September 2019

THE AZTEC VOLUME LXXXII NUMBER I

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

theaztecnews.com

Focus PG. 4-5

Features PG. 6

sports pg. 8

Keppel students take it upon themselves to be environmentally friendly.

MKHS students study abroad in international exchange program.

Football makes history winning first game in almost five years.

NEWS IN BRIEF New PRINTING pROCEDURE IN THE CAREER CENTER This year, all the computers in the career center are able to print documents.

To print more than five pages, notify the staff in the Career Center.

Hispanic Heritage Month Next week is Hispanic Heritage Spirit Week.

Mark Keppel will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with activities at Palm Court during lunch.

Mark your calendar 9/20 - Fall Sports Rally 9/24 - Collaboration Schedule 9/26 - Hispanic Heritage Day 10/2 - Collaboration Schedule 10/9 - Collaboration Schedule 10/11 - Homecoming Rally 10/12 - Homecoming Dance 10/14 - Pupil Free Day

Keppel’s Coach Duong begins new role as Athletic Director THE AZTEC STAFF English teacher by day, badminton coach by night, Linh Duong is eager to begin her term as Mark Keppel’s newly appointed Athletic Director (AD) for this upcoming school year. While still teaching three English classes and coaching badminton, Duong will spend her sixth and seventh period taking on AD responsibilities, such as “scheduling games, making sure [teams] have officials or the right facilities, etc.,” says Duong.

Mark Keppel’s previous AD Heather Semelmacher, on the other hand, has been promoted to be the new district Athletic Director for Alhambra Unified. However, Selemacher still plays a crucial role in Mark Keppel’s Athletic Department. “[Ms. Semelmacher and I] are still trying to work together,” says Duong, “I’m more in charge of what is going in at Keppel, while Ms. Semelmacher is in charge of purchasing [equipment] and permits.” Semelmacher adds, “I now do more of the Title IX [eduation admendement passed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex

in any education program or activity], as far as our numbers and our gender equity on the site, and our Title XI site walkthroughs...I would say I am more behind the scenes.”

While Semelmacher carries out district responsibilities, Duong wants to ensure that Mark Keppel’s sports teams have essentially everything they need. She also encourages all Keppel students to “come out and play sports,” she explains.

To manage the schedules of at least 6 teams per season, Duong plans on utilizing her organizational skills to effectively complete the tasks ahead of her. She plans on using her prior experience as a badminton coach to fulfill her duties. “I’m doing a lot of what Ms. Semelmacher had us do last year and applying it to all the different sports, like doing rosters…and having the other coaches do the same thing,” says Duong.

However, one of Duong’s more personal goals is to become an administrator. She considers being Keppel’s AD a “step leading towards that [position].” Duong hopes that

THE AZTEC/IZABELLA COFRESSI

Badminton Coach Duong poses for picture.

by becoming an administrator of any sort will give her more of an opportunity to help and interact with more students.

Students can find Ms. Duong in her classroom A238 from second to fifth period, or in the Athletic Director’s Office in the Aztec Arena from sixth to seventh period. During these office hours, Ms. Duong will be open to helping students so that they can “go out and be champions.”

Make room for Keppel lunches HANA KIKUCHI Staff Writer Eating the same choices of lunch items has been common for Mark Keppel High School students, but the new school year has brought a variety of new items to the menu. The new lunch items are pho, ramen and nacho bowls.

Keppel is trying to move forward for cultural awareness and shine a light on a different tradition of foods. According to senior Matthew Tan, the new lunches are “decent for what it is, [and] for what the school is able to afford.”

Mark Keppel’s assistant principal, Alejandra Perez had many things to say about this lunch craze. More specifically, when she was asked the reason why they changed the lunch items, she says, “they just came from the nutrition services office, and they told us they were adding new items. I believe it’s when they have the nutrition fair, and kids try out new things, and if they like something that

Students lining up for the new lunches.

they input it in the following year into the cafeteria menu.”

Since the update of the lunch menu, there has been an increase in the number of students in line for both the original and the new lunch items. When the line for the new menu items opened, it extended beyond the gate on

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the west side of the school. The popularity of school lunch has increased as more students have decided to try out the new menu.

THE AZTEC

2 NEWS

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

New AP registration changes AMY TO Staff Writer College Board, an organization that prepares standardized tests and manages the Advanced Placement program (AP), sets an earlier deadline and a new process for registering AP exams. According to Mark Keppel’s AP coordinator Danielle Acuna, the new changes allow students to “stay engaged and committed to the test throughout the year.”

Last year, students were required to select their tests through Google Forms, and pay for it at the Student Bank in February or March. However, this year, students must register by fall through College Board’s online forum and choose whether they want to commit to taking the AP exam.

In their website, College Board stated that they conducted this experiment for their pilot program. In the previous year, they asked 40,000 students to decide early. After the experiment, teachers reported that students tend to devote their time to put in more effort into learning the material, which led students to earn a 3 or higher on the exam. In addition, College Board saw a 12% boost of passing scores in underrepresented minority students, 20% in low income students, and 14% in female STEM students.

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Celebration of the new food composting program.

Fruit Recovery Program MAPLE DUONG Editor-in-Chief/ Focus Editor THE AZTEZ/IZABELLA COFRESSI

College Board offers a variety of AP classes.

Junior Kevin Chan, who is currently enrolled in three AP classes, believes that College Board’s new changes will positively impact the way students will study for their exams. “People are more inclined to stay committed to the test because they will want to do better on the test and [will] start studying earlier,” Chan says.

Although there are benefits to the new process of signing up for AP exams, there are still some disadvantages that come with it. Acuna states, “All of the schools are worried about the financial impact [the process will have] on students and families, because [students] just paid for these tests back in April and May, and six months later, we’re asking everyone to pay a lot of

money all over again.” However, if College Board continues the early registration of exams in the years ahead, the financial impact will eventually shift, and students will be able to pay for exams within each year, rather than six months.

While it is not confirmed whether College Board’s new registration and process will be followed in the future, Acuna believes that this will be a long term change that will greatly benefit students and aid with the heavy task of coordinating AP exams. She thinks that “the online aspect of this new system has taken the guesswork and inconsistencies out,” in the coordination of AP exams and “[helps] prevent students from double booking tests”.

On September 17 in Palm Court, Keppel hosted a kick-off in celebration of the school’s partnership with the AUSD Food Recovery Program alongside the Tzu Chi Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to providing food for needy families. The kick-off encourages students to reduce their waste by placing unwanted fruit or unopened packaged craisins in food recovery bins that have been set up around the Cafeteria and Palm Court.

“Students will put the fruits they do not want to eat… into these bins, and [the fruits] will be collected daily,” explains Ms. Gutierrez. The fruits would then be delivered to various food pantries through the Tzu Chi Foundation.

By partaking in an environmental conservation initiative such as the Food Recovery Program, Keppel can educate students on the importance of conserving food and keeping their campus waste-free.

Keppel hosts their annual Back to School Night MADDY LEONG & ANNIE LAM Staff Writers On September 6, Mark Keppel hosted its Back to School Night for the 20192020 school year. In addition to the usual visit to each classroom, parents had the opportunity to watch presentations given about the new AP deadlines and “Vaping: The Good, Bad & Ugly”, which explains the dangers of vaping and was presented by the Student/Employee Welfare Office.

One class that was presented during Back to School Night was AP Human Geography. This class was reintroduced after four years of being discontinued. “I wanted to show the parents what we [the class] really do and what the emphasis of human geography is,” says Tin Tran, the AP Human Geography teacher. He prioritized letting the parents experience the class, and focused less on the syllabus.

Tran,later, explained how he introduced the teaching methods to the parents. “I

actually have parents who participate and did an activity that I did with my students,” exclaims Tran. In this exercise, the parents were presented with a series of countries where they had to identify them. This activity helped ease the parents in learning the procedures of the class. Back to school night informs parents on how specific classes work and how new classes like AP human geography will work.

Many teachers and students feel that Back to School Night is an important event for both students and parents. Student volunteer and junior Ashlee Truong says, “It is important for people to attend Back to School Night, so they can see what the environment of the class is like.” Biology Honors teacher Ms. Hake agrees. “I see Back to School Night as an information night. It’s a meet and greet for teacher[s] and parent[s]...this night is more of a ‘setting up the year’ night,” says Ms. Hake. Back to School Night gives parents a helpful insight into what their child will be learning that year. It is where teach-

PTSA advertises College Night programs.

ers go over their lesson plans and goals for the year and allows parents to “meet [their child’s] teachers, know the class’ expectations, and be involved in [their] grades,” says Hake.

At the end of the night, parents left Mark Keppel feeling well-informed about

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their students’ teachers, their expectations and rules. Parents also got, as stated by Brown, “an amazing opportunity to get to know the people who are teaching your [their] kids.”

THE AZTEC 2019-2020 Maple Duong

Jasper Duong

Fiona Chan

Madelyn Leong

Meily Tran Staff Writer

Izabella Cofressi

Danny Estrada

Natasha Miyano Staff Writer

Ryan Wong Staff Writer

Ryan Bautista

Mala Hu Staff Writer

Tiffany Nguyen-Tran Staff Writer

Ellis Yang Staff Writer

Katherine Dodge

Hana Kikuchi Staff Writer

Amy To Staff Writer

Fiona Zeman Staff Writer

Editor-in-Chief/ Focus Editor

Copy Editor

Selina Martinez

A&E/Features Editor/ Chief Photographer

Editor-in-Chief/ Viewpoint Editor

Quennie Zeng News Editor

Laura Chen Sports Editor/ Business Manager

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Annie Lam Staff Writer

Staff Writer

The Aztec is published monthly by the journalism class of Mark Keppel High School and is printed by News publishers’ press.

Opinions expressed are those of the writers, not of the faculty or administration. Articles without bylines are staff editorials, and reflect the opinion of the staff.

Letters to the editor are welcome and are subject to editing. Letters can be given to Ms. Yaklich in room A134 or sent to theaztecstaff@gmail.com. All letters must be signed, but on request, names will be withheld. We do not acknowledge unsigned letters.

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Alhambra, CA 91801

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

THE AZTEC

VIEWPOINT 3

Taking Additional AP Courses ELLIS YANG Staff Writer The high demand for AP classes and the difficulty that comes with trying to accommodate multiple courses into a 6-period schedule leaves students unable to take desired classes. As a result, some students turn to online course programs where they can take whatever course, even AP courses, online during the school year. The decision to take additional AP courses online is prevalent in states such as Florida, where the Florida Virtual School allows students to take courses online for free. Contrastingly, this educational route is uncommon at Keppel. Nevertheless, the idea of taking additional online AP courses while attending Keppel has its benefits and drawbacks.

One of the main reasons online courses appeal to students is the unlimited variety of subjects to choose from. For example, Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is an accredited K-12 online course program, free to all Florida residents. It offers APs, Honors, Regular, and even Career and Technical Education Courses (CTE). “In high school, you are very limited in what you can explore in terms of classes. So by taking those online classes you can go beyond what your school offers and really see what you like,” says College Advisor Ms. Stephanie Pagaza.

In addition, online courses provide flexibility. Students who take online courses, even at the rigorous AP level, may begin whenever they wish, whether it is during the summer or during the school year. Junior Polly Ren is currently taking an online AP US History course through National University Virtual High School (NUVHS).

She says, “The schedule is even more flexible than [a school period] because I can literally go online any time of the day... there is an online textbook and [I] basically read a certain amount every week... [and the] assignments and discussions [I] have to do for each unit are due at the end of the week,” says Ren. Thus, Ren is able to accommodate an extra class even as she pursues sports and dedicates time to her regular schoolwork from classes at Keppel.

However, because California does not have a program such as FLVS, enrolling in an accredited online AP course is expensive. In addition, online AP course still require as much time and effort as in-classroom AP classes. Therefore, if students do not have substantial reasons for taking extra courses, they may be putting themselves through unnecessary stress.

Whereas FLVS is free for its local residents, out-of-state students who are interested in their classes must pay a tuition fee through FLVS Global School. These fees range from $400 for ½ credit (1 semester),

Polly Ren (11) logs onto her online AP US History course.

$800 for full credit (2 semesters), plus an additional $25 for AP courses per semester. As of currently, California does not have a similar state online course program, and prices at most accredited programs are steep. The class in which Ren is enrolled costs around $400 per semester in addition to application and textbook fees.

Ren states that although she is taking AP US History online, she would prefer taking the course at Keppel because the online version lacks the interaction between students and the teacher typical in a classroom setting.

“I know a lot of students at Keppel like to challenge themselves and take more rigorous courses here [at Keppel]. Therefore,

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[taking additional courses] might be overwhelming [for] a student’s well-being in making sure [they stay] healthy mentally,” says Ms. Pagaza.

If considering taking an online course, college Advisor Ms. Annie Chiang advises students to “really evaluate yourself in terms of how much work load you can take on, because every person is different. Some people can take on more workload, [have] better time management, work better under stress. But some can’t.”

Reserving AP enrollment for upperclassmen MALA HU Staff Writer

COURTESY OF METRO GOLD LINE EXTENTION CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY

The map displays the route the Gold Line will take once construction of the extension is complete.

Funding an expensive extension IZABELLA COFRESSI A&E/Features Editor The San Gabriel Valley has recently approved to fund the completion of Los Angeles County’s Metro Gold Line extension to Pomona. Costing the San Gabriel Valley $126 million, this money will allow for LA County to extend the all-electric train line through Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, and Pomona.

Expected to be completed by 2025, this extension project has already cost Los Angeles over $800 million.

Currently, the Metro Gold Link ranges around thirty-one miles, with stops beginning in East Los Angeles to Downtown Los Angeles, and into Arcadia, Monrovia, and Azusa.

It has been in service since 2003 and serves twenty-seven stations, including two subway stations. Servicing 50,087 people on a weekday, the Gold is also very convenient for many Alhambra and Monterey Park residents.

However, the enormous price tag to extend the Metro has begged the question of whether or not the allocation of so much money to this one project is worth it. Junior Vincent Leung does not seem to think so. He believes that there could be more beneficial ways that money could go towards. “They could use that type

of money for more useful things, not something that we already have,” says Leung. This project is not expected to be fully completed until 2028, and is estimated to need hundreds of millions of dollars more than the available funding that they have.

Nevertheless, not all believe this to be a bad idea. Sophomore Vanessa Chavez thinks this is a wise investment and will help many people with their transportation needs. “It would be helpful to people to not have to take multiple buses and instead just be able to take one line that takes them to whatever city they need to go to,” she says. This could also help minimize bus hopping and allow people to travel farther distances in a shorter amount of time.

The Gold Line extension is a step in the direction of increasing the use of public transportation. Nevertheless, with such a large sum of money going to this project, one cannot help but wonder how large of an impact that money could have if allocation somewhere else. Regardless, with the Metro Gold Line’s extension, it is clear that Los Angeles County has priorities in making public transportation more accessible and convenient.

Mark Keppel High School offers a variety of AP courses for its students, from the ever popular AP Psychology class to the recently added AP Seminar class. While the demand for AP classes among the upperclassmen limits AP class enrollment among sophomores, after surveying 52 Mark Keppel sophomores, results show that 71% of students surveyed are open to the idea of taking multiple AP classes during their sophomore year.

However, if Keppel’s open enrollment policy extended so that any student, regardless of grade level, could enroll in any AP class they wanted, limited class space would cause upperclassmen enrollment to inevitably decrease. In addition, are sophomores prepared enough to take multiple rigorous AP courses?

AP Environmental Science teacher Ms. Eggerman warns against opening AP classes to all, stating, “We have to give the seniors and juniors… first priority— there’s just not enough room in those classes later.” She adds that some AP classes are closed to lowerclassmen because “originally, you needed certain prerequisites… We can request that you take [certain classes]... So if you don’t have the background, you are not going to be successful [in the AP class] so we keep them as closed as they can.”

Upperclassmen are also typically more prepared for higher level work.

In her AP environmental class, Ms. Eggerman notes that although Ms. Eggerman sophomores and juniors perform “about the same,” generally, the work produced by sophomores can occasionally be “a little weaker mainly because they don’t necessarily have the background [knowledge that juniors do].”

Sophomore Richard Ye understands the reasons why Keppel’s AP class policy is the way it is, but he does admit that if sophomores were allowed to enroll “it’d be nice.” He says, “I’d rather take an AP class when I have more time on my hands, which is during sophomore year.” However, he acknowledges that having too many students sign up for a class could cause reduced availability or the hiring of inexperienced teachers to lead the class.

Junior Kimberly Nguyen, having taken AP classes during her sophomore and her junior year, also notes the difference in the amount of time she can dedicate to her AP classes sophomore year compared to junior year. She says that taking AP classes during her sophomore year made them a lot easier to handle “since there are SATs and all the other standardized tests to worry about junior year.” When reflecting on her experience of taking AP classes her sophomore year, she says that it was “a little overwhelming…” but it helped her “[learn to] manage time more wisely and study in a more effective way.”

Overall, to have open enrollment for all AP classes regardless of grade level benefits some and disadvantages others. Although it would be fair to allow those up for the challenge to take whatever course they wanted even if they are not an upperclassmen, such a decision will ultimately disadvantage upperclassmen who are more prepared and ready to take on these courses. In the end, all students will eventually have their chance to take the classes they want; it’s just a matter of students waiting their turn.

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4 FOCUS

an environmentally conscious community Keppel gets its fill with a sustainable water fountain

dinner at an Italian restaurant in Pasadena, Pinocchio’s Pizza. In addition, Tsujii raised $3000 by hosting three yard sales where she mostly sold personal items.

As of 1:23 PM on September 18, there has been 5920 plastic bottles saved. With a continual increase in the “Water Bottle Saver” counter on the water station, the benefits of the filtered JASPER DUONG fountain are apparent. In addition to providing Copy Editor safe drinking water for students, the fountain Last school year, current senior Crystal Tsu- helps encourage students to reduce their waste. jii accomplished her Girl Scouts Gold Award “I think that [the water fountain] helps students by organizing and funding the installation of a and teachers [to] be more aware of ways they can filtered water bottle station at Keppel. Through promote environmental behaviors,” says English careful planning, back-and-forth communication teacher and ASB advisor Ms. Carmona. “Reuswith the Alhambra Unified School District, and able water bottles can and are often made of metlarge-scale fundraising, Tsuji was successful in al so they are heavier, but if people know they can gaining approval for her project and raised $4900 constantly refill it, they don’t have to bring addiin project funds. As a result of her efforts, Kep- tional plastic bottles. [The water fountain] solves pel now has two new fountain filters. Students the problem.” can refill their water bottles at the station located Tsujii hopes that in the future, more monin A-building across from the Career Center. A ey can be raised to purchase more water stations second station will soon be installed in the Aztec for Keppel’s campus. Still, as students and faculty Arena. members line up to utilize the water bottle refillTsuji’s first step was to get the district and ing stations, Tsujii is “overjoyed that people are her Girl Scouts Council on board with the proj- willing to use it.” ect. “I had to ask the district if they were willing “I was very excited when I heard that [the to let me install the fountain. I also had to get fountains] were going to be installed,” says Ms. it approved by the Girl’s Scout council in Arca- Carmona. “I love it. I love seeing teachers and dia,” says Tsuji. After receiving permission, Tsuji students using it in the hallways.” held multiple fundraisers, including a fundraising

What you HAVE IS NOT WASTE MAPLE DUONG Editor-in-Chief/ Focus Editor Recent Keppel graduate Therese Du is creating a composting program this school year to help combat the excessive amount of cafeteria food waste on campus.

The Composting Solution, Du’s pioneered initiative, is a plan to use food waste from the cafeteria as compost in an effort to help reduce the impact waste has on the environment and promote campus sustainability with composting. Essentially, composting is a process by which organic materials from foods are recycled and composted on vegetation, which provides the soil rich nutrients. “Composting minimizes

POLL: WHICH DO YOU YOU USE MORE OFTEN, REUSABLE BOTTLES OR PLASTIc BOTTLES? reusable bottles: 81.5% plastic bottles: 18.5% 163 STUDENTS WERE POLLED.

Do NOT refuse to reuse ANNIE LAM & MEILY TRAN Staff Writers

Janitor Guerra and Crystal Tsujji poses in front of Tsuji’s newly installed water bottle station in A-Building.

COURTESY OF SANDY ABE

There are multiple reasons as to why people use reusable objects, many pertaining to the problem of global climate change. “Climate change is going to reduce the amount of resources we have available to us and we are already starting to run out of resources. So by reusing as many items as possible, it’s going to limit how much of our resources we’re actually using,” says Environmental Science teacher Ms. Eggerman, who is also a user of reusable objects. In fact, she states that reusing is more important than recycling in the battle against global climate change.

However, reusable items tend to cost more, since they need to be more durable than single use items. Ms. Eggerman estimates reusable water bottles to range from $20-$30 and metal straws with a case costs $20 for a

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 5

waste by making it into a sustainable material, which will inevitably help our vegetation grow,” explains Du. Du decided to take action against food waste for a number or reasons. “I have been receiving school lunch [all the] while attending public school...and the underlying trend was that there was always food waste,” expresses Du. In addition to her time spent volunteering at food banks and kitchens, Du has firsthandly seen people who have not had much food to sustain themselves, influencing her to take on a project dedicated towards fixing the issue. With the help of AP Government teacher Ms. Bennett and a few other students, Du was able to push for more plans to combat food waste.

With her ideas set in motion, Du hopes to place the compost on vegetation, such as the newly planted trees, all throughout campus.

“Once the project gets approval [from the district], we’ll set up composting bins all around

Palm Court, which will be sorted through every day for composting by student volunteers,” says Du. “If we don’t have enough volunteer support, we’ll just collect once a week but it’ll still make a big difference.”

Du hopes to use donations and fundraising from various on-campus clubs to raise $2,500 for project materials, such as composting bins.

With this initiative, Du hopes to raise awareness about the growing food waste issue. “[We want] to promote student involvement on campus,” explains Du. “We have the support of The Human Rights Association, Crown and Sceptre, and Globe, and we are looking for more students to help us advance the program.”

Du will be majoring in Business Economics and minoring in Statistics and Psychology at the University of California, Irvine, but will still keep in contact with administration in regards to her composting project.

POLL: what tYPEs of reusable objects do students own?

set of three. Reusable objects can be found online, such as on Amazon, or in other stores like Walmart. National parks also sell reusable objects as souvenirs.

Other downsides of owning reusable items include having to wash, maintain, and trans-

COURTESY OF JUNIOR MATTHIEU GOL

port one’s reusables “All of [these downsides] really outweigh the environmental cost of single use objects,” says Amanda Chang, senior and co-president of Project Green.

Although reusable items are more expensive than single-use items, reusables can come more

cheaply as well. “Anything I can figure out how to reuse, I will always reuse it. It may not be necessarily set up to be a reusable, but I try to reuse things,” says Eggerman. In other words, people do not always have to go out of their way to buy reusable items when things lying around the house can be reused.

Chang has already noticed many of her peers and family members using reusable objects. According to Retail Insight Network, one in five consumers purchased a reusable water bottle from November 2017 to November 2018 with over fifty percent of them doing so to reduce their plastic waste. Likewise, 38.68 percent of respondents aged 18-29 years of age stated that they used reusable grocery bags made from cloth or other materials, according to the report.

However, Chang still urges people to live a more sustainable lifestyle. For instance, at Keppel’s 2019-2020 Club Rush, members of Project Green handed out reusable bags and metal straws. “Students...seem like we can’t engage in real change...but the waste we have is so much more and we can do so much more,” says Chang.

parts of the amazon rainforest are up in flames FIONA CHAN Staff Writer This recent September, students and teachers respond to the Amazon Rainforest fire that has been negatively impacting the human population and biodiversity.

The Amazon rainforest has been suffering from fires for five weeks, and the aftermath is essentially hurting wildlife. Deforestation is recognized as possibly one of the major causes of the fire. “[The Brazilian] government wants to develop the country and make it more economically fruitful,” says physiology and biology teacher Ms. Dhala. The Brazilian government intends to stimulate the economy using the Amazon Rainforest’s resources. Primary economic activities such as ranching and logging are among Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s agenda in using the rainforest.

Thousands of plants and animals call the Amazon Rainforest home. “Precarious, endangered species probably won’t be able to come back ever again [after the fires].” says Dhala. Animals may be slowly edging toward extinction because of possible human activity.

The Amazon Rainforest controls much of the world’s climate patterns. The climate change of these areas causes many tropical animals, like mosquitos, to shift further out of their boundaries. Their movement could potentially lead to the spread of diseases, such as the Zika virus in America. Animal carcasses that litter the Amazon Rainforest ground can also carry diseases that can spread outwards into neighboring areas.

Diseases carried by animals may not be the only consequence of the rainforest fire. “Trees help reduce carbon dioxide. If carbon dioxide emission is high, respiratory problems [in organisms] can increase,” says Dhala. Trees in the Amazon rainforest help regulate oxygen levels and carbon dioxide emissions. About 17 percent of the forest greenery has been burned, causing an increased amount of carbon dioxide emissions, according to The Cut. Students have said that there is not much the public can do except to be aware of this event.

“Personally, I feel like celebrities should be using their platforms to raise more attention about the fires. If all of us take a minute to spread the word and make an effort to save the rainforest, I think we could prevent [forest fires] from ever happening again,” states senior president of Globe club, Susan Chhen.

Citizens can help combat the spread of Amazon Rainforest fires by protecting acres of land, in addition to reducing their overall wood and paper consumption, according to Public Radio International (PRI).

According to Dhala, the Brazilian government is not asking for help from other countries, so the few things the public can do is raise awareness.

6 FEATURES Hong Kong protesters continue to cause uproar IZABELLA COFRESSI & JASPER DUONG A&E/Features Editor & Copy Editor A major uproar arose in Hong Kong regarding an extradition bill that would allow government officials to extradite people who commit crimes in Hong Kong to China, where there is less freedom. With this bill being considered in the government of Hong Kong, the citizens decided to protest this bill, eventually calling it the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement.

As time went on, the protesters increased their requests, asking for five demands to be met. These demands included a withdrawal of the bill, calling for the chief executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, to step down, an investigation of police brutality, the release of arrested protesters, and greater democratic freedoms. As a result, the bill has been repealed, however many protesters are still not satisfied, believing it is simply not enough.

Senior Yu Cao feels quite strongly about this, considering he, himself, is a Chinese citizen. He says, “I firmly support my country but I also want to say that there might be a better option if the central government was able to negotiate with its people.” He supports the Chinese and Hong Kong government, and their efforts to keep the peace, but is not in support of the protesters. Another key fear of the Hong Kong protesters is their freedom of speech being infringed upon, as China’s laws are more restrictive than Hong Kong’s.

As for senior Sherry Liang, this also hits close to home for her as she is from China and have relatives in Hong Kong. She says, “I haven’t heard anything from [my relatives] but my family’s opinion is probably their opinion, they don’t like it and they think it is irrational… people are just doing stuff that they shouldn’t do.” She feels this issue will be very difficult to resolve and will not see an end anytime soon. “However, if people want to protest, they should protest peacefully,” she says.

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

Keppel welcomes new language teachers FIONA ZEMAN Staff Writer

Mark Keppel High School welcomes Mr. Brendan Brown and Ms. Breanna Hunt for the 2019 - 2020 school year.

Both teachers of language entered the Keppel family this year with Brown, located in C205, teaching Mandarin and Hunt, located in A151, teaching English/SCI. Mr. Brown came to Keppel from a California middle school. Brown says, “Last year I was teaching Mandarin at a middle school in Fort Irwin,” Brown has taught in a variety of places including Oregon, China, and Taiwan. He developed his interest in the language during his high school years. the language during his teenage years. “I did an exchange program in Taiwan for a year my junior year of high school. That’s where I fell in love with the language - the characters, the history, and it’s just a very cool language to learn,” Brown said. Brown got his Bachelors at the University of Oregon in Linguistics.

“I taught in China for two years, two years in Taiwan, and came back to the US to do my Masters at the University of Oregon.”

He says his first couple of weeks at Keppel

(left) Mr. Brown, (right) Ms. Hunt

have been very welcoming and enjoyable.

“It’s the best accidental thing to happen to me and I’m super happy to have the chance to come and teach here,” Brown says.

Ms. Hunt has been teaching for about 18 years and has also taught in numerous places, including San Gabriel, LAUSD, Pasadena and even abroad. “I taught English to people in Japan and Thailand so I’ve lived abroad for many of my crazy years in my 20s.” Hunt says. Hunt graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in English. “I just got a Masters

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degree in Literacy Education from Cal State Fullerton.” Since she worked at San Gabriel, Hunt worked frequently with Mark Keppel and that is how she was introduced to the position opening at Keppel. She believes that the culture and environment here is different from past places she’s taught at. Hunt says “I like Keppel a lot. There’s something about the kids here, it has a culture I really like and the kids seem to be more motivated than they’ve been in other places I’ve been and worked.”

MKHS students benefit from summer abroad, thanks to Monterey Park Sister Cities program TIFFANY NGUYEN-TRAN Staff Writer Over the summer, two current seniors at Mark Keppel High School, Kaylie Chuman and Yuumi Lloyd, went on a ten day student exchange program in mid-July to Japan. While in Japan, they visited cities such as Osaka and Kyoto and stayed with a host family in the coastal city of Nachi-Katsuura. This exchange program, offered by the Monterey Park Sister Cities Association, gave them the opportunity for an amazing and fun experience where they can discover new things about Japanese culture.

Chuman found out about the student exchange program from a Japanese-American leadership program and saw it as an opportunity to meet new people and to have fun. Lloyd was volunteering at the Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival when she ran into the president of the Sister Cities Association. She says, ‘‘He and I started talking, and he told me that I would be a good candidate and that I should apply and so I did.’’

From the trip, Chuman was able to

Seniors Kaylie Chuman and Yuumi Lloyd pose with host family.

expand her knowledge on the everyday lives of people in Japan. She says, ‘‘going into the trip I expected them to have completely different lifestyles and personalities than us but it turns out that we’re really all the same.’’ From her experiences on the trip she has become more responsible and independent due to being in Japan without her parents to guide her. She therefore had to figure out a lot of things on her own.

While in Japan, Lloyd had the opportunity to visit a local high school.

COURTESY OF YUUMI LLOYD

She wanted to see what Japanese school culture was like, to compare the similarities and differences to how it is here at Keppel. She says, ‘‘It was very interesting to see how different it was from Keppel.’’

In addition to exploring the cities of Japan on their own, while Lloyd and Chuman were doing their homestay, the foster family showed them around their town.

Next summer, more exchange students from Japan will be coming to Monterey Park. They will be staying at Chuman and Lloyd’s house.

A brand new chapter for choir and new instruments class RYAN WONG Staff Writer Following the retirement of the previous instructor, April Mendiola steps into the position as the new music teacher and Aztec Singers advisor at Keppel this year. Two years after the sudden retirement of Mr. Azeltine, Mendiola filled his role as the choral music instructor here on campus. In addition to teaching two periods of choir, Ms. Mendiola teaches two periods of Instruments ½ and one period of Guitar. Upon discussion with administration, Ms. Mendiola agreed with the administration regarding teaching the Instruments course. “We thought it would be a good opportunity to expose more students to music… because I value music so much, being musically literate, I was happy to do it,” says Mendiola.

Mendiola, a former Alhambra Unified School District student, graduated from Alhambra High School. During her time at AHS, she engaged in the music program, which includes marching band and choir. Following this, Mendiola earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and Single-Subject Teaching Credential in Music from California State University, Fullerton and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from California State University, Long Beach.

In doing this, she received lots of prior to entering the field as an instructor. Before taking her first full-time teaching position at Keppel, she taught part-time at the elementary level and one year at the collegiate level.

“Ms. Mendiola has really brought Aztec Singers back to life and the stability that a team needs,” says senior Brianna Avila of Aztec Singers. Avila shares a vision with Ms. Mendiola, as they both believe in establishing a welcoming and safe environment for any student wanting to showcase their talents. “Our goal this year is visibility and showing MKHS that there is an amazing vocal program available,” said Avila.

“My motto is ‘all are welcome’ and ‘it’s easy to be kind,’” says Ms. Mendiola. She believes that kindness and positivity are what will push the choral music program forward in the coming years. Ultimately, Ms. Mendiola’s goal is to establish a vocal music program that is all-encompassing.

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Ms. Mendiola poses for picture.

7 SPORTS

Boys’ Water Polo wins 8-7

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

KATHERINE DODGE Staff Writer Winning by just a one point margin, the Boys’ Varsity Water Polo team won their second game of the season on September 12th against the La Salle Lancers in overtime, 8-7.

In the first quarter, the Aztecs struggled with making goals and moving the ball around against La Salle’s tough defense. La Salle’s set player also proved to be a challenging opponent, as the Aztecs had trouble stopping his scoring streak in the first half of the game. Fortunately, Keppel was able to adjust both their defense and offense in the second half. “We began to run drops and be more aware of where the ball is,” says senior captain Nikko Innocencio.

During the third quarter, Keppel’s set defender, senior captain JaydWen Young, fouled out of the game with three ejections forcing the team had to readjust their defense. With 30 seconds left in the last quarter, sophomore Derreck Tang scored a goal, allowing the Aztecs to tie against the Lancers 7-7. Moving into overtime, sophomore Justin Lee scored a goal to put

Senior Nikko Innocencio successfully blocks Lancers attempt at scoring.

Keppel in the lead. Playing tight defense, the team was able to maintain their lead, eventually winning the game 8-7.

With the addition of many new varsity members after losing the seniors from last year, the Aztecs have been doing a lot of conditioning and are watching all of their games on film afterwards to learn how to

Girls’ Tennis dominates over El Monte Lions QUENNIE ZENG News Editor

The Varsity Girls Tennis team went head to head against the El Monte Lions last Friday at El Monte High School. In their previous game against Sierra Vista last Tuesday, the team won with a score of 15-3. They continued their streak of domination on Friday’s match, winning with a score of 13-5.

Though the team won by a landslide, it was not easy by any means. In the first and second set, doubles a total of four matches. Varsity Tennis Coach Ten notes the “matter of dealing with the heat… the heat plays with your mind and how you make your decisions,” says Coach Ten. Another problem the team faced was with positioning. Coach Ten continued, “we have to learn to be in the right positions better, whether offensive or defensive.” Senior Jessica Lam adds, “I think we need to cooperate better [when playing doubles].” Though there were surely some

weaknesses during Friday’s match, the team was able to pull through dominate the third set 5-1. Freshman Vivian Dong mentioned that “by watching other people play, I could see what to do and what not to do, so when our turn came we were more strategic.” This and Coach Ten’s advice is what lead to the triumphant final score of 13-5.

After the win from this game, the team hopes to continue improving for the upcoming season. “I think my serve [on Friday] was definitely on point… it was definitely relieving to see that my work was paying off,” says Dispanurat. Other members have also put in hard work for the upcoming season. “I play after school for hours, so to see the improvement is pretty rewarding,” stated Dong. Coach Ten hopes to have the team practice more during the preseason so that the team can “get back on track” and win another league championship.

Cross Country sprints towards new personal records RYAN BAUTISTA Staff Writer Commencing the season, Cross Country competes in their second invitational at Rosemead High School on Sept. 7th.

Races are separated by gender and grade, but with the onset of 90-degree weather, an additional race known as “Novice” was introduced, serving as a make-up event for runners to race at a cooler time. Of the ten races, Keppel had competed in seven.

Each runner took on a 5-kilometer course, with ‘Breaking 20’, a term used to describe runners completing the track before 20 minutes have passed. This is considered an esteemed feat.

During each of their respective events, senior Joey Huynh, senior Justin Su, and junior Ruqi Wang, all accomplished this achievement. Wang had set a new personal record at 19.41.5 minutes, where he finished one minute faster than previous meets. “I feel like I have performed a lot better this year than last year. I think the

main reason is that I became a lot more dedicated to the sport,” says Wang.

Furthermore, Huynh had received the best time of Keppel athletes at this meet.

Scoring a time of 18.37.3 minutes, Huynh was the first runner to finish the course in the Senior category for Keppel. Among the runners who accomplished similar feats include senior Alyson Gee, junior Kaycee Lee, sophomore Eric Law, and freshmen Daniel Chiem and Nikki Leong. “They’ve improved a lot,” says Junior Emmy Khong, “They’re just trying to push through and finish strong.”

Coach Tonny Vuong has been working alongside the captains to improve their team’s skills. “We had new training regimens over the summer. Even though it’s been extremely hot, we try to run as much as possible. We also have a new array of hip and core exercises to help us stay in shape.” says senior captain, Aaron Ho. Their practices vary day to day, but keep a similar format of running three to seven miles each

COURTESY OF KYLE MATSUDA

improve. The team’s win on Thursday left them hopeful for this upcoming season.

Last year, the team lost the wildcard game, preventing them from advancing to CIF. However, this year the team has confidence in their ability of achieving this goal. Innocencio says, “I believe that this team has a lot more potential than last year’s. I already

notice a lot of improvement from each of the players.” Coach Kevin Lam expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “Our goalie [Innocencio] got a lot better, and the guys are willing to put in hard work everyday at practice. They are all really athletic and talented enough to make a big run this year.”

SELINA MARTINEZ Editor-in-Chief/ Viewpoint Editor

confidence and momentum. “We need to be more energized and not let runs from the other team get to us,” says junior Leah Hom. In agreement, Hughes adds, “It’s always a confidence problem. Once [the other team] starts getting two or three points in a row, we start to get down on ourselves, and we get overwhelmed with [fear of making a mistake].” Hughes believes that once the team overcomes this problem, they will have an easier time making up lost points and will commit fewer errors.

“When it came down to it, we made errors at the wrong times, ” says Coach Chu. Even so, he recognizes the talent on his team and is focused on getting his players to execute skills they exhibit at practice during games.

Despite opening the season with two consecutive losses, the team has high hopes of qualifying for CIF this season.

Hughes says, “We just need to believe in ourselves.”

Girls’ Volleyball has hopeful outlook on qualifying for CIF This past Tuesday, the Girls’ Volleyball team played their second league game of the season, suffering a 0-3 defeat against Bell Gardens High School. The Aztecs ended the first two sets with a score of 2025, and the third set ending 21-25.

Despite the loss, the Aztecs matched the Lancers’ level of intensity, with both teams working hard to score points. Throughout the game, the Aztecs found momentum and consistency in their passes and in receiving serves. “[This game] was probably one of the best serve-receive [games] we’ve had,” says senior captain Leilani Hughes. “[The middle] is usually the easiest spot to get a [point] from our side, and because our passing was so good, we got to set up our middles more today. ” However, at times when the Lancers secured multiple points in a row against the Aztecs, Keppel struggled to regain

Freshman Tymon Yu sprints ahead of Rosemead Panthers.

day. To help prepare for the meet, they ran to parks such as Almansor, Granada, Garvey Ranch, and George E. Elder.

For Cross Country athletes, the intense practices and long runs can be demoralizing. “There are days where you just completely want to give up because of how tough practices are and how hard we are pushing you.” says senior Chrystal Nhan.

According to members, much of their

COURTESY OF ALYSON GEE

morale stems from the hard work and motivation of the team captains. “This year, our new captain, Joey Huynh, really tries to push and discipline us, making the team better overall.” says Wang. Additionally, Ho expresses that they have been ending practice with their signature chant to motivate the team throughout the season.

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8 SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

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Athlete’s Profile: Audrey Thomas NATASHA MIYANO Staff Wrtier

The Aztecs get into offensive positions in attempt to score another touchdown.

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Aztecs celebrate monumental win as Firebaugh fails in close game DANNY ESTRADA & LAURA CHEN Entering the last quarter, the Falcons Staff Writer & Sports Editor were able to perform quick sprints and The stands echoed with roars from successful throws, closing the score gap to ecstatic parents and students as the band 36-28. The Falcons scored a touchdown played the school’s fight song. On Friday with less than a minute remaining, forcnight, the Aztecs left the field making ing the Aztecs to an uncomfortable pohistory by winning against Marco Anto- sition; they would need to contest their nio Firebaugh High School, marking the opponents from scoring a two point conversion to win the game. The pressure did end of a 46-game losing-streak.

Within the first few minutes of the not stop the team’s strong defense, and game, the team ran a successful play, earn- Mark Keppel was able to successfully stop ing the Aztecs the first touchdown of the night. Feeding off the adrenaline from their field goal point, Mark Keppel was quick on their defense, preventing the Falcons from making any impactful plays.

“Our greatest strength [is] definitely our defense,” says senior Hugo Montes, who explains that because most of the team’s defensive line are seniors, the team is more experienced with working together. The Azecs’ strong defense opened an opportunity for an interception, allowing them to earn another touchdown.

As the game progressed into the second half, Mark Keppel continued to rack up points, driving the score to 30-14.

However, the Falcons fought to even out the scoreboard as more Aztecs were injuries during aggressive plays. Despite the injuries, the team as a whole weathered through Firebaugh’s offense, keeping their lead safe throughout the third quarter.

“Just to hear a chant that I never thought that I would hear... ‘I believe, I believe, that we will win!’... was dear to me.” - Senior Andrew Escobar Firebaugh’s play, ending the game 36-34.

The team’s victory did not come easy.

Before the game, the team was diligent in training, bulking up, and team bonding. One such activity was watching films individually and talking about it in their spare time. The team also benefited from returning players, who offered valuable advice from their experience in

past games.“I thought at times we were playing good football,” says Coach Tuttle. “We lost focus towards the end of the game, which made [it] a lot closer than it should have been.”

Beyond just the contribution of the players, senior Andrew Escobar talks about the power of the atmosphere. “Just seeing the crowd there helped us a lot because we know we have people there that support us like band, teachers, family; it just gives us the motivation to boost us to play the game.”

Looking beyond their win, Coach Tuttle and the team are hopeful for the oncoming season. “I’m happy for the team and school for getting their first win [after 46 games. Now] we’re just focusing [on] Gabrielino,” says Coach Tuttle, explaining that they are a totally different team.

Moving into the season, the football players are able to find new motivation in striving for success. “We’re the class that made history because we haven’t won a game in 5 years, and just that feeling of seeing zeros [on our scoreboard] but at the end of the game we’re up; it’s an amazing feeling,” says Escobar.

Audrey Thomas was introduced to tennis by her parents when she was 5 years old and she has been on the Mark Keppel varsity tennis team for the past three years.

“Both of my parents played tennis and I wanted to give it a try as well.” Thomas says. She has won multiple awards while being on the team, such as the Fantastic Freshman award and two MVP awards.

Prior to playing high school tennis, she was originally on two junior tennis teams, Sunshine and iStringing.

Thomas did not have an initial goal when she first tried out for the team and simply joined for fun, but her passion and talent for the sport gained her a varsity spot on the team her freshman year. Even though Thomas is a varsity captain, she still considers tennis to be a challenging sport.

Thomas mentions, “My stamina is not the best, so I get tired easily.” Despite these challenges, she still loves the sport and her goal this year is to maintain her undefeated status in Almont League.

Although she loves tennis, Thomas believes it has both positive and negative aspects. “I’ve made a lot of really good friends that I probably wouldn’t have met without tennis, [and even though] tennis may take up time that could be used to do homework and study, it’s a fun sport and is worth participating in,” she says. Thomas doesn’t plan to join a tennis team after high school, but instead play recreationally.

One of Thomas’ favorite memories from her time on the team was when her fellow teammate and friend, junior, Emma Lin, hosted a party at her house for team. “It was really fun and a good bonding experience. We may have been introduced to each other through tennis, but [we] have also become friends off the court.”

Thomas would like to thank the tennis team members for being kind and supportive throughout her high school tennis experience.

SPORTS CALENDAR Cross country On 9/21 against Woodbridge at Woodbridge On 9/25 at Legg Lake Park On 10/16 at Legg Lake Park On 10/30 at Legg Lake Park

Football On 9/20 against Gabrielino at Gabrielino On 9/27 against Capistrano Valley Christian at Valley Christian On 10/4 against San Gabriel at Mark Keppel On 10/11 against Schurr at Mark Keppel

Girls tennis On 9/19 against Huntington Beach at Huntington Beach On 9/24 against Pasadena at Pasadena On 9/26 against Montebello at Mark Keppel On 10/1 against San Gabriel at San Gabriel

girls volleyball

Boys water polo

On 9/19 against Alhambra at Alhambra On 9/24 against Montebello at Montebello On 9/26 against San Gabriel at Mark Keppel On 10/1 against Schurr at Schurr

On 9/24 against Charter Oak at Charter Oak On 9/27 against South Torrance at South Torrance On 10/2 against Bell Gardens at Barnes Park On 10/4 against Whittier Christian at Whittier Christian