By ELLA FITZPATRICK, NADIA CENICEROS, MIRIAM YORDANOS and MARSHALL SCOTT
Seniors from the class of 2022 at Citrus Valley High School and Redlands East Valley High School answer “How do you feel now that high school is coming to a close?” and “What are your plans after high school?”
By KENDRA BURDICK
When someone feels anxious about a place because that person feels out of control, judged, stuck, or even helpless, it is called agoraphobia. This fear causes people to try not to leave their house in hopes of avoiding that feeling.
A person that has agoraphobia is prone to panic attacks and is easily triggered from an overwhelming thought or situation. Agoraphobia is heightened in situations including big crowds or when a person becomes overwhelmed.
According to the research site “Harvard Health Publishing,” writer and researcher Dr. Bobbi Wegner explains that “in the US, about 2% of adults and teens have agoraphobia and roughly a third to half of people with agoraphobia have had panic attacks prior to diagnosis.”
With the pandemic, people with such conditions try to avoid situations where they feel embarrassed, threatened or helpless. According to an American Psychological Association (APA) report, “Americans are experiencing a nationwide mental health crisis, this is shown from generation statistics from a scientific study, (APA) report Mental Health Affects Gen. Z, that could have repercussions for years to come.”
As to getting agoraphobia treated, it is often treated with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps people understand connections between feelings, thoughts and actions. Sometimes the CBT will suggest medicine, such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications.
Dr. Wegner states that “without treatment, getting over agoraphobia is difficult (only 10% of people are successful). The SAMHSA National Helpline (800-662-4357) may be able to refer you to mental health clinicians in your state who treat anxiety.”
Johnny Roe, a junior at the University of Redlands, explains how having agoraphobia has affected his life and furthermore shares what it is from his perspective.
“Right when I graduated high school my agoraphobia had me trapped in my house with my parents,” Roe explains. “I use gaming to remind me that there is magic and love and beauty out there.”
Roe shares his insight on what it is like for him to deal with agoraphobia.
“Agoraphobia makes me not like myself very much. I have a lot of insecurity and I’m nervous about meeting people in person,” said Roe. “It makes me feel like the words my head says about my insecurities are always buzzing in my brain. It makes it hard to hear anything else.”
“Some advice I’d give is, yeah, sometimes it’s hard to see past your insecurity and see that people actually do care. I mean, people with agoraphobia tend to be way more charismatic and nice than most would think,” Roe adds a light side from his experience.
According to Josephine Rose, a freshman at Crafton Hills College, spending time with her friend, Johnny Roe, is “just talking to a door but is helping both of us to be more open and it’s good to have encouraging friends, that’s what we try to be for each other cause that’s what you need when you have or are around someone with agoraphobia.” Photo edited with layers to create effect. (KENDRA BURDICK/ Ethic News photo)
Agoraphobia has been proven to have challenged and altered people’s lives. Although many people assume agoraphobia is simply a fear of open spaces, it’s actually a more complex condition than others may think.
By KENDRA BURDICK
Alexandria Driscoll is a new teacher to Redlands East Valley High School staff. Driscoll teaches Special Education English and tries to make a colourful and inspiring learning environment for her students. Driscoll answers some questions about herself and her career below.
Why did you choose this course to teach?
I teach special ed and this was the opening that was here. My background is a little more in science but I thought that it’d be fun and I liked English a lot when I took it as a student.
Did you teach at any other schools before REV?
I taught at a school called Shandin Hills in San Bernardino. It’s a middle school and I taught science there.
Why did you choose to teach at REV
I really wanted to be closer to home and closer to my daughter. I figured it was a good transition because I only live five minutes from here. I went to school in Redlands and I liked it a lot, so I thought it would be a good place to work.
Why did you choose to become a teacher?
So, originally I studied child development and I liked it a lot. I liked learning how children grow and develop and it kind of got me into the whole ‘how children learn’ and so I was really interested in that. When I graduated from grad school, my friend and I were like “what should we do next” we didn’t really know. So, I kind of dragged her along with me to a credential program with me at the University of Redlands. We really liked it and honestly I’d say that my friend and I influenced each other and with the background in child development it was really easy to transition.
If you could have been anything other than a teacher, what would you be?
Growing up, I really wanted to be a veterinarian at the zoo. But, that takes a lot of school. Science was not my strong suit growing up and definitely not going to the medical field. But if I could go back in time, I would just be taking care of a baby koala, just feeding it with a bottle.
What’s something that’s important to you?
I would say teaching in a way that’s inclusive for my students and making sure that they’re comfortable here and they feel like they’re represented. That’s my main goal here, even before I start teaching I make sure that this is a comfortable environment for them and that they feel when they’re here they won’t be judged. That they’re comfortable to discuss things here. That’s my main goal—to have inclusion in my classroom.
What’s something that you would like to tell students?
One, mainly for my students, is to not to give up because that’s life and it’s going to be really hard. If you give up the second there’s a struggle, you’re not going to, I think, make it in this world. I’d say, if you’re struggling and it’s hard just kind of push through the best that you can.
What school did you go to?
I started at RCC in Riverside and I got a couple of associates there then I transferred to Cal State. I got a bachelor’s and I stayed there for grad school and then I got a master’s in child development. Then, I went to the U of R and I got my credential there.
What’s the biggest thing that you welcome into your classroom?
Difference of opinions. I tell my students if you don’t agree with what I’m saying, let’s discuss it. I really welcome an open discussion and that healthy disagreement as far as if you disagree then let’s talk about it.
Who got you to where you are now?
Mainly me because it was a lot of work. My family, they’re very supportive. Both of my parents didn’t really go to college so they didn’t really know how to help me. They were always like “She’s gonna do what she’s gonna do so we’ll just support her.” I’d say that my dad is a really big supporter of me, even if he doesn’t understand fully he’ll always agree with what path I choose.
Miss Driscoll has taught at Redlands East Valley High School for a year. (KENDRA BURDICK/Ethic News Photo)
By JOCELYN GOMEZ
Many students have had Mark Perkins as a teacher or coach since they started at Orangewood High School and he’s always made them feel welcomed and acknowledged as students. He also motivates students to finish school and aim for success. Perkins is a favorite teacher for many students and plays a role as a model teacher at Orangewood.
Perkins, who is physical education teacher, coach of all four sports and athletic director at Orangewood, answers twenty questions about himself.
Mark Perkins, Orangewood High School physical education teacher and coach, huddles with members of the Orangewood soccer team. (JOCELYN GOMEZ/ Ethic News photo)
Q: What is your position or title? Pronouns?
Mark Perkins: He, him and Mr.
Mark Perkins, Orangewood High School physical education teacher and coach, looks on as the soccer team practices at Orangewood. (JOCELYN GOMEZ/ Ethic News photo)
Q: What are some of the classes you teach or main responsibilities with this position?
Perkins: Athletics Director, Coach, PE teacher
Q: How long have you worked in education?
Perkins: 28 years
Q: Have you held any jobs outside of education?
Perkins: Not really, I have always been a teacher.
Q: What led you to the position you are in today?
Perkins: I had an uncle that was a PE teacher, this was the spark that got me thinking about teaching P.E.
Q: What is one of your favorite parts of your job?
Perkins: Finding the students that are the diamonds but don’t know it yet!
Q: What is a challenging part of your job?
Perkins: The drama that the students have. It is hard to deal with every situation perfectly and drama complicates that.
Q: What is something others may not understand or know about who you are or what you do?
Perkins: I push students to be successful and sometimes that is misunderstood.
Mark Perkins, Orangewood High School physical education teacher and coach, huddles with members of the boys and girls soccer teams at Orangewood. Perkins coaches all sports at Orangewood: basketball, soccer, volley ball and softball. (JOCELYN GOMEZ/ Ethic News photo)
Q: Where did you grow up? What was life like then and there?
Perkins: Ontario Canada is where I grew up. It is very green there and not very many people live there compared to the USA. So we have lots of country around us.
Q: What were you like as a teenager?
Perkins: I was really into sports and exercise, surprise surprise.
Q: Did you have any mentors or role models growing up? How did they influence you?
Perkins: I had an uncle that was a P.E. teacher. When I was in the 8th grade I found out that in college you could go to school and be a P.E. teacher. I had no idea before that P.E. was a college degree.
Q: Is there an experience or event that had a major influence on who or where you are today?
Perkins: In college I took a job fishing in Alaska. My boat sank and I floated around in the ocean for seven hours until someone found my group.
Q: What advice would you give your teenage-self?
Perkins: I would tell me to not be afraid to share your emotions with the person you trust the most in life.
Mark Perkins, Orangewood High School physical education teacher and coach, stands by the field before a soccer match at Orangewood. (JOCELYN GOMEZ/ Ethic News photo)
Q: Do you like to travel? What notable places have you visited?
Perkins: I do like to travel. France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy are places in Europe I have visited.
Q: Which languages do you speak?
Perkins: I only speak English.
Q: What music do you like and do you play any instruments?
Perkins: 80’s Rock and when I was in high school I played the saxophone.
Q: Would you be willing to share a little about your family and/or pets?
Perkins: I have been married for 31 years and have two daughters, [ages] 21 and 24. Pets include two dogs, one Chihuahua mix — wife’s dog — and a purebred Dutch Shepherd — my dog.
Q: Do you have skills, interests or hobbies that you would like to share?
Perkins: I love computers. I know how to use both PC and Mac computers. In addition to weight lifting, I also enjoy biking and the beach.
Q: What do you enjoy doing most with family and friends?
Perkins: I enjoy going to church, the beach, movies and hanging out with my friends.
Q: What is a goal you have?
Perkins: I want to travel more. Once my kids have both graduated from college, my wife and I want to see more countries of the world.
By KAELEE CONTRERAS
Located in Los Angeles, California, the Tupac museum experience, “Wake Me When I’m Free,” is a tribute to the late rapper Tupac Shakur and the significance of his life. Not only is this museum filled with amazing visuals and exhibits, but it also shares many of Tupac’s poems, songs and his upbringing.
One of Tupac’s poems displayed in the entrance of the museum. (KAELEE CONTRERAS/ Ethic News photo)
This museum was a listening experience and required a headset to listen to Tupac’s music, his interviews, events that took place in his life, and much more. Simply aim the remote at a small sensor and listen to the audio designated with the exhibit.
An example of the remote is displayed in the image on the right. (KAELEE CONTRERAS/ Ethic News photo)
As visitors walk through the museum and view these stunning exhibits, they are able to listen to the meaning and background story to each section and also get to take time for photo opportunities. One of my favorite visuals is the painting of Tupac as seen in the middle image above. (KAELEE CONTRERAS/ Ethic News photo)
Tupac’s music, poetry and life had a very big impact on the world and has inspired millions of people to express themselves and pursue their dreams. He was a positive role model for people and was a very talented and influential artist. (KAELEE CONTRERAS/ Ethic News photo)
One room of the exhibit was filled with a rose scent and displayed falling petals along with with an excerpt from a poem written by Tupac. (KAELEE CONTRERAS/ Ethic News photo)
Tupac Shakur was widely known for being one of the best-selling music artists and sold more than 75 million records worldwide. What a majority of people don’t know about Tupac is how he began his music career as a rebel with a cause to fight for injustices endured by people of color. His music brought awareness to injustices, gun control, equality, social injustices, immoral acts and many other world issues. Due to his gangsta rap music aesthetic, a majority of people misunderstood what he stood for and saw him as a bad influence and a nusiance for society and youth.
Growing up, Tupac lived with his mother and his sister and lived a very difficult childhood. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was an American political activist and a previous member of the Black Panther party. Due to being charged with drug possession, Afeni was arrested and pregnant with Tupac while imprisoned.
Tupac’s childhood included a lot of literature, and also him getting into trouble and involved with the company of criminals. He was exposed to violence at a very young age.
The young artist began rapping at the age of 14 and started making music to project his political view and fight against racial injustices poetically.
Tupac’s music career took off after he studied poetry, theater and music in high school and soon after became a roadie and backup dancer for the rap group Digital Underground in 1990. The growth of his music career and talent was very significant and his legacy still lives on today even after his life was unjustly taken from him at such a young age.
The museum exhibit features information on Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, and the Black Panther Party. (KAELEE CONTRERAS/ Ethic News photo)
Interviewed by MAURICIO PLIEGO
Filmed by ELLA FITZPATRICK and DANIELA MORA
Directed by ISAAC MEJIA
Come join Ethic News as they interview Redlands East Valley High School varsity tennis captain Dorothy Clerk. Clerk shares laughs about her celebrity crush, pet peeves and where she will go after high school. As always, the Clerk answers fast, controversial “this or that” questions at the end of the interview.
Por DESTINY RAMOS
Traducido por JAZUI MEJIA
Katie Mackenzie, maestra de inglés con honores de décimo grado en Citrus Valley, responde 25 preguntas sobre sí misma.
Katie Mackenzie ha estado enseñando durante 18 años. (DESTINY RAMOS/ foto de Ethic News)
Reflexiones didácticas
P: ¿Cuánto tiempo lleva enseñando?
Mackenzie: Creo que con este llevo 18 años de enseñanza.
P: ¿Qué es lo más bonito que ha hecho un estudiante por ti?
Mackenzie: Los estudiantes son simplemente muy encantadores. Escriben bonitas cartas y saludan. Recientemente, el estudiante de magisterio de mi hija era un exalumno y fue muy divertido reconectarme con él y me escribió esta carta realmente encantadora en la que, al final, felicitaba a mi hija pero también me felicitaba a mí y decía que lo inspiré a enseñar. y eso fue realmente especial. Sobre todo porque son tantos años después.
P: ¿Qué es lo más frustrante para enseñar?
Mackenzie: Creo que son solo cosas que están fuera de mi control. Al igual que la pandemia, fue muy difícil.
P: ¿Cuál de sus lecciones es su favorita para enseñar?
Mackenzie: Me gusta enseñar a escribir. Me gusta cuando hayan terminado un ensayo, aunque es un poco aburrido. Me gusta repasarlo porque creo que es útil. Me gusta cuando se siente útil, esa mentalidad de ‘está bien, vamos a mejorar en esto’, así que realmente me gusta repasar la escritura.
P: Qué es lo que más le gusta de sus alumnos?
Mackenzie: Me gusta la energía y siento que los estudiantes de segundo año, en particular, se vuelven más felices a medida que avanza el año. Me gustan los estudiantes de segundo año porque son divertidos y juegan un poco y todavía no están demasiado atascados por el estrés, así que me encanta eso de ellos. También me gusta que estén abiertos a compartir sus ideas y que siempre tengan ideas nuevas. Me gusta mucho aprender de ellos.
P: ¿Cuál es tu historia favorita que les cuentas a tus alumnos?
Mackenzie: I don’t like to talk about my life very much to my students. Like little things, but they’re often interested in how I met my husband and how I studies abroad and I do like to talk about how I studied abroad because it’s fun and it can inspire other kids to do that and I think that it was a really awesome experience but I tend to not talk about my personal life very much.
P: ¿Qué es lo que más le gusta de la docencia?
Mackenzie: Creo que realmente es la conexión con los niños y conocer gente nueva cada año. Es interesante cómo nos conocemos ahora, pero a veces me encuentro con ellos mucho más tarde y creo que a veces las personas entran en tu vida cuando se supone que deben hacerlo y me siento afortunado de poder conocer a todas estas personas diferentes y aprender de ellas. todos los años.
Otros favoritos y una mascota peeve
P: Cuando no estás enseñando, ¿qué es lo que más te gusta hacer?
Mackenzie: Me gusta salir con mis amigos, me gusta viajar mucho. Esa es probablemente mi favorita actividad en realidad. Me encanta viajar.
P: ¿Cuál es tu lugar favorito en el que has estado?
Mackenzie: Estudié en el extranjero en Oxford, ahí es donde conocí a mi esposo, y mientras estuve allí pude viajar mucho,así que fuimos a Praga, Escocia, Francia y todos esos lugares porque son muy cercanos. Mi esposo es de Sudáfrica, así que he estado allí y me gusta mucho Sudáfrica y Nueva Zelanda, iríamos porque es donde viven sus hermanos, así que no sé. Siento que podría vivir en Nueva Zelanda, pero realmente me gustaba Praga como ciudad.
P: ¿Quién es tu autor favorito?
Mackenzie: Honestamente, Shakespeare. Sé que es aburrido, pero él es mi autor favorito.
P: ¿Cuál es tu fiesta favorita?
Mackenzie: Navidad
P: ¿Cuál es tu molestia mas grande?
Mackenzie: No me gustan las malas actitudes, como cuando la gente está de mal humor todo el tiempo.
Fun Facts
P: Si nunca te hubieras convertido en maestro, ¿en qué crees que te hubieras convertido?
Mackenzie: Solía pensar que hubiera sido divertido ser abogada porque me gusta discutir y porque me gusta pensar en cosas así. me gusta debatir y me encantan los programas de abogados, pero no creo que me hubiera gustado el estilo de vida. Pero creo que me hubiera gustado ser abogada.
P: ¿Te gusta mas el té o el café?
Mackenzie: Té.
P: ¿Qué película puedes ver constantemente y nunca cansarte?
Mackenzie: Me gusta mucho la miniserie de A&E Orgullo y Prejuicio con Colin Firth como el Sr. Darcey.
P: ¿Qué te alegra el ánimo cuando tienes un mal día?
Mackenzie: Mi familia, estar con mi hija y esposo me hace muy feliz.
P: Si pudieras vivir en cualquier lugar, ¿dónde sería y por qué?
Mackenzie: Creo que me mudaría a Nueva Zelanda. De todos los lugares que he visitado, creo que es el lugar donde sería más feliz viviendo. Es un poco como el sur de California porque es costero y es un poco metropolitano, pero hay mucho más espacio abierto y es muy hermoso.
P: ¿Cuál fue el último libro que leíste?
Mackenzie: Es de mi club de lectura. Es un poco oscuro pero se llama ‘Deep Water’.
Read this article in English here: https://ethic-news.org/2022/03/15/teacher-feature-qa-18-questions-with-citrus-valleys-katie-mackenzie/
Interviewed by MAURICIO PLIEGO
Filmed by ELLA FITZPATRICK and DANIELA MORA
Directed by ISAAC MEJIA
Come join Ethic News as they interview Redlands East Valley High School senior Arnie Corpus. Corpus responds to questions about his future at University of California, Berkley and on the badminton team winning first place in the Citrus Belt League this year. As always, Corpus answers fast, controversial “this or that” questions at the end of the interview.
Hosted by MARCO GARCIA GARCIA, SYDNEY HAMMONDS and CARLIE GONZALEZ
7 minute listen
Twenty students from Orangewood High School took a field trip to the Tupac Shakur “Wake Me When I’m Free” Exhibit in Los Angeles on April 27. Carlie Gonzalez, junior, asks Marco Garcia Garcia, junior, and Sydney Hammons, senior, about their experience visiting the exhibit and about Tupac overall.
By SPENCER MOORE
In eighth grade, the students in an honors science class were quietly finishing a water cycle worksheet as their ears catch the sound of a young man, watching a YouTube video on his phone. The piercing silence was perforated by this sudden blast of car noises, coming from the video the boy was watching. The teacher, frustrated by this mild act of defiance, grabs a chair nearby her desk, thrusts it above her head, and slams it onto the floor, creating a deafening roar. This was one of the first instances in which students suddenly realized that teachers needed to be held more accountable for their actions. From the perspective of the students in this classroom, this teacher received no consequence for their inappropriate behavior, and continued instruction the next day.
This event shaped much of the student body’s perception of this teacher. It was one of the first times in which students realized that as they get older, they must be treated as such, as with the increased responsibility of growing up, it also comes with a greater need for mutual respect. Across the district, many examples of teachers overstepping their boundaries have occurred either at the elementary, middle, or high schools. There are teachers who use their authority to silence discussions outside of what they believe to be true, not to mention the problematic power dynamics that exist in the intrapersonal relationships that the students have with their teachers. Any opinions shared by students are lambasted by these specific teachers, almost to the point of public mockery. While it is cruel and unhelpful to defame or otherwise degrade the character of these teachers on a public scale, this is illustrative of a greater trend at the Redlands Unified School District.
Currently, students have no official way to evaluate their courses, nor report teachers specifically for their inappropriate behavior. The only format for students to voice their concerns is through their assigned counselors, who have been known to, on numerous occasions, dismiss the concerns of the student and write it off as teenage angst and attitude. It is crucially important, however, that the district establishes a secure line for students to evaluate their courses.
Not every poorly behaved teacher is acting in these extreme manners, though, as there are some who simply do not input grades regularly, give unstructured and unfocused lessons, and have personal issues that bleed into their teaching responsibilities. One major way for teachers to be evaluated is through standardized testing, whether it be at the district, state, or national level. This has its own problems though, as many students suffer from test anxiety, and others don’t pay attention to instruction, it is not fair for the quality of a teacher to be judged through the work their students complete.
Most major collegiate level institutions already have a system for evaluations of courses directly by the students, so why shouldn’t high schools? Many opponents of this idea have brought up the fact that college students are acting as customers of their school, but high school students are not, therefore they should not be permitted to review a service that they do not pay for. This equivalency is false as by federal law, all minors are required to receive some form of schooling. If they do not, the parents and/or legal guardians will be fined and in some extreme cases, the children are taken from their homes. If students are required to attend a school, would it not be more imperative that they are able to share their thoughts and concerns? Not all of these evaluations are needed for reasons as innocent as simply not doing their job very well, sometimes the behavior requires further measures to cease inappropriate personal conduct.
The SpriGeo system, buried under tabs and links on the district and school websites, has been recently put into place to address harassment concerns on campuses but it is not specifically designed for reporting of interactions and behaviors of teachers and other staff members. Many students feel that they still do not have a secure line to specifically address the issues that come up with campus staff.
The system further has problems lying in the fact that in the actual report filing program, it states that their grade should be listed, if known, and it suggests that students talk to an administrator, completely negating this premise of anonymity, not to mention how it asks for the person reporting the issue’s name. While optional, it may lead students to believe that the promise of anonymity is misleading. This ignorance of teacher harassment and misbehavior further isolates the student from putting a stop to the issue.
Teacher accountability is not limited to only the behavior that they exhibit in their instruction though, as it also extends to the personal relationships they share with students. RUSD has paid over 41 million dollars within the last five years in settlement money for sexual harrassment lawsuits alone. This number far exceeds any competing figures in other school districts. Unprofessional and off putting behavior could have been reported earlier, possibly even stopping some of these cases from ever occurring. If the school district decided to create and heavily publicize lines of help for these specific instances we would likely have a great deal fewer cases of this abuse. The SpriGeo system, while a step in the right direction, needs further improvement and clarification as to what types of reports it accepts.
The board of RUSD are elected to their offices by local citizens, to serve the adults of the community and their children, while providing the highest quality school environments they can, as it is crucial to the benefit of their education to give students a safe and secure place to learn. It is the campus staff and teacher’s job to keep their students safe and provide them with the highest possible level of quality in education, which also includes a good environment for students to work in.
An image of the safety section of the RUSD 2025 plan. Other sections of this plan can be found at RUSD.net
The district pushes forward its ‘RUSD 2025’ plan, and while to the general populace, this is regarded as a step into the right direction, and even into the future, it makes very little substantive progress in regards to the safety of students. The 2025 plan does make mention of safety in Redlands schools, but frames every point made in regards to safety as an outside issue, as opposed to pointing the lens of misbehavior upon itself, which unfortunately is where most of the danger lies. Excellence in education may be the district slogan, but it certainly is not the district standard.
Correction: The last two paragraphs and image were accidentally omitted in the original publishing of this post at 8:30 pm on May 12, 2022. It was corrected at 9:13 pm on May 12, 2022.
By NATHAN DENNIS
New York’s legendary Queensbridge duo “Mobb Deep,” consisting of members Prodigy and Havoc, deliver their monstrous second album “The Infamous” released on April 25, 1995, through Loud Records. The album “The Infamous” consists of 16 tracks with a total length of 1 hour and 6 minutes, primarily produced by Havoc, with outside producer and rapper Q-Tip, from the Queens hip hop group “A Tribe Called Quest” contributing as a producer and mixing engineer.
The album has guest appearances ranging from Nas, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Q-Tip, Big Noyd and Crystal Johnson. The album is accessible on all streaming platforms and has been labeled with the Parental Advisory sticker by the Recording Industry Association of America because of the explicit content throughout the album.
The album consists of the tracks and preludes:
1. The Start of Your Ending (41st Side)
2. (Infamous Prelude)
3. Survival of The Fittest
4. Eye for a Eye (Your Beef Is Mines) (Feat. Nas & Raekwon)
5. (Just Step Prelude)
6. Give Up The Goods (Just Step) (Feat. Big Noyd)
7. Temperature’s Rising (Feat. Crystal Johnson)
8. Up North Trip
9. Trife Life
10. Q.U. – Hectic
11. Right Back At You (Feat. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Big Noyd)
12. (The Grave Prelude)
13. Cradle To The Grave
14. Drink Away The Pain (Situations) (Feat. Q-Tip)
15. Shook Ones Pt. II
16. Party Over (Feat. Big Noyd)
The album’s lead single “Shook Ones Pt. II” was released on February 3, 1995 and an official music video was released on YouTube on Oct. 20, 2013. On “Shook Ones Pt. II,” both rapper’s Prodigy and Havoc define somebody who’s shook or fearful when confronted with a dangerous situation. Following the album’s lead single, “Survival Of The Fittest” was released on May 29, 1995, “Temperature’s Rising” was released Sept. 18, 1995 and “Give Up The Goods (Just Step)” was released on Jan. 22, 1996. The consecutive singles have an official music video released onto YouTube.
Havoc was interviewed by HipHopDX on April 25, 2020, for the 25th anniversary of The
Infamous, reflecting on how impactful the album was on their lives, the influence the album had on hip-hop culture and their life experiences shaping and molding the creative process during the creation of the album.
Havoc says, “Yeah, I have to say that. I don’t know if that sounds cliche as to whatever it is, but if it wasn’t for that album, I wouldn’t be talking 25 years later about it. So I would have to say that that is definitely my favorite album for more reasons than one.”
By KENDRA BURDICK
“Huggy Wuggy” started out as a character for a children’s game rated for ages eight and above, but was recently updated to 12 and older due to concerns about disturbing uses of the character online.
Melonie Aunclair, a sixth grader attending Moore Middle School, says, “It’s hard to not think about your fears when toys around you remind you of them.” (KENDRA BURDICK/ Ethic News photo)
It all began with a horror PC game released in 2021 called “Poppy Playtime.” In this game, the player is investigating an old, abandoned toy factory and the objective is to retrieve VHS tapes and survive revengeful children’s toys.
Huggy Wuggy—a large creature with wide lips that showed rows of sharp teeth and bulging black eyes with long limbs— is the most recognized character from the video game. He’s a toy that follows the player around in the dark and getting caught by him means being eaten by his sharp teeth.
When the developers realized the amount of attention the character received from players, they converted the character into a children’s plush toy.
According to the news site “Parents,” the character’s high exposure resulted in “kids [who] were offering to hug classmates and whispering vulgar things in their ears and reenacting the game on the playground.”
Another place kids can get exposed to the character is through YouTube and TikTok. Deal Parochial Primary School fears the videos aren’t getting filtered because “Huggy Wuggy” doesn’t strike them as being a bad thing due to the name.
Some TikTok features make fan art with the game’s theme song, “Free Hugs,” in the background. However, other TikToks display images like Huggy Wuggy and his sharp teeth racing towards the camera.
Common Sense Media says, “While there’s no graphic violence or gore… the horror nature of the game will likely be too scary for younger audiences.”
A recently released statement by the Dorset Police Cyber Protection Officer warns parents that children may be viewing graphic fan-made videos that are popping up on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.
“The manipulation of child-friendly items into threatening characters exploits the sense of security a child would feel around these things,” says Common Sense Media. “They may suddenly be terrified of something that had never been a worry before. Horror games could hamper that growth by creating unnecessary anxiety and stress.”
Children are exposed to the character through YouTube and TikTok, and children that get scared from the game, videos, and toys are prone to have problems, such as anxiety.
What had started as a PC game character turned out to be a character that many children fear.
By AILEEN JANEE CORPUS
“A high-flying, slam dunking, rim-rattling basketball show is coming to town!” said the email sent to Redlands East Valley High School students the day before the Harlem Wizards basketball game.
In an effort to raise funds for the Redlands Education Partnership, REP hosted the Harlem Wizards for a fun and friendly game of basketball versus Redlands Unified School District staff on Friday, April 22 at the Wildcat Gym.
Both sides of the gym were packed with students, family, and staff members from the various Redlands schools including Franklin Elementary School, Crafton Elementary School, Kimberly Elementary School, Redlands High School and REV.
“It was fun for the kids,” said REV senior Arnie James Corpus. “[The Wizards] got the crowd going and I think people who came got a good show.”
Hailing from Fairfield, New Jersey, the Harlem Wizards, not to be confused with the Harlem Globetrotters despite both teams’ similar comical antics, was originally found by Howie Davis who had “a passion for the merger of sports and entertainment,” according to the Harlem Wizards website, and have five different team units: Broadway Unit, Showtime Unit, Swoop Unit, Rocket Unit, and Assembly and Special Events Unit.
For the REP game, the crowd saw the Broadway Unit of the Harlem Wizards which included Eric “Broadway” Jones, Arnold “A-Train” Bernard, Devon “Livewire” Curry, Lloyd “Loonatik” Clinton and Leon “Space Jam” Sewell.
The players who played on behalf of the REP Rebounders were Redlands teachers, classified employees and administrators. The team captain was RUSD Superintendent Mauricio Arellano. Bill Berich, REV history teacher and recently retired head basketball coach, was the coach for the REP Rebounders.
“My favorite moments of the game were watching the staff and the Wizards play, but also, honestly and most important, was just seeing those faces in the crowd having a good time,” said Sabrina Thunderface Mercado, AP Secretary from Cope Middle School, who was the shortest player on the team at 4 feet and 11 inches.
Mercado says she volunteered to play because she “thought it would be fun for my 19-year-old son to see his Mom out on the court playing ball with The Harlem Wizards. He loves basketball.”
The referees of the game included Redlands East Valley High School’s new athletic director, Chad Blatchley. Brandon Ford, sociology and career foundations teacher and softball coach, Ted Ducey, badminton coach and earth science teacher and Ryan Parson, teacher, also represented REV. RHS Advanced Placement Teacher and Volleyball Coach Nathan Smith joined the high school teacher players.
“The game itself was a lot of fun and I hope it raised a lot of money,” said Smith, “I would play it again.”
Middle school staff players were Mercado, TeAnna Bermudez and Kiele Pratt from Cope and Matthew Villalva from Moore.
“Joining in on the fun, especially after the last few years we’ve had, where people couldn’t hang out with each other, students weren’t in school like normal. It was great to have some normalcy return to us all,” said Mercado.
Elementary schools staff players included Jennie Dyerly from Crafton, Jeff Stamners from Cram, and Natalie Wood from Judson and Brown, Carolyn Bradshaw from Kimberly, Scott Ferguson from Lugonia, John Smith from from McKinley, Damion Sinor from Mentone and Jeff Doolittle from Mission. Franklin Elementary had Rebecca Acosta, Erick Nowak, Katy Swift, Leah Timpe and Alexis Padilla participating in the game.
Numerous sponsors supported the game including Pacific Dermatology Institute, Redlands Police Officers Association, Redlands Community Hospital, Maupin Physical Advisors, Welsh Insurance Services, Neal and Joyce Waner, Holiday Inn Express, Trader Joe’s and Chick-fil-A.
As soon as one team got the lead, the other managed to tie the game again, but despite this pattern throughout the majority of the game, the Harlem Wizards left the Wildcat gym triumphant.
The Redlands Educational Partnership website has more information on their programs and donations.
Before the game started, Jamel “The Voice” Thompson, brought by the Harlem Wizards, played music to hype up players and audience members. Thompson and Redlands East Valley High School announcer Kirk Escher watch the Harlem Wizards warmup. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/Ethic News photo)
Teachers from some of Redlands’ elementary schools took part in the game, and mascots from Cope middle school and Clement middle school stood in front of the crowd while watching the court. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/Ethic News photo)
The REP team is seen standing in a line while high-fiving their coach Bill Berich as he runs past them with his name being announced. Berich is retiring this year from being Redlands East Valley High School’s boys’ varsity basketball coach. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/Ethic News photo)
Both the REP Rebounders and the Harlem Wizards leave the Redlands East Valley High School basketball court while waving to the fans. The game ended with the Harlem Wizards magically winning. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Chad Blatchley, one of the referees of the game and Redlands East Valley High School’s athletic director, watches the game as the bleachers are packed with families, students, and staff. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/Ethic News photo)
With the Harlem Wizards already having a lead of eight points, their player Devon “Livewire” Curry attempted a backwards half court shot, and when the ball fell in the hoop, the players and crowd alike erupted into cheers. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/Ethic News photo)
Both the REP Rebounders and the Harlem Wizards leave the Redlands East Valley High School basketball court while waving to the fans. The game ended with the Harlem Wizards magically winning. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
By JASMINE ROSALES
Lindsey Chau, a senior at Citrus Valley High School and girls varsity soccer captain, reflects on her time in high school as she prepares for the University of San Francisco with a Division I soccer scholarship.
“My biggest accomplishment so far is either getting Offensive MVP for CBL for the second year in a row or getting Athlete of the Meet at CBL track finals,” Chau says.
Lindsey Chau receives her Most Valued Player Award at the 2021-22 soccer season banquet. (Courtesy of Hung Chau)
With her senior year coming to an end, it is bittersweet.
Chau says, “I’m going to miss my high school soccer team so much. I made some of my best friends and had an amazing time playing soccer. We’ve accomplished so much as a team so I’ll definitely miss that.”
Chau has also had an impact on the people she has crossed paths with.
Ava Lopez, a sophomore at Citrus Valley says, “Lindsey is all around a great person and player. She genuinely cares about you whether it be on or off the field. She is so humble. She is truly a one of a kind player, teammate, and person.”
Natalie Thoe, a junior from Citrus Valley, shares, ”Lindsey is one of the most hardworking people I know. She is the definition of heart when it comes to anything. I’m so lucky to have had a chance to work with and learn from such a great player and I cannot wait to see what she does next.”
These past four years, including the COVID year, were tough on everyone. Chau admits that these past years have caused her to grow as a person.
Chau says, “The past four years has allowed me to mature from a teenager into a young woman. I look at things in a more positive light and love to take on challenges.”
“Frankly, COVID took a huge toll on my life mentally and my junior year of high school was very hard,” says Chau. “Although I struggled, I was able to find a new version of myself that’s much stronger, open-minded, and excited to take on the world.”
Looking on the bright side in every situation, Chau pushed forward.
Currently, her favorite hobbies include spending time with her boyfriend, hanging out with her friends, playing soccer and running track.
Chau’s overall goal in life is to run her own business, or become a professional soccer player for the National Women’s Soccer League.
Taking possession of the ball, #10 Lindsey Chau drives the ball up the field. (Courtesy of Hung Chau)
“My biggest role model is Pelé because he was a young teen from Brazil who didn’t come from much but was able to make it out and become one of the greatest soccer players of all time,” said Chau. He has such finesse and fire to him which makes him so admirable.”
Chau earned a Division I scholarship to the University of San Francisco. Before making a decision, Chau did her research on all her offers and USF had exactly what she wanted. The last step was to visit the campus and it sold her.
Chau will be majoring in business analytics at USF and says she can’t wait for what the future holds.
By CYRUS ENGELSMAN
“Based on a true story” is often used to describe events to add dramatic effect to a story or moral. However, the term itself is not always genuine, as the definition of the term can be very loose and leading.
The story of the book “Go Ask Alice ” uses this term for its advantages. The story entirely takes place through journal entries of an unnamed female character, and her descent into the world of drug use and abuse. The story has dark themes of drug use, sexual assault and death.
This story starts with an unnamed teenage woman who receives a diary as a gift, which she uses regularly to write about how she feels about herself and the world around her. One day, when she decides to go to a party the woman was invited to, the people of the party decide to give the young woman psychedelic drugs without her knowing. This was a major turning point for the woman, as she turned to a life of drugs and the effects they bring to a person’s life.
Beatrice Sparks published “Go Ask Alice” in 1971 and has since been frequently challenged as a banned book. (CYRUS ENGELSMAN/ Ethic News photo)
The remainder of this article will contain spoilers for the book.
The book itself has had a lot of controversy because of readers questioning the legitimacy of the story and how it is portrayed. In the middle of the book, the woman loses her diary, and gives journal entries with any paper material she could find, napkins, paper bags, and other items of that regard.
This itself has raised many questions, who recovered the notes? When did the notes take place? These questions have made readers question how real the book itself is.
Another reason readers question the legitimacy of the book is because the book’s genre is considered a Young Adult Fiction, despite the book claiming being “A Real Diary.”
Despite the rumors and theories of the legitimacy of the story, the moral and themes of substance abuse and sexual assault are still relevant to this day for many despite the book being over 50 years old.
At the end of the book, immediately after another journal entry, the reader is left to discover that the young woman has died, presumably, from a drug overdose. Though the cause of death is not explicitly said, this death is sudden and emotional.
After hearing the young women’s struggles with abuse, sexual assaut, and the life of an adolescent away from home, all stemming from an addiction to drugs, it sets a fear into the readers mind. A fear that is still real and many have to this day.
This book is a hard read from start to finish, but has an important message about drugs and their effect on someone’s life. The reason the book is hard to read is because it felt very real, like a real person one could know and understand. This book is recommended if the reader can handle uncomfortable topics. Despite the difficult topics and themes, the story has an important message on the world and the people on it.
As the main character of the story would say, “Why is life so difficult? Why can’t we be just ourselves and have everyone accept us the way we are?”
Por ELLA FITZPATRICK
La clase de último año de 2022 de Redlands East Valley se reunió en el almuerzo del 29 de abril para celebrar el día del compromiso de los estudiantes de último año, un evento para reconocer los planes de educación de los futuros graduados después de la escuela secundaria.
Entre los edificios M y K en REV, el Cuerpo Estudiantil Asociado organizó una pequeña reunión de pizza, refrescos y papas fritas gratis para los estudiantes de último año que asisten a la universidad en el otoño.
Debido a que el patio de césped entre ambos edificios estaba cerrado solo para los estudiantes de último año, los estudiantes pudieron disfrutar del almuerzo con ellos mismos y conectarse entre sí sobre sus planes para la universidad.
“Fue agradable poder ver con qué están comprometidas otras personas. Da la sensación de que vamos por caminos separados, pero siempre tendremos una experiencia compartida en la escuela secundaria”, dice Alicia Gullon, estudiante de último año en REV con planes de asistir a la Universidad de California, Berkeley.
“Da la sensación de que vamos por caminos separados, pero siempre tendremos una experiencia compartida en la escuela secundaria.”
Alicia Gullon, estudiante de último año en REV
Además de comer, los estudiantes también podrían tomarse fotos frente al fotomatón con amigos y firmar una pancarta con su nombre y la universidad a la que planean asistir.
Entre los edificios M y K en Redlands East Valley High School, los estudiantes de último año de Wildcat, Prescott Neiswender y Katelyn Kennedy, posan frente a un fotomatón decorado para tomar una foto para el Día de Compromiso de los Mayores el 29 de abril durante el almuerzo. (ELLA FITZPATRICK/ foto de Ethic News)
Giselle Sefiane Coady, Ella Martinez-Spencer, Luca Smith y Corey Ford, estudiantes de último año de Redlands East Valley, firman una pancarta con sus nombres y las universidades a las que planean asistir en el otoño en el Día de Compromiso para Personas Mayores en REV el 29 de abril. (ELLA FITZPATRICK/ foto de Ethic News)
By ETHIC NEWS STAFF
In honor of Mother’s Day on May 8, Citrus Valley High School students give appreciation to their mothers that work on campus. The following students responded to what they cherished about their mothers, what it is like to share a campus with their mother and if they had a message to say to their mothers.
Michelle Stover, chemistry teacher:
“I cherish her enthusiasm and care for her students.”
“It’s nice because I get snacks.”
“I love you mom.”
Michelle Stover is Citrus Valley’s General and Advanced Placement Chemistry teacher and her daughter Julianna is a sophomore at Citrus Valley. (Photo courtesy by Julianna Stover)
Kari Hill, Career Center Coordinator:
“I cherish how loving and helping she always is to me.”
“Having my mom on campus is the best because she can always give me advice where to go or what to do and help me with colleges.”
“A message I would like to give my mom would be thank you for everything you’ve done for me in the past 18 years. Now, I’m structuring a great future because of everything you’ve helped me understand and learn.”
– Ryan Hill, senior
Kari Hill is Citrus Valley’s Career Center Teacher/College-Career Counselor and her son is senior Ryan Hill. (Photo courtesy by Ryan Hill)
Kelly Teeter, counseling clerk:
“She’s really lovely, she takes care of me, she puts food on my plate, provides me with everything I need and she takes really good care of me.”
“For me, it’s nice because I’m diabetic so if something happens to me she’s there for me. She doesn’t have to worry so it’s nice for her too, and it’s just nice having her here.”
“Thank you, thank you for doing everything you do and thank you for being here.”
– Lucas Teeter, freshman
Kelly Teeter is a counseling clerk at Citrus Valley and her son is Citrus Valley freshman Lucas Teeter. (Photo courtesy by Lucas Teeter)
Maisie McCue, principal:
“I think that she is very empathetic and compassionate so she can help you through lots of stuff just because she’s able to relate.”
“It’s interesting but I’ve already had her on my campus for three years because she was my middle school principal also. But like, middle school was a little better than high school though. It’s still nice though, being able to see her every day at school.”
“Just that I love and appreciate you.”
– Kylie McCue, sophomore
Masie McCue is the principle of Citrus Valley, and her daughter is Citrus Valley sophomore Kylie McCue. (Photo courtesy by Kylie McCue)
Joan Snavely, telepresence paraprofessional aide:
“I cherish the fact that my mom is someone I can count on to be there for me.”
“Some people think having your mom on campus could be tiring, but its definitely made my high school experience easier. Whether it’s using her microwave for lunch or always having a classroom that I can feel safe in, she’s always been there for me.”
“Thanks for all the snacks during passing period, and bringing me a little bit of home while I’m in school.”
– Maggie Snavely, senior
Joan Snavely is the telepresence aide for Citrus Valley, and her daughter is Citrus Valley senior Maggie Snavely. (Photo courtesy by Maggie Snavely)
At Citrus Valley, these individuals take on the dual role of mother and staff member and this Mother’s Day their children’s appreciation for them does not go unnoticed.
Featured Photo: Ethic News thanks mothers everywhere. (Emily Walos/Ethic news image)
Interviewed by MAURICIO PLIEGO
Filmed by ELLA FITZPATRICK and DANIELA MORA
Directed by ISAAC MEJIA
Translated by DANIELA MORA
Come join Ethic News as they interview Redlands East Valley High School Guadalajara native Dona Ayala. Ayala responds to questions in Spanish about her life inside and outside of school as well as maintaining her culture in America. As always, Ayala answers fast, controversial “this or that” questions at the end of the interview.
By AILEEN JANEE CORPUS and MAURICIO PLIEGO
Bill Berich has been involved in education for 41 years and has been a teacher and coach at Redlands East Valley since its opening in 1997.
Berich says, “I wanted to get back into coaching high school basketball – and REV was opening up so I applied.”
In an away game against the Redlands High School boys varsity basketball team, Redlands East Valley High School boys’ varsity basketball coach Bill Berich dismisses his team from a timeout. The end of the game resulted in a win for the Wildcats. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
He taught at Yucaipa Junior High for two years, 13 years in Yucaipa High School, and 25 years at REV. Berich has taught social studies, physical education, health, English and science classes over the course of his career along with coaching basketball and several other sports.
Berich says, “I have so much fun teaching. I am not the best teacher, but I doubt anyone enjoys it as much as I do. I like helping kids [who want to be helped] and seeing them succeed.”
“I have so much fun teaching. I am not the best teacher, but I doubt anyone enjoys it as much as I do.”
Bill Berich, Redlands East Valley High School Head Boys Basketball Coach
Head coach Bill Berich (far right) watches his team rejoicing as Redlands East Valley High School senior Piave Fitzpatrick and junior Jeremiah Bolaños jump with enthusiasm after winning their final CBL game of the 2021-22 basketball season in an overtime clinch. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Berich has coached basketball for 43 years and that has included six years in freshman basketball, seven seasons as the head boys’ varsity coach from 1986-1993, four seasons as assistant coach at the University of Redlands from 1993-1997 and has been head coach at REV since 1997.
Along with basketball, he has coached for softball, golf, track, junior varsity softball and badminton.
During his time as a coach at REV, basketball has won four Kiwanis Tournaments, two Beaumont Tournaments, four Citrus Belt League and several other tournaments. Since REV’s opening in 1997, the team has qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs for 20 out of the 25 years.
Redlands East Valley High School boys’ varsity basketball coach Bill Berich stands on the sideline during the first and last CIF game for the Wildcats of the 2021-2022 season on Feb. 11, 2022. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
As coach, Berich can think of two memories that he can say were his favorites but he cannot choose a favorite season.
He says, “CIF Finals at the Honda Center in 2015. Winning a game in the State Tournament. Our first CBL Title. But, maybe above all of that, was the retirement send-off I was given at our last home game on February 4, 2022. That was amazing.”
Over the years, he has grown to love the students, faculty and everyone who works at REV. Berich feels it has “become infectious” and feels blessed to have taught at REV.
Coach Berich speaks to the Redlands Educational Partnership Rebounders team in hopes to lead them through the game against the comedic, traveling basketball team the Harlem Wizards. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
As the coach for the REP Rebounders, Bill Berich talks to his team of Redlands’ teachers, classified employees and administrators before they begin their fundraising basketball game against the comedic basketball team the Harlem Wizards on April 22, 2022. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
The only thing he would change is to hold the students to a higher standard regarding attendance, academics and behavior because he feels that it would be possible to do.
Berich lives by the Golden Rule, and he believes that students should know that “what is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular.”
He says, “I try to treat people the way I would like to be treated. I try to do my best and take satisfaction in that regardless of the results.”
During his free time, he golfs, fishes, and takes care of his disabled son, Billy. For his retirement, he hopes to be able to teach at a junior college, or community college, and continue fishing, golfing, and boating.
Originally an assistant coach to Berich, Head Coach Mike Aranda has coached REV basketball since the 1999-2000 season.
“He has worked very hard over the years to build up the REV basketball program. We’ve won CBL titles, preseason tournaments, a state playoff game, and reached the CIF Final in 2015,” says Aranda. “He cares deeply about his players but not just in regard to their basketball abilities, he wants his players to be successful in all aspects of life. He’s taught his players about responsibility, work ethic, and accountability to prepare them for their lives after their basketball career is over.”
Aranda says, “I am very thankful to Coach Berich for his help and guidance in my coaching and teaching career.”
By ELLA FITZPATRICK
Since the beginning of the school year, high school students in the Redlands Unified School District, and around the country, have been preparing for the Advanced Placement exams offered by the College Board.
Taking place during the first two weeks of May 2022, from May 2 to 13, each AP exam takes approximately two to four hours, depending on the subject of testing.
At Redlands East Valley High School, students are expected to show up to their assigned test start time and testing sites. Testing will take place at J-35, J-23 or the media center at 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.
By ELIZABETH MOLLOY
On Friday, April 15, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicked off its first weekend. This is the first weekend since 2019 the festival has commenced because of COVID-19 restrictions. Some of the biggest names performing this year include Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, Harry Styles, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion and Swedish House Mafia returning.
The Spectra building returns with beautiful colors alongside the Coachella Ferris Wheel at night. (Courtesy of Vivienne Igbinosun)
One of the headliners of the festival, Kanye West, publicly pulled out of Coachella just over a week before he was set to perform. The Weeknd joined the artists as a last-minute fill-in for West. Swedish House Mafia performed alongside the Weeknd, exactly ten years after the group first performed at Coachella.
Harry Styles headlined the festival for the first time, just two months before his third album release. During his set, he brought out singer Shania Twain to perform and sang two brand new songs of his own. Just last month, Doja Cat announced she will be retiring from music after eight years. The singer did honor her commitment to the festival as she had been set to perform for quite some time. This is the tip of the iceberg of all the memorable moments the festival has held this year.
With a diverse lineup and new big names, this festival has been a memorable one. Another detail to note is the rise in popularity some artists have experienced since 2019. For example, Doja Cat was one of the biggest names this year while in 2019 the singer was just on the rise. Italian band Maneskin also made their Coachella debut this year and performed a song that was made in support of Ukraine. Some familiar faces who did not make a return to the festival include Tame Impala, Childish Gambino and Ariana Grande. Likewise, the festival provided new faces and new debuts.
Another event returning this year was the Revolve Festival. This is a festival that happens at the same time as Coachella held by the online retailer Revolve. At the festival, influencers can shop and enjoy music and art. This event is invite-only, meaning that only influencers the brand personally invites can attend this event. Some of the most prominent people in attendance include the Kardashian-Jenner family, Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet and more household names.
This year, the festival also provided many critics. Many attendees of the Revolve event have commented on long lines, shuttle timing and even comparison to “Fyre Festival.” Fyre Festival was a 2017 festival that gained a negative reputation and met an ill fate. On a lighter note, the festival was a great start to returning to “normal” life. After two years of COVID-19 restrictions, the festival was a turning point in returning to normality.
By ELLA FITZPATRICK
The Redlands East Valley senior class of 2022 gathered at lunch on April 29 to celebrate senior commit day—an event to recognize the future graduates education plans after high school.
Between the M and K buildings at REV, the Associated Student Body set up a small gathering of free pizza, soda and chips for the seniors attending college in the fall.
Because the grass yard between both buildings was closed off for only seniors, the students were able to enjoy the lunch with themselves and connect with each other about their plans for college.
“It was nice being able to see where other people are committed to. It makes it feel as if we’re going our separate ways but we’ll always have a shared high school experience,” says Alicia Gullon, a senior at REV with plans to attend University of California, Berkeley.
“It makes it feel as if we’re going our separate ways but we’ll always have a shared high school experience.”
Redlands East Valley High School senior Alicia Gullon
Along with eating food, the students could also take photos together in front of the photo booth with friends and sign a banner with their name and the college they plan on attending.
Between the M and K buildings at Redlands East Valley High School, Wildcat seniors Prescott Neiswender and Katelyn Kennedy pose in front of a decorated photo booth to take a photo for Senior Commit Day on April 29 during lunch. (ELLA FITZPATRICK/Ethic News photo)
Redlands East Valley seniors Giselle Sefiane Coady, Ella Martinez-Spencer, Luca Smith and Corey Ford sign a banner with their names and the colleges they plan on attending in the fall on Senior Commit Day at REV on April 29. ( ELLA FITZPATRICK/ Ethic News photo)
By MAURICIO PLIEGO
Basic:
The University of California, Berkeley, or UC Berkeley, is located in the Bay Area near San Francisco and it was founded on March 23, 1868. It is the state’s first land-grant university and the first campus of the University of California system.
According to its website, the University was “born out of a vision in the State Constitution of a university that would contribute even more than California’s gold to the glory and happiness of advancing generations.”
An image of the golden bear mascot of the University of California, Berkeley and its famous pose. (MAURICIO PLIEGO/ Ethic News)
Safety:
Compared to the average college campus across the country, Berkeley received a D+ based on on-campus, city, and regional crime rates according to the College Factual website. By calling 911, the UC Police Department responds to emergencies and provides programs such as the Community Service Officer program.
Tuition/budget:
According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the tuition cost for California residents is a total of $39,550 which includes the tuition, student health insurance plan, room and board, food, and books and supplies. Nonresidents must pay for everything listed prior, plus a $29,754 nonresident supplemental tuition, which is a total of $44,008.
Graduation and Acceptance Rates:
UC Berkeley is one of the most selective colleges in the country as it has a 17% acceptance rate. It has become more competitive each year and as of 2022, Berkeley may be forced to cut 3000 freshman seats according to the Los Angeles Times. College Simply reports that UC Berkeley has a 91.2% Graduation rate which puts it in the top five graduation rates in California, with the California Institute of Technology, Pomona College, and Stanford University ahead of it.
Majors:
Berkeley has more than 130 academic and 80 interdisciplinary research departments separated into five colleges across one school.
Facilities and Amenities:
The campus itself has plenty to offer as it features three fitness and wellness centers, four swimming pools, five tennis courts, seven basketball courts, and an outdoor track and field. There are also two natural facilities such as the rope course within the redwood trees and the open waters of the Berkeley Marina.
Career Development and Services:
The UC Berkeley Career Center has plenty to offer as an organized website helps students by class, or population, and can help through jobs/internships, career planning, and getting involved in workshops and events.
Notable Alumni:
Aaron Rodgers is the current Quarterback for the Green Bay Packers but he is also an alumni of UC Berkeley. He first attended Butte community college for about a year before transferring to Berkeley and becoming the starting quarterback and guiding the team through a 10-2 record.
By JASMINE ROSALES and SPENCER MOORE
All students in Redlands are invited to participate in the Redlands Day of Community Service on Saturday, May 7 from 8:30 am to noon.
Steven Mapes, community member, invites everyone of all ages to come out and take part in the Redlands Day of community service. Mapes encourages students to wear their respective school colors to uplift others by seeing the youth serving in our community.
“One of the best things about the Community Day of Service is the way that it brings so many different people together,” said Judy Cannon, Director of Communications for the Redlands Stake of Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints. “We have all age groups and affiliations working alongside each other. It’s part of what makes Redlands so great.”
Students can obtain volunteer hours and take pride in their community by partaking in Redlands Day of Community Service.
“Some of our favorite volunteers are the students from our local high schools. They bring their youthful energy and a unique spirit of fun to the day,” said Cannon.
To volunteer visit Just Serve and search for “Redlands Day of Service May 7th, 2022.” From there, choose a project to participate in.
The projects to choose from are: Heritage Park-Grounds Landscaping, State Street Planters, Redlands Sports Park Fence-Painting, Ford Park Pond Stabilization and Gateway Ranch Cable Fencing.
For more information visit Just Serve: Annual Redlands Community Day of Service
By CYRUS ENGELSMAN
Several Redlands East Valley High School students received recognition for their art on March 15.
The Young Artists Gallery Reception is an annual event hosted by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools and Riverside Inyo Mono San Bernardino
California Arts Project in association with The Arts Education Network.
A total of 27 schools entered the competition and 177 pieces of art were judged for the event. The categories of the show were drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, digital art, comic art, ceramics, mixed media and film/animation.
Out of the 177 pieces of art juried at the show, there were four winners from REV.
“Living in life, that’s probably the best inspiration that I get,” says second place winner REV sophomore Mia Altenbac said. “Things that just come naturally I find inspiration from that.”
The following art pieces are the winners from REV. The winners were also recognized at REV’s spring rally on April 8.
Redlands East Valley High School student Jay Gutierrez, third place winner, sends in this piece for the art category. (Courtesy of Tracy Massimiano)
Redlands East Valley High School senior Luke Loomis wins second place with a ceramic cup for the competition. (Courtesy of Tracy Massimiano)
Second place winner Mia Altenbach has her digital art piece sent in for the competition. (Courtesy of Tracy Massimiano)
First place winner and Redlands East Valley sophomore, Matthew Thorig, displays their drawing piece. (Courtesy of Tracy Massimiano)
Editor’s Column
Aileen Janee is the sports editor for Ethic News.
By AILEEN JANEE CORPUS
Pig cheeks, oxtails, and chicken feet–all seen as disgusting pieces of the very animals we eat, but one man’s trash is another man’s treasure as they say.
Offal is all of these things. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, offal is “the waste or by-product of a process.” By associating the less used pieces of meat as waste, there is already a negative connotation to these other parts of livestock.
When I was in one of my classes, we were talking about Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” and the teacher branched off to talk about how pieces of meat including pig cheeks or tails are undesirable.
In most other countries outside of America, they use the “undesirable” and “unwanted” pieces of meat.
As a Filipino, there is a traditional dish called sisig and it is made up of the unwanted pieces of meat, pig cheeks, ears and more, and kare-kare which is another traditional dish usually made with peanut butter and oxtail. These are delicious dishes, and I pride myself on being a Filipino.
Other delicious dishes include chicken feet that one can find at Chinese dimsum restaurants, but when I was watching an old Disney show with my siblings, they used chicken feet and called them monkey knuckles in a sketch making fun of microwave dinners.
Although the conversation on chicken beaks making up chicken nuggets most likely only lasted a few minutes, a few confused minutes. I couldn’t help
Starting with “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, a novel originally written to expose the exploitation of immigrants coming into America, Americans started to have a negative view on offal.
A part of the stigma can come from back in the day when good cuts of meat were associated with the rich and the unwanted parts with the poor. Logically, the impoverished would try to make their dish as delicious as possible with whatever they have.
Things have obviously changed from the Progressive Era: the food and drug act and necessary nutrition facts. The making and processing of our foods is now better.
Even the local Costco is starting to sell beef tripe and ox tails; near the meat section, I saw a few people piling up and looking at some large white meat, so when I went over to check it out, it was beef tripe, and right next to it was oxtail. I was filled with joy to see offal in a place more accessible to people.
Food culture is culture. Attacking someone’s food is attacking their identity and their culture, whether or not it is intentional, but that article is for another time.
For the time being, normalizing offal allows people from multitudes of countries to have pride in their cultures and not have to feel put down or what their eating is disgusting simply because it is not what the majority indulges in.
America is known as the big melting pot so it should be just that: a big melting pot with a variety of delicious cultures.
By JASMINE ROSALES
Citrus Valley High School’s girls’ varsity soccer team circle up and begin their cheer to pump each other up before kickoff (Courtesy of Mike Mccue)
Since Dec. 1, 2021, the soccer season at Citrus Valley High School has been underway. From preseason to league, the soccer girls have worked hard during their practices. From 6 a.m. to after school practices, they are dedicated to crushing every game.
At the beginning of the league, the varsity team felt they had a target on their back after being the top team in their district and back-to-back Citrus Belt League champions. Starting off with preseason, everyone worked on strengthening weak points.
The first league game for Citrus Valley was Jan. 5 at Cajon High School. The Blackhawks came out strong with a win of 7-1. With another away game against Redlands East Valley High School on Jan. 7, the team again took the win against the Wildcats with a 3-0 victory.
The third game of the league and the first home game of the season was against their rival Yucaipa High School. The Thunderbirds and Blackhawks battle it out on the pitch. Citrus Valley comes out hard from the start and wins the game against YHS 3-1 with a goal from Blackhawk senior Lindsey Chau, junior Natalie Thoe and sophomore Sasha Mezcua.
After their third consecutive win, varsity girls made their way to Terrier town against Redlands High School. Working together, the Blackhawks scores ten goals on the scoreboard and earns a final score of 10-1.
Teammates No. 10 Lindsey Chau, No. 15 Vanessa Alcala celebrate with No. 8 Elizabeth Northcott after scoring a goal against the Terriers. (Courtesy of Hung Chau)
The team followed up with a home game against Beaumont, finishing against the Cougars with a win of 3-1. Wrapping up the first round of games, Citrus Valley girl’s varsity held a streak of five wins.
Round two brought each team head-to-head one more time, starting from the top Citrus Valley had a home game against Cajon. Cajon comes in strong while Citrus Valley matches up and plays strategically. Through teamwork, they came out on top and beat the Cowgirls 2-1.
The following week, Citrus Valley went head-to-head against the Wildcats on Wednesday Jan. 26. The teams battles it out and approximately 80 minutes later, the Blackhawks are victorious beating REV 3-0. Shutting out the Wildcats and keeping their league record undefeated.
With a challenging game ahead of them, Assistant Varsity Coach Allen Thoe said, “We used our recordings of the games and watch the film before practice. We mainly use this to devise what system we will be using, in this case, we went with a 4-3-3, but we also use it to highlight any specific players to watch out for.”
After filming and taking note of what needs to be brought to attention, the team traveled to Yucaipa. The girls warmed up and got pumped up for the game. With a hard battle from both defenses and shots on goal from offense, Citrus Valley kicked five goals into the back of the net. Pushing through and using their studying from the previous practice, the girls find the weak points and use it to their advantage to break through and win against the Thunderbirds for the second time this season with a final score of 5-1.
With only two games left of CBL, the varsity girls gave it their all when they went up against Redlands High School. The Blackhawks started strong in Hodges stadium a little before 5 p.m with warm ups, followed up with shots on goal and long kicks from defenders. Leaving everything on the field, the game finished up with a final score of 3-0, Blackhawks with the win.
In the final league game, the players took the bus and enjoyed the ride to Beaumont to face the Cougars. The whistle was blown and the girls on the sidelines ran to cheer with the players on the field as they celebrate their win of 3-0 and their record of ten wins and zero losses.
With an undefeated season, the girls and the seniors celebrated all their hard work as undefeated league champs for the past three consecutive years.
The varsity girls pose with coach Norma Mendez after their last Citrus Belt League game. (Courtesy of Hung Chau)
By EMILY WALOS
Lights, Camera, Wonderland.
On March 18 2022, Citrus Valley High School’s Associative Student Body put on their annual prom fashion show; however this year there was a twist. At the show, all information including the prom theme, date, ticket prices, and location were released.
Citrus Valley’s prom theme was released by ASB senior secretary, Miyah Lopez and social member, Bella Moreno, opening a banner that displayed “Ace: a Night of Wonder.”
The theme is based off of the fictional story of Alice in Wonderland, specifically the characters the King and Queen of Hearts.
Prom is scheduled to take place at Desert Willow Golf Course from 7-11 p.m.
The fashion show itself contained seven groups, three couples and, a new addition to the show this year, four groups of three.
The show began at the beginning of lunch in front of the E-building with the masters of ceremonies Senior Pep commissioner Elise Kollar and Junior President Sydney Hageali gathering students around the runway. From there the first couple, senior model Ariana Nelson and senior model Landon Campos, were announced.
After each couple or group made their way down the runway, they split at the end of the risers and each hit three poses. They then came back together and performed a handshake. Each handshake was unique, from twirls to dips to even money flying into the crowd.
Trio senior model Sierra Alexi, senior model Wendy Gonzalez, and senior model Luchiano Swidan utilized real money during their handshake as the three of them threw a combined total of $100 in fives into the crowd.
Students where able to grab and keep the money that was thrown into the crowd (BELLA ESPINOZA/Ethic News)
Alexi stated that, “I remember when we first threw money, it was unexpected because the whole crowd was just standing there stunned but then the realization and excitement kicked in and they started running to get the money.”
The stage itself was ornately decorated in the theme “Deck of Cards,” as all four styles of playing cards were used. The runway was lined with cards as well as a black carpet to match the color theme of black, white, red, and gold. Cards were scattered over the windows that provided the backdrop to the runway, as well as on the poles that hung over and next to the stage.
Balloons played a key factor in the show as three were placed on each side of the runway as well as a massive balloon arch in the theme colors that flew above the stage.
During the reveal of the theme, single bouquets of balloons were brought out to be given to the audience. Hand decorated crowns were also brought out with the balloons. On the crowns the theme name was front and center, and students were able to wear them for the remainder of the school day.
Clothing for the show was provided both by the sponsor Men’s Wearhouse, as well as personal items each model had at home. Men’s Wearhouse provided the show with six suits. Each boy that was provided a suit was able to choose from any of the selections that the store provided them.
This year was the first year ASB utilized fully volunteered models. (BELLA ESPINOZA/Ethic News)
Steve Guiterrez, a senior that walked in the first ever boy trio, “They [Mens Wearhouse employees] treated us kindly even though it was completely sponsored by them, they treated us with respect and they made sure we were fitted and knew how to get dresses without their help.”
Model include: Ariana Nelson, Landon Campos, Brody Moss, Madisen Habchi, Jakob Ibarra Garcia, Maddie Hernandez, Ryan Hill, Andrew Castillo, Jacob Weber, Emily Reyes, Chloe Cousineau, Eddie Barajas, Aaron Roque, Peter Rodriguez, Steve Gutierrez Flores, Abby Gonzalez, Sierra Alexi, Luchiano Swidan, Emily Walos, Paige King, Miyah Lopez, Bella Moreno (BELLA ESPINOZA/Ethic News)
By ISAAC MEJIA
The Redlands East Valley High School theater department presented its Spring Showcase on Friday, March 11. While the department traditionally performs a musical in the spring, this year they decided on a showcase in which students were allowed to perform and collaborate on acts of their choosing.
The show consisted of many scenes from popular movies and tv shows including “Mean Girls” and “Victorious” as well as acts from acclaimed musicals such as “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.”
“My favorite part has been working with my friends, and seeing how talented everyone is. Getting to act is amazing, but my favorite part [is] having fun with other actors,” said Connor Bromberger, a senior at REV.
REV senior Leilani Baldwin said, “The people are so supportive and loving. Needless to say, they are some of the most fun people I know.”
Many of these acts required students to work together creatively for weeks.
Grace Castell, a senior at REV, said her favorite part about the showcase “has to be working with my friends. There’s never a dull moment with them.”
Bella Mia Fraley, a freshman at Redlands E-Academy said, “Being on stage, the lights, the sounds, it’s all so fun, and I hope I can do more productions with this school in the future.”
While preparing for the showcase was full of excitement, performers admit that the process was stressful at times.
Nina Brown, a freshman at E-academy said, “The preparation process has been really stressful, but also really fun. It’s always fun to go to rehearsal and practice.”
Ella Fletcher, a senior at REV, said the showcase was “definitely a little stressful, but that is always a part of performing onstage because performers care so much that what you see onstage is as perfect as possible.”
(From left down to right down) Evie O’Brien, Lizeth Lopez, Rose Blatchley, Ella Fletcher, Dana Hatar and Megan Rimmer starred in Ex Wives from “Six” the musical. Their performance was the closing act of the night. (ALISSON BERMUDEZ/ Ethic News photo)
Junior Evie O’Brien (left) and senior Connor Bromberger (right) stand next to each other with weaponry during their portrayal of Henry vs his Demons. (ISAAC MEJIA/ Ethic News photo)
The actors and actresses of the showcase had their own unique individual experiences. Behind the scenes, the tech and stage crew had their own experiences as well.
eAcademy freshman Dakarai Marshall said “I have learned a lot more than I expected, such as using power tools. I have had fun learning these life lessons and skill sets that I will benefit from forever.”
Moments before the show, the cast sits around the set patiently waiting to be called by the tech crew for their last mic check. (ALISSON BERMUDEZ/ Ethic News photo)
Liliana Arroyo (left) and Lelanie Baldwin (right), two of the soloists of the night, pose for a picture outside of the theater room. Arroyo performed “Hopelessly Devoted To You” from Grease while Baldwin performed “Breathe” from In the Heights. (ALISSON BERMUDEZ/ Ethic News photo)
For some students, the Spring Showcase marked the beginning of their theatrical career at REV. However, for seniors, the showcase was the last time that they would set foot on the Blackstone Theater Stage and perform in front of a live audience.
Fletcher said, “I am happy to be a part of this production, but it is a little bittersweet. I do wish it was a full show though, but I’m happy to be involved!”
“It’s a surreal feeling to know this is the last time I will walk on and off of the Blackstone Theater stage as an attending REV student, ” said Baldwin. “I had grown so much in my craft in this very building.”
“I do wish we could have done an actual play, but having the freedom to create a scene on our own is still just as great,” Catell said. “As long as I have fun and get to be with my friends, then I don’t mind! I will miss all the people I got to work with once I graduate though.”
By ANGELINE ASATOURIAN
At Orangewood High School, a new cell phone policy is starting on April 4. This policy was created due to cell phone abuse taking up class time. There will also be new consequences to go with it.
The new policy states that starting on April 4, teachers may allow the use of cell phones or any electronic devices for a designated time “for a specific educational opportunity” or if there is an emergency, but there must be a verbal “explicit permission” before the electronic device is pulled out to be used.
As with any rules, there are consequences for using these devices without the permission of school personnel.
According to the policy, the first offense will result in the teacher issuing a verbal warning, with the parents or guardians being notified.
The second offense will have the device confiscated for the rest of the school day, but will be “released to the student.”
The third offense will be having the device once again confiscated “for the remainder of the school day,” and parents or guardians will have to come to the Orangewood High School administration office and pick up the device.
The policy states, “Orangewood High school is not responsible for stolen, lost, or damaged electronic devices.”
Some students at Orangewood are not too pleased to be having this new policy and others say they understand the reason for it.
Johnathan McGuire, a junior at Orangewood said, “I think they should change it, not like get rid of it, but revise it.”
Monica Penunuri, a sophomore at Orangewood, states “I don’t like it, but I get it.”
Students can attend School Site Council meetings and discuss their concerns with the staff.
By DESTINY RAMOS
Katie Mackenzie, a tenth grade honors English teacher at Citrus Valley High School, who is in her 18th year of teaching, answers 18 questions about herself.
Mrs. Mackenzie has been teaching for 18 years. (DESTINY RAMOS/ Ethic News photo)
Teaching Reflections
Q: How long have you been teaching?
Mackenzie: I think this is my 18 year of teaching.
Q: What is the nicest thing a student has done for you?
Mackenzie: Students are just very lovely. They write nice letters and say hello. Recently, my daughter’s student teacher was a former student and that was really fun to reconnect with him and he wrote me this really lovely letter where, in the end, he was complimenting my daughter but also complimenting me and saying that I inspired him to teach and that was really special. Especially since it’s so many years later.
Q: What’s the most frustrating thing about teaching?
Mackenzie: I think it’s just things that are out of my control. Like the pandemic, it was really hard.
Q: Which of your lessons is your favorite to teach?
Mackenzie: I like teaching writing. I like after you guys have finished an essay, even though it’s kind of boring. I like going over it because I think it’s helpful. I like when it feels useful, like ‘okay we’re going to get better at this’ so I do actually like going over writing.
Q: What is your favorite thing about your students?
Mackenzie: I like the energy and I feel like sophomores, in particular, get happier as the year goes on. I like sophomores because they are funny and play a little bit and they aren’t too bogged down by stress quite yet, so I love that about them. I also like that they are open to sharing their ideas and they always have good insights that I don’t always think of and I really like learning from them.
Q: What is your favorite story you tell your students?
Mackenzie: I don’t like to talk about my life very much to my students. Like little things, but they’re often interested in how I met my husband and how I studies abroad and I do like to talk about how I studied abroad because it’s fun and it can inspire other kids to do that and I think that it was a really awesome experience but I tend to not talk about my personal life very much.
Q: What is your favorite thing about teaching?
Mackenzie: I think it really is the connection with kids and getting to meet new people every year. It is interesting how we meet now but then sometimes I meet up with them much later and I do think that sometimes people come into your life when they’re supposed to and I feel lucky to get to meet all these different people and learn from them every year.
Other Favorites and One Pet Peeve
Q: When you aren’t teaching, what is your favorite thing to do?
Mackenzie: I like to hang out with my friends, I like to travel a lot. That’s probably my favorite thing to do actually. I love to travel.
Q: What’s your favorite place that you have been?
Mackenzie: So I studied abroad in Oxford, that’s where I met my husband, and while I was there I got to travel a bunch, and so we went to Prague and Scotland and France and all those places because it’s easy. And my husband’s from South Africa so I’ve been there and I really like South Africa and New Zealand, we’d go because it’s where his brothers live so I don’t know. I feel like I could live in New Zealand but I really liked Prague as a city.
Q: Who is your favorite author?
Mackenzie: Honestly Shakespeare. I know it’s lame but he is my favorite author.
Q: What is your favorite holiday?
Mackenzie: Christmas
Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
Mackenzie: I don’t like bad attitudes, like when people are grumpy all the time.
Fun Facts
Q: If you never became a teacher what do you think you would have become?
Mackenzie: : I used to think it would have been fun to be a lawyer because I like to argue and because I like to think about stuff like that and I like to debate and I love lawyer shows but I don’t think I would have liked the lifestyle. But, I think I would have liked to be a lawyer.
Q: Are you a tea or coffee person?
Mackenzie: Tea
Q: What movie can you constantly watch and never get sick of?
Mackenzie: I really like the A&E miniseries Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcey.
Q: What brightens your mood when you are having a bad day?
Mackenzie: My family, being with my daughter and husband makes me really happy.
Q: If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
Mackenzie: I think I would move to New Zealand. Of all the places I’ve visited, I think it’s the place where I would be the most happy living. It’s a little bit like Southern California because it’s coastal and it’s kind of metropolitan but there is a lot more open space and it’s very beautiful.
Q: What was the last book you read?
Mackenzie: It’s from my book club. It’s kind of dark but it’s called ‘Deep Water.’
Lea este artículo en español aquí: https://ethic-news.org/2022/05/21/preguntas-y-respuestas-sobre-la-caracteristica-del-maestro-18-preguntas-con-katie-mackenzie-de-citrus-valley/
By CRAIG MORRISON
The State of the Union address is given annually by the President of the United States to Congress to give information on the state of the union. At this address, the President usually proposes measures to Congress that he feels necessary.
This year’s State of the Union Address was given on March 1 by President Joseph Biden.
This address covered topics such as of Eastern Europe conflicts, economy, child care, health care, immigration and Coronavirus.
Image of President Biden who gave the State of the Union Address before Congress on March 1, 2022. Here, he tackled issues affecting Americans both internationally and domestically. “Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.
With the invasion of Ukraine at hand during the time of the speech, President Biden felt the need to address the battle between democracy and autocracy.
During his speech, Biden said, “In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security.”
This sentence is referring to the many countries around the world supporting Ukraine during this crisis. Countries are sending aid in various ways to Ukraine such as supplying economic help, military equipment and medical supplies. President Biden feels that Russia is even more isolated from the world now with the help of these nations.
Biden said that Putin “badly miscalculated” when invading Ukraine.
With the U.S. cutting off Russia’s banks from the international financial system, President Biden states the U.S. is “preventing Russia’s central bank from defending the Russian ruble, making Putin’s $630 billion ‘war fund’ worthless.”
President Biden also discussed the topic of funding the police. Biden made it clear that he proposes funding the police.
Biden said, “We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to fund the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities.”
Additionally, President Biden discussed the current state of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden spoke about how a majority of the country is now mask-free and most Americans are vaccinated.
Biden said, “COVID-19 need no longer controls our lives”.
The topic of inflation was also brought up during the address.
President Biden stated that his “top priority is getting prices under control.”
He suggested that we achieve this goal with a few strategies. Firstly, he authorized releasing Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil. Biden also shunned price gouging and promoted America making its own products.
Biden said, “Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.”
He called for companies to lower the costs of goods, not the wages of employees. He wants America to start creating more cars, semiconductors, infrastructure and innovation.
Towards the end of the speech, President Biden brought up his thoughts on cancer research. His plan is to “end cancer as we know it.”
Biden aims to achieve this goal by increasing government funding to cancer research. He wants over the next 25 years for cancer death rates to decrease by 50%.
By DESTINY RAMOS
Disney’s “Encanto” is a fantasy film taking place in Colombia that was released on Nov. 21, 2021. “Encanto” tells the story of the Madrigals, an extraordinary family with magical gifts, and one Madrigal who wasn’t given a gift. The movie revolves around Mirabel, and what happens when she notices that the miracle, the reason that the family has gifts, is slowly beginning to die.
The showcase of Colombian culture was extremely successful through matters of appearances of not only the characters but their Encanto, their refuge, as well. Colombian culture is also showcased through other things such as the movie’s cast, music and colors.
The family’s Casita, their home, is set in an “Encanto” as the family called it, located in the Colombian mountains. Their home’s location ensures that the family will never be faced with the danger of an invasion that sent Abuela Alma and Abuelo Pedro fleeing from their home 50 years earlier. This invasion caused Pedro’s death and the birth of the family’s miracle.
Disney’s “Encanto,” meaning enchantment, presents the Madrigals, an extraordinary family of 12 with magical powers. (Credit to Walt Disney Pictures)
Present-day, the family has grown with six children between Alma and Pedro’s triplets Julieta, Pepa and Bruno. The family was introduced during the first song of the movie, “The Family Madrigal” sung by Abuela’s fifth grandchild, Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz).
In the song, she maps out their family of 12 and their powers. She explains the triplets Pepa (Carolina Guitan) whose moods affect the weather, Bruno (John Leguizamo) who can tell the future but who also disappeared and Julieta (Angie Cepeda) who can heal with food.
Pepa is married to Felix (Mauro Castillo) and has three children, Dolores (Adassa) who has super hearing, Camilo (Rhenzy Feliz) who can shapeshift, and Antonio (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) who is yet to get a gift later that night.
Julieta is married to Agustin (Wilmer Valderrma) and also have three children, Isabella (Diane Guerrero) who can grow flowers, Luisa (Jessica Darow) who has super-strength and Mirabel who is the only Madrigal child without a gift.
Much color and structure are showcased in the four-minute song. The colorful embroidery on the family’s clothing and within their hometown embodies the color used in cultural clothing in Colombia. Not only this, but the structural aspect of the town replicates actual towns within Colombian cities, big and small. Strong and bold colors that are used in the movie’s town are used within real Colombian cities such as Bogota.
The characters’ appearances are the most important aspect to the movie’s cultural background. The character’s skin tones, eye colors and hair textures vary. They show how different Colombians can look and prove that the idea of Hispanic alike is not only brown skin and brown eyes. Pepa is light-skinned and has green eyes, Julieta has brown-skin and dark brown eyes, and Bruno has darker skin and light brown eyes showing the varying looks, genetically, of Colombians and other Hispanics.
Along with the character appearances, the entire cast of the movie is one of the most diverse casts in a Disney movie. The casting was specific to each character, following a different cultural background than a typical Disney movie. Typically, Disney movies have characters of European descent, rather than those of Hispanic, black or native descent.
During Antonio’s gift ceremony, the whole town celebrates with the Madrigals and is not limited to just the relatives. The ceremony is an important aspect of Colombian culture. In every region of Colombia, any and all achievements are celebrated with big parties where it’s common for the family, big or small, to invite the entire village to celebrate with them.
After some time spent within the family’s Casita and at Antonio’s gift ceremony, the next song of the movie, “Waiting on a Miracle,” is presented by Mirabel. Though the song does not have any cultural aspect, it shows Mirabel in a vulnerable state which is important to the plot. She tells herself to not “feel regret or [sadness] at all” and explains that she is still “a part of the family Madrigal.” The song evokes pity among the audience for Mirabel, knowing now how she truly feels about not being “special” like the rest of her family.
The rest of the movie goes into more depth of the miracle and Bruno, but never gives a reason why Mirabel never received a gift. Fans of the movie have their theories, such as the thought that Mirabel would be the next candle holder after Abuela’s passing. Perhaps the answer will be given in future projects featuring the Madrigals.
The songs from the movie, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, were huge successes on their part. Songs such as “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” ”Surface Pressure,” and “The Family Madrigal” had hit and stayed on the Billboard Top 100 for almost a month, with “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” being number one for three weeks. Other songs in the movie included, “Dos Orugitas,” “What Else Can I Do?,” “All Of You,” and “Colombia, Mi Encanto.”
According to Rottontomatoes.com, the movie‒running at one hour and 39 minutes, has received a rotten tomato score of 91% and an audience score of 93%. It has made over 95.4 million dollars at the box office.
Overall, the movie succeeds in every cultural aspect that can fit into a 100-minute movie. If there are any future “Encanto” projects, fans are hoping to see an exploration of Colombian culture as well as other members of the family.
By CITRUS VALLEY ETHIC STAFF
After two years of the pandemic, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the removal of the indoor school mask mandate to be effective on March 12. This shift in mask policy corresponds with Newsom’s Feb. 18 announcement that California had shifted into the phase of treating coronavirus as an endemic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “We’re moving toward a time when COVID isn’t a crisis, but it’s something we can protect against and treat.”
Armani Silberzahn a sophomore states “I’m honestly really happy about it, masks were never really an issue for me to wear but if I had a choice I wouldn’t wear them. I literally just wore them for whatever safety they provided and others comfortability.”
“Several states are moving to eliminate mask mandates as the number of reported coronavirus cases dips to its lowest level since December, when the highly contagious Omicron variant touched off a wave of cases,” according to the New York Times.
Sophia Piper, a junior at Citrus Valley said, “I think it will make a divide between people with a mask and people without one. Some people won’t care. But it will definitely make a divide in the classroom.”
Posted signs around Citrus Valley High School remind staff and students to wear a mask. The school indoor mask mandate ends in California, effective after March 11. (BELLA ESPINOZA/ Ethic News photo)
A study researching COVID’s secondary attack rates focused on eight public school districts in Massachusetts, with around 70 schools and a little over 33,000 enrolled students, during the 2020–21 school year. The study found a secondary attack rate of 11.7% for the unmasked students versus the 1.7% for masked students.
Rebecca Garcia, Citrus Valley freshman, said, ”I believe the mask mandate should still be in effect. We can’t always rely on what the government says because sometimes we know our own communities better.”
With the mask mandate now taking its leave, many Americans have been urged to receive the COVID vaccine. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccine received full FDA approval after tens of thousands of clinical trials spanning up to twelve months, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“I believe the mandate was good the way it was already,” said Christopher Kuzdal, a senior at Citrus Valley. “Since the mandate was organized so that masks were only required indoors, I think that created a good combination of masks on and off. I think at the very least, masks should be required indoors to help stop the spread.”
Up to 70% of Californians have taken the vaccine with 72M doses administered as of Mar. 9, according to Our World in Data.
In regards to mask-wearing once the mandate is lifted, Citrus Valley English teacher Stephen Howard said, “I will probably keep it on for a while depending on how the kids are doing with it. If kids are still wearing the mask I want to do what they are doing. Supporting them and what and what their choices are.”
According to the CDC, “A study of an outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an environment notable for congregate living quarters and close working environments, found that use of face coverings on-board was associated with a 70% reduced risk of infection.”
Fernando Ramirez, Citrus Valley physical education teacher, said that he respects “people that might have compromised immune system or family members or close friends that have those issues so if they prefer me to have a mask on, I will put it on in respect to them, but if it is okay not to have it, I’ll have it off.”
A re-enactment of a student tossing a face mask into the trash can near the Citrus Valley High School outdoor quad area. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the school mask mandate will be effective after March 11. (BELLA ESPINOZA/ Ethic News photo)
K-12 schools in California will mandate the vaccine starting Jan. 1 2023 as announced by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Ramirez’s said that people “should be able to make their own choice for their own health while also exhibiting a consensus for their community. So as long as they are considerate of other people they can make good decisions.”
“I would love it if we would be more responsible when we don’t feel well and wear a mask. Hopefully we will be moving out of this,” said Howard.
By ELLA FITZPATRCK and CYRUS ENGELSMAN
National Read Across America was established in 1998 to encourage children and adults to find enjoyment in reading. March 2 has continued to be National Read Across America day, where groups such as local police, city council officials and high school students go to elementary schools to read to children.
Celebrated on the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel, American author of children’s books under the pen name Dr. Seuss, National Read Across America day is distinguished by the tradition of reading his stories such as “Green Eggs and Ham,” “Horton Hears a Who,” and “The Lorax.”
This year, Redlands East Valley High School students went to Crafton Elementary, Judson and Brown Elementary, Mariposa Elementary and Mentone Elementary. Each school gave the high school students two hours to read to as many classes as possible.
Shannon Cockerill, Alicia Gullon, Ella Fitzpatrick and Katelyn Kennedy read the children’s book “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt to a group of second-grade students on Wednesday, March 2 at Mariposa Elementary School in Redlands, CA for Read Across America. (Credit to Anthony Gomez)
“Interacting with kids brings a whole new wonder of joy,” says Shannon Cockerill, a senior at REV. “When working with them, they have so much energy and joy.”
At Mariposa Elementary School, the 22 participants from REV were given booths–which were set up on the field–to coordinate. At the five booths, classes of about 20 elementary school students would rotate to as many booths as they wanted and each booth offered a different reading and activity.
Gavin Oliver, Shireen Takkouch, Carston Marich, Isabella Martinez-Spencer and Soraya Gisele Sefiane Coady read a book by Dr. Seuss to a class of elementary school students at Mariposa Elementary School on Wednesday, March 2 in Redlands, CA for Read Across America. (ELLA FITZPATRICK / Ethic News photo)
“It was a lot of fun! I helped read ‘The Day The Crayons Quit’ and helped set up relay activities for the kids,” said Alicia Gullon, a senior at REV.
Seniors Piper Hanson, Ella Fitzpatrick, Lily Cooper, Alicia Gullon, Shannon Cockerill, Emiline Morrison, Tejazvi Gopalan, Katelyn Kennedy, Denver Neff, Isha Saife, Shireen Takkouch, Riley Bouer, Nicholas Sadowski, Gavin Oliver, Carston Marich, Isabella Martinez-Spencer, Soraya Gisele Sefiane Coady, Rishi Patel, Nicholas Perna, Corey Ford, Patrick McIntyre and Sammy Zackowski pose for a photo in front of a mural on Wednesday, March 2 at Mariposa Elementary School located in Redlands, CA. They participate in Read Across America which involves reading books and playing games with the elementary students. (Courtesy of Juliann Ford)
At Judson and Brown Elementary, 13 students were given books to read to children, and hats to wear. Students were told to read their books from one class to another, rotating between classrooms and reading to all grade levels.
Similar to the group who visited Judson and Brown Elementary, the group of REV students who went to Mentone Elementary school were also instructed to go to every classroom and read a book or two to the students.
“It was really cool,” says Arnie James Corpus, a senior at REV who visited Mentone Elementary School. “All of the kids wanted to hear the stories and were full of questions. It was very heartwarming to have been able to read to them.”
Editor’s note: The Mariposa Elementary School group photo credit was mistakenly given to Ella Fitzpatrick in the original post. It has since been corrected to Juliann Ford on March 8 at 2:57 p.m.
By ELLA FITZPATRICK and SPENCER MOORE
Redlands and other cities were greeted with unexpected snowfall across the Inland Empire on Feb. 23, 2022.
According to the Washington Post, a severe drop in temperature was reported to be expected in the Central United States starting the week of Feb. 21, 2022. Cold winds of 20 to 40 degrees were set to blow into the Northern and Midwest areas of the country.
Picture taken at the end of third period at 10:36 a.m. on the top of the stairs connected to the K-wing (ELLA FITZPATRICK/ Ethic News Photo)
The sudden blast of cold weather was initially thought to only make an appearance in the early hours of the morning, being a time of colder temperature. However, near the end of third period at 10:20 a.m., students and staff at Redlands East Valley High School were surprised by a light snowfall.
During fourth period, snow began to fall in the quad area of Redlands East Valley High School (SPENCER MOORE/ Ethic News photo)
The dramatic change of weather from cloudy and partly sunny to snowing roused excitement among students and staff at REV. Some students were even let out of their classrooms to enjoy the snow, which is a rare occurrence in Redlands.
“It was super unexpected, and I like that my teacher let us all out of class to go look at it,” says Rose Blatchley, a sophomore at REV.
The snowfall lasted for almost an hour, continuing until the middle of REV’s lunchtime which starts at 12:39 p.m. and ends at 1:09 p.m..
Sophomore Jolene Kilday explains her joy in seeing the snow this time of year. (SPENCER MOORE/ Ethic News photo)
By EMMITT MURPHY
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2019, FromSoftware, creators of the “Dark Souls” series, “Bloodborne” and “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice,” announced their collaboration with novelist George R. R. Martin in a new action role-playing game titled “Elden Ring.”
The character shown above is Malenia Blade of Miquella, who is one of the games 50+ bosses and was heavily featured in the game’s marketing and even has a statue in the games collector’s edition (“Elden-Ring-100619-005” by instacodez is licensed under CC PDM 1.0)
“Elden Ring” is the largest game FromSoft has produced and will follow a similar formula to the “Dark Souls” series with a hard yet fair difficulty, a heavy reliance on dodging and parrying, bonfire-like checkpoints, and many challenging and intrucit bosses.
The player will control a blank-slate created character known as a “Tarnished,” similar to FromSoft’s previous titles. The Tarnished’s goal will be to collect the shards of the shattered Elden Ring and become the “Elden Lord.”
The game will most likely take a more non-linear approach to storytelling by allowing the player to slowly unravel the world of “Elden Ring” through item descriptions and character interactions. The game has also been confirmed to not take place in the “Dark Souls” world.
As a Tarnished, the player will explore the open world of the “Lands Between.” Bandai Namco Entertainment, the publishers of the game, says the Land Between have “vast fanatical landscapes and shadowy, complex dungeons that are connected seamlessly.”
FromSoft’s previous titles always carried more linear paths in their games, but “Elden Ring” will be completely open world with nearly limitless amounts of exploration for the player.
The Lands Between is substantially more colorful and vibrant than any previous FromSoft title. The “Elden Rings” Director Hidetaka Miyazaki said that this was intentional and the team “wanted to give a sense that a Golden Age has passed through this world and that players can still see traces of it.”
Alongside the typical Souls-like mechanics, “Elden Ring” will introduce new additions to the gameplay loop, such as a proper jump and crouch button or even traversal options like summonable mounts. Mounts were included to accompany the large open world and help in it’s exploration while crouching was added to implement stealth into the game, with players being able to sneak past enemies and try to avoid confrontation.
While a jump button was always present in “Bloodborne” and the “Dark Souls” trilogy, it always felt rather lackluster and was only used a handful of times in the games. In “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice,” a traditional video game jump button was finally implemented into a FromSoft game.
The jump in “Elden Ring” won’t be at the same caliber as “Sekiro,” but it will be better than anything in the “Dark Souls” series to complement the open world.
After the release of “Elden Ring,” it is predicted that the game will receive downloadable content like all of FromSoft’s previous titles. After the post-launch content, it is relatively unknown what FromSoft will do.
The safest prediction is a “Armored Core” reboot.
In a 2016 interview with the Japanese site 4Gamers, Miyazaki said that three big projects were in the works at FromSoft.
With two of the three projects being “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” and “Elden RIng,” it’s assumed another “Armored Core” game will be next as it was heavily hinted at by Miyazaki.
By ELIZABETH MOLLOY
Central Park is an American icon however the history of the park is not widely known. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News Photo)
When thinking about Central Park, one of the last things that come to mind is what was there before the park. The area where Central park is located was very rural considering most people lived in what is now lower Manhattan.
With slavery ending in New York and European immigrants flocking to the city, there was a feud between free African-Americans and immigrants concerning jobs and housing. With a need for jobs for free people and a need for immigrants to get jobs, Lower Manhattan became violent. There were fights over jobs and homes so people decided to move upwards to start fresh. In the 1820s land started going up for sale in what was Seneca village. Andrew Williams, a shoe shiner, bought three lots of land. After Williams bought the lots, other free people began to buy land and a community developed. According to www.centralparknyc.org the land was being sold by John and Elizabeth Whitehead who owned all 200 lots of Seneca Village. Moving out of lower Manhattan into the Village provided black families an affordable safe place. This was also the beginning of equal rights between people. In New York in the 1800s African-Americans could only vote if they owned land and by buying the affordable land in Seneca Village, they could vote. According to www.ny1.com, when Irish and German immigrants started to move uptown as well, they moved into the village. Seneca village was one of the first integrated communities with African-Americans and White people living together. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion church then bought several more lots and the church was founded then in 1821.
Over 30 years, the population in NYC quadrupled and the white “elite” believed that the island would be swallowed by development. In 1853 they called for a city park to be lungs for the booming city. Since most of the so-called elite were from Europe seeing the Champs Elysees, Kensington Park, and other such parks, they believed NYC should have the same. 750 acres were set aside to build this park and unfortunately, that included the community of Seneca Village. About 1,600 lost their homes since they lived among those 750 acres of land. The people who proposed the idea of a central park sugarcoated how people in Seneca village really lived, and not in a good way. They described the residents of Seneca village as living in “shanties & shacks”. They were calling it no man’s land, squatters village, and used other very derogatory terms. Although integration was starting, racism was still very much an issue. Seneca Village residents did what they could to salvage their land but nothing helped.
The idea Seneca Village was a poor ‘shack’ village was just not true. In 2011, a team of archaeologists excavated the area where the village was located between 82nd-89th street. They had 250 bags of objects to analyze, the bags are now located in NYC’s Archaeological Repository. By analyzing the objects, it was found that Seneca Village was more wealthy than it was assumed to be. Comparing artifacts from Seneca Village and Greenwich Village, which was an upper-middle-class neighborhood, it was found they had many similarities. Ironstone plates, porcelain, a comb, a smoking pipe, a roasting pan, and part of what used to be a toothbrush were found. The toothbrush was not common among the middle class until the 1920s. From records, it was found there was a high level of education in the village.
Seneca Village was not filled with poor people living in shacks, it was an upper-middle-class neighborhood and an educated integrated community. But to the elite, it was nothing to save. Residents filed objections against the forced removal but that didn’t help. Seneca Village residents as well as the other 1,344 people that lived on that land, had their homes seized. The neighborhoods were destroyed and pathways, bridges, arches, and thousands of trees replaced them. Central Park was finally done and Seneca village was no longer.
New York is finally acknowledging this history. A temporary exhibition with plaques of information was set up in the park. “Land, property ownership…that’s how you get wealth and you pass wealth on from generation to generation…but when a new highway needs to be built the bulldozer comes in, Seneca Village was no different,” says Cynthia Copeland, a public historian.
The key takeaway is although Central Park is an American icon and NYC wouldn’t be the same without it, we still need to recognize the history and what was there before the park. Although the park is a beautiful piece of nature tucked away in one of the largest cities in the world, the way it was created was not. People lost homes, jobs, and their safe places to create this park. This history needs to be recognized, or else history repeats itself. Because it’s not African-American history or integration history, it’s American history.
By ELIZABETH MOLLOY
A drawing of the historical Kimberly Crest House located in Redlands. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News)
In search of places with deep history, local places don’t usually come to mind. Downtown Redlands or the Smiley Library might stand out, however, there are plenty of hidden tokens of history around Redlands.
The Kimberly Crest House is one of many. The Kimberly Crest House and Gardens were built in 1897 by Cornelia Hill. The house is built on six acres of property and was originally built without the Gardens. The Gardens were added by the second owners, John Alfred & Helen Cheney Kimberly, in 1909. After the death of Kimberly, Mary Kimberly Shirk inherited the house.
Shirk was an advocate for women’s education and her mother was an avid supporter of The Women’s Club Movement. Shirk’s father was a founder of the Kimberly-Clark Paper Company. Today, the company manufactures paper products as well as medical instruments.
The inspiration for the house was a French castle that Hill had visited. The specific architecture the house is based on is French Chateau architecture. French Chateau architecture showcases a type of home inspired by French country homes, specifically built in the Loire Valley. These houses have asymmetrical plans with ornate and complicated roofs and facades.
According to the CityOfRedlands.org, most of the inspiration for the home is French, the Gardens were added in 1909 with the Italian Renaissance architecture in mind. The Gardens include ponds, fountains, rose gardens, plenty of trees, and more.
According to KimberlyCrest.org, the house is a Petite Chateau with 22 rooms and 7,000 square feet. The house consists of three stories: the first floor was used for greeting and entertaining guests, the second floor was a personal floor used strictly for the family, and the third floor has another bedroom and a screened porch. The porch was used most likely during the summertime. Part of the third floor was sectioned off as the servants’ quarters that also included a separate bathroom.
The house has an attic and basement but these cannot be accessed on a public tour. A separate carriage house was built for the horses and carriages that the Kimberly family-owned with an extra bedroom inside for the horse caretaker.
Today, the house is open to private and public tours. Weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, memorial services and luncheons are also held at the house.
By CYRUS ENGELSMAN
Sophomore Deacon Carreon stares at a sign made by the librarians that says, “THE LAB”. Each letter of the sign is meant to represent a different piece of technology available for students to use in the Maker Lab at Redlands East Valley High School. (CYRUS ENGELSMAN/ Ethic News photo)
The Redlands East Valley High School has had a few recent additions on campus, renovating and updating the library, including a new Maker Lab.
The Maker Lab is a new area filled with technology to help benefit and to inspire creative passion for students. The Lab is managed by head librarian Korrie Krohne, who was excited to finally be able to show off the Maker Lab.
The Lab is equipped with sewing machines, cricket machines, arts and crafts supplies, fifteen cameras, and 3D printers and scanners.
The new Maker Lab had been in preparation and construction stages since 2019 and had it soft opening in the Fall of 2021 with a few events.
Krohne said, “I am so thrilled to have the space available to students. When we came back from Winter Break this year, all the scaffolding and other parts of the renovation were out of the way, and we can now use the lab the way it was meant to be used.”
Junior Josh Buridck adds strings to a face mask he recently created in the new Maker Lab at Redlands East Valley High School. This is one of the final steps of the face mask making process. (CYRUS ENGELSMAN/ Ethic News photo)
To counteract large amounts of students from overcrowding the area, students have to sign up in advance to use the lab. There are a variety of ways to sign up for the maker lab: the library tab on the schools webpage can bring up a form for personal projects, teachers can sign up the entire class to do a lab, and the librarian-led labs that students can sign up for.
Librarian-led labs can be a variety of activities. The first of which was face mask making, students from all grades came together to create their own masks to make and keep. When the second librarian-led lab was announced in December of 2021, students created their own Christmas ornaments.
Senior Amira Carthell sews her face mask together with the help of librarians at Redlands East Valley High School. This is the first step to the face mask making process. (CYRUS ENGELSMAN/ Ethic News photo)
Krohne plans to have many more maker lab events in the future.
“I intend to run labs using the different lab equipment both after school and during lunch,” said Krohne. “Additionally, starting in the month of March, I plan on opening the lab one day a week during lunch time to support what people need–if they are working on a project they can come up on that day and use supplies available to them in the lab.”
Korrie Krohne, head librarian at Redlands East Valley High School, demonstrates how to use a sewing machine to the participating students. The machines were used for students to sew face masks together and take home. (CYRUS ENGELSMAN/ Ethic News photo)
By NADIA CENICEROS
Shannon Rooney, an advanced placement and honors biology teacher at Citrus Valley High School, in her 28th year of teaching, answers 15 questions about herself.
Mrs.Rooney has been a teacher for 28 years (Jasmine Rosales/Ethic News Photo)
Teaching Reflections
Q: Is there anything that you wish you’d known when you were a first-year teacher?
Rooney: I wish I knew that it was OK to be friendly and chat with students. I was afraid to be a person that first year and I had a lot of classroom discipline problems as a result.
Q: In your opinion, what is the best part of teaching?
Rooney: I love watching my students grow and decide what they want to do when they graduate from high school.
Q: What is the most frustrating thing about teaching?
Rooney: The state is constantly changing the responsibilities placed on schools. It is hard for all of us to keep up; classified, teachers and administrators. That or the lack of cell service in the E building.
Q: If you never became a teacher, what do you think your other job would be?
Rooney: I would probably have been a veterinarian.
Q: Who inspired you most to become a biology teacher?
Rooney: It’s a tie: My 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Fields or Mr. Rooney (Shannon Rooney’s husband, Rob Rooney, also teaches AP Physics at Citrus Valley High School).
Q: What is the most difficult topic that you have taught your students?
Rooney: Gene Regulation is very complicated. Students must work hard to understand how most cells contain the same DNA, but cells use that DNA differently.
Favorites and pet peeve
Q: What is your favorite life story you tell your students?
Rooney: I did not intend to be a teacher. After I graduated with my Bio degree, I was a substitute teacher at Colton High School. I was subbing in a biology classroom, and I was having a great time answering genetics questions. Long story short, Colton High offered me a job. 28 years later and here I am, still teaching high school Biology. I love my job. Keep your options open, try different things, you never know where one of those choices will take you.
Question: What is your favorite lesson to teach in biology? (In AP or Honors Biology)
Rooney: The Bacterial Transformation lab in AP Biology. We insert a gene into a bacterium, and it produces a blue pigment.
Q: What is your favorite thing about your students?
Rooney: I just enjoy chatting with my students. Teenagers are full of energy.
Q: When you are not teaching, what are your favorite activities to do?
Rooney: Reading, walking with Ozzy (my dog) and Mr. Rooney or Pilates
Q: What is your favorite thing in your classroom?
Rooney: The University and Navy Pennants that represent each of my family members.
Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
Rooney: I dislike when someone asks a question, and another person makes a comment that makes the other person feel bad for asking.
Fun Facts
Q: Are you more of a coffee person or a tea person?
Rooney: Tea
Q: What is that one movie you can constantly watch and never get bored of?
Rooney: Inception
Q: What brings your mood up when you are down?
Rooney: Chatting with my daughters, talking to my students or playing with Ozzy (my dog).
By AILEEN JANEE CORPUS
The Redlands East Valley High School Wildcats had their final game of the Citrus Belt League on Friday, Feb. 4 versus the Yucaipa High School Thunderbirds. This was also the boys varsity basketball annual Senior Night and the final CBL home game coached by the Wildcat’s head coach Bill Berich.
Before the game, announcer Kirk Escher told the audience that “Coach Berich is retiring from teaching and coaching at the end of this year after 42 years in education.”
“It is fitting that we honor him tonight as we host Yucaipa High School, where Bill began his teaching and coaching career in the Inland Empire,” said Escher.
Berich has been REV’s only head boys basketball coach since the school opened in 1997.
The pre-game speeches started with a few words by Berich, saying “This is senior night and maybe one senior citizen night,” with laughs from the crowd.
He then spoke about how thankful he was for being involved in the basketball program at REV and the announcement of the eight REV seniors that were being celebrated on Senior Night.
Before the athletes began their warmup and after the crowd had settled down from the junior varsity game, the final game of the Citrus Belt League started with a few words from Redlands East Valley High School head coach Bill Berich. REV Athletic Director Chad Blatchley and REV ASB Advisor Matt Fashempour also made brief speeches in honor of Berich. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
During Wildcats head boys’ basketball coach’s speech before the game at Redlands East Valley High School on Feb. 4, the boys’ varsity basketball team wait in anticipation for the game to begin. Seniors sat closest to Berich with the younger players sitting near the end of the bench. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Bill Berich hugs his son, Adam Berich, also Wildcat alum, after his family surprised him on the court before the game on Feb. 4. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
As a gift to Berich, the Wildcat Associated Student Body presented him with a banner that listed his years and accomplishments as head coach of boys’ basketball at Redlands East Valley High School. He is accompanied by his family and REV seniors are also accompanied by their families on the baseline. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
As a surprise, Berich’s daughter and Wildcat alum, Carly Berich-Brunjes, sang the Star Spangled Banner, with the audience, referees, players and coaches standing respectfully. After this, the final Citrus Belt League game for Redlands East Valley High School and Yucaipa High School began. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
The Wildcat Gym was decorated with posters of the Redlands East Valley High School seniors for Senior Night on Friday, Feb. 4. Top: Posters of seniors Arnie James Corpus, Piave Fitzpatrick, Luke Mathis and Jaydin Hardy. Bottom: Posters of seniors Jacob Watson, Justin Mills, Aram Bangou and Jacob Zelaya (right). (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photos)
The final CBL game of the 2021-23 season started with the Thunderbirds gaining first possession.
The Thunderbirds’ Nathan Hernandez at 6’5 and the Wildcats’ Jacob Zelaya at 6’2 went for the jump ball to begin the game. After the referee had tossed up the ball, Hernandez tipped the ball and gave Yucaipa the first possession of the game. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Redlands East Valley High School senior Luke Mathis is guarded in the corner by Yucaipa High School senior point guard Joshua Macias in the Wildcat gym on Feb. 4. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
Redlands East Valley High School junior Alfred Lee looks for someone to pass to while being guarded by Yucaipa High School senior Matthew Selbert on Feb. 4 in the Wildcat gym. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
Yucaipa High School senior J.D. Shah, junior Nathan Hernandez and sophomore Tristan Doty and Redlands East Valley High School Piave Fitzpatrick rebound for the ball after a free throw shot in the Wildcat gym on Feb. 4. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
Redlands East Valley High School junior Jeremiah Bolanos attempts a two-pointer against Yucaipa High School senior Mitchell Hendrickson in the Wildcat gym on Feb. 4. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
By the end of the first half, the Thunderbirds had a lead with 36 points and eight fouls with the Wildcats down by eight points with 28 points and 10 fouls. It looked bleak for the Wildcats, but the Litter Box continued to encourage their team.
The varsity cheer squad of Redlands East Valley attended Senior Night and sat by the sideline while still cheering. During halftime, they made three pyramids which resulted in cheers and applause from the crowd. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/Ethic News photo)
The home side stands were packed with athletes’ family and friends, as well as former co-coaches and players of retiring head coach Bill Berich as he coached his last league game. Cheers from the crowd shifted into more quiet tension as the game progressed and neither team was consistently dominating. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Fourth quarter proved to be a challenging for both teams.
At eight minutes in the fourth quarter, Yucaipa was still in the lead with 56 points and REV with 51 points, but because Yucaipa had six fouls and REV had only one, if the Wildcats continued to drive into the Thunderbird’s defense, they could garner enough fouls to get into the bonus and shoot free throws to gain more points to chip away at the deficit.
At five minutes and two seconds left in the fourth quarter, REV and Yucaipa were at a tie of 56 points, but Yucaipa had seven fouls and REV had two fouls. Another tie was hit with three minutes and 59 seconds of the fourth quarter with both teams at 58 points.
The Thunderbirds managed to break away by leading with two points at three minutes and 48 seconds left of the fourth quarter, and Yucaipa gained two more points by two minutes and 57 seconds.
With only two minutes and 7 seconds left of the fourth quarter, Yucaipa was in the lead 64-58 with five fouls for the Wildcats and seven fouls for Yucaipa which made REV in the bonus.
The Thunderbird’s continued this lead even into one minute and seven seconds left of the fourth quarter, but this time, both teams were in the bonus. If either team hoped to win, they would have to minimize their fouls and attempt drawing fouls from the opposing team.
Redlands East Valley High School senior Piave Fitzpatrick, who plays forward, catches a rebound while on offense on Feb. 4 in the Wildcat gym. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
Redlands East Valley High School senior Luke Mathis prepares to receive a pass from junior Malachi Williams on Feb. 4 in the Wildcat gym. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
Redlands East Valley High School junior Malachi Williams jumps to catch a rebound while on offense on Feb. 4 in the Wildcat gym. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
Redlands East Valley High School junior Ashir Shaw attempts a lay up during the second half of the game against Yucaipa on Feb. 4 in the Wildcat gym. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
At one minute left in the fourth quarter, Yucaipa continued to lead REV by five points with 64 points on the scoreboard.
At 45.4 seconds left of the fourth quarter REV was down by two points with 62 points and Yucaipa still at 64 points. The Wildcats had managed to stop the ball movement for the Thunderbirds and score.
This continued until there was 14.4 seconds left and REV tied the game at 64 points. REV maintained the tie until the end of the fourth quarter, causing the game to go into overtime.
Yucaipa High School sophomore Tristan Doty looks to pass to senior J.D. Shah during the fourth quarter of the game in the Wildcat gym on Feb. 4. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
Thunderbird Nathen Hernandez and Wildcat Ashir Shaw returned to the half court line for the jump ball to begin overtime. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
With extra minutes on the clock for overtime, players, coaches and audience members prepared for the final deciding four minutes of the game.
At two minutes and three seconds, Yucaipa led with 68 points with REV behind by a mere point.
At two minutes REV got the lead with 69 points with Yucaipa still at 68 points. The game continued it’s back and forth pattern by Yucaipa leading with 70 points with REV at 69 points at one minute and 44 seconds left in overtime, but by Yucaipa having 9 fouls and REV with eight. Both teams had the chance of going into the double bonus and for more free throws.
Redlands East Valley High School sophomore Darrell Green guards Yucaipa High School senior J.D. Shah during the fourth quarter of the game against YHS on Feb. 4 in the Wildcat gym. (MIA ARANDA/ Ethic News photo)
With one minute and 17 seconds of the game left on the clock, REV had the lead of 71 points, Yucaipa 70 points, and both teams with the same amount of fouls.
The Wildcats got the possession at 47.6 seconds left in overtime, gaining more points.
At 18.9 seconds, the Thunderbirds had the possession, but time had run out and the Wildcats’ defense held Yucaipa from scoring.
The Wildcats ended the game victoriously by one point with an end score of 71-70.
Although Yucaipa High School drew a foul from Redlands East Valley High School with 1:02 left on the click, they missed both of their free throws. The Thunderbirds’ Tristan Doty was at the free throw line. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Redlands East Valley High School senior Piave Fitzpatrick and junior Jeremiah Bolaños jump with enthusiasm after winning their final CBL game of the 2021-22 basketball season in an overtime clincher. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
By AILEEN JANEE CORPUS
The Redlands East Valley High School Wildcats were looking for a rematch with their cross-town rival Redlands High School Terriers on Jan. 31, three days after the Terriers had beat the Wildcats in intense game of back-and-forth with a score of 51-48 on Jan. 28.
Although REV had lost against RHS by three points, the Wildcats’ boys’ basketball team had momentum after winning first in the San Bernardino Kiwanis Tournament last Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022.
On Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, the Wildcats faced the Terriers in the RHS main gym.
Both students and teachers attended the game from REV and RHS; the Wildcats’ previous athletic director Rhonda Fouch had come to watch the game as well as the varsity girls’ basketball coach Robert Tompkins.
Whenever a steal, three-pointer, layup or good play was executed, students from both REV and RHS erupted in cheers or jeers.
By the end of the third quarter, the game was at a tie of 39-39 with three fouls for RHS and six fouls for REV.
If either team hoped to win the game, they both had to leave their best on the court that night.
There was slight discourse throughout the game including the referees assigning fouls to the wrong players and a player from REV and RHS slightly arguing, but despite this, the game continued.
Energetic cheers were thrown across the gym from both REV and RHS’ sides and the echoing acoustics of the gym amplified their loud cheers.
The eventful game ended with a score of 62-50 giving the Wildcats’ their sixteenth win for their boys’ varsity basketball team.
RHS had beaten REV by three points last game, but REV made sure to leave their mark by defeating RHS by 12 points.
Tonight, Feb. 4, the Wildcats will have their final game and senior night at the REV gym against Yucaipa High School at REV at 7 p.m.. Not only is it a final game for their seniors, but also for their head coach Bill Berich.
Redlands High School sophomore Connor Clem practices free throw shots during warmups on Jan. 31 in the Terrier gym. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
During warmup, the Wildcats’ varsity boys’ basketball team huddle and talk before they continue back into their practice shooting. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Above: For the Wildcats, it came down to defense to start their adrenaline to run, and for the Terriers, it came down to their quick passes and offense to excel during the game. The student section for REV, in the far left of the picture, supported the Wildcats’ team through their cheers. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Above: Redlands East Valley High School junior Ashir Shaw attempts to block a three pointer from Redlands High School senior Elijah Hester. RHS managed to get multiple three pointers around the three point line which helped them to get a lead during the game. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Above: Redlands East Valley High School senior Arnie Corpus guards Redlands High School senior Mateo Toledo on Jan. 31 in the Terrier gym. The defense from the Wildcats helped to stop the Terriers’ movement of the ball and possibility to score further. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Above: Redlands East Valley High School junior Jeremiah Bolaños shoots from the three point line during the second quarter in the Terrier gym on Jan. 31. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Spirited and joyous yelling could be heard, especially from the RHS students. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Above: Redlands High School senior guard Cooper Bell, defended by Redlands East Valley High School junior Ashir Shaw, helps to move the ball around for the Terriers on Jan. 31 in the Terrier gym. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Above: Redlands High School senior point guard Elijah Hester, defended by Wildcat junior Jeremiah Bolaños, manages to drive, pass and open up the court for a chance to either deliver a jump shot or drive in the Terrier gym on Jan. 31. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Above: Redlands East Valley High School senior Jadyn Hardy brings up the ball while being guarded by Redlands High School senior Elijah Hester on Jan. 31 in the Terrier gym. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
The Wildcat Litterbox supported their team despite the team being down in points during some parts of the game. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
Above: The game ended with the Wildcats winning 62 to 50 and both teams in the double bonus. RHS and REV lined up, clapped each other’s hands, and left the gym to chat with friends and family about the eventful game. (AILEEN JANEE CORPUS/ Ethic News photo)
By NADIA CENICEROS and ELIZABETH MOLLOY
Citrus Valley High School had a ‘CV Gets Trendy’ Spirit Week leading up to the winter rally. Citrus Valley students were encouraged to participate in this Spirit Week as a way to get excited for the upcoming Winter Rally.
Monday Jan. 24: Material Girl Monday (Dress in your best attire)
Jasmine Gurrola, Amaya Pantaleon, Lailyenna Ngo, Soriah Brunson, Natlie Velasquez, Emma Irene, Annabell Crummey and Nickolas Ramirez showed off their best attire. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Tuesday Jan. 25: I Wanna be a Cowboy Baby
Michael Okere and Amber Sibbett give a thumbs up for Cowboy Day. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Edith Gomez, Alexa Cano and Brooke Mendez smile for a picture dressed as cowgirls. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Angela Dov and Alexa Gonzales pose as cowgirls. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Wednesday Jan. 26: Anything but a backpack day
Alexa Gonzales poses with her toy shopping cart. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Erik Serenson holds a canvas bag for Anything But A Backpack Day. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Bailey Sacco decided to utilize a Home Depot bucket while Brooke Mendez used a PlayMate cooler instead of their backpack. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Angel Leon uses a cardboard box for her take on Anything But A Backpack Day. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Natalia Contreras shows off with a Lightning McQueen buggy on Jan. 26. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Thursday, Jan. 27: The Man, The Myth, The Legend (Dress like Adam Sandlar)
Natalia Contreras and Emma Vara showing off their best ‘Adam Sandler’ attire on Jan. 27. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
Arianna Rodriguez poses for Adam Sandler Day on Jan. 27. (ELIZABETH MOLLOY/Ethic News photo)
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