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VOLUME 112, ISSUE 9 MAY 27, 2026
IN THIS ISSUE
SOUTH PASADENA HIGH SCHOOL 1401 FREMONT AVE, SOUTH PASADENA, CA 91030
OPINION
FEATURE
SPORTS
Tiger compares Trump’s America to Stalin and Khrushchev’s USSR. Page 4
Tiger spotlights teacher Shane Mills, winner of this year’s Harold Hartsough Award. Page 6
Tiger discusses current CIF policies around trans-athletes, including AB Hernandez. Page 7
2026 Jazz Night showcase
OPINION
Paulo Freire and ChatGPT
STAFF ED In 1968, Brazilian educator and Marxist philosopher Paulo Freire published Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Two years later, after it was translated into English and disseminated across the Western Hemisphere, Freire’s text found particular traction in the United States and Western Europe, where a “permanent underclass” of minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status is perpetuated by failing welfare programs, poverty in major cities, and laws that disadvantage the disenfranchised and marginalized.
The SPHS Jazz Band preformed 10 pieces at their annual Jazz Night on Friday, May 15.
Jazz Band displayed vibrant musical ranges at their annual Jazz Night performance. STORY GAVIN BARTOLOME PHOTO MAC SHROPSHIRE
freshman Zoie Wong delivered solos followed by waves of cheers.
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The band played five other songs: Honk, Dat Dear by Bobby Timmons, Speak and Deep, and Fire and Brimstone, showcasing a range of tones from upbeat symphonies to mellow and smooth romantics. After concluding their sixth song, the band retired for a short 10 minute intermission to prepare for the later half of the show.
PHS’s Jazz Band performed in the Little Theater for their annual Jazz Night on Friday, May 15 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The band’s goal was to showcase the culmination of Jazz Band’s work and raise interest for next year, which led to free admission. Around 30 people attended, ranging from the cast’s parents to curious SPHS students. “Every piece of the music program has an evening to showcase what they do. For the marching band, it’s competition throughout the Fall [where] they will have their own places to do their thing,” Jazz Band director Tim Orindgreff said in a pre-event interview. “Jazz Band plays all the concerts … but this is really their time to shine.” The band performed a total of 11 songs, mostly composed by themselves, starting with Orange Drag, an energetic song to kick off the night alongside a solo by senior saxophonist Riley Yoshimura. The next song, Emergency Stopping Only, quickly followed, keeping the energy lively for senior drummer Helios Heidenreich, senior Preston Wai, and Yoshimura to deliver their solos. Each song left room for several solos, including ones for drums, saxophones, trombones, and trumpets later on. Further on, the audience cheered for several other performing soloists. Seniors Julian Ovalle and Sammi Keller alongside sophomores Adrian Molina, Augey Cheng, Bono Stevens, Ronan Selsby, and
IN THE NEWS
Jazz Band picked up with the same upbeat energy going into the second half of the performance, starting with Deep End, which featured a conversation between Sammy’s and Ronin’s solos. The piece was followed by Night Wing, Soulful Strut, and Old Havana, before closing with a romantic piece, and favorite of Orindgreff, Blue and Sentimental by Count Basie and his orchestra. Orindgreff and the Jazz Band concluded an accomplished year, thanking patrons, parents, and students for their continuous support. With a final bow, the crowd erupted with vibrant applause as Jazz Band made their way off stage. “It felt like a good sense of closure, it was just wonderful being with the people that are here for you, just as much as you are for them,” senior Josh Schottelborb said. “It really makes the experience.” In particular, this year marked the end of an era for Jazz Band with eight out of 20 Jazz Band members graduating. Among the eight are the last students who joined the band under previous music teacher Howard Crawford, promising a clean slate for next year’s Jazz Band.
“It’s been really great. I’ve been with [my bandmates] for all four years now. We stuck it through with changing directors and everything, so it’s been pretty great. I think we all got a lot better … definitely not the same as when we first started,” Yoshimura said. With only the spring performance left, many seniors now recall their high school careers before setting their sight towards college.
Freire theorizes that this cycle is enabled through flawed practices of pedagogy, or methods and theories of teaching. He argues that a “banking model” represents the educational world: in this model, a teacher (the oppressor) filters and Full article on Page 3
FEATURE
Tiger seniors versus Old Town
“It’s sort of like a relief, but not exactly like a relief as a relief from anything bad … I honestly don’t know what to think about it,” senior Julian Ovalle said. “I can’t imagine going to school next year and not being woken up by some [jazz] people who play well and maybe not so well, but I’m very glad to have played with [Jazz Band and] hear such great music from them.” A hole will be left in the leadership position that the seniors provided for the band next year. “Leadership isn’t just what you do like today, it’s what you’ve done that someone will benefit from in a year. So when we’re talking about leadership, we talk about what they do for the program that will entice the incoming freshmen to want to be a part of this, right? … It’s not always what you put your hands on right now, it’s about a legacy … [they did that today] I’m proud of them,” Orindgreff said. Jazz Night was Jazz Band’s highlight event for SPHS but their true final performance was the Spring Instrumental Concert on Tuesday, May 26 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Anderson Auditorium.
GRADUATION
SENIOR AWARDS NIGHT
FINALS
The class of 2026 will have their graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 3.
SPHS graduating seniors will receive their senior awards on Wednesday, May 27 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Anderson Auditorium.
Finals for periods one and three will begin for non-seniors on Friday, May 29. They will conclude with the period zero and seven finals on Wednesday, June 3.
TIGERNEWSPAPER.COM
STORY SONYA SHIMPOCK PHOTO SEBASTIAN GUTIERREZ This TAAGLAA was originally intended to be co-authored. Ethan and I argued over what percentage of this article we were going to split in the skinny rows of Old Town Pasadena’s Blick supply store, lined with shelves of hanging art supplies and carefully labeled fountain pens. We’d strayed into the supply store while waiting for Diana; Alison had picked up Kristel, Emi, Helena, and me, and we’d run into Sebastian (who arrived via motorized unicycle) and Ethan outside of Blick. I lost the authorship argument pretty immediately, and spent the rest of our time in Blick taking half-hearted notes in my iPhone notes app. Our main goal was the retro arcade Neon. Neon’s a storefront in Old Town Full article on Page 5