VOL. XXXVIII ISSUE 3 November 17, 2017
UNIFIED IN UNIFORM
Peninsula sports teams join with Special Education students in Unified Sports clinics SPORTS PAGE 11
Vexing Veto
Music Mania
Sew Far, Sew Good
Bill vetoed with measures to combat sexual assault in school
Students showcase their passions for music
Sophomore designs and creates costumes
NEWS PAGE 3
FOCUS PAGES 6-7
STUDENT LIFE PAGE 9
(11) (2) ads
Happy Holidays Panthers! From Domino’s Pizza 31240 Palos Verdes Dr W Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275 (310) 265-4999 865 Silver Spur Rd Rolling Hills Estates, CA (310) 544-1445
Want to advertise with The Pen? Contact us at thepen.business@gmail.com for more information. Attention aspiring artists: Want your art featured in our newspaper?
Join the Graphics Team ofThe Pen ! Drop by H52 or email thepennews@gmail.com for more information.
news (3)
If you do the crime, you do the time jenna yamada and Connor tumelty / The Pen
California sexual assault bill pending approval minji jeun and olin osborne III On Sept. 18, the California legislature enrolled Bill 169, which amends laws regarding sexual assault in California’s elementary and secondary schools. Following this approval from both the California State Assembly and State Senate, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the bill. It is now back in the Senate and pending approval. California politicians hope that the California Education Code (EDC) would prevent and resolve instances of sexual harassment in educational facilities. According to California’s online legislative database, the first section of this new law affirms every student’s right to be free from sexual harassment in school’s educational programs and activities. It is the school’s responsibility to effectively handle sexual assault. The amendments further clarify the definition of what is considered sexual assault under the EDC, enabling schools to use
it as a guide for determining the severity of a situation. According to Associate Principal Michael Wanmer, who is in charge of disciplinary action, the new definitions for sexual assault will add clarity to school policy when regarding such issues. “One of the big benefits of this bill is that it defines exactly what sexual assault is,” Wanmer said. “I know that the word itself is pretty terrifying, but if it can be broken down into A, B and C, then we can teach kids [that] things they might have thought were just goofing around were actually inappropriate, allowing us to educate them and make sure that it does not happen again.” Senate Bill 169 defines sexual assault as any form of unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other predatory actions made by someone in an educational setting that creates a hostile learning environment for the student.
“I define sexual assault as a situation [in which] someone is harassed physically for the opposing person’s pleasure,” freshman Jiana Goulis said. “If a child were to do something drastic that puts another child in an uncomfortable state, then I think charges should be placed. However, I believe that the charges should depend on [the severity of] the crime.” The bill places emphasis on educating students on what sexual harassment is by requiring local educational agencies to hire a gender equity officer who handles instances of sexual harassment and produces teaching materials about the subject. “I think at this point, the definition of sexual assault has been contorted [by society] so that it appears as a joke or something that should not be taken seriously,” sophomore Aeron Koss said. “This only encourages sexual predators to continue doing what they are doing
because they know they might never be caught.” The bill also has provisions that mandate schools to apply the California Penal Code to sexual assault violators in elementary through high school. That means that students consistently exhibiting these behaviors could be charged as a sex offenders if school facilities find that there is sufficient evidence against them. While these cases are not common on this campus, Peninsula has a comprehensive system for handling such incidents should they arise. This high school utilizes a multi-tiered system that categorizes the severity of a student’s actions and compares it to the current EDC in order to determine the appropriate actions that should be taken. Should the veto be overturned and the bill passed, it will ensure that people of all ages will be held to the same degree of accountability.
new stem Underwater robotics team makes a splash kristen lu Peninsula’s new underwater robotics team, started by Computer Science teacher and Robotics coach, Hassan Twiet, engineers underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Team members, who meet every weekend, are expected to operate as a mock company, making financial reports and budget plans for the robots they create. They plan on showcasing all of their efforts in May at the Marine Advanced Technology Education competition in Washington, where robots must be capable of salvaging a mock plane wreck, compiling data from an ocean floor seismometer and installing tidal turbines, which convert energy from tides into beneficial forms of power. Students earn points by
assembling robots capable of completing such challenges and presenting marketing pitches for their robots. Due to Peninsula’s previous experience in engineering and robotics, Twiet decided to start Underwater Robotics for students to further showcase their ingenuity. “Underwater Robotics is a great national competition [because] we already teach computer science and engineering [at Peninsula],” Twiet said. “[Since] we have all [of] these resources and talents, we might as well be diverse in what we offer and allow students to exercise their expertise.” Twiet decided to select a few students to lead the team in these competitions. “Normally, it would be open to all, but right now,
since it is the first year, we decided to handpick a dozen,” Twiet said. “I wanted six seniors to be in charge, [since] they are the experts as they have been in science, physics and math for four years now. Six freshmen will work with the seniors so they can be prepared to lead the team next year.” Senior and captain Tori Wong, believes that one gains integral skills by participating in Underwater Robotics. As captain, Wong acts as a CEO and head engineer for their mock company, overseeing the team’s progress. “With [Underwater Robotics] you get all the skills you need [for] going into the workforce. You learn communication skills, budgeting, design and problem solving,” Wong said.
(4)
opinion
THE PEN PALOS VERDES PENINSULA HIGH SCHOOL 27118 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Zoe Willoughby Stella Yoo MANAGING EDITOR Phoebe Borsum DESIGN EDITOR Connor Tumelty NEWS EDITORS: Jordan Chang Ana Willoughby WRITERS: Minji Jeun Kristen Lu Olin Osborne III Shenaya Yazdani OPINION EDITOR: Nina Li WRITERS: JungIn Kim Adrian Tai Gigi Wargin FOCUS EDITORS: Liana Korotzer Anne Lee WRITERS: Nicole Khalil Saffy Laurio Ailun Shi STUDENT LIFE EDITORS: Alison Kim Emily McGinn WRITERS: Sam Herrmann Elissa Luce Skyler Safechuck Christine Youn SPORTS EDITORS: Rianne Aguas Christopher Chien WRITERS: Christopher Guanzing Sarah Liu Erin Okada Asumi Shuda GRAPHICS Rachel Liu Jenna Yamada Alex Yoo BUSINESS & ADVERTISING Sung Gyung Lee Elana Ho ADVISER Jaymee Johnson “The Pen” is the student newspaper produced by the advanced journalism students of Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. It is published eight times per year. Advertising inquiries may be directed to Advertising Manager Sung Gyung Lee at (310) 377- 4888 ext. 652. The Pen editors appreciate Letters to the Editor, which are accepted up to one week before publication. You may submit them to H52 or to Jaymee Johnson’s mailbox. Copyright © 2017 Cover Photo by Yuna Kim
REgulations should reflect what reality reveals Editorial Staff In the wake of countless allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment and rape against many prominent figures such as Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K., Roy Moore and Kevin Spacey, there have been urgent calls for reform in the way that sexual misconduct is handled. Los Angeles officials have taken measures to combat this by setting up a task force to investigate these allegations. The release of these allegations sparked a trend on Twitter, later spreading to other social media platforms, and connected people who have been victims of sexual misconduct through the Me Too movement. Recently, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed
Senate Bill 169 which was designed to maintain Obama’s sexual assault policies and further relay the importance of preventing sexual misconduct beginning at a young age. The bill provides an explicit criterion to refer to and may clarify the current gray areas involved in dealing with sexual assault cases. For some victims, the bill
that the bill could potentially hurt black students, who have historically had higher chances of being presumed guilty of sexual assault than their white counterparts. Though we cannot say with confidence whether this bill will bring absolute positive or negative change, its purpose is to impart an early understanding that sexual assault must be
could mean a less painful path towards justice; for some accused, however, it could mean suffering from systemic injustices. The New York Times writer Lara Bazelon argues
condemned. This is important given the current political climate in which the subject of sexual assault has become commonplace. Since this bill applies to students as young as five years
old, it has the potential to correct problematic behavior in a student’s formative years and prevent it from escalating into abuse. Many people have a “kids will be kids” mentality regarding inappropriate actions in young people; they assume that this “harmless” conduct is something that kids will eventually grow out of. However, what may begin as teasing and suggestive comments could easily become workplace harassment or sexual assault if the offender is never appropriately apprehended for their wrongdoings. We live in a society that continually trivializes this kind of behavior, and while Senate Bill 169 is certainly not perfect, it would recognize the importance of addressing the issue of sexual assault early on.
#MeToo
Colleges will favor local students in impacted campuses Adrian tai California state legislators have recently ordered and created legislation requiring California State University (CSU) campuses to favor local students in times of overcrowded campuses and impacted majors. According to the CSU website, when a program or campus receives more eligible applicants during the initial application filing period than can be accommodated, the major or campus is “impacted.” Admissions regulations are currently being revised and will fully be in effect for students applying for the 2019-20 school year. This means that schools will give local students priority admittance. If two applicants have equal qualifications, the local one will be given an advantage and have a higher likelihood of acceptance. This piece of legislation will help locals who may have limited school options pursue a higher education while staying closer to home. While some may view this change as unfair, it is ultimately targeted towards place-bound students who may be restricted to staying in the area due to limitations such as family, job responsibilities or financial constraints. “This new legislation definitely does not give all California applicants an equal chance, but I believe it will be incredibly beneficial to struggling locals who may need to stay in the area for certain reasons,” senior David Noh said. “Personally, I understand that aspect because a friend of mine had
to attend a local college due to family responsibilities. I think it is really great that the state is placing an emphasis on these place-bound students.” This regulation revision was mainly brought about due to the impaction of CSU campuses and majors. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, six CSU campuses’ programs are currently “fully impacted” — Long Beach, Fresno, Fullerton, San Diego, San
“I am glad that California state legislators are recognizing the fact that some students cannot afford to move too far from home when it comes to colleges.” -Senior David noh Jose and San Luis Obispo. Many of the other CSU campuses are impacted in several majors. This negatively affects place-bound students, which is why this new legislation is a necessity for those who are restricted to attending local colleges. “The whole thing boils down to increasing the four-year graduation rate,” counselor Graham Edwards said. “By targeting locals, outside influences that may prevent one from graduating on time are limited and the student may graduate within four years. There are
so many [factors] outside of student’s academic lives that make an impact on [their choice of a local college]. In theory, I think [the favoring of local students] should help, allowing students to get through [difficulties] in a shorter amount of time.” Some argue that the new system would be unfair, preventing students from areas further away from the school to be accepted. “I do not really think this new legislation is fair because it is a CSU and should give all Californians an equal opportunity to be admitted regardless of how close they reside [to] the school,” senior Lisa Takai said. “There is no reason to give locals an unfair [advantage] in admissions just because of where they live. All students work equally hard and deserve fairness in admissions.” However, there are numerous reasons this legislation is necessary. Many families simply cannot afford to send their child to a college outside of their local area. Students may also be forced to go to school near their home due to familial obligations. “I am glad that California state legislators are recognizing the fact that some students cannot afford to move too far from home when it comes to colleges,” Noh said. “Hopefully, no tremendous imbalance occurs from this change and place-bound students are able to attend CSUs and continue their education despite the limitations in their lives.”
Dismissed Documents
opinion
(5)
72 special education documents rescinded said. “One of the rescinded policy documents was the transition program, On Oct. 20, the Department of which teaches students the skills and Education removed 72 important policy tools needed [to] apply for a job and [live documents pertaining to special education independently].” (SPED) students. According to Newsy, Senior John Szieff participates in an the documents included important after-school dance program called “Ready, guidelines for federal funding, independent Willing & Able” that unites high school living skills services and other vocational students with special education peers programs, yet the Office of Special through dance. Education and Rehabilitative Services “I am very aggravated [by the actions of reported that the documents were the Department of Education],” Szieff said. deemed either outdated, superseded or “Everyone deserves an equal opportunity inaccurate. Unless the Department of and those students with disabilities need Education proceeds to improve or replace specialized treatment to fit their needs.” the rescinded Similarly, documents, as a club called the Chicago “My friends who take classes Best Buddies Tribune stated pairs SPED it may, SPED through the special education students with students may other students suffer some programs [on campus] are some of to engage in roadblocks various activities and schools the most hardworking and dedicated together. The might club functions struggle to students I know.” independently appropriately from school and determine -Senior Kaitlyn tang builds strong how federal relationships funds would be spent. among all students. “Initially, I was shocked [and] worried,” “My friends who take classes SPED instructor Crestina Quesada said. through the special education programs “A majority of the students not only [on campus] are some of the most benefit from services directly provided hardworking and dedicated students I in their schools, but also from at-home know,” senior and four-year member of services as well as services provided after Best Buddies Kaitlyn Tang said. “This is high school graduation.” why I believe that even with unsatisfactory According to The Chicago Tribune, educational program [changes], students some of the documents that were cut in the special education programs will have been in place since the 1980s. With continue to achieve success.” such longevity, removing them is quite While faith in the SPED students is alarming. Over time, alterations may be unwavering, there still exists a resounding made, but if a document has remained voice of concern from students on for decades without change, there is no campus. Although the 72 documents may doubting its integral contributions to the soon be replaced by clarified, modernized SPED program. documents, the removal of such important “One of the main goals in special policies is uncalled for and its rippling education is to better support students to effects should not negatively influence the be successful outside of school,” Quesada futures of Peninsula’s SPED students.
GIGI WARGIN
d
(6)
oo / Th Alex y
focus
e Pen
Students express their passions for m Chun Leads colburn school Orchestra as Concertmaster Saffy Laurio Junior Allen Chun’s lifelong passion for music has now led him to receive the title of the concertmaster at The Colburn School, a school for musically gifted students. The concertmaster is the head violinist and leads the entire string section. He is the second most important member of the orchestra, behind the conductor. Chun began his career as concertmaster his sophomore year and was chosen for the position because of his dedicated practice and his close relationship to the conductor. “The conductor really liked me,” Chun said. “I built a really good relationship with him and practiced a lot, [which is why] he ended up choosing me for concertmaster. [Being concertmaster last year] influenced my position for this year.” Chun’s parents are the ones who first encouraged him to pursue playing the violin. He began taking violin lessons at the age of four while he was living in Korea. Initially, Chun disliked playing the violin, but over time, he grew passionate about classical music and ultimately, playing the instrument. “Music is everything to me,” Chun said. “I relate to classical music on another level because classical
music creates emotions that you cannot feel in other music. I know you can hear a happy song or a sad song in pop music, but classical music is like another feeling.” Despite his love for music, his job as concertmaster is stressful and time consuming for Chun, especially combined with being a busy student. The concertmaster has many tasks and responsibilities, such as cuing the string section and focusing on his own solos. “You have to make sure everybody in orchestra is doing what they are supposed to be doing and you have to be cuing certain parts of the music,” Chun said. “You also must have a really good relationship with the conductor so you can talk to everybody else. [I am seated] right up front at the center of the stage, right in front of the audience, so they can see everything I am doing.” Junior Jeehoon Kim, a close friend of Chun, is also a musician at The Colburn School. Kim is the principal oboist, which means he is often working closely with Chun. He emphasizes the importance of the entire orchestra working together. “Allen and I are both extremely happy that we perform music together,” Kim said. “We both love
the music and try to lead the orchestra together as much as possible. All the orchestra members definitely need to be in synchronization or else the music is not great.” Alison Verderber, The Colburn School’s orchestra manager, greatly enjoys working with Chun. Despite this being her first year working with Chun, she sees his excellent skills as a musician and a leader. “It is great having a responsible concertmaster who can help rehearsals run smoothly,” Verderber said. “Having to lead [multiple sections] can be an extremely challenging task even for professionals, and Allen has been doing a great job. I cannot wait to see what he accomplishes this year.” Chun is considering pursuing a career as a violinist, but acknowledges the competitiveness of the music world and his parents’ wishes for him to go into other areas of study. “If I had a choice I would definitely become a violinist,” Chun said. “Joining a professional orchestra is a life accomplishment, but I do not know if I am going to major in music or not. For now, I just enjoy playing the violin.”
focus (7) klose Creates mural of musicians in choir room Saffy Laurio Senior Rebecca Klose has recently begun painting a mural in the choir room. Choir director Dan Doctor had originally planned to decorate the room with posters, but after announcing the idea to members of choir, Klose, choir president, offered to paint on it instead. The mural currently features two complete faces, singers John Lennon and Bob Marley, and one incomplete face, Jim Morrison. Underneath each of the artist’s faces is a lyric from one of the their well-known songs. Below Lennon reads, “Give peace a chance,” from his song “Give Peace a Chance.” Below Marley reads, “None but ourselves can free our minds,” from his song “Redemption Song.” Klose has faced challenges in painting this mural, especially
because she has limited experience in this field and is working alone. However, she is glad to be doing something to help liven up the choir room, a place she frequently spends her time in. “[Working on the mural] is a really fun side
“Looking at those [inspiring] people on the walls inspires all of us. Whenever we look at the mural it gives us a reminder as to why we are in the room and [what] we are working to be.” - Senior Naomi Drayton project for me,” Klose said. “It makes me really happy to know that I can do things that are impactful. [It has been difficult painting with little experience], but after the first panel I got some confidence
in my abilities and I think that is why I am able to keep going.” Doctor has been the one to choose who and what is painted on the mural. The next artist to be painted on the wall is singer Joni Mitchell. The entirety of the mural is still uncertain, however Doctor plans to choose artists that come from many different decades. So far, he has been selecting artists that he was influenced by while he was in high school. “Ultimately, I love music, but somewhere along the way it became a job, and I stopped loving the music itself as much,” Doctor said. “[When I was in high school], I was listening to these artists on the mural, and it inspires me daily. It adds such a personal touch to the room.” Many have noticed the positive change in the choir room. Senior choir member Naomi Drayton is thankful for how Klose’s work has improved the room. “Looking at those [inspiring] people on the walls inspires all of us,” Drayton said. “Whenever we look at the mural it gives us a reminder as to why we are in the room and [what] we are working to be.”
music Chang releases R&B and hip-hop tracks on soundcloud Nicole Khalil Senior Nicholas Chang is an aspiring music producer who has created several rhythm and blues (R&B) tracks through SoundCloud, an online music platform where budding artists promote and share their compositions. During his sophomore year, Chang wanted to rap, but could not afford the proper equipment that was essential in producing his own rhythms and beats. “I realized this passion [for music] at [the] age [of] 16,” Chang said. “Music was an opportunity for me to express my feelings and emotions through the notes of a song.” Instead of giving up, Chang turned to workstations such as GarageBand, an audio program that provides users with a variety of instrumental presets, to produce rhythms. Chang began to experiment with not only R&B music, but hip-hop as well. “I have always loved to listen to [popular rappers such as] Drake, Post Malone and 2 Chainz,” Chang said. “Songs with heavy bass and catchy notes are [the types of songs] that I like to make.” Over time, Chang has noticed drastic improvement in both the quality and creativity of
his work. “My first tracks on SoundCloud were more of a practice round for me,” Chang said. “I used to make simple beats, but now I make my own sample loops.” In his most recent track, titled “All of a Sudden”, Chang demonstrates his improvement as an artist and producer. For the first time, Chang sampled a vocal clip from the American hip-hop duo, Moosh and Twist. “I have lots of beats [and] instrumentals on my computer, but I have never had any vocals over [the beat],” Chang said. “It was the perfect flow.” After composing this track, Chang wanted to make more tracks that incorporated vocals, and was open to collaborating with fellow students. When releasing new tracks, Chang normally relies on his friend senior Armon Gorgani to evaluate his work. “Nicholas has always had a knack for music,” Gorgani said. “I try to help him out whenever I can to be his personal ‘hype man’, to get him to constantly release new music.” Gorgani admits his work on SoundCloud was good, but realizes Chang’s potential and knows he can do much better.
“Nicholas started to develop his own style,” Gorgani said. “His flow became smoother and more versatile when rapping and producing the music for his songs.” Gorgani also believes Chang’s involvement in music has improved his confidence. “I believe music has helped him become a much more outgoing person,” Gorgani said. “Nicholas is generally quiet but through his music he is willing to go on stage and sing to a sizeable group of people for world culture night.” Chang is anticipating a collaboration with University of California, Santa Barbara sophomore, Tristan Jai, who is also an R&B producer. “I follow Nicholas on Instagram and I see him posting tracks where he raps and produces beats,” Jai said. “I saw his talent as an opportunity to work together.” Jai saw Chang’s goals of becoming a producer as a learning experience and believes that through future collaborations, the producers will learn new skills from one another. With Jai’s admiration for jazzier beats and Chang’s upbeat rhythm preference, the artists look forward to combining their unique styles. Until then, Chang will continue to improve his recently discovered musical talent and appease his growing audience.
(8)
ads
student life (9)
tumelt
y / The P
en
Jasanis makes his mark in the costume industry
connor
Rachel liu and connor tumelty / The Pen
elissa luce
for his costumes. Customers can contact Jasanis through email or direct message to request a custom-made Sophomore Aidan Jasanis’s costume. Due to his love for Harry Potter, interest in costume making started in February when he and Jasanis aesthetically packages his products to be similar to letters in the Harry Potter movies. When his co-worker Joyce McCarthy an outfit is ready for the client, he wraps it in a bundle made a Harry Potter quidditch of parchment paper, ties it with yarn and seals it with robe costume for a birthday wax. party that he was hired to “I really like to make it look like an owl delivered the character host. As a character package,” Jasanis said. “I feel like it makes the buyer feel more host, Jasanis dresses and acts as special when their costume is finally a character and attends done.” various events as the Another person who supported Jasanis entertainment. McCarthy, in his passion for costume making was his also a character hostess, was the person friend Chad Evett. He has encouraged Jasanis who first taught him many of the techniques to continually advance his passion for making and skills required in sewing the costumes. costumes. Evett is a professional costume maker, “I am extremely proud of Aidan,” McCarthy so getting feedback from him is extremely beneficial said. “Costuming is a billion dollar industry that to Jasanis. He also assisted Jasanis throughout the needs creative and patient designers and seamstresses entire process by giving him more information about [like him]. He pays attention to details that I see people costume making. who graduated from Fashion Institute of Design & “Costume making, [along with] art of any kind, is Merchandising coming up with, [which has proven to me extremely important because it presents a release and that] he is a natural-born designer.” allows the brain to work and grow in ways that it does not Over the course of the month following his first job, always get to in a day-to-day capacity,” Evett said. “Aidan’s Jasanis learned a few basic skills in sewing and watched growth as an artist will benefit him in a fulfilling way.” tutorials online to learn more intricate techniques. Jasanis is unsure if he will pursue costume making After realizing that costume making was becoming a professionally, but he plans to continue making clothes as a hobby. Because of the big larger part of his life, he decided to dedicate more time to it and quit character time commitment and amount of work involved, he feels that making costumes should hosting. remain a passion rather than a career. Most of Jasanis’s costumes are inspired by Harry Potter, one of the fictional “I have learned overall that patience is key; costume making has taught me that characters he is most interested in. He has made a variety of costumes, sometimes it is okay to take your time,” Jasanis said. “I have also learned to enjoy the including oxford heels that he modified to resemble Harry Potter’s Beauxbaton experience instead of rushing, and that if you work hard enough, you will succeed.” School shoes, dresses and hats, mainly using polyester and satin as materials
“Costume making, [along with] art of any kind, is extremely important because it presents a release and allows the brain to work and grow in ways that it does not always get to in a day-to-day capacity.” -Chad evett
(10)
sports
the par-fect season Taylor Yoo
Girls’ golf makes a mark and wins Bay League Championships Asumi Shuda On Oct. 19, varsity girls’ golf won the Southern Bay League Championships at the Palos Verdes Golf Course for the first time in five years. With a 5-1 Bay League Record, the girls wrapped up the season with a considerable victory. At a Bay League game against Mira Costa High School (Mira Costa) on Oct. 17, Peninsula won with 13 strokes to spare. “[The Mira Costa girls’ golf team’s] coach said that [this game] was the first Bay League match that [their team] has lost, so it is a pretty big deal for us to beat them this year,” varsity coach Glenn Van Enk said. “We have a good core group of five to seven players, and that is generally how you win matches.” Since the team does not have any seniors on their roster this year, there have been issues with the succession of the captain position and the lack of veteran players. Nonetheless, players have credited sophomores who moved
up from junior varsity to varsity for reinforcing the stability of the team. According to Van Enk, on Oct. 30, varsity finished a tournament at Los Robles Golf Course with a team score of 413. Freshman Jordan Hahn-Ali, along with sophomore Casey Syal and junior Momoka Sasaki, scored 78, which were the team’s lowest individual scores. The team’s performance has given Van Enk a sense of security for the
future of his team. “I think that this year’s team was pretty positive, [which] helped us believe that we could beat the other teams,” varsity player Casey Syal said. “I think that [being Bay League champions] keeps us on track because the whole team knows that we have achieved that goal and [can work] to get there.” From the start of the team’s season
“[being Bay League champions] keeps us on track because the whole team knows that we have achieved that goal and [can work] to get there.” - Sophomore Casey Syal
in August, they have won a total of ten matches and tournaments and lost four. The team achieved a league record of 5-1, winning matches against South High School, North High School and Mira Costa. According to the players, these accomplishments could not have been possible without their strong teamwork and dedication. “Everyone works with each other, and we all share a desire to work as a team,” sophomore and varsity player Eujin Oh said. “Even though some days are tough, our love of the sport remains strong and inspiring.” Oh believes that although team wins are based on individual growth, the support the girls give to one another is essential to a successful match. “In all of my years in coaching, I have noticed that the girls always somehow get along,” Van Enk said. “[The players] all share a love for golf and are very supportive of each other, which makes it really fun to work with these kids.”
sports (11)
baseball buddies Unified Sports clinics and games unite Peninsula athletes and Skills for Independence students
courtesy of betsy fujinaga rachel liu / The pen
[
the skills for independence class takes a team photo on the field on oct. 29. the students played with the baseball team.
[
matthew drayton (11) makes his way over to first base. the students practiced with the varsity players.
[
Through the recent implementation of the Unified Sports clinics at Peninsula, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been given the opportunity to connect and engage with others without disabilities. The program joins these students with athletes by putting them on the same sports team to train and play together. Run by Best Buddies International, the nonprofit organization’s main goals include promoting meaningful inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, fostering friendship and socialization through positive social interaction and increasing awareness of the spirit and skills of students with disabilities. On behalf of Peninsula’s Best Buddies Club, students in the Skills for Independence class are able to partake in these special clinics. The Unified Sports clinics provide opportunities for the entire student body. “Our goal for the program is to have the students in our Skills for Independence class experience new things and maybe find a new interest,” junior and club president Amber Van Enk said. “We also want to give people on our sports teams a chance to meet and interact with the students in Skills for Independence.” On Oct. 29, the Unified Sports program brought the baseball team together with the students of the Skills for Independence class to take part in the clinic. Students with disabilities participated in a 30 minute baseball game, competing with and against members of the baseball team. During this activity, the students engaged in warm ups and learned basic sports skills, practices and play. Adaptive equipment, such as baseball tees, were provided by Adaptive Physical Education instructor Melissa DeCasas in order to aid the
Skills for Independence students during the game. Members of the baseball team lent their jerseys to the students for the duration of the activity. Junior Joe Kelly participated in the event and felt that the program left a strong impression on him. “The program is important because it gives students the chance to have fun and engage with others while also being outside,” Kelly said. “This program showed me how these students are able to appreciate every little moment in life.” The students in the Skills for Independence class have also been able to collaborate with various sports teams within Peninsula, such as girls’ and boys’ lacrosse, pole vault, varsity dance and football. Further collaborations have also been planned with coed choreo and softball. The recreation program is a newly introduced idea for this season that includes a practice session every Monday for the month of November. On Nov. 30, the students of the Skills for Independence class will participate in a competition on the softball field where anyone can attend. The Unified Sports programs have proved to be successful during their infancy at Peninsula. The programs and activities have been able to take place largely due to the teamwork of students, athletes, coaches and the special education staff. “Peninsula has an accepting school culture, so I am really grateful that it has not been a huge challenge to meet with the coaches, assess interest and receive some enthusiasm for these opportunities,” special education teacher Betsy Fujinaga said. “I think it is a really exciting opportunity and experience for the athletes as well as for our students. I am really grateful and appreciative of the collaborative effort that it takes for these clinics to occur and also for the enthusiasm we are receiving from the coaches and teams.”
[
Christopher Guanzing
(12)
ads