October 2018

THE AZTEC VOLUME LXXXI NUMBER II

October 18, 2018

theaztecnews.com

VIEWPOINT PG 3

FOCUS PG 4-5

A&E PG 6

SPORTS PG 7-8

Upgrading to a new iPhone

Keppel versus high school stereotypes

A look into the mind of Shane Dawson

Girls Tennis becomes league champs once again

News in Brief Homecoming fest This year's Homecoming Festival, formerly known as Fall Festival, will be held in front of the Aztec Arena on October 26 from 3 to 6 p.m.

Following the festival, Keppel will play their homecoming football game against Alhambra High School.

Mathztecs welcomes keppel, san gabriel, and alhambra students Math Club will be hosting their second annual high school math competition, Mathzecs, on October 27 from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Halloween fashion shoW ASB will be hosting the Halloween Fashion Show in Palm Court on October 31 during lunch. Contestants will be divided into the following categories based on their costumes: scariest, funniest, best teacher costume, best duo, trio, and ensemble.

Aztec Singers hosts first Karaoke Night VINCENT BAGABALDO A&E/ Features Editor The Aztec Singers started off the school year by reviving an event hailing from previous years. They hosted Karaoke Night last Friday, October 12th, where students and faculty sang their heart outs in front of their peers.

It was a joyous evening where both the singers and the audience sang to classics like “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from the movie Frozen.

Throughout the event, students and faculty had the option of paying an Aztec singer to sing a song of their choice while food and drinks were sold. Sophomore Kelly Ta was one of the many people who sang onstage Junior Skye Chianchitlert performs at Karaoke night. saying, “Singing is a really great part of a fundraiser,” she says. “The students were my life and being up on stage was a really definitely much more involved and they all great opportunity for me to showcase what worked to put the event together."

I like doing.”

The current president of the club senior Karaoke Night used to be an old alumni Amanda Hoang is hoping to bring back old tradition when Ms. An, the new advisor for events, saying, “We’ll try to incorporate events the Aztec Singers, was a part of the club. that have worked in the past that might work “If I can remember, the Aztec Singer Kara- today. An example would be singing grams oke Night was actually run by the alumni. It where we’ll have little groups going around [served as] an alumni booster club event and

THE AZTEC/TIMOTHY CHUMAN

singing for each person in different classes.”

Moving forward, Ms. An hopes to make Karaoke Night an annual tradition saying, “We’re thinking of doing it again later this school year. Maybe two or three times just because it was pretty fun overall and it seemed that the administrators who were there enjoyed it as well.”

Geranium Fest promotes cultural diversity QUENNIE ZENG Staff Writer

Your calendar 10/18- District College Fair from 6-8 p.m. at SGHS 10/24- Collaboration Schedule 10/31- Collaboration Schedule 11/7- Collaboration Schedule 11/14- Collaboration Schedule; PTSA General Association Meeting from 7-9 p.m. in cafeteria

Monterey Park held their fifth annual Geranium Festival and Art Walk last Saturday, October 13. The event helped put out a fun and playful mood in what sophomore Matthieu Gol describes as a “friendly atmosphere [where] everyone’s having a good time.” Some activities included train rides, an artwalk, rock wall, a dog costume contest, three legged race, eating competition, and more.

A favorable event was the dog costume competition. One dog showcased its football costume; another Wonder Woman. The eating contest followed the dog costume competition, where people competed to see who can finish a donut the quickest. There were also many booths that held different activities and sold a variety of products, such as

Dia de los Muertos showcase at Geranium Festival.

soaps, dream catchers, handmade bracelets, and clothing.

Senior Erin Tam worked at the Untied Science booth and expressed how she liked the atmosphere at the festival. Tam believes that the festival shed a light on the diversity of the heritages within the city. “I think the purpose [of the festival] was to celebrate the different cultures of people living in this city… I think it is really cool to expose these other culture's traditions.”

Though there were many positive responses about the festival, there was also a repeating critique. Many attendees wished that the

THE AZTEC/ SOPHIE WONG

event had more booths. Junior Ashley Lui expressed that she wished that the festival was bigger. “We can add in some more events and activities that would make it better… I also wish that there were more food options,” says Lui. The Geranium Festival and Art Walk is a eventful celebration that helps spread positivity to the community and like Lui said, “[it is] worth coming to next year.”

ASB invites students to a “Night in Japan” KEVIN LIU & SDEYNI MARTINEZ Copy Editor & Staff Writer

PTSA, NHS, and private college representatives, students, and alumni gather for a photo post-presentation.

THE AZTEC/ SOPHIE WONG

Private College speakers talk admission, student life SOPHIE WONG Editor-in-Chief & News Editor Mark Keppel PTSA hosted the annual Private College Night, featuring speakers from Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, and the University of Southern California on October 11 in the cafeteria. Admission officers provided information on admission processes, housing, tuition, and more; meanwhile, current students and Keppel alumni talked about student life and experiences at their respective university. In addition, PTSA committee member Glen Quon spoke about the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), an exchange program for undergraduate students between 16 U.S. states.

As college application season starts, seniors are searching for stories that accurately reflect them for both the personal and supplemental essays.

“Just be genuine, because we’re really looking to understand you as a student, understand your passion, your critical thinking abilities, and your creativity,” says LMU admissions counselor Melissa Turcios. Turcios also advises students to do research on the university’s mission and values.

The application also asks for any extracurricular activities or volunteer work students may have taken on during high school. Students often look back at their four years with regret, wishing they could have started participating earlier or doing more.

“Don’t stress too much. You can’t undo [things], like you can’t say ‘I wish I was

12 and did swimming for 8 years,’” says Keppel alumni and current Occidental junior Lauren Chin.

Another worry is the relevance of extracurricular activities to an intended field of study. Admission officers recognize the fact that not everyone sets foot in high school knowing what they want to study in college. “I think it’s more important for us to be able to see from your extracurricular activities what you’re passionate about. We’re really just trying to understand students beyond that GPA, beyond that SAT. We’re just trying to understand them as a whole person,” says Turcios.

For more college information, all students are welcomed to attend the annual AUSD college fair at San Gabriel High School on October 18, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Homecoming will be held on Saturday, October 27 from 7 to 11 p.m. with the theme of “A Night in Japan.” Unlike previous years, this year’s homecoming theme is based upon a culture; additionally, ASB has used a brand-new process of nominating homecoming kings and queens.

With the change in theme comes a new set of rules. On their Instagram account, ASB put restrictions on the dress attire of the event. In order to avoid cultural appropriation, ASB has limited dress to anything but Japanese attire. “I think the theme is really cool, but if the students could have the freedom to wear what they want, that would be nice [too]” says senior James Vo. In addition, students were allowed to nominate anyone for homecoming court in previous years but ASB has decided to change their nomination rules this year in the effort to increase schoolwide participation. Each club and sport was required to nominate one member, with no specific criteria for nomination. ASB wanted to be more inclusive and make the homecoming contests more than just popularity contests.

However, senior Candace Lee feels differently. “For Band, the council nominated someone.

Only ten people got to vote who they wanted and not the entire 90 people in the ‘club.’”

The homecoming finalists will be announced during the homecoming fashion shows on October 22 and 23, with the king and queen being announced during the dance.

Lowering the AUSD voting age MAPLE DUONG Web Editor Students from Mark Keppel, San Gabriel, and Alhambra High School are rallying together to launch the Vote at 16-SGV campaign, with the goal of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 for the AUSD school board elections.

Right now, the age to vote for school district board members in California is 18. However, many communities are unaware of what goes on in their school districts.

Senior Wilson Yeung, an advocate for this campaign, first learned of this movement through Crown & Sceptre, a senior honor society at Keppel. “With this movement, we can increase the amount of transparency between us and our dis-

trict since we are directly affected by the decisions from the school board.” explains Yeung. Yeung hopes that by decreasing the voting age to 16, more students will start to be more involved with school politics.

Senior Dylan Djoenadi involved himself with this movement because of his own lack of awareness. “I never really understood who school board members were and what they did.” The lack of knowledge about the school board is one of many other factors that contributed to the rise of this movement. Djoenadi adds, “The problem is, students don’t have access to this information, which means they do not know what is going on with school board politics.”

To encourage engagement, Keppel, San Gabriel, and Alham-

Vote at 16 members attend the AUSD Round Table at Grapevine Arbor Park in San Gabriel.

bra High School all held various mock elections from October 1 to October 3 to give students the opportunity to see what it would look like if they had the chance to vote for their school board.

Yeung and Djoenadi hope this movement will increase the

amount of discussion in regards to the school board and school board elections. “Our end goal is extend the right to vote and eventually branch it out to other districts like San Marino and Arcadia,” says Djoenadi. Students involved in the campaign

COURTESY OF VOTE AT 16

hope that by popularizing this movement, everyone will start to engage in the world of politics.

“We [students] are the future of society, and we should start to be engaged with who represents us,” Yeung says.

The Aztec 2018-2019 Timothy Chuman

Aurora Zeng

Sophie Wong

Vincent Bagabaldo

Editor-in-Chief/ Photographer Editor-in-Chief/ News Editor

Selina Martinez

Viewpoint Editor/ Asst.

Editor-in-Chief/ Asst.

News Editor

Focus Editor/ Chief Photographer A&E/Features Editor

Wesley Zeng

Sports Editor/ Business Manager

Laura Chen

Business Manager

Maple Duong Viewpoint Editor/ Web Editor/ Asst. Focus Editor Kevin Liu Copy Editor

Vivian Luk

Copy Editor/ Historian

Izabella Cofressi Photographer

Joyce Lee Photographer

Winnye Tu Staff Writer

Maggie Luu

Quennie Zeng Staff Writer

Photographer

Emily Chu Staff Writer

Sdeyni Martinez 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. Bradley in room A227 or sent to theaztecsubmit@gmail.com.

All letters must be signed, but on request, names will be withheld. We do not acknowledge unsigned letters.

All internet graphics on The Aztec newspaper are the properties of their respective owners.

Alhambra, CA 91801

october 18, 2018

The Aztec

X-tra money for the same phone?

AURORA ZENG Focus Editor This year’s new Apple iPhone lineup includes the new XS, XS Max, and XR, all modeled after last year’s iPhone X. However, with the new phones come a new price: the XR starts at $749, the XS at $999, and the XS Max at $1099. These price tags are the heftiest Apple has ever charged: $749 was once the price of a brand new iPhone 6s Plus, according to MacWorld.

Consumers complain that the new iPhones are rarely worth the upgrade.

Compared to the iPhone X, the new XS, which was released on September 21, has rather minimal upgrades: extra water resistance, an A12 processing chip instead of an A11 chip, and a slightly better camera. Meanwhile, the more affordable model, the iPhone XR, is almost identical to the iPhone 8 Plus. Other than a front camera portrait mode and display improvements, they have very similar features.

With the arrival of new flagship products, the price of older versions have also dropped. The iPhone 7 now starts at $449 and the 8 at $599. Junior Valerie Dao, who still uses Apple’s 2012 iPhone 5 model, prefers the iPhone 7 over the newest phones. “It’s bigger but not too big... and [it’s] half the price of the XS,” she says. “I don’t think it’s necessary to

get a new model [because] there’s little difference between each model anyway and Apple charges extremely high prices for each new one.”

Senior Samuel Kim agrees. Kim, who switched from an iPhone 6 to a Samsung Note 8, adds, “People sometimes just get [iPhones] because their friends have them so they are not left out of their group.”

COURTESY OF TIMOTHY CHUMAN

Freshman Hinata Maeda says, “You don’t need to upgrade [until] something really goes wrong with the phone.” However, according to the Huffington Post, Apple’s new iOS updates that come with their new phones are designed to cater towards the hardware of the new iPhones, which may lead to malfunction in older models. As a result, users are pushed to upgrade to a new phone.

Maeda, who recently upgraded from the iPhone 5 to the 7, says his new phone is “easier to use.” Still, he was fine with using an older model.

Yet there are still customers who are willing to pay the higher price for minimal updates. According to 9to5 Mac, iPhone XS and XS Max sales generated more revenue than last year’s 8, 8 Plus, and X combined. “The Face ID, full touch screen, and dual camera are [some] noticeable changes that I really enjoy [and] the speed of the processing chip is incredible,” says junior Sunny Kaing, who has the iPhone XS Max. “[The new design] is a good replacement for the old home button; it feels very efficient and modernized.” Kaing switched from his old phone, the iPhone 6 due to glitches.

Satisfied with the XS Max, Kaing would recommend upgrading to a new phone if students have a model older than a 6.

The iPhone 7, however, remains the most popular iPhone model in the market, followed by the 7 Plus and 6s.

Whether or not it is worth upgrading to a brand new phone is all up to the user. Apple is still continuing to sell more models and will continue to expand their company. In the end, all that matters to Apple is consumer satisfaction and happiness.

Youtubers’ lives or our lives?

EMILY CHU Staff Writer In a recent article from “Clevver” and Instagram posts from fan accounts, the Youtube world has been buzzing about the breakup of LaurDIY and Alex Wassabi. This shocking revelation of their personal lives led the couple to post a video in which they asked fans to refrain from bashing them on their videos and Instagram pages. In doing so, it garnered attention from fans all around Youtube. Should celebrities stay private about their personal lives or should they be more open and tell their fans everything?

Freshman Aiko Whalen believes that the social leaders today and in the future should have a choice to keep their relationships and business private; they should be able to choose what they want to share with the world. “The pressure to show everything in their life or relationship is never healthy, and fans should be able to respect their decision,” she says.

Liza and David announced their breakup on June 4 via Youtube.

“But on the other hand, some people demand more ‘content’ from the person, and it makes the celebrities hesitant about sharing any content at all. It pushes them out of their comfort zones.”

The job of vlogging requires Youtubers to show what happens in their daily life, including relationships. Some fans think it’s hard for vloggers to be selective of what they show, because uploading content is a part of their job which

they willingly “signed up” for. Earlier this year, one of the most adored Youtube couples Liza Koshy and David Dobrik broke up after two years together, sending shockwaves throughout the entertainment world. When the Youtubers did not expose the details of their breakup, they received backlash from their fans. While they had the right to ask for privacy, the issue continued to exist for fans who wanted to know more.

Halloween is for pets too!

SELINA MARTINEZ Asst. Editor-in-Chief

COURTESY OF ELYSE CHAN

Nani and Belle pose as ballerinas for Halloween.

COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

Halloween is no longer a celebration that only humans participate in. In fact, this year, 31 million people will dress their pets up in costumes, according to a survey done by the National Retail Federation.

The inclusion of pets on October 31 is on an upward trend as trick or treating with your furry friends, pet costume contests, and Halloween dog parties have become more popular. It all begins with dressing your pet up in a costume for that spooky night. This year, pumpkin, hot dog, and bumblebee costumes are expected to dominate the scene.

Junior Elyse Chan is on board with the trend of dressing up pets for Halloween. “Dressing your pet up is fun and cute.

I see nothing wrong with it as long as your pet shows no signs of being irritated by the costume.” Chan has two dogs and enjoys

Viewpoint 3 California bans straws IZABELLA CONFRESSI Photographer On September 20, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill banning restaurants in the state from providing plastic straws to customers, unless requested. This bill will go into effect statewide starting January 1st, 2019. This is yet another effort to reduce plastic pollution, a precedent set by other cities such as Seattle and San Francisco. Both cities banned all plastic straws and utensils in July.

Not everyone believes this law will make a difference. Sophomore Vincent Leung sees no point to this bill. “Everyone will still ask for straws and to not have straws means there’s no guarantee the glass you’re drinking from in restaurants has been properly sanitized since they have to serve a lot of customers in a short amount of time,” he says.

Besides the environmental opinions, many people have concerns as to how this ban will affect boba shops. Boba shops have reportedly been given a year to find an alternative to plastic straws or else they could be facing a fine ranging anywhere from $100 to $500.

For now, there is still no other option as shops bide their time, waiting for a more environmentally-friendly alternative just as inexpensive as plastic.

Another point raised in response to this bill was how people with disabilities, who need a plastic bendy straw in order to drink, will be affected. Food service businesses have stated that this does not apply to disabled citizens, nor to any type of plastic straw they may require. One will be available to them upon request. Despite this, many disability rights group are still uneasy, feeling that this is yet another inconvenience for people with disabilities.

However, some are happy about this change, and focus on the positive effects this could bring. Junior Yuumi Lloyd thinks it is a great idea. “This will not only save plastic, but reduce plastic waste as well,” she says.

She goes on to state that although others view this as a miniscule change that won’t make much of a difference in the long run, she, “believes it will because now only the people who truly want straws will receive one; the difference may be small, but it’s still reducing the amount of plastic waste in our oceans.”

The differing opinions and concerns that this bill has created has led to some thinking of other ways the government could help our environment instead. Lloyd believes there should be, “more regulation in the amount of plastic that is used to package food and other goods at stores,” while others, such as Leung, believe that, “governments should just stop the production of plastic straws and other plastic products all together since it has harmed our environment so much.”

playing dress up with them. Along with getting them gifts for Christmas and dressing them up for Halloween, Chan once even dressed them up in one of her dresses from when she was a baby. “They’re family members and just like you like to have fun with family, I like to have fun with my dogs.”

Like Chan, senior Ian Ordonez likes to include his dog Maxie in celebrations.

While he does not have a costume for his dog, “[Maxie] has her Halloween, Christmas, and Easter sweaters and really loves them.”

Many critics do not agree with dressing up pets because they do not like pets being treated like humans. However, Ordonez looks at it differently. “I think it is completely acceptable for dogs and other animals to be treated as kids because for

some people those are their ‘kids.’ The bond between an animal and a person is undeniable; there’s nothing wrong with pampering your dog and including them as apart of your family.”

Senior Nathalie Zamora agrees. As an owner of a Maltese and Poodle mix and a rat terrier and Chihuahua mix, Zamora finds that the reason why people dress up their dogs is because, “their dogs become their family so of course you’re going to involve your family.” Although Zamora does not dress up her dogs on October 31, she would like to. “I think dressing up pets is so cute. Plus it’s kind of funny to see them in outfits like a dinosaur [costume].”

“Dogs bring me so much joy, so if I can include what makes me happy during Halloween and I’m not harming them, why not?” Chan says.

THE A

4 FOCUS

tTHE QUINTESSENTIAL H Comparing Keppel with

Voices: Freshman, what about Keppel is different from what you had expected?

School events

Poll: What aspect of keppel do you feel is most different from stereotypes?

(dances, rallies 11.6%

Athletics 15.6%

Academ

29.3%

S

“In movies, they would [show] bullying in the hallways...but at Mark Keppel I haven’t witnessed any bullying.”

Audrey Wong

“I was expecting high school to be confusing and I thought there would be a lot of bullies, but I was wrong. I made a lot more friends than I expected and I owe part of that to the basketball team.”

Tanjirul Alam

Poll: What event do you wish to see at keppel?

School Fairs 19.7%

Class Color Wa 40.9%

Get’cha Head “It’s way cooler than I thought because we are able to talk to people from other grades.”

Marcelo Yip

“People are nicer than I thought [unlike] in movies, [where] they have popular kids and lower people.”

Wendy Guan

“I thought high school would be bigger but in a few days I got used to it. I liked that I joined Cross Country because it’s really nice having upperclassmen to give you advice anytime.”

Lori Louie

“I thought classes would be even harder than it is now. It isn’t that hard, but it’s harder than middle school.”

Dillon Hyunh

VOICES BY TIMOTHY CHUMAN, EMILY CHU, VIVIAN LUK, MAGGIE LUU, AND AURORA ZENG

SELINA MARTINEZ Asst. Editor-in-Chief/Asst. News Editor

Sports, especially American football, is a staple in American culture. Passion for America’s teams is evident through the merchandise that fans sport, ridiculously-priced tickets for games, jam packed stadium stands, and the record-high viewership that sport channels get. The Super Bowl can even be called an “unofficial holiday.”

With football and sports in general being such a big aspect in American culture, high schools should also reflect this culture. At Keppel, this assumption does not hold true.

However, for some schools, sports is at the center of their high school experience, whether it be a national championship or just a Friday night game.

“Football s Homecoming is an exciting time for Kepwas the mo pel. Besides the dance, the Homecoming ing and we game gathers Aztecs on the field to watch go all out the football team play. The stands are filled, the cheering is loud, and the ambiance is clothes, pa what is expected from high school sports erythin games after watching High School Musical. Alisha Bryan At Keppel, this is the one game to attend.

At other schools, this kind of night is every Friday night.

Football games became famously dubbed “Friday Night Lights” to refer to the fun taking place at the stadium on Friday evenings. An alumni from Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan recalls these “Friday Night Lights” being what she and others looked forward to all week. “The seats were always packed at football games.

Everyone knew the players, and there was a ton of school spirit from yelling out chants to using face paint. The at-

October 18, 2018 5

AZTEC

HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE schools in other states

s

Clubs/Extracurriculars

s)

11.6%

Soarin’ and Flyin’ academics AURORA ZENG Focus Editor

Social Interactions 32%

mics

%

Sadie’s 17%

ars

Winter Formal 16.3%

Powderpuff Football 6.1%

DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ASB. 147 STUDENTS WERE POLLED.

in the Game!

mosphere of it all made everyone super happy and spirited.”

In a Florida high school, football is also a very central part of high school life. Alisha Bryant from New Smyrna Beach High School says, “Sports play a huge role at my school.

Football season was the most exciting and we would go all out [with] clothes, paint, everything.”

At Blue Valley West School in Overland Park, Kansas, junior Andre Koga even calls the games a “school tradition.” Koga says, “We always have tailgates an hour prior to the game starting. The games are so packed that our home games had to be held in our district center where there’s more space for fans and more parking, [but] it’s season still not enough space! Each game is also themed; ost excit- it’s how we express our school spirit. Everyone is e would so hyped up and every touchdown, we have our t [with] little chant that is exchanged with our football aint, ev- players.”

Despite the significant role sports play at other ng.” nt, Florida high schools all over the country, Keppel culture does not achieve the same level of spirit. At the same time, if we want an exciting “Friday Night Lights,” then we can work toward that by building more support for the sports team through increased attendance. Chanting for our team can make every Friday night feel like its a Homecoming game. “These [football games] are the things that make school fun and memorable,” says Bryant, and if Keppel agrees, these simple adjustments can put us one step closer to the “Friday Night Lights” everyone looks forward to.

It is not a secret that Keppel is a very academically in Georgia. About 55% of students take AP courses, with competitive school. Any student aiming to attend a four the most competitive ones loading four or five courses in year college or university would understand the pressure their junior year. The pass rate is 76%, slightly lower than of earning straight A’s and taking challenging classes. For Keppel’s. Luong says her school offers various programs these students, grades seem to be the most important part to STEM students to help them pursue courses in their of their lives. For other students, bringing home a perfect major, including college courses at Georgia Institute of report card is not quite a necessity.

Technology. “It’s advised we don’t apply early to [UniverAccording to USA Today, Keppel is ranked #777 among sity of Georgia or Georgia Institute of Technology] unless high schools in the nation and #130 in California based we have a 4.0 GPA, extremely high SAT/ACT scores, and on standardized test performance. Almost 60% of Keppel an extremely rigorous schedule,” Luong says. Although students take AP courses and 80% of those not as high as Keppel’s, Peachtree Ridge Keppel is ranked who take the AP tests earn a 3 or higher. has a large percentage of minorities in the #777 among Meanwhile, based on College Board’s stastudent body. tistics, the pass rate for all AP exams taken high schools in the “Academic competition is a spectrum,” in 2018 was only 59%. nation and #130 in Luong adds. “Students in normal high In a school environment so consumed in California based on school courses don’t face much competigetting good grades, it may come as a surtion. However, students in AP programs... standardized test prise that some schools in America do not face pretty fierce competition.” performance. even offer AP or honors classes. Alumni The same can be said for Keppel. While Source: USA Today Braden Rupe, part of the class of 2018 at the surrounding community often credits McDonald High School in Ohio, says the students at his Mark Keppel to be one of the best schools in the area, it school were not very competitive as the administration al- is not always the case. “There are the highly motivated AP lowed multiple valedictorians as long as each one met the college-track kids. Then there’s about 40% who are kind criteria. “We’re more of a high performing school com- of in the middle who kind of want to try but are content pared to others in our area,” says Rupe. “There’s pressure with pretty much status quo. Then there are the kids who from the school, but not as much as from parents.” are just trying to figure it out and survive,” AP Language As an alternative to AP and honors classes, Rupe’s and AP Literature teacher Ms. Flores says. school offers college credit classes and a few “advanced” Even though the schools in neighboring areas all seem courses in English and Math. While students generally to be high performing schools, it should be made clear take the ACT instead of the SAT, taking prep classes was that we are just on one end of the spectrum. While stuuncommon. Rarely any students, according to Rupe, go dents focus on academics, it can be easy to forget other out of state for college. USA Today calculates Keppel’s aspects of high school life. and McDonald High School’s math and reading profi“[Students are] too busy competing with each other ciency test scores to be about the same. to recognize how beautiful and wonderful and how much Meanwhile, student Natalie Luong at Peachtree Ridge potential each of them really have,” Ms. Flores comments.

High School in Suwanee, Georgia, experiences similar “Keppel kids give themselves enough credit for how competition as students from Keppel. According to USA amazing they really are.”

Today, the school is ranked #1014 in the nation and #28

Sticking to the clubs we know VINCENT BAGABALDO Features/A&E Editor High school clubs and organizations have been the backbone of student activities for many years now. With each school, clubs may vary to suit the student body’s interests. Schools from San Francisco to New Jersey each have a defining club that is well-known in their respective campus.

At Mark Keppel, volunteer and academic clubs are the most prevalent ones on campus. Prime examples of clubs are the National Honors Society (NHS) and Key Club.

Students admittedly join for a cord at graduation, for the sake of adding to their college applications, or for the sake of college applications. Meanwhile, other clubs will rarely see an attendance nearly as high. In other states such as New Jersey, however, there is a difference.

Madison Carral, a junior at Woodbridge High School in New Jersey, says, “Our biggest club is definitely the Ecology club. They usually go on trips to pick up trash at either parks, beaches, [or] highways.” While similar to the volunteer clubs on Keppel’s campus, the difference lies in the motivation behind student participation. “The only reason it’s the biggest club is [that] people want an excuse

to get out of the class with all the trips they have,” she says.

However, the same can not be said for schools up at Northern California. Sophomore Christine Oh, who attends California High School in San Francisco, has clubs that mirror those in Mark Keppel, such as Key Club and Red Cross. “I know Key Club is really big and so is Interact. HOSA [Health Occupations Students of America] is also a big club and there are a ton of members in CSF [California Scholarship Federation],” she says. Oh believes that the reasoning behind the abundance of members in these types of clubs is the pressure that comes with joining them. Clubs like CSF and NHS offer scholarships to those who join and meet their requirements, giving students an incentive to be active.

Perhaps the advantage gained from joining service and academic clubs is higher for students who wish to expand their college applications. Still, despite these worthwhile incentives, students should not forget about joining clubs that spark their interest and hobbies.

6 FEATURES

OCTOBER 18, 2018

THE AZTEC

Does your vote matter? of thousands of votes, but I still contributed something to their win.”

For many fans, their dedication stems from a The American Music Awards (AMAs) is pub- place of respect and admiration for the artists who licized as the world’s largest fan-voted awards give so much of their lives to their music. “Since show, giving the public a chance to celebrate their they are putting themselves out there, I think they need all the support that they can get,” says freshfavorite contemporary artists. man Briana Tolentino.

Every year, thousands of Although fan voting is popfans rally together and vote “I may just be one out of thourelentlessly in order to propel sands of votes, but I still con- ular among youth today, it is a their idols to a coveted victo- tributed something to their win.” foreign concept to more seasoned music fans. As a child ry. Sometimes, fans will ded- Angela Dong (12) of the 60s and 70s, art teacher icate hours to the process.

Ms. Bostwick didn’t even real“For Korean awards shows, there’s a really long sign-up process. It usually ize that artists needed support. “Music was such a takes 2 hours to finish voting, but I’m dedicated. booming industry,” says Bostwick. “I didn’t think [I] want to help them move up in their career,” I was supporting the artists. I was just supporting my own entertainment.” says senior Angela Dong.

Among the plentiful sea of award shows, the Those hours of voting mean the world to the fans. While the artists walk away with the award, AMAs truly stands out as a cooperative effort bethe fans walk away with the satisfaction that they tween fans and idols. With fan voting, fans able to were part of the winning effort. Dong feels proud express support for their favorite artists and artists when her idols win, saying, “I may just be one out able to reap the rewards of that support.

VIVIAN LUK Copy Editor / Historian

UPCOMING HORROR MOVIES Halloween - October 19, 2018 Overlord - October 26, 2018 Suspiria - November 2, 2018

COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

The Clovehitch Killer - November 12, 2018 Anna and the Apocalypse - November 30, 2018 Pet Sematary - April 5, 2019

The Mind of Shane Dawson TIMOTHY CHUMAN Editor-in-Chief Since its establishment in 2005, YouTube has been a source of original and genuine content, making it the most popular social media platform in America. However, as the interest of the various audiences has evolved, content creators have been forced to adjust accordingly. This has caused an immense rise in fake content, drama, and news channels which has been detrimental to the state of the social network.

Thus, when YouTuber Shane Dawson recently released a documentary series called The Mind of Jake Paul, he took the entertainment world by storm. With seven episodes released so far, the series has accumulated over 110 million views within a span of three weeks, which is incredible for any YouTuber. More importantly, Dawson’s willingness to deviate from the status quo and present raw, authentic content has been refreshing and necessary, especially with the current state of YouTube.

Jake Paul, the focal point of the series, is one of the most controversial content creators on YouTube because he is often heavily criticized for his immature and inappropriate behavior. Each episode explores the factors of what makes Paul himself, and because there are so many negative preconceived notions on the infamous YouTuber, Dawson could have easily bashed him and conformed to that

Venom devours the box office MAGGIE LUU Photographer Based on the Marvel comics character, Venom is an antihero movie focusing on investigative journalist Eddie Brock and his relationship with an alien symbiote whose species plans to take over Earth. Though initially placed third on Fandango’s Fall’s Most Anticipated Movies List, the movie has not received the critical reception it was hoping for.

The movie’s 33% score on Rot-

Tom Hardy as Venom in Venom

negative image. However, Dawson dutifully covered every aspect of Paul’s life in an honest manner. While this was the right thing to do, it has not gone over well with fans.

Viewers have slighted Dawson for attempting to “humanize” Paul while others have insulted the quality and professionalism of the videos. Many fans have even threatened to stop supporting Dawson because of their hatred toward Paul. Despite all of the repercussions that he has faced, Dawson has refused to allow the opinions of others to dictate his content, and this sets forth a new precedent for YouTube content.

From a journalist’s perspective, Dawson’s respect of ethics and pursuit of facts at the expense of reputation draws

ten Tomatoes, however, has not kept the film from performing exceptionally well at the box office. Venom has set a new all-time October box office record of $80 million in revenue and exceeded the expectations of many Marvel comic fans.

“I think Venom broke October’s box office records because it’s a Marvel production of one of Marvel’s widely known villains,” says senior Dylan Truong. “It isn’t everyday [that] Marvel drops a movie about the ‘bad guy.’”

“Superhero fatigue” is a term used by critics to indicate that they are tired of big studio budgets going towards movies based on comic books. Sony’s new hit Venom could be an indication that it is time to tell the stories of comic book villains and antiheroes.

“More often than not, we’re

COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

given the impression that this person is full evil and that all they have is negative intentions, but by [focusing] on the ‘villain’ of the story, we’re able to see the true evil of a story,” says junior Jewelia Fletcher. “The ‘villain’ of the original story is [often] misunderstood.”

The decision to not have hero Spider-Man fight against the villain Venom in the movie initially concerned fans. Nonetheless, Sony was successful in making a self-contained story that gave the audience plenty of Tom Hardy’s Venom action and even set up a sequel in the post-credits scenes.

The movie itself is a stand-alone story that does not set up any spin-offs or cinematic universe.

“If Sony wants to continue their success in the Spider-Man universe, they need to follow in the footsteps of the [Marvel Cinematic Universe] and feature a cast of quality characters in future films,” suggests junior Daniel Zhao. “Additionally, they need to keep making their films fun to watch, which is honestly the most important aspect.”

COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

many parallels to the work that journalists must chase. Despite the controversy that the series raised, Dawson proves to be a trustworthy stalwart against heavily opinionated sensationalist media.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author on this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Aztec Newspaper.

A Star Is Reborn JOYCE LEE Photographer

through the ups and downs. The film shares a bleak viewpoint on the evolution of relationships under the spotlight. While romance is the film’s main selling point, its darker themes about the price of fame and the harshness of the entertainment industry remind us of the shadows behind the glitz and glamour.

On a lighter note, several of the movie’s soundtracks garnered attention for their soulful pop-ballads and catchy lyrics. Music is an integral element to the film and it is what fans have enjoyed the most from each remake. New and old fans of the movie will be able to find something they enjoy in this timeless story about love and artistry.

Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut movie, A Star is Born featuring Lady Gaga, came out on October 6th. The movie first garnered interest last year when one of the concert scenes was filmed at Coachella. The storyline revolves around fading rock star Jackson Maine, who discovers and then falls in love with Ally, an aspiring singer-songwriter.

The plot focuses heavily around themes of fame, love, and artistic authenticity.

The movie is the fourth retelling of the classic Hollywood story, with the original movie debuting in 1937 starring Janet Gaynor. Three more remakes were spawned thereafter, each featuring the iconic female superstars of their time, such as Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland.

Ally’s rise to fame juxtaposes Jackson’s fall, but Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in A Star their relationship weathersis Born

COURTESY OF GOOGLE IMAGES

october 18, 2018

the aztec

sports 7

Girls Volleyball sets for CIF LAURA CHEN Business Manager The Girls Volleyball team played their last League game of the season at Mark Keppel High School against the San Gabriel Matadors on October 9th.

The Lady Aztecs breezed through the first two sets. However, they were met with difficulties in the third set and lost the set to the Matadors. Junior Gloria Lu says, “Since it was the last game, especially for the seniors, everyone really wanted to win and end the season well.” Mark Keppel was able to ensure their win against San Gabriel in the fourth set, ending the game 3-1.

In addition, the Lady Aztecs also celebrated the Girls Volleyball Senior Night. This tradition honors the seniors and acknowledges their achievements within the sport.

Captain senior Erin Lee says, “My parents walked me down and most of my friends are also from San Gabriel, so having everyone there to support us was really nice.”

Although Lee has watched her teammates walk down the aisle for the past three years, she thought this particular night was surreal and exciting.

Sophomore Keilani Lim hits the ball pass the Matadors’ blocker, earning a point for Mark Keppel.

In the beginning, some team members had doubts of making it into CIF this season. “As the season progressed, more of us started believing we could make it in,” says Lee. This one game was crucial for the Lady Aztecs because Mark Keppel had League score of 3 wins to 4 loses, compared to

San Gabriel’s 4 to 6. With this last win, the Lady Aztecs secured third place in the Almont League and advance into the CIF playoffs along with Schurr and Bell Gardens High School.

Even with this accomplishment, the team strives to push themselves to be better. Lee states, “We hope to improve on working

THE AZTEC/ TIMOTHY CHUMAN

together because three JV members were brought up to the varsity team, so we hope to play well with them.”

The Lady Aztecs will be facing the Duarte Falcons in the CIF playoffs match today at Duarte High School.

Long strides towards personal best JOYCE LEE Photographer

Senior Louis Tan looks to pass the ball toward fellow teammates.

THE AZTEC/ TIMOTHY CHUMAN

Keppel regains win from Cathedral WESLEY ZENG Sports Editor/ Business Manager Going against Cathedral High School for the second time this season, the Boys Water Polo team had high aspirations after losing the previous match last month 4-5.

“We wanted to get back at them for beating us and they wanted to keep us down,” says senior Aaron Trinh. The score was close for the duration of the game, but the Aztecs were able to hold onto their narrow lead until the end, winning the game 9-8.

At the start of the game, Keppel scored the first point but was quickly overcome by the Phantoms. Both teams wasted no time running their plays, and the score was tied up 4-4 until the third quarter.

Then, Cathedral began running new plays, forcing the Aztecs to adjust, which resulted in a two point gain by the opponents.

“They were beginning to adjust to our defense and they were running plays where we weren’t adjusting quick enough to defend well against,” says Trinh.

Despite the difference in points, Keppel was able to adapt and ended the third quar-

ter 7-6. With adrenaline pulsing through both teams—Keppel to maintain their lead and Cathedral to gain another two points—the teams continued to score until the final minute.

Senior Alex Go attributes the win to improvement in the team’s communication. “We started to communicate better and more so everything was running more smoothly.” Trinh agrees, as he believes the turning point of the game was due to their ability to work together as a unit.

As their last league game will be against Schurr, who currently holds first in league, Trinh notes that defense will really decide the outcome. “We’re not the biggest guys so we need to be really feisty and try to go for steals and double team [them] when we need to… The name of our game is gonna be defense,” says Trinh.

Due to Keppel’s third place standing in league, they will be placed in the CIF wild card division. Although the team has not thought too far into how they will do in CIF, Go says, “We’ll just keep practicing like we do and communicating during each practice, which has showed us a big change in our games.”

On October 17, Cross Country had a meet at Legg Lake against all the schools in the Almont League. The infamous route goes around the lake and over a bridge, where runners were known to fall off of by their own means or because of errant elbows.

At the beginning of the meet, senior captain Dan Khong says that “Personally, I’m just trying to break 18 minutes for the run. For the team, I just hope they [hit personal records] for themselves.” In addition, fellow captain and senior Eva

sports entering cif:

Kha, notes that “Schurr is probably the most competition for the guys this year… and Alhambra’s cross-country girls are really good this year too.”

In the frosh-soph girls division, freshman Katelyn Wong placed 15th.

In boys varsity, senior Adam Alvarez placed 8th.Many others broke personal records and overall, it was a good meet for the team. Varsity Girls also came away with plenty of wins as senior Kelsey Bustamante secured 6th place.

Senior captain Jessica Dong says that “everyone came to try their best and we’re glad with the results.”

league Record:

girls volleyball

6-4

boys water polo

2-1

girls tennis

7-0

FREE CONSULTATION wongortho.com

October 18, 2018

the aztec

8 Sports Redemption for Girls Tennis VIVIAN LUK Asst. Copy Editor/Historian After a three-year drought, Mark Keppel Girls Tennis can finally call themselves the Almont League champions after defeating Schurr 13-5 in a home game on Tuesday, October 16th to unofficially clinch the title.

Prior to 2015, the Lady Aztecs had held onto the title of League champs for a decade. For the seniors who have watched three years pass by without reclamation, this season is particularly meaningful.

Senior Lauren Jian says, “My senior year is the year that people will remember because that’s when we got back the League title. I’m going to see 2018 on the [list of League champions] and know that I was part of that team.”

The team’s success this season could be attributed to their new mentality. Since tennis is also a mental sport, Coach Finke focused on building the players’ con-

THE AZTEC/ TIMOTHY CHUMAN

Senior Hannah Tram focuses her swing back to the opponents side.

fidence. Before every game, she tries to ease their worries by reminding the team of their goals. “Don’t worry about what we already have done. Don’t worry about what’s about to happen,” says Coach Finke. “Just go out there, play your game, and play the best tennis you can play.”

Although the Aztecs have already secured their League title, they still have one more game against Alhambra on October 23rd. “We feel confident that we can win, but at the same time, there’s more pressure.

Since we’re undefeated, we feel obligated

THE AZTEC/ TIMOTHY CHUMAN

to win the next match to continue that,” says senior Erin Tam. As the team nears the end of their season, they are looking ahead to CIF. While there is a desire to advance through the rounds, for many seniors, it is primarily an opportunity to end their high school season tennis career on a joyous note.

“It’s senior year and it’s the journey that mattered. I just want to have fun playing against some of the best players in our area one last year,” says Jian.

Football struck by unpredicted interferences TIMOTHY CHUMAN Editor-In-Chief As weather conditions worsened during halftime, the Varsity football team was eager to mount a comeback to potentially pull off their first win of the year.

Unfortunately, the lightning and heavy downpour cut the game short, giving the Bell Garden Lancers a 28-0 win after one half of play.

“We knew [Bell Gardens] was beatable, and we knew that we could have done something if we had just waited thirty minutes. The fact that we weren’t able to continue was really frustrating for us,” says defensive end Edgar Negrete.

While the score may indicate otherwise, the Aztecs kept up with the Lancers throughout the majority of the first half, thanks to their defense. After giving up an early touchdown, the Aztecs held the opposing team scoreless throughout the remainder of the first quarter and much of the second quarter before surrendering three quick touchdowns to finish the half.

“We were struggling offensively because they were doing new stuff on us, so defensively, we knew we had to do some-

Jason Tang (88) bolts to the side, attempting to gain yards.

thing different and… our communication helped us a lot,” says Negrete.

The penalties on the opposing team also helped keep the Aztecs in the game.

However, they were unable to make anything of them, putting the team in a tough position to stay in the game. “We had to capitalize on those plays and take advantage of when [the opposing team] is down in distance,” says Assistant Coach Andrew Marin. “We had to create turnovers and get the ball back to our offense.”

The team’s depth received a boost as they got a number of players back from academic ineligibility on Friday night,

THE AZTEC/ TIMOTHY CHUMAN

which will be crucial heading into one of their final league games against Montebello on Friday. While their remaining two opponents sit atop the Almont League standings, the Aztecs acknowledge that their goal is still to win a game.

However, being able to stay in the game with both schools would be a step forward for the team.

“Both teams are top schools in our league. To other people, they might think ‘we should beat this school like nothing.’

But if we are able to execute what we have to do and are able to keep it close, [it] would be a success for us,” says Negrete.

Athlete’s Profile: Joie Nip WINNYE TU Staff Writer Senior Joie Nip continues to push the Girls Volleyball team towards new heights as they head into CIF. “This is actually the second time [Girls Volleyball] has made it to CIF, so I’m really excited and I’m looking forward to this,” says senior Joie Nip. Nip has been playing on Keppel’s volleyball team for the past four years and is currently co-captain along with Erin Lee. Her motivation to do well in volleyball comes from seeing her fellow teammates work hard. “When I see [my teammates] improve, it pushes me to work harder so I don’t disappoint them,” says Nip. Another way she helps herself to improve is through self-motivation. During a game, Nip tries to to outdo herself at every opportunity. She says, “I tend to coach myself. I constantly tell myself to ‘Do better!’ or ‘Give it 100%!”

Nip’s favorite aspect of volleyball is the adrenaline rush. “It’s something you can’t really describe. When you’re on the court and the only thing on your mind is volleyball,” says Joie.

Since this is her last year playing for Keppel, Nip speaks out on things she would have done differently. “Never hold back. I wish I had put 100% effort into my practice all the time. You can always do better than you think you can,” says Nip. Other than volleyball, Nip likes to indulge in other strenuous activities, such as hiking. She enjoys keeping active as it has become a part of her life.

For the next chapter in her life, Joie hopes to attend UCLA or UCSD. “I like that they’re not too far from home and that the campus feels really comfortable.

I also like UCLA’s volleyball games,” Nip says.

Lastly, Nip would like to give shoutouts to Erin Lee, Iris Chung, Leilani Hughes, Gloria Lu, and Steven Li.

Sports Calendar Boys Water Polo

Cross Country

On 10/19 versus Sierra Vista at Sierra Vista On 10/23 versus Schurr at Barnes Park

On 10/20 at Riverside City Course On 10/31 versus League at Legg Lake Park

Girls Volleyball Girls Tennis 10/23 versus Alhambra at Alhambra 10/25 versus League at Whittier Narrows 10/26 versus League at Whittier Narrows

On 10/18 versus Duarte at Duarte for CIF

Football On 10/19 versus Montebello at Mark Keppel On 10/26 versus Alhambra at Mark Keppel