Empowering students to think critically and creatively since 1913
VOLUME 110 ISSUE 6 MARCH 21, 2024
IN THE NEWS
SOUTH PASADENA HIGH SCHOOL 1401 FREMONT AVE, SOUTH PASADENA, CA 91030
SPRING BREAK
SPRING MUSICAL
CLASS OFFICER ELECTIONS
SPUSD students and staff will go on a weeklong break from Friday, March 31 to Friday, April 5.
SPHS Drama will put on the spring musical, Bright Star, on the weekend of Friday, April 19.
Incoming sophomores, juniors, and seniors will vote for class office on Friday, April 26.
TEDx returns to SPHS with “Beyond Boundaries”
STORY ETHAN KWAK PHOTO KAITLYN LEE
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PHS’s 2024 independently organized TEDx event began at 10 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 in the Little Theater after months of preparation and with the dedication of around 100 student, parent, and teacher volunteers. Tickets were sold at lunch the previous week and at the door prior to the event. The TEDx presentations were primarily organized by SPHS teachers Diane Shires and Christopher Herrin, and this year’s theme of “Beyond Boundaries” was suggested by Tyler Doig. “Each of our speakers chose their own topic and they chose something that was very important to them,” Shires said. “A lot of [the speeches] were about mental health and how they have learned strategies to become strong and to overcome challenges. One of the big takeaways is that everyone on campus needs to hear these stories.” This is the first TEDx event that has been organized at SPHS since the pandemic. The 12 talks, split into three sections, included two 15-minute intermissions and the showings of TEDxGlobal 2012’s “Before I Die I Want To…” by Candy Chang and TED 2014’s “Color Blind or Color Brave?” by Mellody Hobson. “It’s a very slow moving caravan, and getting it started is a lot of work but…once you build momentum it goes pretty quickly — that’s where we’ve been at [for] the last couple weeks. I think it’s an important event that has a rich history at this school and it gives students that don’t really have the opportunity to express themselves,” Herrin said. “The theme is ‘Beyond Boundaries,’ and we were hoping to generate discussion around boundaries in society: labels that people have for themselves or others [and] moving past those to redefine themselves.” SPHS juniors Samuel Whitman and Jayel Bright served as the masters of ceremony, announcing facts about each speaker in between speeches and also helping to organize the event. Additionally, Bright designed the promotional poster for the event. The morning began with SPHS junior Jordan Cutler’s “Youth Sports Culture THE RIGHT TO ABORTION ACCESS
and Coaching Reform.” As a level 10 and nationally qualified gymnast, Cutler drew from personal experiences with abusive coaching and anxiety and called for athletes to seek positive coaching. Junior Florence Jones shared her experience in a creative writing therapy group and the positive impacts of creativity on her mental health in “Finding Freedom Through Creative Expression.” The third speech, “Growing Up in a Cult” by junior Jay Chen, offered unfiltered insight from the perspective of a former cult member. Junior Julia Santos shared her personal experiences regarding the impact of technology on self esteem with “Unraveling the Impact of Social Media on Self Perception and Authenticity.” Closing out the beginning of the event, freshman Claire Mao’s “The Power of Body Language” emphasized the importance of interpreting and enacting the universal language of our bodies. The audience returned to the second section with junior Elisa Argus’s “High Schooler’s Guide on How to Chill Out.” Junior Alexandra Gosset’s “Disability is Not a Bad Word” raised awareness for “invisible disabilities” such as Ehler-Danlos syndrome, which she was diagnosed with at age 12. She described common misconceptions and struggles, as well as a call for advocacy and change within the state legislature to support people with disabilities. Drama enthusiast and junior Mia Tavera addressed the fear of judgment with “Overcoming Stage Fright,” and Junior Omar Soufi called for audience members to check on the men in their lives with “Redefining Strength: Unveiling the Hidden Struggles of Men’s Mental Health.” After a second interlude, three speeches remained. Due to unforeseen circumstances, senior Jason Hong was unable to deliver his speech “Seven Breaths.” Junior Safiyah Majumdar’s “Ending Hunger: A Call To Action” followed. Closing out the event, senior Noble Jones spoke from his experience growing up in a Montessori school with “The Keys to a Successful Future.” TEDx events at SPHS are planned for every other year, so the next edition will occur in 2026. JEVONS PARADOX
Tiger examines the failure of abortion restrictions across the nation. Reverberating the anecdotes of tragedies across the country, the abortion debate must end, now.
As technological developments increase, the amount of waste they produce ironically increases as well, creating the Jevons paradox. Tiger analyzes possible solutions to the vicious cycle.
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DRIBBLING TEAMMATES OF 12 YEARS Four SPHS seniors and varsity girls’ basketball players discuss their 12-year-long basketball journey together as graduation approaches. Page 14