What’s going on around samo?
The Gravity of the Great Shakeout Drill
Manny Manzur (’27) / Contributor
Samo students [from left to right] Lucas White (’26), Landon De Regil (’26) and Jake Levin (’26) sit around in a circle playing card games on the Samo football field during the Great Shakeout drill on Oct. 16.
On Oct. 16, the annual Great ShakeOut drill was held at Samo at 10:16 a.m. The Great ShakeOut drill is a statewide drill done to prepare students and school staff for any potential earthquake. Earthquakes are common in California, with southern California experiencing about ten thousand earthquakes a year, according to the United States Geological Survey.
In an article published in the Seismological Research Letters by scientists at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, professor of Earth Sciences Yeduha Ben-Zion proposes that preparing for supershear earthquakes has been neglected.
“While California is no more likely to have supershear earthquakes than other, similar regions with large fault systems like the San Andreas, the threat has gone unnoticed for too long. The frequency of these supershear ruptures has been greatly underappreciated,” Ben-Zion said.
Supershear earthquakes are a type of earthquake where the ruptures they create are quicker than their seismic shearwaves. When they pass their seismic waves, it generates explosive waves that are often compared to a sonic boom. The shaking caused by supershear earthquakes is typically spread farther and is more intense, and can lead to danger-
ous situations.
Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, has stated that he believes the Great ShakeOut drill may lead to fewer deaths during earthquakes.
“When it comes to earthquakes, practice makes perfect and seconds can save lives,” Newsom said.
The American Red Cross nonprofit organization agrees with him, seeing the drill as a good way to keep people safe.
“This annual event brings together millions of people worldwide to practice life-saving safety measures for earthquakes. While earthquakes cannot be predicted, preparation is key to minimizing harm. Participating in the Great ShakeOut is a simple yet effective way to practice essential safety actions,” the American Red Cross said on its website.
The potential for these extra-strong earthquakes is all the more reason drills like the Great ShakeOut are important for schools to have. Samo student Jayd Campbell (’29) finds the drill helpful, as it helps her feel better prepared for if an earthquake were to occur.
“I really love the Great ShakeOut because I think it’s really important for safety reasons, so people know what to do in case of emergencies. It makes me feel safer because
California is a state where we do get a lot of unexpected earthquakes. It gives me a sense of security,” Campbell said.
While supershear earthquakes are potentially a risk to the residents of California, the Great ShakeOut is a way to help students prepare for when one may strike.
Former Student Returns to teach at samo
Jasson Martinez (’19), a former Samo student, has returned this school year to Samo to work as an Algebra 1 and 2 teacher. After 6 years away from Samo, he was eager to get back. Martinez had seen himself coming to work at Samo since he graduated from the school.
“I wanted to always come back to Samo one way or another. It didn’t matter for me what kind of job I did. I realized I was leaning towards teaching, so I made a promise to myself that if I completed my teaching degree, then I would try to go back to Santa Monica High School. [What drew me back] had to be the community and how socially acceptable we as a community are,” Martinez said
Quinn Forssell / Contributor
Samo was a source of community for Martinez while he was a student, and he wants to help cultivate that experience for the next generation. The diversity and acceptance that Samo has were and are important to him, and he hopes to bring that with him into his classroom and three clubs. Martinez specifically wants to follow in the footsteps of his own previous algebra teacher, Ramon Veral. Martinez hopes to be what Veral was to him for his students and support those in his class.
“He was my math teacher, who was Latino, who showed me that it was possible to do it. So that’s what gave me a bit of inspiration as well, to want to become a teacher. I want to be there for students,” Martinez said.
Martinez seems to be doing what he set out to do, according to Bailey Labrie (’28), one of
his students.
“[Martinez] is a young teacher, so he can connect more with the students, and that’s really helpful. He knows how the school works and how other people are. He’s also very supportive. He gives me a lot of help if I ask. If [students] get a bad score on a test or a quiz, he’ll come around and help us out. He’s a very chill teacher,” Labrie said.
During her time in his second period, Labrie has found Martinez’s class to be a place of support and help, as he hoped to make it. His status as a former Samo student has also made Martinez easier for Labrie to relate with, as he understands the student experience. Martinez seems to be meeting the goals he has set for himself as a Samo teacher, successfully bringing support to his students through his relatability as a Samo alum, just as he felt supported during his time here.
No kings protest takes place at Palisades park
A No Kings protest took place in Santa Monica at Palisades Park on Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., following the original back in June. The mission statement, or manifesto, of the No Kings Movement states that they are against those in power not being held accountable or checked, and that they will not stay quiet. According to the No Kings Movement website,
“We stand against unchecked power. We defend democracy. We reject billionaire control. We hold leaders accountable. We take action. We will not be silenced.”
Quinn Forssell / The Samohi
Protesters crowd the Santa Monica streets by Palisades Park during the No Kings Protest on Oct. 18, holding an array of posters expressing their views on the Trump administration.
The Santa Monica protest was one of over two thousand No Kings protests across the globe, which totaled a little under 7 million participants. While the number of people who attended the Santa Monica protest is not known, the Palisades Park was packed with people. Attendees brought drums and led chants, and some participants showed up in inflatable costumes, dressed as animals like chickens, ducks and unicorns. People of all different ages were present, including Samo alumni and multiple current students. such as Finn O’Brien (’28).
“There were definitely people from all walks of life. There were a lot of very cool posters. It was pretty enjoyable overall,” O’Brien said.
Another Samo student, Juliette Tabesh (’28), was there to fight against the current restrictions on abortion.
“I’m definitely passionate about abortion issues. As a woman, if I had to deal with that, it’d be my worst nightmare. I haven’t personally felt anything super important in my life change, but I know that for a lot of people that isn’t true, and I have the opportunity to go to these protests and to speak my opinion, and that’s important.” Tabesh said.
Tabesh wants to protest to have her voice heard, and finds doing so to be valuable, as not everyone has the privilege or ability to do the same. O’Brien, on the other hand, was there to protest against President Trump’s approach to the judicial system.
“I was protesting how Donald Trump has been ignoring court mandates and the rulings of the Supreme Court, and how he’s trying to block people’s ability to due process. If anyone is affected by the loss of due process, everyone could be,” O’Brien said.
They want these things to change, and for many, protesting is a way of trying to insight that.
No date has been set for the next No Kings protest, if another is to occur.