Story by Elsie Waters Staff Writer Illustration by Allison Lee Staff Illustrator In order to fully understand my predicament, one must first and foremost know that I have always shared a close bond with my siblings. From a one bedroom apartment that burst at the seams trying to contain us, to a house where bunk […]
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 […]
The beach is all I could ever want and need
Story by Amber ChenOpinion Editor Illustration by Tarry SongAssociate Design Editor Hotel del Coronado felt like “A Supposedly Fun Thing [I’d] Never Do Again.” I spent Wednesday and Thursday of spring break there, off the coast of San Diego. Most of my stay was spent eating overpriced food on the Sun Deck and trying to […]
Calls for peaceful protest aren’t calls for pacifism
Intense focus has been given to the tactics of protest movement across the U.S., most calling for “pacifism.” Yet, demanding peaceful protest against a violent government can run contrary to peace.
Commodity fetishism is at the core of social media’s absurdism
Story by Sam GrotensteinAssociate Opinion Editor Illustration by David SohnStaff Illustrator The Snapchat discover page is a horrible place. This may seem like hyperbole, but the explore page sits pathetically as the disgusting offspring of contemporary tabloid magazines and early 20th century travelling circus acts. It is a seemingly never-ending stream of 30 second long […]
Parental censorship hinders a child’s potential
Story by Kahlen MiaoStaff Writer Illustration by Nicholas FormanStaff Illustration When I received my first phone at the beginning of middle school, I was beyond excited. I was enamored by the prospect of an endless internet, however unsurprisingly, I was restricted from one of the most vital forms of modern communication: social media. Parental censorship […]
The food industry is to blame for America’s obesity problem, not the individual
Story by Amber ChenOpinion Editor Illustration by Talulla ChowCo-Design Editor Americans get new solutions to obesity every day — a new pill, a new superfood, surgery — but people keep getting bigger. In 1990, less than 15% of the U.S. population was obese. Today, about one fifth of children and adolescents and one third of […]
Don’t justify misogyny as racial progress
Story by Georgia ParsonsAssociate Feature Editor Illustration by Nicholas FormanStaff Illustrator Throughout history, white women have helped to maintain the system of white supremacy ingrained in this country. Although often painted as passive characters, white women have also held large and overt roles. For example, white women developed their own branch of a white supremacist […]
Mental health cannot be commercialized
Story by Sofia AlvaAssociate News Editor Illustration by Terry SongAssociate Design Editor The coronavirus pandemic continues to harm teenage mental health, shown not only in student complaints of increased stress, but in such a serious way that it has produced statistical results. Adults who control the structure of student life acknowledge the existence of this […]
The current system of education cannot be tolerated any longer
At the start of my junior year, I finally told my friends that their obsession with academic comparison was wrecking my mental health. I suggested that we avoid talking about grades altogether. Oftentimes after a test, I would hear this seemingly innocent inquiry: “Oh my God, what did you get?” Yet, this question is frequently […]
The process of military recruitment at high school is purposefully deceiving and must be reformed
Story by Haelee KimStaff Writer Illustration by Alicia ZhangStaff Illustrator Military recruiting tables are a ubiquitous sight on high school campuses across the country. Since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2001, high schools are obligated to allow the military just as much access to campuses as regular colleges. This can have […]
Unhealthy relationships should not be glorified
Story by Georgia ParsonsStaff Writer Illustration by David SohnStaff Illustrator From Jean-Jacques Annaud’s The Lover to Call Me by Your Name, movies portraying age-inappropriate relationships have become a staple in the film industry. Their visually appealing qualities often overshadow blatantly abusive power dynamics. Thus, these relationships become romanticized, which is especially harmful for young viewers […]
Society needs to validate queer people
Story by Cat FloresEditor-in-Chief Growing up, I didn’t see a lot of femme lesbian relationships in media, or at least not any that were realistic with depth and storyline. The only femme-on-femme action I witnessed was over sexualization in music videos when two hot girls made out. My idea of what a lesbian or queer […]
‘Coming out’ should be on one’s own accord
Story by Quinn ManzoStaff Writer Illustration by David SohnStaff Illustrator “Coming out” is the act of sharing one’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity, whether that means sharing it publicly on social media or gradually with loved ones. The action has become standard to the LGBTQ+ experience, but the same standard does not apply to straight, […]
Normalcy should not be the expectation
Story by Kahlen MiaoStaff Writer Illustration by David SohnStaff Illustrator At the beginning of this month, I opened my report card to a mixture of shock and disappointment. I had ended the last semester with three B’s. Transitioning into my sophomore year was more difficult than I’d like to admit. I know for a fact […]
Che Guevara, MLK, and the art of cultural mystification
Cultural mystification, the idea of explaining away what may otherwise be obvious for the sake of an agenda, is destroying our political landscape.