HIGHHIGHHIGHTIDERedondo Beach, CA // Redondo Union High School
Dec. 7, 2012 Vol. XCIII Edition 6////
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The auditorium lights dim, and the stage is lit up to reveal a wooden set with hand-painted cogs and gears. The audience quiets, actors take the stage, and Justin Baldridge, head of drama, watches as the show unfolds.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been performing since Nov. 30 and features sophomore Lenessa Age, seniors Ryan Colescott, Austin Stark, and juniors Paolo Ragusa, Molly Rood, and Chris Ward. This group of actors, along with the help of supporting actors, reinvented Shakespeare’s classic comedy into a steampunk romance.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect [from the audience] because we took such a different approach with it,” Baldridge said. “We didn’t go for the light-hearted comedy; I wanted to go for the cartelistic, sexual side.”
According to Baldridge’s source, The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrence, steampunk is an “inspired movement of creativity and imagination,” set in Victorian England or the American Wild West.
“Modern technologies are reimagined and realized as elaborate works of art, fashion, and mechanics,” Ted Morris, author of The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, wrote.
For example, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Baldridge reinvented the fairies into steam-powered robots. Additionally, he turned the woods in which the lovers run away into an industrial world of girders and metal ramps.
“I felt incorporating steampunk elements offered the opportunity to explore the darker elements of a play that are traditionally performed from a light hearted comedic viewpoint,” Baldridge said.
Age, who plays Helena, believes that the steampunk interpretation was well done from lights and choreography to costumes and sets.
“I absolutely love everything about the show,” Age said. “Everything is great, thanks to our wonderful director Mr. Baldridge.”
However, A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s steampunk style was not Baldridge’s initial idea when he first chose the fall play. Rather, a friend gave him the idea and triggered his inspiration.
“By doing steampunk I was able to go into darker elements,” Baldridge said. “That wasn’t my original intention. At first I had no idea.”
Baldridge plans on adding his own touch to the school’s spring musical, Grease, as well. However, this production will not be as dark.
“I think musicals should be light and cheery. That’s their purpose,” Baldridge said. “But I have a really fun concept that I’ve never heard of being done before.”
NEW TAKE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAMBy Shelby Salerno
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Sweet Dreams. 1. Seniors Hannah Bentti, Emily Horowitz and sophomore Alexis Lapp, in the role of fairies, surround junior Johnny Echavarria, in the role of Bottom. 2. Junior Jane Witzenburg, in the role of Tatania, monologues to the audience. 3. Senior Ryan Colescott playing Demetrius tries to run from sophomore Lenessa Age, who plays Helena. Photos by Hailey Newman.
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“I like participating in the escort because I like letting a lot of kids and families get to see Santa and the police,” Korte said.
In addition to pleasing the community, the police enjoy this holiday event because it allows citizens to see the officers in a better way.
“We arrest people and take them to jail but...it is good to see officers in a positive light,” Korte said.
The officers and the firefighters set up this event, volunteer to dress up, and drive the car, buy the materials, and candy to hand out, and build the sleigh, according to Aspel.
“They have families to go home to, yet they are still doing this out of the good of their hearts,” Aspel said.
The yearly escort of Santa Claus is an event that brings the whole community of Redondo together and is something that the police do every year to spread the joys of the season.
RBUSD wants AP art to submit logo art
The AP Studio Art students were recently asked to create yet another piece of art, not for the class or for the teacher, but for the entire RBUSD District: the district logo to replace the older one from 1993.
Superintendent Steven Keller and the board members wanted the students to submit their artwork for the logo which might be displayed on the district website, letterheads, and more.
“The Board of Education and I believe that our students have the talent for such an endeavor [and that] it is a great way to showcase Redondo’s talent,” Keller said.
Assistant Principal Adam Genovese also believes the AP Art students should use their artistic talents to take on this challenge.
“We’re not saying that [the logo’s]
definitely going to be one of the student submissions, but we want to take a look at what our students could do to figure out if it’s something that we would use for the logo. We have very talented students here, so we figured why not use those talents,” Genovese said.
Principal Nicole Wesley feels if the students take part in the creation of the logo, they would notice it more and take pride in the creation.
“I think the fact that it’s actually going to be created by a student makes the logo even more significant, and that’ll be a bragging point too. When we share the logo, we will be able to say: ‘created by a [RUHS] student,’” Wesley said.
In addition, Wesley and Keller believe the newer logo should embody the modernity of the new campus. Keller believes the current blue logo is “by many peoples’ account outdated.”
Keller believes that the ability to involve students is an added benefit of creating the new logo because the students could take ownership and pride in the final design.
“When you or your peers create something, there is typically more ownership of the product. Plus, we are in the [student] business, so having [students] involved in this process makes sense,” Keller said.
Besides having a more modern design, the logo will represent the entire Redondo school district, while also presenting a trace of Sea Hawk influence.
“I hope [the logo] will represent all schools in our district,” Wesley said. “[The logo] will have a K-12 influence to it, but it’ll also have a RUHS flair because regardless of what elementary or high school you go to, you’re a Sea Hawk. We’re all Sea Hawks,”
By Angela Kim
Police and Fire Department bring back Santa Claus escort
By Daniel Loveland
Watch out because Santa Claus is comin’ to town. Soon, Santa will be making his way across the streets of Redondo Beach again.
For decades now, a man dressed as Santa Claus has been escorted by the police and fire department through the city of Redondo Beach every year, until 2011. This program ran purely on police and firemen volunteers.
Due to a shortage of officers caused by budget cuts in the city of Redondo Beach and California, Santa was not able to be escorted through Redondo last year. In addition, many officers had retired. For the past five years the police department had been understaffed, according to Detective Justin Korte.
According to Korte, the cancelation of Santa Claus upset many, including the Redondo Beach Police Officer Association and the Redondo Beach
Fire Fighters Association.“A lot of people in the community
enjoyed it and we just wanted to make it happen [again],” Korte said.
The officers and firefighters will be working as hard as they can and putting a lot of their own time, without pay, into bringing back Santa.
“The cops can’t do everything, but we are thankful that at least this year they are able to [bring back] Santa,” Councilman Steve Aspel said.
Aspel believes that the escort has become an important part of the community.
“No matter how bad a mood someone is in, they will still be happy to see Santa Claus,” he said. “It just brings everyone together.”
The citizens of Redondo Beach aren’t the only ones who enjoy the event though. According to Korte, police officers and firefighters also are happy to participate.
By Kolbie Brightwell
Teacher Mary Simun and her AP Environmental Science class were given an area to create a garden on Diamond Street. Once a month Simun will collect samples of the soil and the class will test it to see how it changes over time and affects other parts of the environmen.
“I like to find authentic projects for my students to do,” she said. “I want them to be able to apply the concepts of the learning and environment and be able to apply them to the sciences.”
Special education teacher Judy Rose also participated in the project by bringing her special education class to help create the garden.
“They are able to see it first hand. They read about it, we lecture to them about it, they see the visuals, but now they really get to see the real things and apply what they are learning in the class to the real situation,” Rose said.
In addition, Simun will be bringing her biology classes down to the garden to teach them the effects of waste on water.
“The reason we do these gardens is to stop the runoff that takes all of the bacteria, animal feces, plastic, and trash down in the ocean where they contaminate the water,” Simun said.
Simun has been actively working to get a garden for the students since 2000 and is a member of the teach and tes project which monitors water quality and picks up trash.
“It allows them to contribute to their community, and they can say ‘This is mine, I take pride in it, it’s special to me, and it’s important to me,’ and that allows them to carry it on throughout their lives,” Simun said.
Simun implements hands-on teaching through gardening
Photo By ALiDA NewsoN
Green Thumb. senior Mauro Romero moves a wheelbarrow of mulch. 3
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Spirit of the Season. the officers make their rounds at 5 p.m. the schedule can be found on the Redondo Beach Police’s website.
Photo By DiANA LuNA
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4Does society Pressure PeoPle to be beautiful?What We thinkSociety does pressure people to be beautiful. Our school, among others, has a prevalent problem of pressuring others to be beautiful. Beauty should not be determined by looks but by character. Beauty should not be determined by others but should be judged by oneself. School should be a place for education, not beauty.
by the numbers
77.5% of freshmen
75% of sophomores
75% of juniors
71% of seniors
75% of of all girls
Of the 75% who wear makeup
Visiting the RUHS restrooms at break, it’s hard to avoid the girls swarming around the sinks, glued to the mirrors, and caking their faces with makeup. It’s difficult to merely wash my hands amidst this feeding ground since they spend the entire snack pow-dering their noses. Even more so, it’s disturbing that girls feel they need their entire morning, snack, lunchtime, or even class time to satisfy their superfi-cial obsession with looking “beautiful.”
The pressure to be physically “beau-tiful” is a prevalent problem at our school. Girls idolize the often heavily photoshopped models portrayed in the media as beautiful and then obsess over trying to live up to this unrealistic and shallow standard. They have lost sight of school’s purpose: a place for stu-dents to further their education, not to host a beauty competition. Students who focus on how they look at school not only distracts them from their full learning potential but can also unfairly distract their peers.
It’s time students abandon this ugly idea of beauty. Instead, beauty should be based on the character students work towards, whether that is por-trayed through the club they partici-pate in, the goals they work toward, or the attitude they convey.
No girl should be crying and at-tempting to end her life because some-one doesn’t approve of her looks. This may seem like an extreme scenario, but most girls cry behind closed doors, ac-cording to counselor Melissa Espinoza, who has seen first-hand the tears, the cries for help, and the insecurities. At RUHS, those who don’t live up to the “beauty standard” are not the only vic-tims of this beauty bullying. Girls who are considered, “naturally pretty” are also targeted. According to Espinoza, these victims are mostly girls who do
63% wear eye makeup
25% wear lipstick/lip gloss
41% wear foundation/blush
33% wear makeup every day
71% think it’s worth it to wear makeup
What is your perception of beauty in a person?
not ever know their attackers, yet are attacked with profanity, name-calling, and false rumors. Most of the time, the victims seem “outwardly normal” to stay within the “popular crowd,” but inside they are emotionally and physi-cally distressed. Teen depression and suicide both stem from beauty bul-lying. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that “over 4,000 people aged 15-24 die by suicide each year in the United States,” so the pressure to fit into the mold of what’s considered beautiful is a real killer. We don’t want any RUHS students to be-come one of these statistics.
Students’ choices influence others. Just as easy as it is for teens to create this shallow idea of beautiful, they can easily be the ones to destroy this de-structive trend. The offenders need to be the revolutionists. Let’s rethink the way we see beauty. Beauty is not in the hands of others, but instead in the hands of oneself. Beauty is measure of one’s character, not a mold to a stan-dard held by the judgemental. Let’s re-think the way we think of school.
It’s not a place to compete for looks. School is a place to find our niche, and to further our knowledge, personally, socially, and intellectually. For such an unimportant concept, the pressure to be beautiful seems more important than things that really do matter, like education, individuality, or the future. Typically, students who find a passion or talent to work at can gain confidence not based on their looks but on a tal-ent that will take them much further. Looks can only take you so far in your education. Let’s not bank on beauty; let’s bank on education.
“I think it’s being confident and loving your self. Also just being a happy person.”
DEREK AFNER, 11
“I think that beauty is being kind and always motivating others.”
ALEC JOHNSON, 9
“Seeing beauty in other people is what makes someone beautiful.”
ANA SANCHEZ, 11
“Beauty comes from how a person holds them-selves: their attitude.”
JESSICA WASHINGTON, 9
“I think that beauty is being natural and down to earth. Beauty isn’t something that can be taught.”
CHRIS VALCARCEL, 12
“I think that having a sense of humor make you beautiful.”
ZANE ZENT, 10
AROUND REDONDO
Out of 150 girls surveyed
Girls who wear makeup
“I can’t describe beauty until I see it with my own eyes. When I do, I just know.”
ALEC GILLESPIE, 12
Complied by Katie Hill
Photos by Diana Luna
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HIGH TIDEStaff
Editor-in-Chief: Julia TranManaging Editor: Emma UriarteWriting Director: Tricia LightDesign Director: Taylor BallardNews Editor: Andrew CzuzakOpinion Editor: Cedric HyonFeatures Editors: Taylor Brightwell; Shivaani Gandhi; Mannal Haddad; Kylie Martin; Haley Meyers; Alejandro Que-vedoSports Editors: Tatiana Celentano, Al-legra PeelorPhoto Editors:Vitoria Magno-Baptista; Diana LunaCopy Editors: Hana Ghanim; Ilana La-Graff; Navikka DaszCartoonist: Cooper LovanoOnline Editors: Vivian Lam; Kayla Maanum; LeAnn MaanumStaff Writers: Victoria Artaza; Alina Bieschke; Joseph Bieschke; Jewell Black; Kenneth Bowen; Kira Bowen; Kolbie Brightwell; Ted Cavus; Deborah Chang; Edwin Chavez; Caitlin Cochran; Navikka Dasz; Yasmeen El-Hasan; Micah Ezzes; Zoe Ezzes; Anna Fauver; Stella Gianou-kakis; Anacristina Gonzalez; Nageena Hamraz; Natalie Hardiman; Katie Hill; Haris Khan; Chance King; Angela Kim; Justin Lee; Daniel Loveland; Shawn Mal-len; Nicholas McCarthy; Romy Moreno; Alida Newson; Kayla Nicholls; Susan Nieves; Rachael Orford; Lindsey Pan-nor; Cameron Paulson; Jene Price; Jason Rochlin; Molly Rood; Shelby Salerno; Beth Shallon; Laura Smith; Cole Stecyk; Savannah Stern; Karissa Taylor; Claire Tisius; Grace ZoernerAdviser: Mitch Ziegler
The High Tide dedicates itself to pro-ducing a high-quality publication that both informs and entertains the entire student body.
This is a wholly student managed, designed, and written newspaper that fo-cuses on school and community events.
The High Tide is published by the journalism class at Redondo Union High School, One Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.
Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the staff writer of cartoonist and in no way reflect the opinions of the High Tide staff.
Lettersto the
EditorIf you have an opinion about
one of the articles, we welcome letters to the editor at [email protected].
We reserve the right to edit them for content, grammar, and space constraints. Letters must be signed and are not guaranteed to be printed.
There is no point in avoiding the fact that kids are bringing drugs onto campus, and administration should do more to prevent it. People bringing drugs on campus is unac-ceptable. Not only is it illegal but it’s a slap in the face to the teachers and staff that are working hard to teach and prepare students for life beyond school. Although the school is doing a better job than in past years of discovering kids who are doing drugs on campus, there is so much more to be done to prevent drug use in our school.
“I think where we can increase our stance on no-drug activity is to educate the stu-dents further on the consequences of drug use and the consequences of their actions,” Principal Nicole Wesley said.
Wesley, who is a part of the Drug and Alcohol Taskforce Community Task Force, says administration should do more to pre-vent no-drug activity. Educating students more about the consequences of drugs is a great way the school could do more to en-force no-drug activity which gives students the ability to make better choices.
The drug-sniffing dogs are also one of the invaluable assets in the fight against drug use. Although we have drug-sniffing dogs, all they do is sniff lockers and common ar-eas. Wesley is in fact going to approach the
There can’t be much more administration can do to prevent drug use at our school. They’ve introduced drug-searching dogs, a voluntary drug testing program, and have security guards roaming the campus. Sure,
school board in the spring to have them al-low the drug-sniffing dogs detect drugs in classrooms. While some may say that the dogs are an invasion of privacy, all the dogs do is detect if there is or was drugs in the area.
“Every student has a right to be drug-free, but once you step onto this campus and you bring contraband onto campus, I believe you lose the right in terms of an administrator being allowed to search your backpack or locker,” Wesley said.
Simply, administration should do more to enforce no-drug activity. Although the school has taken measures to prevent drug use, more needs to be done. Only by tak-ing action can the drug use on campus be stopped.
they could think up more ways to make our school a drug-free environment, but after a certain point, the efforts simply becomes absurd.
Yes, it’s still possible to bring drugs on campus, but I believe that the percentage of students bringing in drugs is very low. Since my freshman year, I haven’t experienced any kind of drugs on campus. Maybe I live a sheltered life, but based on what others have told me, drug use on campus has decreased.
Even if there is still drug use on campus, the people who bring them in now are going to bring them in no matter what adminis-tration does. By introducing more security measures, administration would simply be placing a burden on the students who don’t bring drugs.
Furthermore, there needs to be trust be-tween the students and the faculty. Students don’t want to be second-guessed at every turn, and implementing harsher measures would simply build resentment between the two. The measures that exist to prevent on-campus drug abuse are relatively non-inva-sive and should remain as they are.
The real drug problem lays off-campus. One program, RBUSD’s Drug and Alcohol Community Task Force, has implemented the Safe Space Program to provide drug- and alcohol-free environments for students and the voluntary drug-testing program and their efforts should be commended. Realis-tically though, it will not be enough to stop everyone.
RUHS does an excellent job of prevent-ing drug use on campus and that’s what it should focus on. It’s close to impossible to stop drug abuse completely, so administra-tion should focus on keeping the campus safe for those who do not use drugs.
CON: Extra
Andrew Czuzak
PRO: Extra
Cole Greenbaum
s e c u r i t y should be enforced
security will be a burden on students
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Dancing Queen Sophomore Nina Levinson expresses herself and relieves stress with dance crew A221.
by Jason Rochlin
As the bell rings for lunch, she walks to main hall to hang out and talk with her friends, but “talk” in a dif-ferent way. Sophomore Kejahn Prett-McCullar expresses herself through her way of words, art, and dance.
For Prett-McCullar, rapping has been a new and unique way to channel her emotions, relieve stress and allow her to find something about herself that she can be content about.
“I like rap because of the fact that you get to say what-ever you feel and having nobody to judge you,” she said. “It’s not structured, you get to do what you want. It is creative.”
The more she rapped, the more it grew on her and became her ultimate passion.
“You get to have fun and incorporate whatever you want in it,” Prett-McCullar said.
When Prett-McCullar performs in front of others, she captures their attention completely.
“The energy on stage when you do it in front of people makes them want to hear what you have to say,” Prett-
McCullar said.Her friends and teachers have been a source of mo-
tivation. They inspire her to keep rapping despite what others might say.
“My teachers ask me to rap in front of the class,” she said. “They sometimes say ‘shut up Kejahn’, but in the end of the day, they are amused by it”
Prett-McCullar’s overall biggest influence in her rap-ping style and decisions are her family, especially her grandfather.
“His experience with singing and playing the trom-bone makes me trust him more,” she said. “His advice is a little crazy, but gives me some [good] advice on which techniques I should use,” she said.
Her brother’s bravery in dealing with autism moti-vates her to continue with her passion.
“My brother is autistic, as well as my best friend’s sis-ter,” she said. “He is still going on everyday and learning new stuff. His spirit makes me more motivated to con-tinue rapping.”
Her family have been the biggest support for her rap-
by Haris Khan ping. “They tell me to be quiet sometimes, but I don’t,”
Prett-McCullar said. “I just love it. I love music.”
Talking with style Sophomore Kejahn Prett-McCullar finds an outlet for her creative expression through rapping.
A way with words. Sophomore Kejahn Prett-McCullar expresses herself by rapping daily at school.
Dancing to the Beat. 1. Sophomore Nina Levinson poses with A221 in a photoshoot. 2. The group members are friends off of the dance floor and spend time together doing activities such as going to the beach.1
2PHoToS CoURTESy oF A221
PHoTo by diANA LUNA
PHoTo by CLAiRE TiSiUS
After some light stretches and a warm up dance, the performers of Korean Dance Group A221 jump straight into the core of the practice and prepare the dance they will be performing backstage before their competition.
Sophomore Nina Levinson finds ways to incorporate her A221 practice into her everyday routines.
“I practice about 1 or 2 hours a day on my own. In school I’m taking Dance PE with my friends, so I prac-tice there. I’m also in the Korean Culture club, so I get to practice there too,” said Levinson.
Korean dance group A221 has members, ranging in age from high school sophomores to college graduates.
“It seems kind of like fate that we all met like this, because if we all hadn’t been at the right place at the right time, none of us would have ever met,” sophomore Nina Levinson said.
A221 has only been in two competitions so far, and frequently practices their performances to improve their techniques and get better as a whole.
“We meet every Saturday in Little Tokyo to practice, so as a group we learn various dances from Kpop [Ko-rean Pop Music],” said Levinson, “When we’re given the
opportunity we perform them for competitions and put them on YouTube.”
As the major choreographer and organizer for the group, Kiki Smith knows the value of practice time for the dancers.
“It can be very complicated being we all range from various ages and locations. A221 members age ranges from 15-25 years of age so arranging free time to practice, per-form or even hang out can get very hectic,” said Smith, “Some have work others have school, but we love what we do so we always make time for our passion.”
A221 is self-funded for expenses clothing and travel.“We’ll more than likely support ourselves financially
through fundraisers in the near future,” said Smith “We purchase and dress ourselves accordingly in order to ac-commodate the concept for each song we select to portray the particular image at the time.”
Levinson feels that dancing is a central part of her ev-eryday life.
“Dancing is an art form and expression, but for me per-sonally, I like to use it as a release. My life tends to be so stressful already, that when I get to go to dance or when I get to practice at home then it gives me the times that I can forget, when I don’t have to be stressed out about anything,” said Levinson. “It is an art form, especially to other people, but to the dancer especially, its stress relief.”
Levinson feels that her commitment to the group, while large, is worthwhile.
“The competitions are nerve-racking and exhila- rat ing at the same time. But I would not want to be doing any-thing else with my free time,” said Levinson.
Smith agrees that dance is a great stress relief for the dancer.
“It safe to say we all consider this group a stress re-lief from the out-side world. [We] dance in our ha-ven where we can express ourselves no matter what life threw at us, whether we’re angry, happy or sad,” said Smith.
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Gallardo aspires to be drummer
Listen to the
Hundreds of eyes were on him as cheers erupted from the crowd of Hollywood’s Whiskey a-go-go. Many people would be scared to drum in front of a huge audience in Hollywood as a sophomore. For se-nior Esias Gallardo, however, it was a nervous rush that made him feel unstoppable. It is a night he will never forget and was the experience that lead to his decision to become a professional drummer.
Gallardo was ten when he decided to start playing the drums and has stuck with it ever since. His loves the aspect of self expression and losing himself in the beat.
“When I play, all of my worries vanish. I don’t care what people think of me or worry about following any rules or guidelines,” he said. “I just play what I feel.”
He was � rst inspired by an AC/DC DVD of live shows and soon began to � nd his own style with the help of some major in� uences such as John Bonham from Led Zeppelin and Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters. His biggest in� uence, however, is his uncle Senen Reyes who drummed for Cypress Hill.
“My uncle Senen is my major in� uence because he was in Cypress Hill, and I’d like to be [famous] like that one day,” he said. “I also think Chad Smith, Jimmy Chamberlin, John Bonham, and Dave Grohl, some of my inspirations, are the best drummers and a lot of my style is based o� of them.”
With his own style and a fellow musician, Gallardo has plans for a band. Nothing is o� cial but he feels this is a step in the right direction.
“We started jamming at the beginning of the school year and some ideas were thrown around. I think we might be called � e Waves. It’s pretty cool,” Gallardo said.
Although his band isn’t o� cial, he does have one friend he constantly plays with.
“My friend Joey plays the guitar so sometimes when I play he’ll join me and we’ll start jamming and make funny songs that make us laugh in the middle of playing,” he said. “It’s pretty sweet.”
Hours of practice, a potential band, and numerous “jam” sessions help Gallardo prepare for his future. Al-though he’s stuck in a garage now, he hopes to make a name for himself.
“I absolutely want to make drumming my ca-reer but I know it won’t be easy. It is realistic for me though,” he said.
Gallardo hopes he will be recognized as “the drum-mer from that band” and feels a desk job isn’t for him.
“I don’t believe I’m meant to get some meaningless desk job until I’m 60 only to look back and see I didn’t make my mark in music,” he said.
Although he isn’t the perfect student, he feels being a successful drummer will create a di� erent sense of pride in his family.
“Most of my family has been pretty good in school and that’s not really the case with me. I’ve always felt ashamed of that,” Gallardo said. “Both of my par-ents are completely supportive of my decision to be a drummer and I feel like this makes them proud of me, which makes me feel awesome.”
What we listen with The most popular headphones at RUHS.
19%
55%
10%
46%
14%19% 17% 20%
Skullcandy Dr. Dre BeatsApple earbuds Otherhave it have it have it have itwant it want it want it want it
Style, sound, and star power, Dre Beats headphones have it all. A product that debuted in 2008 quickly caught � re as a popular commodity and is now worn by many people including those at RUHS.
Music can be heard through radio speakers or one’s iPod ear buds, but Senior Manny Perez prefers Beats headphones.
“� ey are really comfortable, they look nice, and they have great bass and sound,” Perez said.
After purchasing the headphones for $350, Perez immediately found that his investment had paid o� . With his “stylish,” soundproof product, he is able relax and tune everything out.
“� ey are great headphones if you turned up the music about halfway then you would be able to only hear the mu-sic and nothing else,” Perez said.
Beats headphones are not only an outlet, but also a tool for musicians seeking better quality in their music whether they are listening or playing along to a certain song. Junior Cain Castor knows this and takes full advantage of the Beats headphone experience when playing his drums.
“� e headphones cancel out some of the sound of the drums,” Castor said, “On top of that, the music I’m listen-ing to is easier to follow along with, as opposed to like apple iPod headphones. When I play with those the music sounds slurred and it’s harder to follow along with.”
Castor does consider the headphones a bit pricey, but nonetheless still thinks it is worth buying a pair.
“� ey’re made by Dr. Dre, a great producer, so the head-phones have credibility,” Castor said.
Additionally, Castor acknowledges the appearance of Beats headphones as stylish.
“� ey look great, the colors I have [black and red] are � ne, not too � ashy but they look nice,” Castor said.
� ough Castor fully endorses the headphones he still does not agree with everything about the product.
“� e only thing [I don’t] like is the fact you have to re-place the (AAA) batteries, but it’s de� nitely worth it for the sound quality,” Castor said.
Castor recognizes there are other options, but it all goes back to his appreciation of music as a drummer, and for him these speci� c headphones increase the quality of all his music.
“� e thing that separates them from the rest is the overall experience. When you’re listening to it, it feels like you’re right there in the studio as the song is being recorded. You feel more connected to the music,” Castor said.
by Edwin Chavez
BEAT
Little drummer boy. Senior Esias Gal-lardo drums in his garage. He hopes to be a proffes-sional drum-mer one day.
by Savannah Stern
PHOTO BY DIANA LUNA
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It’s all about the
CLIMBSophomore Nathan Diaz uses photography to deal with his fear of heights.
Every step forward was another night-mare. His heart pounded and his legs trem-
bled as he forced himself up the path towards the awaiting cli� . Breathing slowly to stop himself from hyperventilating, he led the way through the barely visible mazelike path, his mother not far behind. He � ddled with the camera strap hang-ing from his neck. � e weight of the camera in his hands comforted him. He persisted, occasionally stopping to capture shots on his Nikon D40.
Sophomore Nathan Diaz uses his passion for photography to help him deal with his fear of heights.
“[My camera’s] gotten me to go places I wouldn’t even consider going so I could get a good picture,” Diaz said. “It’s confusing because even though I’m absolutely terri� ed, I’m still really excited.”
Nearly two years ago, he and his mother Lu-via Diaz visited Vasquez Rocks in Antelope Valley. Mrs. Diaz was taking a geology course and had to write a report. Despite the height, Diaz accompa-nied her to take pictures.
In order to get to their destination, they � rst had to climb up 150 feet to the peak of the rocks.
“At � rst, it wasn’t that bad because everything was enclosed by shrubbery. For the most part it was � ne, if not enjoyable,” Diaz said. “But as we reached higher elevations, I started getting really out of breath.”
Mrs. Diaz gave him time to feel comfortable and think through his options. She didn’t push him to keep climbing because she was aware of how con� icted and nervous he was.
“It was very di� cult for him, as I know a lot of things have been for him. But he took the initiative [to keep climbing],” Mrs. Diaz said. “I think that was
by Yasmeen El-Hasan b e c a u s e he was taking pictures, something that he enjoys doing. He wanted to see the beauty around him so he put his fears aside to enjoy.”
Once they reached the peak, however, Diaz was no longer ner-vous.
“It’s hilarious because once I’m up high, I usually enjoy the view. It actu-ally makes me really calm,” Diaz said. “I’m glad that I can capture things like that through my photography, no matter how nervous I am. It lets me see the broader view of everything around me. It’s almost surreal, like I’m on a di� erent place of being.”
Photography allows Diaz to “have a di� erent perspective and share it with other people.” He enjoys looking for di� erent angles to take photos and will often go to a higher elevation to get a bet-ter shot despite his fear.
“It’s uncomfortable, but a lot of the time the end product is worth the discomfort,” Diaz said.
Acrophobia, the fear of heights, has shadowed Diaz for as long as he can remember.
“My fear of heights has always seemed to be with me, and no matter what I do, I can’t let it go,” Diaz said.
� ere is “no speci� c reason” why he has this fear, and he does not think that he will ever get over his acrophobia.
“It’s just a matter of learning to deal with it and trying to do things regardless of my fear [and] not let it get in the way and do what I like to,” Diaz said. “I like to try and stay positive regardless of the situation I’m in.”
Don’t look down. Ever since the fi rst time he climbed to take photos, Diaz allowed his love for photography to overcome his fear. “I like the serenity of photography. I take pictures of nature, usually close-ups on the beautiful things that people usually glance over. It lets me have a different perspective and share it with other people,” Diaz said.
PHOTO BY VITORIA MAGNO
PHOTO COURTESY OF NATHAN DIAZ
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The city of...
LIGHTS.CAMERA.
ACTION.
by Claire Tisius
Full of anticipation and nerves, she waits in the Charles De Gaulle Airport surrounded by paintings and pictures. After her host family welcomed her with open arms, senior Meagan McGinty takes in the sights as she drives through the streets of Paris in the morning sun-light.
McGinty received the opportu-nity to go to France this summer from her grandfather, who paid for the trip through Rotary International, a foreign exchange program. She has been to Paris once before on a mission trip, but prefers her experiences with the exchange pro-gram.
“[Exchange programs] are purely educational. Families take you in, take you to grocery stores, castles, [and] if you want to do the more touristy things they’ll take you. You are going to know France a little better than or any other country you are visiting,” McGinty said.
In France, her host family found out she was interested in photography and introduced her to couple of photogra-phers they knew. � at was when she met her mentor Sebran D’argent.
D’argent is a freelance photographer who does � lm and commercial photog-raphy and has created a magazine called “Heaven.”
“[D’argent] likes the fact that I have a natural eye and an instinct. I like talking to him and learning things from him,” McGinty said.
When McGinty and D’argent � rst met, he looked at her portfolio. He of-fered to be her mentor despite the fact that she had no formal training, which led McGinty to become interested in her mentor’s work.
“[D’argent] has geared me towards � lm photography and some of the eth-
ics behind being an artistic photographer versus a commercial one. I de� nitely enjoy my work more because of it,” Mc-Ginty said.
Even though McGinty has taken a new interest in � lm photography, she is also being taught what components are needed to make a good commercial pho-tograph.
“All artists, no matter which type, al-ways have to think about their materials. I have always wanted to be an artist and I went through [many] mediums before sticking with photography,” McGinty said.
She is inspired by music, movies, writers and other photographers, using them as examples of how to convey an emotion or set up a scene.
“All those ideas that I’ve taken from other art applies to photography. I have to conceptualize my idea and set up a scene. It has to be correct,” McGinty said. “I think di� erent art comes into play when you take a photograph. Interi-or designers know how to set up a room, and painters conceptualize an idea across the canvas.”
McGinty took a course in photogra-phy this year while using the techniques D’argent had taught her and communi-cating with him. She has become a free-lance photographer and is working with Jill Row of Neiman Marcus on a plus-size blog.
McGinty hopes to attend an art col-lege such as Fashion Institute of Technol-ogy, School of Visual Arts, or Cornish College of Art and major in photography in the future.
“I can’t live the rest of my life not having art be my world,” McGinty said. “Photography is my realm and I hope I never leave it.”
Senior Meagan McGinty started to work with the French photographer Sebran D’argent over the summer.
When in Paris. 1. McGinty took many pictures while she was in Paris. This is a picture of the skyline during the daytime while she was on her trip last summer. 2. The “hall of mirrors” in Chateau de Versailles was constructed un-der Louis XIV’s rule. It is an “incredible” place with many dif-ferent pictures and displays. 3. This gar-den is one of the many that are in the Chateaux de Villandry. McGinty thought they were “breathtaking.”
PHOTO BY JENNY OETZELL
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEAGAN MCGINTY
1.
2.2.
3.
Body spray$5
Face compact$24
Lipgloss$14
Eyelash curler$3
Nail polish$5
The price of
Getting the lookAnthony Perez takes pride in his looks
by Karissa Taylor
Salons. Manicures. � reading. Waxing. To some people these words are only relative to girls. But for Sophomore
Anthony Perez, these words are associated with beauty- his beauty.
Perez considers himself to be di� erent from the average guy and believes he focuses more on his looks before leaving his house.
“A lot of guys really don’t care about what they wear or what they look like but I’m op-posite,” Perez said, “I can never walk out of the house without every article of clothing I wear matching and having my hair � xed.”
Aside from taking more time than the average guy to � x his hair and match his clothes Perez also spends more money to get
Despite the pain, Perez believes the out-come is worthwhile.
While Perez considers himself to be dif-ferent from others, he embraces his choices which makes him content with himself and his appearance.
“I honestly could care less about what people think about me getting my eyebrows done because in the sum of it all, it’s my life, not theirs,” Perez said.
Time for change. 1. Davis had to cut her hair after dying it too often. 2. Davis prior to cutting her hair.
Finding beauty in changeDavis has learned to detach herself from her hair and become more confi dent
Head down, beanie on, and eyes swollen from tears, she walked through
the school halls. Senior Brooklin Da-vis kept her hair hidden for a week because of the horrible mistake she made by choosing the wrong hair dye at a beauty supply store. Davis was expecting her hair to turn out red, but saw something entirely di� erent when she looked in the mirror.
“� e box was actually magenta dye and combined with my recently bleached hair it came out a bright barbie pink,” said Davis.
Davis was very upset from this experience and has decided, after dy ing her hair 16 times in the past four years, to never dye her hair again.
“My hair was falling out in clumps and it was so thin and brittle that I decided to cut it all o� and start over. Now, I’m growing my out hair with its natural color,” Davis said.
Davis’ cousin, Celeste Bailey, en-couraged Davis’ decision and believes that it was very brave of her to make such a drastic change to her appear-ance.
“I would never have done some-
thing like that, but cutting her hair o� shows that she’s very con� dent in herself and isn’t afraid of change or what other people think of her,” Bai-ley said.
According to Davis since the ninth grade has been known as the girl with various hair colors and it came to the point where she became obsessed with constantly dying her hair.
“I get bored really easily so instead of touching up my hair after I dyed it, I would just change colors,” Davis said.
Davis said that she would have to go for a week without washing her hair because it was so dry from con-stantly dying it. � ere were no oils to keep it healthy.
“My hair stylist told me that my hair needed it,” Davis said. “I felt so gross not being able to wash my hair but I had to do it.”
Davis has spent as much as 220 dollars in a single salon visit. Some-times, to save money, she would buy a box of hair dye at a convenience store for 10 to 15 dollars.
“I switch between going to the salon and dying my hair myself, de-pending on my schedule. I think
some people dye their hair them-selves because it’s de� nitely cheaper and its faster than having to wait and be patient for someone else to do your hair,” Davis said.
Davis believes that any girl who wants to change something about their hair should not be afraid of what other people’s opinions will be.
“I believe that hair is not a big factor of someone’s character so it wouldn’t change their individual-ity,” Davis said.
According to Davis, there are both positive and negative out-comes that result from dying hair.
“I felt con� dent after I dyed and cut my hair, but also insecure be-cause I hated short hair so I always wore extensions. Even now, it still feels a weird having short hair,” Davis said.
Davis’ parents push her to be independent and learn from her mistakes.
“My parents didn’t encourage or discourage my decision to dye my hair,” Davis said. “� ey just told me its my hair and I can do what I want with as long as I am prepared to face the outcome, good or bad.”
by Jewell Black
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done. “I occasionally get manicures because
honestly I really couldn’t cut my nails if my life depended on it,” Perez said.
Perez � rst got his eyebrows done when he was at the mall with his friend. When she decided to get her eyebrows done Perez complained about having to wait for her.
“I complained about waiting so [my friend] scheduled me in right at the same time in order to shut me up and keep me from complaining afterwards,” Perez said.
After his � rst threading experience Perez did not plan on returning but when the hair grew back twice as thick Perez felt he had to.
“You really have to go back again once they grow back because they grow back fast and twice as thick as they were in the begin-ning,” Perez said, “I can’t stand the feeling, it feels dirty.”
Perez believes there are many upsides to getting his eyebrows done. For eleven dollars every three months, Perez says threading his eyebrows leaves him with a “refreshed” facial look.
Perez does believe, however, that there is a cost for having his eyebrows threaded. Perez goes through a tremendous amount of pain to have the look he wants.
“� e feeling of getting [my eyebrows] done always makes me bite my lip in order to prevent me from tearing up and embar-rassing myself,” Perez said.
FOLLOW THAT TREND1. Cuffed jeans
2. Rucksack backpacks
3. Desert Boots
4. Bracelets
1. Cuffed jeans
4. Bracelets3. Desert boots
2. Rucksack backpacks
Lip balm$5
Prices are averaged
PHOTO ALIDA NEWSON
PHOTO COURTESY DAVIS
PHOTOS ALIDA NEWSON
It hurts to be beautiful. Perez threads his eyebrows on a regular basis despite his original opinion of it.
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by Nicholas McCarthy
by Kayla Nicholls
Book Off sells books for cheap
Upon entering the store, the first sight are the large endless rows of shelves, each of which are filled with books of all genres, all of which only cost up to three dollars.
Book Off is a Japanese bookstore which opened two years ago at the Del Amo mall that sells used books, CDs, and DVDs. According to the store’s manager, Magumu Inagaki, the chain’s mission is to eradicate the “shame of buying used books.”
Because the books are not brand new, the store is able to sell them for very cheap, with prices starting at $1 and up to $3.
The store carries a variety of different types of books ranging from older, clas-sic novels to current best-selling novels, as well as comic books, all of which are sold inexpensively.
The store buys books from those who no longer want to keep their books, video games, CDs, or DVDs of all types, and then the store puts the products on sale for the general public at a very low price, depending on the product itself.
“It’s sort of like recycling,” Inagaki said.Coming from Japan, the store engages
in practices unlike that of American book-sellers. For example, according to Inagaki, the store refuses to stock reviewer copies because of red markings that blemish the tops of the pages, so the books they sell look as good as new.
Also, behind the counter, an oven-size machine allows employees to shave tiny imperfections from the pages of texts. Since the machine can’t handle hardcov-er books, the bookstore workers have to sandpaper the edges manually.
According to Inagaki, the company is supporting the cause of expanding read-ing, making books available to everyone by selling the books at a very cheap price. The business also contributes to society by having the people take part in the busi-ness.
“Our business is a circulation,” Inagaki said, “It’s sort of like recycling. The people are not going to throw [their books] away, so if they sell them here, everyone can be happier. That is the concept of our busi-ness.”
He walks into the empty classroom and peruses the folder. His eyes scan the comments as he learns what he will need to work on with his reading partner. Once he knows it, he searches the school to find his partner and they get to work. First his reading partner Jaymori chooses from three different books. Then he begins to read, his voice echoing in the empty room. After reading the book, he learns about vocabulary and a lesson, his reading skills improving with every word.
Senior Joshua Houston chooses to share his knowledge of reading with younger students every Wednesday. Houston initially began teaching for com-munity service.
“I started because I wanted to do some community service both for myself and for college purposes,” he said.
Houston believes that reading is im-portant to a well-rounded education.
“The building blocks of an education include reading. Teaching kids how to read when they are young is very impor-tant and much easier [to do] when they are young. The benefits of being a good reader are important too,” he said.
Reading Partner’s coordinator Margar-ita Rubio also believes in the importance of reading.
“I feel that reading is a crucial part of every child’s education, and just being able to help them is something really posi-tive. I really enjoy it,” said Rubio.
Houston thinks that read-ing provides m a n y people with many different op-portunities.
“Reading opens so many doors for kids. I don’t know where I would be today were I not such an avid reader. There is no other feeling like being immersed in a book. I want all children to have the same experiences that I do,” he said.
Because of his desire to share his read-ing experiences, he started to teach at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Elementary School through a program called Reading Partners.
“We take students who are six months to two and a half years behind reading lev-el [and teach them to read],” Rubio said.
There, he teaches a fourth grader that he has been assigned to help every Wednesday using the course outline from Reading Partners.
“The program has a set course that I follow. Every session or two, we start a new lesson. In each lesson packet there are two or three books and the student picks one out to read for the day,” he said.
In addition to the lesson, he also strengthens their understanding of the vocabulary.
“We occasionally play vocabu-lary games to build up their vocab,” he said.
The Reading Partners program also helps him if he needs any help while teaching a student.
“I make sure that they know that I am there for support; I make myself approachable, I walk around, every time they come I greet them, and I let them know that
anyone can do it and give them that con-fidence,” Rubio said.
He chose to teach students to read be-cause of his love for children.
“I love kids. When kids are excited or having fun they become really enthusias-tic,” Houston said.
Despite the enthusiasm of some kids, others make teaching them more difficult.
“It is only hard when the kids would rather be doing something else and they aren’t too enthusiastic about reading,” he said.
In addition to teaching difficulties, Houston must also juggle school with his community service.
“I have my hard classes on Wednesday, and that means that I don’t have to worry about a mountain of homework the next day,” he said.
However, Houston has overcome the obstacles and is rewarded with seeing the children improve.
“It is really noticeable when a kid reads so much better towards the end of the year than the beginning,” Houston said.
It is also very gratifying when the kids he teaches appreciate the efforts that he
puts in to help them learn how to read.
“This program has helped me learn to read better and I make friends with the tutors,” Jaymori,
the student that Houston teach-es, said.
YOUNG MINDs Houston reads with students at a Lawndale elementary school.
shaping
Reading partners. Senior Joshua Houston reads Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas with Franklin Delano Roosevelt Elementary School student Jaymori.
PHOTO BY VITORIA MAGNO PHOTO BY ALIDA MEWSON
Book Off. Book Off is located in the Del Amo Mall near Macy’s and Jo Ann’s Fabrics.
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by Natalie Hardiman
Living with Dysl exiaShe struggles to read the unfamiliar
script, trying to decipher words that have the b’s and d’s switched backwards. How-ever, instead of becoming frustrated, ju-nior Ashlee Blackman takes a deep breath and auditions for a play.
Blackman has dyslexia, a learning dis-ability that involves di� culty processing symbols, such as letters.
“� ere are days where I have to � x my writing that have backwards letters in it, and I get so angry because I cannot always tell whether the letters are right or not,” she said. “I just feel like chucking the pa-per at someone.”
Even though she has this disorder, Blackman is determined to pursue a ca-reer in theater and professional dance.
“My dancing and acting actually helps me,” she said. “It is all about order and most dyslexics mix up the order, but since I have been dancing and acting for a long time, my dyslexia is not as bad as it would have been without dance and theater.”
Blackman has been acting for 11years and dancing for 14 years, including par-ticipating in Dance Guard since she was a freshman and the theater company, Pop’s, since she was eight.
“I love dancing and acting because when I am in character, I can escape from
my own life and my dyslexia,” she said.Besides theater and dance, Blackman
loves all art forms and considers herself a creative person.
“I try to do all art forms, like I sing sometimes and I draw all the time,” she said. “I also enjoy puzzles.”
Many dyslexics tend to be creative be-cause they are usually right-brain domi-nant.
“I de� nitely think I am really creative because of my dyslexia,” she said.
“Sometimes it is hard for me when I am reading a script and I cannot � gure out a word, but I do not let it a� ect me,” she said.
Cold reads, which are when a script is handed out right before an audition, are especially troubling for Blackman.
“When there is a cold read, there are usually words that I do not understand and some of them would be backwards,” she said. “It would just be really confus-ing.”
Blackman feels that it is harder for her to be an actor because of her dyslexia.
“With learning lines, I feel as if it is more di� cult for me than people without dyslexia,” she said.
Despite her trouble, Blackman believes that her dyslexia will not be much of an
issue for her as an adult actor.“Now that it is mostly under control,
I feel like it is a lot less likely that I will stumble over the script like I sometimes do,” she said.
To help with writing, she types her schoolwork as much as possible and has her mother look over any written work she has to do to make sure none of her letters are � ipped backwards.
“Sometimes I feel slower than every-one else and it is just really frustrating for me,” she said.
Even with dyslexia, Blackman loves reading and writing.
“I love writing. I cannot get through a day without exploding my thoughts onto a piece of paper,” she said.
Growing up, Blackman had di� culty learning to read because many of letters were backwards and out of order, but she had no idea she had dyslexia for years.
“I just went through my childhood thinking I was stupid and I could not do anything right,” she said.
In � fth grade, Blackman went to a doctor and con� rmed she had dyslexia.
“At that point, I was not really a sur-prise because everyone already assumed that I has dyslexia because I always had trouble writing and reading,” she said. “It
really was not a big deal.”To help her learn in school, Blackman
was placed in resources throughout mid-dle school.
“It de� nitely helped because it was the same curriculum, but was taught at a slower pace,” she said.
� ese classes helped Blackman a lot, but she still has trouble when it comes to learning a new language.
“Because I am still having a little trou-ble with English, it is hard learning Span-ish because the letters are the same, but they make di� erent sounds which is con-fusing,” she said. “Also, spelling is harder for me in a di� erent language.”
Blackman still has trouble with school-work, but she believes that she is improv-ing and her dyslexia is becoming easier to handle.
“It de� nitely gets easier as I get older,” she said, “You get used to how your brain processes things, so it is not trial and error all the time.”
Blackman is happy with her progress with dyslexia and is excited about her fu-ture as an actor and dancer.
“I am not the best at dancing and act-ing, but I am not the worst either and considering my dyslexia, I am content with where I am,” she said.
Hamm, Takemoto, and Bentti write novels for National Writing Monthby Grace Zoerner
In southern California, November heralds the real beginning of fall. And this year writers across the country raced to write a 50,000-word novel by the end of the month through an online program called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
“NaNoWriMo is a time for writ-ers to buckle down and get done what they’ve been meaning to get done,” freshman Carmen Hamm said. “Every day, you write as you normally would and update your word count on the NaNoWriMo website. � e goal is to write 50,000 words from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30.”
Seniors Tyler Takemoto and Han-nah Bentti also strived to meet this ob-jective through NaNoWriMo. It was their � rst year participating as well.
“It’s a good experience,” Said Take-moto, president of the Aspiring Au-thors club. “You’re not forced to com-plete your work. It’s more like a tool you use to achieve a goal you might want to set out and accomplish.”
Takemoto � nished his novel on
Nov. 30 with a total word count of 50,155 words.
“It was challenging, but I made it. � ere were times when I wrote over three thousand words in just a day,” Takemoto said.
Hamm and Bentti were inhibited by school work and other hobbies, and were unable to complete their writing by Nov. 30.
“I knew I wasn’t going to � nish the program from the beginning,” Hamm said. “I knew I was being ambitious. I kind of forgot about the deadline and pushed myself to write more every day.”
Neither girl has regrets, though; they still feel the program was worth-while.
Whether they � nished the novel or not, the writers agreed NaNoWriMo was a bene� cial experience and are planning to participate next year.
“Even if you don’t � nish by the deadline, you get so much done. � e best way to improve your writing is to write as much as you can, and NaNoWriMo helped me with that,” Hamm said.
Out of 161 students surveyed...
71% read for pleasure in their free time
35%
29%
27%9%
read 1 book a month
read 2-3 books a month
read 4+ books a month
don’t read at all
35 students
28 students
said To Kill a Mockingbird was their favorite book they read for school
said Catcher in the Rye was their favorite book they read for school
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Off school groundsStudents participate in sports outside of the school
As a child, senior Freddy Smith was introduced to a life � lled with rugby that ultimately in� uenced him to start his own team here at Redondo.
Smith was introduced to the game at around six years old by his dad, who played professionally for the US rugby team.
“I was coaching for the national team at the time when Freddy was growing up and playing sports”. His fa-ther, Tommy Smith, said. “It was just a part of our lives.”
Even when participating in other sports, rugby seemed to come back into Freddy’s life.
“On one of his all-star baseball teams we started play-ing rugby after practice. � en we started a team up in Alameda, Calif., and we would play teams from San Di-ego,” Mr. Smith said.
As a result, Smith decided to start his own team at school.
“Last year I started a club team at school with 15 peo-ple”, Smith said, “We would play against Santa Monica and travel to San Diego to play other teams.”
His father volunteered as coach to help the boys com-pete during the summer, and Smith got people from the baseball and football teams to join the rugby team.
“[He] got a lot of players out there and they practiced a lot,” Mr. Smith said.
Sometimes the team would even join Palos Verdes High School’s team during their practices to help prepare themselves for future tournaments.
“We went to � ve tournaments last summer and played multiple games in each tournament,” Smith said. “It was a cool experience to go all the way to San Diego and road trip there.”
Rugby also creates opportunities for team bonding.“It’s a team sport, so it’s always fun to unite with your
teammates and play on the � eld.” Smith said.Smith’s father believes that rugby is a “great all around
sport” that everyone can play.“Anybody can play rugby at any size,” Mr. Smith said.
“� ere’s a position for everyone whether you’re big and slow or small and quick.”
According to Smith rugby is not as complicated as people make it seem either.
“It’s an easy game to pick up, which makes it attrac-tive to people who haven’t played before,” he said. “When people catch on they start to really like it.”
Mr. Smith agrees, believing that the sport’s simplicity makes it easy to pick up.
“In my opinion, rugby is a sport that comes naturally to Americans because it’s like all sports wrapped into one,” he said. “It’s just a really good camaraderie sport.”
Currently, Smith is trying to � nd more people inter-ested in learning rugby to play on his team next summer.
“I’m trying to get people that want to learn just the basics right now,” Smith said. “I was the only junior on the team at the time, so all the players are o� in college now.”
According to Mr. Smith, rugby created new oppor-tunities for the team’s past players, as most of last year’s team members are playing college rugby.
Smith and his father want to create a rugby program at the school.
“At Redondo, we have a great athletic department and they have been really positive in starting a rugby program here.” Mr. Smith said.
Smith feels the sport would be a great experience for students, especially athletes looking to keep � t during the o� -season.
“It’s a good sport to play during o� -season instead of a main high school sport to stay in shape and have fun,” he said.PHOTO COURTESY OF FREDDY SMITH
MMAShe swerves left, then right. She dodges a punch and
retaliates with a roundhouse kick. It is just another day of training for freshman Kiana Lowery.
Lowery has been practicing mixed martial arts for over two years, and according to her friend Sammy Green, Lowery is in “love” with the sport.
“Her training schedule is amazing,” Green said. “ She goes to the gym and works out as much as she can.”
Lowery’s commitment does not stop at the gym. She also has to follow a special 3,000 calorie diet. � ere had been times where she has had to gain pounds to enter certain weight categories in competitions.
Despite the lenient calorie intake, Lowery still man-ages to eat healthy.
“Whenever she is at my house, she backs away from the junk food,” Green said. “She mostly eats healthy or-ganic foods.”
Lowery is one of three girls out of two hundred peo-
ple involved in her gym’s mixed martial arts program. Although the lack of females may discourage some to
join, Lowery sees it as an advantage. “I like sparring with boys because they push me,” she
said. “� ey’re much stronger when it comes to sparring.” Lowery has experience in other forms of � ghting as
well. She began with Muay � ai and western kickboxing. She tried MMA for the � rst time after watching UFC
and she “loved it” from the beginning. Now she uses it as an outlet.
“I am a very emotional person, I use my emotions to spar,” Lowery said.
Lowery manages to balance two hours of training a day with her school work and wrestling practice. Despite the busy schedule, she still manages to organize her time for other things.
“[Lowery] splits her time between family, friends, school, and workouts,” Green said. “Although she shows a love for MMA, she always shows her love for her family and friends, and will always have time for them.”
Freddy Smith
Rugbyby Laura Smith
by Susan Nieves
Smith hopes to start rugby program
Lowery participates in mixed martial arts
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Sean Mitchell
� e rink is freezing cold, and a big paper is due to-morrow, but none of that matters to junior Sean Mitchell as he races onto the hockey rink.
“I think one of the biggest things that I love about [hockey] is the fast paced nature of the game. Hockey is so fast. You can go from one end of the ice down to the other end in the span of 12 seconds,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell currently plays center for the Kings recre-ational league and has been playing hockey for 10 years.
“� is year, I’m taking a leadership role to help out the other players, since I’ve had a lot more experience,” Mitchell said.
Since recreational hockey is not as violent as travel hockey, his teammates see him as a “big � sh in a little pond.”
“[He] is too good to play in our league,” fellow team-mate, junior Nick Tostado, said. “He’s the best player on our team.”
According to Mitchell, his height is a disadvantage. While playing travel hockey a year ago, Mitchell stood at only � ve foot three inches and was facing o� against six foot Canadians who were “bred for hockey.”
“It’s an aggressive sport,” he said. “When I was playing travel hockey, I was the target of a lot of angry teens look-ing to vent their frustration.”
After taking a year o� from hockey, Mitchell returned only to play recreationally.
Since he no longer has to contend with the challenges and expenses of travel hockey, he is able to balance both hockey and four AP classes.
“� is year is de� nitely harder, but I don’t think it’s hockey, it’s the classes that are getting harder,” Mitchell said.
Born into a hockey-loving family, Mitchell was ex-posed to the sport at an early age.
“I come from Minnesota, where hockey is a huge pastime for everyone,” Mitchell’s father, Bryan Mitch-ell, said. “So when [Mitchell] was born, he grew up in a house with hockey jerseys all over the wall and had to put up with a dad who loved that sport. Now, he’s a far better athlete than I ever was.”
Mitchell’s family remains supportive of him and have faith in both his physical abilities.
“It’s great to see a family tradition continue into the next generation,” Mitchell’s brother, Kevin Mitchell, said. “It’s always exciting to go see him play games and do well and try hard.”
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by Joseph Bieschke
Hockey
CarloGiannecchini
As he stares across the ring, gloves up and ready to spar, he does not see the friend he has practiced with for years. Instead, senior Carlo Giannecchini sees an oppo-nent that he has put blood, sweat, and hours of training into defeating.
He was introduced to the sport after having been raised in a martial arts-practicing family his entire life.
“My whole family is into the martial arts philosophies. I started traditional martial arts when I was eight and by the time I got into high school, I wanted something with a little more physical contact, so I started Muay � ai,” Giannecchini said.
He enjoys Muay � ai, a form of kickboxing, because of the mental challenges that it presents him.
“I like [kickboxing] more for the mental aspect than anything. It keeps me in shape, but it’s also like a game of physical chess,” he said.
In addition to physical conditioning, Giannecchini trains three times a week in Muay � ai and boxing and practices every day as a part of the wrestling team.
He has also learned perseverance through his involve-ment with wrestling, which has helped improve his kick-boxing techniques.
“I see guys on the wrestling team who work super hard every day, and I told myself that I have to be that way. Wrestling’s taught me how to push myself daily,” Gi-annecchini said.
Kickboxing is more than merely a sport to him; to him it provides both a sense of protection and a positive mind-set.
“Kickboxing is a really good way to � lter aggression in a safe environment. It also inspires me to live a healthy lifestyle. I don’t drink or do drugs because I want to be in top � ghting shape at all times. Having that knowledge that you can defend yourself is really powerful,” Giannec-chini said.
� rough � ghting, he has been able to meet others who share his passion. He enjoys the bonds that he makes with fellow � ghters.
“Once [the � ghting] is over, your opponent is the same guy who’s been through what you’ve been through and who understands what you do,” he said.
He plans to continue kickboxing and hopes to con-tinue improving his skills as he learns more techniques.
“I’m still learning. I certainly have a lot of experience, but it’s a life-long journey,” he said. “You’re never going to really learn it all.”
by Anacristina Gonzalez
Mia Reyes
Six days a week, � ve hours a day, junior Mia Reyes dedicates herself to her passion for ice skating.
Reyes has been skating for nine years. She was intro-duced to the sport when she was younger and her father would take her to the Toyota Sports Center to skate around “for fun.”
“My dad got me my � rst pair of skates for Christmas one year, and ever since then, I’ve been in love with [ice skating],” Reyes said.
Junior Kelsi Jackson, who also ice skates, was exposed to the sport through her father, who played hockey in his youth until around the age of 23.
“My dad and I would watch hockey on TV all the time,” Jackson said. “I would be like, ‘I want to do that,’ so then I decided to try the girl version and picked up skating.”
Reyes started out by just taking group skating lessons and later on decided to invest in private training. Once she acquired enough skill, she became a competitive skat-er.
According to Reyes, perfection is a key element to competing. Judges will take points o� of a score for mi-nor details, such as making a jump but not completing a revolution.
“[Ice skating] is an incredibly technical sport. Once you get all the technicalities down, it becomes ten times more enjoyable,” Reyes said.
Reyes trains six days a week for three to � ve hours each practice.
Jackson has been in approximately 25 ice skating com-petitions. In addition to competing, she enjoys perform-ing in shows.
Reyes enjoys both the individual aspect of ice skat-ing as a sport and the close ties that she has formed with other girls who she trains with.
“I love the fact that you can perform by yourself but you still have your friends there supporting you during competitions,” Reyes said.
Jackson also appreciates the support she receives from other skaters.
“You have a stronger bond with people who know what you’re going through all the time,” Jackson said.
Reyes’s passion for ice skating is what motivates her to continue pushing herself in her training every day.
“If you’re having one bad day, that’s all someone else will see, so I always put pressure on myself to prove my abilities,” Reyes said.
by Anacristina Gonzalez
Kickboxing
Ice skating
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by Caitlin Cochran and Jené Price
Got hops? 1. Junior Ian Fox attempts to score against Locke in the Pacific Shores Tournament. 2. Sophomore Jeremiah Hadley outruns Long Beach Poly’s defense and successfully dunks against them.
PHOTOS BY MITCHELL YONEMURA
1.
2.
Q&AWhere have you previously coached?
I coached at St. Benard for two years and at Leuzinger for eight years.
with coach Reggie Morris
What do you plan to accomplish this season?To be competitive in every game and to have a chance to play in the CIF Championship.
What is your main focus when coaching?Defense. We need to create a defensive team and modify everything around defense.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the team?
I don’t know the strengths of the team yet, but I know that it will be evolved around defense. Whether it is a low scoring game or a high scoring game, stopping the other team from scoring is how you win.
The boys’ basketball team finished strong in the Pacific Shores Tournament last week. The team won their first two games, but ended up losing in their last two.
The team started off the tournament against Mayfair. The bench scored thirty-two points with junior Ian Fox and soph-more Jeremiah Hadley scoring fourteen points. Following close behind, senior Derek Biale scored eleven points and senior Sebastian Lindner had nine. The team won by nineteen to start off the tournament.
This was new coach Reggie Mor-ris’s first game coaching for RUHS. He played ten players in the first ten minutes because has not chosen a starting group. As a result, all the players were given a chance to prove themselves and show their potential.
“We will need to have a set starting five,” Morris said. “We figure we have about eight or nine guys who can start. The guys that came off the bench can be starters and they proved it.”
The team has two transfers from St. Bernard’s, including sophomore Cam-eron High, who will not be able to play until he is cleared by CIF, and senior Jus-tin Wesson, who is currently injured.
They played Locke in their second game and won, winning out in pool play.
The win over Locke sent them to face Long Beach Poly, which is ranked num-ber one in California as well as fourth in the nation,where they were not success-ful, losing 41-71. The boys were down 6-20 at the end of the first quarter, too far behind to catch up by the end of the game.
After losing against Long Beach Poly, the boys played Serra in a close game. Unfortunetly for RUHS, Serra was able to pull through in the end.
According to senior Collin Welch, the Sea Hawks will play Gardena tomorrow, and are heading into the game “confident and ready to win”.
“The Gardena game is going to test our ability to win as we are coming off two losses and it is our first away game, but we overall pretty confident we will win,” Welch said.
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MAKING ADJUSTMENTS
Senior Derek Biale uses his ath-leticism and quick thinking to lead the varsity basketball team
to numerous victories. His ability to sink shots from anywhere helps too.
Biale began playing basketball at the age of six, after his father encouraged him to try the sport. He fell in love with the game soon after that.
It didn’t take long for Biale to get a knack for the sport. He continued to im-prove, winning a national title with his team at the age of nine.
“The feeling of being the number one team in the nation and playing in front of thousands of people couldn’t be topped,” Biale said.
Although winning a national title is one of Biale’s greatest moments, he is not satisfied. He has his eyes set on winning a CIF championship before his high school career ends, and is working twice as hard in order to try to make his dream a reality during his last year.
“He puts in the hours outside of team practice to get better and achieve his goal of a CIF championship. He inspires a lot of us,” junior Ian Fox said.
Biale’s understanding of the game and experience allow him to lead his team through any situation. He encourages his teammates to keep their tempo up no matter how the game is going. Four years of experience on varsity allow Biale to make quick decisions and be a leader for his team, according to senior Chris Henderson.
Biale’s team looks up to him as a lead-er. They help him accomplish his goals and support him to be the best player he can be. He is well respected and his skills stand out.
“Derek brings leadership along with
experience to the team. [He is] a person who can rally the team together. When things are going bad or when things are going good, he makes sure the intensity through our team remains high,” Hen-derson said.
Biale prefers to shoot from the three point line, but his versatility and ability to drive to the rim make him a deadly scoring threat.
Although shooting is his strength, Bia-le’s favorite thing about basketball is that it is a team sport.
“It’s not an individual sport and if you’re going to accomplish your goals, you need teammates you can count on and trust,” Biale said.
When Biale is off the court, he “likes to mess around and have a good time”, according to Henderson. He is intense when he plays basketball, but he has fun doing it as well.
“I love the competitiveness of [basket-ball]. I feel like every game is amazing,” Biale said.
Biale works hard and is a true leader for the basketball team. He is a force to be reckoned with as a scoring threat, but he supports his teammates at the same time.
“He has been my brother since my freshman year and has helped me be the player I am today,” Fox said.
Biale supports Fox much as he can and pushes him to play to his fullest potential.
Biale continues to shine as a player and works hard every time he steps on the court. His wits combined with his ath-leticism and his enthusiasm for the game make him a great teammate to play with.
“His shooting and his basketball IQ is ridiculous. He’s one of the smartest play-ers I know,” Fox said.
court smartby Shawn Mallen
athlete of the issue: derek biale
Last week in Inglewood, the girls com-peted in their first tournament of the sea-son. With two wins and three losses, the team came in ninth place.
“I’m disappointed because we could have done better,” coach Marcelo En-riquez said. “We had opportunities where we could have finished four and one, but we fell hard in a couple areas, [such as] keeping our composure and staying uni-fied as a team.”
Rebounding from disappointment by Alina Bieschke and Kira Bowen Sophomore Tori Lee recognized the
decline as the tournament went on. “We had a lot of energy and turn-
overs,” Lee said. “We expected a win [but] we lost a lot of momentum.”
Freshman Micaela Enriquez also had a bittersweet view of the tournament.
“Our first two games, which we won, were great. We played hard and we played together,” she said. “The last three games didn’t go so well. We lost to St. Bernard and then the next day we lost to Monroe in double overtime. In both games we
had a lot of turnovers and we just didn’t take care of the ball.”
Although they lost in the Inglewood tournament, the team looks forward to performing well in what should be a competitive tournament at home this week from Dec. 3 to Dec. 8.
“I think since we are at home we will work harder,” she said. “This tourna-ment is a way for us to bounce back from our three losses [as long as] we can learn from our mistakes and build on the good things that we did.”
In whole, reflecting on the scores and their performance, coach Enriquez knows the team has a lot to improve on.
“We fell apart at the end. The last few games, we cut short and did poorly. We need to cut back on [giving the ball to the other team], and we did a poor job of taking care of the basketball offen-sively,” coach Enriquez said. “We need to improve on valuing the basketball, rebounding and communication, and if we improve on those areas we can be suc-cessful.”
Under pressure. Senior Derek Biale beats a Locke player and scores off of a layup.
PHOTO BY MITCHELL YONEMURA
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The girls’ soccer team beat Notre Dame Academy 2-0 yesterday by enforcing pres-sure on the enemy within the first 10 min-utes.
“We had positive energy from everyone and we were focused on doing our best,” sophomore Kristina Williamson said.
Redondo started the game off on a great note, but struggled as the game went on, and managed to make another goal right before the game ended.
“We came out strong the first few min-utes to get our first goal. However, we start-ed to lose control near the end but still stuck through it to get another goal at the end,” junior Katrina Cohen said.
Ending the week playing against Notre Dame turned out in Redondo’s favor since they are playing in the South tournament this weekend, and Notre Dame was a chal-lenging team.
“We are really excited to be playing this weekend. I feel like we are going to do really well, not only as individuals, but as a team,” Williamson said.
The team is confident that they will make it to the end this weekend.
“We plan to go far in this tournament because we have the potential and talent to win it all if we stay dedicated and play our game,” Cohen said.
Overall, the team has extremely high hopes that they will make it far in this up-coming season.
“We have a lot of great talent on this team, and once the team’s chemistry clicks, we will connect even better with each other. If we all put in the effort and focus, we will go far,” Williamson said.
PHOTO BY CLAIRE TISIUS
Take that back. Senior Tonya Gonzales attempts to steal the ball from a Notre Dame Academy player. The RUHS girls won 2-0.
PHOTO BY DIANA LUNA
Surfing safari. Sophomore Luke Meyers rides a wave during zero period early in the season. “We have a pretty strong team this year,” Meyers said. The team lost to Mira Costa on Wednesday, ending their winning streak. They will surf against PV next week.
Wednesday, the surf team lost to Mira Costa, fighting their way up to a score of 77-91. This was the team’s first loss of the season, ending their undefeated 3-0 record.
Although the team lost, coach Dun-can Avery considered the surf team’s loss a “good loss” since it was the best the team has done against Mira Costa in six years.
“[Mira Costa] is one of the best teams in the state–they’re a really strong surfing school. The team definitely closed the gap [on Wednesday],” Avery said. “We were very close.”
Redondo did well in the longboard event and “average” in the shortboard-ing heat, but their downfall came in the bodyboarding event. After the first two heats of the surf, Redondo was able to pull ahead by two points to make the score 22-20. Later, four heats into the compe-tition, the score was tied 44-44, but in the last heats the team fell short, with Redondo bodyboarders placing fourth, fifth, and sixth, while Costa bodyboard-ers placed first, second, and third.
“The bodyboard heat was what really hurt us in the overall point count, but I was really proud of how our team fought–
we surfed really well that day,” said Avery, still happy with the team despite their poor performance in bodyboarding.
Sophomore and competitor in the shortboard and bodyboard events Luke Meyers suspects that the team’s success was due to chance, not skill.
“Honestly, I think we got kind of lucky that we did so well. Our longboard-ers are better than theirs, but that’s only a small part of the team’s score,” Meyers said. “Even though our girls are at about the same level as theirs, our bodyboarders and shortboarders aren’t nearly as good.”
Teammate and junior Kenny Okuda still has faith in the team.
“Even though we lost, I do feel like our team has improved a lot, and we have many talented surfers,” Okuda said, add-ing that the team is “constantly improv-ing.”
“The good news is that most of our team is sophomores and juniors- we have a lot of athletes who are going to have a couple more years in the program,” Avery said. “Because of this, the team’s going to get much stronger as the years develop.”
Individually, there were a few different things that the surfers were tripped up by.
“I just couldn’t find a good enough wave to get a solid score and secure the win,” Meyers said.
Junior Michael Okuda was struggling with turns, and his twin brother, Kenny, had a hard time with his wave selection and positioning. Many of the problems the team faced were specific to each com-petitor.
To improve, Avery believes the surfers just need more practice time.
“It’s really just logging more hours in the water. With surfing, the key is get-ting more heat experience and improving more and more every day,” he said.
Meyers also plans to get more time in the water, blatantly saying that “all we can do to improve is practice.”
The surf at Redondo has been flat late-ly, affecting the team’s practice and com-petition time. A surf against Palos Verdes was canceled due to flat surf, and many of the surfer’s practice time has been de-pleted.
“Hopefully the waves will start com-ing in so the team and I can progress,” Michael Okuda said, expressing his con-cern for the lack of waves affecting the team’s progress. His brother, on the other hand, is just concerned about having a good time.
“I plan to improve my surfing by just practicing and having fun surfing with my friends,” Kenny Okuda said, “be-cause that’s really what its all about.”
by Lindsey Pannor
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WATER POLO
BOYS’ SOCCER
CHEER
Flying high. Cheerleaders perform a stunt in football game against Culver City.
PHOTO BY JENNY OETZELL
� e cheer team has been memorizing routines, changing them, and memorizing again in e� orts to prepare for nerve-rattling, adrenaline-pumping competitions.
Coach Karen Bustillos has known that the girls were ready to have a competive team but wanted to wait before entering competitions.
“� ey have been working really hard to im-prove all their skills, and it really shows,”
Bustillos said.� e team has been working hard on
higher-level stunts, transi-tional pyramids, gymnastics,
and jumps to prepare for competition. “What’s tough about [cheer] is that the girls
work really hard for months on one short routine that showcases all they can do,” Bustillos said.
� e girls will also need to work on the transi-tions for their routines.
“It’s a lot harder to be yelling at the top of your lungs for a minute and then go into a dance,” Dobler said.
Dobler also believes that the girls need to prac-tice stunting, which is when a group of girls hold someone up in the air for a trick.
“� e stunting is de� nitely hardest to accom-plish, but we will have to just keep practicing,” Dobler said.
by Beth Shallon
Breaking a sweat. Senior David Al-exander passes in game against South.
PHOTO BY BRIAN FERNANDEZ
by Micah Ezzes
At the most re-cent home game against
South Torrance High on Tuesday, the boys’ soccer team
came away with a 1-0 victory, continuing their streak of good per-
formance. Senior David Alexander be-
lieves that the team has the potential to do very well this season.
“Our record so far represents
exactly what we are hoping to accom-plish this season,” he said.
� e team is now 2-0-1, with a tie against St. John’s Bosco and wins against both Santa Monica High and South.
“We did a good job,” coach Igna-cio Lopez said. “We got our opportu-nity and put it away.”
Strong performances from the de-fensive end, including from junior Shane Staudle and junior Gri� n � omas, kept Redondo in the game for a tight victory.
“[Shane and Gri� n] really kept our defense solid by giving us the
shut-out,” Alexander said.Despite the win against South,
there was room to improve, accord-ing to Alexander. Many opportuni-ties to score goals and extend the lead were missed.
“We need to start � nishing to put less pressure on us towards the end of the game,” he said.
� ere are de� nitely thoughts of a playo� run for the team this season, according to senior Enzo Mattucci.
“I think that we have a really good chance of going far this season as long as we stay on track and work hard in practice,” he said.
by Anna Fauver
� e girls’ water polo team lost to Santa Monica High School 4-5 in Wednesday’s home game.
Despite the loss, coach Mitch Yamamoto believes the girls played well in their preseason game.
“� e girls played a very good game,” Yamamoto said. “It’s just our shot selections weren’t the best shots to take.”
Catch and release. Sophomore Madi-son East catches a ball in game against Santa Monica High School on Wednesday.
PHOTO BY AHMAD KABBANI
Although senior Sarah Logan believes that it was not the team’s best game, she does agree that their o� ense needs to be stronger.
“It wasn’t our best game,” she said. “We were all a little tired to-day, and we made basic mistakes in the game as individuals.”
Yamamoto and the rest of the team are aiming to do better this season than they did last season.
“One of our goals is to make it to CIF,” Yamamoto said. According to junior Brigette Schneider, PV will be the hardest team in the league.
“Most teams have one or two
strong players,” she said. “PV, on the other hand, has a whole line of girls who all play club and really know what they are doing.”
According to Logan, one of the main ways to be competitive against teams such as PV is to improve the o� ense immensely, despite the fact that PV is more experienced.
“We are really trying to iron out bad habits we have,” Logan said. “We have to set up our o� ensive game. Some girls are realizing that they just can’t be passive anymore and that it’s their turn to step it up and make those tough shots.”
It’s time to dust o� the mats and put on the headgear. � e wrestling team started o� their season with a bang last night as they defeated Palisades Charter High School 42-36 in their team’s � rst home match of the season. Ju-nior Kevin James contributed to this season’s � rst win
Off to Good Start
by Cole Stecyk
with his leadership and strategies.“� is season I think I will do well; I am very focused,
and my weight is right. Everything else is going good, my technique is good. My only enemy is my mind,” James said. “We have a lot of graduating seniors this year, but I’m only a junior so I have two years to shine.”
Senior Julian Rodriguez believes that this win is a great way to start o� the season, and it got the team pumped, hoping for another great year.
“� is season, I hope to keep the team’s spirit up, get them ready for every match, and teach them to be the best they can be, no matter what the score,” Rodriguez said. “Personally, I hope that I can get the team enough
points that we need to win another game.”Senior Izzy Del Real believes this win will lead the
team to a very successful season.“We are at our prime right now, and with the new
guys coming to the team this year, we have great poten-tial to do great things and go far,” Del Real said.
Coach Arond Schonberg intends to use the upcoming holiday break as a critical time to maintain the goals and skills of the team so that they may meet their highest standards.
“We just need to stay consistent and work hard over winter break on our moves,” Schonberg said. “If we can stay motivated, and if everyone wrestles to their poten-tial, we should de� nitely give San Pedro a run for their money.”
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As they walk down the halls, hair smoothed back into tight buns and army green uniforms in place of their ev-eryday clothes, the ROTC girls are harassed because their uniforms do not fit society’s standard for female beauty.
ROTC members have recently started being bullied because of a new rule that requires them to wear their uniforms more often. Senior Lizzie Redman is one of ROTC members that have been victimized by students.
“A lot of the time, we get the insulting fake salutes and we’re called Nazi’s. And we’re definitely pushed and shoved more when we’re in uniform than if we were just wearing normal street clothes,” Redman said.
She is not the only one who has experienced this new wave of bullying.
“My best friend was in the bathroom one day while in uniform, and this girl walked in and cast obscenities at her because of it. Another girl had a water bottle thrown at her,” she said. “And we’re not allowed to de-fend ourselves by fighting while we’re in uniform, un-less we’re physically attacked.”
Senior Jacob Spear, another ROTC member, be-lieves that girls in the ROTC uniform are bullied more than boys.
“[Boys] don’t get it as much as the girls do because there’s just this stigma about girls being in the military that boys don’t have,” said Spear. “A lot of the people who make fun of them are immature. They just don’t understand what ROTC is about.”
Redman has personally been subject to harassment and agrees with Spear about how girls in uniform are treated.
“I get told I look like a man. But I don’t let it get to me personally. I’ve seen other girls, though, crying in the locker room because they’d been bullied,” she said. “[The people who bully the girls] probably just think that we are jeopardizing our femininity. They think we’re trying to be like men, but we’re just beautiful in a strong way.”
Other ROTC girls feel differently. Sophomore Evelin Jimenez prefers wearing her own clothes and she wishes she did not have to wear the designated uniform.
“In order to feel beautiful, you have to be able to wear something that you find acceptable. And I feel more comfortable in my clothes than in something people force me to wear,” Jimenez said.
Because the uniforms have caused such an uproar of bullying, many girls are leaving the program--including Jimenez.
“I talked to my counselor, and we decided that it would be best if I left the program. Even though it’s im-portant to stick with your commitments, it’s not good if you walk in everyday and regret going,” Jimenez said. “It bothers me when I look in the mirror, and I’m not happy with what I see.”
Although some of the cadets want to leave the pro-gram because of the bullying, Redman is not ashamed of wearing her uniform.
“I’m very proud of my uniform, especially because my sister is a marine. Being in uniform is something to be respected and not scorned,” she said. “It’s an awe-some uniform, and I’m not going to be embarassed about it.”
Other girls have a harder time disregarding the teas-ing and shoving, but Redman lets them know that she is there for them if they need her.
“If we go to our teacher, he just says to shrug it off and tell them they are not worthy of the uniform. But
realistically, no one is going to just go say that to some-one. So, I try to cheer up [the girls who have been bul-lied]. We’re not usually all touchy-feely, but I let them know they can come to me,” Redman said. “I tell them they’re beautiful on the inside and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
According to Redman, she values her ROTC experi-ences more than other peoples’ perceptions of her.
“Physical attractiveness is not the only thing that mat-ters in life. There are more important things like strength, dedication, and getting past peer pressure to do what you want and what you believe in.”
“I get told I look like a man, but I don’t let it get to me personally. I’ve seen other girls though, crying in the locker room because they’d been bullied. The people who bully the girls probably just think that we are jeopardizing our femininity. They think we’re trying to be like men, but we’re just beautiful in a strong way.”
LIZZIE REDMAN
story by Ilana LaGraff
illustration by Valerie Choi
Although bullied for their uniforms, ROTC membersdo not let the hurtful words affect them.
beauty strengthin
