’s good relationship with the city--the NCAA has its headquarters there--as well as for its history of hosting large sporting events in the past. Additionally, Indianapolis had already been selected as the site of the 2021 Final Four games back in 2014, and NCAA organizers decided to work backwards from the last games in the bracket when deciding on a location.

“When we came to the difficult decision…that having the tournament this year in a single geographic area may be the only way, and certainly the most logical way, to hold the tournament from a safety and health perspective, then where it ended seemed like the best place to consider where it should start,” Gavitt said.

Other NCAA-organized college basketball tournaments will likely also adhere to

the same plan and hold all their games in the same city instead of using the traditional format.

The women’s basketball tournament is slated to take place in San Antonio, and the men’s D-2 and D-3 basketball tournaments will be held in Evansville and Fort Wayne, respectively.

In compliance with state and county COVID-19 guidelines, the entire tournament will take place in a bubble-like environment. While the NCAA has shied away from explicitly calling the format a “bubble,” with Gavitt instead referring to it as a “highly controlled environment,” the structure isn’t unsimilar to isolation zones used by the NBA and NHL. Qualifying teams will be assigned designated meeting and practice areas in the Indiana Convention Center, and will be expected to stay on their floors in nearby hotels for the duration of the tournament. The NCAA will work with local organizations like Indiana Sports Corp and Visit Indy for logistic support, and a local health partner in the city will handle COVID-19 testing.

The NCAA will also partner with the state of Indiana to distribute hundreds of thousands of March Madness-branded cloth face masks to the state’s residents prior to the tournament’s start in a program dubbed “Mask Madness.”

According to tournament organizers, these plans have been months in the making, and using a bubble-like environment to hold March Madness was hardly a spontaneous decision.

“It was conceivable to me when the NBA went into a bubble that if things didn’t improve dramatically, the NCAA might be looking for a similar solution, a controlled-site environment, so we just went to work hosting smaller games and learning things that are going to help a lot on the back end,” Indiana Sports Corp President Ryan Vaughn said.

The tournament is still expected to proceed with a full roster of 68 teams, and games will hosted by six sites in Indianapolis and the surrounding area: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, and Lucas Oil Stadium.

The NCAA has yet to reveal protocol if a team becomes unable to play for COVID-related reasons, but the tournament schedule is tentative and subject to change, with only Selection Sunday and Final Four dates set in stone.

Game attendance will likely be limited to family members of qualifying athletes and coaches, and it’s still unclear if additional fans will be allowed to purchase tickets. The NCAA is expected to come to a decision about fan attendance by late January or February.

Ever since the tournament was cancelled last year, coaches have been eager to support any version of a 2021 March Madness, especially because the 2020 cancellation--the first time March Madness had been cancelled since the tournament’s inception in 1939--resulted in a $375 million loss for the NCAA, a cost that trickled down to competing colleges.

Still, despite the many hurdles the NCAA and local organizers have faced and will no doubt continue to face, the 2021 college basketball tournament is shaping up to be a major success.

“This is a historic moment for NCAA members and the state of Indiana,” NCAA President Mark Emmert stated in an announcement.

“We have worked tirelessly to reimagine a tournament structure that maintains our unique championship opportunity for college athletes.

The reality of today’s announcement was possible thanks to the tremendous leadership of our membership, local authorities and staff.”

swang@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of GETTYIMAGES.COM

NFL WILD CARD WEEKEND

By BRANDON CHAN Staff Writer The NFL Wild Card weekend games kicked off on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10. This year’s playoff seeding was different from other years because it was expanded to seven teams from each conference (in the past it was six). Because there are now an odd number of teams, that means only the number one seed received a first round bye. In previous years, the top two teams from each conference would receive a first round bye.

Due to this, the race for the number one seed was all that much more important in the regular season in order to obtain more rest.

This weekend’s games included the Indianapolis Colts vs. Buffalo Bills, LA Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks, Washington Football Team vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints, and Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers have a first round bye).

In the first game of the Wild Card weekend, the Indianapolis Colts visited the Buffalo Bills. The Colts started the game off hot with a 10-7 lead after a one yard Jonathan

Taylor rush touchdown. However, the turning point of the game was when the Colts decided to go for it on fourth down at the four yard line and did not convert; this would have put them up by ten points. The Bills would go down the field and score a touchdown before the half, taking a 14-10 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Colts almost came back from down two touchdowns, but ended up losing 27-24. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and wide receiver Stefon Diggs continued their amazing seasons.

“It’s been a long time since Bills Mafia has been able to celebrate like this,” Josh Allen said. “But again, it’s one game, you know? I’m just happy for a chance to play next week. We gotta find ways to go get it done next week.”

In the second game of the Wild Card weekend, the LA Rams took on the Seattle Seahawks. The first quarter of this game was very sluggish, with only the LA Rams kicking a field goal. At the beginning of the second quarter, Darious Williams intercepted Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and returned it for six points, shifting the momentum to the Rams. The LA Rams would go on to dominate the rest of the game, winning 30-20.

In the third game of the Wild Card weekend, the huge underdog Washington Football Team played against the greatest quarterback

of all time, Tom Brady and his star-studded Kamara led them to a 21-9 victory.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Surprisingly, this “The truth, though, is that the broadcast game was close throughout due to the superb was a revelation for me at the end of a long play of the Football Team’s backup quarter- season, and it may not be the kind of thing back, Taylor Heinicke. He shocked the whole the ruling class of football broadcasting wants world by keeping up with Tom Brady. Howto hear,” Sports Illustrated wrote about the ever, the Football Team came up short, losing unique Nickelodeon slime broadcast. “To 31-23.

“Regardless of the outcome what a great have the game stripped of all its self-imporgame by Heinicke!” Kansas City Chiefs quar- tance and hubris was an absolute delight.”

In the sixth and final game of the Wild terback Patrick Mahomes said on Twitter.

In the fourth game of the Wild Card week- Card weekend, the underdog Cleveland end, the Baltimore Ravens faced the Tennessee Browns looked for their first playoff win since Titans in a rematch of last year’s Divisional 1994. In the opening seconds of the game, the Round game in which Derrick Henry ran all Browns jumped all over the Steelers. They over the Ravens defense. This year, however, it recovered a fumble in the endzone to take was a different story. Ravens quarterback La- a quick 7-0 lead. It didn’t stop there. By the mar Jackson outgained Derrick Henry on the end of the first quarter, they were up 28-0 afground, and they won 20-13 after a late game ter two rushing touchdowns by running back interception by cornerback Marcus Peters.

Kareem Hunt, and the game was all but over.

In the fifth game of the Wild Card weekend, the Chicago Bears played the New Or- The Browns would win the game 48-37.

Wild Card weekend with two extra leans Saints (it was actually on the Nickelgames was definitely a blast for football fans odeon channel!). From the jump, many could tell it wouldn’t be much of a competitive game all over the world. since the Saints are on a different level than the Bears. The Bears offense was terrible, just as it was during the regular season. Saints quarter- bchan@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of GETTYIMAGES.COM back Drew Brees and star runningback Alvin

18

CAMPUS FOCUS

t h o u g h t s Thoughts

arcadiaquill.com

JANUARY 2021

IntroDuction

On The

The inevitable new year of 2021 has come and many are expecting a multitude of good and bad. Because the new year creates new perspectives, experiences, and truths, we have asked the students of Arcadia the following questions:

NEW YEAR What is one thing you hope for in the new year?

Whether it be personal, domestic, or on an international level?

“I hope that I will be more productive by finishing my work earlier so I can get more sleep and be more involved in school things such as clubs.” - Diana Babapour, 9 “One thing I hope for in the new year, is just that everything will start to heal and get better. The past year has been a rollercoaster with many tragic, eye-opening events, and I just hope that with the new year, people can reflect and grow.” - Matthew Ma, 11 “My greatest goal for the new year is to grow. It is quite a broad goal, but I am just hoping to achieve more in 2021 then I had in 2020. The past year was definitely a challenge for me, but I have been able to experience a lot of character development, and I feel more empowered now to accomplish. I hope to grow as a student, friend, musician, athlete, and person. Though obstacles may come, I hope to take small steps in growing to become a better person in all aspects of my life.” - Erin Li, 10

What are your personal thoughts on New Year Resolutions?

“I feel like New Year’s resolutions are excuses made by people who are afraid or indecisive of committing completely to something. Say, becoming fit as a new year resolution. If they wanted it bad enough, they wouldn’t have waited until a new year to start, they would’ve started right away once they made up their minds.” - Wilson Pang, 12 “I think that new years resolutions are pretty cool despite the fact that they often don’t last for the whole year because they still cause temporary betterment. like last year my friend and i embarked on a joint new years resolution to run a mile a day and although we only made it to mid february, that month and a half of really healthy physical activity felt good!” - Perry Lu, 12

As of now, how do you think the new year of 2021 will treat your community (peers, youth, our country)?

“I truly hope 2021 will treat us all better and, especially with the vaccination coming out, that we can all finally see our friends and peers again. Also, with the new focus on equity and equality for many of us, I hope that some changes can be implemented in our school for the better. It would, of course, also be tremendous if we could realize progressive action in the US, and I think it’s important that we, even as teens, should try to work towards that.” - Nicole May, 9

Graphics Courtesy of PNGIMG.COM and PNGKIT.COM