February 2019

@ahspowwow

Arcadia High School / 180 Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA

the apache

POW WOW

volume 66 issue 6 february 2019

the world is our campus.

french foreign exchange program BIENVENUE À ARCADIA! 24 students from France came to AHS on Feb. 8 for a two week long exchange program with AHS French students, where they shadowed them during the school day and took field trips to tourist destinations around LA to immerse them in American culture.

By KAITLIN LEE

these French kids tell me how much the ex- “I love the school here. It’s so much more even the toughest Americans and French

Staff Writer perience has benefited their world perspec- different than in France,” Emma exclaimed. who were determined to not cry ended up

On Feb. 8, on a cold, dark night, a group of Arcadians hustled close to each other and watched Campus Drive for a bus, whispering nervously and excitedly. Then, they saw one, and began cheering. Some of them cried, “Bienvenue!” This bus was special, as inside were 24 French students, all the way from Trévoux, Lyon, who were coming to learn more about American culture as well as improve their English. And the Arcadians were to host them.

“Travel is always transformational, and the added family immersion aspect provides all of these students with a life-changing cultural experience,” enthused Madame Vaughan, one of the teachers in charge of this program. “Even students who [aren’t hosting] but get to hang out in class with

tives and personal goals.”

For two fun-filled weeks, the French students learned about American culture, including food, education, and more, and went to local tourist areas such as Universal Studios and Hollywood Boulevard. While they were here, the French noted several interesting differences between American and French culture.

“The main difference was the food,” noted Emma Travers. “I miss baguette because I don’t eat baguette a lot here.” She also pointed out that Americans tended to have “big breakfasts” while French people eat little ones.

The French also were surprised by many aspects of American life, such as the fun teachers and the freedom of American students to use technology while in class.

OPINION

Photo courtesy of FLICKR.COM

STUDENT LIFE

pg. 8-9

AHS Lunar New Year Traditions: Lunar New Year is a big holiday in the Arcadia community, so it’s no surprise that our own Apaches have their unique ways of welcoming in the new year.

“You are more free so this is better…maybe, in France, we have to change something.

Célia Geffroy noticed something more subtle. “I was in a shop, and a person who worked in the shop came to talk with me, and asked, ‘Do you have a problem, etc. My name is Sabrina.’ In France, we don’t need your name. ‘Oh okay, what?...okay, hello Sabrina’.”

However, both groups found similar interests, and their fun group chats show a collection of fun memes and inside jokes. There were incredibly strong bonds formed, especially between the host students and their French penpals.

These strong bonds were definitely apparent at the end of the exchange, when the French students had to leave for the airport to return home. Many tears were shed, and

klee@apachepowwow.net Photos by ERIC SHEN

Also in this issue:

pg. 4-5

NEWS pg. 2-3 Life Threatening Arctic Blast: An “Arctic

Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is: From dating bans in the K-Pop industry to cardboard cutouts of your favorite celebrities, junior Anabell Xu explores how companies advertise directly to those who are single, exploiting their loneliness in order to make a quick buck.

“There’s a lot of profit to be made if you can fill a massive, gaping hole in someone’s heart. And if that hole can be stuffed with an anime body pillow, well, there’s your cash cow.”

sobbing. It was hard for these new friends, friends who had met just two weeks ago, to finally say good-bye. For instance, Junior James He ran alongside the bus to LAX as it pulled out of Campus Drive. “I was just sad, you know, and I didn’t want them to leave,” he stated. “I wanted to see them as long as I could.”

In the end, what was meant to be an educational trip about a different culture and lifestyle turned into an emotional journey of new friendships, despite the presence of two contrasting backgrounds and languages. This exchange program really showed that friendship isn’t restrained by race, by culture, or by language barriers.

Outbreak” is bringing cold pressure from the Arctic to Europe, Asia, and North America.

PERFORMING ARTS

ACADEMICS

Photo courtesy of AUSD

pg. 12-13

Academic Decathlon Places 2nd in Regionals: On Feb. 2, the California Academic Decathlon held their annual regional competition and AHS’ AcaDeca team took home second place.

pg. 14-15

Superbowl Halftime Show: This year’s Superbowl Halftime Show, performed by Spongebob, Travis Scott, and Maroon 5, was met with mixed reviews.

CALENDAR pg. 18-19 Ways to Show Your Love: In a month of red roses and chocolate hearts, Alex Kim’s article brings a refreshing take on unique ways to show you care.

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theapachepowwow.net

February 2019

apple’s facetime bug & privacy issues

By REBECCA TAO Staff Writer

On Jan. 19, 14-year-old Grant Thompson of Tucson, Arizona encountered a bug on his iPhone in the Facetime app that allowed users to eavesdrop on calls even if the receiver does not pick up. The bug has since been resolved, but Apple is now facing backlash from claims of invasion of privacy.

Thompson’s mother reached out to Apple support shortly after her son made this new discovery. Albeit her attempts at reaching Apple Security through email and fax, she was displeased with Apple’s lack of action. It was a week later that Apple finally took initiative and sent out a notice that the company will

work on fixing the bug and that Group Facetime will be disabled in the meantime. It should be noted that the company took action only after a tech-based news website, 9to5mac, went viral for reporting on the issue. This raised major concerns on Apple’s neglect over privacy and security issues, and its lack of response to customer complaints.

The actual bug affected any iOS device running iOS 12.1 or later that was able to Group Facetime. It required one phone to start a FaceTime Video call with an iPhone contact and add their own phone number in the Add Person screen. From there, the phone will FaceTime call itself and pick up on the audio of the person you originally called, even if they haven’t accepted the call yet. Some users have also re-

ported that they were able to actually Facetime without the other caller picking up.

While Apple is not perfect, this type of bug is rare, and it’s nearly impossible for it to have slid through quality inspection. In fact, the company promotes others to report such issues. According to Apple’s website, “Apple Bug Reporter is a web-based tool that developers can use to report issues with Apple software and services, request enhancements to APIs and tools, and track the status of their feedback.”

On Feb. 7, iOS 12.1.4 was released to cover this eavesdropping security flaw. Apple has also fully credited Thompson for his discovery of the bug and will also pay for Thompson’s tuition fees once he graduates from high school.

The company has not released any specifics on

how much they are paying Thompson, but in the past, Apple has offered upwards of $200,000 to security researchers for “bug bounty”. The company does this to prevent the selling of cracks in their system, but in this case, Apple responded too slowly and the bug had already gone viral before Apple publicly made a statement.

Overall, this bug isn’t the first of its kind.

Apple has been under scrutiny for many security concerns like “Hey Siri” and iOS location features. Now that the public’s eye has been turned toward Apple, any misstep by the company will be blasted and criticized by the media. rtao@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of AMAZON.COM and SUPPORT.APPLE.COM

shutdown deal REACHED BY CONGRESS

By ANABELL XU Staff Writer

A lot of things can be completed in just three weeks: college acceptances, homework, video games, television skits, and averting a new government shutdown with a series of bills introduced that are an example of true bipartisanship. In a truly revolutionary and tension-diffusing move, Congress has finally constructed a statement that both parties are willing to pass, as well as President Donald Trump.

The three-week-long government shutdown that occurred last December left a sour taste in Congressmen’s mouths everywhere, as many seemed intensely keen to avoid falling into another shutdown within the three weeks they bought with a temporary deal in February. Democrats and Republicans came together with a bill acceptable to the President.

“I think the president has finally learned that shutdowns don’t work—at least I hope he has learned that—because you never know,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, a Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Four lawmakers: Richard Shelby, Patrick Leahy, Nita Lowey, and Kay Granger, were the primary writers of the bill, which restarted the government and allocated funding to all governmental offices, effectively ending the shutdown. How about the wall? Well, better stop calling it a wall, because now it’s officially 55 miles of bollard fencing, costing $1.375 billion in total.

There will be some restrictions on the fencing—environmental and community concerns have come up. Ironically, it’s ten miles less than what Democrats agreed on last year before they took control of the House. The amount is also much less than the $5.7 billion that President Trump requested before the shutdown. Currently, there are only 654 miles of existing barriers on the US-Mexico border.

The agreement will also provide for $1.7 billion for miscellaneous border security funding, like funding for more officers, technology, and even humanitarian aid. Democrats also agreed to a decrease in migrants accepted for asylum in exchange.

On Friday, Feb. 15, President Trump agreed to the bill and signed it, effectively preventing another government shutdown. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders reported that the president signed it in the executive mansion, though no reporters were on hand to witness it.

But that isn’t the end of the wall chronicles. The bill no longer will allow for the $5.7 billion to be allocated for the wall. However, Trump has now declared a national emergency in order to gain funding for the wall, which has recently been challenged by a series of lawsuits. axu@apachepowwow.net Photos courtesy of AXIOS.COM and KRENTON.AM

February 2019

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AGAINST

By ANYA YANG

s t a f f Editors

Staff Writer

YouTube is retooling its recommendation algorithm to stop promoting conspiracies and false “borderline” information. After several missteps that led to the trending of a video claiming Parkland victim David Hogg was a crisis actor, the company began taking a closer look at online conspiracy theorists and offensive allegations. The video was viewed more than 200,000 times before YouTube acknowledged that its filtering of news had not functioned as intended and blocked the video. However, with the rising trend of conspiracy theory videos and urban legends, it has become increasingly difficult to decrease the recommendations of fake claims.

The Google-owned company released a statement on its blog about the decrease of recommendations for “borderline” information. According to YouTube, this pertains to videos surrounding fake miracle cures for serious diseases like cancer, claiming the Earth is flat, making blatantly false claims about historical events such as 9/11, and other untrue declarations. This type of content doesn’t violate YouTube’s usual community guidelines, but the company says it comes close.

YouTube has been facing backlash for allowing conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and extremist views to spread on its platform. The company not only provides monetization on such videos but has also been actively recommending content to users. People who visit the website to watch videos on innocuous subjects or get coverage on mainstream news often end up viewing conspiracist content. Recently, a Washington Post investigation found a YouTube search for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s initials

“RBG” that turned up videos which falsely alleged doctors are keeping her alive with illicit drugs–-which far outnumbered reliable news from reputable sources. Although the company does ban hate speech, it defines it as commentary that promotes violence or hatred of vulnerable groups.

The new policies have been affecting people like Shane Dawson, whose conspiracy theory videos usually do considerably well. He recently uploaded a new hourand-a-half long video featuring ideas about the California wildfires, a Korean mobile app, Walt Disney’s frozen body, and numerous other theories about iPhones and marketing strategies. It amassed more than 27 million views after the initial post on Jan. 30. Although Dawson has about 20 million subscribers, and the video reached seven million views by the next morning, YouTube removed it from the trending page to prevent more publicity on the conspiracies.

YouTube announced that the new algorithm would only apply to less than 1% of the content posted on its platform. However, when compared to the staggering one billion hours of video watched daily by YouTube users, that small percentage becomes quite significant. After the new system is enforced, the videos will continue to appear in search results and be recommended to users who are subscribed to channels that post related content. “We think this change strikes a balance between maintaining a platform for free speech and living up to our responsibility to users,” the company said. ayang@apachepowwow.net Graphic courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM

LIFE THREATENING

Editors-in-Chief

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Writers

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Opinion Staff

Performing Arts Staff

Student Life Staff

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Sports Staff

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Calendar Staff

By SAMANTHA RIVERA

in Congerville. A second location in Morrison has tied

Staff Writer this record with the temperatures of -36 degrees.

In California, we are enjoying temperately mild weather for the most part. However, other parts of the United States are experiencing layers of snow and dangerously low temperatures. On Jan. 28, Michigan has declared a state of emergency and has advised residents to plan accordingly for the freezing temperatures. The rest of the Eastern United States have closed down schools, universities, and offices due to the extreme weather. At least 12 deaths have been recorded due to “weather-related traffic accidents” or “exposure” to the weather.

This “Arctic Outbreak” is caused by the high pressure from northeastern Canada and Greenland, which causes the cold pressure from the Arctic to transfer towards Europe, Asia, and North America during winter. Many Eastern United States schools have decided on a partial shut down of their schools. This decision is based on whether the weather poses a health risk for children. In New Jersey, as many as 96 school districts had a partial closure on Jan. 8 of the schools.

In the upper Midwest, the recent temperatures have beaten past records from the 1990s. A record of the “all-time-state low” may soon be recorded and set in Illinois. In Mount Carroll Illinois, on Jan. 31, the temperature hit -38 degrees. The ad hoc state committee is determining whether these temperatures will be recorded as the new state record. The current recorded lowest temperature in the state of Illinois is written as -36 degrees, which was recorded on Jan. 5, 1999,

In Wisconsin, many residents experienced temperatures as low as -30 to -50 degrees in addition to the heavy snowfall. Due to these devastatingly low temperatures, Governor Tony Evers created a state emergency stating, “I’m concerned about the safety and well-being of our residents as this major storm and bitter cold moves in.”

Gov. Evers added, “I want to make sure all state assets are available, including the Wisconsin National Guard if needed, to help communities across the state and keep people warm and safe.” Residents in the areas affected were cautioned about traveling and going outdoors in the severe weather.

Other states such as Michigan have received a warning about the extreme weather temperatures. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a state of emergency in order to address the weather’s threats towards the public health. Governor Whitmer stated, “Such widespread, extreme conditions have not occurred in Michigan for many years, and it is imperative that we are proactive with record-low temperatures being predicted by the National Weather Service. Wind chills are predicted as low as -50 degrees in many places, such as metro Detroit which is especially unaccustomed to these temps.”

Frances Cheung, Trinity Chhay, and Maggie Wong Sandi Khine and Maruko Myint Reiko Inoue and Tanya Lee Cynthia Lin and Alyssa Rave Cassidy Chhay and Rachel Lee Brandon Chen and Ariana Parizadeh Justin Cun and Christine Law Jeremy Du and Margaret Lin Camille Marquez Jocelyn Liao and Natalie Samadi Vivian Kwang Josie Chen and Conner Hua Tiffany Liang Jocelyn Thao Paul Lee

Campus Focus Staff Center Spread Staff Photography Staff

Design Staff

Copy Editing Staff

Publicity Staff Adviser

Oishika Chattopadhya, Emily Chen, Shumin Chen, Justin Chen, Kylie Ha, Alex Kim, Robinson Lee, Iris Lim, Kayli Mak, Samantha Rivera, Kaitlyn Tran, Sarah Wang, Anabell Xu, Anya Yang, Roselind Zeng Ailin Atasoy, Manasvi Chandra, Becky Chen, Jocelyn Chin, Abby Choy, Phillip Gan, Conner Hua, Alexis Kim, Michelle Lee, Robinson Lee, Kaitlin Lee, Anncine Lin, Kayli Mak, Arina Miyadi, Katie Wen, Anabell Xu Oishika Chattopadhyay, Leslie Chen, Emma Chen, Jocelyn Chin, Kylie Ha, Alexis Kim, Samantha Rivera, Kali Tam, Chuanchun Tang, Cindy Tse, Anya Yang, Nancy Zhang, Ashley Zhao Tanvi Batra, Becky Chen, Jeslyn Chou, Gavin Do, Ally Fung, Phillip Gan, Kylie Ha, Parisa Haq, Michelle Lee, Jenny Qiu, Cindy Tse, Sarah Wang, Rebecca Xu, Anya Yang, Kobe Yu, Nancy Zhang Ailin Atasoy, Moriah Chang, Oishika Chattopadhyay, Becky Chen, Emma Chen, Jocelyn Chin, Collin Gaja, Kaitlin Lee, Michelle Lee, Robinson Lee, Lisza Lo, Rebecca Tao, Cindy Tse, Christie Wang, Caitlin Wang Tanvi Batra, Justin Chen, Collin Gaja, Arina Miyadi, Jasmine Oang, Kali Tam, Christie Wang, Anya Yang, Melody Yang, Nancy Zhang, Anya Yang Emma Chen, Leslie Chen, Jeslyn Chou, Abby Choy, Ally Fung, Phillip Gan, Charles Su, Ella Tang, Rebecca Tao, Kaitlyn Tran, Rebecca Xu, Melody Yang Ailin Atasoy, Tanvi Batra, Emily Chen, Cadence Chen, Jennifer Fuerte, Yoko Inoue, Alex Kim, Iris Lim, Anncine Lin, Lisza Lo, Jasmine Oang, Caitlin Wang, Melody Yang, Kobe Yu, Ashley Zhao Anncine Lin Manasvi Chandra Shumin Chen, Gavin Do, Jennifer Fuerte, Ally Fung, Parisa Haq, Jessilin Lee, Iris Lim, Anncine Lin, Lisza Lo, Kali Tam, Kaitlyn Tran, Caitlin Wang, Christie Wang, Sarah Wang, Kobe Yu Abby Choy, Arina Miyadi, Ashley Zhao, Cadence Chen, Ella Tang, Emily Chen, Gavin Do, Jenny Qiu, Jessilin Lee, Leslie Chen, Moriah Chang, Roselind Zeng, Samantha Rivera, Yoko Inoue Manasvi Chandra, Moriah Chang, Shumin Chen, Justin Chen, Cadence Chen, Leslie Chen, Becky Chen, Jeslyn Chou, Collin Gaja, Parisa Haq, Yoko Inoue, Kaitlin Lee, Kayli Mak, Jasmine Oang, Jenny Qiu, Charles Su, Anabell Xu, Rebecca Xu, Roselind Zeng Gavin Do, Jennifer Fuerte, Jasmine Oang Mrs. Lee

Publication Information:

The Apache Pow Wow is a student publication distributed monthly throughout the school year. The paper has been continuously published since Arcadia High School opened in 1952. Unsigned articles appearing on the opinion page reflect the opinion of The Apache Pow Wow editorial board. A student’s work does not represent the views of Arcadia High School or the Arcadia Unified School District. Address letters to the editor to: The Apache Pow Wow, 180 W. Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007. To place an advertisement in the newspaper, email ads.powwow@gmail.com. Advertisement rates vary from $25 for a side strip advertisement to $100 for a full-page advertisement, with srivera@apachepowwow.net square and popup advertisement options available.

Graphics courtesy of VECTORSTOCK.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

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By MICHELLE LEE

theapachepowwow.net Staff Writer

When it comes to video games, we’ve all heard the same arguments over and over again, whether they’re from our parents, teachers, or the other adults in our lives. “Violent video games cause you to become violent and aggressive in real life.” Proponents often claim that children are prone to aggression and committing violent acts as a result of blurring the lines between video games and reality, but after decades of controversy and research, there are still no solid links between violence in video games and violent behavior. To put it simply, violent video games have no detrimental effects, despite what many of our parents seem to say.

Violent video games have been around for decades, and millions of adolescents and children all over the world have been playing them for just as long, yet we see no widespread effects of consistent aggressiveness and violence that these videos are supposed to cause. Many studies have been conducted over and over again, and each time, results have been mixed: some say that there are small statistical effects, while others say that there is no clear link between the two. Given the sensationalization and marketing of violence in today’s pop culture, including in video games and movies, if there was a clear link between violence and adolescent behavior, then we would have already seen and experienced unprecedented levels of aggressiveness in today’s youth. The small incidents of adolescent violence we see in the news now and then are just small localized events that cannot be expanded to generalize the entire population.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court already ruled that research did not find a clear connection between violent video games and real-life behavior back in 2011. In the landmark case Brown v.

Entertainment Merchants Association, the Supreme Court struck down a 2005 California law that banned minors from playing violent video games without parental supervision. Even criminologists who study mass shootings specifically refer to those connections as “myths” and not credible pieces of evidence. In fact, multiple studies have shown inverse relationships between crime and violent video games. Despite numerous attempts to prove a clear connection between media violence and real-life violence, studies were inconclusive and continue to remain so.

The issue of correlation between violent video games and adolescent behavior has been a major controversial topic in the last few decades, sparking multiple policy proposals that were all eventually struck down. Despite the preaching of parents, teachers, politicians over the “devastating” connection between the two, there is still no scientific consensus on the matter. The old arguments have stopped holding weight and until the scientific community proves otherwise, the violence on screen simply does not translate into the real world.

February 2019

Violence In

Video Games speaking my mother tongue mlee@apachepowwow.net Photo courtesy of PYMNTS.COM

By ALEXIS KIM

Staff Writer

My first language is not English. I was born in Korea and spoke Korean until I moved to America when I was very young. However, at some point, I stopped responding to my parents in Korean, reading Korean books, or having any sort of interest in my culture. A reason for this may have been the fact that, back then, I was the only Asian in my classes, and the other kids weren’t particularly welcoming toward people who were different from them. I told my parents that I didn’t want to attend weekend Korean school anymore, and eventually, I successfully assimilated into American culture.

Now, my skills in my mother tongue have disintegrated significantly. I understand almost every word because my parents speak to me in Korean. However, I cannot make complete, correct sentences.

I can read at a second grade level, and my writing is the same way. You can have a conversation with me, but only if you knew a little English, so I could throw in a word or two if I didn’t know it in Korean. As you’d probably imagine, then, my recent trip to Korea ended up being rather difficult, and after my experiences there, I’ve been vigorously studying the language again. Thus, these are some reasons why I believe that you should try to learn (or improve your skills in) your native language.

1. Strengthen Familial Ties Socially, connections between you and your family members can be lost if the common language is not maintained. When I was in Korea, I wanted to talk to my cousins about my life in America and about what they were doing now since I only get to see them once every four years. I wished to explain the way American high schools work, what my friends are like, or how I’ve picked up new hobbies and interests, but it was hard to express those things well. Since I understand the language, I learned much about my cousins. One was accepted into college for music and another recently got engaged, but it was frustrating to be unable to congratulate or talk about things in more detail even though I wanted to know more. Clearly, there was a barrier no matter how hard we all tried to understand each other.

3. Understand Your Cultural Identity Knowing the language is part of understanding your own roots and the traditions of your people. Rather than feeling like you are isolated from your own people, you can find a sense of belonging, value your heritage, and in turn, value who you are. I believe that as you start to learn the language, interest in your culture naturally grows alongside it. As I started studying, I found that the origin of the Korean alphabet, Hangul, is incredibly significant to the Korean people. From then, I’ve been surprised by how engaged I became in Korea’s history, and I’ve finally began to understand the importance of the places that I had visited during my trip.

2. Develop Intellectually According to language scientists, learning another language is a big step to being able to master more languages and improve skills in multitasking. In addition, as the brain needs to translate and work between different languages; it learns to “balance multiple ways of understanding.” I believe that language is quite interesting in that sometimes there are certain words that have connotations that are almost untranslatable. Understanding these things are possibly the most difficult parts, but it certainly gets me thinking about several words from different perspectives.

4. Find More Opportunities in the Future There is greater demand for employees who are bilingual, trilingual, and more.

Thus, even if it isn’t your mother tongue, proficiency in a language in addition to English can prove highly beneficial to one’s career. I hope that as I learn more Korean, I can have more opportunities in the future. For example, after undergrad, I have my sights set on a graduate school near Seoul. Therefore, if I improve my Korean enough, I hope that I will have the power to lead my life in the direction that I want.

After this article, if you’re looking to improve your skills in your language, it’s a good idea to start now. Don’t assume that you will have time later, and instead, focus on doing a little bit at a time.

Get some workbooks or language apps. Practice online, and use a notebook to help you write. If you have a family member who is willing to help, choose to only speak to them in your native language, and they can correct you if you mess up the grammar or forget a word. Don’t be embarrassed! Just keep at it, and eventually, you may find that there is great value in the effort. akim@apachepowwow.net Graphic courtesy of VECTORSTOCK.COM

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February 2019

By AILIN ATASOY Staff Writer

Since politicians are continuously in the public eye and are often not the most popular household names, they are easy targets to be the butt of jokes. Comedy and politics have gone hand-in-hand for years. Not only do relevant jokes ensure fresh material is churned out, but they also provide insight

into the state of the world in a different way compared to that of a droll cable news channel. Mixing a bit of humor into the news allows more people to be interested in current affairs, which is undeniably important.

However, many say that political comedy has taken a turn for the worse. Political comedy started as early as the 1600s when famous poets and writers made fun of officials and the upper-class through subtle satirical pamphlets.

Eventually, it evolved into shows like the Colbert Report, which mocked the zeal and beliefs of hardcore Republicans. By the turn of the millennium, political humor became darker and edgier. Compared to the ‘80s and ‘90s, the stereotypical Republicans are seen as poorly educated people as comedians have adopted conde-

scending elitist tones towards them. Of course, there is substance behind this change—the Republican party has changed drastically in the past half-century, as the base now is wildly different from that of Reagan’s. Though there’re still many mild and thoughtful conservatives out there, we have seen more racism coming out of the shadows, most of it championed by some of these extreme conservative nationalists who are supporting and emboldened by the 2016 election; this portrays the divide in the Republican party today as Trump and other GOP leaders are clashing over the future of their party.

Yet although there may be some truth behind the harsh portrayals of politicians, political humor has become more “political” and less “humorous”. Gone are the days of comedic rou-

tines consisting of poking fun at mannerisms on both sides. Nowadays, they are simply political statements with a few jokes sprinkled in. Comedians are received with applause rather than laughter.

I do believe that comedy has been somewhat ruined by political motives, especially since I now become more enraged rather than amused after watching these comedy/news shows (ironic since watching TV is supposed to relax me). But maybe it just shows how broken and divided our country is, and how much we are needed to come together and fix it. aatasoy@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of FONTSPACE.COM and TESTINGEXCELLENCE.COM

Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is

By ANABELL XU Staff Writer

To my love: I love you. Like a lot. You light up my life; you support me whenever I’m down, and it feels like I can’t stop staring at you. You’re the reason that life feels so much brighter; you’re my comfort whenever I feel down, and you keep me on track. You are the last thing I see at night, the first thing I see in the morning. You, and only you, are the true reason why life seems so wonderful.

Oh, let us go then, you and I, when the evening is spread against the sky, like an anime body pillow on my bed.

Which you are.

Huh. All right, all right, full disclaimer, I don’t actually have an anime body pillow, nor do I ever want to either have one or a have romantic relationship with one. But hey, all my single people across the world who find comfort in your resident anime body pillow, you do you, especially on this Valentine’s Day. Speaking of which, it’s the month of Val-

entine’s Day! And for everyone who isn’t in a relationship, it may feel like you’re being ostracized. Love is something that a lot of people want, especially during times when it seems like everyone else across the world is romantically involved. But what if you can’t get a significant other? Well, man, does the commercial world have an answer for you.

Anime body pillow?

Check! Local resident anime “waifu”? Check!

One Direction poster?

Check!

Romantic fanfiction? Check!

Stalking your favorite model on Twitter and buying all their merch?

Uh, sure, but tone down the creepiness. Taylor Swift concert? Check!

Fake girlfriends that you can rent online? Check?

There’re plenty of fish in the sea, but why get actual fish when you could have the cardboard cutout of a model fish that lives five hundred miles away from you?

Especially since, you know, the fish you know aren’t exactly interested in you, or maybe they are but you’re both too awkward to actually embrace your feelings, and you feel like you’re going to be alone forever. And trust me, the com-

mercial world knows this.

Lots of agents, especially for pop stars and models, are very aware of how attractive their client is and play it up so that more people will either buy the person’s merch or attend their concerts or buy their products or love whatever the client is doing. Of course, they’re not advertising this attractiveness to people in a happy relationship, because those people already have a source of romantic fulfillment. They’re advertising to the single people.

That’s right, you heard me, your local cartoon husbando is nothing but a marketing trick designed to get you, a single person, to fall in love and buy their merch! Your K-pop stars?

Why do you think they’re not allowed to date?

Justin Bieber? There were riots in the streets just to meet him, almost entirely composed of single, pre-teen girls.

Companies advertise to the single people because it’s hard to go through life without feeling sad about your romantic situation at least once. In fact, people are so desperate for love that they’ll photoshop their own pictures on

Tinder to seem more attractive, or fish online for compliments, or even send flowers to themselves so they can brag on Instagram. There’s a lot of profit to be made if you can fill a massive, gaping hole in someone’s heart.

And if that hole can be stuffed with an anime body pillow, well, there’s your cash cow.

Love has become increasingly more commercialized nowadays, but I doubt that it’s marketed towards those who already have romantic fulfillment.

Most things that are intended to be romantically attracted are actually meant for single people to buy and consume, as they try to fill what they feel is a void in their lives.

So stay militant, my single people. Love is hard to find; be careful about really falling in love for an image of something that doesn’t exist. Why? Because it will never love you back. axu@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of CLIPART-LIBRARY.COM

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theapachepowwow.net

By KAITLIN LEE

February 2019 Staff Writer

From the day we get on social media, we are warned by school, parents, or guardians to be careful of what you say and what you share.

Indeed, the Internet is a hive where information is absorbed and can never leave, so people should be careful of what they choose to divulge and share. However, people believe that it should be fine if we share information on actual social media pages. But as more and more revelations of websites like Facebook and Snapchat are releasing private information, we need to consider how safe we actually are on these sites.

Firstly, we should analyze what social media even does with the information you give them. A big portion of it is advertising, which is how these sites get the majority of their money; for instance, in 2016, Facebook ad revenue jumped from $3.3 billion to $5.2 billion. Social media also uses this information to bring certain posts to your focus, depending on your interests or previous posts you liked before. As more and more people log onto these social media pages, companies work to refine their process to make their site interfaces more accessible and refining their data.

Luckily, as Forbes magazine writer Jayson DeMers wrote, “most social platforms now offer semi-transparent privacy settings” that make it easier for users to control what can be seen or not. However, there is still some concern over what social media can use your information for.

Take, for instance, that infamous story where a Target store somehow found out a teenage girl was pregnant before her father could by analyzing her most recent searches. And another example would be the most recent Facebook scandals involving the misuse of data.

However, social media pages are now working to ensure more safety for their users. As of Feb. 6 of this year, Facebook will now let users see how their data was used to choose advertisements for their feed as well as show where these ads come from. But the most important thing to remember is that the most common problems stemming from leaked information on social media are because of human error. Users should be careful of who they share information with and what information they do share. They should be careful of when they post something, especially if it has a location tag on it. They need to be proactive about protecting their own data. If we are sure that we are using it safely, then social media can become better for everyone.

klee@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of PINTEREST.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

By AILIN ATASOY

Staff Writer

CROOK. PHILOSOPHER. STRAIGHT UP G. This is how I would describe my favorite historical figure, Diogenes of Sinope. Almost everything he’s done is a “mood”—just see for yourself.

His story starts in Sinope, Turkey, where his father minted coins and where he was exiled from because he debased the currency. Eventually, he traveled to Athens in an effort to change their established values (he is very non-traditionalist).

The most notable thing about him is his lamp, which he is most famous for. This is because he once strolled into the marketplace during full daylight with a lamp; when asked what he was doing, he replied with “I’m just looking for an honest man”, which portrays not only his sarcastic character but also his disdain for the pompousness he viewed as tainting the intellectual discussions in Athens. Also contrary to Athenian customs, he ate at the marketplace when he’s hungry.

There are also some iconic sassy lines that he may have said (although some think it’s apocryphal). One of which was said to Alexander the Great—“I am searching for the bones of your father but can not distinguish them from a slave’s”. I love this quote because I, a modern woman, share the sentiment that someone who deigned a slave is no less human than a king.

The second story is about his answer to someone asking how he wished to be buried. He said to be “thrown outside the city wall so wild animals could feast on his body” and when asked if he minded this, he said, “Not at all, as long as you provide me with a stick to chase the creatures away” and when asked how he could use the stick since he would lack awareness, he replied “If I lack awareness, then why should I care what happens to me when I am dead?” Finally, and this is the best of them all, was his take on something Plato said. He held great disdain for Plato and his abstract philosophy, considering Antisthenes as Socrates’ true heir because of his love for virtue and indifference to wealth. Plato was once applauded for saying the definition of man was an animal, biped, and featherless—Diogenes then brought a plucked chicken the next time and said, “This is Plato’s man.”

However, what I have to thank Diogenes the most for is not the true comedic gifts he has given us, but a word that is important to me. Once when asked where he’s from, Diogenes said, “I am a citizen of the world (cosmopolites).” Not only was this radical because in Ancient Greece, but men’s identity was also closely tied to their city-state, he is basically credited with creating the word cosmopolitan. As someone who struggles to identify with her community and labeling of her culture, I am glad to see that someone out there, albeit someone who has been dead for a couple thousand years, have understood that feeling and has created a word to embody it.

aatasoy@apachepowwow.net Photo courtesy of TIME.COM

February 2019

7

features.pw@gmail.com

By CHARLES SU

Staff Writer

As teenagers, a little extra money is always useful for outings with friends, college tuition, or our own amusement. I’m sure most of us are aware of apps or websites such as eBay, Poshmark, and Depop. Many people have been able to make good profits just from selling items they want to get rid of. Re-selling your items is similar to donating your items because they don’t go to waste!

Here’s how to successfully sell your unwanted goodies so you can earn that extra COIN you desperately want or need.

Dallas Wolford, just last year, made around $2,400 dollars from reselling her items on an app called Mercari. She was insanely busy with her everyday life and needed some extra money after paying back student debts. Wolford didn’t necessarily have the time to work an extra job to get more money, so she decided to resell items because listing them online and shipping items when sold were quick. She didn’t expect reselling online to be such a hit and now recommends trying it out: “You have nothing to lose other than a minute of time from uploading it, and potentially $5 to $50 to gain.”

Honesty: We all know it’s important to tell the truth, but we don’t always do it. However, in the business of reselling, honesty is key. For example, if you list a shirt with a hole in it, make sure you add a caption about it to let everyone know. You don’t want to leave out important details on your items just to sell them because it could lead to bad reviews and fewer sales in the future. Selling something for super cheap because of a flaw is so much more fulfilling than cheating someone out of more money and not letting them know enough about what they’re purchasing.

Be open to offers: Especially on Depop, people are always open to bargaining their prices.

This is what attracts more attention to your reselling page and will give you better reviews and sales. Usually, if you try to sell an item for a very high price that is final, that item will stay listed for a long while. If your price is negotiable, people will try to at least interact with you to buy your item for a lower price. Even offering free shipping for items will be really helpful in selling your items quicker.

Stay active: The sellers who get the most business naturally have a lot of items on their page.

It attracts more buyers because those shoppers feel that they have more to choose from. At the moment, you might not have many items to sell, but over the years, you will eventually have more things to sell to add to your page. List anything you want to get rid of because you never know what you can sell.

Even though it seems more like a strict business rather than fun, selling old items can actually be extremely enjoyable. Just the idea of getting money for items you don’t want anymore to spend on new items is really exciting! Not only that, your items will be given a new and more appreciates home. Quit pondering on the idea of reselling and take action to do it as soon as you can!

Strategy games are known to be perplexing and entertaining, especially if you’re competing against another person. One of these games is Hearts of Iron 4 (HOI4), a grand strategy game that takes place in the years right before WW2 (1936). The player can choose to be any country during the time and have complete control of it. Freshman Branden Leong said that “managing and controlling your own country, and leading it into war provides a fun challenge and satisfaction.” There are many features to this game, but let’s start with the economic side of the game.

Every province or state in the game has a capacity for certain buildings. Province buildings include fortifications for naval and land-based provinces, and naval harbors also allow fleets to dock there and repair ships. There are many assigned buildings, but here are the important ones.

Civilian factories assist in building other buildings, and nuclear facilities exclusively produce nuclear bombs by percentages. Only civilian factories can be used to purchase resources from other countries. Military factories are committed to a production line, and more factories to one production line result in higher production rates. Naval dockyards are similar to military factories, except ship output is significantly less.

Each nation comes with research slots which varu, depending on the starting country you choose. In these research trees, you can examine equipment for your army, industry technology, or engineering which includes computers, nuclear research, and powerful engines. For the three branches of warfare (naval, air, and land), there are different doctrines to research for each. For example, you can further pursue mobile warfare or blitzkrieg as Germany did, or research the air doctrine of strategic destruction much like the Allies did.

Through every in-game day, you gain political power which can be used to acquire political and army advisors. Higher war support allows the country to convert their economies and mobilize.

Each major nation has a nationwide focus tree that can change several political ideas, add factories to specified states, give war goals toward other countries, and change diplomatic status with various countries. Nations that are weaker can join factions to guarantee safety, and faction members can join wars against the aggressor. Wars are fought using the frontlines option, which assigns divisions to the front. Offensives can be planned using the drawing tool, or you can individually command units. The performance of your division depends on a variety of factors, as terrain can favor the attacker or defender. Division templates are customizable with different types of equipment and various support companies. One side finally wins when either all “majors” (ex. Germany, Italy, and Japan) of the faction capitulate, when or all members of the faction surrender. Nations capitulate when they control less than 20% of their victory points; victory points are states that have cities, and the capital and second capital always contain the most. The defeated nations territories are present in the peace conferences with a turn-based system allowing the victors to select states that they want. States that have participated heavily in the war receive more victory points.

The most important part of aerial warfare is to obtain air superiority. This is achieved when you have more fighter planes in an area. From there, you can deploy close air support or strategic bombers to target the enemies industry. Planes can also assist in naval battles, planes such as torpedo bombers can drastically change the results of the engagement.

The other aspect is naval warfare. There are different classes of ships, but they all pertain to the time period of WW2. Aircraft carriers are especially devastating and are capable of destroying an unprotected fleet, much like real life. Battleships, destroyers, cruisers, and submarines can be used for other roles. Submarines are especially effective at sinking convoys, which usually contain divisions or supplies.

The replayability of this game is virtually endless with updates constantly improving the game. HOI4 also has a community that makes several mods that adds more difficulty or features to the game, and some mods are even set in alternate worlds or different periods like the Cold War. Multiplayer is another feature that makes this game even more enjoyable, as you can conquer the world with your friends or fight against one other. With all the features mentioned above, this game is fairly complicated to learn at first. You need to know several things that you cannot simply learn by the in-game description; not even the tutorial teaches the mechanics of the game easily! Despite this, once you learn the game, it’s extremely fun and provides a challenge at your discretion. Like IGN said, “Hearts of Iron 4 wields complexity like a swift armor division during the blitzkrieg, allowing it to serve the idea of layered, cerebral, strategic warfare instead of letting it needlessly bog down the experience.”

cwang@apachepowwow.net Graphic courtesy of BALTANA.COM

csu@apachepowwow.net Graphic courtesy of FREEPIK.COM and VECTEEZY.COM

By CAITILIN WANG

Staff Writer

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By KYLIE HA

February 2019

AHS’ Favorite Books Staff Writer

While some of us may not like reading, each and every one of us has read at least one book that appeals to our taste. By interviewing different grades, here’s a perspective as to which books are the most popular around our campus, and a list of books that are just must-reads!

Many students at AHS like reading fiction—this includes Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the series of The School of Good and Evil by Soman Chainani, the trilogy, Delirium, Pandemonium, Requiem by Lauren Oliver. Freshman Ella Sung agrees with this list of recommendations. “My favorite book is The School of Good and Evil because the series shows both sides of the story and there are a bunch of unexpected plot twists.”

Around AHS, many students tend to find old childhood memory books to be their favorite. Freshman Leilani Wetteraneau stated, “I love Wonder by R. J. Palacio because I can see multiple different perspectives and it’s so interesting!”

Nonfiction & historical books also seem to be a popular read for upperclassmen! Books such as The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry were all suggested Goodreads.

Here are the top books, each one in different categories: Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell (Romantic Fiction): Set in Omaha, Nebraska, in the mid-1980s, neither of the characters fit in, Eleanor is a misfit redhead, and Park is halfKorean. While their romance blossoms over the pop culture they love, specifically, over comic books and mixtapes, this book addresses the deep “psychological baggage that each character has, and never brushes it off as mere ‘teenage drama.”

Night by Elie Wiesel (Non-fiction Historical): This classic read dives into the autobiography of one man’s journey to survive the Holocaust, a gripping portrait of both the concept of hope and the depths of evil—all of which human beings are easily capable of. For books similar to this, refer to The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank.

Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, An Abundance of Katherines, Turtles All the Way Down, and Looking for Alaska by John Green (Romantic, dramatic, fiction): Author John Green seems to be in the center of the whirlwind for students around AHS! Whether it’s his emotionally connecting love stories, or how smoothly the story flows, all of Green’s books are a hit, never to be missed.

Books of all categories are ways to relax, get your mind off of things, and take a quick break. While many of the students around campus rarely have time to read, take into consideration at how there are so many categories of books—just waiting to be read by you!

kha@apachepowwow.net Graphic courtesy of NYPL.ORG

preparations for Speech and Debate

By BECKY CHEN Staff Writer

By MICHELLE LEE Staff Writer

Every year around the cusp of January and February, bursts of red fill the streets and firecrackers send their sparks into the air as people all over the world gather together to celebrate Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year celebration is a festival full of cheer and goodwill as households across the globe welcome the new year and the luck and prosperity that it brings.

Students of AHS are no exception when it comes to celebrating Lunar New Year, and each family has its own set of traditions it follows.

“Many of my relatives are back in China, so we don’t really have the opportunity to have massive family gatherings, and everything is sort of busy around this time of the year as well, but my family still makes sure that we have dinner together on New Year’s Eve,” said junior Olivia Chen. “Every year, we have to eat dumplings, fish, and nian gao, which is a sticky rice cake.” When celebrating the Lunar New Year in China, there is a set of traditional foods that almost every family eats for the New Year’s Eve dinner. Many families eat fish because the Chinese word for fish is very similar to the word for profit, so eating fish will bring prosperity

in the coming year. Similarly, nian gao means “successful year” in Chinese, and eating it is believed to bring luck and success.

Other than family dinners, gifting money is also a very prevalent tradition, particularly in Chinese culture. “My relatives always make sure to give my siblings and me red envelopes,” said sophomore Evelyn Lo. “By the end of the day, I actually end up with a lot of money, so it’s the highlight of my year.” Although most of the attention is focused on what’s inside the envelope, traditionally, the significance of the envelope actually comes from the red color of the envelope itself. Red is a lucky color meant to symbolize life and happiness, and wrapping money in red is supposed to bestow luck and prosperity on the receiver. In China, the red envelope is supposed to ward ghosts away, granting the receiver a safe and peaceful year ahead.

The Lunar New Year is a time full of fun, music, and a time spent with family and friends to welcome luck, prosperity, and peace into their lives in preparation for a new year. mlee@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of FONTSPACE.COM, ISTOCK.COM, and PNGIMAGE.COM

From giving a humorous speech to arguing about the economy, AHS’ amazing Speech and Debate Team definitely works hard when it comes to tournaments. But how exactly do our competitors prepare for these nerve-wracking events?

When it comes to debate, most members usually get started as soon as their topics come out. Sophomore Perry Lu has been competing in Public Forum, a type of debate where two partners go against another pair. “The resolution [for the Spring Varsity tournament] was announced at the beginning of January,” Perry stated. “My partner and I started as soon as it came out but at a slower rate. Then we built it up on the same week as the tournament.”

For another form of debate called Parliamentary Debate, where competitors only get 20 minutes at the tournament to prepare arguments, our debaters find it a lot more nerve-wracking.

“My partner and I try not to stress so much about it,” freshman Yana Verma confessed. “Then at the competition, we work really hard at it.”

Our speech competitors also work hard at memorizing and perfecting their scripts. Senior Bridgette Yang competes in Duo Interpretation, a type of speech event where partners perform

a piece of literature. One of the main factors of Duo Interpretation is to keep the other partner in mind throughout the entire performance. For example, one of the rules for this event is that you’re not allowed to look at the other partner at anytime. “When my partner and I choose our script, we keep our personalities in mind so our performance can fit well,” Bridgette explained.

“Then we practice consistently leading up the tournament. When we practice, we basically run it a lot of times so we know exactly where the other person is because we can’t see or touch them. We also ask for critiques from the other people in our class.”

When speech tournaments come around the corner, our speech competitors sign up for in-class speeches, where they can practice speaking in front of the class. Not only does this allow them to get feedback from the class, but it also helps them practice in front of a crowd as if it was the real tournament.

Currently, the Speech and Debate Team is at their peak tournament season. Spring Debate has passed, and Speech Follies is coming up on Mar. 29 and Mar. 23! bchen@apachepowwow.net Graphic courtesy of PNGIMAGE.COM

February 2019

9

studentlife.powwow@gmail.com

By CINDY TSE Staff Writer

Whether it be school supply shopping or just browsing for a gift, stationery is a hugely popular item for those at AHS. Not only can we use it for notes and organization, but we can also achieve that cute Instagram or Pinterest aesthetic. Notebooks, sticker tabs, pens, and memo pads galore, stationery serves both a practical and stylish role in many of our lives.

And in Arcadia, there’s no shortage of stores that sell quality stationery for affordable prices!

First up is Muji, a Japanese store that is mostly known for its home goods. In addition, it also sells clothes and has a small but highquality selection of paper goods. Common

By JESLYN CHOU Staff Writer

It’s that time of the year again, during which Girls Scouts from all around the country busily sell delicious cookies. It’s also the time when buyers quickly stock up on cookies to last them the rest of the year. What are the different Girl Scout cookie flavors, and what are our fellow Apaches’ favorite flavors?

Thin Mints: Arguably the most famous Girl Scout cookie, Thin Mints are the classic cookie that’s been a contender throughout the Girl Scouts’ 102 years of service. If you don’t already know what Thin Mints are, they’re round, mint-flavored cookies that are encased in a layer of chocolate. This is definitely a fan-favorite, and sophomore Allen Lin said that Thin Mints are his favorite cookie as they leave a “minty sensation in your mouth.”

Tagalongs: Definitely my favorite Girl Scout cookie, Tagalongs are crisp, round cookies with a circle of peanut butter layered on top. Fi-

themes among Muji’s products are simplicity and practicality. Its focus is on comfort and durability, so many of its items are often plain but are made with the utmost care. Its website relays that it strives to make sure that products “appear on store shelves in simple packaging bearing only product-related information and a price tag.”

Muji’s notebooks aren’t much in terms of design but there is a charm to its non-descript look. Its pens write smoothly and dry quickly without smearing as well. All in all, classy products for a little fee.

Then there’s Daiso, known for selling most of its products for only $1.50. It offers a wide selection of goods, and its stationery section is not just limited to writing tools. It also has decorative tape you can use to pretty-up your

nally, they’re coated with a layer of chocolate. Not only are Tagalongs my favorite Girl Scout Cookie, but they’re also freshman Sarah Kwang’s favorite. She responded that she loves the crunch of the cookie, and also the smooth, creamy peanut butter.

Do-Si-Dos: Unlike the cookies mentioned before, this cookie is actually more of a sandwich cookie, similar to the form of an Oreo.

The cookie consists of a crunchy oatmeal wafer that holds peanut butter between the two slices.

Trefoils: Trefoils are the simplest, but also one of the most delicious Girl Scout cookies! These cookies consist of shortbread in the shape of (obviously) a trefoil, pressed with the famous Girl Scout logo.

Samoas: Another fan-favorite are Samoas! These

work and envelopes large and small for you sort things and hold presents.

Senior Phoebe Chang excitedly stated, “I always buy a lot at Daiso because not only are the designs super cute, but its products also last quite a while! And rarely does it charge above $1.50 for an item.”

On the other end of the spectrum is Maido, which is certainly higher on the price scale.

Many of its things are imported straight from Japan. The store is filled with knick-knacks of all sorts, and it’s always worth a visit for gift ideas even if you don’t plan on buying there.

Quaint and cozy, it is also a favorite stop for bullet journalists for expensive but excellent journals.

Sophomore Onassa Sun is a huge fan, happily explaining, “It’s an indulgence, but I’m

always really happy after making a purchase from there.” Despite Maido’s high price tag, it also has an appeal that other stores don’t quite replicate. Its simple, cute pastel aesthetic has attracted many aspiring artists and calligraphers.

Stationery is a fun and easy way to color up your life, especially schoolwork. Doing work can even be fun with a wide variety of stationery! Take some time to browse these stores and revel in the limitless types of stationery at your disposal.

ctse@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of DAFONT.COM, REDBUBBLE.COM, and VECTEEZY.COM.

S’mores: cookies are dipped and drizzled in the greatest Although this flavor was only recently retrio: chocolate, caramel, and toasted coconut. leased in 2017, it’s already won over the hearts Senior Coco Zhao said, “The smooth blend of many kids and adults alike. S’mores are two of caramel, coconut, and chocolate make the graham cookies that have Girl Scouts and the whole samoa experience worthwhile.” name of the cookie pressed on them. In beSavannah Smiles: tween the two graham cookies is a marshmal In my opinion, Savannah low cream and a chocolate filling.

Smiles are the most underrated Thanks-a-Lot: cookie, as they’re flaky Possibly the last known flavor of the Girl shortbread cookies that Scout Cookies is the Thanks-a-Lot! This cookie are flavored like tangy is simply a shortbread cookie with the words lemon, then tossed in “Thank You” pressed on them. Along with the powdered sugar. For message, the cookie is dipped in a chocolate those who enjoy a fudge on the bottom of it. more tart cookie than a No matter what your favorite Girl Scout sweet one, this cookie cookie is, every cookie box purchased supports is definitely for you. the organization, as it benefits girls in learning Freshman Iris Lim agrees useful life skills, gaining confidence, and fuelwith my sentiments as she said that ing their spirit for being entrepreneurs and leadSavannah Smiles are her favorite ers. cookie because “they make her smile.”

Lemonades: Similar to Savannah Smiles, Lemonades jchou@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of are lemon flavored. They’re simply shortbread CLIPARTMAX.COM and DAFONT.COM cookies that have a tangy lemon icing.

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HAPPY

theapachepowwow.net

February 2019

By MANASVI CHANDRA

Ah, February. The month of love, as symbolized “love� only incite thoughts about a significant othe forms, not just eros (sexual/passionate), and many people around them. Other types of love are equal Philia, friendship, is the type of love between c bers, is often misunderstood. The reason your famil cerned for you, which is a sign of love. Agape is th that one is not too emotionally attached to. Withou harsher place. Ludus is the type of love that is not v what occurs in casual relationships. Pragma is a rati long-term goals and contributes to arranged mar to self-esteem and self-confidence. Too much o or arrogant, but with the right amount, it helps All in all, there are many typ and they all deserve re tion. So stop pining o start spreading other

February 2019

centerspread.powwow@gmail.com

VALENTINE’S DAY 11

Staff Writer

d by the infamous Valentine’s Day. But why does er, of cuddles and kisses? Love comes in many people are blind to or ungrateful for the loving lly important to us and are often unappreciated. close friends. Storge, the love between family memly might yell at you is probably that they are conhe love for the universe, for strangers, for things ut agape, the world would be an even colder and very committed and seems more playful. This is ional and practical type of love. It’s based on rriages. Lastly, philautia is self-love, related of it can cause someone to become haughty someone keep a healthy mindset. pes of love in our lives, ecognition and appreciaover that boy or girl and types of love as well!

mchandra@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of DAFONT.COM and VECTEEZY.

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By CHARLES SU

Staff Writer

On Feb. 2, AHS’ Academic Decathlon team competed in their regional competition.

It has spent its time specializing in a rigorous competition that revolves around a yearly theme on one time period. These competitions consist of many academic topics and public speaking skills that are considered difficult from an average student’s perspective. The California Academic Decathlon (CAD) recently held their annual regional competition. This year’s theme was based on the 1960s, “The Transformational Decade”. All high schools and private schools are always invited to compete. Mr. Albert Sylvia, an English and math teacher at AHS and the team’s advisor, explained the themes for each year more in depth, “Each year is a different topic, chosen by the Aca Deca committee.

It usually goes back and forth, country or continent. Then it goes back to a certain time era.”

The United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) was founded in 1968 by a teacher from California, and is currently the oldest academic competition in the nation and one of the largest. Within the state, CAD competitions consist of multiple-choice quizzes on areas of art, economics, literature, mathematics, music, science, and social science, with each contestant having 30 minutes to complete each test. Afterwards, each student gives a planned 4-minute speech and then a 2-minute impromptu speech; after

their speeches they take part in a 7-minute interview in addition to having 50-minutes to write an expository essay. The USAD has three segments, the first being scrimmages, which decide the competing team.

Regional competitions are after scrimmages, which the highest tier winners progress to nationals with two.

Scrimmages are not o ff i c i a l , and local schools use this to determine the competing team with all members participating, then higher scoring students are selected.

For example, in scrimmages, our school’s team would only compete against South Pasadena High School and another school. Winners of regional competitions are separated into Division 1-3. Our state has won 20 national titles and has come close to other

The Art Of

Impromptu SPEAking

national titles with 12-second place titles.

Each team consists of 9 students with it separated into three categories by their GPA: Honors (4.003.75), Scholastic (3.753.00), and Varsity (2.99-). Of course, there is a team captain who oversees the team.

In fact, there are two: seniors Megan Pham and Cindy Qi. According to Megan, her responsibility is “teaching the material to the team, coming up with lesson plans, and organizing meetings and tryouts.” She also voiced that they are motivated and she wants to make them always comfortable to ask for assistance, so the competitions can also focus on “bonding with them.”

The team trains two times per week and weekend meetings are called to prepare the

By REBECCA TAO Natural and eloquent speaking skills are not easy to come by. They take effort, practice, and lots of commitment. There will be times where you cannot use a script or have prepared notes before giving a speech, and you will have to act quickly on your feet to muster up an articulate speech. Working on impromptu speaking will not only help you with your presentation skills, but it will also better how you carry out a conversation.

Be confident You’ve heard it again… and now, once more—but even pretending you are confident, even if you aren’t, will help you appear calm and collected. If you convince yourself that what you say is the only truth, your audience will believe it too and feed off your confidence. Remember, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Do be inwardly self-motivated and resolute, but do not demand attention or praise.

Brainstorm first, then speak This seems obvious, but we too often start to speak and jumble our words and then cover that with more gibberish. Your audience will not demand an immediate response. Take time to breathe and organize your thoughts before you speak. In fact, you appear more endearing if you allow your audience to be on the edge of their seats waiting for your first word.

Do research beforehand, be well read Spend time cruising the web or go outside

February 2019

“A-team” before a competition. Students are also expected to study during their own time on the subjects mentioned before, this can be either from materials purchased from a private institution or by CAD. Since this year’s theme was on the 1960s, the students would analyze literature written during that time era along with multiple short selections.

For the regional competition, AHS placed individually. Because of a lack of students in the 2.5-3.8 GPA range, the team was considered incomplete and was not ranked. Instead of specialization in one area, AHS’ scores were generally well across all sections with many of the participants earning silver with occasional gold rankings. The team’s goal was to spread out its knowledge in many subjects, as Megan said that they “sought out to specialize rather than spread ourselves too thin in too many subjects.” On the other hand, Mr. Sylvia said that it performed relatively well, and was still satisfied about the results as they finished in second place, even though we didn’t have a complete team.” To add on, our team, unlike other schools, still managed to earn many medals while students only study in their spare time. If you’re interested in being in the Academic Decathlon, tryouts are usually held in April or May and Mr. Sylvia said that they are “always in need of Varsity people.” csu@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of TWITTER.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

Staff Writer

and interact with people. Put yourself out there and be open to new opportunities and learning.

If you have a lot of various life experiences or knowledge, you will never run out of things to talk about and you will have more pathways to carry your speech.

Know your audience and appeal Who are you talking to? A judge? Your classmates? Your teachers? Context is important and every group demands different expectations. What may enchant a group of teenage gamers may not have the same effect on your middle-aged history teacher. Respect your audience, appeal to their values, and recognize what will peak their interest.

Focus on strengths, move forward If you find your speech going stale, simply add a transition and move onto a new topic.

If eyes start to drift from your face to the tiles on down on the floor, raise your voice slightly to indicate a topic switch. Carry your next topic with more enthusiasm, and remember to keep your hands above your waist but not way outside your body, as to not be distracting.

In essence, speaking is a learned skill.

Pick it up, perfect it, and you will find it much easier when carrying out a conversation or giving out a speech in class. rtao@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of LYNDA.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

February 2019

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By EMMA CHEN

Staff Writer

It’s important that we maximize the resources offered to us, and as teens of the 21st century, there are lots of areas that we can take advantage of. From Crimson Education to Thomas Frank, there are many popular YouTube influencers out there who can provide us with tips on how to prevent procras-

By JESLYN CHOU

tination or include insight on life at a certain university campus. Who are some of these YouTubers, and why should you watch them?

First, let’s introduce Crimson Education.

Though they’re mainly a college admissions counseling business, their successful YouTube channel with 100,000 subscribers features biweekly videos that follow different students at various universities.

Their feed is a collection of insights from college students from all over the world and what a day in their life looks like. For example, one of their most recent videos featured a Boston University student, Stephanie, who’s majoring in computer science and minoring in statistics and dance.

Viewers can watch her average day as a senior that starts with the moment she wakes up to the

moment she calls it a night. These videos can provide valuable information about what your future might look like at a certain university.

Subscribe, and “unlock your potential today!”

Next is Thomas Frank. As a popular academic influencer with 1.3 million subscribers, he creates “videos that help you be more productive -- whether you’re in high

tures weekly podcasts and practically eight years worth of blog posts. Check him out!

Finally, YouTuber AmandaRachLee provides tips and tricks on how to keep a bullet journal and organization. With 1.2 million subscribers, she’s a successful influencer who can make all your work easy to keep track of and aesthetically pleasing to look at. She always has tons of ideas on how to make your daily planner effective and beautiful! Amanda is definitely a channel worth subscribing to.

And these are only to name a few.

There are hundreds and hundreds of YouTubers out there with plenty of studying tips school, college, university, or the real and hacks to offer. Take advantage of the world.” With videos on what habits to digital age we live in, and check them out! practice and ways to get out of a rut, he echen@apachepowwow.net seems to always be able to provide some adGraphics courtesy of vice on how we can improve our study habits CRIMSONEDUCATION.ORG, and ourselves as students. He has a second YOUTUBE.COM, channel named the “College Info Geek Podand 1001FONTS.COM cast” accompanied by a website that fea-

Staff Writer

Although AHS is obviously a coed school, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to study at a single-gender school. I don’t personally know anyone who attends a single-sex school, but many TV shows and movies occasionally have a characters who do. This has piqued my interest in the topic, so, in this article, I will be discussing what single-gender education is and whether it truly is beneficial or not.

To start, single-gender education is, as the name suggests, a school environment where boys and girls are separated into different classrooms or different schools entirely. The National Association for Single-Sex Public Education recently ran a study that estimates there are approximately 400 public schools that offer single-gender education. Although this may seem like a good idea in theory, this movement has raised a debate. This is from not only an academic standpoint, but political, civil rights, and economic points of view.

Pros of Single-Gender Education: 1. Some parents feel that coed classes may cause their children to become easily distracted by the other gender. This becomes a more prevalent sentiment as kids become older and enter middle school or high school.

2. There has been recent research that suggests natural differences in how males and females retain information. According to the Association for Psychological Science, “Specific results indicated that women excelled in verbal memory tasks, such as remembering words, objects, pictures or everyday events, while men outperformed women in remembering symbolic information, known as visuospatial processing.” With this difference, teachers could adjust their teaching styles to better accommodate the students. While not every girl or boy is the same, these studies do benefit the single-gender education movement.

3. Various researchers and studies have reported that an all boys or girls school can help its students break gender stereotypes. For example, girls are able to participate in the male dominated subjects, such as science and math, without other factors pressuring them to do otherwise. This style of education can also encourage men to participate in traditionally female dominated subjects, such as Food Science and Dance.

Cons of Single Gender Education: 1. Some critics of this movement suggest that students will need to cooperate with the opposite gender in the future. Whether this is from their job or a living situation, they will need to coexist with members of the opposite sex. A single-sex education may limit the time and opportunities for students to spend time with the opposite gender, therefore making it harder for students to assimilate into a “mixed gender” society.

2. Some parents argue that this style of education is discriminatory and degrading. One of the leading arguments for single-gender education is the opposite gender being a distraction for kids which upsets many, both parents and students alike. Although there could be an entire debate on this topic, many critics’ sentiments argue that the movement is sexist and degrading.

3. Teachers may lack the training needed to teach only one gender, and it can be hard to adjust to the teaching methods and styles that can benefit a specific sex. Just as single-gender education may not suit every student, it may not suit every teacher either.

All in all, parents and educators want what’s best for each student. With every student being unique and having a different learning style, they just need to find what suits them best! jchou@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of NICHE.COM, SHSJACKETBUZZ.ORG, and 1001FONTS.COM

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Georgia O’Keeffe:

By ASHLEY ZHAO

Staff Writer

Mother of American Modernism

In an era where female painters weren’t considered artists, but rather hobbyists who were occupying their time before an inevitable marriage and motherhood, female painters like Georgia O’Keefe were determined to prove that women were free to lead their own lives. At the age of 18, she had already cropped her hair short and dressed in masculine clothing outfits a decade before they became trendy. Even after high school, she told her classmates, ”I am going to live a different life from the rest of you girls. I am going to give up everything for my art.”

But before O’Keeffe chose to pursue art, she was only a child who lived with her parents and six siblings on a wheat farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Her mother, Ida Totto, had aspired to become a doctor, and actively encouraged her children to become welleducated. As a child, O’Keeffe developed an interest in the natural world and the arts. Her mother encouraged this as well, sending her to have art lessons with a local artist. She continued to study art in high school, and after graduating, she traveled to Illinois to attend the Art Institute of Chicago. When O’Keeffe was 20, she headed for New York City to take classes at the Art Students League where she learned realist painting techniques from William Merritt Chase, F. Luis Mora, and Kenyon Cox. You can still view one of her paintings from that time, Dead Rabbit with Copper Pot (1908), which earned her the opportunity to attend the League’s summer school. After being introduced to the revolutionary ideas of Japanese-inspired artist Arthur Wesley Dow, O’Keeffe began to experiment with her art—actively breaking from realism and starting to developing her own style by painting abstract compositions.

Her vision, which mostly developed during the first 20 years of her art career, was based on finding the essential, abstract forms in the subjects she painted. O’Keeffe applied her exceptionally keen observational skills and masterful brush abilities to indicate subtle changes in color, light, and shape. These techniques are most prominent in her series of a series depicting landscapes, flowers, and skulls. Typically, she would first experiment with the possibilities of a subject through a sequence of three to four works in a single year.

But sometimes a series would extend over a period of several years, or even decades. This resulted in as many as a dozen variations of a single subject. Furthermore, O’Keeffe aspired to transcend beyond usual distinction, letting her violate many boundaries. She loved to make large objects small and make small objects large. This is most prevalent in her series of flower paintings, where the viewer is forced to admire the beauty and vividity because of how close-up the flower is. O’Keeffe would often make flowers so large that it was hard to distinguish what the image was supposed to portray. A good example of this is her painting Red Canna (1924), where the large, bold shapes of color make it hard to tell that the subject was a flower.

As one of the first women to have international acclaim from critics and the general public, Georgia O’Keeffe wholeheartedly deserves the title as the “Mother of American Modernism”. When her popularity was at its highest, she was honored with two exhibits dedicated to her: one in 1943 at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the other at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1946. The one displayed at MoMA was especially significant, considering the fact that it was the first retrospective of work by a woman. In addition, she was a huge influence on the works of artists of the Feminist art movement, including Miriam Shapiro and Judy Chicago.

During her life, O’Keeffe always remained true to what felt familiar and natural to her. Even after a century of when her work was first displayed, she still remains one of the most recognizable and innovative female artists of the twentieth century. In the words of O’Keeffe, “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life, and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.” azhao@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of FODORS.COM and UVAMAGAZINE.ORG

Tribute Bands

By LESLIE CHEN

Staff Writer

Ever want to have the experience of hearing live music from a dead or retired artist? A tribute band is a musical group that specifically plays music of a well-known musician who has either passed away or no longer tours. They often mimic the original performer and style, too, creating the same atmosphere that you can expect from the musicians whose work they represent. Here are a few things you should know about tribute bands.

It’s a serious business.

Once dismissed as a novelty, tribute bands have emerged to be an integral part of the concert industry. Mark Lewis, a keyboardist from Led Zepagain, agreed. “I remember us earning $800 at our first gig, which was a small fortune back in the day,” he said in an interview with LA Weekly. “People went absolutely nuts.” Led Zepagain is Southern California’s top Led Zeppelin tribute band, performing around four to five times a week. Additionally, with the advent of new streaming services like Spotify and Soundcloud, tribute bands have become a profitable and booming business.

They normally play in smaller crowds.

Tribute bands typically play in smaller places like local bars and music venues. Since

they invest their own savings in purchasing equipment, arranging large tours can be an expensive matter. If you are a small pub owner, you can easily find local tribute bands to perform at your place.

They don’t just play the original music.

Not only do tribute bands play the original music, they also perform parodies. Parodies are often created by making changes to the tempo or adding any funny new lyrics to the song. This is mainly done to avoid any accusations of plagiarizing songs and music.

Tribute bands can play multiple genres.

Although tribute bands often just follow the style of one musician or group, trends are emerging where tribute bands are mimicking a greater variety of genres and music personalities. To keep their audience entertained, it’s become necessary for tribute bands to expand their arsenal.

Tribute bands are a great way to listen to music from your favorite artists at a much cheaper price! If you’re looking for a fun night of entertainment, find out if any tribute bands are performing near you. lchen@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of CLIPARTMAX.COM, PINTEREST.COM, and VECTORSTOCK.COM

February 2019

February 2019

By ANYA YANG

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arcadiaperformingarts@gmail.net

Staff Writer

The Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show took place on Feb. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of Super Bowl LIII. Headlined by pop group Maroon 5, the show featured guest rappers Travis Scott, Big Boi, and Spongebob Squarepants.

The show kicked off with Adam Levine singing Maroon 5’s throwback number, “Harder to Breathe”. Continuing with the theme of 2002 songs, Maroon 5 segued into its Grammy-winning hit “This Love”. With fireworks exploding and fire shooting from the sides of the stadium, the performance became more and more explosive as the songs carried on.

Travis Scott, the first guest rapper, was

introduced by an onscreen animated segment of the “Band Geeks” episode of cartoon series SpongeBob SquarePants. In the clip, eight seconds of fanfare from the song “Sweet Victory” were heard, performed by David Eisley and Bob Kulick. The inclusion of “Sweet Victory” in the halftime show was thought to be sparked by a Change.org petition that called for the Super Bowl to honor SpongeBob’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg, who died in November from Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Travis Scott performed his 2018 hit “Sicko Mode” with Adam Levine playing electric guitar next to him. After the energetic song was complete, Adam Levine returned to a list of hits including “Girls Like You” (which featured a church choir singing in the background) and “She Will Be Loved”.

The next guest star was Big Boi, who rapped OutKast’s “The Way You Move” in a giant fur coat. With a smoother, less energetic beat, there was a significant change in tune from Travis Scott’s previous performance and Maroon 5’s sappier hits.

However, they quickly transitioned back into Maroon 5’s high-energy songs like “Sugar” and “Moves Like Jagger”. The show ended with a blaze of fireworks and a short guitar solo from Levine.

The results of the Halftime Show were enormous. SpongeBob SquarePants’ “Sweet Victory” increased 566% in streams after the cameo, and Maroon 5 experienced simi-

lar growth and jumped 35.3% in on-demand streams. Big Boi’s performance of OutKast’s “The Way You Move” yielded a 74% streaming gain. Additionally, another Big Boi-related track, “Kryptonite,” also rose after its brief inclusion in the show by jumping about 95.3%.

However, Maroon 5 has been facing intense controversy since September, when US Weekly revealed the group had accepted the offer to perform at Super Bowl LIII. Roughly 113,000 people signed a petition asking Maroon 5 to back out of the show to support Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who ended his San Francisco 49ers contract in 2017 amid outcry over his public protests of police brutality and racial inequality. Artists like Pink and Rihanna turned down offers to perform at the LIII Halftime Show, siding with Kaepernick.

Maroon 5’s acceptance of the gig wasn’t the only criticism the Halftime Show received.

Critics called the show lackluster, and the snippet of Spongebob Squarepants was considered to be too short and merely a transition for Travis Scott. Meghan McCain, co-host of The View, said the NFL should acknowledge they are “deeply political, whether they like it or not.”

“Adam Levine said he was going to honor the struggle of people of color and there was going to be some message,” her co-host Sunny Hostin said. “Did I miss that? Because I didn’t see the message.”

Despite all of the negative reviews, Adam Levine posted a picture on his Instagram thank-

By ELLA TANG

pening, he only gave the actors the lines they needed to read. Because of this, no one had a full script of any plays that Shakespeare had written.

However, with technology such as Netflix or Hulu becoming more popular, instead of going to theaters to watch plays, more and more people tend to stay at home and stream movies online. Although movies are technically digital plays, many people don’t have interest in watching plays that were once famous or are now mainstream.

In conclusion, performing arts has changed a lot throughout time. Travelling to Broadway for a world-renowned play may no longer be as popular as it was before. We no longer go without friends or loved ones to playhouses. Instead, we would rather stay home and watch television shows. Theatres are becoming forgotten throughout the history of how performing art is involving. Less and fewer people are watching it, and many of those who care about it are not devoted.

Staff Writer

In ancient times, performing arts was more drama and theatre. The audience saw live people performing fantastic scenes in front of them. They preferred wonderful performances again and again to allow different audiences to able to see what they want to see. Now, music and tech prevail in the arts.

Before the creation of technology, people could only see performances in theatres. There was more need for the actors to go around in which they performed the same literature again and again in order to allow different groups of audiences to be able to see it. The actors often had to perform the same play more than 20 times. Actors back then didn’t have the opportunity to say “cut” when they messed up a line or a scene. The only thing they could do was move on and pretend nothing went wrong.

While the actors in the past had to act in the same plays several times, some plays were really hard to perform. For instance, plays written by Shakespeare were some of the hardest.

Shakespeare was afraid of other people stealing his work. In order to prevent this from hap-

etang@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of TOPSIMAGES.COM, 1001FONTS.COM, and 123RF.COM

ing his critics for “pushing him” to work harder.

“When we accepted the responsibility to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, I took out my pen and just wrote,” Adam Levine explained. “Some of the words that came to me at that moment eventually made their way onto the incredible lanterns that flew high and low tonight.”

He continued saying, “And the list of words is…forgive, laugh, cry, smile, share, live, endure, embrace, remember, enlighten, preserve, inspire, sweat, fight, express, give, receive, elevate, climb, unify, fortify, soften, dance, scream, dream, educate, provide, inhale, exhale, persevere, stand, kneel, overcome, love, listen. One Love.” ayang@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of DAFONT.COM, LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM, SQUARESPACE.COM, and 1001FONTS.COM

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February 2019

Athlete Feature: Ben Liu

By JASMINE OANG

Staff Writer

Senior Ben Liu has just recently finished what he says is his final season of competitive soccer in his life. A member of the school Varsity soccer team, he has played soccer since he was in first grade, much of it influencing his life and his decisions.

As an ambitious and accomplished student, Ben definitely has a lot on his plate. Looking back on his four years at AHS, he reflected, “I’ve learned about resilience and patience.

Sports have really added another dimension to my character and persona, which has positively affected my education.” Elaborating on this, he said, “Often times, training doesn’t immediately translate to tangible results. Soccer has really taught me about visualizing long-term goals, working consistently toward them, and trusting the process.”

Trusting the process indeed, Ben suffered an injury his junior year which brought doubts about the sport and internal conflict. It was also a tough season for our boys this year, with a season record of 4-8-2 and an overall record of 5-92. With a larger senior body of players, the team put up a valiant effort in trying to make this last season memorable.

When asked about a significant moment this season, he shared, “The most memorable moment this season was playing against Hoover in the first half of the season. During that game, I regained my confidence in creating plays, de-

By MELODY YANG

ENDING A GREAT SEASON Senior Ben Liu smiles for a picture after finishing a fantasic and unforgettable season with Boys Varsity Soccer. He continues his journey at Stanford with hopes to further both his academic and athletic career. fending, and running the field.” Adding to this significant moment, Ben said, “It was my first time playing at full-fitness after a devastating ankle fracture in junior year. All my doubts about quitting were erased.” That game was also an amazing game for our Apaches: winning 2-0, it was their first league win and their second overall win of the season.

The team, of course, has also had a large impact beyond compare. Ben revealed, “I re-

member after being admitted into Stanford, one of my teammates walked up to me and said ‘After you got into Stanford, I felt like I got in too.’” He noted, “Everyone on the team has been super encouraging and influential in the development of me both as a player and a person.” To his younger cohorts, he advised, “Continue working hard and applying lessons learned throughout sports to your daily life.”

Looking back on his own journey, he added,

Staff Writer

On Monday, Jan. 28, Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans made it clear through a statement that he would not sign a long-term contract with any team other than the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. has come and gone, and the Pelicans have had no response to the Lakers’ final offer. What led to this point and most importantly, why did the Pelicans refuse to give up Davis? Below are the details.

Ten days before the NBA trade deadline, Anthony Davis expressed that he would only sign a long-term contract with the Lakers. Davis reportedly requested a trade and informed the team that he would not extend his contract.

The Pelicans said in a statement to ESPN, “This past weekend, Anthony Davis’ representatives informed us that Anthony does not wish to sign a contract extension with our team and subsequently has requested a trade. Although we are disappointed in this decision, our organization’s top priority is to bring an NBA championship to our city and fans [and] build our team for longterm success.” Regarding Davis’ trade request, the Pelicans had said, “Relative to specific talks of a trade, we will do this on our timeline. One that make sense for our team, and it will not be dictated by those outside of our organization.”

What made Davis want to go the Lakers

WHERE WILL HE GO? Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis confirms his leave from his team. With several options on board for him, it’s still unknown where he will go next. so badly in the first place? A lot of it has to do with Lebron James. In the past summer, Davis had fired his longtime agent to hire James’ agent and friend, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, signaling a potential move from New Orleans and possibly to Los Angeles.

The two players even had dinner together after their game on Friday, Dec. 21. James also expressed that it “would be amazing” to play

with Davis, showing his wish to have Davis on the team. There’s no doubt that these trade talks between the Lakers and the Pelicans stem from James’ desire to gain another superstar for the Lakers and make the team well on their way to another championship.

Trade talks between the two teams led to the Lakers offering nearly their entire team, with the exception of Lebron James. Their fi-

“Any sport, I believe, is a vehicle to move you toward more meaningful discoveries in life and more focused pursuits.”

Thank you, Ben, for sharing your experience and journey. Good luck in all your future endeavors! joang@apachepowwow.net Photo by CONNER HUA Graphic courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM

nal offer to the Pelicans reportedly consisted of their entire young core of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Ivica Zubac as well as veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope along with two first-round draft picks plus cap relief.

However, when the Pelicans asked for an additional six to eight draft picks, the Lakers were unwilling. “They wanted more and more,” one person with knowledge of the situation said. “There was no more to give. But the more they wanted, the more it became outrageous and unrealistic.”

The Lakers pulled out of all trade talks because of the “outrageous” requests, and no further negotiations have been made between the two teams. Trade rumors have evidently destroyed the Lakers’ chemistry, apparent in their 42-point loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, Feb. 5, the worst loss in James’ career. The players appeared disjointed and disinterested playing together.

With the trade deadline passed, team chemistry destroyed, and no Davis, it’s hard to see where the Lakers will go from here. If the Lakers want to play well in future games, they will have to pull themselves together amid all the drama. myang@apachepowwow.net Photo courtesy of USATODAY.COM Graphic courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM

February 2019

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2019 TRACK WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS Athletes from all over the state came together for AHS’ annual California Track and Field Winter Championships on Feb. 9. The athletes participated in several events including: the 60m dash, 300m dash, sprint medley relay, and long jump. The competition was fierce, but our Apaches gave it their all.

By KALI TAM

Staff Writer

Track season has officially begun, and the annual California Track and Field Winter Championship meet was held on Feb. 9 at AHS to give student athletes all over the state a chance to compete in indoor-length events, despite the actual meet being held outdoors. However, unlike other typical high school track meets, athletes were only eligible to participate in this competition if they attended one of the previous Winter Championships Qualifier meets and hit the required time standard for their age and event. These qualifying meets were held in high schools across California for four consecutive

By JUSTIN CHEN

weeks before the event, and one was also hosted

by AHS on Feb. 2.

At this meet, some events included the pentathlon, shot put, and pole vault, and athletes from many different schools participated with the hopes that they would bring home the gold. Emilie Sung, who is a sophomore on the AHS’ track team, was one of the few Apaches who qualified for two running events—the 60m dash and the sprint medley relay. Being able to meet the time requirements for this prestigious meet is not something that most sophomores can say they have done, and one of the reasons why Emilie has been able to accomplish this is because of her dedication and commitment to the sport. She states that she devotes a lot of

time outside of school to attend track training and that she makes sure she puts in 100% every time in order to get the most out of her practices. Before most track meets, Emilie reveals that she usually “carb-loads, stretches, ices, and takes a short nap,” since these things have proven to improve her performance. For this particular meet, she adds on that her preparation ritual played a part in helping her “run faster than expected on both the 60m dash and [her] portion of the sprint medley relay,” but she hopes that she will be able to “improve more if she practices race starts by getting off the block quicker and by boosting [her] sprint endurance.” In addition to Emilie, some of the other Apaches who also qualified to compete at the Championship

meet include Anthony Carranza, who also ran the 60m dash, Tianyuan Pei, who ran the 1500m and 3000m, and Jeremy Liu, who participated in the long jump event.

Being able to compete in the Winter Championship meet was definitely not an easy feat since so many qualified runners and track stars decided to take on the challenge at the Qualifier meets across California. Even if they did not achieve the results that they had hoped, we are very proud of our Apaches for putting in so much hard work and effort into the competition! ktam@apachepowwow.net Photo courtesy of KAILIN LIU Graphic courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM

CoEd Varsity Badminton Staff Writer

Swish, swoosh. As birdies fly through the air in AHS’ North Gym, only one thing is clear: the upcoming season for CoEd Varsity Badminton will be here soon, and our Apaches are wasting no time to prepare.

Junior Varsity Captain Kevin Yoo told us, “Our team has been training really hard both on and off the courts.” From specific drills aimed at improving precise aspects of each individual’s game to just simply running laps around the track, the team has been hard at work every day after school. “With more physical and stamina training, we were able to increase more endurance and stability during our matches,” said Kevin. For a sport like badminton, endurance is almost as important as strength and speed.

If you run out of stamina and tire faster than your opponent, defeat is inevitable. In addition to these practices, many members of the team also rally together out of practice. According to junior Michelle Nguyen, “Sometimes I plan a day to play badminton with my friends outside of just the regular practices. We are able to work

on what we need to improve on, while also having fun with our friends.”

But the team doesn’t just practice. They make sure to bond and have fun as well. Senior Varsity member Alan Wu mentioned, “We usually get boba at Sharetea or AU after practice.

It’s tradition, but it also helps us relax and enjoy time with the team when we’re not practicing.

I know I can’t speak for the team, but it’s these moments where I feel the most appreciative and happy that I chose to join Arcadia Badminton.”

Wholesome and sweet, Alan reminisces on his past years on Badminton.

For Michelle, however, it’s a little different. She said, “The memories I remember most from badminton are when we are all tired after practice, sitting down in the gym, and just talking. I would just look around, and just smile. It felt good to be part of such an amazing team.”

In addition, Varsity CoEd Badminton also has a yearly bonding event at the end of the season. Last year, the team went to Santa Monica Beach. “It’s really a blast,” says Kevin, “since we all finally get to relax and just have fun with our teammates.”

Looking back at the team’s history, Kevin

HARD WORK AT PLAY As the season continues, CoEd Varsity Badminton continues its daily practices on the court. With so much hard work, the team stays optimistic. noted, “For the past few seasons, we have always won league, but at CIF we failed to succeed as much as I’m sure we would like.” This year, the team is looking for redemption. Kevin stated, “Our team’s goal is definitely the CIF Championship Title, and my individual goal would be to win the CIF Individuals Men’s Singles Title and the Social Regional Champi-

onship Title.”

Ambitious, eager, and determined, CoEd Varsity Badminton is out to prove themselves this year. Good luck, Apaches! jchen@apachepowwow.net Photo by KEVIN YOO Graphic courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM

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By ALEX KIM

Staff Writer

While grand gestures are great ways to show your love, there are many other ways to show that you care for your friends or significant other that don’t require much effort. The following is an extensive list of small things that go a long way.

1. Listen to them when they need to rant or let out their feelings. Listen to them and provide comfort and advice. Show them your support, especially when times are tough.

2. Surprise them with their favorite food or snack.

3. Offer the last slice of pizza.

4. Give spontaneous hugs.

5. Watch their favorite show with them.

You may even end up becoming invested in it as well, and voila! You have one more thing to talk about.

6. Show interest in their passions and support their goals and dreams.

7. Compliment them, especially on things

that other people may not typically notice.

8. Ask them how they are doing.

9. Send them a picture of something that reminded you of them to show that you’re often thinking of them.

10. Hype them up on social media. Leave a comment to tell them that they look bomb in their newest post and pretend like you didn’t help them choose and edit the picture.

11. Leave them a sweet (or silly) handwritten note. Bonus points if you leave it somewhere completely random and wait for them to find it.

12. Remind them to drink water.

13. Give them the bigger slice of cake.

14. Ask them if they are okay when they seem sad.

15. Remember small things that they’ve mentioned before. Bring up these small things in future conversations or use them for birthday/Christmas present ideas.

16. Support them when they’re performing/competing/putting on an event, and if appropriate, buy them a bouquet of flowers.

By YOKO INOUE

February 2019

17. Send them something funny to cheer them up.

18. Take them out for a meal or buy them boba without asking for anything in return.

19. Go on a small day trip to do something they’ve wanted to try or take them to a new place that you think that they might enjoy.

20. Cook them something. Even if you can’t cook, find a recipe and try.

21. Make them a playlist of songs that they like or you think they might like.

22. Celebrate their accomplishments.

23. Give them a book that you enjoyed.

24. Text, call, and FaceTime often (especially if they far away).

25. Tell them “I love you” at random times, when they need to hear it, and when you say goodbye.

akim@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of VECTORSTOCK.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

Staff Writer

Like all things, our world had a beginning. How it came to be is a story that has been told for centuries, but every person has their own opinions about it.

Freshman Ashley Choi says “the world was created when God said, ‘Let there be light’.” Others argue that the Big Bang or another scientific event made the world. Opinions on how the world was formed vary from culture to culture and person to person. Here are some world creation stories.

Cherokee: There was only the sky and the sea.

There was a water beetle that lived in the sky, and it was curious about what was under the great blue waters. It dived in, but later wanted a dry place to rest.

The beetle began to bring up bits of mud to the surface, and an island was made. Birds were sent down from the sky realm to see if the mud was dry, and a buzzard accidentally carved the smooth mud with his wings, creating mountains and valleys. Other animals who also came down from above struggled to place the sun just right in the sky. Eventually, they found their place and settled in. Finally, the land as we know it was created.

Egyptian: Similar to the Cherokees’ beginning, there was only an infinite and chaotic sea. The sea itself was two gods: the god Nu and the goddess Naunet.

As the sea had one god and one goddess, the beings that represented the sea’s infinite extent and darkness also had one god and one goddess each. The goddesses were with the goddesses, while the gods were with the gods, until the groups met. Pandemonium ensued, which caused a great pyramid mound to erupt from the chaotic sea. From this pyramid came the sun god that rose to give the world light. Then, continents, plants, and animals were formed and inhabited the world.

Norse: The first giant, Ymir, was born between Muspelheim, the land of fire and lava, and Niflheim, the land of ice. Another giant, the god Buri, emerged from a block of salty ice. Buri had a son named Burr, who would later sire three sons, Odin, Vili, and Ve. The three sons of Burr killed Ymir because they were bothered by the fact that the giants far outnumbered the gods. They threw Ymir’s brain up into the sky, where it became the clouds, and his skull became the atmosphere covering the world. Bones became mountains, flesh became land, teeth were made into rocks, and the hair was turned to grass and trees.

Cahto: Raven, a magical shapeshifter, was taught to make worlds by his father. The world Raven created lacked light or water. On a quest to give his world light, Raven traveled to a far off land where the House of Light resided. At the House of Light, a demanding and fussy child cried to touch the bundles hanging from the walls of his home. The child was handed one of the bundles to stop his crying, but the child accidentally let the bundle go. The bundle flew away into the sky, where it scattered stars all over. The child was given another bundle, and again he let it go, releasing the moon. The last bundle contained sunlight, which the child also set free. Now that the world had light, the child too disappeared into the sky.

How do you think our world was created?

Through chaos, emptiness, or the remains of a god or goddess? We may never know the origins of our roots, but it is still an interesting topic to think about. If you are ever feeling bored or just plain curious, travel back in time through these world creation stories to find out how our world came to be!

yinoue@apachepowwow.net Graphics courtesy of DRUMPICS.COM and 1001FONTS.COM

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By MELODY YANG Staff Writer

Chocolate often gets a bad rap for its high fat and sugar content, but it has many health benefits as well. Despite the fact that it has been associated with diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, it also has many advantageous qualities when consumed in moderation. Below are some of the many benefits that chocolate, specifically dark chocolate, has on the body.

Powerful Source of Antioxidants: Cocoa is scientifically proven to have a very high amount of antioxidants. Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) is a measure of the antioxidant activity of foods. It is calculated by setting free radicals, unstable molecules that can alter and weaken cells, against a sample of food and seeing how well the antioxidants in that food combat them. Although the biological relevance of ORAC is still skeptical due to the fact that it is measured in a test tube, it is notable how raw and unprocessed cocoa is one of the highest-scoring foods. The best kind of

By ASHLEY ZHAO

Staff Writer

Whenever I find myself baking a batch of cookies, it’s hard to resist the temptation to sneak a bite of raw cookie dough into my mouth. You can’t deny the fact that it poses a risk of salmonella, but I can’t help it because cookie dough tastes way too delicious, even with the raw egg. If you want the satisfaction of eating cookie dough, but want to eliminate the risk, here’s an easy and simple edible cookie dough recipe.

Ingredients: ¼ cup of packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons of softened butter ⅛ teaspoon of salt ⅛ teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 tablespoon of milk 5 tablespoons of flour (raw flour can be dangerous, so toast the flour at 350oF for 5 minutes to eliminate risk; be sure to spread flour out on a baking pan before baking) 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips

chocolate to eat if you want to reap its benefits, is dark chocolate with a cocoa percentage of 70% or higher. Flavonols, a kind of flavonoid only found in cocoa and chocolate, help counteract free radicals in the body and can even prevent diabetes.

Lead Researcher Claudio Ferri, M.D., a professor at the University of L’Aquila in Italy says, “Flavonoids increase nitric oxide production and that helps control insulin sensitivity.”

Reduced Stress: Chocolate contains serotonin, a natural antidepressant. It also releases several neurotransmitters with positive effects on a person’s emotions. Eating chocolate also releases endorphins into the brain, which creates feelings of happiness and pleasure. Swiss scientists found that when very anxious people ate an ounce and a half of dark chocolate every day for two weeks, their stress hormone levels were significantly reduced.

May Reduce Risk of Heart Disease: In a nine-year Swedish study of more than 31,000 women, those who ate one or two servings of dark chocolate a week lowered their risk for heart

failure by as much as one-third. This benefit of chocolate is also due to its flavonoid content, which improves the flexibility of veins and arteries. The compounds in dark chocolate also appear to be very effective in protecting against the oxidation of high cholestrol (LDL), which means that LDL has reacted with free radicals. Dark chocolate contains many antioxidants that are helpful in preventing this reaction, thus lowering the risk of heart disease and failure.

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is one of the few foods that can both taste good and have wonderful health benefits at the same time. However, moderation is key, and these perks don’t mean that you can go all out and eat a lot, since chocolate does contain a lot of sugar and calories.

But the next time you eat a piece of chocolate, you won’t have to feel so guilty now that you know its benefits.

myang@apachepowwow.net Photos courtesy of DAFONT.COM and HIGHSNOBIETY.COM

Directions: Start by mixing/mashing your softened butter, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a bowl until well-combined.

Then mix in your milk. Slowly add in flour, one tablespoon at a time in order to prevent any spilling outside of the bowl. Mix until you get a cookie-dough texture, which is when you can easily press together the dough into a ball.

Finally, add in your choice of chocolate chips.

Mix until evenly distributed among the dough.

Yay! Now you have a scrumptious batch of edible cookie dough enough for two people. Feel free to increase the number of ingredients if you want give it as a gift to your friends or share a bunch with your family. Happy baking!

azhao@apachepowwow.net Photos courtesy of CHELSEASMESSYAPRON.COM, COOKINGCLASSY.COM, and 1001FONTS.COM

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By ANNCINE LIN

theapachepowwow.net

Staff Writer

Every Feb. 14, people all over the U.S. and in countries around the world exchange candies, flowers, and other gifts with their loved ones: family, friends, and significant others. But when did this custom start, and where did it come from?

Valentine’s Day is named after St. Valentine. The holiday contains parts of both ancient Christian and Roman cultures. There are multiple stories and legends as to who St. Valentine could be. One legend states that he was a priest in Rome during the third century. According to the story the emperor outlawed marriage since he decided that single men made better soldiers. St. Valentine, however, disagreed with this and continued to perform secret marriages. When the emperor found out, he ordered that St. Valentine be put to death. Another legend states that St. Valentine was imprisoned and sent a “valentine” to a girl he fell in love with. The letter was signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still often used today.

Most people believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the anniversary of St. Valentine’s death or burial. However, others believe that the church insisted on placing this holiday in the middle of February to “Christianize” the celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated on Feb. 15, Lupercalia was a festival dedicated to the Roman god of agriculalin@apachepowwow.net ture and the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

Graphics courtesy of TRAVELANDLEIThere are many different ideas as to how this holiday started SURE.COM and where it came from. Nevertheless, I hope your Valentine’s Day was spent with your loved ones and/or significant other (but also don’t feel too bad if you’re still single, because I am too!)

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February 2019