Empowering students to think critically and creatively since 1913 VOLUME 112, ISSUE 2 OCTOBER 10, 2025
IN THIS ISSUE
SOUTH PASADENA HIGH SCHOOL 1401 FREMONT AVE, SOUTH PASADENA, CA 91030
OPINION
FEATURE
SPORTS
Tiger examines the harmful ways eating disorders are discussed online and repercussions that follow. Page 6.
In honor of its 10th anniversary, Tiger spotlights the hit musical Hamilton. Page 11.
Boxing has spanned generations, encompassing heart, grit, and vigor. Page 15.
Color Day 2025 recap
OPINION
Antisemitism
ILLUSTRATION JAYDEN ZUMBA On October 7, 2023, Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked the country of Israel. Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took over 250 people hostage. In response, Israel launched a full-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip, ostensibly with the aim of eliminating Hamas and freeing the hostages. A ceasefire was reached in the beginning of 2025, but fighting resumed soon after. Since then, clashes over land between Palestinians and Israeli settlers — whose settlements are illegal under international law — have taken place in other Palestinian territories, mainly the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (Clockwise from left): Junior Toshio Matsouka in the football game against Monrovia; (from left) seniors Solandra Sandoval and Lauren Roach cheer during an assembly class competition; Homecoming Court members (from left) senior Leila Wahbe, sophomore Kayla Yau, freshman Liam Painter, senior Isabelle Huang, junior Clare Vitt, and senior Elizabeth Chung.
See more costume, assembly, and football photos on the center spread, pages 8-9. STORY LEIGHTON KWOK & MAXINE MESSINEO PHOTOS ZOE CHEN, EMIKO ESSMILLER, & SEBASTIAN GUTIERREZ
S
PHS held its annual Color Day assembly and football game on Friday, Oct. 3.
Announced in the assembly was the 2025– 26 homecoming court, featuring freshman Liam Painter, sophomore Kayla Yau, junior Clare Vitt, and seniors Elizabeth Chung, Isabella Huang, and Leila Wahbe. Voting for the Most Royal Tiger will take place on the day of the Homecoming Assembly, which will occur on Friday, Oct. 17. Between various performances by Advanced Dance, Pep, and the traditional teacher dance (this year performed to Soda Pop), SPHS students participated in several class competitions. In the traditional class tug-of-war game, the sophomores took victory, beating out the freshmen in the first round and the juniors in the final. In the Color Day poster competition, the freshmen and sophomores tied for third place, the juniors came in second, and the seniors took, as senior Commissioner of Assemblies Baron Shroff put it, a “welldeserved win.” For the annual Color Day assembly sketch, Shroff and other ASB members created a mock Scooby-Doo theme that centered around the SPHS school mascot
IN THE NEWS
becoming brainwashed and attacking students. Throughout the assembly, members of ASB investigated the case and uncovered the Tiger Mascot to have been replaced with a fake Tiger by rival school San Marino, who was controlled by La Cañada. In between shifting scenes of the skit, SPHS’s senior football captains announced the upcoming Color Day football game that would occur at 7 p.m. that night at Monrovia High School. With the festivities of Color Day just hours before uplifting their spirits, the Tigers were ready to win, and managed to seal their victory against Monrovia in their first league game of the season. Both teams put up a good fight, with the game concluding in a close match of 23–21. The first quarter started strong with a touchdown five minutes into the game by junior tight end Grayson Ebner. Both South Pasadena and Monrovia held their defensive line with constant and accurate tackles. During the second quarter, Monrovia made a rushing touchdown and an extra point, stealing the lead 7–6. However, senior running back Trey Freking was a continuous force throughout the game, racking up 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown came early in the second quarter — a 22-yard burst that extended the lead to 13–0
after senior kicker Nicholas Dragonas nailed an extra point to end the second quarter. Freking’s second touchdown, a 4-yard plunge late in the third quarter, proved to be the game-winner. Ebner’s impact went beyond his first-quarter touchdown. Late in the third, he hauled in a deep pass from Nott that set up Freking’s second touchdown.
Continued on Page 6
FEATURE
Straw feminism in the media
Ebner finished with 83 receiving yards and one touchdown, showcasing his bigplay ability and helping South Pasadena maintain control. Throughout the game, the Tigers’ defense bent but did not break. Senior Noah Keller recorded two sacks, and junior Rick Matsuda added nine tackles throughout the game. Ebner recovered a fumble, contributing on both sides of the ball. South Pasadena’s defense held Monrovia to a turnover on downs in the third and forced a missed field goal late in the fourth to preserve the win. Monrovia mounted a late comeback, scoring in the fourth to narrow the gap to 23–21. After South Pasadena turned the ball over, Monrovia had a chance to take the lead, but missed a field goal with two minutes remaining. The Tigers ran out the clock to seal the win, backed by the roar of the crowd and cheerleaders. SPHS Color Day for the 2025–26 school year ended with a victory of the South Pasadena Tigers.
PSAT
HOMECOMING
FALL PLAY
The PSAT for sophomores and juniors will take place on Saturday, Oct. 11 at SPHS from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
Homecoming week begins on Monday, Oct. 13 and closes with the annual assembly, picnic and football game on Friday, Oct. 17.
The annual fall play will take place the weekends of Nov. 7 and Nov. 14 from 7–10 p.m. in the Little Theater.
TIGERNEWSPAPER.COM
STORY SONYA SHIMPOCK ILLUSTRATION JAYDEN ZUMBA In 2001, Cartoon Network’s series The Powerpuff Girls took a bold route for a children’s show: they released an episode critiquing the complicated levels of gender politics. In the episode Equal Fights, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup (the titular Powerpuff girls) confront Femme Fatale, a master-thief supervillain and “feminist” who convinces the girls that men are the root of all evil. Persuaded by Femme Fatale’s rhetoric, the girls begin to twist mundane interactions into sexist slights, but are quickly proven wrong: they had misinterpreted each exchange, and had not, in fact, been discriminated against. At the conclusion of the episode, they realize that Femme Fatale’s logic was flawed — feminism should not be about Continued on Page 12