Paw Print the
Volume 9 • Issue 2
Cover Design by Mina Jang and Timothy Kang
In This Edition: Homeless: Voiceless and Unheard Our Most Valuable Students
Test. Tutor. Trauma. Every Fifteen Minutes This is Why I Don’t Play
6 Editorials
12 News
18 A&E
20 Features
24 Sports
CONTENTS Ryan Factora Zoey Greenwald Jessica Son News Writers Shanzay Hassan Siena Zarrell Features Editors Hannah Kim Alyssa Truong Features Writers Brooke Johnston Katie Luo Alexa Empleo Ashley Park Sophia Kriegel Editorials Editors Iman Baber Minjoon Kang Editorials Writers Quynn Lubs Chika Ma Sydney Young A&E Editors Mary Waugh Emily Chang A&E Writers Erin Eskoff Jasleen Arora Sports Editors Daniel Lee Jay Singh Sports Writers Noah Neri Zachary Singer Harneet Arora Copy Editor Aerin Choi Social Media Editors Christine Joo Timothy Kang Web Editor Jay Park Web Editor-in-Chief Allison Alben Design Editor Design Editor-in-Chief Skijler Hutson Audrey Kim Editors-in-Chief Mina Jang Ms. Grothe Adviser News Editors
Homeless: Margar it
a
Covered in In an An armor Of of Blankets, blankets, Armor wet from last Wet night’s rain
Voiceless and Unheard
Story by Iman Baber, Chika Ma, Alexa Empleo, Quynn Lubs, Kathryn Luo, and Brooke Johnston Photos by Skijler Hutson As you drive down the road, you pass Six Flags Magic Mountain, where you’ve been going ever since you were four years old and where you worked during the summer as a teenager. Surrounding you are the vast canyons that you’ve hiked through so many times. Straight ahead, you can see Newhall, and you’re instantly filled with images from the West. These places, and the laid-back, fresh air are what Santa Clarita is all about. But then you drive by again, and you see the displaced shopping carts that are far from where they should be. “They choose to be homeless.” Right? You go shopping, and you get scared because people who look nothing like you, with tired faces and tousled clothes, are scattered all over the place. “Don’t be like them; they’re quitters.” Right? You’re eating at a fast-food place, minding your own business when someone approaches you, asking for food, money -- anything good — and you can’t look them in the eye when they do. “They’re just taking advantage of our taxes. We’re literally giving them free resources and money.” Right?
What is Happening
As written in the city’s Community Plan to Address Homelessness, 331 people are homeless in the Santa Clarita Valley today, a 5 percent increase from the count of 316 in 2016. Of this substantial group, 168 are unsheltered while the remaining 163 reside in shelters like Bridge to Home that wish to jumpstart their path to success. Over half of our homeless population lack the resources necessary to explore places other than a frigid car in an abandoned parking lot or a decrepit tent in a barren riverbed. There are three shelters available to SCV’s homeless, and, at first, this may appear to be adequate space to house those in need. Bridge to Home is the most recognized shelter, but has limited space and opens its doors solely during the winter season. Family Promise, as the name suggests, only provides services to homeless families, and the Santa Clarita Winter Shelter has nothing but one-star reviews on Google. The count of 168 unsheltered individuals begins to make sense. “Homeless woman, 53, identified as victim in fatal Metrolink accident in Newhall” is a headline eye-catching enough for a day or two. KHTS reveals that Susan Reilly was a homeless woman who was crushed by a train while bending down to grab personal belongings she’d dropped along the tracks. Countless other individuals living on the streets, including Javier Ureta and Bhimjibhai Dungrani, have also appeared in the news for a fleeting moment after their deaths, only to be lost under heaps of other events covered by the media. The problem’s utter stagnancy may sound puzzling -alarming, even. And it didn’t get any better with more research; in fact, the problem is even more drastic than what the statistics portray.
A different Perspective
Kevin walks down the streets of Stevenson Ranch almost every day, and most staff workers across the Valencia Marketplace know him by name. He is considered a “regular” in Stevenson Ranch and spends most of his time in the Stevenson Ranch Library, where he is an executive adult volunteer. Before finding a spot in Stevenson Ranch, Kevin had been
through countless amounts of homeless villages behind Newhall and even The Wash, a notorious area where the homeless reside by the Santa Clara Riverbed. “I don’t really like staying in those areas,” he explains. “It is really unsanitary, and there is tons of theft. ” It is possible that there are far more homeless people in Santa Clarita than statistics might lead people to believe. According to Kevin, there are probably over 1,000. When The Paw Print asked Kevin if the count of 331 homeless individuals in the city was accurate, he expressed disagreement. “There’s gotta be way more than that,” he repeated several times. “I’d say at least a thousand. At least. You just don’t know. I was never counted in the census. Nobody came around to ask me.” The Community Plan to Address Homelessness mentions the city’s “hidden homeless,” people such as college students without a roof over their heads and families that have to sleep in cars or share residences with others. Many people also resort to couch-surfing and temporarily reside in other people’s homes, eluding the homelessness count. “I see the biggest issue with the homeless are either crazy. People like have full-blown conversations with imaginary people that’s not even there. It’s either that or drugs. I see a lot of drug addiction which a lot of people have here with heroin and meth,” Kevin says. Even though there are multiple homeless shelters here in Santa Clarita, Bridge to Home being the most well known, Kevin states that they do not provide many materials to help people get off the ground. There are limited resources in the city for homeless people, and the population must venture to other locations beyond Santa Clarita, such as the General Relief cash assistance program, or GR, in Sun Valley.
“There’s gotta be way more than that. I’d say at least a thousand. At least. You just don’t know. I was never counted in the census. Nobody came around to ask me.”
Pushed by Alcoholism and Divorce into the streets
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Ginger
DIAGNOSED WITH LIVER CANCER AND WITHOUT DEDICATED MEDICAL CARE
“I called them once, and they never got back to me. All they gave me was an EBT, and a ride to Sun Valley to the GR, where they gave me a cell phone and food stamps,” Kevin commented about Bridge to Home. A typical day for him includes going to the Stevenson Ranch Library, where he charges all his electronics while watching movies. Afterwards, he either walks back to where he lives or goes out looking for money or basic necessities. Food has not been a big issue for him, as he has his food stamps, but even then, he can’t buy any hot foods. Clothing is a problem, since he doesn’t have enough money for laundry. Kevin also produces art, which he sells at the Stevenson Ranch Library, in order to make extra money. Despite his skills as an artisan and machinist, Kevin tells us he has had trouble finding a job. Many employers turn him away as soon as they find out he is homeless. When desperate for money, he goes panhandling. He has received hostility from people when he was panhandling, but due to his quick wit and tough attitude, he just brushes it off. “I get a ticket from the police for either sleeping or panhandling, and to pay it off, I go to jail or spend money trying to pay it off. I go to jail because it’s the only option,” Kevin said. “I hide really well. You will never find me. I guarantee you if I tell you exactly where I live, you still won’t be able find it,” he says. After talking to Kevin, it is clear that camouflaging is part of his daily routine. He has to hide to avoid trouble with the police, and he also has to make sure his belongings are concealed so no one can steal any of it. Despite not having any access to any shower or hygienic products, Kevin says he is a relatively healthy man, and food is no big deal when it comes to his health. Even when he is sick, he has to cough it off. During frigid winter nights, he has around 10 blankets and sleeping bags to stave off the cold.
community, there simply isn’t enough space for the homeless population. Because of this, most people find shelter in “The Wash.” The issue with this is that it is entirely composed of dried brush, and with fires set by the homeless to keep warm, the risk for wildfires is incredibly high. Rumors claim that the police department in Santa Clarita has been sending homeless people by train to Sylmar, with no way of checking up on them after their departure and no plan ahead of them. This claim was confirmed by anonymous first responders -- and it makes sense. If homeless people would rather not stay in homeless shelters, then the only thing the police can do to make SCV a “no homeless zone” would be to send them away. Unfortunately, the police could not be reached for comment after multiple scheduling attempts. The Paw Print was able to reach a first responder, but they wished to remain anonymous. With the recent 2018 midterm election, two propositions were passed to improve the lives of the homeless population in California. Proposition 1 allowed the state of California to sell $4 billion in general obligation bonds in order to fund affordable housing for low-income residents, veterans, farmworkers and more. Proposition 2 was also passed, which allows the state to use existing county mental health funds to pay for housing for those who are homeless. This should greatly reduce the number of homeless people in our community, and could potentially get around 35,000 people in California homes. However, laws and legislation are not the only ways to alleviate these problems. “I always say donate, because there’s still resources needed,” states Cleveland. “Donating makes a huge difference, be it t-shirts, food, money, however to help those in need. Maybe if everyone could come together to make a plan, where it’s not just the normal people there, but people who actually care about what’s going on.”
Current “solutions”
An uncomfortable Truth
With homelessness on the rise in Santa Clarita, there is a false impression of what is causing the epidemic. “There’s no affordable housing in Santa Clarita,” explained Delaynah Cleveland, Case Manager at Bridge to Home. “Most of our clients are on fixed income due to disabilities and just different things, and a lot of apartment complexes don’t want to work with our program and our clients. That’s definitely the biggest issue: income and flexible landlords.” There have been stricter rules involving homelessness implemented by city officials in Santa Clarita. Officials want SCV to be a “no homeless zone,” according to multiple articles from local newspapers. In the city council meeting that took place on June 27, it was decided that “individuals can’t sit or lie down in a wide range of public spaces, including streets, sidewalks and maintained landscaped areas.” The council believes they have solved issues by building a homeless shelter; however, many homeless people choose to go to shelters only as a last resort. Kevin told us that shelters are usually full of bedbugs, lice, drugs and uncomfortable cots in rooms where your things are sure to be stolen. Bridge to Home only has 60 beds, even though there could be at least 1,000 homeless people residing in SCV. The city of Santa Clarita has put a lot of their time and money into getting the shelter going, and keeping it open and running year-round. Although Bridge to Home is supported by the
Truth isn’t simple. After weeks of researching, our investigation proved just how complicated the truth could be. We saw people who had fallen through the cracks of this fractured society. People who had been failed by our established institutions and who never received help. It is easy to simply gawk at these split fractures, do nothing to fix them, then gasp in horror when someone falls between them. Take Kevin for example. Despite his obvious talent and qualifications, employers turn him down again and again purely because he is homeless. Truth is also uncomfortable. People hold this unconscious bias that homeless people are all drug addicts, crazy or lazy people who deserve or are wanting to be homeless. It’s this bias that keeps us ignorant. But after one removes the blindfold of such a bias, the true image appears. If we truly want to fix this problem, we’re going to have to get uncomfortable. They choose to be homeless. They’re just taking advantage of our taxes. They’re quitters. ... Right?
“They choose to be homeless.” “They’re just taking advantage of our taxes.”
“They’re quitters.” quitters.“
... Right?
It's Not Weird to Say Hi Story by Jessica Son Graphic by Siena Zarrell You scan the aisles at Walmart, looking over the many brands of sugary cereal. You glance over your shoulder to see where your mom went, but instead you see a person from your school. Your first instinct is to quickly turn around and avoid eye contact, but then you start to wonder why you don’t say hi. “Hi,” you say, summoning up your courage to come up to him or her. They give you a weird look, and mumble, “Um, hi.” They walk past you to aisle four, and you are left confused and frustrated. Is it weird to say hi? My answer to this question is absolutely not. It’s not weird to say hi, and you did a good job trying to greet your fellow classmate, although he or she was less than enthusiastic to see you. I’m sure this scenario is very familiar to many students and is considered normal. If you see your desk partner, your classmate in a group project or a friend’s friend, you aren’t supposed to say hi. It’s almost not socially acceptable to say hi to these people. Sure, there are some very extroverted people that have no problem throwing a big smile at someone they even slightly know, but most people, unless they’re very close, don’t say hi. Why is it considered so weird to simply greet others? I mean, sure, if two people are on bad terms even at school, it makes no sense for people to greet each other outside of school. However, even if that person worked on a group project with you, was your desk partner for a semester, or is just a person in class that you sometimes talked to, apparently it is “weird.” But I’m here to say that no, it’s not weird to say hi to these people. One reason is that the word hi has a different meaning than how some people perceive it. Hi doesn’t mean “Be my friend forever. I really want to talk to you and I’m just dying to have a conversation with you.” Hi means “I am acknowledging your presence, because I am not on
bad terms with you.” You don’t need to be best friends to say hi, and you don’t even have to say the actual word. You can throw them a smile, have a little wave or anything else, as long as you acknowledge their presence. It could really make someone’s day to have someone greet you, not ignore you when both parties know that the other exists. According to Mrs. Rojas, “The teachers […] are trying to step out of our comfort zone to […] greet other students and make West Ranch a place where everybody feels comfortable and welcomed. So we feel that if we do it as examples, maybe that will then rub off on students.” Greeting those you are not familiar with can make someone’s day or just make them feel good. You also feel better, because someone throwing a smile back when you were expecting an awkward ending is always a relief -- and can be an unexpected twist. High school is that “awkward stage,” and everyone knows it. It’s where you don’t say hi, you don’t greet people, you don’t even smile at people you know. There’s no reason not to say hi. You might as well say good morning to someone you don’t know or smile at a teacher you’ve never met. It’s not weird, it’s not strange, and doing so doesn’t mean you’re desperate for friends or looking for attention. Greeting people shouldn’t cause people to overthink it too much, and, instead, people should appreciate someone coming out of their comfort zone to talk to you. This would facilitate a more welcoming mindset, and it’s very long overdue. As people finally start to acknowledge each other’s’ existence, more people would smile in the morning and more people would start conversations, even if it’s their first time meeting. Maybe if everyone collectively comes to the mind-blowing revelation that, in fact, it is not weird to say hi, it would finally be accepted. Maybe the world will be a slightly more inviting place, not a place where people have to ignore the presence of other people to be considered normal.
UNDER PRESSURE How much are you willing to sacrifice?
Story by Allison Alben Graphic by Timothy Kang COLLEGE. I’ll give you a moment to catch your breath. That was scary, wasn’t it? I know it was for me. I’m a year away from applying, and even I can already feel my heart racing at the thoughts of applications and letters of rec and every other thing that compiles into the monstrosity that is applying for college.We live in a day and age where college is the be-all-and-end-all for high school students. Especially here at West Ranch. I love West Ranch, I really do, but we have a serious issue. We’re too competitive. Our generation, and West Ranch in particular, has way too much pressure on it to get into a good four-year university right out of high school. Some of us have different definitions of what qualifies as good, but for the most part, it’s consistent: Any of the UCs will suffice; you’re somewhat impressive if you make it into an Ivy; schools like Stanford and USC will be fine; and the Cal States … well, as long as you’re excited? If you’re a sports person, then good for you; you got a scholarship to such-and-such. But never, under any circumstances, will you be looked at the same if you say you’re going to the dreaded College of the Canyons. There will be that immediate look of pity, followed by the assumption that you didn’t get in to those top tier schools. No one wants to deal with that, and I understand completely. But really, it’s not even community college that’s the major issue. The timeline that society’s set for ourselves right out of high school is what’s really problematic. We’re expected to get into an amazing four-year. We go there, we graduate, and maybe after, go to grad school. Then get a good job before we’re 30. Meet someone, marry, maybe have kids, all before 45.But not everyone will fit into that timeline, which is what most fail to realize. Not everyone wants to go to college, or maybe it’s not right for them. Some people can’t afford it, and they don’t qualify for financial aid either. It’s harder than ever to get a job right out of college; it may take years! And as far as marriage and children go? We’re 16, 17 and 18! We shouldn’t be thinking of that! Some people can barely decide who to go to prom with! This timeline that we believe we have to follow is the cause for too much stress for our generation. There’s a reason there are hundreds of articles about not stressing out over college admissions. College admissions. Gross. Nowadays, schools are accepting fewer and fewer of their applicants. Being selective, I understand. And they can’t take everybody; that makes sense. Sometimes, you just don’t get in, but our society refuses to accept that. With more and more people applying to college than ever before, it’s only reasonable that more people will get rejected. In an interesting article by Forbes, the author, Willard Dix, compares getting into college to a battlefield. “[S]tudents who apply to high status, low admission rate colleges and universities [are] ‘cannon fodder.’ Charging ahead to breach the walls of these institutions has increasingly become an exercise in futility even for the best, most accomplished students. [...] When they’re rejected, all that work seems to have been for naught. They have lost their four years of high school pursuing a fruitless goal, with the end results being cynicism about the system, regret over lost time, mental and physical exhaustion, and a feeling that studying
and being active don’t really matter.” Oh how true this is. It’s no wonder we’re so stressed! We want to avoid community college at all costs; we’re pressured to get into amazing schools that take only the best students, and there’s an absolutely ridiculous timeline that we feel we need to follow to a tee. Our society’s views about college are nothing short of absolutely toxic. And this toxicity is affecting all of us. In the long run, is it worth it? Wanting to excel in school: That’s a perfectly understandable goal. I know I want to. But working for years to get into an Ivy League that has rising dropout numbers anyways, how much are you willing to sacrifice? What about the physical, mental, and emotional toll it will take on you? Stress affects everyone differently, but that never means it’s healthy. According to the American Psychological Association, some of the ways stress can affect your body include “trigger[ed] asthma attacks, hyperventilation which can lead to panic attacks, long-term problems for the heart like hypertension (which can lead to heart attacks or strokes), problems with your liver and kidneys, and issues with your gastrointestinal tract.” Even your nervous system can react to stress! With all of these negative side effects, shouldn’t your goal be to become less stressed? I understand that our society is at fault for shaping the positively deadly way we perceive our futures, whether it be regarding college or beyond. That is why I call upon you, West Ranch, to start changing this. This year and beyond, let’s make it our goal to stop and realize that it’s ok to fail. It’s ok to not make it into Harvard, and no one will judge you later on for going to community college and transfering to another great school. It’s ok to take a step back and realize that you actually don’t want to join that club, no matter how good it will look. There are so many things we can do to help our generation, but we have to begin by challenging the preconceived notion that college is the be-all-and-end-all for the rest of our lives. Once we do this, we can work on helping our generation become less stressed, and not only about college applications. Teachers, district officials, mental health is an issue, but our mental health would be so much better with less homework, so we have more time to spend on those applications. And maybe we add a semester long class dedicated solely to filling out college applications, where we can bring in experts to help us. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and distant relatives, stop pressuring us to go to the best (and most applied to) schools in the country. COC and CSUN are fantastic options, and we’d be saving a lot of money for the same education. In the real world, barely anyone will care where you went to school, so long as you’re qualified for the job. And what can you do? For the remainder of the year and the future, live for yourselves, not for your college of choice. I promise, if you don’t, there will be hundreds of thousands of other students to do it for you. After all, college, “Don’t you know that you’re toxic?” To read the full story, go to www.wrpawprint.com.
Our Most Valuable Students How the end of graduation’s GPA segregated seating might help curb West Ranch’s elitism and GPAcentrism
Story by Skijler Hutson and Sophia Kriegel
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In the hallway of the administration building is a collection of photographs of every graduating class since West Ranch’s first in 2008. In the foreground of each photo is the shining emblem of the gold robes. Since the school’s opening, graduating students have been seated and dressed separately based on their grade point averages. Those with a cumulative GPA of 4.00 or higher have been dressed in gold and placed in the front of the crowd -- until now. The class of 2019 will be the first of West Ranch to graduate without GPA-segregated seating, although it will keep the gold robes. Principal Mark Crawford said, “We are looking at seating everyone [alphabetically] and if you earned a gold robe, great, but we are not going to try to separate everybody.” This change is a long time in the making; there has been talk and debate for quite some time that the segregated seating stratifies elitism and GPA-centrism at West Ranch. “It sucks if you’re a blue robe and you’re in the back, and then the gold robe is in the front and you feel less than the gold robe. So now you’re mixed so you don’t really feel like you’re secluded from the ‘smarter’ ones,” explained senior Grace Waterman. One must also understand what constitutes eligibility for a gold robe: GPA. That might seem a logical measurement, but let’s consider what it is not measured by: letter grades. That distinction becomes important when we factor in Advanced Placement, Honor, and College of the Canyons classes. All of these types of classes are weighted on a 5.0 grading scale rather than on a 4.0 grading scale. This means that a student can load their schedule with AP classes and do comparatively worse than a student in a regular class, yet still get a 4.0. This encourages students to fill up their schedule with AP, Honors and COC classes they aren’t really that interested in, and this in turn provokes gross GPA inflation. “It’s kids taking the higher level classes which are able to get them above that 4.0. It tweaks students’ perspectives on what is a quote-on-quote ‘good student’ because grades are not the end-all-be-all, and then students that are involved in other things that are not weighted start questioning if they should stay involved because it’s going to lower their GPA. It’s a measure, but it’s not the end-all-be-all,” said counselor Ci Ci Cazan. The idea of ‘the gold robe’ holds an enormous amount of pressure over students’ heads. For some students, achieving a 4.0 requires little effort and simply comes naturally. For others, even working their hardest, a 3.0 is their best. And both are completely acceptable. Gold robes promote the idea that a 4.0 is the sole definition of academic success. While students who maintain these stellar grades deserve recognition for their hard work, students who have worked just as hard, might not have been able to achieve the same marks. It’s true that many students who receive the gold robe do so in a fair and honorable manner, but we would be naive to ignore that some of these kids make their way to the top through cheating. This then leaves those who did not resort to such measures feeling even worse. Further, the idea of the gold robe intensifies a student’s desire to cheat in order
Perhaps the solution is not eliminating GPA-boosts and competition, but simply making the rewards of those efforts personally fulfilling.
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to get better grades. Since the robe status is held in such high regards, students feel a need to do more than they can realistically accomplish. As competition, pressure and stress spike, so does cheating. Cazan wants to combat this issue through passionate learning rather than pointed goals towards structured success. “My job and a lot of educators’ on this campus goal is the love of learning and what are you going to do after high school and start thinking about personal growth,” said Cazan. Administration and teachers understand the GPA epidemic that plagues West Ranch, but it is a hard problem to tackle because it involves colleges. If anything makes high schoolers crazy, it is college. especially when a boost in GPA can translate to an acceptance letter or thousands of dollars in scholarships. “How do I tell a family that maybe doesn’t have the means [to afford college] ‘no you can’t [take higher-level classes just] because it gives you a GPA bump?’” Crawford suggested. As much as the problem of GPA is critical at West Ranch, perhaps it is one that doesn’t need to be solved -- at least for now. The alphabetical seating at graduation will for now reduce the sense of elitism that comes with GPA. Perhaps the solution is not eliminating GPA-boosts and competition, but simply making the rewards of those efforts personally fulfilling. If a student wants to boost their GPA for college or scholarship application, that’s fine, but there is no reason that they should be donned in gold. “Understanding that some kids have worked really hard,” said Crawford, “the idea of [not having] gold robes is maybe a discussion we have, but that would be one I would need to have starting with a class that comes in from the beginning.” That means that the class of 2023 will be the first to possibly graduate without gold robes completely. For now though, students will still have the chance to earn the coveted garment, but it may not be long until all students can feel equally well about the greatest achievement of their life thus far: graduating high school.
Test.Tutor.Trauma. The inner-workings of the mysterious test prep centers of SCV
Story by Ryan Factora and Zoey Greenwald Graphics by Timothy Kang SAT. ACT. GPA. These three-lettered abbreviations dominate conversations between West Ranch students; they all represent numbers -- quantifiable evidence of academic achievement. To a lot of us, they are tickets to college admissions, and we become obsessed. As a result, many have turned to test prep centers for help. These businesses are designed to facilitate growth and give students an extra edge on the competition. Claiming to improve test scores and analytical skills, the cure-all nature of these test prep centers brings up questions about their operation, legitimacy and ethics. They have prices upwards of several thousand dollars — could privileged students gain the upper hand by “buying their test scores?” These mysterious beacons of branded backpacks and Barrons Books pose more questions than they answer. Do the test prep centers actually help? What is the student culture like at these places? Why do people pay so much money for these programs, and is the cost a concern when considering if the SAT and ACT are fair measures of intelligence? So, we went to two of Santa Clarita’s well-known test prep centers — Elite Prep and Global Prep Academy (GPA) — to see what goes on behind closed doors. All real student names have been replaced with pseudonyms for the sake of anonymity.
Elite Prep Hidden just off of the Old Road in between banks and insurance offices, there lies a small, quaint building. Upon entering, the first thing one would see is a pristine array of certificates, boasting SAT scores in the 99th percentile and names of Ivy League universities. Behind the flurry of paper and ink, inside glass-plated rooms, there is desk after desk of students silently working away on mock SAT exams. This is Elite Prep Center. “I actually started coming to Elite in seventh grade,” said junior James Bentham. “Seventh grade summer, I did public speaking classes. Eighth grade summer was the PSAT boot camp; ninth grade summer was the SAT boot camp; and 10th grade summer was the SAT boot camp again. But, in ninth grade, I also took AP Bio classes and SAT Bio Classes, and in 10th grade, I also took AP Chem classes.” These classes aren’t cheap. According to the official Elite website, programs such as the Elite Premium Package can cost up to $5,000. Bentham said that he believes he’s spent around $8,000 to $9,000 at Elite in his five years of attending it. “I honestly have no idea why my parents spend this much money; it’s actually ridiculous,” said junior Jennifer Locke. “I feel like it’s this thing where they say, ‘Look, we invested this much into your college education, and if you screw it up, you just wasted our money.’” Additionally, the costs of these test prep centers raise serious questions about the ethics of standardized testing in general. When services that range from weekly full-length practice tests to professional teachers who are “experts in their field” (as stated on Elite’s official website) are restricted to the few who can afford them, the socioeconomic divide between students
seems to grow into a chasm. However, price is not the only factor that seems to stand out at these test prep centers. “See, Asian culture seems to be dominant there. You see Koreans and other Asians everywhere there,” said junior John Mills. Whether it’s the hagwons of South Korea or the juku of Japan, Asia is infamous for its many “cram schools” -- afterschool programs designed to help students ace their college entrance exams. Because a single exam determines one’s university placement in many of these countries, after-school educational services have become a staple for many Asians. In fact, a report by Michael Milken, financier and philanthropist, found that households in Asia spend upwards of 15 percent of their income for additional education services, more than seven times the 2 percent that American households spend. According to sociology professor Pyong Gap Min, the test prep centers of America are simply an extension of these “cram schools.” However, while this drive for educational success may have well-meaning intentions, it can also splinter relationships within Asian-American families. According to a study by Pew Research Center, 39 percent of Asian-Americans say that AsianAmerican parents put too much pressure on their children to do well in school, while only 9 percent say the same about American parents. “Our entire lives our parents put pressure on us, and they tell us that college is going to make or break our life,” said Locke. For many Asian Americans, the importance of college as not only a path to higher-paying jobs but a site of personal development has been subverted by its symbolic value. To these students and their parents, college is no longer a means to an end, but a teleological end in and of itself. “It’s like a game now. It’s not even about finding what you’re passionate about and what you want to do in life which is actually what matters -- it’s about people wanting to show off where they went to college,” said Locke. Perhaps the most unique feature of Elite, though, is its
assignment of students into rooms. Programs such as Elite’s SAT boot camp divide students into rooms based on their scores during programs. While its intent is to put students in appropriate learning environments, it often has much more malicious effects. “My least favorite part about Elite was definitely the segregation, I guess,” said Mills. “I mean, automatically you would get called names like ‘untouchable’ if you got a lower score and got moved to a lower room.” And while Elite most likely did not encourage this behavior, at the same time, student comments suggest that they didn’t try to actively stop it. “The teachers there recognized this and actually ragged on the other classes,” said Bentham. “They contributed to the whole caste system.” Yet despite these criticisms, all three students who were interviewed by The Paw Print said that not only did the center help them but that they would even send their own children to Elite. In that sense, the test prep center has become a symbol pervaded by ambivalence -- an institution that students seem to criticize, fear and revile -- yet one that they find themselves continually attracted to, even attached to. Because in the modern-day game of the University — even if subjectivity is digitized into standardized test scores, acts of genuine charity are commodified into college app boosters and life as a young highschooler is reduced to pure utility — students (and parents) will do anything to gain the upper hand.
Global Prep Academy
Plans for murals are outlined in sketch pencil on the walls. Students situated with laptops recline in piles of pillows in front of a decal of a famous Banksy painting. Awards and various eccentric trinkets line the shelves of this oppressively comfortable space. They live among throngs of books: Nietzsche, Fitzgerald, the Quran, and Introductory Chemistry — all lying comfortably in their comfortable little nooks. This is Global Prep Academy -- also known as GPA. At the head of GPA is Davíd Najar. Often donning a SteveJobs-like black turtleneck tunic, he and his team of educators run the center. He does not refer to GPA as a “test prep” or “tutoring” center, but instead thinks of the institution as reaching beyond helping students round out their scores, as more of a standalone place in which to supplement education. “[GPA] is gonna be a project-based learning center that students are going to be able to create projects that will utilize their creativity, their critical thinking, their mental elasticity, and their people skills,” said Najar. He even had plans to open a charter school but decided instead to open GPA as “an opportunity to be able to innovate in education while being outside of the system.” The System. The cyclical management of education; the definition of students as grade-point-averages and test scores; the numbers game. The System. GPA is familiar with this System; it knows what goes on at Elite and other places like it, and it tries to be different. Najar largely disapproves of the style of tutoring that takes place at other centers around SCV, such as segregation based on test score. “So, there’s like the dumbsh*t room,” says Najar of Elite, “and the privileged room.” He says that students “live under the cycle of privilege,” and wants to break that. Najar describes GPA as “not the
traditional hagwon” and says that students at places like Elite have “cultural capital”: a know-how that Asian students have because of membership in a community centered around test prep. Instead of replicating this same culture, GPA mirrors a kind of liberal arts model of Western academia, even in its economic policy. Najar says that he will turn no student away because of an inability to pay, and that he is “trying to create economic and social value.” But it’s not just other test prep centers that GPA is up against. It’s also a rampant private tutor market. One GPA student says that if he hadn’t found GPA, the only other option “would’ve been the person who was [his] sister’s college tutor, who was really expensive.” GPA is even up against a common theme in several classes at West Ranch: a focus on worksheets and a fillin-the-blank mentality. “[Students] are given paper assignments,” says Najar. “They’re given assignments and prompts, but never go back to say, ‘Wait a second. How do you read a text?’ Not how do you Shmoop a text. It’s how do you read a text. How do you engage with a text?” According to Najar, GPA exists to fill a niche. GPA exists because students “don’t know how to write. Because no one’s taken the time to teach them how to write.” It is a supplemental education, which he argues students desperately need. But the problem with breaking The System is that The System works. While Najar explains that colleges and universities “are looking for somebody who’s bigger than numbers,” most students, out of necessity, place their focus on playing that numbers game. Places like Elite might be expensive and even demoralizing at times, but they remain because they work. They have a focused goal -- get students into their four-year colleges, make parents proud -- and GPA also recognizes this. GPA will “still provide SAT as long as SAT is around,” and “still get you a five on the AP if you’d like one,” but this happens deep within an intent on reshaping and redefining that System. Najar’s dream of that charter school persists. He says that plans are in the works to have GPA accredited, so that students could take classes there either part-time or even full-time. At the present moment, however, the prep center still serves the same utilitarian functions as places like Elite, but at the same time, it tries to be different. It’s a paradox. “[The business] is something I reject while at the same time, I’m in it,” says Najar. “But, I’m gonna try to redefine it and come out the other side as something else. I don’t know what that is yet. But, I hear that question.” He adjusts his glasses. “Yeah, I’m playing in a dirty pool. And it’s gross.”
At the end of the day,
it seems like these test prep centers are not intrinsically pathological, but rather symptoms of much broader societal problems. The divide in test center scores that coincides with socioeconomic divides wouldn’t exist if the resources restricted to test prep centers were available to all. AsianAmericans wouldn’t be forced into a game that they largely created if myths of the “Model Minority” didn’t exist. And the incessant drive to increase one’s score wouldn’t exist without an even more incessant demand to satisfy the whims of the College Board, parents and society at large. As it stands, academics largely exist in a particular game, and test prep centers are just another way of playing it.
“I’m gonna try to redefine it and come out the other side as something else. I don’t , know what that is yet.” - David Najar
7:25 a.m. The first bells ring across campus. But this is a different kind of sound, one unlike the late bell or the conclusion of another class period. This bell rings, and following it, the face of a fellow student appears on the screen. This is repeated every 15 minutes, interrupting class with a gut wrenching wave of sad songs and alarming interruptions. An announcement pierces the ears of classmates, proclaiming that one of their peers has died tragically in a vehicle-related incident. 7:25 a.m: Amanda Chevalier, cheerleader and friend to many. 7:40 a.m: Luke Boss, ASB member and hockey player. 7:55 a.m: Rijker Hutson: avid member of the swim team. 8:25 a.m: Emily Bacca, Brandon Wyre. 8:40 a.m: Mrs. Chang. 8:55 a.m: Allison Jacobs, Skijler Hutson, Joshua Constantino. 9:10 a.m: Juan Lopez. 9:25 a.m: Jayden Bagge, Neiko Pittman. 9:40 a.m: Matthew Merritt, Matthew Striplin. 9:55 a.m: Chase Eisenberg. 10:10 a.m: James Callahan. 10:35 a.m: Thomas Reid. As the day drags on, students mourn the ‘loss’ of their friends. Those who had passed can be seen wandering the school in skeletal makeup. They stand silently, symbolizing their everlasting presence that would remain if they truly had died. Although these deaths are fake, the realization that the consequences of impaired or distracted driving could take anybody sets in quickly across the school. 11:15 a.m. The ringing of a phone echoes across the school, followed by the frantic voice of a 911 caller. A car accident. Valencia Blvd. Hurry. Juniors and seniors are released from class to observe the scene. As kids walk towards the tragedy, two cars can be seen. The front of each is completely smashed, and there is a body laying on top of one. There are students inside, people’s friends inside, all of whom appear to be dead or dying. Sydney Johnson. Mya Davis. Lucas Elzer. Izzy Crume. Zoey Greenwald. Hannah Greenwald. All silent and sprawled across the scene. The police cars, firetrucks and ambulances race up the hill. All but two occupants are proclaimed dead on the scene. Students watch as the drunk driver engages in sobriety tests while passengers are removed from the vehicles onto stretchers and into body bags. Izzy Crume is rushed into an ambulance while Lucas Elzer is shoved into a police car, handcuffed. The following day, upperclassmen attend an assembly in which their classmates return and have a chance to speak on their experiences. Along with their peers, families, friends, and loved ones of real victims of impaired or distracted driving give emotional and tragic testimonies on the horrific consequences of such careless acts. They all shared one underlying plea: Drunk, impaired or distracted driving is preventable. We make the choice to stop ourselves and others from engaging in detrimental acts that could ultimately lead to death. You make the choice. And, if not for yourself, do it for the people you love and the people who love you. Just make the right one.
15
MINUTES
EVERY
Story by Sophia Kriegel Photos by Chika Ma and Alexa Empleo
Great Gatsby The
Story by Shanzay Hasan and Mina Jang / Photo by Chika Ma Graphics by Sydney Young and Iman Baber
Flashy wigs, swaying costumes, projected voices and tear-jerking emotions awakened audience members to West Ranch Theater’s 1920s-based production, “The Great Gatsby.” Their extravagant performance took place in the West Ranch theater on November 14 to 16. “This play is unique in that it comes from a famous American novel that public school students have been reading for decades,” said theater director Christopher Cook. “It’s a fun challenge to do a play with a rich tradition in American literature. We’re bringing to life these well-known characters and playing out a story that is familiar to a lot of people.” Rehearsing inside the theater from September to November during Period 6, continuing into after-school hours as Production Week approached, these art-loving students joined together in making this first semester’s performance truly come to life. “Actors are memorizing lines, staging, working on characterization and character relationships,” continued Cook. “Stagecraft students are working all of the various aspects of set design, set construction, props, lighting, costumes and makeup.” When watching “The Great Gatsby” for the first time, onlookers tilted their chins high and lifted themselves up from their velvet seats, enchanted by the silk-white gloves worn by character Jordan Baker, the hand-painted car built from scratch and the wavy dresses designed by senior Ayden McKenzie. As the production went on, the audience was drawn in by the many characters introduced throughout the show. Their lips frowned at Jackson Brundage portraying Tom Buchanan’s snobbish attitude. Their eyes widened at Lauren Franco and Josh Snow playing out Myrtle and George Wilson’s tumultuous relationship. From the mystical Daisy Buchanan, played by Ella Kriegel to the extravagant Jay Gatsby, played by Donald Bowen, everybody was intrigued by the talented actors and actresses who molded themselves into these new beings. “I love playing Daisy because she pushes me,” said Kriegel. “Daisy is so manipulative in a very innocent way. She is a different person for everyone she meets, and it’s been a crazy experience trying to channel each side of her. Both me and Daisy are strong women who sometimes forget that we are capable of much more than others think.”
At one point, even, during Act l, several theater lights focused on Nick Carraway, the narrator (played by Ethan Harpole) of the production. As Harpole performed a monologue, shining bright before a sea of strangers, all minds were tranced by his bright voice and superlative acting. To get to where the show was now took much time spent learning as well as bonding with each other for cast members. “Commitment to the collaborative process is what’s most important,” said Cook. “Theater students have to be team players and get along well with each other in order to meet our production goals.” During their many practices, all the actors and actresses had to prepare extensively for their roles through group discussions and connecting with other members in order to strengthen and make more realistic the acted-out relationships shown live. ”To prepare for this show, we sat down as a cast and broke down how each character functions and really got to emotional core of the show just by understanding each other,” said Kriegel. ”It was really beautiful to watch everyone dig into the heart of who they are.” Due to the spectacular set-building and emotional acting, “The Great Gatsby” took spectators through a plethora of feelings from anger and resent to sadness and guilt. Throughout the entire show, everybody -- children, teenagers, adults, elders -- could not help but dive into the different situations every character was living in, whether it was the secret love affairs, the crucial social-status stress, and the painful yet truthful plot reflecting the harsh realities of life. “I think it’s so important to tell this story, because it’s so relevant. The entire book is about how we, as humans, feel a need to be perfect around society but are so broken on the inside,” said Kriegel. “I see such a connection between the facade of Gatsby’s parties and the current facade of being perfect on Instagram. It’s all fake.” From start to finish, “The Great Gatsby” -- West Ranch Theater’s first production of the year -- tugged away at the audience members even after the curtain call. Surrounding the show was a strong seriousness, a strange wistfulness that beautifully represented an agonizing love undone.
Story by Katherine Luo and Brooke Johnston Graphics by Siena Zarrell
Outer space has been a focal point of human intrigue for thousands of years, and interest has only spiked as time has passed. What is out there? How is it out there? Who might be out there? An insatiable desire to discover the vast unknowns of space has led curious and driven people to determine methods of transforming their contemplation into not just questions, but answers. The members of West Ranch’s very own Astronomy Club are ambitious learners that strive to do more than just speculate the uncharted. They are making history while pursuing their undying passion for deciphering what lies beyond what is immediately visible, and they have become the first group of high school students in the United States to write a scientific proposal to NASA. Needless to say, this is an astronomical feat that most people, even those older than them, could never even dream of attempting. Senior Yael Brynjegard-Bialik, the bubbly president of Astronomy Club, discovered the opportunity to make an impact outside of campus a year ago when Ms. Hirst, club advisor and astronomy teacher, mentioned it to her classes. From there, a seed of interest sprouted within BrynjegardBialik, and she gathered her peers to decide on a target and begin their scientific journey. Brynjegard-Bialik eagerly explained the basics of the project her team had worked tirelessly on for countless months. “We wrote a proposal for telescope time on NASA’s SOFIA mission, which is this massive infrared mounted onto a Boeing-747 jet plane,” the president began. “Our proposal is asking to look at one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa. We’re going to be observing thermal activity, and we’re asking for time to use that telescope to collect our data.” Events chair Elijah Priwer delved into further detail about the significance of their research and what the success of their proposal could bring. “One of the two most likely spots in the solar system for us to find life in the solar system is Europa, and that’s what we’re observing. If our proposal goes through, and we observe
plumes on Europa, that would be evidence that biological life could exist there. A lot of what we’re doing could have an impact on finding extraterrestrial life, building off of what NASA is doing,” said Priwer. This isn’t the last impressive project the club has in store. While they juggle the workload the NASA proposal has given them, they are simultaneously arranging future activities that are just as monumental. “We’re also going to do the tomatosphere where we get seeds from the ISS and normal seeds that haven’t been in space, and then germinate them, plant them, track their growth, and send it to NASA so they can use our data for the future of growing things in space,” said events Vice President Elle Harvey excitedly. Everyone chipped in their excitement over participating in future NASA robotics and coding challenges, as well as developing another proposal for a different telescope. Besides poring over astronomical paperwork and data, Astronomy Club participates in a plethora of fun teambonding activities and even occasionally hosts guest speakers. “As a club, we also go to star parties throughout the community, and we also host movie nights. Whether it be Star Wars or Star Trek or Interstellar, we geek out over those good old movies,” says Hutson. Although Astronomy Club always has multiple exciting projects taking place, Hutson says that the SOFIA proposal has been his personal favorite. “Our data will be cited by people in the research papers, and I don’t think anyone else is doing that,” the vice president said. “This NASA proposal is something that adults are supposed to do, and professionals with doctorates!” added Brynjegard-Bialik enthusiastically. “They just assumed that your title would be doctor when we were submitting the proposal.” Each and every member is exceptionally passionate about their work in astronomy, and their unwavering devotion has generated staggeringly positive results. Such success has fanned the flames of an already burning love for space and has certainly gotten these students thinking about how their work now will relate to their future. When asked if any of them wanted to work for NASA, everyone replied with a chorus of beaming yeses. Although the astronomy students are extremely independent and intelligent, none of their goals would have come to fruition without Mrs. Hirst, their phenomenal advisor. Brynjegard-Bialik said that she is her inspiration and the reason she was able to coordinate the proposal so well. Many people have found solace in the well-known quote, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” The students of Astronomy Club take this saying literally. Teenagers are often faced with doubt that someone so young can’t have a significant impact in the world around them, but Brynjegard-Bialik and her team have proven otherwise through their impressive SOFIA proposal. If you’re interested in making history, Astronomy Club meets in room 305 every Monday in Mrs. Hirst’s room and welcomes new members with open arms.
West Ranch Astronomy Club is the only high school group to submit a proposal to NASA’s SOFIA mission.
SWE
Society of Women Engineers
Story by Ashley Park Graphics by Siena Zarrell
Throughout the last century, statistics and history have shown that the number of females in the engineering field has been significantly lower than the opposing gender. However, in the modern day, there has been an uprising of women in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field. With the empowerment of women in this field, the amount of females in the STEM workforce will definitely grow. A club here at West Ranch, the Society of Women Engineers, works towards changing the gender gap. They hope to encourage other girls to see the strength that women have to pursue a career dominated by men. The Society of Women Engineers is a club on campus that brings together girls to give them a chance to work and build as if they are in the industry themselves. They learn and research skills that are later needed in projects. The knowledge that they gain from working together to become engineers can assist them later in life if, and when, they pursue a career in engineering. The president of the club, Jackie Roche, has been a part of the Society of Women Engineers for three years and now is guiding and giving insight to the members of her club in regards to what an engineer’s job looks like. “My goal is to bring awareness to the wide range of opportunities in this field for girls and help encourage them and inspire them that they don’t have to be super smart or super good at math to be successful in this field,” president Roche explains. Roche added that the club is not just simply about engineering, but that women empowerment is extremely important in STEM. Entering a competitive job field, let alone a field where women are a minority, is very intimidating. Roche doesn’t want new members of her club or any girl to feel that they are incapable of becoming an engineer just because the ratio of men to women is so much greater. “I think women empowerment is super important because there is such a wide gender gap in this field. I mean I’ve experienced it personally because for the three years that I have done the engineer program, there was only three girls in the class in the beginning. So I’ve experienced the gender gap already, so I can only imagine what it’s like in the actually industry,” Roche states. On even Wednesdays, girls come at lunch and discuss what ideas or projects they can do next. Roche and her team also plan for speakers from successful engineering companies, such as JPL or Google to come speak and hopefully give inspiration to the audience. Adults who
are already pursuing a job in the STEM field can be a role model for the girls with not as much background on what this job looks like in the future. The speakers are able to share with students their own personal experiences and teach them how to get ahead in the industry as young engineers. Bringing in professionals to talk about their success is not the only thing they do. A major part of an engineer’s job is building and the development of systems and machines. The Society of Women Engineers is very diligent about conducting many building projects so that everyone in the club gets a chance to have their own personal experience. Because the school classroom can only offer so much room, it can limit the creativity and space needed to carry out their project to the fullest. However, Roche arranges club meetings off-campus so that the members are able to meet together and work to build their projects as a team. Meeting at a location outside of school, the girls have the ability to practice working as a team, allowing them to mimic as if they are under pressure or in a competition. Last year, Roche and her club had the opportunity to build a rocket for the Team America Rocketry Challenge and participated in the competition. She believes by being in a competitive environment, where skills are applied, and teamwork is required, that it is not only a unique experience but it also provides an impactful learning curve for young female engineers like herself. The Society of Women Engineers are currently working on their construction project which is building a six-foot high-powered rocket which requires every girl working on the assignment to have their Level 1 High-Power Rocketry Certification, a certification of permission to buy the necessary supplies to build the rocket. “Ultimately, I hope I can inspire other girls in this community to pursue this field, because I know that it’s not a field that many girls think of going into, but I hope that I can make even a small difference in that,” Roche concludes. The division of men and women in the engineering field is more than evident, and this group of women work to make a positive impact in the field. This club reminds women that even if they are the minorities in STEM, they can be successful contrary to what society claims to be true. The Society of Women Engineers are working towards their goals confidently and are ready to make a difference in the engineering field.
“I think women empowerment is super important because there is such a wide gender gap in this field.”
Who’s the Man?
Story by Jasleen Arora and Daniel Lee Photo by Jasleen Arora
Q & A with Mr. Manalastas about being the new head varsity boys basketball coach
What is your previous coaching experience?
I started coaching back in 1994. I was a girls basketball coach at Saugus. I started off as the assisstant coach for the girls varsity team, and then they gave me the girls junior varsity team. I left Saugus as the varsity coach and when I moved to West Ranch, I started the girls basketball program here. I was the girls varsity coach for five years. After that, I made a brief run with the boys because my buddy, Mr. Lago, was the head varsity coach, and I told him I wanted to help out. I did for a few years, but when I got kids, I stopped.
My philosophy has changed over the years. Before, I was just one of those it’s all about basketball, basketball, basketball. Over the years, I realized that there are other things more important than basketball, but not to the extent where one supersedes the other. There has to be a good balance. In terms of what I do now, I like to run. I like to make it fast. I want the game to be fast; its fun that way. It’s fun to watch and fun to play. That’s the approach we’ve been taking with our guys. We press, and we run.
What is your coaching style?
How did you first get involved in coaching?
A few years ago, I was asked if I would ever be interested in coaching again, and I said “in a few years maybe.” When I thought about the capacity of what I wanted to do, being a head coach wasn’t right there yet. I wanted to slowly get back into it. Last year, when certain circumstances arose, I got approached by admin asking me if I was still interested in coaching and wouldn’t mind helping out? I said that I wouldn’t mind, but I wanted to check in with my family and make sure that’s something I can do because if I don’t have their approval, I’m not going to do it.
I think the number one goal I have is to make the players better than they were before they walked in that door. In terms of an individual goal, I want to be able to build and establish a program that is going to be solid this year and for years to come. A team goal, of course, is to win a league title. I just want those kids, especially this years group, to have a chip on their shoulder. I really believe these kids could’ve showcased more of their talents last year. Now, part of that’s my fault; I didn’t know them very well and what they could do. But now that I know them, I hope they have the mentality of wanting to prove me wrong. Hopefully, that will translate into success.
What are your goals for this season?
DYLAN GATUA Story and Photo by Jay Singh Graphic by Allison Alben
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When Dylan Gatua steps onto any cross country course, his mind is focused on one thing: winning. Despite being only a sophomore, he is a top runner on West Ranch Varsity Cross Country. Thanks to his natural talent for running and his extreme work ethic, he is a nationally ranked runner. Gatua is one of the fastest runners in cross country for sophomore boys in the nation. In his two events, the 5k and the 3-mile, he owns the top times in the nation. His time in the 5k, 15:17, is a full seven seconds faster than the second place entry, a long time in terms of longdistance running. In the 3-mile, his time at 14:39 is a complete five seconds faster than second place. Recently, MileSplit, a nationally recognized high school running website, named Gatua a future national star of cross country. Gatua has been able to get to this level because of his hard work and dedication to the sport and his teammates. Gatua’s hard work and dedication have been attributed to “being able to train with my teammates and coaches, now my second family. They constantly push me to new heights,” said Gatua. Apart from his teammates and coaches, Gatua also cites his family as one of his driving forces: “My mom and dad have really instilled the confidence and work ethic I’ve needed to really compete on the field with the best in the nation.” After switching from basketball to running fulltime, Gatua has been exposed to an entirely new atmosphere. During this 2018 season, he started off by winning his first-ever cross country meet at the Arcadia Fastback Invitational. Gatua then went on to run at the biggest cross country meet in the nation at Woodbridge Sweepstakes, where he ran his fastest 3-mile time. Gatua helped West Ranch win the Master’s University meet, where he ran his leading 5k time, and he later helped his team place 3rd at the prestigious Clovis Invitational. In other words, Gatua has been sensational for his team this entire season. Gatua has been motivated to “try to carry the winning tradition past runners have built here at West Ranch and create a new era of runners for today.” Gatua thanks all of those around him for helping him get to where he is today. “I’m just blessed that I was given these running abilities I have and am able to showcase my talent. I’m also grateful for my family, teammates, coaches, and friends because they make the journey worthwhile every second.”
I want to try to carry the winning tradition past runners have built here at West Ranch and create a new era of runners.
”
WHY HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE CAREERS ARE CUT SHORT Story by Daniel Lee, Harneet Arora and Jasleen Arora Graphics by Timothy Kang
Overall, only 7 percent of high school athletes play at the collegiate level and of that seven, only 2 percent play at the NCAA Division I level. From there, only 2 percent of NCAA athletes go on to play professionally. A significant majority of these student-athletes will leave with a high school diploma and go out into the real world, without continuing to competitively pursue a certain sport. With this in mind, a growing number of high school students have decided to stop pursuing their passions, but not for the reasons people may think. The issue is that student-athletes are having this decision to quit inflicted upon them. Note: The quotes are from current or previous students at West Ranch. Their identity and sport have been kept anonymous in respect of their opinion. “I get that it’s a very competitive nature, and I’m not complaining about that. But in the end, these sports programs are for the students. It’s for them to pursue a passion. But we can’t do those things if we have coaches constantly cussing us out and emotionally abusing us to a certain level. Sure, it could be because they care about us and they want us to be the best version of ourselves, but there is a line. I quit because of the aggression of my coaches.” - Anonymous “The coach himself wasn’t the most motivating person. There was a time when I felt that his jokes went way too far and were really insulting. I don’t think he knew the difference between constructive criticism and remarks that would break my character. One time, one of the coaches embarrassed me, and I had to laugh to keep myself from crying in front of team. A mixture of all the pressure I was feeling in and out of the team and the emotional abuse was way too intense for me to keep up. It wasn’t worth it. It wouldn’t have been healthy for me to continue.” - Anonymous “I wasn’t given opportunities. I know I wasn’t the best on the team, so that encouraged me to work harder. I practiced on my own time, but when it came to practices, I was never given a chance. The coach always separated the better kids from the not-as-good kids. You can’t improve if you are constantly playing with bad people. You need to practice with people who are better than you so that you can learn and push yourself to be better. There was so much favoritism. Of course, if you don’t get the chance in practice, you won’t get it in game. And when I did get the opportunity in practice, they didn’t seem to care, and obviously, they didn’t because I still sat on the bench. So what’s the point? That’s why I quit.” - Anonymous Though not true for all sports, athletes have decided to drop out of high school sports for reasons of mistreatment by coaches. Students respect criticism and very well understand the competitive nature of high school athletes. But at the same time, positivity is just as important in improving player confidence and skill as criticism is. With the amount of time each athlete devotes to high school sports on a weekly basis, students ask for equality in opportunity in both practices and games. Yet with all these requests for the coaches, we decided it necessary to hear the coaches perspective and what they expect from their athletes.
Note: The quotes are from current or previous coaches at West Ranch. Their identity and sport have been kept anonymous in respect of their opinion. “We want to see players give us effort and show us that they want to be there. It’s hard as a coach showing up and trying to do our job when we are not getting results back. It’s a total compromise. We will help the athletes, but they’ve got to help us. Coaches are on all their players, and they take it as they are being too hard on them, but we do it because we care and we want them to succeed. There could be different reasons why students feel they can’t communicate with their coaches. Maybe the coach seems very hard and wouldn’t understand, but as a person, the athletes need to stand up for themselves. I’m not saying to do it in a rude way, but the players need to pull a coach aside and tell them how their feeling even if the player is scared.” - Anonymous “I have mixed feelings about this topic. Growing up as an athlete, most of my coaches were aggressive, but it didn’t really bother my teammates. If anything, it pushed us more. I can understand why an athlete might take offense to that type of behavior from a coach, and everyone is different and entitled to make the best decision for themselves. I personally started my coaching career 10 years ago, and I was very aggressive. I have learned, over time, that this generation of athletes have different needs, so I try my best to watch the way I speak to them. But again everyone is different, and if a coach thinks that’s the best way to coach then that’s their decision as well.” - Anonymous In consideration of the students’ and coaches’ quotes, many can agree on the aggressive and competitive nature of some coaches or inequity in opportunity, but it is important to note that we, as students, need to demand change. To a certain extent, quitting is a sign of discontent and can be a start in enticing change, but it is only half the battle. Quite too often there is a miscommunication or even lack of communication between the expectations of both the coaches and their athletes and this miscommunication leads to tension. This misperception may happen when students join a sport to continue their love of the game at a higher level, while athletes feel that some coaches are most concentrated on winning all all costs, even at the expense of the players love for the game. Such strong passion by the coaches may lead to rude comments, and students feel as if they are beaten down by the comments and negativity and even struggle to get up. As a result, students refuse to communicate with their coaches out of fear for challenging their authority or for fear of being removed from the team or punished for their opinions. But the debate is two-sided. After hearing some of the coaches’ comments, they have provided some validation for student-athletes to stand up for themselves when faced with obstacles as acquiring the confidence to speak up is part of maturing as a person. But at the same time, coaches want players to recognize that criticism is done for constructive purposes, and it is not intended to be demeaning or harsh. It is done for the purpose of improvement, both on and off the court or field. Their intent is to prepare us, students, for the harsh realities of life and the workplace. Accepting negativity and turning it into something positive is a skill needed by every person in society, and this skill is frequently practiced in high school sports. High school sports are so much more than just a place to play basketball, soccer, football, or any other sport. It is a unique learning experience unlike the ones seen in the classroom, an emotional experience that prepares you for the adversities of life. And recently, its true goal has been blurred with instances of aggression on the coaches side and retaliation on the student’s side. But now it’s time to make a change on both sides of the spectrum and establish a compromise between the coaches and their athletes to get back on track again.
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