THE KNIGHT TIMES Special Digital Magazine Edition | Spring 2020 Volume 4, Issue #4 How COVID 19 took away the 2019-2020 school year Also in this Issue What if the year never ended? Table of Contents STAFF BOX India Bown’20 Editor’s Note - Page 1 Editor-In-Chief Kat Huynh ‘20 !e New Norm: How COVID 19 Changed Our Digital Editor-In-Chief School and Society - Page 2 Auden Meyer ‘22 A Quotidian Life in Quarantine: A Student’s Per- Managing Editor spective with Remote Learding - Page 4 Brenda Jovel ‘20 Lead Writer Life in Quarantine - Page 5 Staff School News - Page 9 - 13 Silvy Atajyan ‘20 Victoria Banuelos ‘20 Hannah Cabonce-Smith ‘20 SOCES Scores in Latest US NEWS REPORT - Paolo Duarte ‘20 Page 8 Alex Estrada ‘20 Andrew Gerbs ‘20 Student Spotlight: Tequilla Mockingbird - Page 14 Taliya Giventer ‘20 Jared Horn ‘20 Julie Kartashyan ‘20 Student Spotlight: Sunny Cai - Page 17 Arman Khachatryan ‘20 Robert Makaryan ‘20 What If? Imagining the semester that could have Leana Mata ‘20 been. - page 19 Amber Mejia ‘20 David Newman ‘20 Nautika Osuna ‘20 What If - Dance Production - Page 20 Lucy Pogosian ‘20 Kenneth Rasmussen ‘20 What If - Choir and Band - Page 21 Melissa Rodriguez-Mendoza ‘20 Dylan Ross ‘20 Zachary Schwinger ‘20 What If - Dance - Page 22 Gabriella Suarez ‘20 Marco Zepeda ‘20 What If - Spring Sports Pages 23-27 Melanie Alajadjyan ‘21 Mariam Azizyan ‘21 What If - Prom - Page 28 Geena Chernyak ‘21 Sabrina Guedalia ‘21 Chris Raya ‘21 Entertainment - Pages 29 - 32 Susan Simonyan ‘21 Zoe Howes ‘21 Rown Lambert ‘22 Alex Kohm ‘23 NEXT ISSUE... Nish Khandaker ‘23 Harnoor Khandpur ‘23 Rown Lambert ‘22 * Final issue of the year Ripsme Margaryan ‘23 * Tribute to the seniors Karina Matevosyan ‘23 * Seniors say goodbye Sam Arian ‘23 * Year in Review Consulting Editors Kayla Gerardo * Best of 2019-2020 Olga Kushnirovich * Farewell to Mr. Price Giordana Zavolta Editor’s Note This is a special edition of the Knight Times. Just like the many SOCES programs, the media class was not immune from the quarantine’s impact. Being forced to separate and work from home made the newspaper is like a car engine. There are multiple moving parts that are all interacting simultaneously, and when we are apart, our engine that runs our class stalls. If you factor in only meeting one hour per week in virtual space, putting together this issue has had its challenges. This is why it’s a little late in its release. This is our second attempt at a digital issue this year. It’s our attempt to be green and reduce the waste of paper, as well as to cut cost. Our original plan was to issue - our tribute to the senior class. Sadly, due to the Editor-In-Chief we intended. Instead it will be digital like this one. our outgoing graduating Editor-In-Chief India Bown. India has done a fantastic job this year in leading the As this year is coming to an end, I re"ect on the class. The fourth estate is the voice of the people and beginning of freshman year when I #rst joined essential in maintaining democracy. I’m so proud of journalism. On a whim I decided to change how India has worked to maintain this essential truth at electives because I knew writing was a passion SOCES. I also want to acknowledge Kat Huynh who of mine. It was one of the best decisions I could has done tremendous job spearheading our growing make during high school. I didn’t know how to digital platforms. Both ladies have been with the pro- write a newspaper article, but all I remember gram all four years of high school. It will be sad to say was putting in my best e$ort in my work, tak- goodbye to them, and their contributions will be greatly ing notes from editors, and o$ering to do more. missed. When it was announced that I’d be an editor the Next month a group of new editors will take over next year, I was not only surprised, but extreme- the newspaper. We all hope we will return to SOCES ly grateful. I want to thank Mr. Pak for always in August, and we can once again report the news of our community. In the mean time, we hope you will believing in me and pushing me to be better. enjoy this issue. Be safe and stay healthy. !e last four years have been stressful, but it only strengthened my writing and design skills. - Mr. Pak, Journalism Advisor I found a love for news and I’m so happy I got to #nish o$ this year in media class. Hope you enjoy this issue. !ank you all. -India Bown ‘20, Editor-In-Chief 1 WELCOME TO THE NEW NORM COVID - 19 changed our schools and society...and it may stay this way for the unforeseable future. 2 While the remote learning has been able to allow students to Six weeks ago the lives of the SOCES community were in continue their education, it can not replace their experience the middle of the spring semester. Teachers were preparing of attending school. to submit their ten week grades. AP students were getting “I’m pretty bummed about losing the spring semester,” ready for AP exams. Spring sports were just getting started. shared Arancibia. “!ere were some events I was de#nitely !e senior picnic was about to happen. !e theater depart- looking foreword to like the basketball game. Mostly, I just ment was about to present their spring production. Dance miss being with my friends. It’s almost summer vacation and production was getting ready to put on their annual show. usually everyone is getting excited the school year is almost Students were planning promposals. Graduation plans were over and starting to make plans over summer but now it beginning. looks like none of that is going to happen so it’s a little disap- And in a matter of days, it was all taken away because of pointing.” COVID 19. Unfortunately, many academic institutions have already Six weeks later all that’s le% are broken plans and shat- discussed the possibility of being forced to continue remote tered dreams. Our way of life has been turned inside out. learning in the fall. Some universities have already an- Shelter-in-place rules have shut down society as we know nounced that they will only o$er online classes in the fall. it. Dwindling If the pandemic is supplies have not over and social le% our markets distancing orders are bare of essential still in place, schools items. Hundreds might turn to rotat- of thousands of ing attendance. !is Americans have means some students lost their jobs and might continue online small businesses education while others are barely staying will return to school a"oat while or possibly take turns many are closing. attending school. !is !e economic would be a great experi- devastation has ment and many dis- our country spi- tricts across the country raling towards a will be spending all possible #nancial summer planning for catastrophe that a fall semester with many experts say COVID 19. will take years for While having many the country to months to prepare for recover from. SeniorMelanie Garcia lost the best part of senior year due to the a fall semester during a All of these pandemic that shut down LAUSD schools. pandemic will certainly changes have le% be better than having to many Americans suspend school suddenly shocked, bewildered, and depressed. this spring, there will still be many problems to address. How !e SOCES community isn’t immune from these feelings will sports happen? How will creative arts students in band, and emotions. choir, and drama be able to perform? How will next year’s “At #rst I didn’t think it was a big deal but as things got senior class be able to fundraise? Where will the funding more serious it also got more scary because this whole situ- come from? ation was so new to us and everything is so uncertain,” said Despite all the questions about the future, one thing is sophomore Gracie Arancibia. clear. LAUSD Superintendent Austen Beutner has stated that Since the middle of March, SOCES has been engaged in the safety of the students and the school employees is the remote learning. While the transition has not been smooth, district’s top priority and schools will not resume until the SOCES has been credited with being one of the best schools government says it is safe to do so. in how they were able to launch their online classes. Still, the move to remote learning for teachers, students, and parents has been stressful and has reated consternation for all. “Remote learning is easy enough to navigate however it is hard to keep on top of the work and workload and when things are due,” said sohomore Josh Blank. 3 EDITORIAL A Quotidian Life in Quarantine By Auden Meyer ‘22 Incoming Editor-In-Chief Auden Meyer shares her perspective about the experience of remote online learning and life in quarantine. “Prediction: In 9 months there will be a minor baby ing Algebra 2 on top of my regular math class, plus my boom and in 2033 we will witness the rise of the Quar- language class that I do outside of school. !en, I try anTEENS.” According to the United Nations World to work out once a day and leave enough time to play a Population Prospects 2019, adolescents aged 13 - 19 couple rounds of my favorite video game, Town of Sa- make up about 11.1% of the world’s population this lem.