Issue 2

The new mandated Ethnic Studies course is a step toward a more interdisciplinary approach to education

VOL. XLII ISSUE 2 OCTOBER 29, 2021

STUDENT LIFE PAGE 8

A GENDER-NEUTRAL GAP Concern arises over the lack of gender-neutral public facilities

ON THE HOUSE New mandate requires free menstrual products in school bathrooms

DARE TO DALGONA? Freshman explores the history and recipe of the Korean candy dalgona

OPINION PAGE 3

NEWS PAGE 5

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 11

2 Students discuss the removal of vaccine mandates at festivals Goldenvoice, the company that hosts popular annual music festivals such as Coachella and Stagecoach, announced in August that they would require attendees of the 2022 festivals to have proof of vaccination as of Oct. 1, but they changed this policy on Oct. 12 (Rolling Stone). Attendees may now provide a negative coronavirus (COVID-19) test taken within 72 hours of the event they are attending instead of proof of vaccination, likely leading to a large number of unvaccinated people going to events. Although Goldenvoice has rescinded their previous vaccine mandate, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) clearly states that the unvaccinated population should still avoid crowded areas to better prevent chances of COVID-19 transmission. Goldenvoice’s decision sets a precedent for future events to be an unsafe environment for unvaccinated people, as they may harm others or themselves by transmitting the virus. With a total of 83,000 new cases daily in the U.S., events that attract many people are likely to spread COVID-19, and will only worsen the already-high number of cases.

Music festivals without steadfast vaccine mandates are disregarding the severity of the pandemic; event coordinators should recognize that getting vaccinated is essential to public safety.

“I think there should be a vaccine mandate for Coachella,” freshman Jocelyn Grimme said.

“Considering the amount of [close contact] interactions [at festivals], there is definitely a high chance of spreading COVID-19.”

A poll from the Associated Press National Opinion Research Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 79 percent of vaccinated people want vaccine mandates for concerts and would be likely to avoid events without vaccine mandates. As this faction is now unlikely to attend Goldenvoice’s

events, the majority of partygoers will likely be unvaccinated. This decreases herd immunity, which is when a majority of people in a community have higher immunity from the vaccine or from having antibodies due to previously having COVID-19.

Though the option to supply proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours may seem like a viable alternative, it does not prove that partygoers do not have COVID-19 upon attending the event, as there are many opportunities for exposure within such a large amount of time. Goldenvoice originally did not require vaccines for their festivals, thus when they changed the policy they offered refunds to the many upset, unvaccinated customers. It is speculated that this backlash led them to reverse this mandate; after all, at its core, Goldenvoice organizes festivals and must generate revenue, no matter what the cost is to public safety. With this in mind, potential customers should consider the CDC’s guidelines, state and local governments, and decide whether they will feel safe attending an event where partygoers may spread COVID-19. Though it is largely accepted that vaccine mandates are necessary to end the pandemic, some factions still believe there are cases where it is unfair to block the unvaccinated from attending events.

“It is a gray area for me,” senior Bella D’Ambrosi said.

“I would feel unsafe going to a festival where people may have COVID-19, but it is also unfair [to prohibit unvaccinated customers from attending] who cannot or choose not to get vaccinated for reasons such as age, medical conditions or not having [parental] permission.”

Some opposed to the vaccine mandate argue that they are simply exercising their constitutional right to make decisions about their lives, but “exercising your rights” should not extend to harming others.

According to the CDC, the COVID-19 vaccine has an efficiency of 95 percent, and not getting vaccinated increases the chances of endangering other people’s health. Getting the COVID-19 vaccination is every individual’s own choice,

but if they choose not to, they should accept the consequences of not being able to attend large festivals.

Due to a new ordinance approved by the LA City Council on Oct. 6 requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter indoor restaurants and other indoor venues, many businesses are already mandating vaccines; yet music festivals with more than 250,000 attendees have not done so.

In addition to this, the large crowds of people in close proximity at Coachella and Stagecoach make it difficult to follow social distancing guidelines and regulate the spread. Though some feel that vaccine mandates are a violation of their personal freedoms, the choice to be unvaccinated carries the potential to harm others, so vaccine mandates should not be considered a tool to exclude people from attending events, but rather one to create spaces with the highest amount of COVID-19 protection that prioritizes everyone’s safety.

“I think it is fair to have a vaccine mandate because most people are unvaccinated due to [their personal beliefs] instead of medical reasons,” freshman Stella Schwab said. “The [COVID-19 vaccine] mandate would personally make me feel safer, and it would hopefully encourage others to get vaccinated too.”

180 SCHOOL DAYS, MORE THAN ONE SHOOTING A DAY The Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own and bear arms, but it does not address the concern for those on the receiving end of the barrel. Nikolas Cruz, who opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, plead guilty for 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder on Oct. 20. This court hearing has reinvigorated the discourse surrounding gun control, a conversation that has greatly quieted recently. Despite this silence, instances of gun violence in the U.S. are far from over; rather, the frequent nature of shootings has caused the general public to grow desensitized to the ever-pressing issue.

Given that the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting was over three years ago and its ensuing severity, one would think there would have been more action taken since then to prevent gun violence on school campuses.

Directly following this massacre, there were anti-gun violence protests across the country titled March for Our Lives on Mar. 24, 2018, with students across the nation joining in and staging walk-outs in an attempt to curb the issue. There was much discussion about the matter and pushes for various legislation to be passed, yet nothing substantial was done on a national scale to regulate the number of mass shootings.

Now, there seems to be a lack of urgency regarding school shootings. In the past month alone, 25 mass shootings have been recorded in the Gun Violence Archive, yet most Americans are unaware of this or simply scroll past the article without much shock. Though the news covers incidents almost daily about yet another person opening fire in a public space, there is a lack of coverage regarding these incidents on large-scale media platforms and a lack of outrage among the people. On Oct. 17, one person was killed and seven more were wounded at Grambling State University in Louisiana when a gunman opened fire at the university’s homecoming event (National

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Broadcasting Company). A life was lost and multiple serious injuries resulted, yet there were hardly any posts spreading this news and the number of articles about the incident are minimal. Conversely, every news site and social media platform has been flooded with discussions about cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’s death on Oct. 21, which was caused by the accidental firing of a prop gun by actor and producer Alec Baldwin on the set of the upcoming film “Rust”. This accident led to assistant director Dave Halls’s job termination, as the incident is seen as negligence on his part for not properly checking if there were live rounds in the firearm before handing it to Baldwin. As tragic as Hutchins’s death is, it is hard to ignore the discrepancy between coverage over a shooting involving a popular actor in the entertainment industry and the shootings that occur on school campuses. Given the frequency of school shootings in the U.S., if every new shooting were to be discussed on an equal grand scale, there would be hardly any space to cover other pressing events. Unfortunately, this has led to radio silence about each new incident that involves schools, the public completely desensitized and used to seeing these stories far too often.

This numbness to shootings is a main contributor to why change is not being made. With such a small number of people protesting the far-too-loose gun laws in this country and the mindset that gun violence is “just the way it is”, those who hold political power are not being pushed to enact legislation to help curb the problem and strive to keep students safe. The Second Amendment has always been a greatly-contested political point, but it should go beyond a debate topic when it concerns public safety. If people stop ignoring the headlines about the latest school shooting and instead take note of these incidents and rebuild the momentum that was started in 2018 with March for Our Lives, there is a greater chance for change to be made regarding gun restrictions, which is a step forward in ensuring that school campuses are a safe place to be.

GENDER-NEUTRAL BATHROOMS: A NECESSARY AND BASIC RIGHT In recent years, efforts to make public facilities accessible for people of all identities have been faced with strong opposition, especially when it comes to gendersegregated facilities such as bathrooms or changing rooms.

A common argument used by transphobic individuals is that transgender women “are actually men” and therefore pose a danger to cisgender women in female spaces.

However, a 2018 study conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law found no correlation between transgender-friendly public nondiscrimination laws and reports of crime in gender-segregated facilities (National Broadcasting Company News). The issue of gender-neutral spaces is a prevalent one, as Black, transgender and nonbinary actor Suni Reid recently filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming that they experienced an unlawful termination of contract from “Hamilton: An American Musical” (“Hamilton”) after requesting a gender-neutral dressing room (Time Magazine). Reid’s account of their time on “Hamilton” reveals a discriminatory reality that transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people must navigate through when working in locations that are heavily gendered.

“I think that [Reid’s] claims are justified,” sophomore Akiko Kono said. “Everyone has a right to [be safe] in the workplace, and if they did not feel like that, then I do think they were right to speak up about it. Progress only comes [from] asking for it.”

Examples of additional accusations that Reid listed in their complaint, such as misgendering and physical harassment, are also indicative of what many LGBTQ+ students encounter in school bathrooms. According to data collected by GLSEN, a nonprofit organization advocating

for LGBTQ+ youth in school settings, around two-thirds of transgender students avoid school bathrooms because they feel uncomfortable or unsafe using these facilities.

While Peninsula has nine gender-neutral staff bathrooms scattered across the campus, they are only available to students upon request. Even in gender-segregated bathrooms, conditions are not ideal for transgender students who wish to use them.

“I noticed that a lot of the guys’ bathroom stalls [are not really paid attention to by the school],’’ senior Mikey Abrams said. “I guess they forget that trans guys exist, so a lot of the bathroom stalls do not have doors on them, the locks are broken or they [do] not have toilet paper. These are reasons why I do not really like going into the guys’ bathrooms. Personally, I would love it if all bathrooms are gender-neutral.”

Assembly Bill 1732, the 2016 California law stating that any one-toilet bathroom in public institutions must be designated as available to all genders, has pushed many schools to integrate a few gender-neutral bathrooms for faculty and students, yet the change is far from widespread (Los Angeles Times). It is absolutely within the right of schools to maintain existing gender-segregated bathrooms, but it is also well within the right of LGBTQ+ students to ask that schools make certain adjustments.

After all, schools have the responsibility of providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for every student, and adding gender-neutral bathrooms would be a significant step towards achieving that goal.

“I do not see [gender-neutral bathrooms] as a political issue,” Latin 1, 2, 3, 3H, Advanced Placement and World History teacher Bettina de Guzman said. “I see it as a humanitarian one. I cannot even politicize it; I just think it is about letting students who need to go to the bathroom… go to the bathroom.”

THE PEN PALOS VERDES PENINSULA HIGH SCHOOL 27118 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274 EDITORS IN CHIEF Keila Bara Caitlyn Lee HEADS OF DESIGN Shai Becker Sakura Sasaki HEAD OF BUSINESS Makayla Lui ADVISER Jaymee DeMeyer PUBLICITY PUBLICITY MANAGER: Victoria Rhodes WEBSITE MANAGER: Savanna Messner Rodriguez OPINION EDITOR: Clara Reckhorn WRITERS: Leigh Fitch Audrey Lin Sarah Porter NEWS EDITOR: Jeremy Kim WRITER: Aarushi Chaudhari Christian Downs Zahra Habib Richard Sierk FOCUS EDITOR: Hannah Corr WRITERS: Jacelyn Chen Brian Park Neha Sambangi STUDENT LIFE EDITOR: Nomi Tsogmagnai WRITERS: Tessa Kang McKenna McCallister Juliette Lin Lauren Webster ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/SPORTS EDITOR: Jenna Long WRITERS: Nick Jones Josie Kwak Eleanor Olsen Kuru Romanov GRAPHICS Hana Fujii Kiara Lee Jihee Seo Lynn Takahashi Brooke Vo ADS Riley Leongkaye Hana Rivera Priya Thakar “The Pen” is the student newspaper produced by the advanced jounalism students of Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. It is published eight times per year. Advertising inquiries may be directed to Head of Business Makayla Lui at (310)753-9550.

Copyright © 2021 COVER DESIGN BY SAKURA SASAKI

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OIL SPILL OOZES IN ORANGE COUNTY After residents near Huntington Beach started to smell oil fumes on Oct. 1, it was discovered that an oil spill had occurred off the coast of California.

The source of the spill was reported to be a pipe carrying oil from an offshore rig, which is currently estimated to have released around 25,000 gallons, or about 588 barrels, of crude oil (National Public Radio). The pipeline is owned by Houston-based energy company Amplify Energy Corporation (Amplify). Currently, state officials are still investigating the cause of the oil spill. However, the pipeline is suspected to have been damaged by a cargo ship’s anchor running past it several months ago, which eventually led to the pipe’s rupture. Due to the spill, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach were temporarily closed until Oct. 11 and a cleanup by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is currently in progress (National Public Radio).

The effects of an oil spill often impacts surrounding ecosystems (New York Times). This oil spill specifically affects the nearby salt marshes in Orange County which are particularly fragile environments due to the erosion and sediment stability issues salt marshes usually have. Because of this, an oil spill could be devastating to current conservation efforts by local nonprofit organizations. Freshman Chiyo Shirakatl feels that the oil spill could have lasting effects on the areas affected. “[The oil spill] is a really big problem,” Shirakatl said. “Even if they stop it, there is not really a good solution to [ensure the removal of] the oil [from the marshes]. The effects of an oil spill can last a long time.”

Talbert Marsh, a 25-acre marsh near the coast of Huntington Beach and a habitat for around 90 species of birds, was one of the most impacted marshes as a result of the oil spill, as an oily sheen is currently visible on the surface of the water (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Oil spills can pose a risk to marine life--birds lose the water repellency of their feathers, leaving them at risk of dying of hypothermia, and fish often face reduced growth and enlarged livers, with fish eggs and larvae being particularly vulnerable. Senior Prudence Bhattarai believes that fish are an important resource for locals, so she sees the oil spill as a cause for concern.

“A lot of people rely on the fish as a source of food,” Bhattarai said. “[So,] it is important we take care of the environment [because we rely on it].”

The ocean is often used as a source of food and profit such as through fisheries and the tourism industry; thus, oil spills can cause a disruption to the people and companies near the affected area. Amplify has taken responsibility for the cost of the cleanup, as per the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and if inspections find that the oil spill was caused by neglect from Amplify, then the company could be prosecuted. However, if the inspection manages to prove that a cargo ship’s anchor caused the leak, which is the currently-suspected cause, Amplify could attempt to recover its losses from the responsible company (Associated Press). Junior Thomas Phillips knows the oil spill has both economic and environmental downsides, though he recognizes the main victim from the disaster was the environment.

“It is good to raise awareness of oil spills since not all people can see firsthand the consequences,” Phillips said. “Spills can have big effects on the environment, so it is good to call attention to [the negative effects].”

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A WIN FOR WOMEN

Governor Newsom mandates free menstrual products in public schools

Effective starting in the 2022-23 academic year, California public schools and colleges are required to stock their bathrooms with free menstrual products under a mandate that was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 8. This bill is Assembly Bill (AB) 367, also called the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021, and applies to schools serving students in sixth through 12th grade, community colleges and the California State University system, a network of 23 campuses. AB 367 follows efforts from women’s rights advocates, namely Cristina Garcia, a California State Assemblymember, to make pads, tampons and other menstrual products affordable. An advocate for period dignity policies, Garcia was the one who introduced the legislation to Newsom.

Affordable access to pads, tampons and other menstrual items is necessary, as according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) most women spend around seven years of their life on their period. While periods are an inevitable part of most women’s lives, an estimated 500 million females globally lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (World Bank). Referred to as period poverty, the lack of access to basic period products can lead to physical health risks such as reproductive and urinary tract infections (UNICEF). Period poverty does not just cause health issues; nearly one in five girls in the U.S. has missed school due to a lack of period products (Always). Yoga and Service Learning Leadership teacher Heather Myrick finds it unjust that the inability to afford period products can interfere with these girls’ education.

“I do not like to think [that] any person, family, child or girl going without something that they need or something hygiene-related [inhibits them] from going to school,” Myrick said. “I want students to be able to go to school, learn and thrive, so if there are some basic hygiene products that are needed, providing them [is a step toward helping curb this problem].”

When describing the legislation, Garcia expressed how “our biology

NAPKIN

does not always send an advanced warning when we are about to start menstruating, which means we need to stop whatever we are doing and deal with a period. Having convenient and free access to these products would alleviate the anxiety of trying to find a product when out in public” (American Broadcasting Company News). Having menstrual items be easily accessible in schools will help many, as it will relieve the stress of having to search for a product after being surprised with a period. Sophomore Claire Dokko agrees that menstrual products being readily available in school will be helpful for a lot of students on campus.

“Easier access to sanitary products would definitely make life easier for many students,” Dokko said. “If there was a definite, reliable supply of menstrual products [provided] for me and my peers, this would save us a lot of trouble.”

The wave of women’s rights activists pushing for affordable access to pads, tampons and other menstrual items has not only influenced California law but also laws all over the globe. In November of 2020, Scotland became the first country to make period products free for all, which inspired Garcia to introduce AB 367 to Newsom (British Broadcasting Corporation). In a statement on Oct. 8, Garcia said, “Scotland showed the world this pioneering policy can be passed and become law. I propose we build upon California’s prior menstrual equity laws by declaring that access to menstrual products is a human right.” One prior menstrual equity law that was also introduced by Garcia was the decision to repeal taxes on menstrual products, which cost women approximately $20 million a year (National Broadcasting Company). Sophomore Audrey Yu hopes that AB 367 will lead to affordable access to sanitary products nationwide.

“We can only hope that the mandate in California will cause a domino effect of sorts,” Yu said. “If California starts normalizing having products stocked in bathrooms, other states could catch on. Right now, many states still charge menstrual products as luxury items, but maybe this step [to provide them free of charge] could allow more people in America to realize that these are simply basic necessities.”

TAMPON

6 “DEVIOUS LICK” TREND ON TIKTOK When an anonymous user posted a video taking apart a hand sanitizer dispenser and shattering its case on the bathroom floor on the social media platform TikTok, the video instantly went viral, now surpassing 2.7 million views since its posting on Sept. 6. The video’s caption reads “only a month into school and got this absolute devious lick”, which inspired other similar videos with the hashtag #deviouslicks.

Because the video depicts the damaging of school property, it has been taken down by TikTok in an attempt to stop the trend. However, the video influenced other students to repost or stitch together their own TikTok videos with footage of themselves stealing sinks and bathroom stall doors, as well as defacing exit signs.

When the first “devious licks” video went viral, many people wanted their videos to go viral just as the first one did, leading to thousands of students defacing school property. According to The Harvard Crimson, the bigger the object students were stealing, the more impressive they were considered to the audiences of TikTok and the more views they would accumulate for their videos.

Junior Grace Kim, an avid TikTok user, sees why “devious licks” may be an enjoyable trend to some.

“I think people are enjoying this trend because [they view] it as a source of entertainment,” Kim said. “Most people in school are rebellious, but destroying school property should not be done because of their [immaturity].

They do it because they want to be seen as cool and [post] enjoyable [content for] their viewers.”

With “devious licks” becoming more known worldwide, it has managed to make its way onto Peninsula’s campus, specifically the Silver Spur building’s boys bathroom. Anonymous students took the stall doors down, causing the bathroom to be shut down on Sept.

19. Sophomore Prachod Kakatur is concerned about how this trend directly affects campus.

“This trend has affected our school in very negative ways,” Kakatur said.

“The cost of the stolen item, [and] also the harming of other people, [has

taken a toll] on the school. The trend encourages people to perform terrible actions that can be [damaging to the school] and the community as a whole.”

Since the trend’s peak on Sept.

11, videos of users participating in the “devious lick” trend have been appearing less often than before. This decrease could be attributed to TIkTok’s announcement that any captions or hashtags with the words “devious lick” will be banned, as it violates community guidelines. World History teacher and junior varsity water polo coach Charles Kim believes that the students who partake in the “devious lick” trend should be punished properly and wants students to recognize how dangerous their actions can be.

“I think social media is a way to grab people’s attention, whether it is [in] a positive or negative way,” Charles Kim said. “This trend specifically has given the [negative] impression that the students want more attention from TikTok [viewers]. [Administrators] should ultimately punish the kids who are doing such damage to school property and give them a proper lesson for their infatuous decisions.”

The “devious lick” trend has remained a focal point on TikTok in the past few months, receiving more attention from TikTok audiences like students and teachers. With the damages that students have done to school property, school administrators have to deal with the repercussions.

Principal Dr. Brent Kuykendall is grateful the school has not had many students partake in the “devious lick” trend, yet he warns students on how their actions can hurt their reputation.

“I think [social media] will motivate students to make irresponsible decisions, which is a representation of [social media’s influence on students,]” Kuykendall said. “[It] is a trend students should certainly avoid.”

The “devious lick” trend, while starting off as a joke, developed into a major influence for teenagers. In schools around the country, students have been trying to “go viral” by stealing and defacing their school’s property. Through TikTok’s constant monitoring of their platform, they plan to remove the trend and create new restrictions for the app’s content.

7 FACEBOOK’S SIX-HOUR SHUTDOWN On Oct. 3, former Facebook data scientist Frances Hugen released findings about Facebook in a live interview with Columbia Broadcasting News (CBS) that the social media platform is generating content about suicide and inappropriate body image to its users’ feeds. Following Hugen’s allegations, Facebook shut down its services the next day along with their other social media platforms, Instagram and Whatsapp, for over six hours, leaving the public confused.

After releasing this information about Facebook’s algorithm, Hugen stepped down from her position to make a public statement on the company’s actions. One of Hugen’s claims expressed her belief that Facebook was used to organize the riot in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Though many Trump supporters were using the phrase “stop the steal”, Facebook never took down or investigated the posts that included this phrase, despite its violation of public safety guidelines. In addition to this issue, Hugen claims that Facebook and Instagram purposely display posts about harmful body images, suicidal thoughts and stress issues, which endangers the younger audiences on the platform (CBS). These targeted advertisements may suggest posts about dieting to achieve an ideal body, which can lead to many teenagers feeling insecure. Content that involves suicide, could in turn damage many users’ mental health, was also allowed on both Facebook and Instagram apps.

Freshman Sarah Choi has seen these kinds of advertisements and wishes the apps’ coders would limit them in order to protect younger users that could be influenced by its message.

“Instagram does help us communicate [with others digitally], but it also makes us try and compare our lives to the people we see on social media,” Choi said. “Possible limits or filters [that control the content] everyone has to see on their pages [would be one aspect I would like to change about social media].”

Since 2008, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp have not shut down their services, which has caused social media

users to question the cause for the company’s recent shutdown. Santhosh Janardhan, Facebook’s vice president, stated that “the platforms went down due to configuration changes on the backbone routers,” which caused issues with the servers. Cyber experts believe that the problem was with the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), which is a type of routing protocol for the Internet to exchange routing information with other systems. Other social media platforms also require the use of a BGP in their system. Though researchers have said the shutdown was a technical failure, many users have called out Facebook for shutting down their apps intentionally due to Hugen’s claims and changing their algorithm during the downtime (Computer Network).

Sophomore Vayuna Pradhan uses Facebook and believes that this new controversy behind its shutdown will affect the app’s usership negatively. “[The whistleblower’s revelation] is not good for Facebook’s reputation,” Pradhan said. “Lots of friends and family have said they started using Facebook because of the positive aspects like connecting with new people, and this issue of sharing certain types of feeds can decrease the amount of Facebook users.”

Regardless of the cause, many teenagers who could not access their accounts used this opportunity to reflect on their social media usage.

Some rediscovered old hobbies, while others took the time to be extra productive with their school work.

Junior Caroline Becker used the shutdown time to find new things to do, and chose to read and stay productive with schoolwork.

“I forced myself to read and do my homework instead of being on social media,” Becker said. “I usually do not read as much as I used to, so I took this as an opportunity to do another [productive] activity.”

The Facebook shutdown caused both harm and good. While the release of the statement of Hugen made users angry with Facebook and its other owned social media apps they own, many teenagers were able to take the time to reflect on social media’s uses and potentially dangerous content while finding hobbies to spend time learning

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CULTIVATING CULTURE ON CAMPUS

California curriculum incorporates Ethnic Studies

On Oct. 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 101, which requires all California public high schools to implement an Ethnic Studies course starting in the 2025-26 school year; The class is to span the course of one semester and be mandatory in order to graduate. Ethnic Studies is the study of race, ethnicity and indigeneity in the U.S. The course also addresses the experiences of specific communities of color and reasons why concepts such as xenophobia, anti-Blackness and Islamophobia are perpetuated (The California Department of Education). Peninsula’s campus has been reported to encompass 39.93 percent Asian, 11.34 percent Hispanic, 2.58 percent Black and 7.94 percent other students of color as of 2019. As a result of this course becoming an elective this year, students have the chance to feel more represented.

Much of the history taught in American compulsory education centers around the Western world as the most reliable source of knowledge (Samuel Center for Social Connectedness).

Mandatory classes labeled as “history” tend to focus on European history, while more diverse perspectives such as Indigenous and Black histories are often not offered or taught as optional electives. For example, African American history in the American school curriculum usually focuses on the span of time between the beginning of slavery and the end of the civil rights movement, omitting much of African history and culture beyond that period of time (The Atlantic). World History Honors, Ethics, Comparative Religion and Ethnic Studies teacher Mindy Webster believes instructing

intersectional material is necessary to spread effective conversations and ideas.

“In Ethnic Studies, we talk about the areas of history that are not focused [on] in a traditional U.S. history class and [examine] different perspectives,” Webster said. “I teach [about five] groups: Native Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans, Pacific Islanders, [and people in] the Middle East. Hopefully, if people can learn to discuss [nuanced] ideas in a respectful way, we can [also] come together on these controversial issues and find peace [through] discussion.”

The U.S. school system has a long history of under-representing racial minorities in their curriculum (George Lucas Educational Foundation).

In a 2015 study conducted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, it was found that the majority of teachers in the U.S. believed Black history to be essential in understanding U.S. but only under 10 percent of U.S. history classes were devoted to Black history (The Century Foundation). Starting last year, members of the Black Student Union (BSU) advocated for an Ethnic Studies course in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) because they felt as if they were not being represented in an inclusive way. In one of the final school board meetings on implementing Ethnic Studies occurring on Jan. 6, quotes from the BSU were highlighted. BSU board member and senior Kourtney Williams, who wrote an essay to PVPUSD explaining why an Ethnic Studies class is important, believes that while there is still space for improvement, the elective is overall beneficial and inclusive.

“The [school] board fits [the histories of numerous] ethnicities into a one-semester class, so [it is going to be] hard to address everything in that time,” Williams said. “[However,] I am grateful that our district is at least offering it as an [elective] class because students [will] still get the opportunity to learn about different backgrounds [and will be able to] approach each other with civility instead of prejudice.”

Educating students about race and identity in an interdisciplinary way through an Ethnic Studies course has a positive impact on future careers, citizenship and reasoning skills (National Education Association). One of the goals of the curriculum is to bring social awareness and responsiveness toward a common goal, as Ethnic Studies provides a connection that links education with community and encourages students to be the change and bring civic participation to state and federal degrees (The California Department of Education).

Senior Amanda Rucker, who is currently taking the Ethnic Studies elective, believes that it is better for students, no matter what ethnicity, to learn history from more sources than the generally-taught, whitewashed narrative.

“It is important to learn about history from every background because without this you have an incomplete story,” Rucker said. “Usually, [students of color] are targeted in certain instances [of ignorance], like with topics such as slavery or because of 9/11. This course shows how [true] history includes much more than these singular instances. [Learning these diverse histories] similarly affects [white] students in the same way and widens perspectives.”

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MENDOZA’S MESMERIZING MELODIES Since the age of six when she began learning how to play the piano, senior Angelina Mendoza has surpassed new musical milestones. Over the summer of 2021, Mendoza released two songs titled “Shadows” and “Ice Cream” on the music streaming service, Spotify. Although Mendoza has only recently released her music to the public, she wrote her first song “Paper Dolls” when she was 12 years old. This grew into a love for songwriting, and two years later she won first place for a piece she composed and submitted to the Reflections competition, a contest where students enter their artistic interpretation of a given theme. Following this win, Mendoza performed an original song about her grandmother at the Carnegie Hall concert venue in Claremont, CA on June 25, 2019. During the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Mendoza was inspired to write a song titled “Change” with the intent of speaking out against the injustice that the African American community faces.

Mendoza is now pursuing the production side of song composition, becoming more involved with the non-vocal aspect of music. Her songs include a variety of different instruments that she combines using technology. First, Mendoza writes the songs and composes a piano section to accompany it.

Then, for the other instruments she needs, she asks her producer, Hubie Wang, for a guitar sample

and records sounds using a MIDI keyboard, which can imitate different musical tools that are then weaved into the editing of the song. From the singing to the editing, Mendoza’s favorite aspect of composing music is seeing the transformation from start to finish.

“Writing the song and hearing the results is my favorite part,” Mendoza said. “You go from hearing it [played] with one instrument and your voice to hearing it with all of these [different] instruments, microphones and other cool high-tech stuff.”

Though Mendoza loves the production aspect of music composition, her roots are in songwriting, which serves as an outlet for her to illustrate her life experiences. Relationships are a common theme in Mendoza’s music, making senior Jaiden Thakor, Mendoza’s boyfriend, an influential figure in her songwriting process. This can be seen with Mendoza’s song “Ice Cream”, which was written about a night when the two went out together on a date. Thakor is enthusiastic about sharing the joy of being together with Mendoza as she creates more music.

“I am [eager] to see what else she writes about,” Thakor said. “She does a lot outside of school and athletics. I am excited to listen to more of her music. Her voice [and] her talent is amazing and I [look forward] to being a big part of that with her.”

Claudia Mendoza, Angelina Mendoza’s mother, feels touched every time she listens to the lyrics

of the two songs as it reminds her of Angelina Mendoza’s experiences and hard work throughout the years. She is proud of her daughter’s accomplishments and is eager to see what the future holds for Angelina Mendoza.

“I love that she has chosen music as a way of expressing herself,” Claudia Mendoza said.

“Being able to listen to something that she has created is incredibly special and touching. She is now venturing on [to] the production side [of songwriting] and I am excited to see how she develops. I am so proud of her voice, songwriting and production skills.”

Angelina Mendoza will continue to express herself musically as she enters the next stage of her life in college, where she seeks to minor in music. She intends for songwriting to remain an important part of her life, as she genuinely enjoys it. The music Angelina Mendoza creates is very personal to her, so she is interested in seeing how others interpret her songs.

“I have asked my friends what they think the songs are about, and I had them listen to more of my other ones [that are unreleased],” Angelina Mendoza said. “They [often] say something completely different than what it is about, [which] makes me [realize that the meaning] is different for everyone. So, if [my music] helps someone get through something, realize something or celebrate something, then that is [my] goal.

10

Junior beats seven-year-old record at cross country meet On Oct. 14, junior cross country runner Aishling Callanan broke a seven-year-old record at the first Bay League preliminary meet of the season, which was hosted by Palos Verdes High School and was exclusive to teams from schools in the South Bay. Callanan placed first out of 32 other varsity cross country girls on the three-mile course, finishing with a time of 18:23.72, while the second place runner finished more than 10 seconds after her with a time of 18:37.16. The previous record of 18:34 was set by Amber Gore from Redondo Union High School back in 2014 (Daily Breeze). Callanan has already accomplished one of her biggest personal goals for the season--getting a time under 17 minutes on a three-mile course, which she beat with a time of 16:37 at the Woodbridge Invitational Sweepstakes race on Sept. 18. Now, she hopes to qualify and compete at the state meet later in the season by continuing to keep up her top times.

Callanan feels that her competitive nature drives her accomplishing her goals to break more records and believes one of the best parts about running is seeing all the effort pay off.

“I did not even know the record time [beforehand], so I was not [expecting] to break it,” Callanan said. “It is really exciting [to break the record]. Right when I finished, I felt really good [about the race] and when I heard that I broke it, I felt so proud.”

Callanan first discovered her love for running when she started playing soccer at the age of five.

Her focus quickly shifted from soccer to running.

To continue this newfound passion, she would compete in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District elementary school “fun runs”, which are fundraising events held to raise money by running. Callanan ran competitively for her middle school’s cross country team and now runs for the varsity cross country team. Currently, she has been running cross country for six years and plans to continue in the future. Teammate and

junior Madison Woodward recognizes the hard work Callanan has put in throughout high school and looks forward to seeing what Callanan can accomplish in the future.

“Aishling has worked so hard to beat records this season,” Woodward said. “She runs a crazy amount everyday on top of the workouts we already do as a team. Running is very important to her and she has definitely put in the work for it. People can all look up to what Aishling has accomplished.”

Callanan is seen as a role model for many underclassmen on the team, one being sophomore Roxanne Rahimi. Rahimi hopes to grow as a runner and break records just as Callanan has. Rahimi is inspired by Callanan’s endurance and drive to continue to improve.

“We are all so happy for [Callanan] and so proud of her,” Rahimi said. “We know that she works so hard [to achieve what she has today] and it is admirable. Everyone [on the team] supports each other, [and we inspire each other] to be the best we can be everyday.”

11

“SQUID GAME”: A PRICE TO PAY “Squid Game”, a South Korean drama that was released by Netflix on Sept. 17, follows a survival show format of a select group of indebted people who are chosen to participate in a series of children’s games for the chance to win a large sum of money. However, if the competitors are eliminated from any of the games, there are deadly consequences.

Within a month of the show’s release, “Squid Game” has already surpassed other trending Netflix shows and has continued to remain one of the top ten current most popular shows on Netflix. Beyond the initial suspense of people competing in a life-ordeath contest, the show closely reflects the reality of an impoverished class struggling in society, showing characters of many different backgrounds and how their debt affects their daily lives and choices. “[I thought] it was interesting for [the game’s host] to specifically target people who were vulnerable,” junior Lindsey Costley said. “Since [it is] a money prize and all of them need the money to get out of debt, who [would not] want that kind of money, [especially] in that state.”

South Korea has been widely regarded for its rapid economic growth and technological advancements following the end of the Korean War in 1953. Though

their poverty rates have improved and the economy has since been on an upswing since then, the country still ranks eighth for highest poverty rate out of the countries a part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an intergovernmental organization for simulating economic processes and world trade. The elderly and nonregular workers make up most of the 16.3 percent population that lives in poverty (Statista).

This reality is exemplified in “Squid Game” through the players. Seong Gi-hun, Player 456, struggles to afford his elderly mother’s hospital bills due to a substantial gambling addiction and lack of social welfare support in the country. Seong Gi-hun developed this gambling addiction out of desperation to supply money for him and his mother, which only increases his debt further. Other players briefly mentioned in the show are also non-regular, or temporarily employed, workers. These characters do not have access to a steady income and cannot afford a life for them or their families although surrounded by an affluent society, which serves as a reason why they are compelled to risk their lives to escape their debt.

“Through the drama, they are trying to say something about [the] injustice, poverty and social structure of South Korea,” Korean 1, 2, 3, 3H, 4 and 4H teacher June Choi said. “It is not uncommon to see [impoverished people] there.”

The writer and director of “Squid

Game”, Hwang Dong-hyuk, was among the impoverished population of South Korea (The News International). In 2008, when Hwang first imagined the idea of for show, he was inspired by his personal experiences when he was young and the brutal financial burden on adult life. Hwang wished to convey a message that living in poverty in South Korea parallels a dystopian society (Variety). Hwang also states that he wanted to write a story about modern capitalism in a highly competitive environment to then mirror the highly competitive nature of South Korean society. The idea was first resented by other writers and directors for its seemingly excessive brutality, which explains why it took over a decade for the show to release. Though Hwang expressed the process as extremely exhausting, he is pleased with the relative success of the show and what it portrays to the audience (Variety).

One of the show’s most prominent portrayals of the flaws of modern capitalism is the strenuous relationship between the poor and the wealthy, and the wealth gap that has ultimately divided them. As the show progresses, the rich people who spectate the games hold disregard for the poor contestants at the players’ expense and react with laughter during their executions.

Wealth gaps are a universal affliction that have impacted many countries. In capitalist societies, the rich tend to make a disproportionate amount of money compared to

those who are middle class or lower, contributing to large income inequalities. In 2013, the top 10 percent of families in the U.S. held 76 percent of the wealth and the gap is only on the rise (The Brookings Institution). A possible side effect of the wealth gap is a large homeless population, which currently totals to 580,466 nationwide (National Alliance to End Homelessness).

“I see homeless people in big cities almost constantly,” sophomore Nehemiah Manoochehri said. “It is almost impossible to find places in the U.S. [without a homeless population].

It is sad to see [people suffering] like that without being able to help.”

In “Squid Game”, the players are provided the opportunity to vote on whether to end the games or continue playing. After the first game, the surviving players vote to discontinue the game by a majority of one after witnessing the unexpected and gruesome murders of their peers. The players are then sent home to live out their previous lives and endure their previous struggles. It was not long before they returned back to the game, as they felt it was the only way to rid themselves of their debt and escape the horrible conditions they lived in as a result. Although this can be seen as extreme, it reflects the struggles shown in the real world and demonstrates how corporations can prey on those who are in poverty or debt. It is a captivating show to watch and can teach a lot about the inequalities society faces today.

THE WAY THE CANDY CRUMBLES “Squid Game cookie”, “Dalgona” and “honeycomb challenge” are all phrases that have been trending in the past few weeks. However, most people do not know how this candy is made and the story behind it.

Dalgona originated after the Korean War when people attempted to recreate candy from the U.S. army for children. However, it did not gain popularity until the late 1970s, when it was sold by street vendors outside of elementary schools and toy stores. To produce the confection, candy makers melted sugar and added a pinch of baking soda. The mixture was poured, cooled and

then stamped with symbols such as stars, squares, circles or triangles. In a game called ppopgi, children tried to carve the shape engraved into the dalgona without cracking or breaking the design. This forgotten game has been revived by Netflix’s hit show “Squid Game”, as the creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, drew inspiration from his childhood to incorporate ppopgi into the script. In the series, those in debt are given a chance to earn a large cash prize, putting their lives at stake in the process. In episode three, contestants played ppopgi in order to survive, which sparked feelings of nostalgia in many Korean viewers and interest in the American audience. As a result, dalgona went viral on social media, with many people attempting to make it at home. To make it at home, use the following recipe.

Dalgona Recipe (makes one candy) You will need: Small non-stick pan Parchment paper Baking sheet Metal spoon or chopstick Cookie cutter of your choice Sugar (2 tablespoons) Baking soda (1/8 teaspoon) Place parchment paper on baking sheet.

Pour the sugar into the pan and put on medium heat until edges are melted.

Stir vigorously with chopstick until all clumps are removed and it is a pale golden color.

4. Turn off the heat and add baking soda.

The mixture should froth up and increase in volume.

5. Immediately pour mixture on parchment paper. Flatten it with the pan and then stamp with your cookie cutter.

6. Let the candy cool completely before removing.

Scan here to watch Josie make dalgona!