Student opens fire at Saugus High School
Atmika Iyer, Co editor-in-chief
November 15, 2019
A student at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita opened fire at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14. Two students were killed and three were injured, according to the Associated Press. The gunman shot himself and was hospitalized as well. The 16-year-old gunman came to school with a .45 caliber semi-automatic...
Changes made to ACT
Blake Hanlon, Staff Photographer
November 4, 2019
Three changes to the ACT are coming next year that could change the entire process of college entrance exams. These changes are, allowing students to test on individual sections, superscores and the ability to take the test on a computer. The changes are scheduled to take place beginning Septembe...
Advanced Peer Counseling organizes mental health awareness event
Loren Yona, Digital Features Editor
November 4, 2019
In an attempt to raise awareness about mental health, Advanced Peer Counseling organized a campus-wide event during the week of Oct. 4. Senior Megan Johnson and junior Amber Arquilevich, alongside Oak Park High School counselors Janet Svoboda and Julie Ross, played key roles in organizing this even...
OPHS students partake in national climate strike
Loren Yona and Lucy Anne Heine-Van Fossen
November 4, 2019
Keeping pace with Greta Thunberg’s climate change activism, schools all over the world walked out of class to bring attention to the growing climate change crisis. Thunberg’s activism began in August 2018, leading to the growing #FridaysforFuture movement. She soon gained international recogniti...
Students advocate for new policy
Sam Barney-Gibbs and Preston Green
November 4, 2019
Two stress fractures and deep compartmental syndrome developed in the legs of junior Jordan Julius after two years of participating in cross country and track. After months of rehabilitation strategies and many specialist doctors, nothing changed. In an interview, Julius shared that she, along with many other s...
New senior activity to replace Life Skills retreat
Felipe Andrade and Havi Rubenfeld
November 4, 2019
In place of the traditional Life Skills retreat, Oak Park High School seniors will be given the opportunity to participate in a new one-day “retreat” in January of 2020. After several conflicts arose with the previous overnight retreat that prevented the Oak Park faculty from administering it,...
California working to lower the voting age to 17
Juliette Setudeh-Nejad and Brooke Yungfleisch
November 4, 2019
Assembly Constitutional Amendment Eight (ACA-8) is a new proposal that would allow 17-year-old residents of California to vote in all state elections. (ACA-8) passed in the state Assembly on Aug. 26 and is now in the Senate waiting for a vote. Currently, the 26th Amendment in the Constitution gives citizen...
U.S. History trip being planned
Bailey Andera, Features Editor
November 4, 2019
Independent study teacher Kellie Gross, in collaboration with Education Foundation Tours, is working to bring a custom U.S. History tour to the students of Oak Park High School, which will be held over spring break. Planned to last about a week, the trip will be open to all high school grade leve...
Oak Park mother accused of felony offences
Emily Francis and Lucy Heine-Van Fossen
November 3, 2019
An Oak Park mother has been accused of committing lewd acts upon a minor, oral copulation of a person under 16, furnishing marijuana to minors over 14, and maintaining a place for selling or using controlled substances. On here arraignment on Oct. 25, she pleaded not guilty on all accusations. Superi...
Californian residents lose power in PG&E and SCE outages
Shoshana Medved and Emily Francis
November 1, 2019
Over 2.3 million people lost electricity in Northern California on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 26, becoming the biggest outage in PG&E history. Two days later, more blackouts occurred in Southern California, affecting approximately 25,0000 customers. Utility companies PG&E and Southern Cali...
Teacher turned TikTok star
Sam Barney-Gibbs, Ombudsman
November 1, 2019
“Look, I’m embarrassing the children,” she said with a smile on her face and a thumbs-up, surrounded by her supportive students. Science department chair and teacher Winnie Litten uploaded her first video on the popular social media platform TikTok, a video that has exceeded 12,500 views. Her...
“Mamma Mia!” debuts as OPHS fall musical
Havi Rubenfeld and Brooke Yungfleisch
November 1, 2019
Here we go, again! Musical season has arrived for the Oak Park High School Drama Department as they debut their first performance of the 2019-20 school year with “Mamma Mia!” on Oct. 24, 25 and 26. The show, directed by Allan Hunt, with music direction by Heidi Cissell and choreography from Casey...