December 2019

THE AZTEC VOLUME LXXXII NUMBER IIII

December 12, 2019

Focus pg.

4-5 Reflecting on the 2010s

NEWS IN BRIEF Choir will hold a winter candlelight concert The Aztec singers will hold their winter concert on Dec. 13 at 7pm.

Tickets are $5 presale and $8 at the door.

Mark your calendar 12/16- Finals (periods 1,4) 12/17- Finals (periods 2,5) 12/18- Finals (periods 3,6) 12/19- Minimum Day 12/23-1/3- Winter Break 1/8- Collaboration Day 1/10- Winter Rally

theaztecnews.com

A&E pg. 6

SPORTS PG. 7-8

Instagram introduces “Hidden Like” feature globally

Girls’ Water Polo dominates game against Whittier

Monterey Park holds holiday celebration FIONA ZEMAN Staff Writer The city of Monterey Park kicked off the winter season with their 7th annual Holiday Snow Village at the Barnes Park amphitheater on Dec. 6. The event took place from 6pm to 9pm and had many different winter-themed and festive activities. Families from the Monterey Park and Alhambra communities came to enjoy the winter festivities and performances at the amphitheater by local elementary schools and high schools.

The Snow Village activities included a tree lighting, snow sledding, holiday performances, snowball fights, and pictures with Santa.

For the last six years, the Snow Village has had many of the same activities, but this year the event organizers added some new features: children could write letters to Santa, attendees could carol while Santa decorated the Christmas tree, and people could take pictures with the Grinch. The organizers also added a new booth: the Atomic Cafe Coffee, which served many warm drinks.

Monterey Park will continue to hold special events, such as Holiday Snow Village, because of positive responses from the communty. Monterey Park recreational manager Inez Alvarez says, “Each year, the crowd keeps growing, and the event seems to be very well received by the community.” Many Mark Keppel students have made it a priority to return to the event each year. Senior Kaitlyn Tang says, “I’ve gone every year since the sev-

Local elementary school students preforming “Jingle Bells.”

enth grade.” She plans to continue attending the event in the future.

Alvarez believes the events and festivals held at Barnes Park “get the community together, allow them to engage, and are an essential part of the community.” The enjoyable activities are a huge part of what attracts attendees, especially adolescents, because all the activities are free. Tang says that compared to other holiday festivals she has been to, “the Snow Village is better because it has many free, fun activities you can do with your family.”

Even though the Snow Village is a huge hit

THE AZTEC/FIONA ZEMAN

for many Monterey Park residents, there remains room for event improvements. Alvarez says, “Next year, we may consider expanding the village outside of the amphitheater area because we’re out growing out of the space that we’re in.”

Tang has a similar suggestion for future changes, saying she “feels they could do a lot about the traffic flow and maybe open up more things.” For final changes, Alvarez states the community is going to “look into the scope of the event and look into what is successful and what [they] can improve on.”

Speech and Debate team wins 2nd Place Sweepstakes SELINA MARTINEZ Co-Editor-in-Chief/ Viewpoint Editor

THE AZTEC/MAPLE DUONG

Speech and Debate team poses with their trophies from the Fall Varsity Speech competition.

Twenty-four members from Mark Keppel’s Speech and Debate team competed at the Southern California Debate League Fall Varsity Speech Competition at Pasadena City College on Saturday, Dec. 7. Categories at the event ranged from oratorical interpretation to national extemp and impromptu. Out of 34 teams from across Southern California, Keppel’s spontaneous argument, otherwise known as SPAR, team won 2nd Place Sweepstakes in their category.

Spontaneous argument is a debate category where competitors are told of their topic one minute before the actual debate starts. Debate topics range from pop culture to more serious and controversial questions.

“Spontaneous Argument is a good competition for debate students who also want to participate in a speech category because a lot of the skills you’ll need are debate skills. However, you get the topic on that day so there’s not a whole lot of preparing,” says Speech and Debate advisor Ms. Smith.

Senior and captain Spencer Lin believes that Keppel’s win is the “culmination of [the team’s] efforts,” says Lin. “In this tournament we had a lot more [team] engagement. The increased participation helped us gather more points and as a result we won Sweepstakes. Most Mark Keppel participants actually scored above the 50th percentile which I’m really proud of because most of the members that went to SPAR are novices, and this was a varsity tournament.”

Lin himself earned one of the highest scores in the SPAR event, ultimately taking home the 4th place SPAR award.

Keppel’s performance in this event marks Ms. Smith’s first sweepstakes award as an advisor of the team. She says, “This [award] is motivational because I think that the Sweepstakes trophy is a reflection of all of the students’ hard work in that particular competition. This being my second year I can already see great tremendous growth in the [Speech and Debate] program. I’m super proud of everybody and I know that the small changes month to month and year to year are going to be huge in the long run.”

THE AZTEC

2 NEWS

DECEMBER 12, 2019

Instrumental Music Program presents their annual Winter Concert DANNY ESTRADA Staff Writer Mark Keppel High School Instrumental Program held their Winter Concert on Dec. 6 in the school auditorium.

The performers of the concert included two periods of the guitar classes, both beginning and advanced band, and advanced orchestra.

The show first started with performances by the guitar classes and small ensembles from both band and orchestra.

The guitar classes played various pieces, including “Santa Tell Me,” “Mistletoe,” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”

The small ensembles also played holiday songs, such as “A Lyric Noel,” and “Festive Christmas.” After these performances, Mark Keppel’s orchestra came onstage to play various pieces, from classical to festive music. The range of songs included “Sleepers Wake” and “How The Grinch Stole Christmas.” The concert ended with the Aztec band performing “DeComposers” and “Jingle Bell Jam.” This year, there were many changes made to the concert, one being that “the music program increased in numbers, so we sound a lot stronger,” says senior and concertmaster Emilie Jwong. Another change was that band performed with their uniform on, compared to previous years where they wore concert attire. Though this was an abrupt change, as the decision of wearing uniforms was decided two days before the concert, some band members enjoyed it. Freshman Andrew Cho says, “I think wearing marching uniform gave a fresh new look to our concert performance.”

In regards to all the new changes this year, the concert ended up a success. “All the responses I got were positive.

A lot of people liked all the classes that performed.” says Instrumental Music Program Director Mr. Lee. Cho adds, “they were very excited to see us play and that could not make me happier.” With the positive responses, both band and orchestra have motivation to excel in their upcoming activities. Currently, orchestra is working on the musical and preparing for Judges’ Invitational, while the band is

Aztec Band preforming “DeComposers.”

preparing to march in the 2020 Rose Parade. Both band and orchestra will prepare for the “Some Enchanted Evening” concert in late April.

The Winter Concert also serves as a first for guitar students who never pictured themselves playing an instrument or performing on stage. “Having a class for guitar opens up a lot of opportunities for students who would never have found themselves playing an instrument,” says Mr. Lee. He believes having a guitar class is beneficial not only to the audience but also to the guitar students.

THE AZTEC/IZABELLA COFRESSI

He says “I think it is a good way for people to put their creative aspects out there.” As the guitar students continue to learn more about music, they will also be preparing for their Guitar Show taking place next semester.

The Winter Concert ended with the performers excited, the audience satisfied, and the director proud. It helped bring the community together to celebrate the holidays.

Director Mr. Lee adds, “I wanted to wish our audience a happy holiday season… and say thank you to everyone who came out and supported us.”

ASB spreads F.U.N. with SpongeBob-themed Deck the Halls MEILY TRAN Staff Writer Mark Keppel’s Associated Student Body (ASB) brought holiday spirit with a Spongebob Squarepants-themed Deck the Halls on Dec. 6. The decorations included several memorable scenes from the TV show, such as the snowball fight.

“We thought Spongebob would be a really fun theme and something people could relate to especially because...a lot of memes nowadays have Spongebob in it so it’s kind of cute and funny,” says junior Class Vice President Charly Ng. ASB hopes that with this theme, they will be able to “bring up school spirit, especially during the stress of finals,” says Ng. Unlike previous years, ASB only decorated the downstair hallways of A-building.

Ng explains that the time in between Thanksgiving and Winter Break this year is too short to decorate the entire school.

Furthermore, she adds, “Deck the Halls requires a lot of money...for the posters, which could end up falling in a few days.

It didn’t seem very cost-efficient.”

However, it is not confirmed whether this change is permanent. Sophomore

Students hang up posters, decorating the first floor of the English hall.

THE AZTEC/LAURA CHEN

Class President Marcelo Yip says, “This year is an experiment year since doing all of A building was...very expensive. We will see where it goes from here.”

This change not only saves money, but also paper, making it more environmentally-friendly. Each year, the trash cans fill with colorful butcher paper during this time of year. Now with the reduced number of decorated halls, there will be less paper that needs to be disposed of.

ASB chose to decorate the English hall because “a lot of people go through it, so it would reach most people,” says Ng. This way, all Keppel students will be able to surround themselves with holiday cheer.

Besides ASB, other MKHS clubs, including California Scholarship Federation (CSF), National Honor Society (NHS), Interact, and the class councils joined on the preparations for Deck the Halls. The underclassmen worked on the Jellyfish Fields (freshman) and Goo Lagoon (sophomores). Meanwhile, the upperclassmen worked on Rock Bottom (juniors) and Bikini Bottom (seniors). By putting it all together, the halls create the setting of SpongeBob Squarepants.

THE AZTEC 2019-2020 Maple Duong

Jasper Duong

Danny Estrada

Natasha Miyano Staff Writer

Ellis Yang Staff Writer

Izabella Cofressi

Mala Hu Staff Writer

Tiffany Nguyen-Tran Staff Writer

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Hana Kikuchi Staff Writer

Amy To Staff Writer

Ms. Yaklich Advisor

Annie Lam

Meily Tran Staff Writer

Ms. Gutierrez Principal

Madelyn Leong

Ryan Wong Staff Writer

Co-Editor-in-Chief/ Focus Editor

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Co-Editor-in-Chief/ Viewpoint Editor

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Staff Writer

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

DECEMBER 12, 2019

THE AZTEC

VIEWPOINT 3

Life360: Safety or Surveillance?

MADDY LEONG Staff Writer Life360 is a tracking app used by parents to monitor their children. The app provides real-time location info and can even send out alerts of when someone reaches or leaves a location. While the app aids parents in monitoring their children from afar, many feel that it is too extreme and is maybe doing more harm than good.

Some of Life360’s most prominent features are those that gather information when someone with the app is in a moving vehicle. For example, Life360 can detect the speed of a car. This way, parents can ensure their child is being safe while driving without physically being in the car beside their child. The “Driving Protect” plan allows Life360 to detect if its user has been in a major accident and then notifies emergency contacts and others in the Circle, a group of family or loved ones that can be made in the app, of the incident. With this plan, also comes 24/7 roadside assistance that can be accessed within the app. According to Life360, their app has detected “2,100 collisions, provided 1,000 tows, 290 jump starts, and helped with 230 flat tires and 500 lock-outs.”

Despite these benefits, many people feel without knowing that much information that they are outweighed by the lack of pri- about each other.” vacy the app gives to students and other usLife360 has recently been brought under ers. Life360’s ultra-specific location notifi- public scrutiny in part due to its appearcations may cause students to feel watched ance in memes. On TikTok, a social media since they are unable to go anywhere with- and creative platform, users often make out their parents being notified about it. videos venting about parent surveillance Some of these notifications include mes- through Life360. Users also make videos sages such as, “(insert name here) has ar- showing how to bypass certain features of rived home,” the Life360 or “(insert app in an efname here) fort to regain has left some freeschool.” dom and inEnglish dependence. teacher Ms. Activity Burkhart tracking apps, considers in general, the app’s have come features under quesas spying tion because due to how of the negspecific the ative impact notificait has on tions are to parent-child COURTESY OF VARIETY parents. She Life360 discloses a user’s location and phone battery percentage. relationships. suggests that Life360 and certain information gathered, such as the other apps can cause students to develop speeds of vehicles driven by the user is a sense of distrust towards their parents unnecessary. She says, “...there were gen- since they may find the usage of the app erations before us that survived very well an invasion of their privacy. Ms. Burkhart

feels that using Life360 would do more harm to [her and her daughter’s] relationship. “I think she would feel like I was not trusting her, like I did not believe in her ability to make good decisions,” she says.

On the other hand, graphic design teacher, Mr. Hong, believes, “If you have a good trust together [between student and parent], then there shouldn’t be any trouble.”

He adds, “If the parents trust their kids, they wouldn’t use the info against [students].”

Life360’s tracking feature also applies the other way around, meaning students can see where their parents are as well. Junior Audrey Jung has the app and says she doesn’t mind using it. She says, “I can also use it to figure out where [my parents] are when they pick me up.”

Overall, there are different arguments for and against Life360, but it all depends on how the parents use it. Hong says that parents can benefit from this technology. Jung also agrees that parents who use the app “may be overprotective, but that means that they just care about their child’s safety.”

However, that still leaves the question of, how can Life360’s motto, “Feel free, together,’’ include “feel free” when it effectively prevents students from doing just that?

Billionaires and presidential races: Mike Bloomberg joins the 2020 ballot ANNIE LAM Staff Writer On Nov. 24, multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg, 77, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P., a company that provides real time analytics and financial information to other companies and organizations, and former mayor of New York City announced his candidacy for the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

Bloomberg’s candidacy announcement elicited mixed reactions from the public. Some people saw him as a worthy contender for the Democratic pool of candidates, while others believe that Bloomberg had joined the race a little too late.

To start off his campaign, Bloomberg “...invested $57 million in TV advertising,” and he has already out-spent almost every other Democratic candidate for televsion and digital ads, according to CNBC. Although this demonstrates the extent Bloomberg is willing to go for his campaign, the massive amount of money invested also begs the question: should billionaires be allowed to run for president?

Some people don’t see a problem with this. “Billionaires like Bloomberg should be allowed to run for president, as all law abiding citizens are,” states junior Jeremy Yan. U.S Government and Economics teacher, Mr. Garcia agrees. “The U.S constitution lists three requirements to become president of the United States of America,” states Garcia. The requirements are that candidates must be at least 35 years old, have been born in America, and have lived in America 14 years prior to running for office.

Although Bloomberg is eligible to run for president, is it ethical for candidates like him to advance their campaign using their enormous wealth? When running for president, a lot of money is needed for advertising, media, travel and other expenses and candidates usually raise this money through campaigns. “Money does provide an advantage in running for president, as more money means a bigger budget for ads,” says Yan. However, “Being rich or poor does not really mean anything when you are president,” explains Yan. In addition to his enormous amount of wealth, Bloomberg brings his political in-

COURTESY OF VARIETY

Michael Bloomberg joined the presidential race as a Democratic candidate on November 24, 2019.

fluence as 3-time former mayor of New York City and his financial background from founding multi-billion dollar company. If Bloomberg won the election, his past experience would only be beneficial.

“Bloomberg’s financial background can be seen as an obvious advantage in dealing with banking, trade, financial, and economic policies,” says Garcia.

On the day Bloomberg announced his candidacy, he released a video explaining his past positive impact on America. In

the video, Bloomberg openly states, “I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America. We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions.”

“This should not be a surprise, the primary goal for both Democrat and Republican candidates is to defeat President Trump,” says Garcia. He adds, “[Even though Bloomberg joined the race later], he should be considered a serious contender for the nomination.”

Companies opt for more inclusive branding this holiday season

COURTESY OF FOOD AND WINE

TIFFANY NGUYEN-TRAN Staff Writer This holiday season, companies such as Starbucks and Innisfree, a Korean cosmetics brand, are using alternative phrases for the term Christmas for their products and advertisements. These companies are substituting the word “Christmas” for a more inclusive one because they want to avoid

the possibility of offending their customers. Starbucks is using the phrase “Merry Coffee” while Innisfree is using “Green Holidays” in order to accommodate their customers who celebrate a different holiday other than Christmas.

However, refraining from using the word “Christmas” may not be enough to avoid offending others. For instance, the Starbucks cup designs this year include colors red, white, and green — colors often associated with Christmas. This has caused some customers to react negatively towards the company’s efforts to make their cup designs more inclusive to all cultures.

Junior Amy Chui suggests, “Starbucks could lean towards a stereotypical winter theme without hurting anyone’s feelings.

I think staying neutral with winter colors would be the best option because no one would be offended.”

Junior Kylie Bonilla adds, “I think they

could add maybe images relating to other cultures.”

Incorporating these ideas is not only ideal for customers but advantageous for companies as well. If companies made their products and advertisements more inclusive to everyone, there could be an increase in sales and business, as customers will be drawn to companies where they get equal representation from the products they are buying and in advertisements.

Chui says, “Such that Christmas would be more known from [the] help of big companies advertising it, which would make Hanukkah and other holidays less known because it isn’t as hyped up by the public. It also would make it seem like Starbucks is only supporting people who celebrate that holiday because they are catering towards them rather than everyone in general.” She adds that many customers could be offended due to not getting enough equal repre-

sentation.

Chui says that avoiding the use of the word “Christmas” is the right thing to do in order to be considerate of everyone. “I think staying away from the word Christmas is a more neutral thing so people of different religions would feel more inclusive for the general audience,” she says.

On the other hand, Bonilla, who celebrates Christmas religiously, says that avoiding the use of the word is not the right thing to do because it can possibly indirectly offend those who do celebrate Christmas. “Christians still say ‘Christmas’ since for us, it’s a celebration of [ Jesus’s] birthday. [Company efforts to take the word “Christmas” out of the holiday season] is just taking away from people who celebrate for religious purposes as well. It may feel exclusive to people believing in God. Everyone celebrates in different ways and for different reasons,” says Bonilla.

4 FOCUS

THE AZ

Recapping the Last De 2010

Prince William and Kate Middleton got married.

2011

Instagram was launched.

inventions of the decade

Blockbuster closed down.

2012 People thought the world was going to end.

songs of the decade

The ipad 1 April 2010

hOVERBOARD may 2013

windows 10 july 2015

2013

2014 Robot makes first ever comet landing on rock Agilkia.

Voices: What do you in 2020 or the

“Friday” Rebecca Black March 2011 “I would like to see more efforts on an international scale to combat climate change as the clock is ticking down.”

Freshman Kayla Luong

“despacito” luis fonsi, Daddy yankee, justin bieber May 2017

“old town road” lil nas x december 2018

“I want the government to pass strong legislation to help reduce the effects of climate change. However, it will take a global effort to show significant change.”

Junior Matthieu Gol

Hey Alexa, how has technology shaped us?

AMY TO Staff Writer From the first iPhone to smart speakers, technology has undergone drastic changes over this past decade. Many people have utilized this widespread access of technology for several different purposes, such as accessing information, texting friends through social media apps, or even encouraging students to be more engaged with their education.

Despite the rapid usage of technology, the transformation of tech has provided the population with a range of information at their disposal. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for Internet and Technology, 76% of adults had internet access in 2010. In 2019, 90% of adults have internet access. “[Back then] we didn’t have as much information immediately at your fingertips

so it took more effort to find information that you wanted,” states Social Science teacher Mr. Gillette.

Due to this easy access, students are able to be more engaged in their education by doing a quick Google search and finding articles or videos relating to their topic of interest.

People often use their devices to communicate with others. On another poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for Internet and Technology, 72% of teens use social media to connect with their friends.

“I notice that children nowadays are constantly sitting behind their phones rather than spending their day with their friends,” explains junior Leah Hom. As the advancement of technology continues to grow, more and more innovations are arising. Aside from

laptops and phones, a new technological advancement sparked during the decade: smart speakers.

Smart speakers are wireless devices that function as a virtual personal assistant. In Nov. 2014, Amazon released its first smart speaker, the Amazon Echo, which entails the famous Amazon Alexa. These devices are hands-free, which makes it even more convenient to carry out tasks. With one command, smart speakers are able to fulfill tasks such as controlling the lights, ordering products online, providing information such as the weather forecast, and playing music.

As time continues to pass, one could expect technology to continue to advance in the upcoming future. So, Alexa, what else is in store for us in 2020?

DECADE FAVORITES: What CHALLENGE?

mannequin challenge 35.2%

TREN

tik t 41.6

ZTEC

DECEMBER 12, 2019 5

ecade with 2020 Vision Gay marriage was legalized in the USA.

2015

2016

Hurricane Harvey devestated Houston, Texas.

2017

The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

u want to see happen e next decade?

“In 2020, I look forward to seeing the stigma about mental health broken.”

Senior Chrystal Nhan

2019

Reflecting on the changes at Mark Keppel LEILA WU Staff Writer health is relatively new.” Wang believes that the decade trend noted by Gutierrez will be helpful in “establishing [an environment] where there’s constant checking in and accountability [that] will

COURTESY OF GOOGLE

Mark Keppel campus pictured above.

give children a lot of support and allow them to grow up in a culture where they can differentiate

between right and wrong.”

In addition to positive support, other teachers have seen significant changes as the years passed.

“I like that we now have more developmental, or theory classes for various teams,” says Social Science teacher Mr. Tran, who has been working at Keppel since 2011.

He indicates that these particular classes implemented over the past few years have greatly improved sporting teams, and given students the chance to continue to advance their skills.

Overall, Tran, Gutierrez, and Wang all wish to see continuing improvements to the Keppel campus, and hope that the Keppel population continues to grow as time passes.

How has _____ changed over this past decade?

POLITICS:

“More than 10 years ago, if someone was running for office, there were issues they could stand by. With social media, everybody’s opinion is being heard and validated by people who agree with them but not necessarily debated. Candidates have to figure out what issues they want to follow. So the politics, or rhetoric, becomes disjointed.” - Mr. Gillette

Fashion:

“The trends for fashion has changed and have been recycled. You see bell bottoms coming back, [with the addition of] high waisted pants and shorts, and butterfly clips. As you get closer to 2020, you also see all of these old trends from the 90s coming back into the picture.” - Ms. Martinez

t was your favorite. . .

tok 6%

2018 Parkland school shooting spurred gun reforms and movements.

The 2010s decade has been a progressive one, with advancements in LGTBQ+ rights, feminism, mental health, and more.

But what has this decade meant for Mark Keppel?

Principal Gutierrez has more than fifteen years of administrative experience under her belt. Gutierrez states that there has been a numerous amount of changes in the education administration, but she notes one very prominent change.

“There’s been a trend of positive behavior support. [The] district is wanting to reduce disciplinary issues by building relationships between everyone in the school.”

Gateway Counselor Peter Wang corroborates this desire for positive behavior support. On the subject of how the mental health scene has evolved this past decade, he states that “the topic of mental

“I want flying cars to be invented, and I want there to be a world peace event where every single one of the world leaders meet together.

Sophomore Curtis Le

ND?

Tik Tok rose to popularity.

DANCE MOVE?

the woah 49.6% 125 STUDENTS WERE POLLED.

“There is more protectionist sentiment in the world right now, World Econom- [meaning] people don’t want to trade. So even though trade doesn’t help everyone equally, it will help a class of people disproportionics: ately. It leaves the working class behind. Trades are in general are a good thing, and we are seeing countries not wanting to trade as much as before.” - Mr. Chin

6 A&E

THE AZTEC

DECEMBER 12, 2019

Instagram to launch new “Hidden Likes” feature globally, runs tests in select countries ELLIS YANG & NATASHA MIYANO Staff Writers In its newest efforts on creating a safer platform for their users, Instagram has recently announced it will be launching a new ‘hidden likes’ feature globally. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is a photo-sharing service that allows users to intermingle with others around the world, as well as a haven of inspiration for users to scroll through.

In April, the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, announced during a WIRED25 Conference that Instagram would be conducting a months-long test where the “like” counts would be hidden from viewers other than the person who posted the original post. Since then, they have piloted their experiment across many nations where their service is accessible, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand.

Only recently has Instagram announced that this new feature would be launched globally.

Seventy-two percent of Instagram’s users are adolescents, therefore Mosseri stated that this was the company’s latest step in making Instagram the ‘safest place on the planet,’ and their effort in combating the toxic-like culture of its platform, especially for the Generation Z community.

A representative for Instagram told TIME, “We want [our users’] followers to focus on the photos and videos [they] share, not how many likes they [received].”

Avid user of Instagram, sophomore Jessica Lam comments, “...[I believe these issues Instagram is battling] could have been avoided...one of the main aspects of Ins-

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tagram and social media, are the amount of likes and followers. These numbers can affect how we view ourselves and others, including feelings of envy and insecurity.”

Feedback on the company’s decision received mixed sentiments across cross-platform users. Some were concerned about how this may affect Instagram-based social media influencers like ‘ig models,’ whose main source of income is from brand deals they receive based on their popularity.

Despite removing “likes” because of mental health, it

could also be a marketing tactic for Instagram. Marketers will now have to pinpoint their desired demographic in order to know who to sponsor. Hiding likes can also help small businesses and influencers enter the same space on the app alongside more well-known accounts. As a result, this could also decrease the abundance in fraudulent campaigns and legitimize engagement through comments.

Junior Koemi Okashima says, “I have to admit, I was skeptical when I heard about this change. If users could still see the amount of likes they recieve, won’t they still be affected mentally? But I realized that if one cannot see the number of likes another may have, they will not be able to compare their number of likes to others anymore.”

This change is not Instagram’s first attempt in controlling the environment of their social media platform.

In July, Instagram rolled out a feature that urges users to think twice before posting possibly hurtful profanities in the comment sections. To further advance their efforts in preventing cyber bullying, in October, they also granted users the option to shadow-ban other users who comment on photos with offensive or abusive language. “...I appreciate Instagram’s attempt to [limit negative experiences] for their users. There is no way to completely shut out everything that may mentally harm social media users, but I’m glad [they care about their users’ mental well being to try],” says Okashima.

It is still unclear whether or not Instagram has anymore plans to release more safety updates to their popular app, however no one can deny that this is definitely one of the more major steps they have taken to ensure everyone is content with their Instagram experience.

Investigating TikTok’s sudden popularity MALA HU Staff Writer

As you may know, the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok has, in recent months, skyrocketed in popularity. It currently has over one billion total downloads across all platforms. The app is most popular amongst Generation Z, those born between 1996 and 2010. But what exactly drives so many people to use TikTok over other apps we have today?

Junior Nicole Wu claims that the app

“...It granTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING...”

- jUNIOR jADE LI. “filled the void that Vine left…” and “[is] a more acceptable version of Musical.ly.

It’s not perceived as cringey as [it], which is why everyone is using it.”

Musical.ly and Vine are two other apps similar to TikTok, and can be thought of as “sister apps.” Musical.ly, which was

infamous for being overrun by “cringey” children and technology-illiterate adults, was actually bought out by the Chinese company ByteDance and rebranded into TikTok, which it remains today. Vine, on the other hand, was a successful app whose popularity relied on the sharing of short, six-second long comedy skits. To the dismay of many, it was shut down by Twitter, who owned the app at the time.

After these two apps disappeared, TikTok rose to take their place. However, its beginnings were not at all a smooth ride.

For one, the same “cringey” children and adults who used Musical.ly before continued to use the app. As news of Musical.ly’s rebranding spread, many teens noticed this and began to make ironic, short videos with the app to ridicule these people. All fame is good fame, even infamy, and as time went on, these ironic videos became less about poking fun and more like the videos one would find on Vine. With online users still miserable over the loss of Vine, TikTok quickly became their replacement. Users became

obsessed with the video format, which utilized sound clips of trending songs or self-made recordings in the background while they could do just about anything in their “TikTok”: dance, lipsync, pose— the list goes on.

Personally, Wu finds TikTok entertaining because “it’s a quick access to humor that teens all share at the moment.” Apart from creating videos on their own, users can also “duet” with another or multiple other users, pretending to interact with them although they are in two separate videos or continuing a chain of actions (for example, solving a Rubik’s Cube). Another frequent user, junior Jade Li, learned about the app through friends and ads online. She enjoys the freedom users are given on TikTok, saying “it grants the opportunity to do just about anything since you can start trends, not just follow them”, and because “it distracts me from whatever stressful things [are] going on in my life.” As TikTok’s popularity continues to rise, it is hard to tell when this addicting social media app will hit its peak.

COURTESY OF JAY WANG

Pictured: Junior Jay Wang (@jay_wah) filming a TikTok.

Camila Cabello’s new album, “Romance,” out now FIONA CHAN Staff Writer Pop singer-songwriter Camila Cabello released her new album, “Romance,” on Dec. 6. She dropped this highly anticipated album after months of buildup and after releasing single after single, including her hits “Shameless”, “Living Proof ”, “Señorita” featuring Shawn Mendes, “Liar”, “Easy”, and “Cry for Me.” According to one of Cabello’s Twitter account posts, she says, “I just wanted this album to sound like what falling in love feels like, pretty impossible thing to do but I can say I gave it all I had. I’ve never lived as much life

title “Romance” as I did writing this about a year ago. album.”

I wrote this super Cabello talks about the name of her long thing called album and the ideal the “Romance meaning of the album Manifesto” where itself in her InstaI was just talking gram. She about what I released her singles wanted this album for this album in to be, how I wanted quite a short amount it to make me feel, of time. Cabello says, COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES how I wanted it to ”These songs are make other people Pictured: Camila Cabello’s cover for new album, basically the story of “Romance.” feel.” my life the past couJunior Qin Chen ple of years and the stories I’ve accumusays, “I wouldn’t call myself a big fan of lated…” She says, “I thought of the album Camila Cabello but her songs are songs

that are usually good and this album pretty much proves my statement.” Cabello’s new songs focus mainly on the stories she has accumulated throughout the past couple of years in her life. Recently, she has made headlines for her high profile relationship with fellow singer Shawn Mendes, which has no doubt played a role in her writing for this album since she wants “Romance” to sound like what falling in love feels like, not an easy task but one she worked tirelessly to complete, according to Cabello. Since the release of this new album, Cabello has also revealed four limited edition alternative covers for “Romance.”

THE AZTEC Girls’ Water Polo defeat Whittier in blowout win

7 SPORTS

RYAN BAUTISTA Staff Writer The Aztec Girls’ Water Polo team dominated against Whittier 17-3 on Dec. 10, marking their ninth game this season.

During the game, Mark Keppel was able to breakthrough Whittier’s defense and claim seven points during the first quarter.

Captain senior Katherine Dodge and set player, senior Amanda Cheung, led the first quarter, both scoring three points each. Despite Whittier’s meager attempts at establishing a defense against Keppel, the Aztecs were able to score an additional six points within the second quarter, ending the first half of the game with 13 points.

“Scoring seven points in the first quarter set the tone for how we played throughout the game. We played a tight defense and countered so we can score,” remarked junior Angelina Tang.

Keppel’s strategies continued on to the third quarter with Dodge and Cheung once again scoring one point each, and sophomore Emily Dodge scoring an additional point. With Whittier not scoring any points during the third quarter, Keppel maintained a firm lead. During the fourth quarter of the game, Whittier was able to bolster their offensive strategies. The Aztecs were forced to send the main goalie, junior Amy Chui, into the field, leaving

Emily as the substitute goalie. Unfortunately, Whittier was able to score two points, ending with a total of three against Keppel’s eighteen.

“Our team needs to work more on effective communication, which will only improve as they continue to play more games and gain more experience. But, our greatest strength is our speed. All of our conditioning helps us to outswim the other teams. Additionally our fast breaks and ball movements really helped us excel,” says Dodge, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the team.

“We prepared for this game by just trying to keep up an energetic mentality. Our practice includes a lot of conditioning and it really shows in our games. There wasn’t really a major challenge for this game, but we were all exhausted from playing games on Thursday and Monday and tournaments on Friday and Saturday,” says Cheung. Furthermore, the team played without any substitutes, meaning along with the exhaustion from the constant games, they were unable to switch out for breaks.

With an overall record of 5-4 this season, the Aztecs aim to make it into CIF. “We hope to make it as far as possible in CIF. Our coach really wants us to win [this year],” says Emily Dodge.

Girls’ Soccer takes tragic loss against Charter Oak Chargers

DECEMBER 12, 2019

Senior Mabel Chui readies to pass the ball to a teammate.

Boys’ Basketball loses championship game in Sierra Vista Tournament KATHERINE DODGE Staff Writer

Freshman Samantha Shahin guards Charter Oak player.

JASPER DUONG Copy Editor This past Tuesday, the Aztec Girls’ Soccer team lost 0-15 to the Charter Oak Chargers during their preseason game.

The Chargers had very intense offense throughout the game, keeping the Aztecs on the defensive end majority of the game.

Unfortunately, the Aztecs had no substitutes on the bench and it forced them to power through the entire game with only halftime as their break. Since the Aztecs had very little players in the game, it made it difficult for them to keep up with the Chargers’ starters and bench players. “We were playing with a short amount of players, but we were still able to change positions and move around to find where we best play to help the team,” says freshman Kayla Holguin.

Due to the short amount of players on the team, some players had to be put in a position they normally would not play.

A prime example of that would be senior Jessica Basallo, who played goalkeeper for this game. “As a first time keeper, I think I could have dove more to get the ball and help relieve my players a little bit by giving

THE AZTEC/ JASPER DUONG

them a few more goal kicks so I could give them a breather,” says Basallo.

The Aztecs practice from Monday to Thursday, from 4-6pm. Throughout their practices, the team has developed many strengths. One of their strengths would be their teamwork and their ability to help each other out on the field, but in order to further the team’s synergy, “I think we still need to get used to playing with each other because we aren’t reading each others’ strengths and weaknesses,” says Holguin.

When outnumbered and exhausted during games like these, this type of teamwork is especially essential to keep each other motivated.

Although the loss was devastating, the team gave it their best effort to continue to fight. Their determination guided them throughout the entire game, seeing it to the very end. “We still played our game and even though the score doesn’t say much, we never gave up,” says Basallo.

This game was just another learning experience for them and they plan to improve for the upcoming league season. “We have had game after game, learning everything.

Yet, we still have a lot to do and learn,” says Basallo.

COURTESY OF KYLE MATSUDA

On Saturday, Dec. 7, the Boys’ Basketball team lost 50-57 to Adelanto High School in the championship game of the Sierra Vista tournament. Although the team had a short roster due to several injuries, the team was able to push through to win four games during the week-long tournament. In the last game, Keppel fought hard to keep up their winning streak, but came up short, tired from multiple games.

Keppel placed second in the tournament.

Throughout the championship game, the two teams were head to head in scores.

Coach Duong stressed the importance of playing with high energy and staying motivated. The team also played strong defense to prevent Adelanto from running up the score. “I think one of the things we did successfully as a team is give a lot of defensive energy, which is something we’ve been preaching from the beginning, and going into this championship game, we were all mentally prepared,” says senior Diego Bustillo. The lead often changed between the two teams. Senior Noel Sanchez says, “Our coach told us at halftime that it would be a game of runs.

We would go on a run and score five or

ten points, and then again. At the end of the game, it came down to whoever had the last run.”

Several key players were very successful in driving up the score. Bustillo scored 19 points, senior Laird Anderson with 15 points, and senior Michael Granados with 12 points. Despite those successes, in the end, Keppel was unable to prevent Adelanto’s best player, number 13, from going on a scoring run. Nearing the end of the game, he was able to score several three-pointers and seal the win for Adelanto.

Despite their loss, Sanchez is confident in his team if they play Adelanto again during CIF. “With the addition of our players coming back after they recover from their injuries, I think we are going to become a stronger team… It was a good experience for our team, and we would prevail if we saw them again,” says Sanchez. Coming off their second place win at the tournament, the team has a hopeful outlook on their upcoming season. “I want the team to go undefeated in league and make it far in CIF, which has been hard for us to do these past few years, and we hope to accomplish that this season,” says junior Aidan Acosta.

THE AZTEC

8 SPORTS

Senior Jesus Garcia drives the ball up the field to attempt shooting a goal.

DECEMBER 12, 2019

THE AZTEC/ LAURA CHEN

Boys’ Soccer remains hopeful after defeat against Charter Oak LAURA CHEN Sports Editor RYAN WONG Staff Writer The Aztec Boys’ Soccer team were defeated 1-6 against the Charter Oak Chargers this past Tuesday.

Towards the beginning of the first half, the Chargers were able to score the first goal of the game, but shortly after, the Aztecs leveled the score and followed up with another goal. The Aztecs played well in using their space and distributing the ball across the field. Unfortunately, the speed of the Chargers overpowered the Aztecs on the field.

“They had more speed than our defenders...and that was what killed us the

most during the game,” says senior Jesus Garcia. He also expresses that many of the players from Charter Oak had better dribbling skills and control over the ball.

With their immense speed and their taking advantage of the offside call, the Chargers were able to score five more goals throughout the game. Garcia wishes to further improve the Aztec defensive line because “there were many mistakes there that shouldn’t have happened.”

Coach Alvarado says, “We knew what type of team that they were, so we prepared based off of their style of plays to try to counter them. A lot of our athletes [are] very skilled in regards to the ball control. But still, it wasn’t enough.”

Despite their loss, the team is still in preseason and strives to improve their

performance in future games. “We can work on touching the ball faster and driving it down the field faster to open more shots for us,” says junior Leonard Palma.

In addition, during practice, the members play many scrimmages in an effort to increase team chemistry.

Remaining positive and striving to improve their performance in future games, Garcia says, “We expect to do better and learn from our mistakes. Usually that’s what we do, but this time we’re gonna work on it a little bit harder.”

The team has two upcoming games this week, including a game against Mountain View High School today at 3:15pm and another game on Friday. The Aztecs aim to win both games, and expect not to lose without putting up a fight.

Wrestling competes in first individual tournament QUENNIE ZENG News Editor

The Wrestling team competed in their first tournament on Dec. 7 at Los Osos.

Though the team only had one player who placed in the tournament, it was the team’s first time competing with other wrestlers this season and it helped motivate them to improve their techniques in order to do better later in the season.

“For it being our first tournament, I think we did well. We showed a lot of fight and heart considering we had a young and inexperienced team,” says head wrestling Coach Orozco. He explains that this year, there were many newcomers who joined the team. Compared to last year’s 10 person team, the team now has 22 players.

Captain senior Hugo Montes placed fifth in the tournament, winning four matches and losing one. “It feels pretty

good to start off the season with a win,” says Montes. Placing in the tournament helped motivate him to train harder and also helped the team gain motivation as well. “As captain, I have proven to my team that I can do this and that I can lead them... Me driving as hard as I can make them drive harder too,” Montes explains.

With the growth of the new team, Coach Orozco had to find new methods of training both the experienced and inexperienced wrestlers. “I try my best to tailor our practices and techniques towards the different skill levels that we have,” he says. In the beginning of practice, all players go through the basics, and as time passes, the experienced wrestlers practice individually, while the beginners continue to work on the basics. The team as a whole also have specifically been focusing on techniques such as the front headlock and shot defense.

He has also introduced longer practice hours in order to strengthen the techniques and skills of each player. The wrestlers train six days a week, Monday to Friday from 3-5:30pm and Saturday from 9-11am. Though the rigorous practice is tiring for the players, freshman Matthew Montes believes, “in the long run, the practices and trainings would be worth it.”

As the season progresses, the team hopes to improve in order to get into the Almont League and Coach Orozco hopes to help the team improve. “In the past years, wrestling didn’t really have a big team or a coach, so I did not expect much from the team. Now that I am here as a full time teacher and we’re building this program, I think that is going to change,” says Coach Orozco.

COURTESY OF AMY CHUI

Athlete’s Profile: Mabel Chui HANA KIKUCHI Staff Wrtier Mabel Chui has been on the girl’s water polo team since her sophomore year.

Chui was first introduced to the sport by her older brother, but before joining water polo, Chui had done one year of swim as a freshman.

After experiencing both water polo and swimming in her high school career, “compared to swimming, an individual sport, water polo is a team sport. Practices are more interactive and social,” says Chui.

She expresses that because of how small the team is, she loves how tight and silly the chemistry is between the teammates.

More importantly, they are very supportive.

While others may disagree, the part of the sport that is most enjoyable to Chui would be the swimming sets because of how it has taught her to push herself. Chui’s younger sister, junior Amy Chui, is also on the team and Chui enjoys the time she gets to spend with her.

While it seems like a fun and great time with friends, when it comes to competition, the atmosphere becomes serious and intense. “Games are tough. The girls in water polo games can get dirty due to the kicking, scratching, and suit grabbing,” says Chui. However, Chui adds that she has nothing to fear because her teammates would fight back harder. “With how amazing my teammates are, they inspire me to do my best,” says Chui.

Lastly, Chui recommends to join the water polo team if you are motivated and you feel a sense of urgency. Even though it might be challenging, learning how to swim and tread water is a great life skill.

SPORTS CALENDAR BOYS’ bASKETBALL On 12/26 Damien Holiday Classic at Damien On 1/7 against Schurr at Aztec Arena On 1/10 against Bell Gardens at Bell Gardens

GIRLS’ SOCCER On 12/12 against Mountain View at Aztec Stadium On 1/3 against Whitney at Aztec Stadium On 1/6 against Ramona Convent at Aztec Stadium

bOYS’ SOCCER On 12/12 against Mountain View at Mountain View On 12/13 against Marshall at Marshall On 1/7 against Schurr at Aztec Stadium

GIRLS’ WATER POLO On 12/16 against Sierra Vista at Sierra Vista On 12/17 against Milken Community at Barnes Park On 1/8 against Bell Gardens at Barnes Park

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL On 12/18 Tarkanian Classic at Las Vegas, Nevada On 12/27 West Coast Jamboree On 1/4 Mater Dei Showcase at Mater Dei

WRESTLING On 12/13 against Gabrielino at Gabrielino On 12/19 against Bell Gardens at Bell Gardens On 12/21 Amat Rumble Classic at Bishop Amat