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Campus Culture

ASD 2019: Blast from the Past

Senior "Most Likely To"s Reveal Animosity Among Senior Class

Many seniors were shocked when their peers, some of whom have been classmates for over four years, began brutally attacking each other online, turning a beloved yearbook tradition into a slaughterhouse where everyone seemed to be both the butcher and the meat.

February 26 • Ronni H.

Photos from All School Day

Ronni H. & Sophia K.

Where Does Religion Belong at a Secular School?

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It is not on any given Monday that Westridge students can walk into Room 11 and see Skop bopping on the “Dance Dance Revolution” machine or Ms. Coker decked out in a fluffy pink hat and feather boa, or Mr. Harrison laughing at students stumbling on a roller rink. At All School Day, on Monday, February 25, though, this was the norm.

February 26 • Sophia K.

Do Midterms After Winter Break

Cause Meltdowns?

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Zaynab E.

At 9:00 am, January 23, hundreds of bleary-eyed, anxious Westridge Upper School students flood into the gym. With Number 2 pencils instead of cell phones in hand, students prepare to take exams that  could  make   or   break their

semester grades. Indeed, for many students, the grades on these exams will have a significant impact on their overall GPA’s. No matter how well a student may have performed the entire semester, a single midterm exam is often worth 20 percent or more of one’s overall grade. 

February 26 • Gracie S.

Westridge has students with various backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, so how can Westridge, a school that prides itself on this secular identity, continue to support the complex religious identities of its students?

February 26 • McKenna B. & Bella W.

We#!*@dge: Profanity on Campus

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Liv B.

Do you ever stub your toe on a nearby object, maybe a table leg, a rock, or a school desk, and a glorious stream of profanities rushes out of your mouth? Have you ever done that in front of one of your teachers?

February 26 • Olivia Q.

Local & World

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Art by Elisa D., photos by Sophia K. & Ronni H.

Activism Fatigue at the 2019 Women's March

Activism Fatigue at the 2019 Women's March

February 26 • Ronni H. & Sophia K.

Throughout the decades, American citizens have pushed for change through the vigorous exercise of our Constitution’s First Amendment – freedom of speech – by taking to the streets and demanding change simply through our voices. There is no better modern example of this empowering activism than the Women’s Marches that have taken place worldwide over the past three years. Jam-packing streets from Washington DC to Des Moines, Iowa, to Los Angeles, California, Women’s March protesters have voiced their hopes and fears, often employing signs that address everything from gender pay inequality to immigration reform. And yet, the downtown Los Angeles streets at the 2019 Women’s March were eerily empty, the chants forced, and the walk from Pershing Square to City Hall longer and more grueling than ever before. Those marching for change are burnt out.  A sense of hopelessness has resulted in decreased political participation – activism fatigue – both in our national culture and Westridge community.

Breakdown of the Government Shutdown

LAUSD Teachers’ Strike Prompts Change for Public Education

February 26 • Caroline L. & McKenna B.
Mayan Alvarado-Goldberg and her family prepare to walk with 30,000 other LAUSD teachers.
Mayan Alvarado-Goldberg
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On January 14th, 2019, over 30,000 teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) went on strike after almost two years of fruitless negotiations between the teacher union and district officials. In these negotiations, teachers proposed versions of a contract, which demanded that the district reduce class sizes; hire more nurses, librarians, and counselors; and raise teacher salaries. 

Elisa D.

After the longest government shutdown in history, Donald Trump’s presidency certainly will be remembered by this incident. 35 long days of no pay for federal workers, short-staffed lines at airport security, trash-filled national parks, unchecked food in grocery stores, and the threat of a second shutdown will all be remembered by Americans for years to come.

February 26 • Emily S.

Westridge Students Participate in

Annual Rose Parade​

On Tuesday, January 1, millions of viewers gathered and tuned in to watch the 130th Rose Parade, an event that included several Westridge students. While students Micaela M., '19, and Lauren B., '19, rode on a float and waved to the crowd below as part of the Rose Court, others, such as Mackenzie B., '20, and Emma R., '20, enjoyed the parade from a different vantage point, walking behind the floats and picking up poop.

February 26 • Jackie Y.

Features

Black History Month:

Black Culture on Campus

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Zaynab E.

How do Black History Month and other celebrations of cultures of color fit in at private institutions like Westridge where Black students are in the minority? Black History Month takes place each February, and its purpose is to recognize the experiences of African-American individuals and appreciate the progress they have made.

February 26 • McKenna B.

"Since Parkland" Project Honors Minors Who Have Died from Gun Violence

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sinceparkland.org

The Summit provided students with a platform to offer input to the administration about how Westridge could be improved. 36 students in grades 8-12 attended

Elisa D.
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Dream Summit:

A Step in the Right Direction

February 26 • Sophia H.

the Dream Summit, which was inspired by Sosi D.’s, ’21, old school in Indonesia, Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS). Conveniently scheduled during a strategic planning year, the summit gave students a chance to represent themselves and their interests. Sosi explained her inspiration for the summit spurs from an ultimate goal to bridge a disconnect she observed between students and administration.

February 26 • Vivian L., Hanne I., Lena G.

Below, seniors Hanne Irish-Hurlow, former AP Environmental Science student, and Lena Golia, current Environmental Engineering student, provide detailed accounts of how climate change has already dramatically changed people’s lives in the Kiribati Islands and the Republic of South Sudan, including driving them to seek asylum in foreign lands. We hope to demonstrate to the Westridge community that climate change is not just likely to be an environmental calamity; it is also a global justice issue disproportionately affecting those who are already poor and the least responsible for rising temperatures.

Contributor: Students Showcase Climate Change Projects

February 26 • Jackie Y.

Starting this issue, Alumnae Spotlight will now be a recurrent column that will report on past Westridge graduates and what they have accomplished. The alumnae are asked questions ranging from what their current challenges in life are to what they’ve learned from Westridge; every issue will have a different perspective on an alumna and will focus on what they do now. 

Alumni Spotlight:

Stacey Tappan, '91

“Since Parkland” is a project dedicated to remembering and recognizing the lives of minors killed due to gun violence. Written entirely by student journalists, we worked to write over 1,200 obituaries for individuals ages 0-18 whose lives were lost to gunfire in the year between the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which took place on February 14, 2018, and February 14, 2019, the one year anniversary.

February 26 • Caroline P.

Op-Ed

Athletics

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