Bear Witness - April 2024

Students share their story of assimilating into American culture after immigrating

From

Everyone eats snacks in class, but what do students like, or dislike, to eat the most?

BEAR WITNESS BEAR WITNESS

MEDIA FIREARM FRENZY

630+

120.5

49

Source: BBC and ABC

Mass shootings call to attention the role of the media with firearm policy

With 656 mass shootings in 2023, discussion of firearm regulation is a prominent topic in the United States. However, the popularization of firearms and weapons in media and modern culture has yet to see a decline.

In a Bear Witness poll, 71% of 156 respondents said they have consumed media that popularizes or heavily uses firearms or similar weapons. Similarly, 55% of 137 students said that the presence of firearms in the media has led to a greater normalization or use of such weapons.

Senior Christian Winzenread took a leading role in the national school walkout last year following the school shooting in Nashville, Tenn., supporting the cause of the organization Students Demand Action.Winzenread has seen an increase in the use of firearms in the media he has watched, yet he says that firearms have always been a major part of American cinema, starting from the early western movies like “The Great Train Robbery” in 1903 during the silent film era, but that the role of firearms in media has changed today.

“Violence has always been inherent to what an American audience values in programming, but as firearms and global conflicts have evolved, their portrayal in media has shifted as less of a tool and more of an accessory,” Winzenread said. He sees this trend in video games as well, where the role of military weapons and situations is more prominent. Popular first person shooter games like “Call of Duty,” “Counter-Strike 2” and “Valorant” rely heavily on guns and military-esque fighting situations. Winzenread noticed this type of games leads firearms to being considered more normal in everyday life due to a desensitization.

When the media reports on mass atrocities provided by guns to the extent that the reporting now it becomes a day to day occurrence. The fact that the media reports on it so much is simultaneously a good thing because it shows how prevalent it is, but it’s also a bad thing because it desensitizes the populace to this problem.

“ Senior Christian Winzenread ”

@bhsbearwitness

Voicing opinions in classrooms

Students speak about the impact that discussing topics learned in class has on their understanding

YUJIN CHO Staff Writer

Historical events are recorded not only in textbooks but in other forms as well. Students learn through literature, and English classes provide a comfortable setting in which students can freely express their opinions and dive deeper into different aspects of history.

Often widening student perspectives through books on politically sensitive topics read in class, these books serve as necessary learning opportunities but are often targets for banning in school districts across the country.

In English teacher Heather Amanatullah’s English 2 Honors class, students this year have explored fraught historical topics of South African Apartheid, Taliban presence in Afghanistan, sexual assault in Afghanistan and the Holocaust, through reading comedian Trevor Noah’s autobiography “Born a Crime,” Khaled Hosseini’s novel “The Kite Runner” and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel “Maus.”

Heather Amanatullah teaches English 2 Honors that reads from a list of banned books and has discussions about it.

SEE DISCUSSIONS • PAGE 2

HOUSING COSTS

Prices on the rise

Increase in housing costs drives both teachers and students away, resulting in smaller classes

ALYX YOON Staff Writer

With housing prices on the rise, families have been moving out of Silicon Valley, resulting in fewer incoming freshmen at Branham. The incoming class of 2028 is estimated to have 200 students less than the class of 2027.

According to Norada Real Estate Investments, San Jose housing prices have increased 12.1% over the last year and are 214% higher than the national average. Between 2020 and 2022, there was a 6.3% decrease in school enrollment due to the lack of affordable housing as well, according to San Jose Spotlight.

The increase in housing costs also affects teachers. Chemistry and AP biology teacher Juan Fernandez has been living in Silicon Valley for the past 36 years and has noticed a significant increase in rental prices.

“I have considered [moving],” Fernandez said. “[Renting] takes a big percentage of a teacher’s salary especially if you are a new teacher.”

• PAGE 3

SEE HOUSING COSTS

Lauren Gernale/Bear Witness

Dhatri Tummala/Special to the Bear Witness

DISCUSSIONS | Understanding perspectives

“To understand things in the world that are different from our own perspective, we need to read those perspectives right,” Amanatullah said. “To ignore that those things are happening isn’t being honest with students, and they are going to come across it in the world at some point.”

The students hosted a socratic seminar at the end of their unit to discuss the contents of the graphic novel “Maus.” During this socratic seminar, the students discussed personal trauma from those affected populations people experienced firsthand. This discussion included experiences of generational trauma, survivor’s guilt and behavioral impacts.

“You need to be able to talk about these things and hear each other’s perspectives because sometimes we’re only hearing what we grow up with,” Amantullah said. “It’s important to hear where the other side is coming from because then you can come to an understanding about each other.”

Sophomore Cormac Nolan was a participant in the socratic seminar, and he believes that voicing his opinions during the discussion is important. He finds that

having an opportunity to freely discuss and express opinions is an alternative method of learning that is crucial for students to hear the genuine points of view from other students rather than learning about only historical facts.

“Each student offers something new to the table,” Nolan said. “If we’re all sitting in one big group, then we can learn and be educated by one another. We’re going to interact with these topics more as teenagers because we’re still young, and we’re still going to have to face these later on.”

With the recent Israel-Hamas conflict and Maus’ relationship with Israel, the students debated the relevancy of the story today by acknowledging both past and present events to see all points of view. During these discussions, the students were able to work out their own perspectives on the controversial topic through frank discussion. Nolan believes that voicing his opinions during the discussion serves as an educational learning opportunity for others.

“I tend to get heated in these [conversations] when people make statements that aren’t backed up with true evidence,” he said. “[Nothing bad will happen] if you voice your opinion, except you’re offering insight to

HACKATHON

Hacking to win

someone who isn’t educated.”

Sophomore Farah Ababneh, another participant in the socratic seminar, argues the importance of learning about historical events at school and discussing them with peers with her ability to draw connections and recognize patterns being a direct result. She identifies the preventative measures that teaching it to generations serves.

“If you learn about the past, [you notice that] a lot of the [events] that take place in the past repeat themselves in the future,” Ababneh said. “If you draw those parallels and identify where we went wrong in the past, we can ask ’where are we going wrong now?’”

Ababneh acknowledges the importance of discussions because they expose her to different perspectives and insights that students otherwise can not experience on their own.

“[Discussions] expand my knowledge because everybody in our classroom comes from diverse backgrounds,” Ababneh said. “Everyone has different experiences related to race, religion and how they came to know about events and they can share their own insight.”

Bionic Bruins hosted thier fifth hackathon for students in the Bay Area

AADYANT SURESH Science & Health Editor

Bionic Bruins hosted their fifth hackathon on Sunday, with 90 coders from across the Bay Area teamed up to make projects addressing this year’s topic of health and wellness.

Student teacher Benjamin Klunpaitoon, a hackathon mentor, believes that the event gives students an opportunity to apply their learning.

“Coding in a classroom setting is much more structured,” he said. “The idea of a hackathon is that you’re given a prompt, and however you want to tackle that is up to you.”

Klunpaitoon also highlighted how it is a good introduction for new coders to learn about programming and test skills.

“There’s teams where one or two people may not have coded before, but the other two have a lot of experience,” he said. “It’s a good way to bring in people of all skill levels.”

The Bionic Bruins reached out to middle schools to increase participants as the event’s goal was to help beginner coders. They provided workshops, a beginner category and limited weighting on program complexity which allowed creative yet simple ideas to compete.

“Although some people are here to win, some people are here to learn something new,” Bionic Bruins co-president Jin Cho said.

The main challenge for teams during a hackathon is the time crunch, only having around 12 hours to finish their project.

“It’s difficult to create a project and deal with programming issues,” Cho said. “This is just like a test to see what they can do in a limited amount of time.”

Eighth grader Natalie Zhang from Thomas Rus-

Editor-in-Chief

sell Middle School appreciated the event including middle school students and looked forward to building on her programming skills as well.

Leigh junior Alexander Bonev and his team worked on an application that can help those facing depression by setting small goals at a time while also connecting them to others in a similar situation.

“We intend to apply a vector database where we can put together symptoms that other depression victims have been suffering, but compiling that data is probably going to be our hardest part,” he said.

Bionic Bruins are working to make next year’s hackathon a Major League Hacking certified event, a collegiate hacking league with a 24 hour competition.

“We’ve raised a lot of money, and we have a surplus for next year,” Cho said. “We want to try and expand on that as much as possible.”

Workshops provided at the hackathon:

Intro to Python, intro to web design, intro to data science, Flask, noSQL, reactjS, machine learning & computer vision and large language models.

More information can be found at bionicbruins.org/hackathon

HIGHLIGHTS visit @bhsbearwitness

Cultural clubs and classes host Multicultural Night

On March 6, multicultural clubs and language classes came together to celebrate the World Language Banquet.

The night kicked off with club rush and a potluck dinner. Performances followed soon after, including cultural fashion shows and dances.

Although Spanish teacher Cesar Chavarin-Ruiz has only been at Branham for three years, he consistently attended the banquets because he finds them an important opportunity to spread cultural diversity and awareness.

This year, the banquet was in coordination with ASB’s Multicultural Week, making it easier for teachers and groups to coordinate performances.

Chavarin-Ruiz hopes that the banquet continues to be a tradition because it’s a night where students get truly involved and are able to “accept others the way they are.”

— Lia Choi Women in STEM Visit Branham

In hopes of inspiring students, the Bionic Bruins featured five women in STEM from semiconductor company AMD.

The club upgraded from a classroom to the college and career center this year for more people to join. The purpose of the event was to allow students to learn more about being a woman in STEM and their engineering careers.

Hearing the stories inspired prospective STEM career students such as sophomore Dristi Roy, who used the women’s perspectives as guidance for her future. For Roy, hearing about specific careers helped her learn more about potential jobs.

Senior Luigi Renovato said the panel made him realize the broader fields involved in tech companies. His favorite part was when Fang showed the progression of phones over the decades.

Panelist Carina Fang, the Director of Program Management at AMD,hopes that the students, regardless of whether or not they pursue a STEM career, will be motivated to reach their goals.

— Jiyoon Choi and Lauren Gernale

Pie Day Celebration

To celebrate national Pi Day on March 14, the Bionic Bruins and ASB hosted a pie celebration where students pied teachers and student volunteers, which also served as a fundraiser.

The funds from this event will partly be used for preparing and attending robotics competitions.

Sophomore Livia Roder participated by pieing her chemistry teacher Alex Johnson, and she enjoyed seeing his reaction afterwards.

“After I pied him, it was really fun to watch because there was whipped cream on his face,” Roder said. “Before I pied him, I was nervous because [my friend] had tried to pie him, but she missed throwing the tin, so there was a lot of pressure because so many people were watching.”

— Lauren Gernale

Alan Schaeffer/Bear Witness The Vietnamese Student Union (VSA) performs the Moon Hidden Behind the Clouds, a traditional fan dance.

Books such as “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, “Maus” by Art Spiegelman and “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah help bring up important issues in English classes.

Aadyant Suresh/Bear Witness

Hackathon leads Jin Cho and Kevin Toren pose with the winning team of the hackathon.

The team won a $1,000 in funds and other prizes.

Yujin Cho/Bear Witness Sophomore Livia Roder throws a pie at chemistry teacher Alex Johnson

“I have to prove that I can do [a typical ’man’s’ job] as much or more than a man.”

Principal Lindsay Schubert, who was recognized on the Bear Witness Women’s History Month features, gets empowered by women in her life and experiences feeling the need to prove herself in leadership roles due to her gender.

OVERHEARD | QUOTES OF THE MONTH FROM OUR ONLINE STORIES

Sophomore Sarah Osband, as Cassie, talks about her career in the musical

“The musical gives a broader sense that everyone has a story to tell. It’s not just you against the world, it’s everyone in it together.”

Sophomore Sarah Osband, who played Cassie in the Backstage Bruin’s “A Chorus Line” feels a sense of community within the cast and how the stories in the musical demonstrated this.

“People need to know how influential Black people have been in American culture. We want to make sure they’re aware of that.”

English teacher Kerry Murphy, who advises the Black Student Union. The BSU celebrated Black History Month with quad activities and campus decorations.

A PESTERING PROBLEM

Frequent infestations on campus have left students and staff concerned

NEVAEH GUTIERREZ Staff Writer

Have you heard chirping around campus? In the classroom? Maybe you’ve even seen something small and furry running across the floor. Teachers and students have begun to notice the little “friends” that have been lurking in their classrooms.

As schools often have food waste, trash and places to hide, pests like crickets and mice are a common issue. The current process in the case of pest sightings for the custodial staff is to first determine the source of the issue, which is usually food or water. Then, they get rid of the source and call exterminators over the weekend.

Despite the custodial staff’s effort to try to keep the pest population under control, rodents are still spotted in places like the band room.

“I was hosting a meeting of the booster club at around 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night, and suddenly one of the parents started screaming and jumped onto a chair and pointed and there was a little mouse running across the front of the room,” Band Director Chris Nalls said.

Rodents are not the only pests present at Branham. World History teacher Joshua Bourekas has been dealing with crickets in his classroom that occasionally chirp during his classes and some are seen in the overhead lights. However, these crickets are not a huge disruption to his teaching.

“Crickets aren’t the end of the world to me,” Bourekas said. “But if I had a rat in here, I’d freak out.”

Nalls also have not been bothered by the pests during school hours since they only seem to come out after the school day has ended.

“There has been no effect on my classes so far,” he said. “Mice have only been seen in the evenings by the extracurricular groups.”

While the rodents and other pests don’t usually disrupt teaching directly, the bigger concern to students and teachers is the potential health hazard that the rodents on campus bring, especially because of the typical association of pests with filth and dirt.

“Rats are the things that carried diseases in the age

of the plague,” Bourekas said. “So who knows what they have nowadays?”

The custodial staff are working to ensure that the campus is pest-free, but it is rather difficult due to the lack of support from students according to Larazo Jimenez, the head of facilities at Branham who deals with the infestations.

“If we have the students clean up after themselves and pick up the garbage, that eliminates so much,” Jimenez said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have that support or structure here. And it would make it so much easier for [us].”

The struggle against unwanted pests has been ongoing for years, but the custodial staff are always quick to respond and deal with reports and sightings.

“I know that when we reported [rodents], [the custodians] came out right away and put some mousetraps down,” Nalls said.

Still, Jimenez is hopeful about the current pest situation at Branham as they have worked to monitor the pest issue and keep it as under control as possible.

“[The pest issue] has gotten way better,” Jimenez said. “I’m happy where we’re at right now.”

Common rats species in America

1. The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is the most common rat species in America. It was first introduced from Europe in 1775, and it lives in every state. They are 13 and 18 inches in length.

2. The Roof rat (R. rattus) live along the costal U.S. It is smaller and thinner than the Norway rat and has a pointier muzzle. The species have light brown to black fur.

Source: EPA

HOUSING COSTS | Less students, leaving

Several factors hold Fernandez back from moving since his long stay has allowed him to invest in his community. He enjoys the diverse community, different cultures, foods and nice weather of San Jose.

However, Spanish teacher Cesar Chavarin-Ruiz would prefer to settle in a more affordable area although he believes that the ideal fix to the housing issue is to simply pay teachers more.

“Moving away is the easiest solution,” Chavarin said. “What’s the biggest solution that we can have? Pay the teachers more. If you incentivize teachers to have a job that can afford to live here, they’re going to want to live here.”

Some school districts like Jefferson Union High School District in the Bay Area have approached the issue of housing by creating complexes for teachers to live in.

“[Public housing for teachers] will help retain good teachers and good workers,” Fernandez said. “Not just teachers we’re talking about, but also secretaries, custodians and administrators even.”

According to USA Facts, housing prices have outpaced wages over the last decade. The District Administration said only 12 out of 100 houses are affordable for teacher salaries in July 2023. With low wages, Fernandez said it’s almost impossible to afford a house with a teacher’s salary without help from friends and family.

“I don’t see how salaries can keep up with [housing prices],” he said. “If we do not change the way we finance education, we’re going to have a humongous teacher shortage and a big crisis in

education, especially in California.”

teachers

Students and their families have also been moving to states for affordable education like Massachusetts and Minnesota, according to CNBC. With less students, schools may have to create smaller classes.

“We can’t have the same number of teachers and fewer students unless we divide the class to be smaller,” Chavarin said.“Then that way we could ideally have all teachers that we have today or even more [which would be] beneficial for the students,” Charavin said.

According to Ferris State University, smaller class sizes are favored since it allows teachers to give students individual attention and create strong relationships.

Sophomore Mylie Hancock, who has a younger sister who will be attending Branham next year, believes a smaller class size could be beneficial.

“It is easier to focus if it’s quieter,” Hancock said. “Teachers are not as spread out.”

Compared to large class sizes, the smaller classes allow the teacher to be more individually focused.

“We can definitely have more meaningful connections, build better support and strategize our instruction to be more catered towards the individual student needs,” Charavin said.

However, smaller classes may limit opportunities for extracurriculars, clubs and AP classes. The benefits of a large class such as engaging with a more diverse perspective and population is lost as well.

“I think overall [at] large events like dances or football games, crowd participation or rallies would decrease a lot,” Hancock said. “I feel like we don’t have the best spirit participation [right now], and having less people in the school would have a pretty big impact.”

“Moving away is the easiest solution. What’s the biggest solution that we can have? Pay the teachers more. If you incentivize teachers to have a job that can afford to live here, they’re going to want to live here ”

Spanish teacher Cesar Chavarin-Ruiz, who has consided moving out of the area due to a lack of affordability.

Karis Do/Special to the Bear Witness

OPEN CAMPUS OPPORTUNITIES

MAKAYLA WU Copy Editor

Branham should consider implementing an open campus policy, alongside an extended lunch period once a week, to better cater to the needs and preferences of its student body. This proposal suggests adjustments to the current bell schedule to accommodate these changes effectively.

Extending lunchtime would allow for more extended club meetings or lunchtime activities, offering students the opportunity to participate in events both on and off campus. This flexibility is crucial for fostering a vibrant extracurricular environment and promoting student engagement.

Support for an open campus policy among the student body stems from various benefits, including economic stimulation of the local economy and expanded dining options for students. Studies by the National Institute of Health have shown that an increase in the availability of food options is correlated with improved food choices among adolescents. By implementing an open campus, students can have access to foods they enjoy and have healthier food choices.

Additionally, research indicates that well-nourished students tend to perform better academi-

Pros of an open campus

1. Increased responsibility for students to maintain the requirements for the open campus privilege

2. Learn time management through leaving and coming back on campus on time

3. More lunch/food options that fit the needs of all students, which also improves the local economy

Cons of an open campus

1. Liability concerns if there is an accident or trouble off campus during school hours

2. Reckless and irresponsible behavior of some students taking advantage of the system

“

Being an open campus will benefit the student population by motivating them to behave despite the concerns

cally, demonstrating higher grades, better memory retention and increased alertness. Having access to the diverse off-campus food scene can lead to students consistently eating lunch and having a better diet which could improve their health and academic performance. As emphasized by Importance of Eating, “students are able to learn better when they’re well-nourished,” highlighting the potential positive impact of an open campus on student well-being and academic success.

While concerns regarding liability exist, it’s essential to note that students already leave campus during tutorial and lunch breaks, with consequences only being minutes of detention. Thus, implementing an open campus policy would not significantly change the current liability issues. With proper enforcement and regulation, an open campus policy can be managed effectively, ensuring the safety and well-being of students.

To address potential challenges such as increased tardiness, enforcement measures can be implemented, including consequences for tardy behavior. By requiring students to meet certain cri-

teria, such as maintaining a GPA above 3.0, administrators can reinforce the idea that an open campus is a privilege that must be earned and maintained.

Currently, students under social probation do not face many consequences or incentives to bring themselves out of the situation. However, if Branham offered an open campus, the privilege of leaving campus could be revoked if the student was on social probation. With proper enforcement, not only does this offer an incentive that students actually care about, but could also improve attendance rates overall. Students will feel less trapped and forced to be at school if they have the option of leaving for lunch if they have a good academic and attendance standing.

An open campus policy at Branham would offer numerous advantages for the student body, including enhanced student choice, improved academic performance and economic benefits for the local community. With proper regulation and enforcement, an open campus policy can provide students with valuable opportunities for growth and autonomy.

Branham is a closed campus. Students must remain on campus for the entire school day including lunch. There are a number of areas on campus where students are not allowed without a staff member. The following areas include the football stadium, athletic fields, basketball gym and lobby, inside the PE locker rooms, the theater, baseball fields, softball fields, outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, and parking lots. Non- students and students from other schools may not visit the campus nor attend school with this school’s students.

This is the current Branham policy from the Branham Student/Parent Handbook. However, because many students already leave campus during school hours such as lunch break and tutorial, the change to an open campus would prevent the unessesary means of students trying to leave campus.

On July 1, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom passed a new California law for public high school start times to be pushed back to 8:30 a.m. Newson’s intention in passing this law was to allow high school students to get an opportunity to increase their sleep and time management skills to make more positive habits.

HURDLING THE CLOCK

The State of California passed Senate Bill 238 in 2022, changing start times for public high schools, and concerns now for student-athletes have arised

OWEN DASKO Staff Writer

This law has benefited some students, but athletes are struggling with this new change. Opponents of Senate Bill 238 argue that it negatively impacts student-athletes as they get home later from their practices, impacting their schedule as a whole.

As an athlete, I’m often exhausted from practice and want to get rest, and I fall behind on my schoolwork. As I am writing this, I can say I am writing this late on a weekday.

Because athletes are students first and foremost, they have increased stress for athletes as they manage their priorities. This can cause a lack of sleep as there are instances where they get home late from an event, with homework that is due tomorrow still sitting in their backpack.

According to a study performed by the National Library of Medicine & Biotech Information, researchers found that 42% of student-athletes reported getting poor sleep.

With expectations and pressure growing, high school students have great stress placed upon them. Stu dent-athletes are struggling to find a way to gain an advantage with their sleep schedule.

However, with a decision as effective as Bill 238, there was pushback from many different people concerned about this change fitting parents’ and students’ needs, such as parents having to leave work early and pick up their kids along with students having after-school commitments conflicting with the late release time of schools.

Schools have attempted to fix these issues, trying to shorten the school day and creating before and ter-school programs to solve the concerns of parents. Branham has continuously changed schedules throughout the years, at-

tempting to find the perfect solution for schedules for their students.

Not only was this law passed to solve the inconsistent sleep patterns of students, but it was also intended to help increase the attendance of students, hoping for students to get to school on time, reduce tardiness, and promote more academically active students.

In a Bear Witness poll from September 2022 asking if the change to the later start time has benefited them, 41% out of 201 respondents felt more tired compared to before the law passed while 27% have felt more awake and 32% felt no change.

From the same survey, another poll asked if the law changed sleeping patterns. 61% responded that they are sleeping and waking up later than before with 15% doing so earlier and 25% experiencing no change.

There are nights when I question if doing homework is truly worth it or if I should value my sleep. If students are asking this question there are more problems with this type of change than our state leaders initially thought when they passed the law.

While students have more time to get ready for the day, it would make someone lazier if they were already getting out of bed at 6:30 a.m. to go to school at 7:30 a.m.

Some students still wake up early and have to set multiple alarms to wake up on time despite the later start times. There hasn’t been a true Senate Bill 328 changes school start times to later in the morning, but one law can never fix the motivations of a student. An extra 30 minutes of sleep in the morning doesn’t result in a lighter workload and better time management skills, and it certainly doesn’t impact the decision of a student

Karis Do/Special to Bear Witness

Empower Your Community

An emphasis on serving community service as a fundamental aspect of its educational mission should be placed at Branham. High school education should shape responsible and engaged citizens, yet our current approach needs to be revised to foster such civic engagement. Actively participating in the community through volunteering or attending events is essential for an engaged citizen.

In contrast to Branham, the San José Unified School District mandates that high school students complete a minimum of 40 hours of community service at approved non-profit organizations for graduation. Similarly, many private schools in the area, including Presentation, Bellarmine and Mitty, have implemented similar requirements to cultivate active community participation among their students.

These schools offer a diverse range of approved

Editorial

The opinion of the Bear Witness editors

organizations, from the American Cancer Society to the San Jose Ballet, providing students with opportunities to pursue their interests while contributing to their community.

Unfortunately, Branham and other schools within the Campbell Union High School District lack such requirements,and instead rely on service-based clubs like National Honor Society (NHS) or California Scholarship Federation (CSF) to promote community service.

However, this approach primarily engages the same subset of students already involved in campus activities. As a result, there is a notable lack of widespread school-wide involvement in community service beyond ASB, NHS or CSF participants.

Community service is important for high school students, and Branham should do more to push the benefits of community service to a wider audience on campus. Relevant benefits of community service include exploring career options, improving empathy and understanding of the community and building leadership.

Branham should provide more resources to encourage students to volunteer. Although a service requirement for graduation would be ideal in getting all students involved, it would most likely face much pushback with concerns over lowering the graduation rate. Incorporating

more community service beyond service-based clubs could engage more students.

Providing extra credit as an incentive for volunteering in relevant topics in classes could be another way. For example, students in English classes could receive extra credit if they volunteer at the local elementary school’s guided clubs. In addition, providing a list of resources like other neighboring school districts could show students the vast array of opportunities to become involved in the community.

Without the support from the school and district, Branham students are not encouraged to participate in the community and lose opportunities of helping and feeling accomplished. Through more resources provided from the school, students will grow to be more engaged citizens in society.

WE ARE THE FUTURE

The need for teens to stay actively involved in politics in more important than ever

AIDEN WEILER Staff Writer

Whether it’s volunteering for activist groups, reposting news stories on their instagrams or even pre-registering to vote, students from all around Branham are taking an active role in politics. However, for a large portion of students, politics is an intimidating and scary field. Many teens believe that they don’t have a place in politics, but this is simply untrue.

California offers voting pre-registration for those 16 or 17, allowing teens to be involved with the political parties and vote once they turn 18.

As of Feb. 20, a total of 134,052 people have pre-registered to vote in the state of California. In Santa Clara county, there are a measly 7,072 people pre-registered. For reference, Branham has a population of around 1900.

However, in a poll conducted by the Bear Witness, only 88 people, or 41% of the 213 people that responded, are planning on voting in this upcoming election.

Voting in elections is a key part of American democracy and one that is promoted here at Branham by many history teachers such as Donald Mason. To properly represent the people, it is of the utmost importance for the government to have the full participation of all voting eligible-citizens. Yet, more than half of Branham’s population plans on not voting in the 2024 presidential election.

This poor voter turnout is not restricted to Branham. According to the 2020 census, only about 66% of citizens over the age of 18 voted in the 2020 election, which had a record high turnout, meaning that the average election draws even less. 18 to 24 year olds were the demographic with the lowest turnout at the ballot box. Few young adults take part in our country’s democracy. The future members of our society have no say in the future of our society.

Still, it should be noted that things are trending towards becoming better. As of February, about 82% of eligible voters in the state of California are registered, a 12% increase in the last 15 years.

Not only are teens not voting, but they also don’t read the news. According to another poll conducted by Bear Witness, only 48% of the 200 respondents actively read and follow the news, meaning that 52% of students are mostly unaware of major events happening in the world.

While there is a large portion of Branham students that are aware of political news, in an ideal world, everyone would read the news and be properly informed about modern events.Whether it’s in the

How to register to vote in California

Online Registration: Visit the California Secretary of State’s voter registration page and fill out the online application in your preferred language

classroom, with family, or even in friendly conversation, the topic of politics is bound to come up. Being informed and conscious of the world around us is an immensely useful skill and one that almost half of the student body lacks.

For teens, especially those under 18, there is no drive to be involved in politics. In their minds, since they are unable to vote, they can’t do anything meaningful, so they don’t bother being up to date.

This is not true. There are so many ways teens can make a change such as being a part of activist and volunteer groups for a multitude of causes that teens can take part in. Spreading the word about important issues, whether it be to friends or family, can be an essential part of getting the proper amount of exposure to local and national problems.

In San Jose alone, there are many ways for teens

to get involved in politics. For example, local candidates are willing to accept teen volunteers to help campaign. If someone finds a candidate they like and wants to help, they should go to their website or reach out. Any help on the campaign trail, locally and nationally, is greatly appreciated. Another way is to pre-register to vote if one is of age 16 or 17. It’s not hard as the only steps are to go to the California state pre-register website and fill out the form. Most simple of all, read the news. It’s easy, doesn’t take much time and its benefits are immense. Being informed with what’s going on in the world is one of the most essential traits of a mature and well-adjusted person. For those who will be over the age of 18 this November, vote. Just one little decision, one afternoon of voting, can forever change our nation.

BITE-SIZED OPINIONS

Minor problems, Major solutions

Problem: As a senior, the senior slump is really kicking in. Not only is waking up hard in the morning but my motivation to complete my homework.

Solution: For one day each week starting from second semester, seniors should be entitled to not receive any homework for any of their classes.

— Lia Choi

Paper Voter Registration Application: You can pick up a paper voter registration application at your county elections office, department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) field offices, most post offices, public libraries, and other government offices. Complete the application and ensure it is postmarked or hand-delivered to your county elections office at least 15 days before the election. Pre-register: If you’re 16 or 17 years old, you can pre-register to vote. You’ll automatically be registered on your 18th birthday

Problem: Some days I’m really tired and want to take a nap in class, but the desk are too hard to sleep on.

Solution: Put a pillow and blanket under everyone’s desk to make napping and school more comfortable.

Nevaeh Gutierrez

Problem: The three day weekend was lovely, but coming back to having school for five days is so painful and tiring.

Solution: Let’s please implement the three day weekend permanently. With more rest, students will be more efficient and awake during the school day.

Jiyoon Choi

Problem: As spring rolls around the corner, the weather is fluctuating too much and I don’t know what weather to dress for. The morning is freezing while the afternoon is far too hot.

Solution: Replace the lockers with personalized wardrobes where students bring a change of clothes for after lunch.

Yujin Cho

SECURING CYBERSPACE

ALAN SCHAEFFER Sports Editor

District work to safeguard from cyberattacks in an increasingly digital world CYBERSECURITY

Walking into class, one tends to be con fronted with a barrage of computer screens, as students complete documents, col laborate on presentations or sneak a quick game break on their computers. Unbeknownst to them, they are shielded by a massive firewall, protecting them from the dangers of the inter net that lie just a few clicks away.

Branham, along with many schools across the country, provides students and teachers with technology they can take home. For students, a chromebook is standard issue, while teach ers are given more capable laptops to complete their grading, emailing and lesson-planning du ties. With all these devices, more pathways are opened up for potential cyberattacks, leading to a need for more secure connections and protec tions.

These computers are all connected to a secure network, which in Branham’s case, is managed by the Santa Clara County Office of Education due to the firewall’s high costs.

“If each school [in the district] had to pay for

MACEO INOUE Staff Writer

that the easiest target is to go through kids.”

According to data from the Global Cybersecurity Forum, an estimated 70% of children around the world have experienced at least

One of the main techniques hackers use is “phishing,” a method that involves emailing a link to a target that, when opened, will steal information off their device.

In non-school environments, phishing, which makes up for about 90% of cyberattacks, can often be used to blackmail a victim with the hacker potentially threatening to leak sensitive material unless the victim pays a large amount of money.

The information that a hacker could potentially steal from Branham’s database is not clear but certainly not something to disregard. For example, a teacher clicking on a link could allow the hacker access to the Aeries database, letting them see students’ names, state ID numbers, phone numbers and addresses.

While this data is not significant enough on its own for a hacker to use as blackmail, it can be cross-referenced with that from other security breaches, such as health or mortgage records, allowing hackers access to social security numbers and other more sensitive

Suspicious emails are not something that Branham is unfamiliar

Crucial Cybersecurity

with. Turner recalls previous instances where people have impersonated the principal and the superintendent via email. He points to a situation where an email that appeared to come from principal Lindsay Schubert regarding teacher salaries raised red flags as principals are not responsible for salaries.

Despite the relatively small likelihood of a Branham student falling victim to scams due to the securities present in all-restricting school Gmail, Turner believes that teachers desperately need training on how to detect scams and stay safe on the internet.

He offers an example of cybersecurity training that he has seen in other schools, where teachers were sent a fake link as a test to see if they would fall victim. Those who couldn’t identify it as a scam were required to take training. The goal of this test was to gauge what proportion of teachers were not educated on avoiding the dangers of the internet and to easily give help to those who exhibited a need for it.

“As long as I’ve been in the district, we’ve never had any education on cybersecurity,” Turner said. “It just takes one person to screw it up, and then we’re going to have really strict internet rules just because one person divulged information.”

1. Ransomware, malware that leads to a device’s information beign held hostage, was first created in 1984

2. The Department of Homeland Secuirty reported 1000 school districts were threatened by cyberattacks in 2019

3. The Global Security Forum estimates that 70% of children in the world experienced at least one online threat

4. Phishing makes up around 90% of cyberattacks

WOMEN IN STEM

Stemming away from stereotypes Students carrying their STEM passion further down the road

When teacher Barbara Schremp graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she was one of the only four women in her entire engineering graduating class.

For over 20 years, Schremp studied and worked in the male dominated electrical engineering in dustry before switching to teaching.

“Being the only woman in a lab was pretty typi cal,” she said. “In a class, there might only be two or three of us”.

In her time at Branham, Schremp has ac tively worked to help increase the number of women in STEM classes, with hopes of changing the low numbers. She found that grouping girls together for projects or class seating changed the dynamic in the classroom and helped create more of an interest.

“Acknowledging that their styles of interacting in a group of doing hands-on projects had a sig nificant difference, and recognizing that having separate groups might be more supportive with the girls was very important,” she said.

Senior Abbie Fales had a different experience in her female dominated STEM class at Silicon Val ley Career Technical Education (SVCTE), where she takes forensics, which she plans to study at Seattle University.

“A lot of the science fields are mostly male dom inated, so it’s kind of fun to have a science [class] that is mostly women,” Fales said.

Throughout her time at Branham, Fales has taken full advantage of the STEM class

“They’re more willing and motivated to do outside research,” Fales said. “They actually want to Maddie Cox also plans on taking her engineering passion to college — something that was fostered from a young age from her father, who is also an engineer.

“I was so lucky to have people like [my father],”

Yet, Cox faced some challenges in Branham’s STEM classes. She felt her peers did not trust her at times in labs or groups where she was the only girl.

“I was just being talked over and given the easy tasks,” Cox said. “Go get those materials. Go figure this out. I wasn’t trusted to do any of the build-

Despite this, Cox has continued to take engineering for the past four years because of the support that she’s gotten around her. “There are teachers and even other students at this school that will support you,” Cox said. “Just because you have one bad experience doesn’t mean that it’s always gonna happen.”

For Schremp, having confidence is the key thing she wants to instill in her students.

“Anybody can do engineering,” Schremp said. “It’s okay if you don’t like it, but it’s not okay to say ‘I can’t do it’, because everybody can do it.”

34% of women were enrolled in STEM majors in 1994

45% of women were enrolled in STEM majors in 2020

16% of those who earned a Bachelor’s degree in computer and information science are women

80% of those who earned a Bachelor’s degree in health and medicine are women

27%

of those who work in STEM fields are women, but only 15% for engineering

Source: Forbes

Isabelle Zanachi/Special to the Bear Witness

David Tran/Special to the Bear Witness

SCIENCE & HEALTH

TEACHING WITH TECH

Teachers try and train others on new technology to improve student engagement

ELLIOTT YAU Staff Writer

Chromebooks, projectors and online study tools of all sorts are common in classrooms across the nation. At Branham, teachers adapt to the modern demands of student learning by using educational technology in their classrooms, commonly referred to as 'edtech.'

US History and Ethnic Studies teacher Stefanie Menera uses educational technology daily in her classroom. She often uses Newsela to hand out reading resources instead of a textbook, especially since it offers five different Lexile levels, a measure of a writing’s difficulty, for the majority of its texts.

“I assign a lot of primary sources, and sometimes those can be very difficult for students to read,” Menera said. “It's a way for me to not overwhelm students with as much reading, like reading a chapter or something and being a little more focused at a more accessible Lexile level.”

Contrasting to textbooks that can’t adapt to recent changes, Newsela constantly adds recent articles which is another aspect Menera likes.

“[The textbook’s] perspective is static, which we try to stay away from when we're looking at things from a historical perspective,” she said. “We’re always trying to look at it through modern eyes.”

Reflecting on her educational experience without the current technological resources, Menera believes she would have done better academically if she had access to Canvas courses and PowerPoints, which is why she embeds her slides directly onto Canvas.

“The goal is just to make it so that they come into Canvas and they don’t need to do anything else. They can just click and see exactly what is to be done.”

Menera is also a Canva Education Creator, creating and publishing educational templates on Canva for other teachers to use in addition to making videos, project templates, agendas and presentations for her own classes.

This year, she has used Canva’s tools to help English learners work with the material. Instead of making her students use Google Translate on their own, she utilized Canva’s Magic Translate to translate entire presentations or infographics into Spanish.

“[Canva] gives me the chance to make all of my materials without a lot of extra work on my part, which is the key,” Menera said. “The key part of any educational technology [is that] teachers don't have time. When it comes to doing things that make lives better for us and for our students, it really has to be something that can be done with ease or quickness.”

Chinese teacher Linda Chen also leans into using technology to make learning more accessible. She is Bra-

nham’s top Quizlet creator, using it to make online flashcard sets for almost every lesson she teaches because she finds it helpful for students to learn the vocabulary.

“I love to use the Quizlet Live game because students feel comfortable to work as a group and then help each other to practice what they already reviewed or previewed,” Chen said.

Quizlet also provides pronunciations, and Chen can use it to create alternative vocabulary tests for special needs students.

“Instead of writing down answers or clicking 20 times, I read it aloud and they tell me what it is,” she said.

Senior Annie Chen, an AP Chinese student, likes having the added efficiency of working online and typing instead of writing, as well as the ease of access with online Quizlet flashcards.

“It made it more convenient for me to actually review the terms because I had it with me instead of having to bring [physical] flashcards around everywhere,” Annie said.

Linda utilizes Google products like Google Voice and Google Meet, which allows her students to practice speaking and receive tutoring. In addition, she uses Google Classroom, Edpuzzle, Quia and Kahoot in her classroom and is always trying to learn something new.

“My next goal is to learn how to use ChatGPT,” she said. “I saw so many beautiful lessons created by a teacher with ChatGPT. I have to make sure I keep learning, otherwise it’s hard to convince [students] to follow you.”

Menera also is constantly looking for new educational technology to use.

Last year, she went to a Computer-Using Educators (CUE) conference to learn more about educational technology, and she also shared her knowledge with other teachers on professional development days. This year, she demonstrated how existing Google Slides can be transformed into Canva presentations with new features like animations and translations.

“We kept it focused on presentations because Canva is such a huge, huge resource that it’s hard to cover the entire breadth of what it can accomplish,” Menera said. “I am convinced everyone should be using Canva, and so I tried to get some teachers on my bandwagon and convince them that it was worth transitioning from Google Slides.”

The aesthetics Canva provides with more attractive graphics can help keep students engaged as well, Menera observed.

“Keeping students engaged is harder and harder,” she said. “If there’s anything I can do, like make the slide a little prettier to look at,put some really cool pictures or animations on there, and if it's not too difficult for me to do, then I will be glad to do it,” Menera said. As technology becomes more preva-

lent in the classroom, discussions over AI become more prominent even as technology companies race to integrate AI into their products.

Newsela, for example, leverages AI to generate vocabulary definitions and writing prompts, and AI-generated flashcard sets are available on its platform, Formative. Quizlet now features Q-Chat, an adaptive AI tutor that uses ChatGPT to guide language learning and provide study coaching. Accompanying these new AI features are widespread concerns over students’ academic honesty, leading to a need for instructors to manage possible ethical concerns with AI while also staying at the forefront of new edtech.

Ultimately, Menera sees emerging educational technology as a great way to get students invested in learning.

“Anytime I’m using educational technology, it's going to make someone’s life easier, whether mine or my students, and that's really the goal,” Menera said. “It’s fun to have things that look nice, but at the end of the day, it’s just making the educational experience a little bit nicer, more pleasant or just more accessible for somebody.”

2 in 3

high school students use Quizlet

150 million users of Google Classroom

40 million students are registered with Newsela

3.3

million teachers are registered with Newsela

New technology for the classroom

1. Canva's Magic Translate can translate presentations and inforgraphics into different languages

2. Existing Google Slides can be transitioned into slides on Canva with new animations

3. Newsela uses AI to generate writing prompts and defintions for vocabulary

4. Newsela's platform, Formative, also uses AI to generate flashcards

5. Quizlet has an adaptive AI tutor called Q-Chat. It runs of ChatGPT and can help with learning languages and studying Elliott Yau/Bear Witness

SCIENCE &HEALTH BRIEFS

Solar eclipse covers much of the United States

The moon will travel between the earth and sun on April 8, causing a solar eclipse over North America. In San Jose, a partial eclipse will happen from around 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., but viewers in the deepest shadow, which stretches from Texas to Maine in the US, will experience a total eclipse and may notice changes in the temperature and wind, the appearance of bright planets in the sky, and the quieting of birds and other wildlife for a brief time during totality. Eclipse viewers must use solar viewing glasses or solar viewers throughout the whole eclipse to look at the sun, which can cause significant damage to the naked eye. The next total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous US will occur in 2044.

New kidney transplant offers new medical potential

A kidney from a genetically-engineered pig was transplanted into a 62-yearold man, marking the first time the procedure has been performed. Kidneys remove waste and excess fluid from the blood. If this new treatment is successful, it could provide patients with kidney failure an alternative to dialysis, a procedure that filters toxins from the blood, and kidney transplants. About 37 million Americans have kidney disease, but only 25,000 kidney transplants are performed a year, resulting in limited access. The human immune system’s rejection of foreign tissue and subsequent life-threatening complications have presented an obstacle to xenotransplantation, the implantation of animal organs into human bodies. However, recent advances in gene editing and cloning have allowed scientists to make animal organs more compatible with the human immune system and inactivate pathogens carrying retroviruses. Critics argue against further exploitation of animals and cite the risk of viruses, calling for a greater focus on fixing the organ donation system.

Increased demand for electricity complicates climate goals

American electricity demand is increasing substantially, driven by increasing numbers of electric cars, factories and data centers. Consulting firm Grid Strategies projects that nationwide peak demand during the summer will grow by 38,000 megawatts in the next five years, which equates to adding another California to the grid. Ironically, some utilities are looking to gas-fired plants to meet the rising demand for electricity partially driven by aspects of the clean-energy transition like electric cars and factories, which goes against President Biden’s goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. In order to prepare for the future, some companies are developing new ways to store energy during low-demand times, like start-up Energy Dome, which uses carbon dioxide in balloons. The carbon dioxide is compressed into liquid using electricity from the grid during the day and expanded back into a gas at night, powering a turbine and giving back energy to the grid.

Effects of coffee drinking and limits of caffeine Apple, the world’s second most valuable company, was sued by the US Justice Department for violating antitrust laws limiting competition around the iPhone's ecosystem. The lawsuit claims that Apple’s tight control over their products and denial of core features to rivals creates an anti-competitive playing field. Apple is also called out for practices across its entire ecosystem, including the use of green bubbles that indicate messages from Android phones, and restricting users to only use Apple's Wallet app for tapto-pay. In a previous lawsuit involvinp Epic Games, Apple successfully argued that its policies were essential to keep their devices private and secure. Other governments are also investigating Apple, including the EU, which recently announced an investigation into Alphabet, Apple and Meta; Apple was also fined $2 billion for restricting music streaming apps from communicating subscription offers to users outside of the app.

—Compiled by Elliott Yau with information from the New York Times and NASA

Courtesy of Stefanie Menera

US History and Ethnic Studies teacher Stefanie Menera at the spring CUE conference on new educational technology.

Menera teaches her fifth period US history class about World War I using a slideshow made from Canva.

DEPTH

DO-GOOD, FEEL

ASB, ASAP

From planning school dances to awareness weeks, ASB’s presence and acts of service on campus do not go unnoticed

LIA CHOI Managing Editor

When envisioning the ways Branham students are involved in community and service, the Associated Student Body (ASB) may be one of the first things that come to mind.

From planning school dances to Branham’s annual charity event Winter Wishes, ASB is a nationwide student organization responsible for garnering school spirit and representing the interests and goals of the entire student body.

Senior Megan Morrison has been a part of ASB for four years and is this year’s senior class president. In previous years, she was her class’ secretary/treasurer. ASB has taken up a vast portion of Morrison’s high school experience, being what she has “prioritized most in high school,” as it has helped her get in touch with her community.

“I really wanted to be a part of the inclusive atmosphere, and it’s what keeps me still going,” she said. “I want to make everyone find something that they’re passionate about and just make their experience at Branham more memorable and positive.”

With ASB being her main commitment, Morrison enjoys being an active member of ASB because of how the group tries to involve and support the student body through its diverse spirit events and cultural awareness weeks.

“I think that everyone in our class is doing what they do for the correct intentions of bringing inclusivity and support to different groups,” she said. “I’ve been able to work with different clubs on campus and help out in order to make their events happen even though I’m not part of the club.”

Still, Morrison recognizes that ASB can make a better effort to involve more students outside the organization and consider their opinions. The recent changes that have occurred in ASB, like the multiple shifts in advisers and class cuts, have made it difficult to work at their full potential.

“Everything we do has a reason, and it’s important that we make that clear to the student body if there’s something they don’t agree with so there’s full transparency,” she said. “And I do appreciate when people share their opinions about what we do in ASB because that always helps how we handle things.”

Junior Parker Miles was one of the dozen juniors who got cut from ASB this year. He was in it for three years and is this year’s tech commissioner.

Outside of ASB, Miles partakes in National Honor Society (NHS), tennis, Boy Scouts and other extracurriculars that have shaped his passionate attitude towards service. Without ASB next year, he plans to focus on having a “regular senior year,” as ASB has been his main source of community involvement.

“ASB has definitely opened my eyes when done right,” he said. “You can make a community within it along with a healthier community outside, and it helps with a lot of social skills.”

However, he finds ASB’s connection to students outside of the organization limited. For example, feedback forms are sent out to only a select few whenever ASB conducts events. Therefore, Miles suggests ASB advertise the feedback form to the general population, along with “reaching out to smaller niches of groups.”

“We always consider the student body’s opinion when we make our events, but generally, we haven’t seen a huge influx of involvement,” he said. “So, targeting those groups of people who generally don’t participate in our usual events would really help because our events are targeted more towards certain people who are a bit more outgoing.”

Senior Loralyn Withers chose not to apply to ASB their junior and senior year after being in it for two years due to a feeling of being outspoken or shut down whenever they attempted to voice their opinions. Withers recently publicly expressed their frustration against ASB on Instagram and was surprised to find it received mostly positive reactions.

“Negative voices are always louder than the rest of the crowd, and we should just ignore it because there’s always going to be criticism, right?” Withers said. “But there was an us-versus-them sentiment in ASB that I didn’t like, and I wish people would at least give members a standing to speak out against the majority of the group.”

Similarly to Miles, Withers believes ASB helps with general community involvement, such as Winter Wishes, but when it comes to more marginalized events, there is a lack of representation.

“Sometimes they don’t involve the right people,” they said. “It’s like we highlight certain parts of the community without actually involving them in these events.”

However, ASB has helped them with social anxiety when talking to adults and understanding the value of hard work. Withers currently uses these skills as a dual-enrollment student at West Valley College, where they volunteer at the school’s health center and take part in the Democracy Institute.

Ultimately, Withers understands that ASB plays a pivotal role on campus and helps cultivate a sense of community, but there are still aspects to improve on.

“Cultivating good leadership is important, so I wish in ASB there was more focus on guiding these developing leaders and holding them accountable for certain things,” they said.

Community service is a vital experience that extends good feel-good phenomenon, the tendency for people others. The different ways students are involved in part of ASB to individual volunteering

CLUB INVOLVEMENT

Making change, one

Branham’s

diverse club

foundation allows students to become more knowledgeable of and involved in the community

Branham’s clubs are one of the many ways students get directly involved in community service and gain a sense of leadership outside of the classroom. With around 90 clubs this school year ranging from National Honor Society to Karaoke Club, students are bound to find a club supporting their passions or discover new interests.

Senior Maddie Cox is president of Key Club, an international service organization dedicated to providing volunteer and leadership opportunities both on and off campus for students.

With over 50 members and multiple divisions outside of Branham, Key Club is one of the larger clubs about community service. By carrying out fundraisers such as raising money for the Pediatric Trauma Program or Gravity Water Chain in Vietnam every year, Key Club helps raise awareness about initiatives that “make the world a better place.”

“I’m more willing to help people out now because of all the kinds of events we do,” Cox said. “I’m more outgoing when it comes to taking

initiative

Although blocks wanted vate her “Not doing something she said. Unlike junior Avishawd in order After being “In a lot be ashamed use our better values As president, events such

Lia Choi/Bear Witness

Junior Jaiden Madrigal and freshman Valeriya Tomkiv brainstorm ideas together during the ASB period.

Courtesy of Maddie Cox

Key Club president Maddie Cox runs the tattoo station at the Summer Special Olympics held at Santa Clara University.

Lia Choi/Bear Witness

ASB members help make posters showcasing this year’s prom theme, the Great Gatsby.

LIA CHOI Managing Editor

David Tran/Special to the Bear Witness

FEEL-GOOD

extends beyond high school and helps foster the dopeople to be in a good mood when they aid or help in serving the community, ranging from being a volunteering efforts, are explored in this spread.

by Lia Choi and Reese Gardner

INVOLVEMENT

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

Classroom to Community

How Bruins are individually helping their community one step at a time

REESE GARDNER Opinion Editor

Some students may view community service as another requirement for college applications while others use it as a way of self-expression and personal fulfillment. Branham’s various clubs and volunteer opportunities help students get involved in community service, yet some individuals go beyond this to serve their community.

Senior Hasika Oggi is involved in service clubs such as National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation, but she chose to take more initiative in helping the Branham community beyond the classroom. Oggi was a part of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, in which she established the Little Free Libraries on campus and raised mental health awareness.

In addition, Oggi joined the student board as a trustee and board member to not only represent Branham, but all schools in the Campbell Union High School District (CUHSD) because she felt the need to make change at a higher level. On the board, she has been involved in important initiatives such as the Narcan training held during tutorials and pushing for a standardized curriculum fair for both students and teachers.

“I’m not someone who would usually like to take that initiative and step up for things that I’ve seen on campus,” Oggi said. “But then I had a friend who passed away from a drug overdose, and so part of that was what propelled me to look for these kinds of opportunities.”

Oggi regularly volunteers to contribute to a better environment for all students as well. As a Sacred Hearts volunteer, she helps give out food to the less fortunate and provides them with donated clothes. She also volunteers at events on campus like participating in ASB set-up days and SPARE Club’s recycling.

“Volunteering for me and probably for a lot of other people is something that gives you a sense of satisfaction that nothing else can really give you,” Oggi said. “When you volunteer, you yourself are taking the initiative to say no one’s telling me to do this.”

Oggi urges students to help the community in some way as clubs and school events are all resources available in assisting the growth of Branham’s community.

“Branham is a big family and every person in this family has a role to play,” she said. “They do have a responsibility to contribute and make this a better place not just for themselves, but for everyone who’s currently on campus and everyone who’s going to come after them.”

In the Ethnic Literature classes, students are currently participating in the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project, which is “ground in critical pedagogy and allows youth to research a problem that’s affecting them in schools and have a say in addressing it,” according to Ethnic Literature teacher Jeannine Black

One of her students, senior Christian Winzenread, is using this project to try and make community service a more known and active service both inside and outside campus.

Winzenread has based his project on possible community service or service learning-based classes being implemented at CUHSD schools. Whether this be making community service a graduation requirement or an elective course, Winzenread and his group wants to make volunteering something more people want to participate

one club at a time

initiative about something.”

Although Cox’s experience as president has not been without roaddue to a large amount of responsibility leading the club, she to take on a more significant role as the club has helped cultiher passion for service. only does [community service] make me feel good that I’m something that’s not just for myself, but it’s also helping others,” said. “It’s beneficial for both parties.”

Unlike Cox, who initially joined Key Club without a clear motive, Avishawd Yarisaeid joined Days for Girls, another service club, order to specifically spread awareness about menstrual health care. being on the board for three years, she is now the president. lot of places that aren’t the U.S, a period is seen as something to ashamed of,” Yarisaeid said. “So I wanted to make sure that we can influence here where that isn’t the norm and try to represent values for how someone with a period is treated.” president, Yarisaeid is responsible for organizing Days for Girls’ such as bake sales, period supply drives and distributing men-

strual products on campus. She has even collaborated with educational organizations like the National Alliance and San Jose Women’s Equality Coalition.

Yarisaeid owes many of her current leadership skills and awareness of menstrual health to joining the club.

“I wouldn’t have stepped into the position I am today, and I wouldn’t have been able to thrive with people who share the same values on what a period is and are just as passionate about this issue as I am,” she said.

Yarisaeid is involved with a variety of other activities dedicated to bringing social awareness, ranging from being president of Branham’s Spanish Honor Society and a student visionary candidate for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She emphasizes the importance of giving back to the community, no matter how insignificant the action may seem, as it helps shape students’ personal identities.

“Branham is the school we go to and where we gain our education, and although there’s highs and lows, it’s really important to give back to the people who helped you grow,” she said.

in.

“I would hope that it would open people’s eyes to the fact that we do live in a place with a lot of other people that have their own stories,” he said. “They have their own experiences, and we should be coming together way more because it will help solve a lot of issues that we have locally.” As an active volunteer himself, Winzenread has been regularly volunteering at different food distribution centers, which are run through the Second Harvest Food Bank. During these, he helps with the contactless drivethrough where they provide food for families in the area. He also participates in SafePark in downtown Campbell, which provides private property parking lots so that people who live in their cars have a safe space to stay.

He emphasized how volunteering and participating in community service have to be things people want to do, not something they are forced to do.

“You have to want to make a difference if you want to do it correctly,” Winzenread said. “If you don’t, then it’s useless. If you do bad volunteering, you’re not helping. You’re harming the community by doing that.”

The YPAR project, among many others, has allowed students to take further initiative and proved that students can make a difference. Black hopes that students realize how much power their voice holds, and if used respectfully, real people will listen and share those same concerns.

“One thing we emphasize is the incremental approach to problem-solving. We ask them to think about ’what next?’ in relation to solving their larger issue,” she said. “We encourage students to be curious as they approach their issue and to think like a team player about solving it.”

Even when topics and projects become controversial, students are still encouraged to share their opinions and reach out to people who can help them reach their goals and passions

“Our role as teachers is to give them a broader perspective, to look at the issues with nuance and compassion, being sure to humanize those involved in their issue,” Black said. “This way, they begin to see that they can be part of the solution, that their voice or actions can make a difference.”

Yet, Winzenread and his group are unsure if any changes will come through the YPAR project, as they understand requiring mandatory hours to graduate is not reasonable for every student and their differing priorities.

“There’s so much going on at this time in our lives. People have jobs. People have school because they’re very academically motivated,” said Winzenread. “But for people who have the privilege of time and free time, spend it doing something productive in your community.”

Even so, he believes that through the project, students can at least share the feeling of how important and validating community service can be for all parties involved.

“I will always stand for more community involvement,” Winzenread said. “It makes you such a better person, and it helps humanize you to so many people’s struggles and contribute to your society in a positive way.”

Courtesy of Avishawd Yarisaeid Days for Girls president Avishawd Yarisaeid decorates menstrual product donation bins for the club’s annual period supply drive.

Courtesy of Hasika Oggi Senior Hasika Oggi, who helped establish Little Free Libraries on campus as part of the Superintendent Student Advisory Council, labels boxes with "book drop" to collect books for a week-long book drive.

Senior Griffin Dayrit helps volunteer at Branham’s Pop-Up Pantry by distributing boxes of food to families in need.

STUDENT LIFE

TALES OF THE PAST

After first opening in 1967 as a school under the Campbell Union High School District, Branham closed down in 1991 as the campus was leased to Valley Christian Schools. It later reopened as Branham in 1999. The school went through a lot of changes since its first opening from the most recent construction to differences in staff, courses and student culture. The changes are evident from examining the past Bear Witness newspapers, along with the anecdotes of the alumni.

Former Bear Witness reporter Todd

Inoue, Class of 1984

Q: How was your experience at Branham?

TI: You have to realize that I graduated in 84. I’m not good at math, but it’ll be about 40 years ago. I can only look back with fondness now. At the time, we’re all trying to get through high school or trying to fit in trying to find your people, who you can vibe with. Gorgeously, I was able to find a couple people that I really enjoyed and to hang out with, and a large part of the high school experience was the journalism class. There was so much similar creative energy in there that I was seeking and also wanted to be validated as well. I had ideas and I thought about music a certain way, and I found those people in that class. These are people I still talk to today. And the advisor, Bob Shibley. I think he was being ostentatious, but he always referred to our class as the best journalism program that he taught. We would, within the last 10 years, get together. So for me, it was important to find that sort of group of people that you can roll with and journalism was one of those things. The other thing was soccer as well. So playing soccer [at Branham], I learned about resilience and creativity because our coach was really tough on us. When things get really bad and your target is that you try to push on forward and complete the task that you had to do. I felt like somewhat of an outcast but how much of an outcast can you be in a suburban high school? So, I really tried to find my identity through music and soccer [in high school].

Q: Why did you decide to join the Bear Witness?

TI: I joined because I knew I was a good writer. I knew that I was passionate about soccer and music, so I would write about those things. I was an okay student with B’s and C’s. But the journalism program was something that gave me the confidence to pursue and find my voice. I look back at some of the articles I wrote and laugh now, but the passion was there. I think that’s where I got my hooks in through the journalism program.

Q: What were some of your roles in the Bear Witness?

TI: Every month, we would put out an issue, and everybody would switch off being the editor. I rotated once at the very end, and it was a co-rotation because I was just too focused on the words because that’s where I felt most comfortable. Shibley let us pursue stories that we felt that needed to be told. I knew I could get support from them if I needed it. Two of my best friends from that time, who I still keep an eye out for today, were part of the program as well. So, just having this amalgamation of people, of personalities and lived experiences was refreshing because we were getting into arguments about the most minute things.

Q: How was Branham different back then?

TI: Oh my goodness. Things were so different. It was almost like the Wild West because we actually had a smoking area in the quad behind the music room. The small gym, that corner right there. That area you could actually smoke if you wanted, and kids did smoke there. And teachers would smoke there. So in between classes, if you go in there, there’ll be huge plumes of smoke. One of my friends or the staff wrote about it saying this is completely hypocritical. You’re not even supposed to be able to buy cigarettes until you’re 18, so why is Branham encouraging this behavior? He got all this hate mail from other smokers at the time. There also used to be what they called a slave auction. They would line up the freshmen or a group of people from one class in which you could bid on the person and they would have to carry your books and lunch or give you lunch. Now you think oh my gosh, this would have never ever happened. [The past high school experience was] maybe a bit more un-PC or just more real about their feelings and prejudices. The 80s were a wild time. The dances were the highlight of the school year. Same with the homecoming games, basketball and football. People would fall out for those and sometimes try to sneak in through all kinds of ways. This is also pre-cellphone days. So there was only communication by landline phones. To find out where the party was or to get directions to somebody’s house, you’d have to write it out or find a map to map your way around. There was a fair amount of substances circulating. People would go to school a little drunk or a little high depending on the circumstances of their life or their liv ing conditions. I don’t think there was such an economic disparity as you see now, where some kids may be living in their cars or unhoused at the time. At the time, we felt Branham did the best that they could. There were a few teachers that were accused of things and replaced. It just flowed back to me, but I enjoyed it. High school is a good training ground for the beginning of your identity. It’s a good place to try out things and find what works for you. Don’t think that you peaked in high school because you haven’t yet. This is just the start. It’s really important to think about that. So, I encourage everybody to think that there’s always the next chapter, and it’s up to you to create that narrative for yourself along that path.

Q: Any final words you would like to add?

TI: To be able to play in the alumni game every year is a lot of fun for me, to play with Maceo, my son. 40 years to the day when I graduated and played as a senior, and he’s a senior now in 2024. To me that meant a lot to me to be able to play that game against him. He ended up scoring three goals. So at the end of the night, we took a picture together. That to me is something I’ll always remember. But for Branham itself, Branham put me on the path to finding out who I was. It made me able to find my people, my crew, my taste and my passion.

—Compiled by Jiyoon Choi

Math teacher Donnetta Torrecillas, Class of 1987

Q: How was the school culture different?

DT: Everyone was in love with the teachers. Everyone wanted to be a teacher. We had two valedictorians, who are a principal and a kindergarten teacher now. It’s been a while. Also, [over the years] we’ve built on everything in math. We have some cultures who have kids that are more advanced than I was [in high school], and I was very advanced. I had to go to two schools to take a math class because I was so high up. We just didn’t have the ability to have people fill up a classroom. But now, we’re teaching BC calculus at all campuses. That’s very amazing. So it’s very different in that the [my] superintendent [had experience as] a teacher. You were proud to say you were from Campbell Union. Everything we did, we did as a district. Now, when I see my students dealing with district schools, they’re not as friendly. We were always against Leigh, but we had friends because our neighborhoods were close. It’s very different now. The disparity in people’s income is very obvious, and that to me is very sad. I love that everybody gets lunch, but there are kids who have their lunch delivered every day. A lot of the students came back to teach. It is not an uncommon thing because we just thought our teachers were like, I don’t want to say gods, but we just thought our teachers were the best.

Q: What is your favorite memory from high school?

DT: The year we did a video yearbook was the first year they had that available. And our Spanish teacher let us do anything. Whatever we wanted to film, we got to film. She was totally into it. She’s a retired teacher now. So, getting to hold that big giant thing and do things like making a lot of videos in our classes [is my favorite memory]. It was fun to make videos in Spanish and do silly things, and we just had a lot of fun. It was a great year. My

English teacher Melanie Vega, Class of 2011

Q: What are some of your special moments from high school?

MV: I definitely remember certain teachers that stick out in my mind, like teachers that really had a positive impact or just big personalities. Mr. Fernandez was actually my AP Bio teacher. There was a teacher who’s not here anymore, Ms. Burnside. She was my junior honors English teacher because we didn’t have AP Lang at that point when I was a student. She’s the whole reason I took AP Lit, and I’ve done really well [in that class]. I was also in choir as a student, [which was taught by] Ms. West who is still here. I loved her and hated her because she pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was not actually a huge fan of performing or having people hear me sing, but in a large choir where your voice blends in, I could manage. She’s the person who got me to do my first ever solo performance, and it was at a choir competition. I was so nervous, but the sense of accomplishment I had I was like, ’Oh my God.’ I’ve never sung a solo and I actually did it because of her pushing me. In choir, we also got to go to Disneyland. I had joined the badminton team at points that I have fond memories of. We weren’t the best sports team like we weren’t winning all the badminton games. But for me, it wasn’t so much about the winning or the losing, but the camaraderie of the team and my friends there.

Q: How does it feel to be colleagues with your past teachers?

MV: It’s really weird to refer to them by their first name, but you get used to calling them mister so and so or miss so and so. Some of them I didn’t even know their first name. It was really strange at first, but the nice thing is they did treat me as an equal of a teacher now, treating me as another colleague or professional. With that kind of attitude, it became a lot easier to see them as another co-worker or another colleague, although I do joke with them sometimes that I make them feel old like ’Your former student is here teaching with you.’

Q: What do you think changed the most?

MV: I think in a lot of ways, it’s similar, but Branham was not nearly as big when I was a student here. The student population size has increased. I mean, we have these new buildings because we needed more classrooms. I think sometimes, when the school gets so big, it can be hard to keep a cohesive community feel. We’ve had a lot of staff turnover every year, so I feel like that can also make it hard, keeping a sense of community and a consistent identity going forward. But overall, a lot of students and teachers do treat each other respectfully and try to be positive influences with each other. I think it’s really important that this is a school where a lot of the people who are here, like us adults, want the students to succeed and try and help create a positive community even though students of every generation are different as the slang changes, the outfits change. Although interestingly enough, some of the clothes that were cool when I was in middle school are now becoming cool again.

Q: Do you have any advice for current Branham students?

MV: I would say that in the future, you never know how it’s gonna turn out. But if you’re always working toward something better for yourself or to improve yourself, even if things don’t go right, if you keep setting yourself positive goals, eventually, you’ll get to be where you’re meant to be, even if it’s not what you originally planned. We all find something for ourselves. If you’re not happy with where you are, or what’s going on, that means you just haven’t gotten there yet. You just have to keep moving forward, and hopefully, everyone will find a path for themselves. So, being a student in high school, I think you have to keep that kind of student attitude that you’re always a student of life to continue learning and growing and improving.

Bear Witness May 1979 issue

SAFE, Student Action for Environmnet or now called SPARE (Students Promoting Awareness of Recycling and the Environment), planned Earth Week back in the 1970s and 80s. SPARE continued this annual tradition starting last year. This year’s Earth Week by SPARE happened in March 25 to March 29.

Bear Witness June 1989 issue

The Bear Witness issues from the past had different illustrations of a bear on the front page that best represented the headline story.

Bear Witness June 1991 issue

As Branham was leased to Valley Christian, Branham students were transferred to other district high schools. This illustration mocks those who transferred to Prospect.

Bear Witness June 1979 issue

Bear Witness April 1980 issue

The front page illustration was done by a staff illustrator for each issue. The past papers were only around four to eight pages while the current issues print 16.

RUSH TO THE ROAD

Students struggle to find motivation to get their licences

ARESEMA AGDIE Staff Writer

Driver’s licenses are the so-called ticket to freedom for many teenagers as soon as they turn 16, prompting them to rush to get licensed.

According to a Bear Witness poll of 203 readers, 61% of respondents felt pressured to get their license quickly.

Senior Mai Dang got her license on Aug. 3, 2023, at the age of 17, after most of her friends had acquired theirs around the legal age. Dang wanted to experience her friends’ newfound freedom by hanging out more.

Dang believes that some students may delay getting their driver’s licenses until they turn 18 because at that age, they can get their license without taking the permit knowledge test and waiting six months for the driving test.

“Most students, I would say, get their license around the time they can legally get it, which is 16. However, I have noticed that some of my friends and a lot of other people around me, didn’t start trying to get their license until they turned around 17 or 18,” Dang said.

Financially, car insurance is much higher for minors, with the average price being an added $230 a month for parent’s insurance bills or $730 a month for teens with their own policy according to Forbes Advisor. This is because teen drivers are considered inexperienced and possibly reckless drivers, making them a liability to insurance companies, in turn raising the insurance costs.

Another expensive setback Dang highlights is the

cost of private driving instruction as it is a requirement for minors to have six hours of instruction before they can take their driver’s license test.

“There’s a big chunk of money that you have to put down,” Dang said. “It was around $200 for each lesson I took, and I did get a slightly cheaper price due to buying the bundle of the three lessons in total at the same time.”

Senior Ashley Maguire was 16 when she got her driver’s license and experienced little pressure from her parents and peers, though she acknowledges a culture that pushes students to get licensed quickly.

“I think a lot of people who have their driver’s license already tend to tell others to get it as soon as possible,” Maguire said. “It does make a lot of things more convenient, like getting to school, getting to practice or wherever you need to go.”

English Honors 2 and AP literature teacher Heather Amanatullah has two daughters who got their licenses when they were 16 years old and didn’t experience any sort of pressure from peers. Amanatullah believes that the pandemic may have contributed to the anxiety many students may feel about being on the road.

“The whole pandemic gap we had for two years created a lot of fear and anxiety, just about change and new things,” Amanatullah said. “I think we’re almost set back on a psychological level, and there are some kids out there that maybe are just not ready to drive yet.”

Amanatullah noticed that students who chose to get

their license get applauded, but those who put it off until they are emotionally ready don’t receive any acknowledgement.

“I have students who told me that they don’t want to get it, and nobody seems to give them any grief for it,” Amanatullah said. “It just seems like the kids that do get it are more celebrated.”

Amanatullah sheds light on the aspects of driving that prohibit many students from getting their license. However, for those that do have their license, it is a token of freedom. “You have all those prohibitive things that make it more difficult to get your license. Gas is expensive, some families can’t afford to have an extra vehicle, and our parking lot is a nightmare here—it’s way too small for the number of people who go here,” Amanatullah said. “But for the kids that do have the ability to do all that and can afford it. I think that they would tell you, they enjoy having it, and it gives them a sense of freedom.”

Maguire advises students to at least get their permit first, so that they can try driving and determine whether they are ready to continue. If not, they at least have a resource that they can utilize in the case of an emergency or to try again later.

“It is important to try to get your permit, and then you can kind of test it to see if you are a good and comfortable driver,” she said.

Raising Awareness of the Environment

As industrial advancements accelerate, a growing concern emerges for the Branham community

ANABELLE WALKER

Student Life Editor

In a world increasingly shaped by industrialization and technological advancement, the fragility of our environment is often overshadowed. But for senior Vyas Chipalkatti, the root cause of environmental degradation isn’t solely the relentless march of technology. It’s also the lack of care and awareness around the world.

Chipalkatti’s insight underscores a pressing dilemma at the intersection of progress and sustainability. As industrial and technological advancements propel societies forward, it often leaves a trail of environmental deterioration in their wake. Studies have shown that over the years, climate, biodiversity, pollution, deforestation and habitat destruction are some of many consequences the environment has faced.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the planet has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the increase of industrialization 250 years ago. It is estimated that without any immediate change, the temperature could escalate to four degrees Celsius, causing even more deterioration. This gradual environmental defragmentation has been noticed by students at Branham as well. Returning to India after four years, Chipalkatti was struck by the stark disparity between the environmental conditions there and those in the United States, leading him to reflect on the global ramification of what everyone is doing to the environment.

“I feel that we live in a bubble [with] all of this technological production and different industries,” he said. “We have outsourced the environmental impact of the Central Valley to Southern California.”

Chipalkatti believes large industries benefit from technological advancements and economic activities while disregarding the negative environmental effects. This then leads to environmental injustice since vulnerable communities bear the brunt of pollution and ecological damage.

“If you continue to support this industrial mass manufactured system of production, [that] is unsus-

tainable. We have a scarcity of resources,” Chipalkatti said. “We should limit our desires and our wants and needs to create technologically advanced areas because all of that has a massive impact on the natural resources of this world.”

One of Branham’s environmental conservation organizations, Students Promoting Awareness of Recycling and the Environment (SPARE), actively works on and off campus in order to preserve the environment.

Junior Alexis Tea, co-Beautification coordinator, has been a part of SPARE since her freshman year. Tea works to help the club maintain the garden at Branham Park. For Tea, it’s always been important to her to contribute to the environment and do her part.

“The environment affects all of us in different ways,” she said. “It’s the one thing that we all share in common, like we all share planet Earth.”

Delving into Earth Day on April 22, SPARE dedicated the time to advocate and spread awareness on the environment through their Earth Week, which consisted of environmental activities ranging from a litter pick-up contest and Earth Week trivia.

SPARE advisor and social science teacher Chris Mock acknowledges his efforts to be more environmentally conscious, such as buying sustainable and cruelty-free products and owning an electric car.

As a political science major in college, Mock emphasizes the importance of raising awareness and advocating for environmental issues with elected officials. He recognizes that environmental action extends beyond individual efforts and requires systemic changes in the economy and politics.

“I think there needs to be a bigger picture sort of action taken. Sometimes with the environment, there’s this thought that everyone just needs to recycle and everything will be better.” Mock said. “But the reality is, there’s only so much we can do as individuals we have to change things sorted within the system, how things work in our economy and politics.”

Chipalkatti feels that renewable support has a drastic environmental impact, and with limited resources,

SHUFFLE

Senior Kaulen Velasquez’s music taste could be described as a diverse blend of all genres that concentrates around soul, hip-hop, jazz and rock. He credits his taste to his dad and brother who instilled in him a deep appreciation for music from a young age. An avid music listener and skilled musician, Velasquez’s life is filled with music.

Mila Windell

Tyler the Creator: “CORSO”

KV: “Two years ago, I saw this live, and I’m a huge Tyler the Creator fan. Very upbeat song. I remember when the album first came out, I was like super into it. I was very obsessed with the rollout and everything. So that reminds me of going back to that summer and seeing him live.”

Van Halen: “Hot For Teacher”

KV: “When I was younger, I got into rock I learned about this, and it’s a very exciting song. So whenever I drive, especially on the freeway, it’s nice to listen to because it gives me a lot of energy and makes me hyped up for some reason.”

The Cure: “Friday Im In Love”

KV: “I just love the song. I remember playing it on Guitar Hero when I was younger. I used to listen to this song with my dad all the time. Very pretty chords. Lyrics are also really nice. Yeah, the guitar is really the thing I love the most, because it just brings back memories when I was seven or eight.”

G-Unit: “Smile”

KV: “The beat is very nice, it’s very melodic. But, it’s 50 Cent, so it’s like a cool rap mood but still a hard beat. It was one of my early hip-hop songs that I was put onto by my brother, so it just brings me back to listening to it with him.”

Freeway: “This Is What We Do”

KV: “Same, same type of stuff. My brother put me onto this when I was younger and it has a really very intense like very uplifting beat, so that’s what I like about it.”

the collective community must start living sustainability. “Don’t we all want clean air to breathe and clean water to drink? Don’t we want billions of species on this earth to remain and not be destroyed due to our impact?” he said. “I feel that culture to us has taken away what’s important and why people even do things for the environment. The first step is being educated.”

Ava Stark/Bear Witness

SPARE boad member Rino Moriyama gets her hand painted during the first Earth Week events of making an Earth poster out of handprints.

Aresema Agdie/Bear Witness Students line up to exit the busy parking lot once school finishes.

SPORTS

ATHLETE BURNOUT

BOUNCING BACK FROM ATHLETE BURNOUT

As student athletes navigate their high school journeys, they struggle to find athletic motivation.

MILA WINDELL Staff Writer

Juggling the demands that come with being a student athlete can be a taxing job. In many cases, when faced with an overwhelming workload, student athletes often experience “burnout”: an exhaustion that stems from inadequate mental and physical recovery.

While anyone subjected to high levels of stress can experience burnout, it is prevalent for senior athletes nearing the end of their high school careers, especially when coupled with senioritis.

During her last high school cross country season, senior Annie Chen felt mentally and physically drained as she was taking on four APs, college applications and running 30 plus miles a week to stay in shape and perform at a high level.

Experiencing burnout, Chen was left feeling unmotivated, which began to affect her performance on the field.

“I was exhausted every single day. I wasn’t motivated to run the actual races, so my performance dropped,” she said. “I looked forward to chill, long runs and easy days, but it was hard to mentally prepare myself for actual competitions.”

In a similar sense, senior Ricardo Pham found the beginning of first semester senior year to be particularly stressful, especially during his college golf recruitment process.

“Once you see that a college stops communicating, you wonder what did I do wrong? Should I have played better? Should I do more?” Pham said. “I just kept grinding, and it put a lot of stress on me, but I was able to get through it.”

For Pham, the silence from colleges during the recruitment process fueled a sense of selfdoubt and anxiety. The constant questioning of whether he should have done more added to his already overwhelming stress and burnout.

Similarly, four-year field hockey player Maddie Palmer found herself navigating a comparable struggle during her senior season. Along with balancing her medical internship, SVCTE, Branham classes, college recruitment and her sport, Palmer faced an internal battle, always pushing herself to be the best athlete she can possibly be.

“Pushing myself to my fullest [was one of the main reasons for burnout] because I always try to do things at my max capacity and give my 100% in everything,” Palmer said. “I just always feel like I should be doing more.”

Additionally, after cementing her commitment to Marian College for field hockey, her burnout was soon met with senioritis—a decline in motivation and performance as students approached the end of high school.

“Ever since I got that glimpse of what it was like to practice with the girls [at college], I just want to be there already,” Palmer said. “So it’s like, ’What am I doing here?’ since I already know where I am gonna end up, it just contributes to

SPORTS BRIEFS

Track and Field

On a hot streak, both the boys and girls teams have consistently won at their meets this season. From sophomore runner Murillo to senior pole-vaulter Grant, the team’s variety of experi enced athletes in each event will help them extend their good results as they look to make a strong push into CCS.

Badminton

Badminton is currently 1-1, as the season has just begun, leaving many more opportunities for the Bruins to go on a winning streak. They will look to gain experience throughout the season and try to make a run at CCS.

being burnt out now because I just want to move on.”

Despite these challenges, these student athletes have developed strategies to cope with stress and manage their time effectively. For Palmer, she recommends turning to other teammates and listening to their advice.

“Lean into your teammates, because, you might not know it, but your teammate could be experiencing something similar to you,” she said. “Building that connection and leaning into your teammates is not only beneficial on the field, but it can also create such an amazing connection.”

In order to prevent burnout, Pham recommends taking breaks to refuel mentally and physically.

“Give it some time and just work back at it slowly and then you’ll get back on track,” he said, “ If you really love the sport, you will never quit.

Baseball The Bruin baseball team has gotten off to a great start, going 9-3 in overall play and 3-2 in league play. Sophomore leads the Bruins with a 0.79 Estimated Run Average (ERA). The Bruins will try to pick up more league wins throughout the season in order to make a deep run at

The swim team is currently on a downturn, losing their last two meets, but they will look to bounce back. They are still in contention for BVALs and will continue to grind out these last few meets before the qualifiers.

Boys Volleyball

Volleyball has been undefeated in league play with a 5-0 record, being 9-3 overall. The Bruins are currently on a five game winning streak and will look to improve their record to clinch 1st place in league play. Freshman Satya Raman currently leads the team in total blocks with 33, with senior Wes Middlebrook close behind with 22.

“

Give it some time and just work back at it slowly.If you really love a sport, you

will

never

really

quit.Take a break, be focused, regather yourself, and then come back hitting the ground stronger.

”

Senior Ricardo Pham Golfer

Competitive Sports Cheer

The team has gotten off to a blazing start, going 3-0 in league play and tied with Westmont for first. The Bruins will take on Westmont next week in order to determine who goes to state competitions in what looks to be a close matchup.

Boys Golf

The golf team has gotten off to a rough start going 2-5-1 on the season, all coming within close margins. Senior Ricardo Pham has found success recording the least amount of strokes on the season, along with the least amount per match. They will look to close out these matches in the future.

So you can just take a quick break, be focused, regather yourself and then come back hitting the ground stronger.”

Sophomore Makenzie Navarro

Maceo Inoue/Bear Witness

Seniors Jane Kim, Michele Ho and juniors Marlena Montoya, Elsa Baluta

Grace Ngo/Special to the Bear Witness

COMPETING OFF THE FIELD

From dance to martial arts, Branham’s students find ways to stay active and be involved in sports outside of high school teams

ANGELA CHOI Staff Writer

Three student athletes whose sports take them places from the mountains to the uneven bars were interviewed.

Senior Taryn Quam, dance

Quam began her dance journey at five. Her mother, who was a competitive dancer, enrolled her in a summer program for dance that lit her passion for performing arts. Quam loved the end-of-class dance-offs at her old studio, when she would perform in small groups under a disco ball.

Those were the “fun side of dance” for Quam.

Over time, Quam found enjoyment in balancing the fun side of dance with the technical aspects, as she navigated through the heavy workload of classes and competitions during middle school.

However, the never-ending technical work started to marr her love for the sport, and she stopped being as involved during Covid-19.

“At some points, I would have really been working towards both and really enjoying it. But then other times, I was kind of over it with technique and working,” Quam said. “I wasn’t feeling that happy about dancing.”

Yet, taking dance electives and more involvement in dance at school rejuvenated Quam’s passion for dancing. She particularly loves the high variety of skills that can cultivate at school, such as choreography and palm dancing, a type of dance also used in NFL cheerleading that bridges hip hop, tumbling and freestyle.

“I made some of my best friends from this dance program at school,” Quam said. “I learned that dance is more than just doing the movement. It’s the art of it. I’ve become a lot better with having those fun elements, but also having the movement and flow.”

She cites dance performance teacher Eileen Bertron for her development.

“It was Bertron’s teachings that made me the person who I am. She made me a good leader,” Quam said. “Without what she’s taught me, I don’t think I would be able to pull off anything that I have.”

Last year, Quam founded the school dance team, a competing extracurricular held on campus. During the first year, the team had few members due to the lack of communication about tryouts and unappealing choreography. Her experience and past mistakes pushed her to be a better leader through more effective communication and catering more to the team’s interests.

“The upcoming seasons, I know that I’ll need to have a balance of discipline and fun,” she said.

Quam wants to coach the dance team after she graduates, but in the short term, she hopes that the team can give students a better and happier

time in high school. “I just like helping people find more fun in their life,” Quam said. “It’s a way to spread joy.”

Sophomore Xander Anthony, mountain biking

When COVID-19 spread, Anthony started his path of mountain biking through his dad, an avid biker. Anthony was introduced to trails and his would-be team outside of school.

Part of what drew Anthony to biking was the feeling of moving forward and continuous improvement.

“I felt like I was progressing. It was a freeing feeling,” he said. “There was adrenaline with it too. That’s the other fun part.”

His improvement on the local trail encouraged Anthony to sign up for his first race in eighth grade, where despite lacking professional equipment and extensive training, he was able to score fifth place out of around 80 competitors.

“I definitely didn’t know what to expect. I was just going to put as much effort into it as I can and see what I got out of it,” Anthony said. “I had a blast. The result was pretty exciting.”

Anthony’s results in his first race motivated him to further prepare for racing, and after scoring poorly at a more competitive race later on, he was determined to train with structure and purpose. He hopes to continue to improve to compete in varsity next year.

“I want to keep [getting faster] and just continuing to work on getting stronger and more developed in the sport,” he said.

Aside from personal achievement, Anthony finds the sport as a way to build relationships. His dad often drives him to mountain biking events, fixes equipment for him and teaches him new skills, which Anthony is “super grateful” for.

He also often practices with friends and competes with teammates in which that supportive environment makes the sport even more exciting, extending beyond competitions.

Practicing good habits

SUPRIYA KHANDELWAL Staff Writer

With so much on their plates—from homework and classwork to clubs and sports to driving tests and college applications, high schoolers around the country can often feel stressed and exhausted.

According to research from New York University, half of all high schoolers report feeling significant amounts of stress on a daily basis.

The solution to this is not some expensive panacea or nightly meditation practice. It may lie in simply getting 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day.

Daily exercise can not only have a number of benefits for one’s physical health, but also mental health. Research from the National Institute of Health has shown that exercise can improve self-esteem and cognitive function while reducing anxiety and stress.

Branham athletics trainer Brady Och echoes the benefits of exercise, explaining how the chemical processes associated with physical activity can also aid in alleviating stress.

“When you exercise, your body releases endorphins,” Och said. “It helps create neurotransmitters, which in turn, can lead to a healthy brain chemistry and help you with your mental health.”

Additionally, taking part in group activ-

“[Competitions] are something I look forward to constantly,” Anthony said. “We’re kind of like a family. You show up to a race, and it’s not even about the race.”

Anthony hopes to continue to compete in mountain biking in college if he is able to find a team and wants to continue riding independently. After three years of racing, he hopes to find a way to continuously improve.

“Improving times and improving skills is always really satisfying to me,” Anthony said. “You just focus on having fun and keep getting better.”

Senior Natalie Hata, gymnastics

Through recreational gymnastics classes for toddlers, Hata started her career as a gymnast. She was almost immediately recruited by a coach to join the competitive team. Because of the intensity of the sport, Hata’s parents prevented her from starting in competitions until she was ten years old, when she began to take the sport more seriously.

“I am one of the very few gymnasts that left the sport in one piece with minimal mental trauma,” Hata said. “It’s difficult for young girls to handle these really intense training and competitions. Because of [my parents’] decision, I love the sport.”

Hata began competing with the mindset of trying to not disappoint her coach, which was influenced by her first coach’s rigorous teaching style.

“I was really nervous because it was new,” she said. “But it was also really exciting.”

Eventually, due to staff changes, Hata’s gym shifted its morals to focus less on scoring but more on personal achievement, and training came with less scolding. Despite lower scores, Hata believes that the new mindset was better for her experience in the long run.

“I fell in love with the sport again,” Hata said. “It was more about why I love the sport. I just enjoyed the sport way more, even though there was less pressure. Mentally, that was the best possible thing that could have happened to me.”

Although she was on track to become a college athlete, the shift in gym culture pushed her towards high school competing. This year, Hata finished her level nine season, which is one level below professional gymnastics, and hit her longtime goal of competing at one of the highest levels in gymnastics.

“I told myself I was going to compete at either level nine or level 10 for a season,” Hata said. “I had to learn how to work hard really early and because of that, I was able to achieve in the long run.”

Despite declining scores due to increasing skill difficulty, Hata persisted with compe titions and trained 15-25 hours a week

because she enjoys her time in the gym.

“There are so many little moments like that

feeling when you hit that skill and your teammates are there cheering,” Hata said. “We really understand each other on a deeper level. I’m so sad that I’m gonna leave them.”

Hata wants to keep gymnastics in her life in college and is already looking into ways to start programs or coach at local gyms.

“A lot of my growth and life lessons were all in that gym,” she said. “I’ve been doing this sport for so long that I need it in my life in the future.”

ities such as a team sport or a group class can create a sense of community, which can then translate into other benefits for oneself.

“That [aspect] can be super helpful as well, and it helps with making friends and having a social aspect to your life,” Och said. For those who do not wish to join a sports team, other solo activities such as bodyweight exercises, weight training or cardio such as running or walking can provide a good foundation for positive habits later on in life.

“It’s better to start later than never,” he said. “But if you can get [into] healthy habits as a teenager and just continue those habits throughout life, it’s going to help set you up for success.”

One-quarter

Supriya Khandelwal/Bear Witness

Courtesy of Natalie Hata Hata shows off the many medals she has won from her time in gymnastics.

Courtesy of Xander Anthony Anthony reaches the finish line in a race. Both students have found success in their sports outside of Branham, from the gym to the trails.

ARTS & CULTURE

MINI REVIEWS

MOVIE

Dune: Part 2 (2024)

Directed by Denis Villenueve

What it is: The sequel to Villeneuve’s previous film, adapting the second half of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi classic novel, Dune Part 2 follows the story of Paul Atreides as he lives with the native people of Arrakis, learning their ways and preparing for the final battle to avenge his family.

Liked: I love the cinematography of this movie. Although excellent in the first, Part 2 further improves on this, with bright orange shots of the sand dunes and blinding black and white contrasts of the Harkonnens’ home planet.

Disliked: The drastic location shifts between blinding desserts and dark caves were harsh on my eyes.

— Alan Schaeffer

What it is: Ariana Grande’s newest album, her first new release since 2020. On the album, she sings about her ex husband and what she went through during their relationship.

Liked: Grande has always been known for her strong vocals and soft voice, and this album really showcases her voice. She talks about waiting for love and the post marriage struggles she faced. Additionally, the title track is a very spring feeling song.

Disliked: Many of the songs are repetitive with similar beats. I would have preferred more variety.

— Aryella Finkel-Hozer

VIOLENCE IN MEDIA | Effects in senses

The possible effects between video games is seen with a 2019 Randomized Clinical Trial by Justin H. Chang and Brad J. Pushman. In their sample of 220 children (ages 8-12), those assigned to the group that interacted with a video game involving gun violence were more likely to interact with a disabled handgun, hold it for longer and pull the trigger more times at themselves or a partner.

Wiznrenread instead argues that a way to tackle this is for the games to show the truth of gun violence and its impacts.

“If you have these games that are super realistic, [they] show the visceral detail — the effects that gun violence can have,” he said. “It works in the same way that a war movie. Instead of glorifying war, it shows exactly what it does to get a humanistic perspective.”

“[The regulation] kind of borders on infringement of free speech and free expression because these are aspects of our world and the fact that they would then be repressed is not treating them with the respect that they deserve,” Winzenread said.

Contrastingly, Ethnic Literature teacher Jeannine Black believes the media plays a limited role in leading to a possible increase in gun violence. She said that possible regulation of firearms use in the media would be ineffective — such as putting warnings or labels. She references music or movies that have labels pointing to specific age groups that the content is for, but those have not always been adhered to.

Instead, she noticed that video games can be an emotional outlet for players.

“It’s kind of cathartic for people to be able to vent some emotions that they can’t express,” she said. “Maybe they don’t feel comfortable expressing themselves verbally or so they can let it happen through a video game.”

Black feels that the school has a role

57% of Americans want more strict gun laws

32% of Americans want gun laws to be kept the same as now

10% of Americans want less strict gun laws

Source: BBC

What it is: Taking place after the "Heroes of Olympus" series, the book details Percy’s quests for the god Ganymede in order to recover his lost chalice, in exchange for a recommendation letter for New Rome University, a demigod college.

Liked: It really captures the feeling of the original five books in the series. Plus, it puts the emphasis back on the original three main characters from the first book.

Disliked: The stakes are not as large as in previous books, so the story was less gripping.

— Aadyant

in spreading awareness about gun violence as there is a greater emotional connection with peers, friends and family than with media like video games or movies.

Classes like Ethnic Literature and Studies share new perspectives and even gun policies from other countries, which are minimally discussed in mainstream media. Black cites the time she spent in São Paulo, Brazil, where there’s significant gun violence and cartels and said looking at more examples can help students see the larger picture. Overall, the class discussions can help students learn from peers and develop their views.

“The chance to think about things that [students] don’t ordinarily think about and bring in examples from their life that we might not know they have any experience with can really help kids to formulate their opinions earlier,” Black said. She also referenced the YPAR project for her Ethnic Literature students in which the project aims to help students discuss concerns they have and learn how to work towards change. This can help build good citizenship and get a better understanding of how they can contribute to these discussions on gun policy. Beyond this, education campaigns, such as those done with respecting and educating on the LGBTQ+, can help spread awareness of the issue according to Black.

to day occurrence,” he said. “The fact that the media reports on it so much is simultaneously a good thing because it shows how prevalent it is, but it’s also a bad thing because it desensitizes the populace to this problem.”

Given this, she sees the media as an opportunity to change the narrative and incorporate more “marginalized narratives,” like people who don’t use guns to solve their problems or contrastingly live around a lot of violence.

“The media can tell you what the reality is of having that going on so it’s not so romanticized or made to look so appealing to some people,” Black said.

For Winzenread, the media has a difficult job when reporting about these atrocities.

“When the media reports on mass atrocities provided by guns to the extent that the reporting now it becomes a day

Ultimately, both Winzrenread and Black agree that there needs to be changes in the discussion around concerns like school shootings, as well as firearm regulation. Winzenread advocated for regulation surrounding assault weapons since they are not necessary in daily life.

California is among the states with the most extensive policies concerning firearm use and ownership, with them being prohibited for those who have convicted a felony or a violent offense, having a mental disorder that could endanger others and more. In most cases, individuals must also be 21 to purchase a firearm with a mandatory 10-day waiting period before attaining the

STUDENT PERFORMANCES

firearm while a background check for the possession is run.

With this, Winzenread also sees how the cultural role of guns and how that has shifted today.

“The gun culture is so integral to what would be known as the American identity, but it has now shifted to become more of a pop culture kind of phenomenon rather than a tool based phenomenon,” he said.

For Black, she would like to see policy discussions with the need for change to help prevent mass shootings.

“We all hear the stories about school shootings and are horrified by that, but we can’t just say thoughts and prayers, we have to actually implement some policy change,” she said.

Spotlight for all Theater puts on their spring musical “A Chorus Line”

LAUREN GERNALE Arts & Culture Editor

The Backstage Bruins recently premiered their spring musical, "A Chorus Line,” in the Performing Arts Center. The musical is centered around a cast of aspiring actors auditioning for broadway. While they showcase their musical and physical talent, the audience also learns about their individual stories, personalities and job struggles throughout the show, revealing the often cutthroat nature of the professional acting world.

Sophomore Sarah Osband finds the show unique because it individually highlights each character instead of focusing on a central lead, which can appeal to a broader audience.

“When they get cut, you feel sad, or if they stay, you feel happy,” she said. “You feel involved as the audience, which I really love about the show.”

Osband plays Cassie, a talented dancer who started her career in the chorus line, yet auditions again years later after struggling to find sustainable acting jobs in Los Angeles.

Although Osband had difficulty portraying her character because of their differing ages and maturity, she admires her story.

“Cassie is very strong and proud of herself. She’s had a very interesting life journey,” Osband said. “She’s much older and more mature and she’s gone through a lot, which is a lot harder for me to relate to because we have very different lives.”

Senior Noah Potts, who plays Mark, believes the musical has a broader message about the non-linear journey towards reaching your goals.

“It’s about the human experience,” he said. “You’re gonna have to dig around for it, but it has really in-

teresting commentary about what it means to follow your dreams and passions.”

His favorite part of the process was the beginning stages, especially getting to know the rest of the cast and executing the musical.

“I love the beginning stages when we first started getting to know what the show was going to be and figuring out how we wanted the final product to look because it really was something that we worked together to accomplish, he said.

Potts appreciates the stu dents in the program and believes they truly make the show complete.

“If you had different people who did the show, it would be a completely different final prod uct,” he said.

While he believes a more well-known musical could have been chosen, Potts is still optimistic about the show and excited for people to see their hard work.

“I’m very happy with where the show ended up, and it’s always best to fo cus on what we have and how good it has been,” he said. “I’m always super excited to come here and am glad that people are gonna see it.”

ALBUM

Eternal Sunshine Ariana Grande

Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods

Rick Riordan Disney Hyperion

Suresh

Warner Bros Pictures

Republic Record

Disney Hyperion

Karis Do/Special to the Bear Witness

Lauren Gernale/Bear Witness

The cast dances to "One" and form a chorus line to conclude their show.

Freshman Emma Liewer, who portrays Valerie, performs “Sing 10, Dance 3”

ARTS & CULTURE

EMBRACING DUAL IDENTITIES

Immigrant students and teachers, despite barriers, find ways to keep their culture and American identities at the same time

FRANCISCO PHAM Staff Writer

When immigrants come to the United States, the process of assimilating into American society while still maintaining their cultural identity is an important issue they face.

Much like the rest of America, Branham is a melting pot of culture and experience, as many students and teachers have different experiences as they travel to this country. Whether it be seeking a new job or educational perspective, the reasons that people move here are a gateway to understanding their dual cultural identity.

Junior Ginevra Rossi, who used to live in Italy, moved to America when she was six because of a job offer from her dad’s company.

“I thought America was going to be a completely different world. I did not think it was going to be similar to Italy at all,” Rossi said. “I was young, and I had never traveled before, so I thought every part of the world was different from home.”

On the other hand, some people came to America when they were older with predetermined expectations of the country and more preparation for their journey.

Originally living in Taiwan, Mandarin teacher Linda Chen immigrated to America after graduating college in 1987. Because her uncle told her that Taiwan’s currency was cheap compared to the United States, she thought that people in the US were rich.

“I had the impression that the people that live in the USA were always happy, rich people, no matter what their job is, and all those famous schools, particularly Stanford, I didn’t even know what those are,” she said.

Junior Toma Ii moved from Japan when he was seven and found it difficult to adjust to America as there were a multitude of differences compared to

his home. While school and life in general are fast-paced in Japan, he found it hard to slow down to America’s pace, which he found was more easygoing academically and in routines.

“The language barrier was hard at first, along with America being more relaxed and easygoing,” said Ii. “In Japan, it’s more strict, and you have a set schedule for everything.”

For Chen, her college in Taiwan predominantly used English

Adapting to American culture while still maintaining a cultural identity can be difficult, especially for students who come to the country at a young age. Maintaining a balance between being a part of the U.S. and still connected to one’s culture is hard for those who do not want to lose their home.

“If I were to lose that part of me, that’s also losing a connection to my relatives and friends that live in Japan.

I wouldn’t be who I am without

language with her parents and visiting home often. Rossi takes pride in being bilingual and having the experience of being both American and Italian.

“[Immigrating] gives you more experience of how the world is,” Rossi said. “It’s good to know different languages and perspectives.”

Branham has a multitude of events that highlight the different cultures present on campus as well.

“For 10 years, I held a Lunar New Year event with more than 1500 people, all showing the community how wonderful the Chinese culture is,” Chen said. “I spend so much energy and money on the World Language Banquet and Moon Festival to help spread that culture.”

The stories and experiences that immigrants bring to America are what make it a melting put. Whether it be through detailing the experiences of adapting to society as a kid or an adult, the input that they contribute to understanding America through the perspectives of all cultures is paramount.

“People ask me how you can teach culture. I tell them I am the culture,” Chen said.

4.1% of students at Branham are learning English

53.6% of Branham’s English-learner students are making progress towards language proficiency ’

Sources: California School Dashboard, ELPAC Dao Do/Special to the Bear Witness

Connecting Tech-gether

Teachers use technology and social media to connect with others and enahce their lessons

ARYELLA FINKEL-HOZER Staff Writer

As time goes on, social media usage alters, increasing the technological gap between generations. However, some teachers at Branham are attempting to combat this divide by actively using different forms of social media.

Math and engineering teacher Barbara Schremp uses Instagram solely to be in touch with her family and friends, who casually post a few times each week. She also enjoys sending memes and comedic posts to her family.

“Most of the time, it’s just fun,” Schremp said. “Sometimes I’ll be sitting somewhere and I’ll look at [our family] chat, and I burst out laughing. It’s hilarious, because we’re pulling out memes from our childhood and sharing something that only people in our family would understand.”

Schremp also uses social media beyond leisure. When she was active on LinkedIn years ago, she had around 300 contacts and was able to stay involved with what they were doing, along with checking her students’ resumes. It allows her to continue being involved in past students’ lives and maintain connections.

"My engineers put out a survey on their products they’re coming up with so I’ll take and put those all on LinkedIn to my professional contacts and send them out. So that’s been super helpful,” she said.

Spanish teacher Jessica Martinez-Gallardo enjoys using social media for learning DIY activities and incorporates this in the classroom. She

makes colorful posters by hand, along with comic strip assignments for her students. As a new teacher, she’s found ways to utilize social media as a tool.

“As an adult, social media is much more about finding ways to collaborate with others,” Martinez said. “Seeing other teachers on social media and activities that we can do in class or stuff I can do at home is really what keeps me on social media."

English teacher Melania Vega mostly uses her Facebook and Instagram accounts to post about various activities in her life, including baking, traveling and taking pictures of her dog. Similar to Schremp, Vega also uses the apps to connect with her loved ones.

“It’s become a digital photo album,” she said.

In fact, while Branham policy makes it so that teachers and students cannot interact through social media, Vega appreciates how she ends up reconnecting with many of her students after they graduate.

“I don’t mind if former students follow me,” Vega said. “It’s nice to keep in touch with them, especially those from my very first year of teaching.”

Over the course of the last decade, media has drastically changed in terms of its content and usage geared more towards Generation Z.

Vega, who had grown up during Facebook’s rise in popularity, has struggled with the change in media over the years.

“Way back when I was in school, it was photos of hanging out with friends.” she said. “Now, Facebook is frustrating because there’s just so many

14.82% ofCalifornia K-12 students pass the initial English Language Proficiency Assessent when English isn’t their primary language.

Aryella-Finkel Hozer/Bear Witness Spanish teacher Jessica Martinez-Gallardo shows her art inspiration Pinterest board.

ads in there. It’s quite annoying.”

Schremp shares similar opinions as she noticed that it “got so toxic.” She has seen the change of social media platforms change continuously over time.

“I haven’t really felt the need for [social media], so I’m rarely on Facebook,” she said.

Like Vega, Martinez has grown up amidst the rise of social media. She has learned many things about herself from social media and sets limits on her usage, something many teens struggle with.

”Now that I’m older and spend less time on social media, I am a lot better at identifying when I need to step back and reflect on how good my life is and how I don’t need to compare myself to others on social media,” Martinez said.

ARTS CALENDAR

OUT OF SCHOOL

Arts San Francisco Art Gallery

April 25 to April 28

Fort Mason Center

Thursday - 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday & Saturday - 11 a.m to 7 p.m.

Sunday - 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

What it is: The 12th annual San Francisco Art Gallery will feature more than 70 local, national and international galleries, each with their own impressive crafts/illustrations and engaging talks. The event celebrates San Francisco’s artistic heritage and innovation.

Music

Laufey’s "The Bewitched: The Goddess Tour"

April 11-14

SF Masonic Auditorium

What it is: Icelandic-Chinese singer Laufey is back on tour in 2024 following her March single, "Goddess." The tour will feature her 2023 album,"Bewitched," and prepares for the rest of her upcoming album, "Goddess."

Hatsune Miku

April 9

San Jose Civic

What it is: Vocaloid pop star Hatsune Miku is touring the United States. As the face and voice of a music development software, listeners will be able to hear fan-favorite songs developed by Vocaloid and other users.

Hairspray

April 16-22

San Francisco Theater

What it is: 1960’s Baltimore is being brought to stages across the U.S. by a broadway award-winning creative team. The classic is centered around Tracy Turnbald, a girl with big hair and a big dream: to be a dancer on the Corny Collins show.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" film with live orchestra

San Francisco Symphony

April 11

What it is: Watch the favored tale of the One Ring and Middle-Earth as the San Francisco Symphony plays scores from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." The Oscar-winning scores will be heard live as the symphony performs this fantastical score with the pictures.

Movies Kingdom of the Planet of Apes May 10

Directed by Wes Ball

What it is: After the reign of Caeser, a young ape goes on a journey years later and questions everything that has been taught about the past and the future for humans and apes.

Albums

Tortured Poets Department

Taylor Swift

April 19

What it is: Fresh from her win in the Best Pop Vocal Album category for “Midnights,” her 11th album is a new project. She said that she’s been working on the project for two years. It’s available for pre-order on her website.

Another change in social media is the recent influx of misinformation.

Schremp has struggled finding unbiased news on her feeds, so she forces herself not to rely on getting her news solely from social media and instead uses online newspapers.

As teachers continue to grow and generations pass, so does social media. New aspects are always being added to the social environment: new apps, new trends and ultimately, new people.

“It’s a way to keep in touch with people and see how they’re doing,” Vega said. “I can go back like a photo album and remember things that I’ve done and like cool experiences I’ve lived.”

Older Lizzy McAlpine

April 5

What it is: Shortly after announcing the release of her single, "Older," McAlpine announced that she will soon drop a third album named after it. The album is set to have 14 tracks, and represents who she’s become over the past three years.

—Compiled by Lauren Gernale

THE BACKPAGE

CLASS SNACK CRUNCHDOWN

Whether it be a daily morning Celsius or a bag of chips, eating in class is common for many students. Here is a deep dive into how the issue is taken by Branham students and teachers.

Senior Leila Patigas

“It makes sense that teachers just want a clean classroom, but also school is stressful, and people need to eat. I usually eat goldfish, and one time I opened it during an econ quiz, and it was really loud. It doesn’t bother me seeing people eat things like meatloaf, it just bewilders me.”

’

64% of students are most likely to eat chips and candy in class

David Tran

—Compiled by Lauren Gernale and Ava Stark Illustrations by Lauren Gernale

“I like to eat fruits in class. I understand why some teachers prohibit eating because it brings in unwanted critters or it’s overall just unsanitary. I hate seeing Nature Valley or granola bars that get everywhere when you eat them.”

’

9%

of students are most likely to eat fruits and vegetables in class

English teacher Chelsea Follett

“At the start of the year, I have a no food policy, but if they’re discreet about it, I usually let them as long as they don’t create more work for the custodians. But if they have anything that could stain the desks or carpets, then I say no. I primarily have juniors and they’re pretty mature about it. I understand why underclassmen teachers might not like it because students are still learning the rules.”

WHAT SNACK ARE YOU?

What do you like to do in your free time?

A) Hang out with friends

B) Self care

C) Homework or chores

D) Go on my phone

Math teacher Tiffany Ylarregui

“I have a no food or drinks other than water policy because there have been spills, but more importantly, because there have been bad ant and roach problems in the past. It’s also disrespectful to people around because food has a strong smell, so it can either annoy people or make them a little jealous. There’s [spills or crumbs] in my class every day, so I brought in my own vacuum cleaner.”

What’s the first thing you do when you get home from school?

A) Respond to messages or scroll online

B) Wash my hands and take a second to relax

C) Get homework out of the way

D) Whatever I feel like doing

What kind of student are you in class?

A) Always talking to table mates

B) Pays attention to the lesson

C) Finishes classwork in the first 30 minutes

D) Tuning out or doing work from other classes

Senior Bill Tran

“Sometimes, I’ll leave to go to Safeway and purchase a rotisserie chicken. Lemon pepper is my favorite so far. One day, I purchased a meatloaf and ate it during class then I regretted it when I got home. Sometimes I’ll steal food from my friends without knowing. I like to firmly grasp the food and crush it with my hand

’

6%

of students are most likely to eat meals in class

Sophomore Arisa Gustafson

“I drink about three or four [energy drinks] a week. It makes me less tired because I do sports, and that makes me tired. My teachers don’t really care because I don’t make messes. I don’t like it when people eat hot foods because then I smell it and I get hungry.”

’

20%

of students are most likely to enjoy drinks (exluding water) in class

Source: Bear Witness poll of 312 readers

Math teacher Shaghayegh Bagherian

“I have a no food policy, but sometimes I don’t stick to it as much as I like to. Because if my students are hungry, they’re not going to be able to work well. Sometimes, they didn’t have lunch. But our custodial team is really busy so they don’t really get to vacuum our classrooms, so if I see something it’s really messy, I ask them to put it away.”

How do you tackle difficult situations?

A) Ask around for help

B) Work through it slowly

C) Take it head-on and lead others through it

D) Figure it out later, I have better things to do

Which best describes your sleep schedule?

A) Pretty consistent, but I’ll stay up to talk to friends or play games

B) 8-9 hours every night, every day of the week

C) Sleep only happens once the day’s work is done

D) Whatever feels right that day

History and Ethnic Studies teacher

Stefanie Menera

“I don’t say a policy at the beginning of the year because if you don’t mention it, kids are less likely to bring food, but I’m also not anti food. Last year, I did have an entire class period lose food privileges because they were leaving trash behind. While I know the school schedule allows specific times for kids to eat, I know that there are kids who have lunch meetings or other obligations. They have all sorts of things that could prevent them from nourishing themselves throughout the day.”

If you answered mostly A’s, you are fun-loving, outgoing and friendly, just like chips and candy.

If you answered mostly B’s, you are put-together, meticulous and have healthy habits, just like fruits and vegetables.

If you answered mostly C’s, you are always on the go, but you’re also dedicated, like non-water drinks.

If you answered mostly D’s, you are comforting, relaxed and go with your own flow, like meals.