Table of Contents

OCSA Makeover

Emily buschelman, tabitha finamore

Students Fight Censorship: Building Bridges and Palestine Solidarity

andy choi

Meet the Team: New Deans and Directors

Dominic dearmey, phoenix lambie, grant li

Conservatory COVID Protocols

Lara bilgore, jamie lee

Behind OCSA’s Newest Mural

selah sanchez

Celebrating Culture Through Art

isabelle tran

The Essential OCSA Survival Guide

Isabel Hahn, Caitlyn Mason, Melody Wu, James yi

Juan: The Unsung Hero of After-School Cravings

michael mcdonald

An Analysis of Lorde’s Discography Over The Years

aoife mcevoy

OCSA Fashionistas

shayna kaplan, lauren kim, mia soumbasakis

Ethnic Studies: A Necessary Addition to OCSA’s Curriculum

jacqueline blom, mia soumbasakis

Influencers’ Impact on OCSA Students

Rajsi Rana

The Spotlight: For Crying Out Loud Slam Poetry Team

jessica hong

COVID-19 Takes a Toll on OCSA

Elena Levin, Celeste Valadez

The Trials and Tribulations of Straight Boys at OCSA

natalie hanani

Senioritis

emma han

Imposter

melody wu

Horoscopes

melody chang, lauren kim

Online Exclusive: OCSA Snack Time!

Tabitha finamore, michael mcdonald, rajsi rana

OCSA Makeover

Emily Buschelman, Tabitha Finamore

Have you seen the new containers on campus? Well, those containers are the first step in a new direction. Our Campus as we know it is about to change. 

In the August Board meeting, The OCSA Board of Trustees announced a new renovation to campus, hoping to create an inclusive and safe environment for OCSA students. After converting and converting the campus for the past 20 years, they plan to celebrate the 35th anniversary with an urban student area providing nature and facilities for the people on campus. By doing so, Steven Wagner, the Chief Operations Officer of OCSA, tells Evolution that, "We [the board of trustees] have spent the last 20 years here in Santa Ana, really growing the school, expanding our conservatory programs. And we've done it by acquiring [local and urban]  buildings and converting them into our campus. And in all of that time, there has been one major piece of the campus that we've felt has been missing.”

What Wanger’s 'green area' was missing, he describes as a safe place for students to rest and relax. This new part of campus will replace the tower blacktop, and it's thought to stretch from the annex to the white boarding wall between the Tower parking lot and 10th street. 

Construction on this campus makeover is going to start soon! The containers we have all seen on the black top hold potted trees that will soon be spread out along the blacktop, and shade cloth tied from the shipping containers to the tower for the remodel will be brought to campus in the next two months. More disruptive construction will take place during the summer of 2022. 

Once full construction is complete, the blacktop in front of the tower will be fully transformed into a unique student lounge consisting of lawns of grass, shaded areas, trees, and additional food areas. Six shipping containers will be placed in the tower parking lot until complete construction begins. 

Not only will the blacktop be transformed, but the intention of creating an outdoor staircase that leads up to the second-floor cafeteria and redecoration to 10th Street will also be a factor in creating an attractive, inclusive environment. The modernization to 10th Street will include coverings for the concrete and more seating areas for students. The outside staircase is not the only upgrade to the second-floor as they are also planning on creating an additional student center with the old cafeteria on the balcony. While they are building it, they plan on enclosing it with glass.

Intending to raise enough money to start construction by summer 2022, they plan on finishing the project in a year where it will be completed by summer 2023. Most construction will be completed throughout the summers and non-school hours so that it will not disrupt classes and students on campus. The estimated cost for this new area will be around "three to five million dollars," Wagner states, planning on raising the money through donors and naming rights to certain facilities.

Not only is the staff excited for the remodel, but students are already looking forward to the change in scenery. Beyond that, many students hope for the makeover to start as soon as possible, in order to reap the benefits. As of now, it seems this change is an extensive one that will require a lot of investment and time, but it will be well worth the wait.

Students Fight Censorship: Building Bridges and Palestine Solidarity

Andy Choi

On May 12, the Building Bridges Club posted a flyer for a meeting about the history of settler-colonialism and apartheid in Palestine. In less than 3 hours, the meeting was canceled and the flyer taken down by OCSA administration after receiving complaints about it without reviewing the presentation’s contents in what the club leaders considered a targeted violation of their free speech. The image of a Palestinian holding his national flag on the flyer was cited as “inflammatory imagery” and the reason behind the censorship. This is while Israel Club, which collaborates with the Israel advocacy organization “StandWithUs,” was allowed to present not once, but twice in the past two years about their take on the Israel-Palestine conflict without any censorship or screening. This inequity violated the Equal Access Act and Tinker v. Des Moines, breaching the students’ First Amendment rights.

Palestinian student Raija Hammad (IM-SO '23 ) stated, “I think it’s an unfair censorship. I should be able to speak about my very direct relationship with this conflict, it’s my heritage and it’s being silenced.” 

Raija’s aunt Lubna Hammad, a prominent Palestinian activist and lawyer stated, "The censorship by OCSA has caused our community great distress and trauma. OCSA administration chose to censor any mention of our ancestral homeland on the holiest day of the year, in the midst of a vicious attack on our people, two days before we commemorated the 73rd anniversary of Al-Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine that has started in 1948 and is still ongoing. How can any Palestinian student feel safe at OCSA when the school administration regards them as invisible or even nonexistent? How can they feel safe on campus when the administration doubled down on their false claim that our cry to freedom and equality for everyone in Palestine ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free’ is a call to throw people in the sea? It's like claiming the call 'Black Lives Matter' is racist against white people. OCSA administration showed great ignorance, insensitivity and extreme bias with this claim against a community whose people were literally thrown into the sea in 1947-8 by the Zionist terrorist groups, furthering our collective trauma."

After four months of emailing, petitioning, writing statements, organizing a solidarity picnic, giving public comments at the Board of Trustees meeting and gathering hundreds of letters of support from its community, Building Bridges was offered thirty minutes to speak to administration, which quickly turned to three hours of intense debate.

In a statement released on September 9, OCSA administration stressed that “the promotional material created by the Building Bridges Club was never intended to make other students feel unsafe, and the school has no objection to the proposed content of the meeting.”

Administration said that they only meant to “postpone” the presentation, but given the time-sensitive nature of the meeting, its cancellation when Palestine was gripping the world’s headlines caused irreparable harm. 

A statement released by OCSA alumni and sent to administration shortly after the incident back in May read as follows:

“In the past, the OCSA’s Administrative Team has not taken immediate initiative to respond to bigotry and harassment, yet, in this case, acted and responded within three hours of the meeting’s intended time. Why was this more of an issue than swastikas being drawn in locker rooms, or students using racial slurs against Black people online? When students are directly impacted and harmed by the hateful actions of their peers, OCSA hesitates to discipline and educate wrongdoers.”

Administration also cited the fact that the club adviser had no knowledge of the scheduled presentation. But this practice is almost unheard of among OCSA clubs.

“As a former Black Student Union club leader at OCSA, in the four years that I have been a part of the club and three years I have lead it, I have never been required to show materials or get approval from my club advisors about said materials before they were presented during club hours...All club presentations [and] discussions were left to the discretion of club leaders,” said Christina Miles (CW ‘21).

OCSA administration used the definition of anti-Semitism presented by the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that has broadly characterized Palestinian rights activism as anti-Semitic to condemn the flyer’s use of “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.” Administration ignored the letter sent by the LA branch of the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP-LA), a national organization of 250,000 members and supporters, stating that it did not “merely defend but fully and proudly embrace the proclamation, ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,’” stating that the phrase “...is not, by any honest and reasonable understanding, an anti-Semitic statement or anti-Jewish in any way: Palestinian freedom is never, in any location, a threat to Jewish freedom.” The JVP-LA urged OCSA administration to “immediately reverse the restrictions it has placed on the Building Bridges Club” and to make a “public statement to all stakeholders, acknowledging its error in trampling the US Constitution’s First Amendment Protections,”  and “fulfill its mission as an educational institution to foster open and honest inquiry into, and discussion of, the Israeli apartheid state and the Palestinian struggle for freedom and equality.”

To censor Building Bridges’ presentation, solely on the basis of ADL’s political views on this phrase, is the definition of censorship based on political bias.

This moment represents a crossroads not only for OCSA, but for free speech on campuses across the country- in a letter to administration, Zoha Khalili, an attorney for the legal advocacy organization Palestine Legal stated that from 2014 to 2020, her small team dealt with almost 900 incidents of free speech suppression regarding Palestine, with this year in particular seeing a “surge of censorship, harassment, doxxing, defamation and threats of physical harm” against advocates for Palestinian human rights. Khalil urged OCSA administration to issue a public statement clearly acknowledging and apologizing for the censorship, protecting students’ right to freely present from the Palestinian perspective, preventing outside groups such as StandWithUS and the ADL from influencing campus policies in ways that infringe students’ freedom of expression, and setting up policies that verify claims that may lead to actions violating students’ freedom of speech.

Meet the Team: New Deans and Directors

Dominic DeArmey, Phoenix Lambie, Grant Li

Nicole Berger- Commercial Dance Director

The new staff member is Nicole Berger, who took the position of the Commercial Dance Conservatory’s Director. She had taught college for about ten years, and had been in entertainment for a long time. Looking back on her experience, she says, “I really got to see students coming in as freshmen, and what they needed and to be successful. I felt as a teacher, there’s a lot that the students could work on before they get to college, so they can be even more successful”. She is very enthusiastic about the future of Commercial Dance, saying, “I think this could be an opportunity to give back what I know about the entertainment industry, what I know about the anatomy, and how to move from a really centered and grounded place where [you are a] storyteller and not just a technician.” Berger has big plans for the Commercial Dance conservatory, so keep your calendars open!

Lauren Lim Jackson- Musical Theatre Director

At just 35, Lauren Lim Jackson has lived a full life that every performing arts student dreams of. She was the first OCSA alumni to attend an Ivy League school, was the academic and conservatory valedictorian for CMD, ‘03, and a Broadway star for over a decade. Now, she’s back to her roots, settling down in her hometown and returning to her alma mater as the new director of the Musical Theatre conservatory. Jackson wants to “take the torch” of her predecessor, Scott Barnhardt, and “grow with it.” Her main goal? Keep the students safe but engaged. But also on her mind is diversifying the MT curriculum, adding classes like the History of POC Theater, and continuing to advance her acting career. Her broader teaching philosophy is simply to help students achieve their ambitions and become educated, sympathetic professionals. She says, “I don’t need to train 240 Broadway stars, but I need to create 240 amazing citizens of the world.”

Natasha Pasternak- Popular Music Director

Natasha Pasternak has enjoyed her first month on campus. She is excited to take what she has learned and seen from her previous role in the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA and bring it to OCSA. She feels she is able to provide students with the tools they need to succeed both at the university level and in the professional working world. Pasternak encourages students interested in UCLA and the school of music to be passionate about their interests and competitive with other applicants. As a songwriter herself, she believes that it has become more prevalent in today's world of self advertising to be able to create original content which she hopes to help her students become familiar with. On a personal note, Pasternak hopes to one day get back to her Canadian roots by owning a small farm and interacting with the animals she grew up around. She also hopes to perhaps branch out into something visual like painting. Pasternak hopes that her presence not only within popular music but the entire OCSA campus will inspire artists to be creative, original and to be the best professionals they can be.

Conservatory COVID Protocols

Lara Bilgore, Jamie Lee

After being shut down on March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OCSA is finally back fully in person. OCSA has taken many precautions as to how they are operating during a pandemic; such guidelines include requiring masks indoors, offering weekly testing, and providing updates through a COVID-19 Dashboard. Following the COVID guidelines from administration has been a particularly difficult task for certain conservatories such as Musical Theatre, Acting, Classical Voice and Instrumental Music, where students and teachers are dependent on the use of their mouth or voice; however, conservatory directors have each found a way to operate their arts classes while simultaneously practicing COVID guidelines and providing a quality arts education. 

Conservatories within the School of Theatre, such as the Musical Theatre and Acting conservatories, are reliant on facial expressions and the voice, both of which are unfortunately inhibited by the use of masks. Knowing masks are required in class, Sophia Madrigal (ACT ‘22) described the social distancing restrictions as “a bit lax,” adding that the “protocol definitely hinders actors’ abilities to perform.” With this said, this may have been a learning curve for students such as Sofia Ciro (MT ‘24), who said that students had to “learn to show emotion in a natural way” and “it was something [they] had to adapt to.” Both Madrigal and Ciro concluded that while it may have been initially hard to follow the new protocols, they believe that the quality of their education was not affected, especially with teachers who have been more lenient with difficulties that could arise. 

In conservatories like Wind Studies, students are needed to use their mouths to play their instruments. Teachers have had to support their students throughout this entire process. According to Kylie Heidal (IM-WS ‘23), these protocols have affected “the overall hearing of music and not being able to project as much sound as we used to be able to… I feel like it makes it more difficult to focus on learning new musical skills.” Despite this, Heidal expressed that the conservatory teachers have been understanding, adding that “they gave us a notice on what to bring, such as bell covers. And later on, they're [going to] provide us with a pass that will cover our bases... They’ve been really understanding about it and have helped us learn how to adapt with it.” People like Heidal have felt that, “we’re always focusing on being able to project more and not fully being able to play together and learn together as a cohesive group.”

These new guidelines have definitely been a learning curve for everybody, and while it has been a major adjustment, students and teachers alike are looking forward to a school year back in person. 

Behind OCSA’s Newest Mural

Selah Sanchez

Perhaps you have seen it on the far side of campus, settled on the wall of the DMS, right next to the VAC. Though it might not be outright conspicuous, to the students who work on it, it is more than just another mural. 

Every Friday after school, a group of seniors in the Visual Arts conservatory meet up at the VAC. Once they arrive, they set up their space and work close together, painting on the side of the DMS, tracing palm trees out in red pastels and chatting under the sweltering sun. They are led by Brooke Hunter,  new Beginning Oil and Landscape Painting VA teacher, and Emma Han (VA ‘22). In fact, the wall might still be empty if not for Han’s effort to bring back a senior tradition.

Most of the murals students see in the tower corridors, and even the koi fish that swim up and down the DMS stairs, are courtesy of the senior mural-painting classes from prior years; however, that class was not offered during this school year, due to the previous teacher retiring. The prior attempts by Han and her peers to bring it back had unfortunately not gone through. However, that changed during this past summer, when Visual Arts Director Paige Oden opened up to Han about a potential Welcome Week project. As Oden retells it, “Emma reached out and said, ‘Hey where are we with the mural project?’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s Zoom.’”

At this point, the site from the DMS had been approved, and eventually, the mural evolved into a solely senior-led composition. Han agreed to assist in designing and planning along with Hunter, who had had previous experience in murals from her father’s business. Throughout the summer, the two exchanged ideas via email and Zoom. As Hunter recalled, “We had known from the start that it was going to be like a vintage postcard, so from there it was just trying to figure out how we can incorporate all the conservatories.” They swapped ideas back and forth, helping each other with color, design and type. The final graphic became that of a bright view of the tower, surrounded by palm trees with large lettering at the center, inside which every conservatory would be incorporated. “We wanted the mural to be centered around welcoming the new OCSA students,” Han elaborated.

Whether they heard of the project from friends or if they were emailed directly, the volunteer students gathered as the starting date approached. Though they varied in their experience on murals, all were enthused to be a part of the new project. In the days that followed, the group met once a week and got to work alongside one another on the  project, learning much about the process and composition of murals and being able to leave a legacy like many other classes have done before them. As Han summed it up, “I’ve been a student at OCSA, and I’ve loved the experience, and it’s kind of cool to have something permanent on campus when I leave… It’s just special.”  

Celebrating Culture Through Art

Isabelle Tran

If you’ve been to The Source OC located in Buena Park within the past few weeks, you may have spotted the brightly colored bus stop embedded in the wall with paint. Step closer and you might notice the QR code in the lower right corner, leading to a visual essay celebrating Korean culture, written by Isabel Hahn (CW ‘22) titled “Red Bean Shaved Ice and Other Musings”. Over the summer, Kristie Lee (VA ‘22) and Hannah Kang (VA ‘22) reached out to Hahn inquiring about a collaboration. 

The Source made its debut as a predominantly Korean-branded mall in 2006, built by a Korean family-owned real estate company. Through its opening, many Asian brands were introduced to the United States for the first time. As a Korean-American, artist, and student based in Southern California, Kang spotted other murals created by students, which “inspired [her] to work with Kristie and also represent OCSA outside of the campus.” With more than fifteen murals around the OCSA campus, bringing the iconic artistic element to an outside wall where there is a blank canvas is an opportunity to represent a unique perspective on the Korean-american experience. Visually, there are various elements incorporated into the mural such as “the choson folding screens, cranes and pine trees, the transitional architecture on the bus stop, and also the little posters” which represent Korean culture. While these are typical elements of Korean culture that many people can relate to and recognize, Isabel delves into her childhood and takes the small, intimate moments, turning them into beautifully articulated memories. “Red Bean Shaved Ice and Other Musings” starts off with the memory of disliking the taste of red bean shaved ice but then growing to like it over the years. This reminiscing evokes a nostalgic feeling with the longing of childhood, the celebration of a uniquely Korean experience, and the wisdom that comes with growing up.

As a last word from Isabel: “when you’re writing or creating something, what you create doesn’t always have to be big, inspirational or monumental events and anything can be created into art. Look into your own culture and own identity, and you'll see that there’s a lot of different really special things in your life, and you should celebrate that through your craft.” Arguably, celebration brings people together more than anything else, and the unifying of art and writing presents this joy in an empowering way.

The Essential OCSA Survival Guide

Isabel Hahn, Caitlyn Mason, Melody Wu, James Yi

OCSA is, by no means, a normal high school, and we get that. Whether you’re new to OCSA, or just out of the groove after distance learning, we’re here to help. Here are helpful tips to get you through, straight from Evolution writers.

Getting To Your Classes

1. On the stairs, get ready to walk the walk

As Miley Cyrus once said, “it’s all about the climb.” On the stairs, the goal is to get to class as fast and painlessly as possible. Stay to YOUR right when you’re walking, and walk single-file. Try not to play around on your phone, or do anything that could slow you down. 

2. They see me rollin’...hopefully not a backpack

As it says in the song, we do see you rolling, and we are, indeed, hating. Rolling backpacks make walking up and down the stairs harder for you and everyone else, especially if you aren’t able to carry it properly (because rolling it up the stairs isn’t going to work). 

3. Merge, merge, merge!

Walking on the stairs is like driving on the 405 freeway–it’s all about defense. Don’t wait for a gap, or for some nice person to let you in. When you see an opportunity, merge into the line, even if it means being more assertive than you’re used to. 

Where to Hang Out

1. 10th street: A favorite of many long-time OCSA students, 10th street is one of the most entertaining spots to mingle with friends, eat lunch or even just explore. The popular side of this area, often teeming with students and blasting teenage music, has numerous seating options such as tables, stone benches, and the Symphony Hall steps. 

2. Second-floor Tower balcony: Teachers, culinary students and regular students all hold an affinity for the second-floor balcony of the Tower. Comprised of an array of lunch tables and, of course, the fresh garden of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, students easily find this place to be an enjoyable lunch and hangout location. 

3. OCSA sign on Sycamore: Although it may sound rather unheard of, the grassy area behind the OCSA sign located at the intersection on Sycamore Street is a quiet place to sit in the cool shade while being a safe distance away from others.

4. Media Arts Center Lawn: If you hate being in the sun, the grass lawn residing right outside of the Media Arts Center is the place for you.  This location is an exceptional lunch and resting spot that is often neglected by students.

Academics

The start of the school year is an exciting period, especially after nearly two years composed mostly of online classes. But as the weeks passed, students quickly transitioned to the standard routines of school and its onslaught of challenges (and confusion). Sharing a common complaint, Andy Choi (CW ‘22) said, “I felt like I didn’t really know what was going on all the time… I think there’s a lot of miscommunication in terms of... just like where the courses are going.” Margaret Zang (DM ‘24) said her “hardest class is Chemistry [Honors], because you have to adapt to [the teacher’s] learning style.” “I have trouble remembering things, and a lot of instructions she gives are out loud [instead of in writing].” Some students discovered initial bumps trying to accelerate their learning, such as Hannah Kang (VA ‘22), who “self-studied” Pre-Calc in two weeks and jumped straight to Calculus.

At their core, all of these problems stem from a lack of information, whether it be about the course direction, teacher’s learning style, class instructions, or difficulty of AP Calc. When you prepare with more information, things get much easier. “[The test wasn’t] really a surprise to me, because I checked the syllabus over the summer,” said Kang. That is the same test in which at least one student was caught by surprise and received a “C.”

Good sources of information are the agenda, emails, art attack, GC, and the course syllabus mentioned by Kang. The problem with these sources is, to quote Choi, “With homework and stuff like that it can be kind of difficult to navigate all the information they are sending to you over google classroom or wherever else.” One can add that these resources may not teach students all that they need to know, for instance, whether a particular homework assignment is graded based on completion or accuracy.

Teachers, classmates, and students a grade above you are great resources to fill in the information gaps and acquire useful advice. Below are examples of what you can learn by reaching out to others:

- Do not hope your grades will go up by the end of the semester.

- Look at the syllabus

- Look at your agenda slides at least once a day.

- Check your email.

- Juniors, don’t miss out on PSAT. Sophomores, join it.

- When you open the agenda slides for Chemistry Honors, you would notice that the date on it does not match your current date. It is not an accident. It is merely showing the schedule far in advance.

You can even gain advice on how to gain advice:

- If you have any questions, ask them. Do not keep yourself confused. Ask about particular things to look out for in each class.

- Emails are for simple questions. 7th block is more thorough.

- Be honest when asking for help.

- Ask about particular things to look out for in each class

- Ask about test content and homework grading (completion or accuracy)

Welcome, let’s have a great year at OCSA!

OCSA Clubs: What’s New?

Literature By Location 

Ava Almada (MT ‘22) and Elena Levin (IA ‘22) are two bibliophiles who want to encourage OCSA students to broaden their perspectives of the world through reading. 

As devoted readers, Almada and Levin couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with the lack of diversity in mainstream book discourse. “We wanted to form a community where we could share our own experiences with culture and apply that to our literature,” Almada shared. 

Levin hopes that her club can “cover a lot of different regions” and let members “choose what books they want to read.” To this, Almada added, “It’s like a little book club...we get to expand each other’s knowledge with our own.” 

Crochet for a Cause 

Skyla Jin (BCD ‘24) hopes to show that each stitch can go a long way with Crochet for a Cause.

“I decided to start my club to share my passion for crocheting with others, while simultaneously impacting our community,” said Jin. “[Our] main goal is to offer opportunities for volunteers to donate to charities relating to crocheting and provide an uplifting space for those of all levels to share their projects.” Whether you are a novice or expert in crocheting, Crochet for a Cause is a space to use your artistic skills to aid others.

Neuroscience for Well-Being 

Lisa Ordonez (IA ‘23) wants to explore the cross-section between biology and mental health through Neuroscience for Well-Being. 

A cultivated interest in a variety of topics, ranging from psychology to teaching, led Ordonez to start her club. Participating in OCSA’s TEDx event helped her realize that she loved sharing her passion for mental health with others. 

“I’m a total artist, but I’m also a total academic, STEM person,” said Ordonez. “I want to bridge those to teach people that [(neuroscience]) is applicable to all sorts of things… Just by practicing gratitude, you can really change your whole mindset.” 

The Recycling Dictionary 

Jiin Yun (CW ‘24) wants to promote environmentally conscious habits through The Recycling Dictionary, a club created from her growing awareness of her own environmental footprint.  

“During quarantine, I started to become more aware of how much trash I was producing. I started asking questions to myself like ‘“Where do I throw away my mask?’” and ‘“Are there items I could recycle?’", Yun shared. “I realized that not many people are informed about these topics and I wanted to address them with my clubmates.” 

Through The Recycling Dictionary, Yun envisions a greener future for OCSA and her community. 

Philippine Student Coalition 

One of Chamina Dormitorio (DM ‘22) and Dylan De Guzman’s (CW ‘22) biggest goals for their senior year is to revive the Philippine Student Coalition, or the "Koalisyon Ng Estudyante Pilipino, and raise awareness on Filipino culture and history. 

Despite the fresh start, the Philippine Student Coalition’s founding goal has stayed more or less the same. “We’re trying to connect members of the Filipino diaspora to their family and address the struggles that they are going through,” said Dormitorio. De Guzman added, “We’re also trying to connect back to our roots.” 

“I want to be able to provide a space across multiple grade levels and conservatories for Filipinos to come together,” De Guzman stated for their goals for the year. “I would like for people to build a community, and make a lasting impact.”

Juan: The Unsung Hero of After-School Cravings

Michael McDonald

Any OCSA student whose rehearsals or after-school extracurriculars have left them stranded at school until the later hours of the day knows the feeling: that nagging hunger that a snack from the vending machine just can’t seem to satiate. Santa Ana’s various restaurants and ‘hole-in-the-wall’ spots offer instagrammable and tasty solutions to this very problem, but they carry their own hosts of issues. So, what’s the solution?

The taco truck parked on the corner of Sycamore St. and Civic Center Dr. (known colloquially as La Chonita) has served the community of Santa Ana for the past 12 years. It’s proved to be a consistently delicious source of tacos, tortas, and other Mexican delicacies, all at amazing prices . “His tacos have become especially well known because of the smile he serves them with,” added student Valerie McCormick (IA ‘22) when asked about Juan’s popularity.

Most people can figure out what makes up the humble staple of his business: tacos. It starts with corn tortillas, then a choice of meat (slow-cooked chicken, beef, or pork carnitas) prepared by Juan’s wife, topped with onions, cilantro, and your choice of salsa. What most people don’t know, however, is what really goes into the tacos. “[They] have a secret ingredient. It is very simple: a lot of love.” He reaffirmed that it really is that simple, though it seems to be no easy feat to create a variety of products that serve a community of strangers and commoners alike in the way that Juan and his wife do. 

You might be wondering: How did Juan get into the taco business? Coming from a background in real estate, he and his wife saw a bit of a dry spell during the 2008 recession. They also “had a restaurant in downtown LA that, unfortunately, [they] had to let go,” so entering the food business again was a no-brainer. Juan and his wife resorted to what they know, setting up the taco truck here in Santa Ana and starting to serve the community. They took the challenging times on with determined smiles and persevering hearts, and they’ve been doing it ever since. It’s clear that being able to serve the community in some way has been a passion of his, whether it be selling houses or tasty food. 

Their dedication to the craft can be seen in the hours of toil and hard work that he and his wife put in day in and day out. “We get up at four in the morning and come to Santa Ana to park the truck,” he said. He added that his wife “prepares the meats and cooks everything” while he “puts ice and sodas and everything” in the truck to get to their spot on time at nine in the morning. With them only getting home at nine at night, it’s easy to see the amount of time and effort that goes into the fusion of flavors that is La Chonita. 

It’s hard work, but for Juan it’s impressively rewarding. His connection with the community, especially with OCSA students, sets him apart from the rest of the food vendors in the locality. He feels as though all the OCSA kids “are like family,” further saying he “loves everyone.” Thus, it was very difficult for them during the COVID-19 shutdown of the school which accounted for around 50 percent of their business. He said they “didn’t have work for three months last year… It was very difficult.” Apart from the fact that there simply wasn’t business, Juan lost out on the sense of community he normally got while selling food and drinks to the students. 

Juan is a beloved member of the Santa Ana community, and an unofficially adopted part of the OCSA family. He is also a symbol of tenacity, persevering through hard times and coming out at the end with a positive outlook. When asked if he had any final remarks, he said he wanted all of the OCSA students to know that they should “choose a career that loves [them],” not just something that makes good money. With many students being close with him, it’s clear that he sees them as family and wants nothing but the best for each and every one with them. At the end of the day, Juan makes his food honestly and with love, providing it to those who need it with a smile. It’s an amazing act of community, kindness, and service that he should be loved and appreciated for . In other words, let’s support Juan: the Unsung Hero of After-School Cravings.

An Analysis of Lorde’s Discography Over The Years

Aoife McEvoy

Ever since her breakout single “Royals” gained unprecedented fame in 2013, 24-year-old New Zealand native singer-songwriter Lorde has taken the music industry by storm. After becoming a musical force to be reckoned with at the ripe age of 16, Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, known as Lorde, has captivated audiences everywhere. For years, her breathtaking electro-pop accounts of growing up as a young woman have become a staple of her music career.

On her 2013 debut album “Pure Heroine,” she delivers an angsty, electric tale of rebellion and her teenage life. Nearing the end of the album on the track “A World Alone,” O’Connor reveals that she is still coming to terms with her newfound fame, her “fake friends,” and how she constantly feels like she is “in this world alone.” However, the track “Still Sane” exhibits Lorde’s brighter, more positive outlook on her new status, because although she feels as if she’s “not in the swing of things,” she’s showing no signs of slowing down. Her next album “Melodrama” topped the charts with 1.2 billion streams and many critics calling it her best work yet. “Melodrama” is a riveting, playful yet still melancholic depiction of the phases of heartbreak, and what it means to find yourself in your 20s. Throughout the album, O’Connor sings of late nights and reckless endeavors such as “cleaning up … champagne glasses” (Sober II) and closing her teeth around a “liquor wet lime,” (Sober) desperately using parties and fits of adrenaline to escape the emotions that lie beneath. Despite the glitz and glam of songs such as “Green Light” and “Sober,” there is an underlying theme of O’Connor longing to find herself amidst the shambles of a particularly painful breakup. The album is heartbreakingly relatable, riddled with poignant phrases, wistful piano chords and O’Connor’s hauntingly powerful voice. But in the end, it’s about self acceptance and finding yourself, as she reveals that she is slowly “letting go of little things” (Hard Feelings/Loveless) she was holding onto from her relationship. In her latest album “Solar Power,” Lorde takes a sharp turn away from her usual dark, grunge, techno-pop style and replaces it with a lighter, more airy tone. “Solar Power” is about her four-year hiatus in which she retreated to her homeland of New Zealand, took a break from technology, and began to free herself from her previous life. She develops a deep love and appreciation for nature, which is seen in tracks such as “Solar Power” and “Fallen Fruit,” and encourages her listeners to also take a step back and immerse themselves in the natural world. She tells her audience that she is leaving her once signature, goth/grunge rebellion vibe behind, stating that the “the cherry black lipstick's gathering dust in a drawer, I don't need her anymore.” (Oceanic Feeling) Simple guitar and whimisical vocal arrangements replace her once famed dark techno beats and ‘us against the world’ style lyrics as she gives us a sneak peak on the benefits of self-enlightenment. From edgy stories of teen rebellion to heart wrenching hymns of healing and bright, breezy odes to nature and life itself, Lorde continues to showcase her evolution as a person and represents the growth of all young women through her groundbreaking discography.

OCSA Fashionistas

Shayna Kaplan and Lauren Kim

Photos by Mia Soumbasakis

Ethnic Studies: A Necessary Addition to OCSA’s Curriculum

Jacqueline Blom, Mia Soumbasakis

Tonight, in Oakland by Danez Smith, Who Said It Was Simple by Audre Lorde, and Sure You Can Ask Me A Personal Question by Diane Burns are poems that wouldn’t usually be used to teach history at OCSA. After years of telling Black and indigenous history mainly from a white POV, it is refreshing to know that Ethnic Studies/Comparative Government, a new elective class taught by Lana Sawalha, involves writing that addresses the nuances of living a racialized experience in the United States, both in the past and present. Ethnic Studies is a course designed to “educate students to be politically, socially, and economically conscious,” open to 11th and 12th graders. According to Sawalha, this new course is “not just a class, it’s a way of life. It’s empowering and full of love… [focusing] on unveiling the oppression that marginalized groups carry and [giving] a voice to those individuals that have been silenced.” 

How did this class come to be? In May of 2020, Chamina Dormitorio (DM ‘22) proposed the idea of having an Ethnic Studies course at OCSA, hoping that it would become a graduation requirement. They created a document with more than ten pages of notes outlining the importance of the class and the content it would cover, and presented it to a teacher. When asked about their intentions with the class, Dormitorio said an important factor was “the way that OCSA kids tend to talk about Santa Ana and the people who live here... it’s kind of indicative of how uninformed they are about the socio-economic oppression that Latinx people undergo especially here in Southern California, in Orange County, which is primarily white [and] Republican.” 

Dormitorio continued that the way certain OCSA students speak about Santa Ana is “removed from the people and the culture around here,” and that “the only experience they have with Santa Ana is Fourth Street and that’s gentrified as heck.” In Dormitorio's mind, Ethnic Studies would be a course that would bring awareness to its students about how they fit in to the community their school is a part of. 

In June of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, the need for an Ethnic Studies class at OCSA became even more apparent. Students and faculty began to evaluate curriculum and understand the inherent violence in only showing and validating white authors and historical figures. At the end of the summer, Dormitorio was told that OCSA administration “[had] already started pursuing their own project for an Ethnic Studies class,” one that would not involve active student feedback as Dormitorio had anticipated. Although this was discouraging at first, the class did come into fruition, and its first couple months of classes have been a powerful new addition to the school.

Ms. Sawalha was excited to teach the class when the idea was proposed to her by administration. She teaches students to be aware of their intersectional identities in relation to how they “connect to local and national history” and hopes to hold engaging discussions in her class while following along with A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki. According to Ms. Sawalha, this book is “a wonderful and easy to read and follow adaptation of history through a multicultural lens.” 

A current student in Ethnic Studies, Andy Choi (CW ‘22) explains how the course “is a space where we [as students] can learn each other’s history, [to] talk about our shared struggles, form solidarity and really emphasize what it means to build power through unity and struggle across racial lines and other sorts of social divisions.” He stresses the power of education, and moreover the class’ potential to liberate its students so early in the school year. 

Ethnic Studies allows students to critically evaluate their own lives and how they play into the broader narrative of this country’s existence as a settler state, the constant exploitation of racialized peoples–both here and abroad–that allows the US to prosper, and the ways that oppression can be internalized and continued generationally. Students can use this class as a jumping off point to do tangible work in their communities and create solidarity in the face of systemic oppression. When given the context that OCSA is a school which brings in students largely of a racial and socioeconomic background that do not match Santa Ana, Ethnic Studies becomes even more necessary. Hopefully, this class will soon become a graduation requirement at OCSA.

Influencers’ Impact on OCSA Students

Rajsi Rana

To the world, celebrities are both the most admired and hated. To the average person, their day consists of being stalked by paparazzi, then returning to their mansions, all while wearing designer clothes. And yet, we are infatuated with these people who seem to be artificial. Influencers seem to be the opposite of this. They show their day-to-day lives in vlogs uploaded on Youtube, and they experience regular things: school, work, chores, and more. Many of them try to be “raw and real” in their videos, which often translates into filming mundane things, posting them on social media or Youtube, and getting thousands of views and likes.

Influencers quickly rose to fame when social media became more popular. Between 2005-2010, as Youtube and Instagram were attracting more and more users every day, teenagers quickly realized that their dreams of becoming famous could become reality much faster. Filming videos and editing them in their own rooms was a much easier way to achieve their goals. One such teenager was Bethany Mota.

After creating her Youtube Chanel in 2009, the 14-year-old was gaining more and more attention for her videos featuring her morning and night routines, clothing hauls, and fashion videos. She now has millions of subscribers. Her choice as a teenager to post a youtube video has launched her career as an influencer, singer, and businesswoman.

Emma Chamberlain, who gained popularity in 2017, is one of the youngest and most popular influencers with more than 13 million followers on Instagram and more than 10 million subscribers on Youtube, is well known for posting relatable videos. The video clips consist of her doing regular, everyday things, such as grocery shopping, cooking, going on walks, and feeding her cats. To many people, she does not do anything differently than everyone else. 

Yet, her self-made title as an influencer is truly upheld through her actions. Her clothing decisions have set trends: one of the most notable being the puffy brown jacket, which could be seen across campus on OCSA students. Audio clips from her podcast are often reposted on TikTok, where they go viral. Her mindset and style influence thousands of young people every day.

In addition to that, Chamberlain also often discusses mental health on her platforms, which can emotionally support her viewers who struggle with the same things she does. 

Mental health is one of the most significant topics that influencers advocate for and speak on. This has led to multiple mental health practices becoming more trendy and well-known. Hobbies such as journaling, exercises like yoga and going on walks, and creatively expressing yourself through art are all discussed and done by influencers. Many viral TikToks feature routines which include a few, if not all of these activities.

Often, influencers portray themselves as down-to-earth individuals with whom we can find similarities. Although this can help many students with their struggles, it can also lead to harmful things becoming a trend. 

During this past summer, one popular trend which many influencers participated in was “clothing hauls.” With the pandemic, everyone began to spend more time online than ever before, including online shopping. Online stores such as Shein became very popular because of their cheap cost and widespread popularity by influencers. Many would post Shein clothing hauls, where they showed off the numerous clothes purchased for hundreds of dollars. This led to followers and viewers purchasing a large number of clothes as well.

Although the specificities of Shein’s business practices, including its labor policies, have not been officially disclosed to consumers, many active users on TikTok speculate that in order to keep up with trends at their fast pace, unethical practices are performed in their clothing factories, such as using child labor. 

Many high school students, with limited money to spend on clothes, buy from Shein. Although this is unavoidable in itself, influencers who promote overbuying and overspending are not helping the matter, as they make it seem “cool” to do so.

Influencers impact our generation's clothing, mindset and slang. OCSA students around campus wear clothes that have become trendy and fashionable by influencers, have ideas and goals first suggested to them by influencers, and say expressions coined by influencers.

The Spotlight: For Crying Out Loud Slam Poetry Team

Jessica Hong

For years, OCSA has had a history of being part of the slam poetry culture. Its notable OC Ryse teams and unparalleled performances students bring to the center of the stage are almost never unheard of. But this year, another team has begun to merge to the spotlight, a team dedicated to practicing slams with hard-working spirit and a deep love for slam poetry: The For Crying Out Loud Slam Poetry Team.

On a Friday afternoon in August, OCSA’s first slam poetry team officially started their first meeting. The For Crying Out Loud Team is a welcoming space where students from all conservatories could join and practice for slam competition season in the spring. Currently, students are practicing with the classical response model in slam poetry where they take an already published classic poem and perform a response to the specific poem. Through simulating performances and nurturing the skills of the team’s 33 members, the team is motivated and ready to practice for possible slam competition season in the spring and simply enjoy the emotional delivery slam poetry has to an audience. 

The founder and president of the For Crying Out Loud team, Elora Sparnicht (CW ‘23), loves slam poetry for the honesty and intensity speakers share during their performances. She enjoys how in slam poetry, she gets to express herself out and “expose [her] heart to an audience because it needs vulnerability.” Elora believes that starting this team will not only help members practice for slam competition season in the spring, “but it [will] also foster a strong sense of bonding between members and community.” 

Currently, excitement is the dominant emotion to describe Elora’s feelings about the team. She believes that the work ethic on the team is exceptional and knows from her heart that the team “could be a powerhouse” in future slam competitions through diligent practice. 

During their first meeting, members were introduced to a series of techniques by the team’s advisor, Ducksoon Walcutt, to help them perform slam poetry. With Walcutt’s experience of being an OCSA Voice Movement and yoga teacher, she introduces members to techniques such as yoga nidra to help them relax and help them focus more on practice. “[Yoga nidra] is a way for students to breathe and rotate their consciousness,” Walcutt explains. She says through breathing, the technique allows students’ “minds to connect with [their] hearts and it helps with performance because of the intense focus it brings.” “And once the mind and heart connect,” she says, “you are more prepared to tell the world what you want to say with your authentic voice and true expression.” 

Leo Lai (CW ‘24) is a current sophomore on the team. For him, slam poetry is a medium for him to share his emotions with his audience. His initial interest was sparked through a performance short story class in his conservatory, as he likes the aspects of performing his writing. As he joined the For Crying Out Loud team, his interest turned into a special love for slam poetry. He adds how he enjoys seeing the reactions of his audience and the feedback he gets from his peers. He says, “I believe that if you share your work with others, it will help you grow as a writer.”

Dylan de Guzman (CW ‘22), is one of the four seniors in the For Crying Out Poetry Team. They say that they started getting interested in slam poetry when they attended their first class in sophomore year, taught by conservatory teacher, Marcus Omari. By participating in slam poetry competitions such as OC Ryse, they realized that they wanted to continue performing slam poetry. 

During their performances, Dylan explains how they’re “getting the zone, like the movie Soul.” They say, “Whenever I’m performing, I’m literally there, focusing on myself. I’m feeling every word that comes out of my mouth, every move my body makes. And usually, when I’m finished with my performance, I go down the stage and think with relief how ‘I just did that.’”

COVID-19 Takes a Toll on OCSA

Elena Levin, Celeste Valadez

With the 2021-2022 school year well underway, students and staff have expressed their excitement to be back after an entire year of online learning. However, it's no secret that COVID-19 cases have recently been increasing state-wide. On a more relevant level, several questions have been raised concerning how OCSA administration has been approaching COVID cases. How well is OCSA dealing with reported cases? How do they affect those who have tested positive? Should students and staff be concerned? 

The procedures affect everyone, from directly impacted students to teachers and surrounding classmates. The most recent administration notification of a reported COVID-19 case was August 26; as there has been no further notification of any reported cases, many individuals at OCSA are in a state of apprehensiveness in regards to their health. 

After a student tests positive for COVID-19, their first task is to develop an action plan to conquer the next 10 days spent at home. Yet, a common experience for many students is radio silence following emails to their teachers, rendering them incapable of completing the bulk of their assignments. One senior expressed their frustration with this lack of response: “I didn’t really mind that much, in terms of checking in, but I wanted them to respond so I could know if there would be any extensions or anything they could accommodate for.”

For students to catch up with their coursework, teachers must be prepared to support them. Overall, distance learning last year helped teachers provide online resources and mechanisms for their students to complete work more efficiently. Therefore, one teacher emphasized how having “everything largely digital will help implement an action plan whenever needed.”

For most students, the return to school tends to cause more stress than their initial isolation. Whether it be coping with feelings of guilt and skepticism regarding whether or not their return is warranted, or tackling an avalanche of makeup assignments, the difficulty should not be underestimated. “I felt like I should have stayed home longer than I did because I was worried about spreading [COVID]... So, it was kind of like a social pressure of wanting to stay home and feeling bad but needing to go to school.” 

The Trials and Tribulations of Straight Boys at OCSA

Natalie Hanani

When you see them outside of OCSA, you probably don’t bat an eye. They are a seemingly normal group of people, but within the walls of an arts high school armed with rainbow flag patches on denim jackets and platform combat boots, they appear to be an anomaly. They are straight boys. Usually identifiable in packs, the straight boys at OCSA have a tight bond woven together by the threads of decadent silver jewelry and rap music spilling from their airpods. 

If you ask straight girls at OCSA, many will say the same things: “All the guys here are full of themselves”; “Everyone here is gay or taken”; “Why do the straight couples literally breed in the hallway?” Many non-men feel like the straight boys at OCSA have an easier time dating and rising on the social ladder due their smaller population when compared to the abundance of girls. But is this true? I set out on a journey to find out what the real experiences are of straight boys at OCSA from their points of view. 

One of the first boys I talked to admitted that his experience at OCSA as a straight boy wasn’t as positive as many people might think: “I didn’t really have a lot of friends freshman year, but I was getting a lot of attention from girls. I think that is a weird experience that’s very unique to OCSA: straight guys who aren’t very confident, who don’t have many friends, who are just kind of alone, but they get a lot of attention from girls.” According to him, this has a negative effect on many guys’ self esteems: “I think that does something weird to your confidence level, because you feel a weird level of confidence, but you also don’t have many friends, so you’re also not confident...I feel like straight guys at OCSA could probably relate to that.”

Concerning the unbalanced gender ratio at OCSA, another boy told me, “I am friends with just as many girls as guys; probably more girls. When I’m hanging out with my friends here, and friends from other schools snapchat me saying, ‘Are you really hanging out with girls?’ I’m like, ‘They’re really just my friends.’ You don’t understand how you don’t really have any other choice because there are less guys at the school...They’re just confused as to why I’m friends with more girls than guys.” About dating culture, he said “A lot of times you don’t date at this school.”

As far as “straight boy culture” at OCSA, which many might perceive as giving way to sexist dialogues, one student reassured me, “There’s nothing really like locker room talk here; There’s no space where straight guys are hashing it out and being misogynistic. It’s more on an individual level and how they treat women,” while another claims “Honestly, [it occurs] less than regular high school. Because we’re around so many other people of other preferences that we cannot assume, and locker room talk honestly is frowned down upon. I frown down upon locker room talk. I think it’s misogynistic and terrible and I think at OCSA it’s more frowned upon than other schools. We talk about crushes and stuff, but besides that nothing...We really grew up around girls and we see them as siblings, friends, [and] family.” 

Compared to the regular high school’s cultural landscape, OCSA clearly offers a different experience for straight males who exist in a world that more often than not pertains to their demographics. Obviously, no high school gender ratio can diminish the inherent background noise of sexism that echoes through all American institutions, but there is something to be said about the benefits that come with a less structured dynamic between boys and girls within high school campuses. As one boy put it, “At OCSA, sometimes you can start off a certain way, but you grow to be something completely different.”

Imposter

Melody Wu

Senioritis

Emma Han

I don’t feel qualified to be writing “Senioritis.” Call it denial, but I refuse to believe that I’m a senior. It simply can’t be. I swear I was a sophomore some 10 days ago—I sure still look like one. Maybe I missed the memo, but everyone I know has either done an Uno-Reverse on their fashion sense or chopped off all their hair—or both—over quarantine while I’ve unfortunately returned back to my middle school bob and regretfully report that I'm still the shortest person I know (for reference, I’m 5’ 1”). It doesn’t help that people still confuse me for a middle schooler. Oh to be a senior, am I right?

Despite senior year starting out rough, unlike past graduating classes, ‘22 is lucky to get a semi-normal year. It’s nice getting the chance to experience the traditional senior festivities, our high school “lasts,” and be around actual people for a change. It’s funny, though. With this final year being anticipated since the start of our education, I honestly don’t know what I expected. Hysterical fanfare, a parade in our honor, teachers forsaking all homework… maybe. And as an OCSA student since seventh grade, it’s bittersweet and nostalgic seeing all these middle schoolers pass me in the halls. I'm practically a walking fossil amongst them. 

But with the occasional COVID-19 Dashboard updates from administration, a school closure has been looking like a possibility; I must confess, I don’t think I would mind that all that much. Senioritis was inevitable—who are we kidding—but it’s hitting much harder than expected. After enduring 30 minute syllabus run-throughs and AP Government lectures, my Zoom habits are really starting to show. I used to run off eating food, scroll on my phone, and take full power naps, all with my camera off. At school, now I’m both snack-and-sleep-deprived, Tiktok-less, and my low-attention span just can’t take it anymore! By the sound of the starting bell, it already feels like a long day. 

To top it all off, senior year isn’t senior year without the college-talk. As much as I’ve been neglecting college apps and thinking over “the future”—whatever that means—Senior Naviance really called me out (and yes dear readers, adults really can talk about “life after high school” even more than they already do). With Ms. Vance-Freeland going through the usual A through G requirements and Mrs. McCann giving the do’s and don'ts of letters of rec, it’s obvious to say I’m just a tad bit overwhelmed. 

But, I’m sure I’m not alone. Whether you’ve already created your color-coded college spreadsheets or haven’t even made a Common App account, we’re all in the same boat. We’re just a mess of sleep-deprived, stressed seniors trying and failing to simply get through this semester. But know that you’ll make it out alive. I promise. 

Let’s just take things day by day. Even though we may constantly be stressed, we can still devote the time to have fun. Take a mental health day, hang with your friends, sit outside and enjoy the sun. We shouldn't feel the need to put that consuming pressure on ourselves. College is not worth your sanity; or so people say. 

And hopefully, by the time this issue comes out, I'll have gotten a hold of the reins of senior year and taken my own advice. Future Emma, go listen to yourself and make me proud!                                                                                                                                                                 

Horoscopes

Melody Chang

Art by Lauren Kim