Story by Benjamin ReganStaff Writer Photos courtesy of Jaime GarciaContributor A historic season for the South Pasadena Tigers baseball team ended on Friday, June 11 with a 5-3 loss to Elsinore in the third round of CIF playoffs. Finishing with a 6-6 record in the Rio Hondo League, the Tigers reached CIF playoffs for the […]
Revisiting The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’s influence
Story by Charlotte DekleStaff Writer Illustration by Penny AboudGraphic Designer The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’s extravagant, ABBA-filled 1994 debut marked a monumental shift in both the film industry and queer culture with its refreshingly positive representation of gay and transgender people. The Stephan Elliot helmed film tells the story of drag queens […]
In the Heights explores the vibrant community of New York’s Washington Heights
Story by Eddie ZhouStaff Writer Illustration by Allison LeeStaff Illustrator The success of Hamilton propelled Lin-Manuel Miranda to superstardom, but it was his Tony Award winning 2008 musical In the Heights that propelled Miranda into the musical world. In the new film adaptation, directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, Step Up), stunning visuals […]
John Eldred selected as new SPHS principal
Story by Raluca TudusciucStaff Writer Photo courtesy of John EldredContributor SPUSD announced the hire of new SPHS principal John Eldred in an email on Wednesday, June 30. Eldred’s hire comes after the retirement of former SPHS principal Janet Anderson in May. Eldred is a graduate of California State University, Northridge, and the former vice principal […]
Boys track earns second CIF title in SPHS track history
Story by Zoe SchlaakSports Editor Photos courtesy of Dylan Stewart, PrepCalTrack.comContributor The 2020-2021 boys track team won the Division 3 CIF Southern Section Championship title at the finals meet on Saturday, June 12, with help from key graduated seniors. With their 72 overall points, the boys team secured their first division title in SPHS history; […]
Rising Senior Nicholas Chau commits to dive for Yale University
Story by Eddie Zhou Staff Writer Photo courtesy of Ben FeriaContributor Rising Senior Nicholas Chau announced his verbal commitment to the likely letter process at Yale University via Instagram on Monday, June 7. The likely letter process allows schools who cannot offer athletic scholarships, such as Yale, to recruit athletes. Chau will compete in diving […]
Breaking the unspoken rule against voicing my opinions
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer This has been an unsettling topic that has been on my mind since childhood: the love/hate relationship I have with my parents. One of the first rules my parents established was “don’t talk back.” No matter how invalid my parents’ arguments were, talking back meant receiving the silent treatment […]
Coping and cutting my hair
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer Take one step at a time. This is what I didn’t do when I attempted to break out of a depressed state. For weeks, I was plagued with deprecating thoughts, managing to convince myself that I was truly incapable of doing anything. I reclined in bed and spent hours […]
Anime carries surprising weight
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer The setter smoothly switches from a spiking to setting position, passing the ball to one of the wing spikers who smashes the ball over the net. Karasuno High’s middle blocker Hinata Shoyo retaliates. With intense concentration fixated on the ball, he blocks the ball’s path, shooting it high into […]
Competition is fracturing
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer I can’t remember the carefree feelings that surged through me in elementary and middle school. But I can recall that I was braver, happier, and more ambitious than I am now. My adventure started with daringly climbing the netted structure at Monterey Hills with my friends and daringly declaring […]
Stop telling me that distance learning is easy
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer The 2020 spring semester was an unexpected shift from in-person learning to online schooling, yet many of us managed a smooth transition. Nine months later, processing the normalization of school at home has proved to be more difficult than the initial transition. While experiencing the ongoing pandemic, political climate, […]
Discovery identity
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer It took 15 years to finally feel Taiwanese. As a LA born Taiwanese-American, I struggled with boredom at Chinese school and only visited Taiwan once every one or two years. To me, being an American meant that I didn’t have to embrace my Taiwanese identity, as English was the […]
Finding the right fit
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer Most high-achieving South Pas students have one goal: getting into college, especially a prestigious one. Even in middle school, I was beginning to think about my dream college and planning the steps I would take to achieve that goal. But in high school, I began taking a more critical […]
My high school experience as a game of Jenga
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer I poked my index finger at the wooden block. Ignoring the sway of the tower, I quickly pulled the block through and greedily added a tally mark to the total number of extractions. Jenga is a boring game, my ten-year old self thought. Absent-mindedly, I randomly selected another block […]
SPHS celebrates the Class of 2021 at graduation ceremony
Story by Lilian ZhuWebmaster Photos by Sophie YeungPhoto Editor 358 seniors secured their diplomas during the graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 2. The graduating Class of 2021 celebrated the end of an unusual year together on the Roosevelt field. The ceremony opened with the national anthem, sung by senior Kayla Nielsen followed by senior class […]
Letter to the editor: race, class, and what SPUSD doesn’t want you to know about summer school
Story by John SrebalusContributor Illustration by Terry SongCo-Design Editor I’m not asking the South Pasadena Unified School District (SPUSD) to do anything it hasn’t already said it would do. Says Resolution 2019-2020-26, passed June 9, 2020, “Whereas, [SPUSD] desires to provide a safe school environment that allows all students equal access and opportunities in the […]