2020’s top 20 stories: Looking back at a year unlike any other

In 2020, students wrote about their experiences with online learning, the pandemic, mental health, the presidential election and one of the largest racial justice movements in history. HS Insider staff is spotlighting 20 of the most important stories students covered throughout the year.

Messages to the next president

During the 2020 presidential election, High School Insider invited students to share their thoughts on issues affecting young people. Read some of their messages to the next president here.

Education & distance learning

Chromebook catastrophe — LAUSD students frustrated and unmotivated during distance learning

(Graphic by Tariq Stone)

by Emily Mojica, senior, Maywood Center for Enriched Studies

How one teacher strives to engage students in online learning

by Tariq Stone, senior, Inglewood High School

Column: My experience as a high school freshman distance learning

by Sriya Sai Pushpa Datla, freshman, El Camino Real Charter High School

Opinion: How to support teachers’ mental health during distance learning

by Cate Meister, junior, Fountain Valley High School

Race in America and the Black Lives Matter movement

(Illustration by Prasheetha Karthikeyan / Panther Prowler)

Opinion: The killings of Black Americans by police officers have increased despite BLM protests

by Karly Ortiz, senior, Don Antonio Lugo High School

A look into a local protest and the teens behind it

by Veronica Chen, junior, Arcadia High School

Black Lives Matter and teen mental health

by Sarah Nachimson, senior, YULA Girls High School

Opinion: CVUSD curriculum does not do enough to combat racism

by Manas Khatore, senior, Newbury Park High School

Many Latinos feel they live in a culture that dismisses mental health issues as weakness. (Photo illustration by Rani Chor)

Mental health

Opinion: We need more awareness about mental health services in schools

by Guadalupe Corrilo, Hilda Solis High School graduate, class of 2020

Minds Matter: Psychologically masked illnesses in the Latino community

by Rani Chor, junior, Glen A. Wilson High School

Column: How spending one hour a day changed my life

by Vivian Wang, junior, Valencia High School

Nintendo game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” was released in March. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, this game provides players with escapism. (Nintendo)

Entertainment

Review: ‘Animal Crossing’ is an escape from the grim reality of a pandemic

by Derek Deng, San Marino High School graduate, class of 2020

Review: How Netflix series ‘Itaewon Class’ should have ended

by Rachel Ker, senior, Arnold O. Beckman High School

Members of the Paradise High School football team stand for the national anthem before a game in October 2019. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Sports 

Opinion: The overlooked importance of returning to school sports

by Joshua So, senior, Cerritos High School

Opinion: Video games should not be compared to sports

by Diego Cruz, junior, Don Antonio Lugo High School

The Bobcat Fire seen from Chloe Wong’s home in Arcadia, Calif. in September. (Photo by Chloe Wong)

Personal narrative

Column: California burning — The fire in my backyard

by Chloe Wong, freshman, Arcadia High School

Column: How I lost my cultural identity, then found it again

by Brianna Pham, senior, Arnold O. Beckman High School

California beaches were much emptier than usual in the beginning of the pandemic in April. (Photo by Sophie Robson)

Photography

Typically empty, usually full: a photo essay on COVID-19

by Sophie Robson, Westlake High School

Podcast

AsAm: A podcast on being Asian American

by Brianna Pham, senior, Arnold O. Beckman High School and Joyce Kim, junior, La Canada High School