As Xenia Bernal ’19 flipped through the pages of the 2017 yearbook, she was taken aback. Alongside silly photos of seniors in heart-shaped sunglasses and cheetah-print hats was a large photo of a group of boys in sombreros and fake mustaches posing with a huge bottle of Tapatío hot sauce. Bernal, a leader of the […]
Though Abby Kirchmeier ’20 anticipated a big crowd as she walked into Taper Gym, she was blown away by the turnout. Kirchmeier struggled to stand among the Fanatics on the jam-packed bleachers, with students on both sides of the court hollering chants and cheers for the schools’ basketball teams. Despite having attended other school sports […]
When Leyah Barris ’19 first told her friends that there would be a show about her and her family on ABC that her father Kenya created, she didn’t think they would refuse to watch it. They didn’t make excuses about being too busy with homework or being uninterested in the plotline; instead, they had a […]
Looking out over miles of green atop a mountain in the Golan Heights while on a family trip to Israel, Lisa* ’19 was surprised to see a harsh line in the distance that abruptly separated rich greenery from miles of bare, arid land beyond it. After talking to her tour guide, Lisa realized that she […]
After closely following students “Audrey,” “Nate,” “Jenna” and “Christopher” through their respective college processes this year, it’s time to reveal their true identities, college decisions and final remarks on senior year. The Portfolio Applicant “Audrey”: Sophie Levy Heaving a sigh of relief, Sophie Levy ’18 is counting down the days until her summer begins, […]
Rob* ’20 stared at the screen in front of him in shock. A moment earlier, he had been watching his friend’s video game livestream when someone under an anonymous username appeared on the chat. “WE ARE THE KLU KLUX KLAN AND WE HATE N*****S AND F******S AND JEWSS,” the user wrote. It took all he […]
Sunday evening, while other students labored over their English essays and crammed for their math exams the next day, Jonathan Damico ’19 cruised alongside the PCH. As he turned toward the setting sun, Damico wasn’t viewing the misty ocean front or a watercolor sky, but instead he was looking out toward the bike path. He […]
Feb. 22, it was West Virginia. April 2, it was Kentucky and Oklahoma. April 26, it was Arizona. April 27, it was Colorado. May 16, it was North Carolina. In each of these states, striking teachers walked out to protest stagnant wages, continual decreases in per-student spending and other problems in public education. The teachers […]
Luis Rodriguez had never imagined that walking out of his school could change history. Fifty years ago, in March of 1968, 13-year-old Rodriguez led his classmates to walk out of Richard Garvey Intermediate School in protest of Mexican-American treatment in schools. Now known as the Chicano Blowouts, or the East Los Angeles Walkouts, these walkouts […]
It wasn’t until she couldn’t stand up without getting a headache that Alyse Tran ’18 finally decided she was too sick to come to school. She had endured three days of body aches to avoid missing class, but eventually her flu symptoms became too debilitating to ignore. “I had a lot of tests and labs due […]