April 2017

THE AZTEC VOLUME LXXVIV NUMBER VIII

VIEWPOINT PG 3-4 From line cutting to student debts

News in Brief Guitar Heroes Mark Keppel's annual Guitar Heroes show will be held in the auditorium on Friday, April 14th. Mr. Lee's 2nd and 6th period guitar classes will be performing I Won't Give Up, Keppel Prison Blues, Hallelujah, and more. The show will also feature small group ensembles. Ticket prices are $5 pre-sale and $7 at-the-door.

Pep Team Tryout and Workshop Dates Drill Team: Workshops-April 17-20th Tryout-Friday, April 21st at Palm Court from 3:15 to 4:15 pm Dance Team: Workshops-April 8th from 10 am to 1 pm, April 1013th from 3-6 pm Tryout-Friday, April 14th Cheer: Workshops-April 24-27th from 3-4:30 pm in old gym Tryouts-Friday, April 28th

Your calendar Today-Drama Boosters Meeting in A114 at 7:008:30 pm 4/14- Minimum Day 4/19- PTSA Meeting in the cafeteria at 7-9 pm 4/26- Collaboration schedule; MKHS Alliance Meeting in cafeteria at 7-9 pm 5/3- Collaboration schedule 5/4- PTSA Meeting at Palm Court from 5:30-7:30 pm 5/9- English Language Advisory Council #7 in the cafeteria from 6:30-7:30 pm 5/10- Collaboration schedule

FOCUS PG 5-6 Exploring Prom 2017

April 13, 2017

theaztecnews.com

A&E/FEATURES PG 7-9 Power Rangers: Revamp versus the original

SPORTS PG 10-12 Spring sports continue to improve in league play

FBLA places in Leadership Conference EVAN CHENG Staff Writer

Keppel’s top ‘Future Business Leaders of America’ (FBLA) students joined other California sections in attending the annual statewide Leadership Conference in Sacramento, competing in a wide range of business-related events from April 6th to 9th.

Freshmen Kaylie Chuman and Christine Huynh return as state champions of ‘Intro to Business Presentations’. Their win over the business-centric Homestead High came as an exhilarating surprise. “We’re really proud,” says junior Emily On, “because Homestead is always number one.” Senior Salvina Lim, who has been in FBLA for 2 years, agrees.

“We’re the underdogs, you know?”

“We didn’t even think we’d place, because we misread the prompt” admits Chuman, who will be competing alongside Huynh at the National Leadership Conference at Anaheim, California by late June.

Sophomore Chelsea Ng and senior Salvina Lim placed 8th in ‘Introduction to Business’ and 9th in ‘Word Processing’ respectively.

Lim concluded her final competition with bittersweet feelings. “I want to say that I’ll do

FBLA members pose for a picture. Back to front: Andy Phu (10th), Gerardo Vasquez (12th), Jerry Wu (10th), Jacky Zhou (12th), Evan Cheng (11th) ; front: Emily On (11th), Felicia Irawan (10th), Chelsea Ng (10th), Kaylie Chuman (9th), Christine Huynh (9th), Salvina Lim (12th), Natalie Foong (11th).

COURTESY OF FBLA

better next year, but there is no next year!”

She echoes a sentiment shared by many in the club: to see Keppel’s FBLA team grow.

“FBLA is not strictly about owning a business,” she says, citing the broad selection of competitive events, which include novelties

like Journalism, Social Media Campaigning, and Computer Simulation & Game Programming. “I want more people to join FBLA and realize that it’s not just a nerd club!”

SciOly team competes in CalTech KEVIN LIU Asst. Copy Editor Mark Keppel’s Science Olympresence of new events like Hovercraft, piad team competed in the State a new builder event.

Science Olympiad on April 8th at “[Hovercraft] was a real challenge the California Institute of Techbecause there was no backing to look at; nology, ranking 25th in Division it was a piloting event,” says Ms. Hake.

C. “The descriptors on the build were Led by captains Rachel Wang somewhat confusing, and [the test] beand Jaxon Xian, the team competcause they weren’t really sure on what ed in 25 different events specializcriteria they were using.” ing in various scientific fields like Freshman Skye Chianchitlert has Disease Detectives, Hovercraft, been competing since 5th grade, but Rubber Powered Airplane. knows that the events are more difficult After placing sixth in the LA in the high school division. Despite County Regional Science Olympidoubting her abilities, to perform at ad competition, the team prepared competition, she managed to find her to compete at CalTech through comfort zone at competition. independent study and weekly “Nobody puts each other down but four-hour Sunday practices. supports and helps one another so I feel “Unlike other schools that have comfortably competing with them,” Science Olympiad courses, we find said Chianchitlert. our own study materials and pur“We’re losing a good chunk of seCOURTESY OF BOB PAZ chase whatever building materials, Kenny Chang (11) and Daniel Ip (11) win 6th place in Disease niors, but our underclassmen are very [which] can be very difficult,” noted Dectectives. strong,” said Ms. Hake. “They’ve learned Xian. “[In addition], all events rea lot from our seniors. [The freshmen] Science teacher and United Sciences adviquire at least 2 people to compete in each are super strong this year, and we’re going to sor Ms. Hake observed that competition was event, making the competition heavily based get more years [with them].” more difficult due to greater detail and the on good teamwork and chemistry.”

Keppel says farewell to Nellie from Student Bank JAMIE CHAU Historian Ms. Nellie, the former clerk of Student Bank, left on Monday, April 10, a day filled with tears and emotions. After one year at Keppel, she is now switching off to a different school for a new job.

She noted that one of the most enjoyable aspects of her job was being able to help students and make their day better. “You guys are busy, you’re working, there’s so many things going on in your life. I don’t see you guys that often, but your experience in the bank is important to me. Because if you guys are in here just for a few minutes, I’m hoping to at least be able to make you smile.”

After her time at Keppel, Ms. Nellie has expectations for next job. “Coming to Keppel has been a great experience, so my expectations are going to be very high. After being with Mark Keppel students, it’s been amazing.” She also

Ms. Nellie thanks Keppel for making her experience here great.

THE AZTEC/VICTORIA RAMIREZ

9th annual Mandarin Airband showcases Chinese culture MALIAH PIERRIBIA Staff Writer The 9th annual Mandarin Airband was held Keppel’s auditorium on Friday, April 5th. This year, students witnessed a cultural showcase comprised of Mandarin singing, dancing, and a guest performance by US Kung Fu Center. The Mandarin airband also used previously unseen light effects.

Participants hoped to bring a fulfilling experience for viewers, and showcase their talents as many of them “feel uncomfortable because they can’t speak English well.”

Preparation for the airband started at the beginning of second semester. Auditions were held two to three months prior to the show.

President of Keppel’s Chinese Entertainment Club and senior Beulah Zhou organized the airband for the first time. Additionally, she performed a song by Eason Han, from the album What’s Going On…?. Mandarin

teacher and airband organizer Mr. Lien performed in a band for his first time. Mr. Lien stated that his inspiration for starting Mandarin Airband eight years ago came from Calculus Airband. “I wanted to make learning Chinese fun [for students], and make students more involved and perform as they have many talents. My goal was to allow students to learn Chinese and have fun at the same time,” Mr. Lien said.

The funds raised from the airband will go towards purchasing speakers for next year’s Mandarin airband, according to Zhou. For students interested in performing in next year’s airband, Zhou said “Normally the first audition is January or February. If students want to participate for Mandarin Airband, they can audition to try out.”

noted how she liked the community at Keppel, calling it “tight knit” and “welcoming”.

“I’m only hoping I’m getting into a great community as well.” she said.

“Everybody is different but everyone is special in their own way and there’s something good in everybody.” Ms. Nellie said, then mentioned several times how thankful she was to the students of Keppel. “My final words to the students of Keppel would be thank you so much. Thank you for making my experience here great. Just keep up the great work that you guys do. You’re great kids, you’re very respectful and you guys are just awesome.”

To celebrate Ms. Nellie’s last day, many students visited the Student Bank to say their farewells and signed a poster made for her.

Growing unrest in schools VICTORIA RAMIREZ & ANGELA CHEN Editor in Chief & Asst. Editor in Chief Recent events within San Gabriel High School that occurred on Tuesday, April 11 has left the citizens within the Alhambra Unified School District (AUSD) concerned for their safety.

Early Tuesday morning, KABC released breaking news that an armed 39-year-old man named Benedict Romero, had escaped an El Monte residential home under the Alternative Custody Program (ACP). Romero had been tampering with his ankle monitor, which allowed him to escape. The suspect was eventually found on an athletic field in San Gabriel High School. Students from San Gabriel High School and Martha Baldwin Elementary School were placed on lockdown for more than two hours.

Specifically, San Gabriel High School was on lockdown mode from 10:48 am to 1:28 pm. “At first, I thought it was a drill, but why would we have a drill during block schedule and testing? I heard heli-

copters and saw Snapchat posts of policemen,” said SGHS junior Lucy Nguyen.

This is the second event this week that has left a disturbance within a community. In fact, this past Monday, 53-year-old Cedric Anderson committed a murder-suicide at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino. Anderson had entered the special education classroom of his wife, Karen Elaine Smith, opening fire and shooting Smith and two other children. 8-year-old Jonathan Martinez was rushed to the hospital, but did not survive the ordeal. It was believed that the two children were not intentionally targeted, but were caught in the crossfire. The shooting left three dead, including Anderson, Smith, and Martinez.

The shooting concerns parents and educators, as schools are seen as safe havens for students. Some feel that increased gun control and tighter campus security are needed to protect students.

The Aztec 2016-2017 Victoria Ramirez

Wesley Zeng

Angela Chen

Anita Huang

Editor-in-Chief/ Chief Photographer

Asst. Editor-in-Chief

Sophie Wong News Editor

Eric Tam

Viewpoint Editor

Aurora Zeng

Sports Editor/ Business Manager Web Editor

Kenneth Liu

Multimedia Editor/ Asst. Photographer

Timothy Chuman Copy Editor

Focus Editor/ Head Cartoonist

Kevin Liu

Cristina Gonzalez

Tiffany Leung

A&E/Features Editor

Asst. Copy Editor Asst. News Editor

Miranda Kwok

Leslie Soto

Laura Chen

Staff Writers

Asst. Viewpoint Editor Asst. Sports Editor

Bailey Huynh

Asst. Business Manager

Jamie Chau Historian

Anthony Gabrie Videographer

Callista Liu Photographer/ Videographer

Photographer

Jessica Chan

Tommy Chao Evan Cheng Kellie Chin Iris Chung

Maya Cuevas

Michelle Dang Chris Dao

Jasper Duong

Maple Duong

Mayra Gamboa Tommy Gao

Brenda Giang

Daniel Lu

Anita Gou

Amber Mak

Celeste Gil

Tiffany Guan

Marissa Heidt

Anthony Hernandez Nicole Hernandez Alissa Hilton

Christopher Hunt Anny Jiang Gina Jiao

Trevor Kwan

Alexander Kwok Brandon Lam Zerlinda Lee

Sherry Liang

Helen Luu

Selina Martinez Justine Mejia

Gordon Meng

Maliah Pierribia Jason Sanchez Trixie Tairas Faith Torres

Caitlyn Woo

Rachel Yamamoto Megan Yan

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 theaztecstaff@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.

Shaina Yearbook Kelly Yuan

Alhambra, CA 91801

Your voice. Your school. Your

Viewpoint.

Sentenced to debt:

Senate budget proposal slashes student aid FOR PERSPECTIVE

Estimated Tuition for the 2017-2018 Academic Year

$14,320

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION released

the president’s 2018 budget proposal on March 16, Pell Grant program, the largest federal grant program,

“...this cut will make it families who don’t have the privilege of investing in their children’s education.”

BRYANNE RACHAPAETAYAKOM (12)

$5,472 on the university and the student’s socioeconomic status.

will remain but funding will be reduced by about $3.9 the funding will guarantee its survival for the next few decades.

Mr. Trump’s budget will eliminate the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) program, which will save an estimated $732 million.

Unlike most grant programs, it is campus-based and -

ANNY JIANG

that FSEOGs are “a less well targeted way to deliver need-based aid than the Pell Grant program.”

While most students have college loans, grants are a huge factor as to whether or not an individual goes to college. Unlike loans, grants do not require people to pay back debt. Cutting grant programs will result in millions of students not being able to go to college.

Senior Bryanne Rachapaetayakom said, “It’s shockharder on families who don’t have the privilege of investing in their children’s education.”

Students like Amanda Huang share Rachapaetayakom’s opinion, saying, “I don’t think Trump realizes what he is cutting. All that matters to him is self-gain.”

Education is the core of a healthy economy, especially when the modern U.S. economy is shifting towards an information-technology based economy.

What Trump is essentially doing is destroying the foundation of a healthy economy by reducing the pool of skilled laborers for companies to draw from.

With this cut, even if they wanted, many families In addition to these cuts, Trump is planning to take federal funds from public schools and give it to private schools, where enrollment is heavily limited to middle various other enrollment costs. A majority of the families in America enroll their children in public schools. divided nation, he has to think more about the people that constitute the majority of the people, rather than the privileged elite.

EVAN CHENG JUNIOR DHEVYN LAO has never had a U on his citizenship grade. He studies hard to keep his GPA above 4.0 and has never gotten a referral. He’s an experienced Boy Scout - a Senior Patrol Leader -

THE AZTEC / ERIC TAM (photo credit)

Joshua Wong (12) poses to demonstrate how many students cut ahead in the lunch line on a daily basis.

LA LA LAND DAY IS NOW AN OFFICIAL LOS ANGELES HOLIDAY ON APRIL 25 “I really enjoyed ‘La La Land’ because of its music and the cinematic elements. I think that

animals who need to get out of my way,” says junior Aditya Soedharto.

“huge groups of people” inexcusable.

In the few times where she’s cut a line herself, Tiffany’s moral compass kicked in. “I felt bad, because those people behind me would have to wait longer. I didn’t do my time.” not believe that line-cutting is a serious issue, or that the countless perpetrators should be punished. “It’s so commonplace, people don’t really care. And if they do, they don’t say anything.”

ALEXANDER KWOK

A

APRIL 20th is an average day but for some people the day 4/20 is a day to celebrate smoking

-TERENA PHAN (12)

-KRISTYN LEE (12)

shared his shameless and maliciously sarcastic view.

“very annoying.” She makes 4 exceptions for cases

Living the high life: 4/20 Day

the essence of the city of Los Angeles. ” “I thought ‘La La Land’ was a really nice reminder of the old fashioned musicals that people used to watch.”

“Line cutting is only bad when other people do it.” tioning, the transgressor maintained a nonchalant and almost bored attitude - as if line-cutting was merely a part of everyday life.

For all intents and purposes, that assumptions is

Sophomore Kody Woo also admits to cutting lines “very often.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIONSGATE

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that April 25 will be La La Land Day. A celebration ceremony will take place on that day at L.A. City Hall and will be open to the public. Director Damien Chazelle and composer Justin Hurwitz are expected to attend.

called themselves Waldos because their hang out area was a wall outside the school, used the term in connection with a fall 1971 plan to search for an abandoned marijuana crops they had learned about, based

shortened their phrase to simply “4:20”, which ultimately evolved into a codeword that the teens used to mean marijuana-smoking in general. Some students were asked of what they think about a day dedicated to marijuana. Senior Huy Vuong said,” It’s nice that there is even a day to commemorate cannabis as an

designated a statue known as Louis Pasteur on the grounds of San Rafael High School as their meeting dos referred to this plan with the phrase “4:20 Lou-

cannabis.”

5

MORE MIGHTY MORPHIN FAITH TORRES Staff Writer In the recently released 2017 “Saban’s Power Rangers”, the limelight is once again shined upon the five teenage heroes. With a more modern take on the original Power Rangers television series, Haim Saban (owner of the Power Rangers) reintroduces the Power Rangers to adults and young fans alike, giving the Rangers newly designed costumes, bold attitudes, and giving the movie beautiful, eye-catching special effects.

The “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” (or MMPR, the original Power Rangers television series) revolved around five high schoolers with very defined personalities who later became united as the first team of Power Rangers stationed on Earth. Led by former Red Power Ranger, Zordon, and his robotic assistant, Alpha 5, the teenag-

ers battled against Rita Repulsa, a powerful, evil sorceress who escaped from the moon where Zordon defeated her previously, 10,000 years ago. Throughout the show, the Power Rangers and Rita Repulsa make their own alliances, each having hopes to defeat the other. The Power Rangers even going as far as befriending someone who has been corrupted by the evil sorceress herself.

In 2010, the series was aired once again on ABC Kids with added features to it.

Everything was the kept the same except for added comic book effects, freeze frames with comic book overlays, and a new logo. However, due to negative feedback from the young audience, the show was canceled only after 32 episodes.

Haim Saban, the original owner of the

Poster shown comparing both the original rangers and the revamps.

MMPR, regained his rights to the Power Rangers after 2010 and rebooted the series with a more modern take on it, “Saban’s Power Rangers”. With a similar plot to the original television series, the 2017 film simply had a, “more modern perspective to it” as Mark Keppel student Samuel Wong put it.

Without giving away any specific spoilers, “Saban’s Power Rangers” had minor changes to the overall plot of the MMPR series.

But as sophomore Gabby Santos said, “the CGI (computer generated images) was the most noticeable difference compared to

the originals”. Other changes between the the film and the television series includes an addition of emotional battles that are common in today’s society, a slight change in personalities of more minor characters, and more insight on character origins.

Of course, it is most probable that younger audiences who have never viewed MMPR, prefer the rebooted version with its beautifully animated special effects and its more modern characters.

However, fans of the originals will never forget their first childhood heroes.

PERSONA 5

1D’s Trumped vacation

AMBER MAK Staff Writer

RACHEL YAMAMOTO Staff Writer

The gothic tune to the atmosphere, the smooth jazz playing in the background. You hide in the shadows and go through dungeon puzzles, using the will to rebel to save the souls of the innocent through stealing away the sins of the most malicious people in the game. This is Persona 5, the latest game released by Atlus, released on April 4th of this year for the Playstation 3 and Playstation 4.

Persona 5 is a role playing game where the player plays a silent male protagonist just trying to be an average everyday highschool student while fighting the inner demons of others, known as “shadows”, at night. The plot starts with the protagonist catching a man sexually harassing a woman. He stops the man but then gets arrested and is put on probation as the man had connections to the police.

After failing to reason with his parents, the protagonist transfers to a new school and a new town and is placed in into the care of a coldhearted, rude man that gives the protagonist the attic of his cafe to stay in.

As the game progresses, the protagonist, and eventually other people, witnesses the abuse of power from the adults around them and grow a strong sense of rebellion, thus awakening their “personas”, the manifestation of their strongest feelings being formed physically to fight back.

This gives them the power to enter and fight against the evils within the hearts of these abusers, taken in the form of a dungeon, also known as a “palaces” within the game. The twist?

Killing the abuser’s shadow will cripple the real person. The goal is to steal the physical manifesto of their evil intents away from their hearts, thus leading to these abusers to realize and repent against their ways.

In typical Persona fashion, one must balance between the normal

Poster of characters from “Persona 5.”

highschool lifestyle of the protagonist, building relationships with others, known as “confidant” in game, and growing stronger to conquer dungeons at night. Building relationships with your teammates, which will be recruited as one progresses within the game, will allow their personas to get stronger as well as leading to some teammates to grow more willing to help the

protagonist. In some scenarios, even sacrificing themselves to protect the player. When going into palaces, the player is given an alertness meter and expected to stealth through the dungeons. If too many enemies have spotted the player and the meter is filled up, then the whole team is forced to leave the palace. When battling enemies through sneaking up to them or through being spotted, the team uses their personas to fight.

The player’s protagonist is the only one that can use multiple personas while the other in game teammates will use personas that matches their inner personalities. The player can gain new personas through negotiating with personas in battles or fusing amongst other personas. Different relationships with different npc’s can lead to new benefits that’ll help the player clear palaces more easier.

The game will be sold for about $49.99 to $89.99 depending on where it is bought. Due to the game originally meant to be released on February 14th, Valentine’s Day, certain exclusive japanese DLC’s will be free for download.

The game is relatively new. Due to the complexity of the content, a full completion of the game will take even an extremest a week to complete. If you’re interested in playing a game that’ll last you awhile, then try picking up Persona 5!

It has been revealed that President Donald Trump kicked boyband One Direction out of one of his hotels after they refused to meet his grown up daughter.

In a brand new interview with Rollacoaster, band member Liam Payne let the news slip.

Payne stated that Trump had phoned their room asking if they'd be happy to meet either Tiffany or Ivanka. Which daughter remains unclear, and their manager declined after refusing to wake them up because they needed the rest for their performance.

Payne stated, “Trump actually kicked us out of his hotel once. You wouldn’t believe it. It was about (meeting) his daughter. He phoned up our manager and we were asleep.

Trump then proceeded to throw the entire band out of the hotel, and even refused to let them leave through a secret exit.

Alyssa Morishita, sophomore, stated, “It's so messed up that Trump didn't let them rest and kicked them out! It’s literally ridiculous”.

Payne continued: “He said ‘well, wake them up’ and I was like ‘no’ and then he wouldn’t let us use the underground garage.

Trump shown along with the boyband.

Obviously, in New York, we can’t really go outside. New York is ruthless for us. So he was like, ‘OK, then I don’t want you in my hotel.’ So we had to leave.”

When asked if this is appropriate behavior of Trump, Kyle Truong, junior, said, “I still can’t believe this man is our president and I feel like even though he does have the right to refuse service to anyone because it’s his hotel, he shouldn’t have, just because they had to rest up for a performance.”

One Direction members are currently enjoying solo careers. Payne's first record will be released later this year.

Payne's fellow bandmate Niall Horan recently promised fans that the band would “definitely reunite one day” in the future.

THE AZTEC/ SHERRY LIANG

THE A

6 FOCUS

Prom 2k17: Writte Senior Darin Tu asks senior Karen Ly to prom at Griffith Park.

PHOTOS COURTESY

The ticket sion, a th park

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CINDY CHHEN

Senior Sun Jiang asks senior Lily Trau to prom with a poster saying, “Everyone gets roses for prom but I’d chose a Lily anyday.”

Poll: Do you (seniors plan on attending pro Yes: 29.63%

To go or not to go?

TIFFANY LEUNG Asst. News Editor Prom is every high school senior’s last moment to embrace their youth before beginning a new chapter of his or her life, but the cost leading up to prom can be ridiculous.

Due to the asking prices, many seniors debate on attending prom even if they want to go. The overall package can be a heavy price to pay since an average prom-going teenager in America is expected to pay $919 where 73% of the funds comes from the parents, according to The Guardian.

Keppel’s themed prom, “Written in the Stars,” held in Long Beach is expecting an entrance fee of $100 for early-birds. However, the price will increase as the important date draws closer. Still, there are two answers to a high school senior’s question of whether he or she should blow it off on prom night: going or declining.

The pros of going is simply to celebrate a person’s achievements in high school with close friends and acquaintances before focusing on their life paths. Therefore, many people are expected to spend a lot of money on their attire, hair, transportation, and other accessories. With funding and the money from the

tickets sold, prom is made to be extravagant.

Prom essentials such as decorations, food, a photobooth and the DJs are all included with the price of the ticket. Senior Grace Chiu expressed her excitement for her first and last dance at Keppel. “I [have] never been to any dances [at] Mark Keppel and I want to attend at least one dance, prom,” said Chiu.

However, many can disagree with the thought of going. The main con of going is the cost. There may be other alternatives for seniors to end their high school timeline, including going to a movie or to a restaurant.

Some people debate on going due how they are simply uninterested. They may even be uncomfortable in situations that involves crowds of people and loud music. Senior Ellen Ho is aware of the price to pay if she goes to this year’s prom. “I am not likely going since there are other cheaper options,” said Ho. “With some friends, those options could be just as memorable as prom.”

Missing prom will not ruin lives, but it will not guarantee regrets. Whichever the choice turns out to be, the way a senior remembers high school will differ between everyone.

Disclaimer: This poll does not accurately represent the attendance rate for this year’s prom, only the plans of a certain sample of students as of the time they were polled.

No: 70.

81 SENIORS WERE POLLED

Poll: Do you (underclassmen) plan on attending prom sometime in high school?

Yes: 89.36%

No: 10.64%

Pic

The d 47 UNDERCLASSMEN WERE POLLED

POLLS CONDU GONZALEZ, JA

April 13, 2017 7

AZTEC

en in the Stars Keppel’s 2017 Prom will take place at The Grand Long Beach on April 29 from 7-11 PM.

SELINA MARTINEZ Staff Writer

Y OF GOOGLE IMAGES

t price includes admishree course meal, free king, and more.

What are you (seniors) most looking forward to?

s) om?

Attire shopping: 8.3% The ask: 4.2% The actual dance: 8.3%

Other: 20.8%

Picture taking: 37.5%

.37%

After prom party: 16.7% 24 SENIORS WERE POLLED

What are you (underclassmen) most looking forward to?

cture taking: 9.5%

Underclassmen under the stars?

Other: 4.8%

The ask: 9.5% After prom party: 11.9%

Attire shopping: 16.7%

dance: 45.2% 42 UNDERCLASSMEN WERE POLLED

UCTED BY TIMOTHY CHUMAN, CRISTINA AMIE CHAU, AND MAPLE DUONG

Prom is perceived as a glamorous event for seniors, a time for the graduating class to come together and have that last dance before going their separate ways to life beyond high school.

Yet, it’s never just students from the graduating class that attend this special night.

Many high schools have junior senior proms in which a large number of juniors go with friends or with another junior. At Keppel, although all upperclassmen are allowed to attend, very few juniors actually go with other juniors; the small number of them that do go attend with seniors.

Aside from the financial question that might keep a junior from attending, junior Evan Sakuma said, “At Keppel in particular I believe prom is promoted as a dance for seniors. Also, Keppel is known for being a very academically driven school whose students may rather study for their AP exams rather than having to pick out a tux or a dress.”

However, if juniors do have a reason to attend such as senior date or some kind of obligation, Sakuma said, “As long as the juniors do not cause commotion at prom, I don’t have any objection to them attending.”

Senior Aaron Lockett believes that juniors should wait their turn for senior year.

Lockett said, “Juniors on their own or as a junior couple might take away that last dance vibe for seniors. Underclassmen should wait their turn for prom as the seniors did. That way each class gets a dance dedicated just to them.”

Junior Yazmin Yang agrees. Yang said, “I think prom is a one time experience that should be saved for senior year, but if you’re asked as a junior or underclassman, then you should go.”

Ultimately, prom is considered to be a senior event in which, at least at Mark Keppel, juniors and other underclassmen only go if accompanied by a senior.

Not everyone gets a date to prom... what are your thoughts?

Quotes from students without dates VOICES COLLECTED BY JAMIE CHAU AND VICTORIA RAMIREZ

“I’m going with friends [so] it’ll be more fun [and I] don’t have to feel as pressured.”

Brenda Campos, senior “It kind of sucks not getting asked but I have a last hope [that] I will be asked.”

Bianca Trevizo, senior “I’m not going [to] save money...so I never considered asking anyone.”

Jonathan Chan, senior “I’m not going to prom because most of my close friends are not...I was going to ask someone [but I decided not to].”

Quin Tran, senior

Bye bye bees GINA JIAO Staff Writer The very popular cereal brand Honey Nut Cheerios has announced its project to give back to the environment. They are now sending sunflower seeds to anyone who signs up on their website to save the bees. They have also removed the mascot “Buzz the Bee” from the cereal boxes.

Some people believe this is a great idea.

Junior Jasmine Wu said, “I think it’s great that companies like Cheerios are doing their best to advocate saving the earth because humans are gradually deteriorating the earth and killing its inhabitants. By helping heal the earth, we are [creating]... a healthier future [for all]. I would partici-

pate in these kinds of promotions because I love living on earth and life on it. Bees are a very important part of our food system because they produce honey. Without bees, our life would be tasteless and colorless.”

However, others believe this isn’t the best way to save the bees. Junior Michelle Chu said, “I think it’s an ineffective way to help save the bees. Cheerios are giving out free sunflower seeds but how much of those people are actually going to plant them? I feel like it takes too much effort and time.”

Despite contradictions, Cheerios announced a goal on March 9th to provide enough seeds to help Americans

Trump dumps PBS TRIXIE TAIRAS Staff Writer President Donald Trump revealed his rison, CEO and President of CPB. The plans to eliminate all funding for the federal government allocates about $455 Corporation for Public Broadcasting million to the CPB each year. The fund (CPB), which provides funding to Pub- serves as the steward of the federal govlic Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Na- ernment’s investment in public broadcasttional Public Radio (NPR) in his budget ing by supporting the operations of nearly proposal. Reaction to his proposal was 1,500 locally owned and operated public quick to emerge from those organizations. television and radio stations nationwide.

According to Paula Kerger, president and Public broadcasting is especially critical CEO of PBS, for Americans public broadliving in small casting costs towns and rural only $1.35 areas because per citizen per according to year; it is one the Washingof America’s ton Post, their best investpublic stations ments since it rely on federis noncommeral funding for cial and has up to fifty pertangible benecent of their fits. It provides budget. It also Trump pictured with PBS Kids star, Big Bird. many learning relies on CPB’s tools for parnetworks for ents, caregivers, and teachers. It is also news and education programming. If America’s largest classroom; according Congress were to approve this proposal, to the survey conducted by PBS in 2016, it would “begin the collapse of the pub68% of American children from age two lic media system itself,” added Harrison. to eight watched their local public televiTrump’s proposal still has to be approved sion station. It also provides public safe- by Congress to move forward. Senior Grace ty communications and civil discussions. Chiu believes that this proposal should Eliminating federal funding would not be approved by Congress. “Since many “initially devastate and ultimately destroy Americans rely on CPB, it would be wiser public media’s role,” said Patricia Har- to disapprove [the proposal],” said Chiu.

plant 100 million wildflowers across the country to help #BringBackTheBees.

The promotion was much more successful than predicted. Brand Media Relations Manager Mike Siemienas said in an e-mail, “In just one week, Honey Nut Cheerios has had the pleasure of pro-

Cheerios’ packaging shown with new campaign.

viding more than 1.5 billion seeds. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this incredible response, which was more than 15 times our original expectations.”

The project was able to give away an enormous amount of seeds due to the overwhelming success.

Artist Profile: Chanel Tse MIRANDA KWOK Staff Writer Chanel Tse, a senior at Mark Keppel, expresses true passion for drawing and sketching. Growing up loving cartoons, she always had an interest in art, but took it more seriously her freshman year at Keppel.

Being inspired by artists Visaga and Laovaan and meeting encouraging friends who also enjoyed art at the beginning of high school, Tse found joy in art and began to draw regularly.

Tse’s drawing process begins with an idea sketched on paper with regular pens. Afterwards, she digitally draws the concept on her Huion art tablet, with a final product that takes from 8 hours to several days to complete. On top of drawing and sketching, Tse runs an art account on Instagram, @blueberries.art. She posts her artwork in progress, sketches, crafts, art hauls, and finished art pieces.

Tse enjoys art because it allows her to express and have a new understanding of herself through drawing. Having passion on capturing emotion, Tse strives to do so in her artwork. In addition, “the joy of seeing myself improve is something no one is able

Senior Chanel Tse.

THE AZTEC/ KENNETH LIU

to take away from me,” said Tse.

As a hobby, drawing takes up a great deal of time from Tse. Because she takes an art class at Keppel, Tse draws everyday. Nevertheless, she sketches on her free time, which is usually a few times a week.

Although Tse plans to study pharmacy or the languages in the future, she hopes to continue art on the side throughout college and after.

Senior ditch-year NICOLE HERNANDEZ Staff Writer

Starting this year, the bulletin board in front of the guidance counselors office displays the percentages of students that have no absences or tardies in every grade per week. Since the first semester, senior attendances have been very low. Currently, the seniors have the lowest attendance rate, a surprising 32.9% for the week of March 6. According to this percentage, only about one-third of seniors attended every one of their classes and were on time to all classes. So how do seniors feel about the attendance report?

Despite the stats on the bulletin se-

nior William Alfaro has not noticed more absences in his class, “I see all my friends, I see everyone.” Alfaro isn’t shocked by the low percentages though, “I feel like it’s always been the same percentage of absences, it’s just that this is the first year they show it out to the public.” Fellow senior Alyssa Marquez believed senioritis has contributed to the low absences, “I’m honestly not surprised because senioritis is in full effect at this point of the school year. After college applications I feel as though seniors sort of zone out and are just counting down the days until graduation.”

Seniors attendance percetage displayed in the main hall.

Senior Madison Candelaria has noticed less people in her classes. “Yeah, I’ve definitely noticed a significant difference in attendance, pretty much most of my class is absent on a daily basis.” In spite of this, Candelaria admitted that the administrators ha-

THE AZTEC/ KEVIN LIU

ven’t come and talked to her classes about attendance, “but they did make all the seniors sign behavior contracts when we took our panoramic pictures. Candelaria also added, “I think it’s kind of funny but also sad. We’re coming so close to the end and to see

9 Geography off the maps

Oasis Cafe

ANTHONY GABRIE Staff Writer

GORDON MENG Staff Writer

With the focus of modern high school education headed toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), other subjects are being pushed aside to make room for the curriculum, most notably, Geography.

Most high schoolers can agree that Geography is unnecessary and an outdated class due to programs such as Google Maps. “Why would you need to learn the position of cities and countries when you can just look them up online,” said Sophomore Paul Im. By the late 1990’s, geography had taken the backstage in the high school graduation curriculum across the United States. The consequence of the cancellation of classes that taught Geography has created a generation dependent on the internet to gain a general understanding of the world around us.

The predictable arguments against a man-

datory Geography course are usually these two. Occupations obviously aren’t going to quiz you on location of places around the world, so why bother learning them if you’re never going to use it? If it’s important to you, then why don’t you just look it up yourself ? If you think that independent research is sufficient in lieu of an actual Geography class, then you are wrong.

Due to the neglect of a mandatory Geography course in most high schools, 63% of Americans aged 18-24 can not find Iraq on a map and 75% can not find Iran or Israel.

This raises concern over the future political relationship between the United States and other countries if young adults continue to prove incapable of locating them on a map.

Geography teaches students not only to describe geographic location, but allows

Classroom shown being taught Geography.

students to understand the planet and it’s physical systems (ex.weather), clarify present day political relationships, and explainhow geography has played an important role in the development of cultural groups.

“I do believe that geography should be a mandatory class to graduate high school because it would help students study the physical features of earth and grasp a better understanding of our environment.” said Senior Emerald Yeh. Although the effect of an absence in geography is already evident, schools are still prioritizing STEM fields while leaving liberal arts studies behind. With universities valuing these technical sciences, high schools continue to be reluctant to mandate a geography course for its students.

Post-application regrets DANIEL LU Staff Writer Students submitted the UC and CSU applications in November and the Common Application anywhere from October to February.

Admissions officers, school counselors, seniors, etc. cannot stress this realization enough- that prospective college students should never wait until the last few days to start on the college application.

However, if you are as big as a procrastinator as Senior Anna Wu is, you probably have turned in each of these applications on the night of each respective due date.

Procrastination takes away from the applicant’s ability to thoroughly proofread and correct certain disastrous mistakes and to improve upon

certain key components of their application.

Let’s go back to the time when college apps were not yet due. Let’s assume that you had not already submerged yourself into the pitfall of procrastination at 11:30 pm on the due date.

Possibilities are endless to increase your chances of attaining a spot at your dream school.

First off, you do not want to regret not applying to awesome colleges.

“I applied to only UCs,” said Wu. Wu limited her school selection to only the 9 UC campuses.

Create a list of your favorite but possible schools. Ask college graduates such as your school counselor and your favor-

2017 AAEDE Scholarship Opportunity Who’s Eligible?

Must be a Graduating High School Senior from one of the 9 eligible SCHOOL DISTRICTS and/or 2 HIGH SCHOOLS listed: Alhambra Unified School District • Arcadia Unified School District • Baldwin Park Unified School District • El Monte Union High School District • Montebello Unified School District • San Gabriel Unified School District • San Marino Unified School District • South Pasadena Unified School District •Temple City Unified School District • Ramona Convent Secondary School • Don Bosco Technical Institute

Demonstrate financial need (to be eligible for financial aid, applicant must have submitted a FAFSA form by the March 2017 deadline.)

Cumulative high school unweighted GPA (out of a 4.0 scale) must be 3.0 and above.

Award Amount:

There will be (3) awards of $500 each and (3) awards of $1000 each.

A total of 6 scholarship awards will be offered.

Requirements: *Complete the AAEDE Scholarship application.

*Please provide an essay (in 500 words or fewer). *Provide 1 Letter of Recommendation along with the recommendation form completed by the recommender.

Provide an official sealed copy of your high school transcript.

Application Deadline: Friday, June 16, 2017 @ 5:00 pm

Scholarship winners from 2016 shown with AAEDE Program Administrator, Yvonne Hsu, and Administrative Assistant, Ann Tsuchiya.

For more info, please contact AAEDE Scholarship Coordinator via: www.aaede.org • info@aaede.org • (626) 572-7021 ***All forms may be downloaded online from www.aaede.org***

Student shown applkying for college online.

ite teachers to look over your reasonable list of schools. Secondly, receive advice from a variety of sources for your essays.

“I regret not asking people to review my essays,” said Wu. Lastly, spend time reviewing your college apps.

“I regret not spending more time on it,”said Wu. “I spent about 9-12 hours on it [college apps].”

College apps may take dozens of hours, so sit down on your laptop, begin research and brainstorming. Unlike the generations of seniors before you, start early!

.com

Internet cafes are a place where you can hang out with your friends and play video games. The internet cafe, Oasis, is located on 11 N Atlantic Blvd STE 120, Monterey Park, CA 91754, right next to Exit Game at the Atlantic place shopping center.

Oasis has over 50 PCs with exceptionally good specs like Nvidia GTX 960s graphics cards and LED mouses. There are a wide variety of games installed on the computers to choose from, such as League of Legends, Rocket League, etc.

If you purchase a drink, you can go on the HTC Vive, a virtual reality simulator which comes pre-installed with many games. They also host tournaments for popular competitive games like Street Fighter 5, Super Smash Brothers, and other popular games.

They also sell drinks such as passion fruit green tea, chocolate smoothies, and even Matcha-flavored milk. They serve it to you PC when you are playing. Wesley, a staff member said, “When I was younger I always hung out at a boba shop and loved playing video games; why not put those two together?”

Many people go to internet cafes in their free time because they want to spend time with their friends.

Valerie Lam is a sophomore from MKHS who goes to Oasis regularly. “It’s heaven for gamers and a great place to hang out with friends,” she commented..

Like many other high schoolers, Valerie Lam, Peter Giang, and Andrew Sanchez were all invited by their friends to go.

“The one thing that I don’t like about the place is its location and how it’s not as perfect as other ones,” lamented Wesley.

The company has been open for around three months. Many parents condemn the idea of Internet cafe because most people think of them as conduits for video game addicts to feed their addiction. With gaming as a sport, it is closer than most people think of to being a competitive sport.

L’anémie Falciforme

ZERLINDA LEE Staff Writer

The new procedure to treat sickle cell anemia has left a French teenager, who is now 15 years old, with no sign of the disease after 15 months. The patient has been producing normal blood cells subsequent to the gene therapy treatment, despite no longer taking medications, and has left high hopes that it could soon be used by many others who suffer from this genetic disease.

For years, the patient had been suffering from internal pain along with other sickle cell complications that affected his lungs, bones, and spleen. Doctors at the Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris decided to try out a gene therapy that reengineered his extracted bone marrow’s DNA. This would create the right type of red blood cells for the adolescent, who was 13 years old at that time. Essentially, the aim is to genetically alter the patient’s own blood stem cells so they don’t produce abnormal hemoglobin.

The team of doctors, led by Dr. Marina Cavazzana, gave the patient’s bone marrow stem cells modified versions of the gene that codes for beta-globin.

These were infused back into the patient and over the next few months, the boy showed a growing number of new blood cells bearing the mark of the anti-sickling gene. Roughly half of his hemoglobin was no longer abnormal.

Nurse Wang, Mark Keppel High School’s nurse, expresses how she thinks this is a better alternative to having organ donors.

“For my personal opinion,” she said, “it looks like a good alternative treatment for sickle cell anemia patients, [however,] the risk of adverse reaction after treatment requires more research studies.” Freshman Jackie Luc also believes in what Nurse Wang says and how it could benefit these patients. She says, “This will give patients new high hopes because it’s not limiting them to just organ donors. If organ donors don’t help, they have [gene therapy] to try.”

While Nurse Wang and Jackie prefer gene therapy as an alternative treatment, Junior Dinh Vuong prefers the gene therapy treatment rather than organ donations. “I think that gene therapy is better than organ donors since organ donors have the potential of giving infections to the patient,” he says.

According to Dr. Cavazzana, she’s confident these benefits will last due to the the tests they performed on the patient’s blood.

It has been proven he’s cured but “more certainty can only come from long-term follow-up.” Her team has treated seven other patients, who are showing “promising” progress and stated that more patients can receive this therapy in the next five years.

April 13, 2017

the aztec

advertisements 10

April 13, 2017

the aztec

sports 11

Senior Karina Rodriguez leads the way against Alhambra for the Girls Varsity 100m hurdles.

THE AZTEC/ VICTORIA RAMIREZ

Track & Field strives to improve after tie with Alhambra KENNETH LIU & CAITLYN WOO Multimedia Editor & Staff Writer

The Mark Keppel Track & Field team’s 3rd league meet of the season took place last Tuesday, April 11, and ended with a tie 2-2 against Alhambra on our home field. The Boys and Girls Frosh/ Soph teams took the victory over Alhambra while the Varsity teams lost.

Although Keppel’s Varsity teams didn’t win, Senior Jad Khazaal says that he was still satisfied with the results. He com-

Swim-a-thon annual fund LAURA CHEN Asst. Sports Editor Mark Keppel High School hosted one of their biggest fundraisers of the year- the Swim-A-Thon. Prior to the event, which was on the 7th of April, each member of the swim team participates with the encouragements and sponsors of friends and family. Each sponsor donates a certain amount of money, which depends on the number of laps that the member swims within the one hour limit.

There are currently 122 swimmers on the swim team, who had all participated in the annual Swim-A-Thon. Freshmen Kyle Matsuda said, “Yes, I did indeed enjoy participating. It’s a good workout and you get to spend time with your friends.” Though the participants had swam without stopping for one hour, they were all extremely motivated.

Freshmen Kayton Troung states, “The joy of seeing your time drop whenever you go all out on a meet is inspiring. I love improving on anything and seeing my time drop shows me how much effort I put into the sport.”

Many people gather to make this event a success. Sophomore Eric Xue said, “The hard working parents mainly manage this event with help from Coach Perez, Coach Wendy, and Coach Ameyali.”

Each year, fundraised money continues to go to support the Aquatics Boosters, who sets up banquets and other fundraisers. “The fund raised money goes back to the swim team, to provide us with things like snacks, a discount on our hoodies, and much more. The money benefits us as a team,” said Xue.

peted in 3 events, the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m, and placed first in each one.

Khazaal said, “I liked the 4x100m because we ended their streak. Kobe To passed me the baton and gave me a good lead. From there, I was able to finish up the race and I felt really accomplished.” He hopes to improve his personal times as well as help his fellow teammates.

Another accomplished runner was Varsity Senior Fanny Tu. Like Khazaal, Tu competed in 3 events, the 100m,

200m, and long jump and placed first in each. Being her first year in Track & Field, Tu says that she really enjoys the sport and that it comes natural to her.

Tu says, “My favorite event of this meet was the long jump. It was my first time competing in this event so when I won 1st place, I was shocked, but also thrilled.” She looks forward to today’s meet against San Gabriel because she is undefeated and will be competing against an undefeated athlete as well.

Regarding the results of the meet, head coach Shapiro said that he could not have asked for better results. Shapiro commented, “I am really pleased with how they did. They competed, did well, and that’s all I expect from the kids of the team.”

After witnessing the hard work and dedication of the team, Shapiro mentioned that he could see the team’s improvement every week. He hopes that the team continues on the course they are going on and hopefully win more at the upcoming meets.

Badminton wins against Alhambra 16-5 TOMMY CHAO Staff Writer Badminton recently played their 6th game of the season against Alhambra on April 5th at Alhambra High School.

Beginning at 3:30 pm, 21 matches were played throughout the day until 7:00 pm.

The game ended with a victory and a final score of 16-5.

Describing his expectations going into the match, Junior Kevin Chen stated how the team usually has no trouble beating Alhambra. Chen had expected to defeat them with ease, but he believed that his performance was a little below average with his plays and strategies, despite winning all of his games.

On the other hand, Junior Brenden Lau had performed better than expected based on his poor shot placement in previous matches against Alhambra.

However, during this match, Lau focused more on where to place his shots, and this allowed him to win his match.

Regarding the results, Chen was satisfied with how he and his team played. He explained how the game resulted on how he hoped it would, with them “coming in strong, playing [their] best and taking home another win for Keppel.” Lau was also content with the results, as he was able to correct any mistakes that he had playing against Alhambra in the past.

Senior Jessica Lee, who won both of her matches, explained how they had im-

proved much more since their previous loss against San Gabriel. Lee warns, however, that they “shouldn’t relax as [they] should always strive to improve. There is always someone better.”

For the future, both Chen and Lee are dedicating more of their time in developing a stable, long-term badminton team by focusing more on improving their beginners. Chen seeks to establish stronger relations within the team, but he also seeks to improve relations with other schools in the league, such as San Gabriel, Arcadia, and South Pasadena.

Lee aims to promote badminton to those who are unfamiliar with the sport and also hopes to build a better reputation for badminton at Keppel.

Baseball achieves two game winning streak CRISTINA GONZALEZ A&E/Features Editor Extra innings ended in a 6-5 victory for the Boys Varsity Baseball team as they played their rivals from Alhambra High on Tuesday, April 11 on our home field.

Senior and right fielder Liam Cervantes said,“The team did great overall… and put their heart into the game and that’s why we won!” He also added, “This year, Alhambra is the school to beat, and we did just that so it made the win all that more satisfying.”

Center fielder and pitcher Daniel De La Peña agreed with his teammate by saying he “couldn’t be more proud of our team and how we fought throughout the whole win… the game was everything I expected.”

The extra innings added pressure onto

Senior Aaron Boubion catches the third ball, ending the inning.

both teams to score the tie-breaking run.

However, in the end, Keppel was the team to come out on top. Fellow teammate of Cervantes and De La Peña, senior Troy Maki, pitched and shut down the opposing team in the top of the eighth inning. Once the Aztecs switched over into the dugout, freshman Andrew Escobar brought in the

THE AZTEC/ VICTORIA RAMIREZ

winning run.

Both Liam Cervantes and Daniel De La Peña are “looking forward to playing Alhambra again in order to continue our ever-long rivalry.” In preparation for their upcoming game they will continue to practice defense, hitting, and pitching.

april 13, 2017 the aztec Boys Tennis progresses to winning league

sports 12

CHRISTOPHER DAO & LESLIE SOTO Staff Writers Mark Keppel’s Boys Varsity Tennis team played San Gabriel High School on April 11th. The game was a victory for Mark Keppel, with a score of 15-3. Junior, Cody Wong, commented how, “[he] felt fairly confident going against San Gabriel... Once I got into the match everything went very well which kept me calm.”

The team showed a lot of sportsmanship throughout the game. Wong recounts his previous year playing with the team and enjoyed the bond they accumulated. After the San Gabriel game, Wong remembered their win from his previous year. “It wasn’t until I started playing that I realized I could keep up with him and ended up winning.”

Tennis coach Mike Ten mentioned that the players were performing well. “The only concern for me is that all our tennis players have been so busy with other activities, and that takes time away from their practice.” he explains.

THE AZTEC/ VICTORIA RAMIREZ

Junior Cody Wong uses a forearm hit to send the ball back toward his opponent.

The Boy’s Tennis team has been preparing for the Almont League by practicing an hour and thirty minutes daily. The team utilizes cardio activity, and serving.

Both Wong and Sophomore Hellman Zhao have been great assets to the team.

Coach Ten, states “We have Hellman

THE AZTEC/ KENNETH LIU

Zhao, Cody Wong, and Austin Lu, all singles, doing a great job!” Since the beginning of the season the team has performed well in terms of competition. Ten states that “[The team] is progressing really well and we’re ahead.”

Sophomore Joey Siu and Senior Ethan Lee defend against San Gabriel’s spike.

THE AZTEC/ VICTORIA RAMIREZ

Keppel loses 7th league game; 4-3 overall score IRIS CHUNG Staff Writer On Tuesday, April 11, Mark Keppel’s Boys’ Volleyball faced a lost against San Gabriel in a 0-3 set game. Keppel persevered until the end while competing with San Gabriel’s solid offense and defense.

The first set started off with setter Ian Ordonez serving the ball but they quickly lost the momentum and did not score until Joseph Lam hit from back row nine points later. Keppel stayed behind the entire set and tried to dig San Gabriel’s tough hits, but could not. A long rally was started and Keppel fought until the end which won

them that point. No timeouts were called during the entire first set by either coach and the set ended with a score of 11-25.

The second set consisted of a lot of tips and blocks from SG. At one point, Keppel almost took the lead, 7-8, but failed to power through. Towards the end of the set, a time-out was called by Coach Chu which lead to more determination. Keppel continued to trail San Gabriel with the help of strong hits from Dylan Ta and good passes from the back row, but lost the set 19-25.

The third set was filled with a lot more energy. They were in the lead (4-3) for a

few points but fell behind again. There were a lot of good blocks from Jeffrey Huang and Dylan Ta which hyped the team up and gave them more hope to win this set. A timeout was called again by Keppel and after a quick talk they were back in action. At game point,16-25, Joey Siu hit a corner shot and the team slowly started to catch up, point by point. Keppel lost the last set, 19-25.

Coach Chu believes that the team needs to be disciplined more, know their positions and make decisions during difficult situations, as well as being more accurate and intentional on attacks.

Athlete’s Profile: Kobe To MAYA CUEVAS Staff Writer

Senior Kobe To, has been on both the Track and Field and Football team for all four years in high school. Track and field began as a requirement for football players his freshman year and ended up becoming a sport he enjoyed and committed to.

Being in Track and Field, it had also become a requirement to join Soccer as the head coach of Track was also the head coach of Soccer. To commented on how Track and field is more about one’s self improvement. “I love Track and Field...

It’s not about the team anymore it’s about you as an individual.”

After four years of high school, many memories had been created on and off the track. Prior to high school he had absolutely no Track and Field experience although To “couldn’t be prouder to say that [he is] a part of Track, it’s become part of [his] identity.”

As this is To’s last season he expects to see improvements in the team. Although he doesn’t expect Keppel’s Track and Field team to make it all the way to becoming League champs, he knows for a fact they won’t be last.

After losing a meet, the loss is never entirely a waste for To and his team as it only serves as a motivation to train more, doing whatever it takes, even if it means additional weekend practices aside from the team’s weekday routine.

To’s best track memory is his first time committing to a long jump. He had decided to try it mid season of his Sophomore year, and wanted to continue as he had already felt competitive and had surprised his coaches and fellow teammates.

Besides his role in his sports, To is also Vice President of the Skills USA club.

When he is not occupied by his various extracurriculars and academics, To spends his time with family going out to eat...

See the rest at www.theaztecnews.com

Sports Calendar Badminton

Baseball

Boys Tennis

On 4/14 versus San Marino at Mark Keppel On 4/17 versus Arcadia at Arcadia On 4/19 versus San Gabriel at Mark Keppel On 4/21 versus Alhambra at Mark Keppel

On 4/14 versus Alhambra at Alhambra On 4/25 versus Montebello at Montebello On 4/28 versus Montebello at Mark Keppel On 5/1 versus San Gabriel at Mark Keppel On 5/2 versus San Gabriel at San Gabriel On 5/5 versus San Gabriel at Mark Keppel On 5/9 versus Schurr at Mark Keppel

On 4/20 versus Temple City at Mark Keppel On 4/25 versus Schurr at Schurr On 4/27 versus Alhambra at Alhambra On 5/2 versus Montebello at Mark Keppel

Boys Volleyball

Softball

Swimming

On 4/14 versus Rialto at Mark Keppel On 4/25 versus Schurr at Schurr On 4/27 versus Alhambra at Alhambra On 5/2 versus Montebello at Mark Keppel

On 4/4 versus Bell Gardens at Mark Keppel On 4/6 versus Alhambra at Alhambra On 4/11 versus Montebello at Mark Keppel On 4/13 versus San Grabriel at Mark Keppel

On 4/20 versus Alhambra at Mark Keppel On 4/27 versus Bell Gardens at Bell Gardens