The Cougar Press Issue 71-04 by The Cougar Press

VHS Journalism

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December 21, 2018

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” - Vince Lombardi Photo by: Archer Herring

Want to see who came out on top in the Cardboard Boat Race? Take a look at page 4.

Volume 71 Edition 04

Illustratiom by: Summer Yovanno

What does Summer Yovanno think of “Mid90s?” Look at her review on page 5.

Photo by: Archer Herring

VHS’s fall play, “Nightwatch,” closed last month--read all about it on page 2.

Despite absence, Creswell looms over VUSD meeting “We have to ask ourselves [in] what kind of society do we want to live in?” said retiring board member Mary Haffner. Sam Coats Micah Wilcox “Schools are a microcosm of our society, and societal responses to actions and words that signal bigotry tend to determine the acceptability of discrimination.” Despite Superintendent David Creswell’s absence at Tuesday, Dec. 11’s Ventura Unified School District board meeting, his resignation over his controversial remarks given in a 2016 sermon hung over the meeting. Acknowledging that the days surrounding the Creswell resignation have been “difficult for everyone.” Haffner asked everyone to look at the incident “in a broader context of public education.” “We do not discriminate in public education,” said Haffner. “We meet each child at the

door of our schools and we do all we can to support them, to believe in them, and to celebrate them for who they are.” “Every school in every public school district must be safe and affirming for all students,” said Haffner. Haffner was the sole board member to call for Creswell’s resignation, speaking to the Ventura County Star and at Diversity Collective’s meeting on Nov. 27. After the reception, the board began the period of public comment. During this session, the focus was mainly on Creswell. Some speakers took sympathetic positions to Creswell, with many even calling for him to rescind his resignation. One supportive speaker was Brent Hisayasu, Creswell’s pastor. “Dave Creswell is, first and

foremost, a follower of Jesus Christ, and he was a great superintendent because of this,” said Hisayasu, a preacher at Harvest Bible Chapel. “His passion was to provide an education for all students in safe and healthy, high-performing school districts, and he was relentlessly for the future of every student.” Hisayasu also spoke out in defense of Ventura’s Christian community. “On behalf of our church, and of Christians around Ventura, I want you to know that we are not your enemy, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is not the problem,” he added. “Our Savior came to seek and save that which was lost, I foremost, and David Creswell included. The gospel of Jesus Christ is our only hope and we, like Dave, want nothing but a safe, healthy high-performing school district.”

“An injustice against any is an injustice against all.” said Haffner of the controversy in her final speech as a VUSD trustee. Photo by: Micah Wilcox

Other public comments centered on the actions taken by Mary Haffner. “I have been employed with Ventura Unified School District for 16 years, and I was very proud of that association until a few weeks ago when I saw, sadly, how poorly treated Mr. Creswell was,” said Kay Miller, one speaker. “Instead of calling for his resignation, I

VHS remembers Borderline Shooting victims On Friday, Dec. 7, Ventura High School held a memorial event commemorating the tragedy. The Borderline Shooting is the United States’ 307th mass shooting of 2018, according to USA Today. Gavin Cross The one thing we do know is that the shooting and the twelve lost lives, including the suspect and Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus, will never be forgotten. Friday, Dec. 7, Ventura High School is holding a memorial event commemorating the tragic happening.

This memorial had multiple speakers, which each talked about the life of a different victim of the shooting. The speakers represented the NASAGV Club (National Association of Students Against Gun Violence). The first speaker was Grace Mansfield. She spoke about Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus, who proposed to

(From left to right) Froelich, Sandi, Gallegos, and DeClerck listen to Pederson giving her memorial speech about Housley. Photo by: Gavin Cross

his wife three decades earlier on the same location before Borderline was built there. Helus was set to retire in 2019, but his family and friends said, “He died doing what he loved.” Senior Micah Wilcox was their next speaker. Wilcox spoke for fallen Cody Coffman, who many have seen playing on the Camarillo High School football stadium. The next speaker was junior Lindsey Froelich, who remembered Alaina Housley. “[She] was a freshman at Pepperdine University.” Jesse Sandi spoke for Cal Lutheran University graduate Justin Meek. “[Meek] could be found on Pepperdine’s hockey field or in the pool for water polo.” Giselle Gallegos spoke for Daniel Manrique, which worked with a non profit organization who helped Veterans transition from war life to civil life.

One of VHS’s French teachers, Sebastien Declerck, mentioned Noel Sparks, who majored in Art at Moorpark College. Sammy Pederson, a senior at VHS, spoke about Jake Dunham, who was a Newbury Park resident. He reportedly died protecting his friends because he was dedicated to his family and friends. The last speaker was junior India Hill, who spoke of Markey Meza, a 20-year-old Old Moorpark high graduate and resident. The Borderline Shooting is the United States’ 307th mass shooting of 2018, according to USA Today. Also mentioned in the memorial was a counseling service in the VHS office for anyone who would like to come in. The NASAGV Club is held on Wednesdays in Declerck’s Classroom. continued on... thecougarpress.org

believe the board should ask Mrs. Haffner to apologize, not only to Mr. Creswell, but to the LGBT community… I would further ask that they not accept Mr. Creswell’s resignation, but stand with him to show that the mean-spirited rhetoric and actions of Mrs. Haffner will not be tolerated.” continued on... thecougarpress.org

Creswell resignation accepted: update to “Despite absence, Creswell looms over VUSD meeting” Micah Wilcox

Ventura Unified School District has selected Dr. Jeff Davis, current Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources as the interim superintendent to succeed resigning Superintendent David Creswell according to a letter signed by the VUSD Board of Education. Per the letter, Creswell’s resignation was accepted by the Board and he will continue as superintendent until Dec. 21, 2018. Readers can find the letter on thecougarpress.org This is a breaking story and will be updated.

The Cougar Press Page 2

Arts & Entertainment

Night Watch did something

Night Watch, is a suspenseful drama centered around a wealthy and emotionally unstable girl named Elaine Wheeler, who is portrayed by junior Talia Walsh. It starts off with her staring out her window one morning, when she sees a murder in the townhouse across the street. Despite her continuous panicked calls to the authorities, no one takes her seriously. Towards the end of the play, her husband John Wheeler, played by senior Louis Santia, has had it with her nonsense and tries to send her away so he can be with her best friend Blanche Cooke, played by junior Ashlynn Vaglica. What John and Blanche don’t know is that Elaine knows all about their affair. She kills them both in the townhouse that she had been watching out of the window and where she had allegedly seen the murdered bodies. Her story of the two dead bodies across the street thus becomes true. Other students performing in the show were senior Bridget Boland as Helga, the German housemaid, junior Sophia Rocha as Dr. Lake, freshman Ryan Palmisano and senior Max Quintal as cops Vannelli and Walker, freshmanHenry Oaks as Mr. Appleby, the annoying neighbor, and sophomore Truman Soden as Sam Hoke, the delicatensent man. Archer Herring The fall play came out with a bang this year, it’s a mystery which intrigued many students to go watch it. Although many were sad that the play is over, they also wanted to share their experiences of the show. Senior Makoa Gutierrez said, “I liked how it was suspenseful and well directed. Overall, [I] thought the actors and actresses did a great job.” Senior Maddie Halstead added to the topic, “I really enjoyed the play. After building the set in stagecraft, it was so awesome to see it in action. All the actors amazed me and it was such a fun time to go watch it with my friends.” On the ending of the play,

senior Mary Sinclair commented, “The ending was so exciting and scary!” Grace Miller, also a senior, stated, “I never saw the movie so I didn’t know what to expect going into the play, but the play was suspenseful the whole time. I was really shocked at the end and thought the overall play was really well done and great.” When asked how they thought the play went, the actors of the show had a variety of answers. Senior Bridget Boland, who played Helga, said, “It’s been a wonderful experience. The coolest part about the play was how everything came together in the last week. I didn’t expect to be the comedic relief character, but I’m glad I am because I [had] a lot of fun with it. I love the cast and

Actors from left to right, Santia, Vaglica, Boland, Quintal, and Walsh all preforming Wednesday night for the first time at an invited dress rehearsal. Photo By: Sarah Clench

crew and joking around with them backstage.” The lead of the play, junior Talia Walsh, commented, “I loved hearing the audience’s reactions throughout the show as they tried to solve the mystery. This play has been one of my best high school experiences. It was a lot of hard work, but everyone in the show is so kind and talented.”

“...it’s so thrilling because it’s such a small cast but it makes it easier to bond with your cast.” -Rocha Junior Sophia Rocha, who acts as Dr. Lake in the play, stated, “To be completely truthful, this is the first non-musical I’ve done where we’ve been through lengthy rehearsals and it’s so thrilling because it’s such a small cast, but it makes it easier to bond with your cast. It [was] an amazing experience and I couldn’t be more content.”

Editorial: What VHS students think about Nu Metal During a craze dominating the late ‘90s and early 2000s, Nu Metal took American pop culture by storm. Doug Sanford At first, the genre was not widely accepted, commonly being associated with frat boys, jerks and losers. Overtime, Nu Metal made its way to the mainstream. Nu Metal, by definition, is a genre that combines heavy metal with funk and hip-hop. Usually, a Nu metal band lineup consists of a guitarist, bassist, singer, drummer and a DJ. One band who was very influential in the creation and popularization of the genre is Korn, which formed in 1993 in Bakersfield, California. With intense lyrics and heavy guitar, sometimes even mixed with bagpipes, Korn soon made a name for themselves. Another band who helped propel Nu Metal to the mainstream was Limp Bizkit, a band from Jacksonville, Florida. With a heavy sound, rapping and lots of deejaying from DJ Lethal, Limp Bizkit was also able to quickly make a name for themselves. Junior Luke Peek said, “Limp Bizkit is hard because Fred Durst is the hardest nu metal singer, and brings aggression with his music and bars, and is better than ninety percent of rappers out there.” Limp Bizkit has five studio albums, and has sold 50 million copies worldwide.

The CDs of (left to right) “Family Values”, which is a Korn and Limp Bizkit live show compilation, “Hybrid Theory,” which is Linkin Park’s debut album, and two of Limp Bizkits critically acclaimed albums. Photo by: Doug Sandford

Editorial Staff

Editors-in-Chief Ryan King Avenlea Russian

Video Editor Summer Yovanno

Managing Editors Sarah Clench Bailey Peck

Acacia Harrell

Jezel Mercado

Linkin Park, my favorite out of the three, is a band from Agoura Hills, California. Linkin Park was able to claim success easily with their debut album “Hybrid Theory,” and was certified Diamond by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), one of the highest achievements in music. Linkin Park also helped with the creation of the Transformers soundtrack. It is the best selling band of the 21st century so far, but was discontinued when its lead singer, Chester Bennington, committed suicide. Junior Ashlynn Velarde said, “I’ve listened to them since I was little from my parents. My favorite song by Linkin Park is ‘In The End.’” Overall, I would rate Linkin Park first among the three, because it is one of my favorite bands of all time. As for my second favorite, I had a hard time deciding as I like them both fairly evenly, but I would rate Korn second, and Limp Bizkit third. If you aren’t familiar with any of these bands, I would recommend you try them out. They can be hard to listen to at first, but if you learn to like it, I can guarantee you will enjoy it.

Staff

Print EIC Sailor Hawes

Broadcast Editor Social Media Editor

Junior Luke Peek tells us that “Limp Bizkit is one of the hardest bands out there.” Photo by: Doug Sandford

Assistant EIC Lola Bobrow

Janelle Chavira

Tatum Luoma

Sam Coats

Caroline Marsden

Gavin Cross

Nathan Marshall

Julia Davies

Billy Maxwell

Saida Delgadillo Hector Heredia

Podcast Editor Miles Bennett

Online EIC Micah Wilcox

Our Mission Statement The Cougar Press is a completely student-run public forum of the Ventura High School community. We strive to present all sides of an issue fairly and without bias while being as resourceful to our readers as possible. From time to time, we make an error. When this happens, we try to correct it as soon as possible. Students and community members are encouraged to write for the The Cougar Press. We welcome all submissions, but may edit them for clarity and brevity. This public forum is only as good as the community support it receives. You can email us at thecougarpressvhs@gmail.com.

Archer Herring Malik Hibbler Samuel Hicks Garrett Jaffe

Sally Niebergall Diego Roberto Brooklyn Ross Doug Sandford Jack Schatzman

Juliana Jacobson

John Studebaker

Jessica Johnson

Trinity Taylor

Liliana Lara

Tanya Turchyn

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Sports

VHS preparing to takedown this season Over the first weekend of December, the Ventura High School boys wrestling team went to a 16team tournament at El Dorado High School in Placentia, California with about 20 wrestlers in each bracket. Ventura brought 18 wrestlers, with four of them placing. Doug Sandford Sophomore Joseph Opolka (195) placed fourth, juniors Riley Beeson (145) placed second, junior Luc LeVasseur (182) placed fifth and Diego Garcia (120) placed second. The wrestlers who placed were then advanced all the way up to the finals in Ventura’s most recent wrestling tournament. Only the top six of every weight class could place in the El Dorado tournament. Garcia, who has wrestled for the Cougar’s varsity team for three years, said that the tournament showed the team “we are not the best, but we’re not the

Senior Peyton Erickson is a varsity captain and a striker for the team. Photo from Instagram: @fcthecat

Ventura girls soccer makes their mark vs. San Marcos

Beeson, keeping his opponent down on the mat in a hold, securing a win for this match. Photo by: Essex Gilbertson

worst.” After the tournament took place, Garcia said that in practice, the wrestling team has been working on “a lot of technique and conditioning.” In his final comments about the state of the team, Garcia said, “We’re a destructive team that could go very far this season.”

Junior James Smith pinning his opponent during a match at the El Dorado tournament. Photo by: Essex Gilbertson

We are a really strong team this year, and [we] have a good shot at the league title.” -Beeson Beeson, a three year varsity wrestler, said, “We have had a pretty good start to our season with our first three tournaments. We are a really strong team this year, and [we] have a good shot at the league title.” Commenting on his recent matches, Beeson said, “Every match is good experience, I learned from my loss in the finals, and every loss is a great learning experience.”

Ventura High School girls soccer played home at 6 p.m. against San Marcos on Dec. 4. and Ventura won 4-0. Avenlea Russian Senior and midfielder Cassidy Hubert (number four) stated the team had “only beaten [San Marcos] once in the past three years.” The varsity game was moved from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. because of having to share the field at Larrabee stadium with the other team’s; due to broken goals, they could not utilize the second field for games. The first goal of the game was from senior and midfielder Kylie Garcia (number five) from a penalty kick, 15 minutes into the first half. Garcia stated that this was one of her highlights from the game because it was the first goal she scored this season. 25 minutes into the first half, freshman and midfielder Vaughn Reiman (number ten) scored off of an assist by senior

and sweeper Alyssa Moore (number two). The first half ended with the score 2-0, Ventura. Ventura had 12 shots taken and nine shots on goal. Senior and midfielder Alex Kwasny (number eight) commented, “We were on their half most of the game and we all had many opportunities to score.” ` VHS went into this game with three wins against Arroyo Grande, Santa Barbara and Woodbridge and had no goals scored on them yet. San Marcos had two wins, one loss and one tie. Along with this, junior varsity tied their game 2-2 and froshsoph lost 2-0. Starting the second half off, Hubert scored within the first 10 minutes making the score 3-0, Ventura. The final goal of the game was by freshman and midfielder Jayden Marshall (number 12), making the final score 4-0, Ventura.

Strong start to girls water polo season

Ventura High School Varsity girls water polo faced off against Moorpark High School on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2018, for a preseason match. Malik Hibbler John Studebaker The game took place in the VHS pool at 3:15 p.m. The Cougars are coming off a 12-14 overall record, and 2-6 in the Channel League. Whereas the Moorpark Musketeers are coming off a overall record of 13-12-1 and a record of 4-2 in the Coastal Canyon League. Junior Megan Ditlof led the team in scoring with four points over the course of the match. Junior Megan Findlay also contributed three points for the Cougars in their 14-6 win over the Musketeers. It was a team effort by the Cougars, with eight players scoring, including seniors Sierra Cameron and Paige White, junior Kailey Garcia, and sophomore Brooke Stevens. When asked about her thoughts going into the match, Findlay stated, “I had a strong feeling we were going to do good, but also thought it would be a close game. We worked together as a team and got another win.” With the winter sports

season just starting, the Cougars have a record of 2-1, with a win over Westlake High School 8-6 and a close loss to Notre Dame High School 14-12. When asked what she thought the team could have done better in the match, Findlay stated, “I feel like if we were more patient with the ball we would have scored at least a couple more times, but other than that we played great together and hopefully this win gives us some more momentum and confidence going into the rest of the season.”

The

Ventura

Cameron shoots the ball through the goalies arms, scoring a point.

Ditlof also going for a point within the last minutes in the game.

Ditlof warming up her arm and practicing her shot at halftime.

varsity

water polo team had an away conference game at Channel Islands in Oxnard on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 3:15 p.m. Although the game was close up until the third quarter, the Cougars stepped it up at the end of the third and started to pull away. With a final score of 14-6, the Cougars scored six unanswered points in the third and fourth quarter to give them the win.

Photos by: Doug Sandford

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Features

Students make a splash in the Cardboard Boat Races Seniors Emilio Barreras (left), Cole Stender (middle left), Joseph Stutes (middle right) and Brock Donaldson (right) piecing their boat together as a team, in hopes of having a successful race.

Seniors Tyler Sehon (left), Drew Worthy (middle), Makoa Gutierez (middle right), and Palmer Rovelli (front right) ready for the second heat of races. Their team name was “Hillside.”

Junior Sage Luff paddling his way to victory.

Seniors Julia Offerman, Christian Guillaume and Lizzy Tepaske in their team shirts. Their team name was the “Brothers.”

(left to right) Senior Grace Tyner and juniors Shannon David, Meagan Campbell , Ravyn Limon and Willa Ayers with their boat “Shiphappens.”

Sophomore Charlie Richards racing. He ultimately lost, but his boat kept afloat the whole race. Photos by: Janelle Chavira and Archer Herring

The District revamps their logo and their branding Recently, Ventura Unified School District created a new logo and is going through a brand development process. Sarah Clench

The Copper Coffee Pot offers a variety of beverages for its customers. Photo by: Tatum Luoma

The Copper Coffee Pot brews up new business

The Copper Coffee Pot cafe has recently opened across the street from Ventura High School at 2292 E. Main St. Sam Hicks Tatum Luoma The new cafe, in conjunction with Valentino’s pizza, has a variety of food and drinks, ranging from breakfast bowls to macchiatos to mac ‘n’ cheese. This coffee shop has opened up in close proximity to VHS, taking advantage of the largely untapped market for breakfast foods, coffee, and other drinks. The Copper Coffee Pot gets business from a wide variety of customers, according to its manager. Some students go to the coffee shop after school, but most student customers visit on Wednesday mornings before first period starting an hour later than usual.

Sophomore Charlie Richards commented that “the coffee cake is pretty good and so is the coffee… they are off to a really good start. They have room for improvement, but so far they are doing well.” Richards has gone to The Copper Coffee Pot multiple times with other VHS students. Freshman Tess Luoma, who has gone to the Copper Coffee Pot with several friends on multiple occasions said, “They had good muffins, nice iced coffee and overall great service.” Luoma and her friends have decided to make The Copper Coffee Pot a recurring destination, visiting the shop at least once a week.

According to VUSD’s website, there will be modern and vibrant changes to the website and other communications. As a part of this brand development, on Thursday, Nov. 29, there was a film crew at Ventura High School creating a promotional video to share the district’s story more accurately with the community. Victoria Balint, Assistant Director of Classified Human Resources, was with the film crew and gave a background for the video: “We offer so many opportunities for students, so many different pathways, so many different programs to really launch students into successful life when they graduate.” Director and producer of the shoot, Cory Hutchinson, explained that Balint hired Michellene Debonis, founder of Zeste, who did the re-branding for the District. Hutchinson did the same with Zeste for Simi Valley Unified School District. According to Balinit, she and the film crew went to four different schools in the District for the video: Mound Elementary School, Balboa Middle School, Cabrillo Middle

School and Ventura High School. Balint stated, “We only have two days to shoot this whole video, so we can’t go to every school as much as we’d like to.” She added that there is so much the schools have to offer and wished they could feature them all. At VHS, the crew visited the dance, drama, culinary arts and robotics classes, filming clips of students taking part in their electives. The crew also wanted to highlight some of the special education programs at Cabrillo Middle School, where Balint explained they have a great program for the deaf and hard of hearing students. “One of our deaf and hard of hearing students is going to deliver a line in sign language because we feel like that would be very meaningful and texture to add to our story, so that was a

really cool way to add that piece in,” Balint stated. Hutchinson added, “The crux of it is, because this is a community that’s connected, who better to deliver the script than the community at large so we have moms, dads, we have teachers, we have admin, we have students and they are delivering all the lines to the script which kind of celebrates the new position of branding.” According to Ray Inton, the chief lighting technician for video, the film crew was made up of independent freelancers that had been hired to work on the production. Also a part of the crew was Michael Eaton, the cinematographer and Nicholas Schoonover, the sound mixer. Hutchinson hopes that the video will be done by the end of the year.

Ventura High School freshmen Charles Dwyer (left) and Iliana Macias (right) filming a clip for the video. They both agreed it was cool that the film crew came to a school where everyone could be involved. Photo by: Sarah Clench

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Features

Editorial: One size DOES NOT fit all

One size fits all? More like one size fits few. Liliana Lara Trinity Taylor ‘One size fits all’ is advertised to fit all women’s body shapes and sizes when, according to Emily Peters from The Collegian, realistically it only fits sizes zero to four and occasionally sizes four to six. Popular clothing brands such as Brandy Melville pride themselves on this sizing method. Buyers support their message by wearing their clothes. What about men? Is there a one size fits all for them? Well, according to senior Caleb Benzon, “No, there are not,” and if there was a guy’s one size fits all, Benzon said, “There is no way that one size could fit any guy, because not every guy is the same shape.” The problem with the one size fits all is the message that comes with it. What if there’s a person that doesn’t fit the standards of that one size? What are they expected to think?

Steward shows off a card signed by his football players to his 4th period Calculus class the day after football’s end of season banquet. Photo by: Lola Bobrow

Infographic by: Trinity Taylor By assuming that one size actually fits all, we are segregating those with body types that don’t fit into sizes zero to four and that is a big problem. Society’s image of the “perfect body” is a very distorted and misleading concept that both men and women alike worship and wish for. The “perfect body” often includes zero fat, a flat stomach, long legs, impossibly perfect skin and rock hard abs. We are constantly brainwashed by this image.

Benzon said, “I don’t understand how a girl can have it [one size fits all] and guys can’t.” Photo by: Trinity Taylor

“Perfect bodies” are on the front cover of magazines, all over social media, in movies and television shows. News flash: according to Lena Rawley from NYU News, only about five percent of the human population actually look like that. The other 95 percent is put to shame by our society. According to an article by Hayley Phelan from Fashionista Magazine, 100 percent of fashion magazines are Photoshopped. Photoshop has shaped society’s image of the human body in a very negative way. If you don’t look like this, you’re ugly, and that’s just the way it works. That is the message that “one size fits all” is sending. Like Peters said, “You are one of a kind… not one of a size.” Your body is unique and whether you are small or large, there should not be any shame in what size you wear. continued on... thecougarpress.org

Brad Steward, promoter of a “well rounded” education

Some might know Ventura High School math teacher Brad Steward by his sometimes philosophical math lessons and choice to use the term “opportunity” instead of test. Lola Bobrow Gavin Cross Others might know him as the freshman football and golf coach who took the 2000s varsity team to CIF and won against Arroyo Grande. Steward moved to Ventura in the seventh grade, attending Cabrillo Middle School and VHS, where he lettered in football, wrestling and track. After graduation, Steward went to Ventura College for two years, then transferred to the University of Redlands where he received his bachelor’s degree in biology. He then went on to earn his teaching credentials at Cal State Lutheran University. Steward began teaching algebra at VHS in 1986 after teaching one year of seventh and

Teachers on... what high school was like for them

eighth grade science at CMS, when he quickly realized he was more interested in teaching math than science. He took time to work in the petroleum industry in the Ventura, Santa Paula, Fillmore and Ojai area as an environmental specialist then “got to see the engineering side of [the job] and liked that” and went to night school at the University of Southern California to get his masters in engineering. About the intersection of learning between athletics and academics, Steward said, “I do think that a well rounded education has to do with not only learning in a classroom. I think athletics provides all kinds of opportunities for unique lessons that maybe we don’t get to learn in the classroom.” continued on... thecougarpress.org

Sneak Peak...

Movie Review: Mid90s The comedy-drama movie, Mid90s, was released on Oct. 19 of this year.

Photos by: Avenlea Russian

Christian Gallo, a VHS alumni, said, “I was the surfer kid whose life revolved around what the waves looked like.” Along with this, Gallo played varsity basketball and was a “solid B...not D...student.”

Alicia Verdades stated she was either “apathetic or obnoxious” in the classroom, thought friends were very important and was part of Future Farmers of America.

Kayla Hernandez, Ventura High alum and culinary teacher, stated she was a “quiet” and “average student” who played volleyball all four years. Her favorite thing about high school was “having the freedom to socialize with your friends as much as you want...life in high school was simple.”

Dubbed with the nickname “Tsunami Todd,” Todd Tackett said he was “very outgoing” and “where everyone looked for humor.”Tackett got his nickname because he would “make waves [of laughter] and leave.” He also reported that he was “a serious athlete” and got “decent grades.”

Summer Yovanno The movie takes place in Los Angeles during the 1990s. The main character is a 13-yearold boy named Stevie. Stevie comes from an unstable home, having an abusive brother and a prostitute mother, without a dad in the picture. He tries to escape it all by hanging out with a new group of friends. His new friend’s hobbies include: skating, filming and partying. They all happen to come from broken homes as well and they often use skating as a distraction. Senior Delaney Valdez said, “[Mid90s] was really good but it was really short, it was also kind of predictable and there wasn’t a real[ly] good plot. It was more of an ‘aesthetically pleasing’ movie because it’s ‘trendy’.” Throughout the movie, the ‘90s style’ is prominentlyshown through clothing, hairstyles and communication, such as oversized jeans, bob cuts and the absence of cellular devices. Junior Tyler Biedebach shared, “I thought [Mid90s] would be a lighthearted movie about skating, but it ended up being a lot deeper than that...” continued on... thecougarpress.org

The Cougar Press Page 6

College

Editorial: The Common App: tool or time-waster?

Difficult advanced placement classes, sports, and extracurricular activities can be very overwhelming for high school seniors and having to apply and decide where you want to go to college on top of them doesn’t make the year any easier. Jezel Mercado Colleges have used the privilege that modern-day technology gifts us to create a website, the “Common App,” that allows students to apply to over seven hundred different colleges and universities through one shared application page. But does this make the college application process any easier for students, and if not, what could be done to help relieve students of the stress that comes with applying to colleges? When asked about her opinion on the Common App and it’s efficiency, senior Alyssa Moore commented, “I think it’s fairly easy to use, and I like how it lets you know when you haven’t completed something in the checklist. I think it’s a good way to apply to colleges because it’s pretty straightforward and it just requires some basic information that isn’t hard to find.” However, she did run into some problems: “The only difficulty I encountered was with the letters of recommendation because for whatever reason, [the Common App] wouldn’t let me invite my counselor to write me a letter, but my counselor fixed it shortly after.” Moore is not the only one who has encountered this difficulty—senior Neela Krishnasamy also found the Common App to be fairly

efficient and easy to work with, but like Moore, she explained, “The main difficulty I had was figuring out how to send letters of recommendation mainly because we were disconnecting from Naviance this year.” Senior Elizabeth Senesac agreed with both Moore and Krishnasamy, and added, “The only [thing] that I think is a little unreasonable is the Nov. 1 date as it’s pretty difficult to deal with especially with [advanced placement] classes, sports, and electives like drama or music, it’s hard to prioritize what should come first. If that deadline was moved later by even two weeks I think it would relieve a lot of stress.” However, senior Peyton Erickson disagreed with Senesac when she commented, “I do think

the deadlines given by colleges are reasonable and they provide many different deadlines to ensure that every student can apply.” This illustrates that the deadline approval by seniors really depends on whether they’re applying early decision, or are choosing the later dates provided by colleges through the Common App. Another inconvenience was brought up by senior Kylie Garcia when she stated, “The only complaint that I really have with the Common App is how long it is, as it took me a while to actually fill out the entire application. Although, this wasn’t that bad of an inconvenience, it was only long because it included a lot of important information needed by colleges to assess each student.” continued on... thecougarpress.org

Moore commented, “It would be much easier to apply to college if they all used the same application (like the Common App) instead of having different things you need to do for UC’s, Cal States, etc.” Photo by Jezel Mercado

Senior Olivia Miller wants to join a ballet company and tour nationally and internationally. After high school, she plans on going to community college, while also dancing within a company. However, she believes she doesn’t need a college degree to get where she wants to go. Photo by: Ryan King

Editorial: Is college mandatory?

Nope! But it can often feel that way, right? Ryan King As high school students, we are pushed through a variety of classes that have the intention to prepare us for college and help us figure out what exactly we want to do for the rest of our lives. So as a 17 to 18-year-old, soon-to-be high school graduate, does that automatically mean we are ready to go off to college and decide what we want to do for the next four plus years? Not necessarily. According to an article, “Not Going to College is a Viable Option,” author and former superintendent Lawrence B. Schlack said, “The go-to-college tsunami has given us colleges full of young people who really don’t know why they are there or where they are going. They’ve been told college is their only option and they are using the experience as a very expensive and often futile form of career exploration.”

That being said, there is still a very legitimate stigma looming around high school graduates to immediately attend college. Schlack breaks down the concept, covering both status and economics. Regarding individual status, deciding to go to college is viewed as “first class,” but not going is considered “second class,” making the societal viewpoint on our academic career appear as unsuccessful. When questioning the economic value of a college education and its effects, one may contemplate, “Will this investment, possibly leading to a significant debt, be overcomed by the higher paying job I will receive since I have a college degree?” It is engraved in our heads that by earning a college degree, we will likely be on the receiving ends of better, higher paying jobs. Is this necessarily the most logical mentality? continued on... thecougarpress.org

Senior Cougars pull the plug on UC season Deadlines for the nine University of California (UC) schools was Nov. 30 of 2018. In recent years, the UC system has seen growth in its popularity and selectivity as well as changes in its application requirements. Saida Delgadillo Tanya Turchyn

Infographic by: Micah Wilcox

Touring your future: how do college tours affect student decisions?

Walk on any well-known college in America and one will likely see it: groups of parents and students traversing the campus led by a college student walking backwards. Micah Wilcox Odds are, they’ve asked their tour group to tell them if they’re about to walk into anything or anybody, as tour guides at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles did. For many students, college tours are a ubiquitous part of the college application process, alongside personal essays and requesting letters of recommendation. Unlike the latter two processes, however, college tours are designed to market universities to prospective students. United States News and World Report, who produces an annual ranking of colleges and universities, offers an entire section devoted to college tours.

“Before choosing the best college to attend, it is important for students to test the waters,” reads their website. “Making a college visit and touring the campus can be pivotal in a student’s decision to apply to school.” Tours at schools at both private schools like USC and UCLA follow a basic routine. Students and parents sit in a presentation about the college’s academics, undergraduate opportunities, and admissions. Presenters at both schools were quick to inform parents and students that scholarships and financial aid are available to make the school’s sticker price more palatable. continued on... thecougarpress.org

The UC website mentions that the system keeps reaching higher numbers with a recent record of applicants, 221,000, in 2017. This constant rise in popularity have caused a higher selectivity in some of the most prestigious schools in the system such as UC Los Angeles and UC Berkeley, which have faced a ten percent decrease in admission rate in the last seven years. The schools’ popularity has also been accompanied by increased recognition with six of the nine UC campuses placing in the top ten public universities in the entire US. Multiple Ventura High School students discussed their experience with the UC Application process, which was approaching its Nov. 30 deadline. The most commonly mentioned schools were Irvine (UCI), Santa Barbara (UCSB) and San Diego (UCSD), with Los Angeles (UCLA) as the most mentioned dream school among the VHS students that were interviewed. Overall, the most common answer to the hardest part of the application process

was simply sitting down and starting, but once they started writing, the seniors shared that the application was not nearly as complicated as they anticipated. On her progress in applying, senior Hailey Elson commented, “I keep changing my mind about what to write about so I’m still in the process of completing all of my essays.” However, many seniors reported being already finished with the application, yet that they were holding off on submitting as they are not completely confident in all factors of their application. As for outside help in the application process, senior Isabel

Schneider stated, “Entering in grades was the easiest part of the [application] process even though it took some time,” and that the hardest part was the personal insight questions. Photo by: Saida Delgadillo

Mercado commented, “[If not for] AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), I probably wouldn’t be considering any of these things, so it’s a big help.” She also added that the Expository Reading and Writing Course class has been beneficial in keeping her on track with her application. Perhaps the most timeconsuming section of the application is dedicated to the personal insight questions which are eight questions that aim at allowing students to write about their personal qualities and accomplishments that may not be clearly shown on the application alone. Students are required to choose four questions to answer within the limit of 350 words. Senior Kyle Schneider commented, “I felt a little limited for the UC’s because it [allows] only 350 words and I didn’t get all [of] my ideas out.” Elson voiced a similar issue with the application, stating that as she writes “it feels as if it’s too hard to write that much but then the more [I] write, [I realize I] want to write more.” Mercado stated that despite the personal insight questions giving her more space to stand out as an applicant, “some of the questions I feel are kind of basic, and I feel like I could give the same answer as 20,000 other kids.”

The Cougar Press

Distractions Page 7 Unscramble the College/University Can you find all the different ways to say thank you? Unscramble your college confusion Name T

M H

O G

L W J

T W S

O H

D M

G O

X W S

M H

U M

E W J

N W T

O U

O M

O Q

N M

Ngiyabonga go raibh maith agat Salamat

obrigado

Takk skal du ha

mahalo

Danke dir

dank je

gracias

UC OSL ASGENEL LCA YPOL UC IVASD SAN IODEG TASTE EEPNREPPID NSA SJOE RAAHVRD UBMLAIOC GOAGANZ XASET MA

grazie

NSA CSOMRA

Je vous remercie thanks

MHNCAIIG SATET Distraction by: Hector Heredia 20 by 20 orthogonal maze

Distraction by: Liliana Lara

Who’s that teacher?

Find your way to college College application



Build your own custom worksheet at education.com/worksheet-genera

Distraction by: Miles Bennett

Down

1. #1 Despicable Me Fan 2. Has a “Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer” sticker on his water bottle 3. “Who’s your daddy?” 6. Does he even spell, man? 7. AP Red Alphabet

Across 2. Not a buyer 4. Motorcycle Santa 5. Ex-Clown 8. Mustache Basketball 9. P. Squiggle

College acceptance

Cougar Catnips

Distraction by: Caroline Marsden

Student section sucks

Unstoppable teen vapers

Get off the AUX

Terrible teen takeover

What’s with the tik tok

Diego Roberto

Sam Coats

Ryan King

Acacia Harrell

Sarah Clench

Photo by: Emily Destifano

Photo by: Sam Coats

Photo by: Summer Yovanno

The senior class of 2019 sucks so bad. Our spirit section at games is horrible. I understand that football had a horrible season this year, but that is no excuse to be horrible overall. I went to most of the home football games and there were maybe 15 people max. This sucks, it makes our school look so bad. And it’s not just football. The same thing happened for volleyball. Last year and the year before, everyone would go and it would be hard to get a seat. I just hope that it turns around for basketball season. We have to represent Ventura High School at our games.

Banning us from the lockers won’t end vaping. I have seen teenagers vape in almost every place imaginable. That’s right. Buses. Trains. In classrooms as the teacher lectures, in auditoriums packed with thousands. I once saw a Ventura High School student hit the Juul at a college fair. Just as humans have figured out how to brave the cold winds of the Antarctic or the heat of the Mojave, teens can find a way to vape anywhere on this Earth. I don’t condone this practice. But banning students from hanging out by the lockers, when they’re inevitably just going to go vape somewhere else, is pointless.

I am asking for an official screening of ASB student’s playlists before they are tasked with the AUX and have the ability to broadcast their music to the entire campus. Your playlist must illustrate that you are mature enough to know what decent music is. If you are playing the top radio hits from 2015, or let your ringtone blast on the speaker multiple times, then you can’t be on the AUX. ASB, if you feel the need to do “Music Fridays,” let’s look at those playlists beforehand, and play some good f*#k@*$ music.

Infographic by: Acacia Harrell

What is the BIG DARN DEAL with Senior Ditch Day?? It’s been going on for HOW LONG now and teachers are STILL salty when we do it. IT’S ONE DAY BRO. What happened to school spirit? What happened to TRADITION? Maybe all the teachers need a Teacher Ditch Day or something. Maybe that’s it, they’re just jealous. We did it, it happened, and would you LOOK at the results? Nothing. Everyone survived, all the teachers still have their jobs, and the world is still on its axis. So let’s all chill next year when November 1 rolls around, shall we?

Photo by: Sailor Hawes

Can someone please explain why we change the time? Really, please explain? I don’t see why we aren’t setting our clocks one hour ahead to keep that summertime sunset at 7:00 p.m. I want to keep daylight. I don’t care if it’s darker when I wake up, I want to feel like I have more day left when I’m not actually in school. Otherwise, I get out of school and cheer and it’s dark within an hour! Originally, the time change was to save energy, but come on, we all know we aren’t saving much in today’s world. I want my day back!

VHS on... their passions

Freshman Nathan Pennington said, “I want to be a makeup artist. It allows me to express myself in a way that I’m not able to with words. I mostly like [doing my] eyes because that’s where I think the most art is.”

Photos by: Lola Bobrow

“[My passion is] playing basketball. It’s a fun sport and it gets me doing something after school. [My favorite thing about a basketball game is] the good nervous feeling because you don’t know how the games are going to to end. It’s fun especially when you compete against your teammates and get better [playing] against them,” said junior Miles Ortiz.

Senior Essex Gilbertson, “Skateboarding...when you’re doing it you just don’t have to think about anything else. As a little kid, I would play Tony Hawk and I thought it was super cool and then I asked my dad about it...and begged my mom to let me get a skateboard.”

Senior Seth Quinn said, “My passion is physics. [I like it because] it really goes against your common sense… and that’s really interesting.”

Freshman Noah Beckfield said, “Band practice: it’s my favorite thing to do.”

Freshman Melia Franks said “I love traveling: seeing new things and meeting people. I have been to Jamaica, Thailand, Singapore, Mexico, Japan and Korea.”

Sophomore Riley Meagher (right) said,“I’m really passionate about dancing. I’ve been dancing since I was like two years old.” Sophomore Alyssia Troutman (left) said, “I love to do contemporary [dance] the most just because you can express yourself and there’s no limits to do what you can do.”

Junior Kambria Haughton said, “[My passion is] playing soccer... [My favorite part about a game is] the giant adrenaline rush because the entire time you have been working [in practice] and it’s a release to show what you’ve learned.”

Junior Davon Nyholm said, “My passion is cosplay because I’ve been doing it for two years. You can dress up as characters, a person in fiction, from a story... that kind of stuff.”

“I am probably most passionate about social justice issues and political issues. [I feel strongly about] injustices towards minorities such as gay people--LGBTQ,” said senior Jasmine Duncan.

“...I am passionate about politics and social justice. The issues I feel strongly about are immigration justice, racial justice in general, economic justice [such as] housing.” said senior Leti Gutierrez.