Empowering students to think critically and creatively since 1913
VOLUME 112, ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 12, 2025
IN THIS ISSUE
SOUTH PASADENA HIGH SCHOOL 1401 FREMONT AVE, SOUTH PASADENA, CA 91030
OPINION
Tiger critiques carryout culture, examining how the shift to delivery is harming restaurants and consumers. Page 7
FEATURE
Tiger examines the U.S.’s longest government shutdown, and what it means for the future Page 12
SPORTS
Tiger uncovers the growing chasm that is the wealth gap between sports teams, and how it impacts the game. Page 15
SPMS and SPHS Choir Concert Unsustainable shopping celebrates the holiday spirit OPINION
STORY UMA CHAKRABORTY & HARRIET GODSON VISUAL LUCINDA ERNST Throughout the year, consumers are bombarded with advertisements. Whether that be clips of celebrities endorsing a makeup brand or billboards that run along the highway, ads are found in everyday life and encourage a state of never-ending, never satisfied consumption. Around the holidays, this is amplified with sales, haul videos, and an emphasis on having the picture-perfect celebration. Students from the high school and middle school gather at the SPMS auditorium to perform pieces across a range of genres.
STORY LEIGHTON KWOK & ELLIE SONG PHOTO LUCINDA ERNST
T
he SPMS auditorium buzzed with excitement as the joint SPMS– SPHS annual Winter Choir Concert commenced. The lights slowly faded to a festive red and green as Choir Director Wylder Reinman called the SPHS Choir, parents, and teachers to the stage to sing the Hallelujah chorus. Above the risers, where the choristers stood, was the SPMS Orchestra. As the group sang, the string lights across the railing and the brightly lit trees on either side of the stage shone brightly. The audience clapped loudly as Reinman dismissed the adults back to their seats. Sophomores Eden Melloh and Esme Osugi, who have been participating in the choir for four years, announced the next song, titled Winter Wish. “It’s hard to pick a favorite [song to perform] in the concert. It was fun collaborating with the orchestra and community members for the Hallelujah Chorus,” Reinman said. “I also loved the reimaginings of the songs California Dreamin’ and Scarborough Fair.” The next song was Linger, sung by seniors McKenna Cardinal, Cinbie Chang, and junior Kiana Caniga with a three-part harmony. Reinman called the SPHS Advanced Choir to the stage
IN THE NEWS
after the performance, and together, the Advanced and the High School Choir sang Carol of the Bells. The choirs both had a festive, upbeat air that demonstrated the joy and hard work put into the concert. “[Reinman] is very forgiving [of] mistakes. That creates a nice working environment where you’re able to learn instead of living in fear that you are gonna mess up the song,” junior Talon Ebbert said. “It allows everyone to get to know each other.” Senior Andres Urzua, chorister of seven years, introduced the next song, Hands are Knocking. After the choristers hit the final note, the audience applauded for the choristers and Reinman. The next song was Dance! by Robert T. Gibson, which was the highlight of the night, where the choirs performed a really sad dance. The audience cheered as the SPHS Choir left the stage and the Intermediate and Beginning Choir filled onto the risers, standing beside the Advanced Choir as they sang Cold Snap, which sent the room into laughter. The second-to-last song was performed by the Advanced, Intermediate, and Beginning Choir, singing Pretty Little Baby, featuring a solo sung by 8th grader Tiffany Frierson. The night ended with
WINTER CONCERT
The annual winter instrumental concert well be held in the Anderson Auditorium on Monday, Dec. 15 from 7 to 9 p.m.
FINALS
Time After Time, sung by the Advanced, Intermediate, Beginning, and SPHS Choir. Students have been practicing since the start of the school year in August, leading up to the concert, working on perfecting their pieces over the entire semester. “My favorite song to learn was Time After Time because all levels of Choir sing it together,” Melloh said. “I think it is really united, and can bring parents to tears sometimes, like my mom.” Before the concert, preparation such as rehearsing songs took place during class periods.
This destructive trend can be observed in the record-breaking 202.9 million consumers who shopped the Black Friday weekend sales in 2025, according to The National Retail Federation. Many of the shoppers were purchasing gifts for loved ones for the See full story on Page 7
FEATURE
DADT’s legacy
“We start working on our music for the concert at the beginning of the semester,” Reinman said. “I pick a bunch of different styles, languages, and genres. We rehearse those songs [during class periods] and then see which of them sound best. We end up programming about half of the songs we rehearse through the semester; only performing the songs we like the best.” Urzua reminisced about his longstanding time in the choir. He explained that it is now more of a group effort to push each other to be the best they can be. “Nowadays, there’s a bigger emphasis on working together and really believing in other people, more than just always being so hard on the exact notes [they want to hit],” Urzua said.
Finals begin next week. The schedule following: periods 1,3, and 7 on 12/17; periods 2 and 4 on 12/18; periods 5 and 6 on 12/19.
WINTER BREAK
SPUSD winter break starts Monday, Dec. 22 and school resumes for students on Tuesday Jan. 6 (Monday is pupil-free).
TIGERNEWSPAPER.COM
STORY SONYA SHIMPOCK ILLUSTRATION KRISTEL HOUNG Pete Hegseth, the United States Secretary of Defense, believes that allowing LGBTQ+ troops to serve openly in the military reflects a “Marxist agenda.” While Hegseth likely understands Marxism more as a conservative buzzword than a true political concept, the fundamental basis of his belief — excluding LGBTQ+ service members from the military — is one that is echoed in both his current school of thought and historical legislation. Although an ideological shift in the Biden and Obama administrations led to increased protections of LGBTQ+ rights in the military, the second Trump administration is taking drastic actions to curtail these protections. Continued on Page 12