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The legacy of Akira Toriyama

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by Nicholas Naglieri

Akira Toriyama was a visionary Japanese manga artist who is celebrated for creating the beloved series, Dragon Ball, which has captivated audiences worldwide. This news report commemorates the life and legacy of Akira Toriyama, highlighting his profound influence on the manga industry and global pop culture, following his recent passing.

Toriyama was born on April 5, 1955, in Nagoya, Japan and passed away on March 1, 2024. Toriyama spent most of his life in Japan, where he developed his passion for manga and crafted the fantastical world of Dragon Ball. The report aims to honor Toriyama’s contributions to manga and reflect on the enduring impact of his work, even after his passing.

The news of Akira Toriyama’s passing has sent shockwaves through the manga community, with fans and fellow artists alike expressing their condolences and sharing fond memories of his work. Tributes pour in from around the globe, underscoring the profound impact Toriyama had on shaping the landscape of manga and inspiring generations of creators.

Though he may no longer be with us, his legacy will continue to shine brightly through the enduring legacy of Dragon Ball and his many other works. Toriyama breathed life into the world of manga with his unparalleled creativity and boundless imagination. His journey from aspiring artist to global phenomenon has left an indelible mark on the industry and touched the hearts of millions.

Toriyama’s rise to fame came in the 1980s with the debut of Dragon Ball, a groundbreaking manga series that captured the imagination of readers worldwide. Set in a vibrant world teeming with martial arts, mythical creatures, and epic battles, Dragon Ball became an instant classic, spawning multiple adaptations and earning Toriyama a devoted fanbase.

Throughout his illustrious career, Toriyama remained dedicated to his craft, producing a wealth of beloved manga and providing creative input for various projects. His distinctive art style and innovative storytelling techniques set him apart as a true pioneer of the genre, inspiring generations of artists and storytellers to follow in his footsteps.

As news of Toriyama’s passing reverberates throughout the manga community, fans around the world come together to celebrate his life and legacy. From his humble beginnings in Nagoya to his meteoric rise to fame, Toriyama’s impact on the world of manga and entertainment is undeniable.

While Toriyama may no longer be with us, his spirit lives on through the timeless characters and captivating stories he created. From Goku’s indomitable spirit to Vegeta’s relentless determination, Toriyama’s characters continue to inspire and resonate with audiences of all ages.

As the manga world bids farewell to one of its greatest pioneers, we remember Akira Toriyama not only for his artistic brilliance but also for the joy and wonder he brought into our lives. Though he may be gone, his legacy will endure, ensuring that his contributions to manga and pop culture will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace, Toriyama-sensei.

Wrestling Team Interviews

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(Photo by Phillip Jones, Patterson Press)

by Phillip Jones

The Patterson wrestling team had a great season this school year. To learn more about what drives the team, the Patterson Press sat down with wrestling Coach Andrews and wrestler Angel. Here is what they had to say:

Coach Andrews

What inspired you to coach the team?

Being a former Patterson varsity wrestler, I’ve seen over the years that many of the wrestlers did not have the technique needed to compete. To be honest, I was not concerned with my impact on the young people being taught to compete at first.

How did you prepare the team?

Preparing the wrestling team has to be ongoing, meaning constant communication and building a relationship between the coach and a wrestler. It’s not just in school; communicating with the parents/guardians and building trust in the key.

How do you feel about your team’s progress?

Progress has been improving since becoming the head coach in 2019. Now, in the 23-24 season, the wrestling program is starting to peak. We now have athletes that are placing in the regional tournaments. Also, the city tournament next year will be exclusive to those who really buy into the coaching.

How much experience do you have with wrestling?

I started wrestling in the eighth grade, from there going to Patterson High School. I made the team as a 10th grader because I was getting better and learning from great coaches. Many of the leaders of the team during the ’80 to ’83 seasons built up the strength of the team and understood Patterson Pride. Helping for all the years going to coaching clinics and competing, I have well over 15 years.

What were your best and worst years?

My worst year was 2019-2020. COVID shut everything down that year. My recruiting list was 179 males and [it was tough] not knowing what the outcome would’ve been. By far my best year was 2022-2023. We had five wrestlers and a winning percentage as individuals. It lets me know we can compete anywhere at the high school level.

Angel (Patterson wrestler)

Who is your biggest motivation?

My biggest inspiration is Coach Andrews. He pushed me to be a greater person.

What do you want to work on?

I want to work on obtaining a degree in engineering.

What did you nail this year that you didn’t last year?

This season I was more [well] rounded, having only lost once. I limited my technique to a handful [of moves], unlike last year where I would get confused and fall short.

How did you feel about your second year?

I feel like I did as much as I could this year with everything I’ve learned.

What’s your favorite wrestling move?

I personally don’t have a favorite move or set up, I take what I learned from all 3 styles of wrestling.

(Photos by Phillip Jones, Patterson Press)

Boys basketball team wins Regional Championship

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by Kylayah Davis

The Patterson Clippers varsity boys basketball team came back from a rough start to what was ultimately a very successful year, ending their season with a final record of 18 wins to 7 losses.

On Tuesday, December 5th, the boys basketball team lost their first game of the season. In a post game interview with Coach Oliver about the team’s performance, the coach felt his team did poorly because they were undisciplined and wanted to do things their way, resulting in 27 turnovers.

“They need to improve on listening and being disciplined. They need to work on every aspect of the game, free throws, running sets, not throwing the ball away, layups and doing what they are told, improving on the basics.”, Coach Oliver had said at the time.

Coach Oliver is the head coach of the boys basketball team. He has been coaching basketball for over 30 years and at Patterson since 2011.

When asked in December about his hopes for the season, Coach Oliver said he hoped that all his seniors graduate and go to school and that his team wins city, regional and state championships.

The Clippers had another game that Friday, December 8th, against Bard where they won 67-15. They went on to accomplish their goals of winning the city championship against Poly by a score of 55-52 and the regional championship against City with a score of 56-52. The team then went on to win their first playoff game against Edgewood, 66-53.

On March 8th, Patterson competed in their second playoff game against Northeast High School, where they narrowly lost by a score of 69-65. The top scorers in that game were:

  • Sincere Bartfield -25 points
  • Caleb Burgess – 10 points
  • Marcellus Dobbins -13 points
  • Montrell Burgess – 8 points
  • Amare Carr – 4 points

There were 12 turnovers in that game.

“Northeast out-rebounded us 45-25.”, explained Coach Oliver. “To other people and our supporters we had a good season, but to me the season was trash; we shouldn’t have lost any games.”

The team ended their season with a record of 18-7 and as Coach Oliver acknowledged, the players’ peers and the school are proud of them. 

At the time of publishing, senior Trent Tedder is committed to go to Methodist University and Sincere Bartfield–who won the Player of the Year award for Baltimore City–is committed to go to Baltimore City Community College.

Get ready for the 2024-2025 school year and all our boys basketball team has to offer.

Patterson hosts Black History Night show

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by Kylayah Davis

Patterson High school hosted a Black History Night show on Wednesday February 28th. The event was organized by Mr. Fowler with performances from Patterson’s newly established Performing Arts Academy. 

In total, the Performing Arts Academy put on three shows in honor of Black History Month: two during the day on Tuesday, February 27th during 2nd and 4th period for students who made Honor Roll and Principal’s List, and then another event on Wednesday evening for families at 6:00 PM. The hosts would like to extend a thank you to all those who came out to support our young creatives and their hard work during the stormy weather on Wednesday night. 

The show opened with the Black national anthem (“Lift Every Voice and Sing”), followed by introductions and a welcome message by the man who produced this great show, choir director Mr. Fowler.

After this opening, a song called Siyahamba was performed by the choir called while student performers danced to the music. This dance was the debut of Patterson’s newly established dance program under the direction of Mr. Kwame and our modeling troupe under Coach Z. After this, the band went on to play “Wade in The Water”, a negro spiritual code song with solos by Korey Spruill and Christian Yates. The Show was split into four sections representing four key elements of Black culture: style, movement, gestures of dismissal, and music.

The style portion hosted by 10th grade student Araya Brinkley featured Patterson’s newly formed modeling troupe. The troupe performed a dance to the song “They Don’t Really Care About Us” by Michael Jackson and showcased African American fashions from multiple decades. 

The show also featured the poems, “I too am America” By Langston Hughes, performed by Micah Mcdonald and Caleb Johnson, and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou performed by Dinea Griffin, Octavia Caldwell, Tynazia Burgess, Tammie Gordon, Syniah Rawlings, and Demi Hines.

Christina Johnson showed her art which featured representations of Black girls. Cristina created four works of art for this collection:

  • Buttons for hair – Uses actual buttons to represent the kinky coils of Black hair 
  • Perm at home – Shows a Black girl getting a perm at home to fit Western beauty standards
  • Solitude – Showcases the loneliness of Black girls in ballet 
  • Damage – a representation of the words Black girls have heard or experienced because of their natural hair

The musical portion of the show was a fan favorite and was hosted by Mr. Fowler. This section showcased quick lip sync performances by students representing different genres of music, including R & B, HipHop, and Rap, with songs by The Temptations, Mary J. Blige, New Edition, Tupac, and Biggie.

“I’m Goin’ Down” was performed by Tynazia Burgess, “Hit ’Em Up” was performed by Sincere Bartfield, “Juicy” was performed by Charles Goodman, “Billie Jean” was performed by Caleb Williams, and “My Girl” was performed by Zion Woods, Devon Brown, Tyshawn, Aaron Washington and La’ron Howard.

To conclude the night, the choir sang the song “Glory”, featuring the band, with instrumental solos by Kylayah Davis and Winner Mbenga and vocal solos by Jeanette Giles, Octavia Caldwell and Sincere Bartfield. “Glory” was made for the movie Selma which depicted the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, where African Americans and their allies marched for voting rights and an end to discrimination. 

The show was so well received that students wished for another one. Many students hope that we can make this an annual tradition with even better performances in the years to come. Once again, the organizers of this event would like to extend a thank you to all who helped with the production of the show. Finally, a special “thank you” to everyone who came out to support the show, and please come out to support more events from our Performing Arts Academy.

Patterson hosts Winter Spirit Week to raise money for SGA 

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By Deontay Blackwell

February 12th to 15th was Patterson High School’s winter Spirit Week hosted by Patterson’s Student Government Association (SGA) to raise money for the organization.

SGA raised money by asking students to pay for the opportunity to nominate a staff member to get pied in the face at a pep rally that was held on Thursday in the gym. The fortunate victim to receive this pie to the face was Mr. Ober, an English teacher.

For this spirit week, each day had a specific theme: Monday was a cozy day where people wore their pajamas like onesies and pledge pants. Tuesday was twin day where students tried to match with their friends to look like twins. Wednesday was flip-flop day where teachers dressed like students and students dressed like teachers. Finally, on Thursday, students and staff showed their Patterson pride during the day by wearing our school colors which are blue, white, and black, and then ending the celebration with a pep rally. The different cohorts participated in fun games against each other or against the staff members. These games included musical chairs with basketballs and real-life Hungry Hungry Hippos.

All of these events were planned by the SGA, a small group currently in need of more members as they have an important role helping to run fun events within the school for everyone to participate.

“The money raised is for future events for the school”, explained Jayzanay “Jazzy” Blessett, one of the members of SGA.

SGA can help to benefit students with more fun activities if more students join. Also, if you have problems with the way that the school is run and and you want to address those issues, SGA can be a great way to make your voice heard.

YouthWorks provides opportunities for students to earn money and gain work experience

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By Mirian Maurizaca

Youthworks is a program for teens that gives them a chance to work during summer and get paid. This program began in 1973. They provide a 5-week job opportunity, from July 8th to August 22nd. Young people between the ages of 16 and 21 are eligible for the program. The application opens every year in January and ends in March. 

“The purpose of YouthWorks is to provide students with hands-on experience in different careers.”, explained Mr. Córdoba, a Post-Secondary Advisor at Patterson.

“Students have the ability to fill out a survey in the registration form that allows them to express which pathways they are currently enrolled in and what careers they are interested in. The Mayor’s Office of Employment Development then uses the information from the registration form to match students with a job site that matches the student interest.”

“It is a way to earn money for fun, to help your household or start a savings account. Gain meaningful work experience to build your resume and learn your likes and dislikes for future employment,” added Ms. Reid, the Community School Coordinator at Patterson.

Students can apply by visiting this link: https://youthworks.oedworks.com/. Students can apply any time before March 22nd-the sooner, the better. 

There are many organizations and companies that hire through Youthworks.

“Students focusing on nursing can work at Johns Hopkins Bayview, while other students who may need to catch up on graduation requirements can attend summer school through YouthWorks.” said Mr. Córdoba.

“Other job sites include the City of Baltimore government and businesses in the private sector. Most of the time, students are required to help out in the daily needs of the business or entity. In every case, students are trained to perform any duty that is asked of them.”

Ms. Reid encourages all students to apply for YouthWorks. “Everyone should apply from age 14, because if you don’t, you won’t have the opportunity to try it out”.

However, Mr. Córdoba pointed out that students do need to have a Social Security number to apply. Seniors who are interested in YouthWorks and do not have a social security number should reach out to Mr. Córdoba to explore other opportunities.

Youthworks is helpful in many ways: it helps students get experience and find out what they like while also earning money. Don’t miss out on this opportunity–apply before the deadline!

Voting age should be lowered to 16

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By Wilfredo Portillo-Quinones

We learn in school that voting is one of the most important rights of citizenship. Yet most high school students are not allowed to vote because they are under 18. I believe that 16 and 17-year-olds should have the right to vote. As a teenager we have fresh perspectives with new thoughts and ideas that can add to what our government already has in mind for the country.

Our current government is run primarily by older people. When the two main candidates for President are the oldest to ever run in history, it feels like we’re lowering our standards. There needs to be a better mind at our highest office of government, especially when we’re making enemies out of other countries and military forces. I think if teenagers could vote, we would vote for a president with an open mind and someone who can relate to our ideas for the country.
Our country needs a leader who has an open mind about things and isn’t quick to make enemies. We as teenagers could support our government with ideas and feel better about our government if we knew we had a president who could relate to us.

There are claims that young people don’t care or even think about our government power and that is false. A lot of young people care about our government, as studies show. According to the website youthrights.org, people of the age of 17-18 vote more than people ages 20-40. In 2014, Chicago allowed their youth to vote and 75% of eligible people ages 16-17 voted compared to 54% of people ages 20-50, showing us that our youth care at least as much as older people do. In Baltimore, we let our youth vote for our mayor in one election and people of the age of 17 voted 35% compared to 36% of people 18 and older, showing us that teens will vote at more or less the same level as older people. This proves that our youth care as much as older people do. The same website also shows data that shows that contrary to popular belief, high school students actually know more on average about the government that older people. This makes sense when you consider that we are learning about government in school and the information is fresh in our minds. Despite some people’s claims that teenagers are too ignorant to vote, the truth is that youth have open minds, are as well-informed as other age groups, and should have the same rights as other Americans. We also care about our country and who our leaders are.

There are many organizations fighting for youth rights and they’ve proven the facts that teenagers have the right ideas for our country. We should support and fight for teenage voting rights. Voting rights for teenagers would create many new opportunities for us to become active citizens and make our country better. I hope these specific facts will convince you that teenagers above the age of 16 do care about our country and should be given the right to vote.



Clippers track and field team makes history at City Championships

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(Photo by Kylayah Davis/Patterson Press)

By Coach Smith

The Patterson track and field team made history at the Baltimore City Indoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday, January 25 at the Prince George’s County Sportsplex. Najah White AKA “Little Nae” won 2 gold medals. She won a gold medal in the mile and rebroke the school record. Then, an hour later, she won a gold medal in the 2 mile.

Additionally, many of our other runners also broke school records. The girls 4 x 400 meter relay team of Ahmawanyah Lewis, Najah White, Dayvia Weaver, and Quintine Nterere broke the school record. Additionally, Rancel Corporan Lagombra broke the school record in the 500 meters. The boys 4 x 800 meter relay team of Joel Lukoo, Vema Maneno, Aaden Hopkins, and Rancel Corporan Lagombra broke the school record. And the boys 4 x 400 meter relay team of Aaden Hopkins, Joel Lukoo, Marshall Mallory, and Rancel Corporan Lagombra broke the school record.

Our track and field team is comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores. In the next year or two, Patterson track and field will take over the city of Baltimore.

(Photos by Kylayah Davis/Patterson Press)
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