November 2019 by Sage Hill School

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November 2019 Volume 20, Issue 3 lightningboltonline.com Sage Hill School 20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657

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High-Voltage Homecoming Community Showcases Lightning Pride at Pep Rally, Tailgate and Football Game Riya Gupta Fun, food, and football. What is a better way to spend a Friday at Sage? On Oct. 25, Sage Hill hosted its Homecoming Pep Rally and Homecoming Tailgate to celebrate a week of school spirit, festivities, and the end of the first quarter of the year. The events also celebrated Sage Hill’s 20th anniversary. Once again, the seniors prevailed as the winners of the Homecoming Pep Rally, with their skit based on the movie, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” However, their take was more “How the Grinch Stole College Applications,” which was timely for a lot of the stressed out seniors finishing up their applications for early admission and early decision. The pep rally also featured a “Finding Nemo” skit by the freshmen, an “X Factor” performance by the sophomores, and a “High School Musical” reenactment by the juniors. After cleaning up from a spirited and fun pep rally in the morning, it was time for the Homecoming Tailgate. The tailgate is an event for family and friends to bond over food and school spirit on Sage Hill’s campus. Along with the food trucks and Sage-themed desserts, a photo booth, a Sage pop-up merchandise store, and Stryker were present to entertain the student body and other attendees. One of these students was sophomore Nicole Jacinto. “We were all there hanging out, eating food, and making posters for the football team,” Jacinto said. “It was really fun.” Before the game started, the three seniors on the team, Jake Nadelman, Dhruv Patel, and Daniel Towers, were celebrated for their achievements and their contributions to the team. The three seniors are the captains of the team. “Senior Night was special for me as I got a moment to reflect on the highs and lows of my three years on this team along with my family, friends, teammates, and coaches,” Towers said. As the sun set, the most anticipated event began: the classic high school Homecoming football game. The 21-man Sage Hill Lightning Varsity Football team then faced off against Rolling Hills Preparatory School for one

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of the most featured nights of the season. Starting off strong, the Sage Hill Lightning scored a touchdown in the first few minutes of the first quarter. Throughout the game, the team displayed teamwork and determination with each play. The hard work paid off as the team beat Rolling Hills, 41-0. “The turnout and support of the game is unparalleled, and the team truly appreciates having the fans cheer us on,” Towers said. Dominic Campeau, Dean of School Life, appreciated the turnout as well. “Whenever we have students and families supporting community members, it makes our community stronger,” Campeau said. The Lightning football team would go on the next week to claim its second consecutive undefeated Express League championship, after beating Avalon at home on Nov. 1, 40-28.

My first Homecoming was great! I really loved the music and atmosphere of the dance..”

- Kana Byrd

Editorial, Page 2

News, Page 3

Alicia Theologides Rodriguez |The Bolt

Top: Junior Jeffrey Gao plays the tuba at the beginning of the Homecoming pep rally. Bottom: Lightning football plays Rolling Hills Prep for Senior Night and the Homecoming game on Oct. 25.

” Community, Page 4

Features, Page 6

Opinion, Page 8

Editorial

The Bolt November 2019 Sage Hill School

We’ve Got Spirit! Kind Of. At 6 a.m. on pep rally days, students fill the Ube with streamers and posters aplenty. We line the bleachers, every single person in their class shirts, pouring our hearts and souls into those skits, rehearsing during lunch for weeks and even months in advance. We cheer together, we celebrate together, and we win together. For two mornings a year, students bleed orange, red, blue and green. But what happens to this spirit on the other days of the school year? Sure, there are other days where we show our pride. We remember the league finals basketball game last year when our cheers filled the stands, and the Homecoming Tailgate and musical performance when our friends showed their support. Our spirit is strong for a few days of the year, but it lacks on other occasions. There are many other sporting events, academic competitions and musical events that often go unrecognized. “I think the participation level and overall spirit has been better than it has been in previous years, but from seeing other schools I think it definitely can be better at Sage,” Student Council Vice President Ezugo Ononye said. Take Spirit Week, for example. We find that this event has a few groups that go all out, but the majority of the people do not dress up. We need buy-in from the entire school to make an impact. It’s as easy as putting on a cowboy hat or wearing a chain for the day.

Kelly Abbate | The Bolt Wilkins Town Square is decorated with class colors - orange, red, blue and green - on the morning of the Homecoming pep rally on Oct. 25. We bleed those colors for two days a year, but what about the rest of the time?

It comes down to the business of our daily lives as students. With academics, extracurriculars, athletics, arts and internships, we are pulled in so many directions. We do not always have the time to dedicate to the events in which we are not directly involved. It is hard to balance our schedules while partaking in the extra elements of high school life. Each and every student is a vital part of Sage culture. When

people actively participate in Sage events that inspire the rest of the community, it elevates the school culture. It allows us to build a more cohesive and supportive environment. Going above and beyond is in the nature of Sage students, so why don’t we apply this to spirit as well? A survey conducted by the National Federation of State High Schools Association showed that

“high school students with ‘school spirit’ perform better academically, are more engaged in social and civic matters, and are happier in general than their less-spirited peers.” We define Sage culture. We determine our four years here at Sage and the legacy that we leave behind for future generations. As Ononye said, “You’re only in high school once -- you might as well make the most of it.”

THE BOLT

he Bolt, published seven times a year, is a student newspaper and serves the public forum at Sage Hill School. Its content - news, editorial, opinion, and feature - is protected by Education Code 48907, the state student rights law and the California Constitution which guarantees all citizens the right of freedom of speech and of the press. The Bolt accepts signed letters to the editor from members of the Sage Hill Community which may be posted as comments to our website, lightningboltonline.com, or addressed to editor-in-chief Hannah Woodworth and put in her mailbox on campus. These letters may not exceed 150 words or they will be edited for inclusion.

Editors-in-Chief Yuna Baek (Bolt), Lily Button (Bolt), Ian Grimm (Online) and Alicia Theologides Rodriguez (Storm) Editorial Board Jacob Gibbs, Polina Mogilevsky and Annie Tang Adviser Kelly Abbate

Lauren Avenatti Carter Bryant Joey Cha Megan Chan Lauren Chung Courtney Davis Param Desagami Isabel Gomez Riya Gupta Linda Hachim Wiliam Ho Adam Hung David Kim Sanjana Khurana Julia Kwon

Ethan Lee Noelani Lee Valentina Lin Max Luer Amanda Marshall Alexander Orozco Polina Mogilevsky Anisha Punia Sasha Ronaghi Shaan Sakraney Arielle Schultz Max Tu Reese Wensinger Xinyi Xie

News

Haunted Hoco

The Bolt November 2019 Sage Hill School

Courtney Davis

Photo by Anie Robinson

More than 400 students came out for the Halloweentown themed homecoming dance.

On Oct. 26, it was a night full of dancing, moshing and monster mashing. Homecoming dance this year had a very timely Halloween theme. Similar to last year, it was held in the science parking lot, and Student Council put a lot of effort into this fun, themed dance. “For the planning process, we chose the theme mostly based on the fact that Homecoming was so close to Halloween this year. We worked all day Friday and Saturday to set up. Mr. Pheasant was really helpful in finding materials and in setup,” Event Coordinator Jacqueline McNeill said. And with this theme came great times for new students. “My first Homecoming was great! I really loved the music and atmosphere of the dance. I had such a fun time with friends, and I think that StuCo did a great job on decorating and the dance itself,” freshman Kana Byrd said. Student Council was happy with the outcome, as well. “Other than when the DJ short circuited, the dance went smoothly and we felt there were more people that attended and people ultimately stayed longer,”

FLIK has a wide variety of options for food to eat, including vegetarian and vegan options as shown above.

McNeill said. Even with the minor complications, the night was super memorable and fun for all grades. “I liked when the music shut off because all of the students came together and started singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” I also liked how well the dance was decorated. There were Halloween themed props everywhere,” sophomore Kyle Wong said. Senior Pirooz Romouzi called the dance a good experience and said he had fun spending time with his friends. “I liked when the fog generators went off and when the beat dropped,” he said. The decorations were definitely better than previous years, even including a haunted hallway at the entrance of the dance. With a lot of effort came plenty of rewards. The night was successful due to the amount of work put in to it behind the scenes. “My favorite part was when the DJ played ‘Sweet Caroline’ and I could see everyone singing and waving their phone lights in the air,” McNeill said. “For me, this was my favorite dance I have attended at Sage which made the whole process really worth it.”

Annie Tang | The Bolt

FLIK Improvements a Hit, But There’s Room to Grow Adam Hung This year, the Sage Hill Cafe by FLIK, has made quite a few improvements to its layout and amenities on campus. The most obvious of these changes are an additional set of double doors, and a significant amount of added space within the café area to reduce lines and congestion. There is a new ice cream machine and a new espresso machine, and they have been continuously adding new outdoor stands over the last year or so with entrée options that change daily, switching between pasta stands, grill

stations, sushi, burgers and more. So how do students feel about the changes at FLIK now that it’s been a couple of months? “I like the extra space; it makes getting food a lot easier during lunch,” said senior Jeffrey Walbridge. “They have better snacks and drinks now,” said junior Daniel Sherlock. “The new ice cream machine is really cool,” said junior Bella Kim But although the lines in the main café do seem to have been reduced substantially, the lines for the often more popular outdoor stations still frequently

produce long wait times. “It feels like just as slow and long of a line, but just outside now,” Kim said. Another widespread complaint among students is pricing. Many are satisfied enough with aspects of the food such as quality and variety, but still don’t feel that the price tags match up. “The food isn’t good enough for what they charge,” said junior Alan Wang. Nearly every student interviewed mentioned overpricing as one of their main issues with Flik. “A lot of items are good; some are terrible,” said senior Will Ho.

“The food is inconsistent,” said freshman Carson McNeill. But even students say though FLIK isn’t flawless, it has demonstrated an admirable and constant effort to improve, and are continuing to add more variety, quality and quantity of meal options to meet the demanding needs of Sage’s students. “We value your requests and suggestions!” said Flik Director Sharon Luengas. ”If you love something on the menu, please let your favorite FLIK employee know or fill out a comment card so we can keep those items in circulation.”

Comm

The Bolt November 2019 Sage Hill School

Spooky Season

Annie Tang | The Bolt

Sophomore Brennan Valdez scares in his Joker costume.

Annie Tang | The Bolt

The Science Department plays an impromptu, real-life game of Mario Kart in their costumes. They won Best Group costume.

The History & Social Studies Department showed up dressed as teenaged versions of themselves.

Kelly Abbate | The Bolt

munity

The Bolt November 2019 Sage Hill School

n Shakes Sage

Junior Riley Amadore scared the judges as a creepy doll.

Annie Tang | The Bolt

Junior Crew Parker in his completely homemade costume of Boba Fett.

The Athletics/Physical Health & Wellness departments won Best Faculty costume as various MVP sports trophies.

Kelly Abbate | The Bolt

The Bolt November 2019 Sage Hill School

Features

OPENING UP:

Sage Hill’s Open House Draws Prospective Students and Families to Campus

Photo by Rick Davitt

Director of Admissions Elaine Mijalis-Kahn speaks to prospective Sage Hill students and their parents at the annual Open House on Oct. 12.

Xinyi Xie On Oct. 12, students and parents from surrounding cities filled the Black Box Theater. Over 280 prospective families joined Sage Hill at its Open House. The annual Open House has seen a lot of change since Sage Hill was founded twenty years ago. At the time, it was a simple information session in the library. Now it features a presentation in the Black Box, which opens with a welcome from the head of school, Patricia Merz, and a speech by the president, Gordon McNeil. A game show called “Who Wants to be Sage Hill Student”, a spin-off of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, follows and discusses basic information about Sage Hill. The presentation ends with a statement by the director of admissions, Elaine Mijalis-Kahn, inviting everyone to apply. Afterwards, prospective students and families can tour the campus with Sage Hill students, and attend a party in the Wilkins Town Square where they can

meet and talk to the faculty as well as parents of current students. “I really like this format,” said Spanish teacher Sally Sefami. “It is much more personal. Instead of us telling [prospective students] what we want [them] to know, [they] can ask us about what they want to know.” This innovative Open House style is immensely popular among attendees as well. Many said that they especially enjoyed watching the game show. Several also mentioned that the school tour was great, and cited the campus as a reason they would like to come to Sage. “The campus is beautiful. The kids and teachers seem incredibly nice,” a prospective student said. Parents were impressed by the open house as well. They hoped that at Sage, their children could work hard, play hard, and make friends at the same time. “I don’t want him to be saddled up with too much homework,” a parent said, “I want him to learn. And I want him to have fun.”

A MID-FALL NIGHT’S DREAM The Fall Play Weaves Whimsy and 1960s Queer Culture Into the Classic Shakespeare Performance.

The cast of the fall play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The play was performed three times over two days in the Black Box Theater.

Senior Dylan McCarthy as King Oberon and sophomore Megan Shean as his wife Queen Titania perform a scene in the fall play during the invited dress rehearsal on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Junior Ryan Andrade, left, as Demetrius and sophomore Gregory Guzman, right, as Lysander are primed for a fight during a scene in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Junior Taylor Miller plays Puck, Oberon’s jester, a mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals.

Photos by Rick Davitt

Opinion

The Bolt November 2019 Sage Hill School

IN THE SAME CORNER Indigenous Groups Continue Work to Preserve Culture Editor’s Note: “In the SAME Corner” is a new column written by various members of Sage Advocates of Multicultural Education (S.A.M.E.) throughout the year.

Devin Lavacude-Cola and Berenice Bernal

Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s rise to power, there has been talk about impeachment; however, until now it was just chatter. Isabel Gomez and Sanjana Khurana Understanding how impeachment works is important to digest the current news brought to light about President Trump. The process of impeachment can be broken down into three steps: First, Congress investigates the president; second, the House of Representatives must vote to begin impeachment proceedings; and third, the Senate tries the accused person and votes to decide their fate. Removal from office occurs if the Senate passes with a two-thirds majority vote in favor of removal. In United States’ history, only two other presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Law and Bill Clinton for committing perjury; however, neither were removed from office. Additionally, Richard Nixon was not impeached as he resigned from office before impeachment trials were initiated. Unlike Johnson and Clinton, President Trump’s recent accusations include our national security. The Democratic and Republican parties are beginning to announce their candidates for the presidency, and President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden seem to be the front runners. Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, served on a company’s board in Ukraine, and President Trump believes that Hunter Biden conned other countries for large sums of money. The United States provides military aid to Ukraine along with other countries in Eastern Europe to help maintain sovereignty in the face of Russian aggression. President Trump’s interest in Hunter Biden’s business could stem from his desire to gain political advantage over Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The Judiciary Committee and the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives are interviewing witnesses to determine whether President Trump asked for a quidpro-quo in a call with President Zelensky from Ukraine on July 25. Congress approved almost $400 million in military aid for Ukraine, but the White House froze this aid. Taken from the transcript of the call, President Trump asks for “a favor” from President Zelensky, a potential investigation into Hunter Biden. By withholding funds and pursuing a “contribution or donation of money or other thing of value,” President Trump allegedly broke the Federal Election Law. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, began impeachment proceedings against President Trump. On Oct. 31, the House of Representatives voted on a resolution laying out a process to move impeachment from closed-door depositions to open hearings, according to The Guardian’s timeline of the impeachment process. At this point, it appears very likely that the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives will vote to begin impeachment proceedings for President Trump. But, the Republican-controlled Senate will most likely not have a majority vote for President Trump to be officially impeached. Our government’s stability stems from our founding father’s ingenuity when creating our constitution. Based on a system that emphasizes consequences and checks and balances, we have been able to maintain our core values and foundation for the past 200 years. A president is not only supposed to represent him or herself but also the entire country. If we want to maintain the longevity of our nation, shouldn’t we all abide by our constitution and federal laws?

Answers: 1) Donald Trump 2) Ariana Grande 3) Jennifer Lawrence 4) The Rock 5) Beyonce 6) Cara Delevingne 7) Tom Brady 8) Ellen DeGeneres 9) Grace Park 10) RuPaul

Time for Impeachment?

As of 2019, there are increasing numbers of states and cities that recognize the federal holiday Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day. The purpose behind this change is to recognize the reality of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in America and the cruelty inflicted on to natives. This holiday serves also to remember that the relationship between the United States and Native Americans remains strained, and even today, Indigenous groups still fight to keep their culture alive. Native American communities do not have complete sovereignty which has become an issue which criminal persecution and policing. Most Native American communities have established court systems; however, the Major Crimes Act forces suspects of felonies committed even in Native reservations to be prosecuted in federal courts. Grants that Native groups receive are not signs of dependency but rather the compensation for tremendous land sacrifice made by Native communities. Native American groups are supposedly given the right to self-governing within United States territory, but the United States is still very involved in Native communities. Additionally, in the United States, the image of Indigenous People has been severely distorted, but this holiday has allowed Native Americans to express their unique culture authentically. A visible example has been the incorrect use of the headdress. In some Indigenous groups the headdress, in different styles, has been used mainly by chiefs and male warriors as a symbol of respect. However, as models and celebrities use them as fashion accessories, this cultural symbolism has been disregarded. When trying to incorporate aspects of Native American culture into United States’ fashion, it is important to learn and recognize their cultural significance. In the United States today, Native Americans face issues of poverty, violence, and displacement. Native communities are still working to preserve their culture through language immersion schools, designated lands, and Indigenous People’s Day celebrations.

The Bolt November 2019 Sage Hill School

Backpage

When does a Costume mean something more?

Polina Mogilevsky It’s that special time of the year again. The air is getting chillier, the days are getting shorter, and millions of adults and kids are flocking to stores to purchase cheaply made frocks for a night of escape from reality and submersion into the world of fantasy. Although Halloween is religious in origin, like many other holidays, it has been commercialized and turned into another capitalist event, but that is a conversation for another time. Here, I’m going to look at where to draw the cultural appropriation line with Halloween costumes. Rising concerns about cultural appropriation in Halloween costumes have been coming to a head during the past few years. As people are becoming more accepting of cultures that were previously marginalized through media and our legal system, they are starting to see more and more flaws in the way our society approaches this holiday. Consequently, this issue has gained more coverage in the media, with news outlets such as The New York Times and BBC publishing reports on the offensive costumes donned worldwide on this day.

I recently saw a post on Instagram that loosely translated to the following: “Don’t do blackface, don’t do brownface, and don’t dress as any other character that is different from your race.” To provide some historical context, toward the early/middle part of the 20th Century, African Americans and other minorities were not allowed to participate in a variety of industries, including the movie industry, so white actors painted their faces with black paint and essentially acted like imbeciles on screen in order to portray these cultures, as they were then seen as inferior. It wasn’t until the Civil Rights movement and the latter half of the 20th century that we finally started treating marginalized cultures as people. America’s not-so-distant past provides a clear argument for why costumes with blackface and brownface are and should be deemed culturally unacceptable and racist. But, what about when we say that dressing in a costume from another culture is unacceptable, and what about intent? Is it problematic when we dress our kids as Disney characters that may be from a different culture to ours? Are we actively trying to appropriate that culture

and contribute to the culture of racism? If you ask a parent why they dressed their 4-year-old daughter as Moana when she is not a Pacific Islander, almost never will the answer be because they are actively trying to contribute to the stereotypes associated with Pacific Islanders because of Disney’s portrayal. Chances are it’s because their daughter loves Moana and just wanted to be her favorite princess for Halloween! This same logic can extend to other costumes such cultural origins such as ninjas, fortune tellers, and others of the sort. Most of the people who wear these costumes are not trying to disrespect or appropriate the cultures from which the costumes originated; they are simply paying homage to the characters they are portraying. By telling our kids that they can’t wear something or portray a certain character because doing so may be seen as taboo, are we not contributing to the creation of a cultural divide? What we should be doing is coming together and learning from one another and highlighting what we love about ourselves and other cultures. I am not trying to advocate for blatant racism and cultural appropriation by any means, but I also think that

all cultures have a right to portray one another in a respectful manner. I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a SAME meeting, the purpose of which was to measure people’s opinions on which costumes could be considered culturally offensive and which weren’t. This was my experience as an active participant: An image of a certain costume was shown on the board and people had to separate themselves into three groups based on whether they found the costume offensive or not, or whether they were neutral. It was easy to argue for why the costumes were offensive — they included a Native American costume with a headdress, a generalized South Asian costume, and a ninja costume, among others — but what was truly fascinating was hearing some of the arguments for why they weren’t. Some people were posing questions on whether the costume was truly offensive if the intent behind it wasn’t malicious and if the culture that the costume was meant to portray (or some aspect of it) didn’t take offense. Overall it was quite eye-opening to witness the multiple takes from different members of our community on this polarizing issue.