The Arcadia Quill
Vol. LXX • Issue No. VI
The official student newspaper of Arcadia High School since 1952
ARCADIAQUILL.COM
Class of 2025 Bonding: You Look Good
By AVA SHAW
Staff Writer
Part Time Job Student Feature: Kurt Wong By KATHY WONG Staff Writer Arcadia High School (AHS) students take on many extracurriculars and AP classes throughout their four years of high school to challenge themselves and plan for their futures. The competitiveness of the school is real, and the expectations students have for themselves are set high. With the stress and strong ambitions of students in the school, those who hold part-time jobs must balance their work hours with school and other responsibilities. Senior Kurt Wong talked about his experience working as a crew trainer at the Arcadia McDonald’s.
– Continued on page 9
Appreciate Origami
Caroline Li’24 explores the value of origami and why it should be appreciated more. Opinion • P6
Prom Rizz
Kaitlynn Trinh’25 shares tips on how to secure a prom date using “rizz.” Features • P8
The Use of Anachronisms Michael Hum’24 discusses the impacts of anachronisms in the film and entertainment industry. (TW: Spoilers for some movies.) Arts & Entertainment • P13
Rio Hondo/Pacific League Challenge Varsity Track Meet Ava Shaw’25 showcases an outstanding performance by AHS’ Track and Field team at the Rio Hondo/Pacific League Track Meet. Sports • P14
Arcadia High School 180 Campus Drive Arcadia, CA 91006 @arcadiaquill
NEWS: Seniors Cindy Lu and Ian Peng made it to the top 300 out of 1,949 students across the country in the Regeneron Science Talent Search Competition.
2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search
By BREEANNA PHAM
Staff Writer The Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) is a pre-college science and mathematics competition in which high school seniors may enter for the chance to earn a prize of $2,000, with another $2,000 for their school to use for STEM-related activities. The top 40 Finalists have the capability to win $25,000 and partake in the final March competition, and the scholar with the top prize is granted $250,000. The Regeneron STS is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious mathematics and science competition, and began in 1942. Every year, 1,900 students enter the competition, conducting their own unique research project. The goal of Regeneron STS is to find promising, engaging, and inspiring scientists among the nation’s high school seniors. In this year’s 82nd contest, Arcadia High School (AHS) teacher Mrs. Cherryl Mynster was recognized as a Teacher of Merit within the program. As a Teacher of Merit, Mrs. Mynster’s role within the competition is to “support, review, and recommend students’ projects for the Regeneron Competition.” Additionally, through their amazing research projects, two of AHS’ students, seniors Cindy Lu and Ian Peng made the top 300 cohort out of 1,949 students across the country who entered. Lu explained that she did her research paper on “the possible aberrant human gut microbiome in COVID-19 patients, which may be an important factor in long COVID development and disease severity.” In her project, she utilized meta-analysis to merge the findings of independent research papers, and statistical methods to find the
absolute effect of the data. From her findings, she found that if the health promoting bacteria is regrown, there is the possibility for various therapies someone can go through to alleviate the long term COVID symptoms. Similarly to Lu, Peng constructed a way to help cure COVID facilitated through elevated temperatures, where lasers attach to the COVID virus and destroy it. His goal in pursuing this project was to not only assist in detecting a new way to destroy the virus, but to also introduce a new cure for viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2. “The ACE2 (Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) functionalized PTA (photothermal absorbents) particles I created, which have a dual function, virus decoy and destruction, presents a unique and highly effective approach to tackling the dangers posed by widespread infection of COVID-19 variants, as well as other contagious diseases which involve rapidly mutating viral species,” said Peng. The Regeneron STS is a program that can impact the lives of many seniors. For students who are looking into STEM majors, the lessons learned from this program are invaluable— from the ability to experience the process of writing a research paper, to gaining a different perspective on your passion project. Congratulations to Mrs. Mynster, Cindy Lu, and Ian Peng on their success in the Regeneron STS!
bpham@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of Arcadia Unified School District
The skies were clear and the sun was shining at the Class of 2025 bonding event, You Look Good. Sophomores gathered after school on Mar. 17 as their class council hosted a fun afternoon of arts and crafts, drinks, and fun with friends. Upon arriving at the Rally Court, students lined up and waited for the event to commence. At the check-in station, they gave their ID numbers, were given a blue stamp, and headed up the stage towards several booths. Students expressed their creative side as they decorated mini mirrors. At the first table, the sophomores were given a choice between either a square or circle mirror. At the decorating station, they had access to an array of supplies to embellish their mirrors. Laid out across the table were colorful acrylic paint pens, letter stickers, flower stickers, and more. The sophomores gathered around and chatted as they doodled on and decorated the mirrors with cute designs. “I chose to decorate a square mirror with cat stickers. I’m looking forward to taking the mirror home so I can continue decorating it with my own supplies. I enjoyed expressing my creativity,” said sophomore Stephanie Ho. Additionally, Sophomore Council treated their peers to a delicious boba bar. The ASB officers served up cups of refreshing mango passion fruit green tea with ice. Toppings included classic lychee jelly, as well as passion fruit popping boba. The drink was finished off with either a pink or yellow boba straw. Throughout the event, students sipped on the tasty beverage, with some even going back for seconds. As an accompanying snack, rice crackers were also sold at the rally court stage. You Look Good also featured a board game table for students to take part in some friendly competition. Some games included 5 Second Rule, Rapid Cup, and the beloved card game Uno. As all these activities went on, music played in the background, creating a cheerful atmosphere. Students sang along to songs such as “Loverboy” by A-Wall and “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” by boy band HIGH4. “I had a good time spending time with my friends at meeting new people,” said sophomore Snigdha Boynipalli. “It was especially fun looking at other people’s mirrors because I was impressed by everyone’s artistic abilities. I also enjoyed how they included popping boba instead of regular boba in the tea. That was a fun touch.” You Look Good was definitely a success among the Class of 2025. Sophomores enjoyed spending quality time with friends sipping boba, playing games, and decorating mirrors, all while listening to some great tunes! ashaw@arcadiaquill.com
– Continued on page 4