Bear Witness - November 2022

Last week’s 5.1 magni tude earthquake a re minder that the big one has yet to materialize.

Pg. 10

Code-switching — whe re, when, why and how students do it.

BEAR WITNESS BEAR WITNESS

ELECTION 2022

ACROSS THE BOARD

The votes are (sort of) in: How Branham students would vote

California governor

The governor is the top elected official in California state government and has vast powers, including the power to sign and veto legislation; prepare a state budget; issue executive orders and declare states of emergency.

California propositions

Voters will decide the fate of seven propositions.

Prop. 1 Abortion rights

82.1% YES 17.9% NO

This constitutional amendment prohibits the state from denying or interfering with an individual’s reproductive freedom, including the right to have an abortion or to choose or refuse contraceptives. See page 3

Prop. 28 Music education funding

75.3% YES 24.7% NO

GAVIN NEWSOM (D)

Some priorities include attacking climate change, continue addressing homelessness and expanding mental health treatment options and protect abortion rights.

MATT MAHAN

A member of the San Jose City Council, representing District 10. Attended Bellarmine and Harvard University.

BRIAN DAHLE (R)

The state senator’s priorities include en hancing public safety, improve infrastruc ture, including more water storage and a more efficient power grid.

CINDY CHAVEZ

A member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Attended San Jose State University.

CHSTA-backed candidates flip board

Inside Board candidates

Who ran for the school board? We provide a breakdown of the candidates.

James Kim, Elizabeth Halliday, and Ja son Baker have all won their respective areas for the CUHSD trustee elections, mark ing a defeat for the current board incumbents.

In Area 1, Kim received 53.63% of the more than 7,000 votes cast, ousting incum bent Robert Varich, who has been on the board for the past four years.

Halliday commanded 42.36% of the votes in Area 2, narrowly defeating incumbent Michael Winter, who received 38.82% of the votes, a difference of less than 300 votes.

David Lee Sabes received 1,363 votes.

Area 3 saw a landslide victory for Baker, who received 74.95% of the votes against Adam Rocha.

Kim said he is excited to be on a school board that consists of district parents who are aware of their community’s needs.

“We’ll have a board where 4 members of the board are new and are parents of current CUHSD students,” he said. “As parents we have a vested interest in the success of our schools right now.”

The news comes after last year’s contract disagreement in which more than 70% of district teachers and all Branham teachers backed a vote of no-confidence against Su perintendent Dr. Robert Bravo. Despite this, the board unanimously extended his contract through 2024.

The open positions now provide a new op portunity for CHSTA, which has endorsed Baker, Halliday and Kim.

In endorsing the candidates, the Campbell

Would roughly double the amount of funding California gives schools for arts and music edu cation, and it would send 30% of that money to schools serving low-income students. See page 3

Prop. 31 Ban on flavored tobacco products

72.4% YES 27.6% NO

In 2020, the California Legislature banned the retail sale of all flavored tobacco products that one might smoke, vape or eat. This proposition will make that ban permanent.

Voter-rejected propositions

Prop. 26 Sports betting at tribal casinos Prop. 26 Legalizing online sports betting Prop. 29 New rules for kidney dialysis clinics

Local measures Measure O District parcel tax

Prop. 30 Tax on wealthy to pay for climate change

Measure O will extend the $85 parcel tax in the books, which will provide the district with $5 million annually. See our September issue for more coverage. Needs supermajority (66%) to pass.

MEDIA CONSUMPTION

Instagram a top news source

NOLAN ZILS AND ANGELA CHOI Staff Writer

Last week’s elections have been another litmust test for the amount of disinformation and misinformation that voters are susceptible to.

Conspiracy theories over voter fraud and election security are among the biggest news, which can lower voter turnout.

According to preliminary research from the Cybersecuri ty for Democracy Team at New York University and digital watchdog Global Witness, TikTok performed worse than any other social media site, approving 90% of submitted election misinformation.

Considering that 67% of teens spend an average of 99 minutes a day on the platform, according to software maker Qustodio, teenagers, whether of voting age or not, are prone to receiving false information.

With the social media intake comes a likelihood that fake news will spread faster than information that is true,

AADYANT SURESH AND NOLAN ZILS Staff Writers

From governor to school boards to abortion rights, the state midterm election was one of consequence

Most Branham students can’t vote yet, but they have opinions. Here are the winners and losers from our mock election, where 340 students cast their vote. For more, see pages 2 and 3.

San Jose mayor

Gov. Gavin Newsom faces state senator Brian Dahle after the two were the top vote-getters in the June primary.

Newsom Dahle

Mahan Chavez

Meet the school board candidates

Seven trustee candidates will be running for the district board of trustee positions in Areas 1,2 and 3, which consist of Prospect, Westmont and Del Mar. These elections will determine important decisions made by the board regarding current points of concern such as teacher retention, and student safety. Here is a breakdown of the candidates and their stances on hot district topics.

incumbent

Varich has been a trustee for 19 years: 15 for the Moreland School District and four in this district.

He earned a master’s in governance from the California School Boards Association.

Teacher pay

Not much can be done about pay on a district level, should reach out to state legislators to get the most traction. Wealth of the district can’t be changed much.

Kim is a volunteer at Del Mar, and is the father of a recent Prospect graduate and current freshman.

He attended Stanford and has a background in electrical engineering.

Compensate teachers fairly, it will make them more willing to negotiate salaries.

Supports higher up inter vention(county, state, etc). Supports housing but isn’t sure if district can pay for it. Use budget creatively to give adequate pay and maintain facilities.

District/teacher relationship

Didn’t see negotiations issues at the Moreland district. Says he will continue to hear concerns, but things are looking up now that contract has been negotiated.

Need new leadership and voices to reset relationships. Figure out how to make nego tiations swift and painless. Teachers should be paid more in this economy.

A reset is needed. Teachers aren’t being heard with openness. There’s some communicator disorder going on. There needs to be open-mindedness.

Pay them fairly, cost of living makes it nearly impossible to live here, and many teachers live far away as a result.

Meet with the union to understand perspectives. District-teacher relationship is broken. Prolonged contract dispute lost us many teachers. Respect isn’t there, the board gets paid a lot of money and teachers don’t.

Buy an apartment complex nearby, offer it at a low price. New teachers should get pri ority. Would be cost neutral.

Work with higher up officials, and don’t be overly cautious about reserve spending at the expense of teachers N/A

Labor negotiation was eye-opening. Needs to be a better option than current negotiations. We could offer better things than the union offers. Let the teacher negotiate own contract.

Honors courses

Achieving racial equity in classroom

Reports show more students are taking AP’s now that hon ors are gone. Teachers enjoy teaching more. Nevertheless the issue needs to be gauged.

EOS already surveys students and gets a feel of classroom environments, and detects institutional racism. An equity panel of teachers and union members is looking at these problems.

Acknowledges equity debate behind honors classes, daughter had bad experience in freshman year due to no honors science classes. Should be left up to the board.

Area-specific elections need to end, they only cause mass confusion. At-large elections are proven to result in more diversity, as seen by Santa Clara City Council.

Would love to see honors classes back, but it’s a school site choice. Need to ensure equitable access to advanced classes.

Very hard to recognize implic it bias. Ability to recognize bias is important. District is very diverse, it’s good that district is already looking at this. The district needs to isten to students to get impact.

Surprised to hear that honors classes were dropped. Honors classes or not, students need help and proper resources to succeed.

Overall community isn’t rep resented, and district needs to challenge status quo to reach out to minority families and students, let them know of opportunities to get involved. There needs to be immediate action to solve this.

School sites should offer these classes, shouldn’t be just AP or regular classes. Honor class is a good middle ground for students to consider future APs.

Challenge underserved communities to see if it will motivate them to succeed in school. Needs to be more initiative in pushing students to succeed.

Pay attention to their needs, or parents will start choosing private schools. Keep teachers from leaving, but ensure that good, diverse teachers are hired. Public schools are a healthy environment and they need teachers to foster it.

Student learning gaps needs to be addressed, especially in lower communities. Pro ficiency in classes has gone down, so honors classes are a great way gets students used to challenging curriculums again.

Public schools are the gold standard for offering diversity and it needs to remain that way. They offer unique oppor tunities for students to learn about their community.

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BOARD | Teachers and district work to pass Measure O

From PAGE 1

High School Teachers Association sees a new, empathetic ear.

One of the biggest issues is teacher pay. Though CUHSD is neither the highest-paying or the lowest-paying district, the fast pace of the cost-of-living increases is making it dif ficult for teachers to live in the area.

“We have more students than we’ve ever had,” said CH STA school rep Donnetta Torrecillas. “A lot of people are flocking to our schools because we have great teachers in this district. And yet we are asking to do more work for less pay.”

Two board members who lost their re-election shared dif ferent approaches on teacher pay. At the Oct. 11 candidate forum, Michael Winter suggested that teachers should nego tiate directly with the district, rather than through a union.

“We’ve been doing it this way for 30 years,” he said. “There needs to be a better option.”

Incumbent Robert Varich said that state legislators should also play the greater role in funding, much of which depends on parcel taxes

The concerns over salary also stretch into getting Measure O passed, which would continue the parcel tax on residents

board that says that.”

to fund school programs, and help pay for the salary of 16 teachers. It received more than 70% support, surpassing the supermajority, 66.7%, needed for passage.

The teachers union over the past few weeks has been canvass ing homeowners to ensure that the parel tax came through.

Though happy with the results, relying on parcel taxes to pay teachers doesn’t sit well with Torrecillas.

Both Torrecillas and Mackey say that beyond listening to teachers, board members should be more visible in schools. These efforts would help build a culture and stronger rela tionship between the district and the union.

Winter said that he’s been at back to school nights and homecoming games where he has talked to parents. Howev er, visibility is a two-way street, and he suggested that people should show up to board meetings as well.

“We value our time as we value your time,” Winter said.

For Torrecillas and Mackey, the CHSTA-endorsed candi dates better represent their interests and the connection they hope to have.

They may also have a larger influence on Bravo that CHSTA hopes for.

“We take care of each other,” Torrecillas said. “We want a

Website: www.bhsbearwitness.com Phone: (408) 626-3407 Email: bhsbearwitness@gmail.com Address: 1570 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA 95118

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The Bear Witness is committed to providing accurate, timely coverage of local and world news while connecting these events to the lives of our diverse student body.

Research and reporting by Nolan Zils

ROBERT VARICH

JAMES KIM

ELIZABETH HALLIDAY Halliday is a writer, editor, and mother of twin fresh man boys who attend Westmont.

DAVID LEE SABES Sabes has an educational background as a K-8 instructor. He has also operated high school af ter-school programs, and is a business developer and corporate trainer.

MICHAEL WINTER Winter is the father of twin boys at Westmont High School, and has been a local small business owner for over 10 years. He was born and raised in the area and went to Westmont as well.

JAMES BAKER Baker is the former mayor of Campbell and the fa ther of a Del Mar student.

ADAM ROCHA Rocha, a local business man, has not been present at the forums and did not respond to requests for an interview.

Jazzy Nguyen/Bear Witness archives

Social science teacher Stefanie Me nera protests outside the district office during last year’s salary dispute.

TRUSTEE AREA 1

TRUSTEE AREA 2 TRUSTEE AREA 3

Candidate images from campaign websites

= projected winner in 2022 midterm election

Sources: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters

GUN RIGHTS

Taryn Cheng/Special to Bear Witness

Closer look at state propositions

PROP. 1

Students overwhelmingly support abortion rights

ANGELA CHOU Science & Health Editor

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Prop. 1 on the midterm ballot aims to amend the California con stitution to explicitly protect Californians’ reproductive freedoms.

The proposition may have popular support at Branham, where 82.1% back Prop. 1, ac cording to a Bear Witness sur vey of 340 students.

The state proposition was enacted in response to the Su preme Court decision, which handed the choice of legilsating abortion rights to the states, ef fectively ending Roe v. Wade as a national mandate. As a result 13 states have enacted trigger laws to outlaw or limit abor tions.

Sophomore Avishawd Yar isaied, who has marched for and spoken at rallies for re productive justice, hopes that the proposition passes because of California’s leadership on social issues, and protecting an individual’s medical rights to privacy.

“California has been this bea con of hope for other states and children who’ve been raped or did engage in sexual activity without contraception.” Yarisa ied said. “I hope other gover nors of different states are look ing up to California and seeing the impact that it has made to be giving people the freedom and privacy that they deserve.”

Though abortion is legal in California, the proposition would solidify this right by making an amendment to the California Consittution and granting Californians the right to an abortion and contracep tives.

Junior Jocelyn Shepherd sup ports abortion rights and Prop. 1, and thinks that a person’s autonomy over their body is important.

“It’s your choice,” she said. “It’s not for outside people to decide for you.

She said that the Supreme Court, with only two wom en among the nine justices, is out of touch with the needs of women who decide to have an abortion.

PROP. 28

Music to their ears

Arts teachers say they will appreciate ndfall from Prop. 28, which would increase $1 billion in music and arts funding in the state.

The proposition is set to pass, with more than 60% support.

The increased revenue will not come from any civilian tax, rather it will be an increased budget for the state government.

Studies have linked arts funding to de veloping cultural capital. With barely 20% of state schools having a full-time arts pro gram, Prop. 28 hopes to narrow that gap, especially in underserved schools.

Band director Chris Nalls said that if the proposition passes, the money they receive from the prop will most likely be used on maintenance, as he is currently struggling to keep up with costs.

Branham’s marching band has to rely largely on rental instruments, with a ma jority of players in some sections borrowing

equipment.

“As instruments age, you need to budget a decent amount of money for upkeep and re pair,” he said. “The longevity of the instruments can vary widely.” While woodwinds need sim ple repairs every one-to-two years, saxophone pads need replacing every 3 to 4 years. Pads can cost $500, compared to trumpet dents that cost $20.

Choir, musical theater and guitar teacher Barbara West said that more money would help maintain the quality of the programs, but additionally she hopes that Prop 28 will have an effect in Branham’s feeder schools, citing the fact one one has a choir curriculum.

“The main thing I hope for is that it will enable us to keep a vibrant music, theater and visual arts program, and maybe ex pand some of our offerings,” she said. “I also hope that it will enable our feeder schools to have music offerings.”

PROP. 31

Banning flavored tobacco

Prop. 31 is a veto referendum on the bill to ban sale of flavored tobacco products and tobacco product flavor enhancers that was signed into law in August 2020. With the proposition at a clear ma jority as of Nov. 11, laws currently banning in person sale of these products will stay, and if it is denied the laws will be repealed and students may have more easy access to tobacco.

According to a Bear Witness political snapshot survey, 246 students (72.4%) of students support Prop 31, and 94 students (27.6) oppose it.

Assistant Principal Todd Harrison has seen students vaping, and notices the bright colors and cartoon characters, making it clear that they were targeted to kids. Harrison says that it’s easy for stu dents to get vapes. Harrison hopes the proposition passes.

“The sad part is that they don’t even realize the damage they’re doing by using these products,” Harrison said. “This stuff is poison.”

Students fear that there will be no consequences

for vaping. An anonymous student, who vapes in frequently but has friends who are addicted, says that she remembers an outreach presentation at the beginning of the school year that prohibited vaping in bathrooms. However, the student has still seen a few people continue to vape in the bathrooms, which, for her, has normalized nico tine and vaping.

She agrees with proponents of the proposition about the negative effects of abusing substances and worries for her friends’ health.

“I’m just scared that they will get into unhealthy habits or their strict parents will catch them and they’re going to have really bad consequences,” the student said.

However, she says that she knows her friends, who are reliant on the drug, most likely wouldn’t stop vaping and instead would hide it.

“I know that they will not stop. They would prob ably just find other ways to do it,” She said. “They would just have to work harder to hide it.”

Check their bio

according to an MIT study in 2018 that focused on misinfor mation on Twitter.

In the survey 200 Branham stu dents out of 340 responses (61.1%) on a Bear Witness poll say that they receive their news from Ins tagram, a greater percentage than the 152 of students who say they get their news from television net works (45.8%) or established online publications (42.5%).

Junior Alex Kilmovich gets his news from both social media and traditional news. He notices a clear disparity in the information shared, along with the truthfulness and bias behind it. He doesn’t like how widespread misinformation is on Instagram.

“I’m not too happy with it because it’s biased,” he said. “But bias is ev erywhere. So I don’t care too much. you have to recognize and be able to filter it out.”

He prefers traditional news sites because the information is presented in a more credible and objective way, compared to the bias in social media.

“It’s a little more of a pleasure to read, because now the writing style is

generally better,” Kilmovich said. “It’s a little more professional, it’s written in my opinion a little better.”

Junior Christian Winzenread uses Instagram more because of its variety and convenience. Howev er, when he wants to spend more time on consuming news, he goes to Twitter and more reputable news sites. Winzenred recognizes that In stagram shows him what he wants to see with the algorithm and as a result he is to do more of his own research to get truthful information.

“It hasn’t really challenged me, which is something I’m trying to stop,” Winzenread said. “It makes me feel good because it’s nice and enclosed.”

Winzenread’s efforts to find repu table news started during the black lives matter movement in 2020, where the social media explosion exposed to him a wide variety of opinions regarding the situation.

“There were some very obvious and blatant fear mongering and biases,” Winzenread said. “It was a really rough time for me.”

Experts verify this phenomenon of misinformation. Tim Kelly, a West

Valley political science professor, shared a story that her daughter, who plans to major in history, never reads a newspaper or mainstream news unless linked from TikTok.

Because there are no journalistic regulations on social media, it is taken advantage of as a platform to spread lies.

“That is a gold mine for politicia no send unfiltered (mis)informa tion to an entire generation who appear to be ready to accept just about anything and everything they read online,” Kelly said. “And by the way, it’s not just Gen Z that is eat ing this stuff up”

The misinformation may lead to students registered to vote to cast their ballot based on social media ru mors and may skew midterm results. To defend against misinformation, Kilmovich advises students to get their news from a variety of sources.

“You can kind of compare and contrast mentally what you saw in that source and the other source and just kind of see what bias there can be in order to not be swayed by something that can be emotion rather than fact,” Kilmovich said.

It’s a simple but extremely effective tip: Check out the bio behind that viral TikTok video. A quick swipe will tell you whether the user who shared a video, pic or post is actually a cryptocurrency trader providing COVID-19 vaccine “news.”

Be wary of screenshots

If you see a screenshot of a social post allegedly from the Associated Press or the BBC, check the news account’s posts to see if it actually exists. Or, plug the screenshot into Google Images to see if any fact-checkers have debunked the viral post.

Cheap fake Misleading videos that have been edited using simple software and techniques — like slowing a video down or clipping certain parts to misrepresent what a politician, celebrity or influencer is saying. (PolitiFact offers an excellent explainer here.) And you don’t need any fancy tools to avoid sharing these out-ofcontext videos.

Leave your echo chamber

When you consume a narrow range of news and media, it’s possible to close your mind to other perspectives or fall victim to confirma tion bias — which leaves you vulnerable to sharing misinformation.

Source: Poynter Media Institute

Courtesy of Avishawd Yarisaied Sophomore Avishawd Yarisaied marches in July in downtown San Jose following the Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade.

Californians have voted on a slew of new propositions, from cementing abortion rights into the state constitution to funding music education. We exam ine three propositions that will have the most direct impact on students.

Still Another Test

65 minutes, 52 questions

Turn to Section 1 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.

QUOTE OF THE STORY

“Some of the most successful people in business, in the Silicon Valley, have done horribly on standardized tests, and also have never completed college. Performance on the SAT test is not a measure of how well you will do in college,” College and Career Specialist Sandrine Chaumette said.

Written by Jiyoon Choi, Co-Editor-In-Chief

Many students continue taking the SAT even though many colleges now does not require SAT scores.

Despite the national trend in changes of test score requirements in colleges and the shi of the SAT to a digital platform, students con tinue to take the SAT.

According to College Board’s annual SAT report, 1.7 million seniors took the SAT at least once, up from 1.5 million of last year’s seniors. Even though the number of test takers increased in one year, com pared to the pre pandemic the percent of test-takers is more than 50% lower than three years ago in some states according to the Na tional Center for Fair & Open Testing. California had the greatest drop in test participation because of the test optional public colleges. Ever since COVID19, the number of PSAT takers at Branham was limited to 200 students. Last year, 200 sophomores took the PSAT in April 2022 and this year, 196 Juniors took the PSAT for the Nation al Merit Scholarship in October. Branham will most likely continue testing 200 sophomores and juniors each fall and spring.

Some of the reasons Branham students are taking the SAT are be cause of parents, National Merit Scholarship, and to apply for out of state colleges. Students like junior Sherry Cao also use it to deter mine the skill level of oneself.

“Because it’s a standardized test, I can see where I need to improve,” Cao said.

According to a Bear Witness poll conducted, 59% of students out of 211 total responses are planning to take or already took the SAT while 28% are not and 13% are not sure.

O en, hearing about friends or other students taking the test and getting good scores encourage students to take the SAT.

“ e people that I know are getting really good scores,” senior Stel la Rabago said. “It’s like motivating me and also pressuring me to like take it.”

Despite the e orts put in for the SAT, College and Career Speciaist Sandrine Chaumette thinks the SAT is not an accurate representa tion of the student themselves when applying for colleges as it does not demonstrate what the student can bring to the college through test scores.

“I don’t think the tests add that much value,” Chaumette said. “What is a good test taker? What does doing well on SAT mean? It demon strates the ability to test well, but it doesn’t measure intelligence.”

Starting March 2023 for international test centers and March 2024 for those in the United States, the SATs will be conducted fully on line. e test will be reduced with shorter reading and writing pas sages. According to College Board, more than 80% of students said the online test experience was better than the paper-and-pencil test and nearly 90% of testing sta said administering the digital SAT was as good or better than the paper-and-pencil version.

Students are also aware of the circumstances of when SAT are un necessary. More than 1,800 colleges are not requiring a test score for current seniors and at least 1,400 of those schools have extended their test policies through next fall.

“If you think you can do good on the SAT, you should take it, but if you know that you’re not going to do good, I don’t really think there’s a point in taking it,” Cao said.

No matter the performance on the SAT or even the decision of tak ing it, Chaumette encourages all students that scores do not de ne who someone is.

“Some of the most successful people in business, in the Silicon Val ley, have done horribly on standardized tests, and also have never completed college,” Chaumette said. “Performance on the SAT test is not a measure of how well you will do in college.”

It looks good on college apps even though many col leges don’t require it. Peer pressure from students around them taking it and parent pressure.

WELLNESS CENTER

CENTER OF ATTENTION

Social worker’s departure left a big hole, but staff have stepped up for mental health

News highlights

visit @bhsbearwitness

for updates

Some suggest a post-Halloween holiday would help against student absenteeism

The day after Halloween is National Author’s Day, National Cook for Your Pets Day, National Vinegar Day and All Saint’s Day. But it’s not a federally mandated day off.

Some students didn’t get the memo, as absences shot up by nearly 30% Nov. 1, according to atten dance clerk Sharon Overholser, with 79 reported absences Monday, and 103 during the fourth period Tuesday, the first class of the day.

(Absences were even higher for first period Wednes day — at 120 — but there might be other factors in play, including the start of the cold season and the lingering pandemic.)

This year’s Halloween was the first to be held during a school day since the start of the pandemic, which may have changed the equation for some students looking to celebrate with their friends.

“It’s a new experience,” said sophomore Jacob Bloom. “I feel like a lot of kids are not going to be at school, so I wonder how the teachers are going to teach with so little students.”

Still, some feel the problem of student absenteeism the day after Halloween would be fixed if it were a national holiday.

Junior Ava Kim said a national Halloween hangover holiday would have its advantages, but is fine with how things are.

“(Having the day off) would be nice, but it’s not necessary because it would be a smaller holiday,” Kim said.

MAKAYLA WU Staff Writer

After social worker Kevin Nguyen left for Prospect at the end of last year, Branham has not yet found a social worker to replace him.

Nguyen helped pilot the idea of the Wellness Center in the district which served as a resource for mental health and community. He served many hats, including serving as a basic level of support. He also helped bring the food bank to the community before and during the pandemic.

At a time when nearly one in five students needs mental health support yet more than 80% don’t get it, the loss of a social worker and the school’s community liaison is especially felt.

Despite Branham’s connection with the Pa cific Health Clinic, which provides behavioral and mental health services, the school has been struggling to keep the Wellness Center staffed adequately.

For now, health clerk Angelica Arruda and as sistant principal Nikita Shah have been oversee ing day-to-day operations, which they say “hasn’t been easy.”

“It’s been a little hard and we’re still trying to figure out how to make sure that we’re providing for our students while they’re on campus at all times,” Shah said.

Although the roles of a social worker and school psychologist differ, both are in short supply na tionwide. The national school official shortage ties in with the shortage of mental health work ers in education. A study published in the Amer ican Journal of Psychiatry found that one in five kids in the U.S. need mental health support, yet nearly 80% do not receive services.

Jasmine Hunt Silva, a behavior technician with Pacific Clinics, has been assigned as a counselor in the Wellness Center full-time, and is in her second year with Branham.

She said It has been difficult since Nguyen’s leave, but the Wellness Center has been trying to adapt to the new circumstances.

In addition to the shortage, the qualifications for licensed psychologists make it difficult to have an adequate amount staffed in schools.

“It does take a really long time to get licensed,” Hunt Silva said. “It’s just a really intimidating

ASB LEADERSHIP

process.”

The National Association of School Psycholo gist recommends a ratio of one psychologist to 500 students. Branham has numerous counselors and three rotating school psychologists to sup port students.

The Wellness Center is still looking for social worker for the better support and access for Bra nham students.

“Mental health is just important for everyone really, because it helps you identify your feelings.” Hunt Silva said. “But especially in the Bay Area, the mentality is ‘go, go, go’ and I think a lot of the time, we’re always so busy with running around that we forget to just sit down sometimes.”

Senior Kaila Castanon is a student aide who helps out in the Wellness Center and has seen the everyday operations and recognizes the impor tance. She said that the Wellness Center is a good place for support that they can’t get elsewhere.

“The Wellness Center is probably one of the most important things we have on this campus,” Castanon said. “It’s there for student support, so it’s kind of like the heart of Branham in a way.”

Abrupt exit for activities director

English teacher and volleyball coach team up to help during transition

LAUREN GERNALE, ARESEMA AGDIE AND NOLAN ZILS Staff Writers

Just three months after taking over the leadership classes, Activities Director Christina Carreras abruptly resigned from Branham on Oct. 21.

Since then English teacher Ker ry Murphy and volleyball coach and banker Heather Cooper have taken over the two leadership classes.

While Carreras’ reason for leaving Branham will remain undisclosed, as sistant principal Nikita Shah said that she did what was best for her in the moment.

“We’re all humans, first,” Shah said. “If this was a job that was not ap propriate for Mrs. Carreras, and she needed to step away, it’s her choice.”

Principal Lindsay Schubert said that for a teacher to leave unexpect edly in the middle of the school year is unfortunate, especially for the stu dents, but she is confident in Murphy and Cooper’s abilities.

“I think that the fact that we have a couple of adults that are stepping up and are really excited and energized to support the program is a re ally positive thing,” said Schubert. “It definitely hasn’t been an easy process, but I’m optimistic about how it’s going to be moving forward.”

Although Carreras’ leave will be difficult for the leadership classes, Schubert does not expect major disruptions in the long term. Upcoming

events like Winter Wishes will continue as planned and will continue to be a focal point for ASB.

ASB President Justine Dreux said that many responsibilities will fall back on her and the ex ecutive board during this transition period.

Their knowledge of how the program functions and their expectations will help Murphy and Cooper adjust.

Dreux said that despite the struggle of on

boarding new advisers, ASB has been able to keep up with its spirit events, from Home coming to the recent Halloween celebra tions.

“I am proud of ev eryone’s flexibility, patience, and perse verance,” Drew said. “Even without adviser changes, this year was going to be incredibly difficult.”

When asked to take over the activities di rector position, Mur phy said she accepted because she did not want to leave the lead ership students without guidance, especially in a class that promotes growth and community.

The decision as already made easier as the class operates on B days, while Murphy’s teaches English on A days.

“Am I scared? Yes,” she said. “Am I excited? Yes. Am I anxious? Yes. Am I looking forward to it? 100% Yes. Branham is a great place where you get to see the wonderful culture and the wonderful community,” she said. “We just want to make sure that stays intact and continues to grow and build and flourish.”

With lights, activities and sweets, the South Asian Student Union celebrated Diwali with a large gather ing in the quad Oct. 20.

Diwali, the festival of lights, is India’s most important holiday, and though its meaning changes depending on the region, there’s one common theme no matter where people celebrate: the victory of good over evil.

Math teacher Ramani Visvanathan advises the SASU and said that Diwali is the day that Lord Rama Ram, a deity in Hinduism, became a god.

During the festivities, celebrants ate traditional foods and sweets and played games such as such as carrom, similar to 8 ball. The festival also hosted a henna station, and activities included cricket, raffles, musical chairs, karaoke and a photo booth.

SASU adviser Ramani Vishvanathan, a math teacher, said that Diwali in America is similar to Di wali in India, except that firecrackers can not be lit in America. But no matter where the Indian community is, he said they are able to gather and celebrate their culture and religious holidays.

“It’s not that different because we have a strong Indian community here,” Visvanathan said. “The lights are around and we decorate our homes with lights, the relatives get together, socialize. They have a social gathering and they converse and exchange a song, they have a good time.”

— Aresema Agdie

Seniors

The one-hour musical follows the plot of Buddy Hobbs, played by science teacher Kevin Kalman, a young orphan child, who is transported to the North Pole after sneaking into Santa’s bag of presents.

Rounding out the cast are science teacher Rachel Basore as Jovie, the cynical store elf and science teacher Juan Fernandez, who plays Santa.

The faculty play will take place on Dec. 9 and 10 at 7 p.m.

— Lia Choi and Carissa Takaki

South Asian Student Union celebrates Diwali with its biggest festival yet

Faculty musical returns after a four-year hiatus with “Elf”; students will be directing

The Backstage Bruins’ annual faculty play is back.

This year’s faculty play, “Elf The Musical Jr.” is the first since 2019 after a halt due to the pandemic. It’s also the first since 2018 with singing, following in the footsteps of shows such as “Grease” and “High School Musical.”

Elise Niva and Marilyn Alonzo of the Backstage Bruins will be directing.

Carissa Takaki/Bear Witness

Wellness Center student aide Kaila Castanon hands out painting kits for the center’s pumpkin painting activity at the beginning of October. The Wellness

ASB President Justine Dreux chats with volleyball coach Heather Cooper and English teacher Kerry Murphy, who have stepped in to help lead the ASB team.

Courtesy of Manya Sriram The SASU board members share a moment during their Diwali festivities in the quad.

Alli Wang/Bear WItness

Math and engineering teacher Barbara Schremp auditions for the role of Deb.

ALLI WANG News Editor

The Queer Student Union and the We The Future Club reg istered or pre-registered more than 20 students to vote this past week as part of their civic education col laboration.

We the Future began as a social justice club late last year, inspired by social justice projects in the Ethnic Literature class. In collaboration with the Queer Student Union, the clubs create a voter registration booth.

Queer Student Union president Ainsley Bateman said they had ob served few students raising their hand when AP U.S. Government teacher Kirk Selfridge asked if students had registered or pre-registered to vote.

Pre-registration does not change the voting age, but allows eligible students ages 16 or 17 to vote by the time they turn 18.

“It just cemented the need to en courage voter registration, espe cially with the upcoming election.” they said. “A lot of different items in the midterms could really impact students.”

At the registration booth, Ainsley noted items on the midterm elec tion ballot that directly impact Bra nham students, such as the district board member elections and Mea sure O, a parcel tax measure that helps with district funds.

Selfridge applauded the club’s ini tiative, noting traditionally lower turnouts for teens and young adults compared to older demographics, and a general lower turnout during midterm elections.

“The more they realize that there is power in their voice at the voter booth, the more that we’ll get more people to participate,” Selfridge said.

Selfridge also mentioned the Mo tor Voter Act, which makes voting registration easier by allowing stu dents to register to vote as they get their license.

Although the voter registration drive has ended, Bateman hopes that Branham students become encouraged to “make their voices heard.”

“It’s cliche, but it’s also your civic duty,” they said. “If we don’t vote, then we don’t impact policy and we don’t tell our representatives what we need and what decisions they should make on our behalf.”

AN ONGOING STRAIN

SAHASRA MAKAMCHENNA Staff Writer

On a week-to-week basis, custodians see clogged toilets from fruits served in the cafeteria, stall doors ripped off the hinges, toi lets removed from the floor, locks broken, mir rors scratched and cartons of milk and pink soap thrown all over the bathroom floor.

Branham is home to a record 2,000 students at Branham, making it the largest school in the dis trict, and custodians are feeling the pressure of excessive vandalism seen in bathrooms.

Venero Ramos, Branham’s plant manager, said that with the four two-story buildings, more than any other campus, custodians at the school cover about 8,000 to 20,000 square feet more than the average district staff.

Along with the extra area that custodians are responsible, bathroom vandalism forces custo dians to spend extra time cleaning up the mess. Damage of property and the waste of utilities eats away at the custodial budget.

Between Aug. 26 and Oct. 10, Ramos the cost for vandalism alone was $1,124.35 not counting hours custodians worked overtime.

“It’s just really sad that people find (vandalism) entertaining,” assistant principal Todd Harrison said.

According to Branham’s custodial staff, the most vandalized restrooms reported are the boy’s bathroom in the C, J and P building along with the one attached to the cafeteria, the gender neu tral bathroom and the girls’ bathroom in the L Building.

$1,124

Ramos says the school needs to start perform ing more security checks on bathrooms since that’s where all the major damages occur. Along with more security checks, he said that it would be ideal to hire at least one more custodian since Branham is the busiest school in the district.

“The other schools probably don’t have half the staff we have on facilities and weekend coverage,” he said, referring to the numerous extracurricular activities on-campus that need custodial services.

Administrators have said that it’s gotten diffi cult to catch the people who are vandalizing the bathrooms. Per law, bathrooms aren’t allowed to have CCTV cameras, only outside the bathroom, leaving admin to watch CCTV footage around the time of the vandalism to take guesses of who might have done it. Students who are caught do community service for the damage that they cre ated.

Following last year’s “Devious Lick” TikTok trend, in which some gain social media atten tion for vandalizing public property, staff say that social media has had a big influence on students’ actions.

Though the trend may have died down, the issue of vandalism remains.

To minimize the time of clean up post vandal ism, paper products such as menstrual products and paper towels in some bathrooms have been removed to prevent any further mess after seeing how students have been abusing them.

Though the trend on TikTok has died down, vandalism is an ongoing problem at Branham, leaving staff, custodians, and administrators tired and frustrated from the unnecessary waste of time and money.

The administrators have recently been ob serving 15 minute checks with every bathroom around campus, making sure that students who are out of class, go back to class. The district is also actively hiring parent volunteers and super visors to be positioned outside the bathrooms to make sure students respect school property and avoid vandalism.

They say that students generally have been more respectful to bathroom property by taking a rea sonable amount of time in the bathroom. How ever, the cost of damage still has not gone down.

“Whoever’s doing it, I hope you stop because it’s affecting everybody and I don’t see why it’s

it,” Harrison said.

worth

“You may be surprised by your friends at school that you didn’t know they had this talent that they’re displaying tonight.”

Junior Aidan Rios, Acoustic Club secretary and treasurer, on hosting the group’s first Acoustic Night on Nov. 4.

“It’s been seven years in the making, and I’m pretty happy to say that we’re finally get ting there.”

Senior Jack Lawrence, who has been building a haunted house experience at his home since the fifth grade. He said his most recent one was the most involved yet, with a makeshift RV and several floors.

OVERHEARD | QUOTES OF THE MONTH FROM OUR ONLINE STORIES

Sahasra Makamchenna/Bear Witness

Custodian Angelo Santos cleans off wet paper towels from a school bathroom mirror. Staff say feminine products have been removed due to their frequent misuse.

BATHROOM VANDALISM

Running cost of bathroom vandalism since school began through Oct. 10.

Alli Wang/Bear Witness

Senior Ainsley Bateman helps a stu dent figure out a voter registration form Oct. 14.

More

may be

“It’s just really sad that people find (vandalism) entertaining.”

Assistant Principal Todd Harrison

Juniors Sofia Pearson and Anthony Lenz sing a duet of f

“I Know You”

by Faye Webster at the year’s first Acoustic Night on Nov.

4.

“It was kinda scary, but it las ted for like two seconds.”

Junior Anthony Neves on the 5.1 magnitude earthquake that shook the Bay Area. The epicen ter was 15 miles away near Alum Rock.

SCIENCE &TECH BRIEFS

Computer chip companies struggle to make profit

Following a global spike in the computer chip demand for silicon slices that were to be used in computers and any devices with a switch, supplies have started to pile up. Factories, who were anticipating to profit off the spike, are now facing challenges making money. Although the prices are still higher than before the pandemic, low financial budgets have led to job cuts.

The Biden Administration also barred US and Chinese companies from collaborat ing to develop certain chips, adding further restrictions.

Bacteria spotted in Pine-Sol, company says

Clorox, the cleaning supply company, has noticed bacte ria in an estimated 37 million bottles of scented Pine-Sol that can cause infections in people with weaker immune systems.

The company has been recalling these bottles.

The bacteria discovered in Pine-Sol is known as pseudomonas aeruginosa, normally found in soil and water. However, there have been no reports of sickness or injury from the recalled products and experts claim the bacteria poses no danger to most people.

Europe Turn to Africa for Russian Gas Replacement

European leaders are scrambling for an alternative to Russian gas and have turned to Africa for help. Afri can leaders have complained about the double standard: it took a war to get them climate deals.

They argue that developing countries deserve to use dirty fuel sources to raise their citizens' living standards, especially when Europe has done nothing to help Africa convert to clean energy even after preaching to them the importance of change.

Experts predict the energy disparity between African and European small coun tries’ will likely continue.

Marine heat waves crash crab harvest

The Bering Sea snow crab season which usually starts Oct.15 in Alaska, was canceled because of the plummet in the crab population.

In 2018, the crab population was estimated to be 11.7 billion, but this year, it was only around 2 billion, losing around 90% of the population. Scientists suspect the cause of the de crease to be the marine heat wave, which increased the temperature by 2 degrees Celsius between 2017 and 2018 and stayed high for at least 2 years.

Even after the temperature normalized to 1.5°C, which it was in 2017, the crabs did not return.

Mushroom skins being used for chips, batteries

Scientists have found a solution to depleting elec tronic waste: mushrooms.

To eliminate the single-use factor of plastic circuit board parts, thin sheets of Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms can be removed and reused. This fungi being of a pliable and conductive material can resist heat and be utilized in small electronic circuits. Scientists see this as a positive step toward more sustainable electronics.

—Compiled by Angela Choi, Lia Choi, and Jiyoon Choi

ALAN SCHAEFFER Sports Editor

Students are going green and buying electric cars due to their affordable price and financial sustainability. For high school students, increasing gas prices are be coming a bigger factor when it comes to buying their first car.

With gas prices hitting around $6 a gallon in the Bay Area at its peak, more students have considered opting for electric or hybrid cars over the traditional gas-pow ered alternatives.

According to data from the credit reporting company Experian, the first three months of 2022 saw a dramatic 60% increase in the number of EVs (electric vehicles) being registered, despite the overall automobile market being down 18% at the same time. In June 2022, the country’s percentage of EV car registrations hit a histor ic high at 6%. California has the most electric car sales of any state, selling over 550,000 in 2021.

And this trend shows no signs of stopping. An analysis from IHS Markit projects that almost 30% of all new car sales will be electric by 2030.

This 30% will soon turn into a 100%, as a new law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom calls for all new call sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

The average car has a gas tank of 13-16 gallons, and with gas prices rising, young drivers are spending up wards of $70 each time they refuel. For junior Steven Ross, although his job provides him with the money he

needs to afford the increasingly expensive refueling, he still notices how the prices are impact ing the choices he makes when it comes to transportation.

“I enjoy driving and would offer to drive people more often during group activities, but a lot of the time I just let my friends do [the driving],” he said. “I try not to drive too much in general because of how expensive gas is.”

Though not having to worry about gas sounds appeal ing, Ross says he would opt for a hybrid vehicle over an electric or gas-powered one if he were given the choice.

“I wouldn’t trust a car with no gas quite yet in case I run out of electric power and have no place to charge,” he said.

Ross is one of many who worry about a lack of charging stations. To minimize these worries and encourage more students to drive electric cars, the district installed elec tric charging stations in the campus parking lot in fall of 2018.

The charging stations seem to be having their intended effect, said assistant principal Nikita Shah

“I have noticed them all over the district and have seen a definite increase in use over the past few years,” Shah said.

Shah, a Tesla owner, has made good use of the charging stations during her time at Branham, and encourages many others to continue to do the same.

“One of the reasons why I take the electric car to school is to take advantage of the free charging stations,” she said. “I really think people should be using them.”

What

is happening here?

more washers are added to the bottom of the string, the string’s tension increases. This causes the speed of the swinging stopper to increase and the amount of revolutions per second to increase.

Is

it

safe? Yes, but be careful of your head and surroundings. When you’re swinging the string, try to raise your arm away from your head. Make sure that no one is around you before you start. You don’t want any unnecessary concussions. Water has a high specific heat, meaning that it takes a lot of energy with it as it evaporates.

Reese Gardner/Bear Witness

Junior Nila Mettler demonstrates experimenting with spinning a stopper on a string.

Stopper

Alan Schaeffer/Bear Witness

Source: California

Commission

LAUREN GERNALE AND ARESEMA AGDIE Staff Writers

In 2012, a clip of then-President Barack Obama entering the men’s Olympic basketball team locker room went viral. There was a clear distinction between his interaction with the white assistant coach — a nod, a brief handshake — and the way he embraced black NBA player Kevin Durant — a personal greeting and chest bump — followed with smiles and nods.

Code switching to be accepted

A 2019 Pew Rese arch study showed that Black and Hispa nic people are more likely than their white counterparts to say they ‘feel the need to change the way they express themselves when they are around people with different racial and ethnic backgrounds.’

Changing appearances

Code-switching can also be about altering your appearance to fit the norm of the environment you're in.

People of color, in particular Black wo men, are 80% more likely to change their natural hair to meet societal norms.

In recent years, Black teens have been sent home for wearing dreads, head wraps and even wearing their hair naturally, due to their potential violation of school dress codes.

Many of these rules have come under scrutiny by the Ame rican Civil Liberties Union and the Natio nal Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and have been rescinded.

'Sounding white'

The 2018 movie by Boots Riley tells the story of a Black man working at a call center who changes his voice to sound 'more white’ at work in order to overcome the bias that African American Vernacular English (AAVE) faces in professional environments.

When he code-swit ches from AAVE to standard American English, he finds that he is able to sell a lot more.

The film sends a powerful message about the reality of code-switching and how some people feel the need to code-switch to be taken seriously, often because of their race.

Obama, just like everyone else, alternates between the way he talks and the gestures he makes depending on who he is interacting with. This occurs on a nearly daily basis.

Consider how you speak to your friends. You might greet them with a “Hey, what’s good?”

You might not use the same expression when talking to teachers, or speaking to customers on the job. It might be more appropriate to approach them with a smile and say, “Hello! How are you doing today?”

You may not even use these colloquialisms to respond to your parents when they ask you how your day was. More formal English might not be fitting when you’re at home, especially if you speak a different language or vernacular. If you speak both Spanish and English, you might Everyone code switches on a daily basis, depending on whether they speak multiple languages, and who they interact with. The practice can be divided into two different switches: dialectical and linguistic.

Linguistic code switching usually occurs with indi viduals who speak multiple languages. They switch between them in the same sentence or conversation. School psychologist Candice Golden says that this switch can happen subconsciously, whether intentional or not.

“There's not a firm divide between different languages (for bilingual speakers), sometimes it's necessary and sometimes it’s unintentional,” she said. “...it's just the first phrase that comes to mind.”

For example, when a Filipino-American speaks with a relative that also speaks both languages, they may switch between the two languages unconscious ly throughout the conversation. One part may be in Tagalog, and the other might be in English. In the conversation, they could say, “Ano ang kinain mo for dinner?” (What did you eat for dinner?).

On the other hand, dialectical code switching occurs when an individual switches between different vernac ulars, behaviors and expressions.

Some may explicitly use terms around a certain group of people or express themselves in a different way than with another group. It fluctuates depending on the indi vidual’s surrounding environment, geography and peers.

Freshman Julissa Reyes-Mohassel said they are less filtered with their friends, but more formal with their teachers. When they are with their teachers, they de scribe themselves as more filtered and guarded. They also code switch to Tagalog with their family and change their mannerisms to align with their culture.

When they are with their relatives, they use Filipino titles like “Lolo/Lola,” which means grandpa/grandma, and “Tita/Tito,” meaning aunt/uncle. Even if they are speaking English with them, these honorifics stay con stant.

Fitting in as a survival method

Code switching can help groups build a larger sense of community and belonging. AP English Language teacher Chelsea Follett said that it can help an indi vidual gain acceptance from a group or express them selves in a more genuine way.

“Code switching helps you connect with people,” Fol lett said. “If you speak like they speak, there's a connec tion, and there's a camaraderie.”

However, for minority groups that have historically been stereotyped in society as less professional for their vernaculars and expressions - Black and Latinx com munities in particular - dialectical code switching can be used as a “survival” method.

When special education teacher La Toya Brown talks to her students, she uses casual, trendy language, yet switches to more academic language with his co workers or in IEP meetings.

However, when she is with her Black family and friends, she says that she speaks a different language. She compares the way he talks to hip hop and rap vid eos. She uses Ebonics, which is regarded as its own language rather than a dialect of American English.

Similar to Brown, these groups code switch between two or more vernaculars or languages to fit society’s definition of appropriate or professional. Golden says this pushes the idea that authentic expression is not seen as ideal in their situations.

“You're giving the message that your true, authentic

by Lauren Gernale, Aresema Agdie and Ryan

It's biological

The most common examples of code-switching were completely inadvertent; folks would slip into a different language or accent without even realizing it or intending to do it.

self and your culture is not seen as professional or de sirable in some situations.” Golden said. “Sometimes it's necessary and sometimes just unintentional.”

Limitations to code switching

Two aspects play into code switching for these minori ties. Raciolinguistics, which is how language is used to construct race and how the concept of race affects lan guage and language use, as well as linguistic racism, which is the use of language resources for discrimination.

The Society for Affective Science discusses linguistic racism and its effects on people of color.

“Linguistic racism shapes the psychological anteced ents of code switching and its consequences for Black people and other people of color,” The Society of Af fective Science said.

Black Student Union co-president Jeda Awuzie fre quently code switches. When she is around her friends and family, she uses more African American Vernac ular English, or AAVE, and her phrasing is more free.

In class, however, she tones down her facial expres sions, hand movements, and even changes her voice to become higher to present herself as more professional.

She said that as an African American, code switch ing is a survival method that is a necessity for life in this world, and a big reason why people of color code switch is to assimilate into their environments.

“It's a good skill for the most part, but we should feel comfortable to speak more comfortably,” Awuzie said. “But obviously, the world isn't made for everyone to be comfortable, it should be, but it's not.”

Linguistic code switching can stagnate an individual’s identity as well. AP Literature teacher Jeannine Black says that learning, practicing, and speaking a foreign language can inhibit someone’s more personal feelings.

“It has tremendous power that keeps you from really accessing the more intimate thoughts and feelings that you might like to share” said Black.

English teacher and Latinx Student Union adviser Lily Johnson code switches between Spanish and En glish all the time. Because English was not her first language, she feels the pressure from her job to always be on top of her English speaking skills. She prepares her lessons beforehand, to ensure that her students un derstand her message.

Johnson’s code switching happens unconsciously, and she has adapted to code switching in several scenarios with different people in her life. She often fluctuates between the two languages with her siblings, who are also bilingual. However, her mother does not speak English, so she must speak fluent Spanish to interact with her. Even with her husband, she may fluctuate between Spanish and English.

In her classroom, there are times that she will say something in Spanish and shortly realize that she has to speak in English. The pressure to present herself in an academic setting has made her question her use of colloquialisms and expressions.

“Sometimes I get nervous about whether I am choos ing the right words,” Johnson said. “Am I saying this correctly? Am I expressing myself the way I should be? I also get nervous around my students before a lesson, but I always try to be as prepared as possible.”

A form of bias

A survey conducted by Pew Research in 2019 showed that 4 in 10 Hispanic and Black adults feel the need to change the way they talk around different races and ethnicities compared to a third of white adults.

In order to be successful in a world that senior Nina Ruiz-Garcia considers to be Eurocentric and patriar chal, people of color have to put in extra effort to be seen as equals. She says that society pushes the agen da that the closer a person aligns themselves to these standards, the more successful they will be.

“If we go to a place that's predominantly white or that's predominantly male, we have to change how we speak and how we act in order to be seen as successful or intelligent in those spaces,” Ruiz-Garcia said.

Jennifer Johnson, a special education teacher, said that there should be set standards that meet a certain level of professionalism, but being sensitive to people's

We want to fit in

Very often, people code-switch — both consciously and unconsciously — to act or talk more like those around them, whether it's with friends, family or with our classmates.

To get something

Whether it's a politely worded email to a teacher or to a customer, we code switch because we assume, often correctly, that changing how we write or talk will get us a desired outcome.

Courtesy Nina Ruiz-Garcia

STUDENT LIFE

REASONS WHY WE CODE SWITCH

RYAN WALTERS Staff Writer

To hide in plain sight

Some interviewed say they switch to a different language or dialect to share thoughts — disparaging or otherwise — about someone within earshot.

When we try to find the right word

Many people use switch languages to ex press certain ideas, where one language may have the exact expression or phrase that we're looking for.

Branham class of 2021 graduate Olivia Downey first suspected that she had As perger’s syndrome, a rare developmental dis order affecting one’s ability to communicate, when she was placed in a special education class in the sixth grade. Her suspicions were confirmed when she entered high school.

“It’s sad that it took until high school to un derstand why I acted or thought differently than others my age,” Downey said.

One in every 44 children in the United States are diagnosed with one of five Autism Spectrum Disorders every year, according to a 2021 CDC report. One of those five include Asperger’s, which, according to the Asperger’s / Autism Network, since the late 1990s, the rate of children diagnosed has increased from 1 in every 500 to 1 in every 250 in the latter half of the 2010s.

People with this condition can be described as socially awkward and have an all-absorbing interest in specific topics.

As someone with Asperger’s, Downey de scribed her time at Branham challenging because of peers’ attitudes regarding her per sonality.

“I stopped being so ‘bubbly’ about my inter ests,” she said. “I was told (by peers) to talk softer. I wanted so desperately to not be seen as the teacher’s pet or as the know-it-all that I wouldn’t stand up for myself.”

During that time she turned to masking, concealing certain behaviors that come with an ASD. One of these methods of masking included knitting scarves, which Downey said helped her focus better on schoolwork and in a classroom environment and disguise her twitchiness.

“Since I would be focusing on the project in my hands, I had less of a likelihood of blurting out or asking too many questions,” she said, “I didn’t let people get to know me better (in high school) because I overthought every sit uation whether that was in the classroom or not.”

Downey said that the desire to fit into a high school environment both emotionally and mentally drained her. Because of the masking, she was still trying to find her true self.

“High school was one of the lowest points

of my life, as I was trying to understand who I was,” she said. She said these demeanors have also affect ed her current studies at West Valley college. However, the difference is that she is around more neurodivergent students, and her class mates are kinder.

“I’m able to be more myself because others are willing to accept my quirks and not look at me in an odd way,” she said. "I’m not looking for anyone’s attention anymore because I don’t feel like I have to prove myself to my fellow students."

To counteract the possibility of students on the spectrum instinctively code switching, the approach that special education teacher La Toya Brown takes with her 10-15 students is more direct.

“I try to be a role model for [my students]. I can be professional, but I can also be silly and relatable,” Brown said. “I'll joke with them. I don't believe in ‘You have a disability and let me interact with you that way’ — I believe you're a person first.”

In the eight years Brown has taught at Bra nham, she has worked with students all over the autism spectrum as well as students with learning and attention disabilities. What she wants her students to embrace, however, is a care-free mentality, which she said stems from hanging out with her friend’s niece, who is 20 years younger than her.

“She felt free and it made me feel free be cause we just didn't care,” Brown said. “We could have weird thoughts and it wouldn’t matter because we never judged each other.”

During her year and a half at West Valley, Downey has noticed an upward trend in the ideology Brown internalizes and has said it has helped her feel more secure as a person.

“[Students] aren’t scared they’re going to be called names behind their backs,” she said, “but they know people are more willing to listen.”

Reflecting on her experience at Branham, Downey said that people, especially high schoolers, sometimes don’t acknowledge that students should be treated the same, no matter the differences in the way they might act.

“We all mess up, do things we’re embarrassed about, are a bit weird,” she said, “but that’s the beauty of it all.”

Finding my confidence

Though I don’t remember the little boy who cowered underneath a chair in the corner of a preschool Halloween party almost 15 years ago, my parents do, and they recognized that moment as one of several signs noted by one of my preschool teachers to get me tested for Asperger’s.

Like Olivia, I have Asperger’s syndrome, just six months before I was about to start kindergarten.

My family and I started to notice oddities about me that, when I progressed through elementary school, other kids wouldn’t do.

One of the person ality tics I adopted involved running back and forth in a straight line constantly for no particular reason, or using my keychain in my hand and to pretend to knock a baseball out of the park.

They’re a way for me to turn any social situa tion, whether uncom fortable or not, into a mechanism to calm any anxieties I may have at the moment.

I remember how the kids on the playground would talk about the new Beyblades, find ing common interests by being themselves in the public cluster. I learned to act like them, picking up slang, using their man nerisms, and learning how to turn a false sense of confidence into a real sense.

My high school experiences differed from Olivia’s because I was never told to stop being so fervent about my passions. I decided to mask early to fit in and prevent any hateful comments from my peers.

cultures and vernaculars is the way to prevent linguistic racism.

“It doesn't always honor or permit flexibili ty with what other cultures seem to think of achieving or meeting a standard,” Johnson said.

“I do believe there should be a certain academic or professional standard, but I also know that there needs to be more sensitivity and under standing of the different codes.”

Dozie Awuzie, the other Black Student Union co-president, said that code switching could be taking people away from their au thentic selves and advises people of color to stay true to themselves. Dozie tries to keep the code switching to a minimum but he does code switch around his black friend by using AAVE. Self-presentation, which is the way people pres ent themselves to control the way others see them, is a route that code switching can take that alters people to fit the standards set around them.

“You should talk how you always talk with everybody, because if you code switch, it's kind

of showing a fake persona of yourself,” Awuzie said. “If you do it unknowingly, then I un derstand, but if you do it on purpose, I can’t really blame you, but just try and be yourself more often.”

Specialized academic instruction and tran scendental meditation teacher and Black Stu dent Union Advisor Tobias McLeod grew up and became educated in a predominantly white environment in Carmel. The stark contrast be tween this group and his mom’s family in Mis souri led McLeod to portray different sides of himself depending on who he was around.

McLeod said that people of color are different and through code switching, they have adapted to changing themselves to assimilate into society.

“We walk into a place and we are obviously different. But when we speak one way, we can try to fit into the setting,” McLeod said. “We can be chameleons to their eyes; we can change the way we look, we could change the way we act, and we could change the way we talk in certain settings.”

But like Olivia, I’ve had points of noticing both myself and my peers talk so negative ly about themselves and about their lives, which for me has fed my own insecurities.

Since I entered Branham’s campus for the first time, my intentions to mask have more so shifted from trying to please everyone I can to pleasing those who I feel deserve affection, whether platonic or not. As a result my confidence has received boosts and I am overall a happier person.

We talk to each other differently, and for different reasons. Exploring the cul tural, linguistic and biological reasons why we code switch

“I don’t feel like I have to prove myself anymore”

Alumnus describes her Asperger's experience

"If we go to a place that's predominantly white or that's predominantly male, we speak and how we act in order to be seen as successful."

Nina Ruiz-Garcia, senior

Denied 'authentic selves'

'Midnights'

Taylor Swift, the iconic American sing er-songwriter, released her 10th studio album “Midnights” on Oct. 21. She has gained a large following at Branham, and the school has created a Swifties club to celebrate the artist. In the wake of her newest release, we asked students for their .

"I thought the ‘Snow on the Beach’ collab oration with Lana del Rey was going to be better. I was really disappointed because Lana Del Rey was not singing. She was the backup, echo voice and I was so sad.”

Excerpts from Sir John Glubb's influential book "Fate of Empires"

"Intellectual

“Her music style has also grown and changed as I've grown and changed throughout my life. You can't really get bored listening to her music because again, if you're in a certain mood, there's an album in the genre for that.

“I love it because it combines a lot of her different eras and it has a lot of diverse styles and storylines in it.

My favorite song is "Sweet Nothing" because it shows an ideal relationship where you aren't expected to be more than who you are."

“I know I'm gonna love it more every time I listen to it. I just listened to it again in art, and I love it even more.

I think there were some songs that didn't resonate right away, but they will with time. My favor ite right now, which will change, is 'Anti-Hero,' and then 'Labyrinth.' "

Broken records

Firstartist in Billboard's 64-year history to occupy every single spot in Billboard Hot 100 top 10.

1.2 million

albums sold in the U.S. during the first three days of release, the first time an artist has done so since Swift's 2017 album "Reputation."

Most-streamed

album in 24 hours, with 184.6 milion streams, and the most streamed act on Spotiy in 24 hours (228 million).

Sources: Billboard, Spotify

"(Students) no longer attend college to acquire learning and virtue, but to obtain those qualifications which will enable

IS THE U.S. ABOUT TO

REESE GARDNER Student Life Editor

There is a theory that every 250 years, a great empire falls. The rise and fall of the Spanish and Roman empires support this.

Following the standard patterns of history, America’s decline can be predicted in the next few years around the 250th year mark. Since our country is 246 years, we may be nearing our expiration date as a leader on the world stage.

America is showing many signs of disunion, from the Black Lives Matter and the Me Too move ments, the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the contested elections of 2016 and 2020, the Jan, 6, 2001 riot, and the ongoing mistrust of scientific insti tutions following the COVID-19.

Sir John Glubb's influential 1976 book “Fate of Empires and Search for Survival" explores the causes of each empire's downfall, citing characteristics among them such as frivolity, love of money and exces sive celebration of celebrities.

Glubb was a World War I veteran, and saw that the formation of the United States was different from others in almost every way, but its growth into a world power devel oped in a similar pattern as other empires.

One empire that follows the 250 year average is the Spanish empire, which lasted from 1500 to 1750, with its peak influence in 1648. The Spanish empire fell due to inefficient taxation, a succession of weak kings and the focus on American colonization instead of the social and economic status of Spain, which also exported its goods to competitors, making ene mies richer but weakening Spain’s economy.

Other more well known examples from the book of the trend is the Roman Republic, which lasted from 260 B.C. to 27 B.C.,the Arab Em pire, from 634 A.D. to 880 A.D., and the Greek Empire following Alexander and his successors, from 331 B.C. to 100 B.C.

Further divisions

The election of President Donald Trump in 2016 further cement ed the political divide within the country, which had shifted that way since the early 21st century.

Democratic and Republican views have gone to extremes, with debates over religion, education and science all subject to controversy.

The COVID-19 pandemic became controversial as the debate over vac cinations became a political weapon.

Trump spread misinformation about COVID-19 and its vaccines, from downplaying its importance early in the pandemic to asking health officials that drink bleaching would fight off the virus.

His loss in the 2020 presidential election, and his questioning of its re sults goaded his devoted followers to storm the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection in an attempt to decertify the election results.

Since then, the effort to question the validity of the vote has spread so that more than half of Republicans running for offices at the state and federal level have raised unfounded doubts about the 2020 election.

Glass ceilings

Beyond the political divisions lies a glass ceiling preventing both women and people of color from achieving equal rights. The women's rights and the Black Lives Matter protests over the past four years

KICK THE CAN?

Signs of America's decline

The Big Lie | Nearly 200 who denied or questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election have been elected to a seat of power in the country.

Shrinking rights for women | Since the end of Roe v. Wade, abortion access is now reliant on the states. Racial injustice | Black Lives Matter protests saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets, angry over police brutality against African-Americans.

Military spending | A military that spends $770 billion annually, more than next nine countries combined. Poor get poorer | The disparity between lower-income and upper-income earners has grown, while the middle income families has shrunk since 1971.

Sources: Pew Research, U.S. Department of Defense, New York Times

have further divided the nation.

The overturn of Roe v. Wade, giving the states power to decided if abortions were legal, meant that millions of women lost the right to choose what they want to do with their body. Since then, Americans have been split over a woman's right to choose. Today, 42% of states in America protect abortion rights. Most abortions are now banned in at least 13 states as laws restricting the procedure take effect following the Supreme Court’s decision.

In 2020, the BLM protests shed light on police brutality that was inflicted specifically on Black Americans. The death of people like George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery all sparked nationwide protests to prevent police brutality and gain more equality for people of color.

Police brutality, both in general and towards people of color has increased significantly in recent years. From 2013 to 2020, police killed more than 9,000 civilians in the U.S., nearly 1,100 average deaths per year. 28% of those killed by police in 2020 were Black Amer icans, even when Black Americans

make up 13% of the American population.

The actions taken strengthened the glass ceiling for people of color, and have made it harder for them to gain the same equality as white people in America have.

Such enforcement and the brewing resentment among political, gender and racial lines could lead America into have another civil war.

Signs of decline

Glubb wrote that the reasons for an empire's decline, though diverse for each empire, can be seen through external causes such as de fensiveness, pessimism and frivolity.

Other reasons include an influx in foreigners, lack of care for the general population, poor rulers or governments in power for long periods of time, and greed by the rich, have all led to a decline in a country's welfare, prompting rebellion from people wanting political, economical, social and religious change.

Changes in technology, transport or in methods of warfare don’t seem to affect the life-expectancy of an empire, but they have affected the

shape of the empires.

All of these reasons, Glubb said, aren’t present in all empires but are some of the main reasons for the fall of great empires, especially those that follow the 250-year timeline.

However, not all empires live for this full life span of 250 years. For example, the Babylonian Empire of Nebuchadnezzar was overthrown by Cyrus after 74 years. Expand ing further, Glubb points out that the duration of empires at various times in history show similar char acteristics.

Romanov's Russia is a more modern example of the 250 year estimate, for their greatest point being from 1682 to 1917, marking 234 years of greatness.

As the last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, the House of Romanov was overthrown because of the lack of evolution despite the changing times and the people wanting that change. Poor working conditions, low wages and hazards of industri alization all led to revolt.

With these ingredients, and with citizens at unrest unlike any time in our history, the clock is ticking for America.

Julissa MohasselReyesFreshman

Sarah MacInnes Teacher

Megan Morrison Junior

Tara Kaviani Senior

"The heroes of decli ning nations are al ways the same — the athlete, the singer or the actor."

arguments rarely lead to agreement. Thus public affairs drift from bad to worse, amid an unceasing cacophony of argument."

them to grow rich."

PRACTICING A CIVIC DUTY

When it's your turn to vote, don't throw it away

Change is possible, but California needs students to make it happen.

Students have the power to contribute in the upcoming midterm election, through a process as easy as getting your driver’s permit: Voting registration.

Voting should be our core responsibility and duty as civilians, and those too young to vote can still be politically informed and contribute to society. Yet, young voters are the ones who have the lowest turnout.

The 2020 presidential election had the highest voter turnout of the 21st century, with the cen sus finding that 66.8% of citizens 18 years old and older attended the election. Despite today’s high schoolers inevitably becoming tomorrow’s citizens, voters were disproportionately older. Only 51.4% of 18-24 year olds showed up on election day, which is tiny compared to 65-74 year old turnout at 76.0%. And even when Queer Student Union and We the Future put

Editorial

The opinion of the Bear Witness editors

together a voter registration drive in prepara tion for the midterm election, more than 20 students out of 913 Juniors and Seniors reg istered to vote. Additionally, only 46 students will be old enough to vote in the upcoming midterm election.

The reality of low turnout among young peo ple becomes even more surreal when consider ing the environment that students today have grown up in. Most students today have grown up in a society where access to the internet is freely available, screens are the new norm, and social media plays a role in everyone’s lives. In a digital age, information spreads like wild

fire due to the ease of spreading information through reposting on Instagram and retweeting on twitter. Moreover, social media’s target audi ence is Gen Z, which further increases political awareness, though at the risk of misinforma tion. Gen Z is uniquely positioned to be more politically informed than any other generation. Why is this experience not translating into action and involvement?

The only missing link for a more political ly active and involved generation is student initiative. Students have an obligation to cast their vote and create change, especially in this midterms on topics that are sure to affect their schools, themselves or their peers. Props 1, 28 and 31 are examples of this impact.

The three trustee elections decide whether the winner has views that align with teachers, in an attempt to mend a teacher-district relationship hurt by the salary dispute last year. Nationally, midterms are no less important

GLORIFYING A SERIAL KILLER

because of the changes it could create in Con gress and states. The positions up for election include 36 out of 50 governors, all of the seats in the House, and 35 senate seats, including a special and general election for one of the Cal ifornia seats to replace former senator Kamala Harris.

The notion that our parents are the only ones who can make change at this point in our lives isn’t necessarily true. Anyone who will be 18 or older for the 2024 election can pre-register.

Teens are the future of this country, and even if we can’t make a direct impact now, there are many things we can do to go out and make a difference.

If you can’t vote, be an active member of your community and speak out on issues you care about. Peaceful protests and activism are ways that anyone can show support for topics they care about and make their voices heard.

IN THE LONG SHADOW OF

STEVEN HICKS, 18

STEVEN TUOMI, 24 AMIE DOXTATOR, 14 RICHARD GUERRERO, 25

TAKAKI Staff Writer

We have developed a complicated infatu ation with true crime and the infamy of modern serial killers.

With the series “Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” reaching nearly 500 million viewing hours within the first 12 days after its Sept. 21 debut, and with a plethora of existing films such as ““Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile”, Hollywood has yet again fulfilled the cry for more.

I was one of these millions of viewers. As a frequent digester of true crime content, I binge watched “Dahmer-Monster,” spending the entire weekend on my couch covering my eyes, too hooked to turn away.

Watching the dismemberment of human bodies and cannibalism is disturbing in itself, but knowing this man once existed left me

stuck with gruesome images running through my head.

True-crime is captivating. It’s eerily fascinat ing to watch the mindset of these individuals develop from their childhood all the way to their first instances of murder. With this show in particular, the producers’ portrayal of Dahmer as a disturbing man is honest, and doesn’t attempt to evoke sympathy from viewers.

Even though the producers of “Dahmer-Monster” do an admirable job Dahmer’s exploring childhood psyche, the media is nowhere close to perfecting the art of accurately representing serial killers.

In the opening scene of “Dahmer-Monster,” his neighbor Glenda Cleveland is shown attempting to contact the police as she is over hearing one of her neighbor’s many crimes.

Netflix’s depiction of the efforts made by this

unspoken hero is a positive aspect of the series, as it highlights those affected by Dahmer’s actions, something that other shows such as “Conversations with a Killer,” which solely interviews killers, have not.

However, the portrayal of these serial killers, however honest, does no justice to victims and their families. Rita Isbell, a sibling of Errol Lindsey, has said that Netflix never asked for her permission to represent her in the show. “It's sad that they're just making money off of this tragedy. That's just greed,” she said. “If the show benefited (the victims’ families) in some way, it wouldn't feel so harsh and careless” Of his 17 victims, less than half received more than a minute of the show’s nine-hour running time. Though the series features an acknowledgement to the victims and their families in the very last episode, it’s not enough to repair the damages of not only

Dahmer himself but the media’s failure to represent victims in the past.

It’s clear that Netflix had no intention of making the series about the victims. If they did, relatives like Isbell would’ve had the chance to tell their actual stories.

With the influx of attention on serial killers in “Dahmer-Monster” the cultural glorification of Dahmer and serial killers has grown. For Halloween, many on social media are showing up as him, some even dressing their children in his recognizable glasses and hairstyle.

The media has continually missed its chances to accurately depict serial killers, and more importantly, their victims.

They have a responsibility to influence public opinion, and need to move the discussion of beyond an emphasis on the killers to the true victims of these tragedies.

OPINIONS

Problem: There aren't enough tables to eat lunch at. Every day, my friends and I have to race to acquire a lunch spot.

Solution: Everyone should either eat lunch standing or make table reservations through OpenTable

— Lia Choi

Problem: College acceptance rates are so low. I would do anything to get accepted and go to college.

Solution: Nobody apply so all of the acceptance rates shoot back up! Give colleges a taste of their own medicine.

— Carissa Takaki

Problem: When

Solution: Everyone should learn to like my music taste so that I can carry around a speaker with me wherever I go.

—Ava Stark

Problem: This school year has been super busy and with more homework, we don't get enough sleep at night decreasing our atten tion span in classes and sometimes falling asleep in them.

Solution: I's time to bring back nap time from preschool, with stu dents getting a solid 30 minutes to take a nap and recenter themselves.

— SaiSahasra Makamchenna

BITE-SIZED

Minor problems, minor solutions

Problem: The hallway traffic is really bad and I never know when people are turning or stopping, so I accidentally run into them. Solution: Every student walking should have brake lights and turn signals to improve the hallway traffic.

— Makayla Wu

I turn the volume up on my earbuds really high it hurts my ears but I still want to listen to music really loud.

Netflix and the public are guilty of perpetually focusing on the killers instead of the victims

ANTHONY SEARS, 26 RAYMOND SMITH, 33 EDWARD W. SMITH, 28 ERNEST MILLER, 22

DAVID C. THOMAS, 23 CURTIS STRAUGHTER, 18 ERROL LINDSEY, 19 ANTHONY "TONY" HUGHES, 31

CARISSA

Palo Alto High School

3-10 on Nov. 5. This is their second year as a sport.

Record: Varsity: 2-4 (1-2 league), JV 0-2 league

Cross country

The boys varsity team is heading to the state championships for the first time after a strong finish at the CCS championships at Crystal Springs.

Record: Both varsity teams: 1-0

Compiled by Alan Schaeffer

For the latest updates and home game recaps, visit bhsbear witness.com or follow us on social media: @ bhsbearwitness

STRENGTH NUMBERS

LIA CHOI Staff Writer

ver the last 20 years, girls’ high school basketball participation numbers have dropped 19% nationally, but Branham’s team continues to play with steady numbers.

The Wall Street Journal reported that high school level girls sports participation has dropped 4% since 2019, with girls basketball numbers dropping by 7%. Although the reasons for this decline re main unclear, the growth in other sports like volleyball and soccer, jumping 15% and 27% respectively, portrays the possi bility that basketball is simply declining in popularity among high school girls.

This does not seem to be the case for Branham’s girls basketball team as varsity girls basketball coach Nick Moreno said participation is as strong as ever.

During last year’s post-lockdown bas ketball season, 14 new faces showed up to tryouts, with 13 of them staying for the rest of the season. Only one athlete quit. Moreno said that the momentum is building as players planning to re turn are actively recruiting others to join.

“They want more people in our program, so we’re actual ly going up in numbers,” he said.

Another reason behind the consistent partic ipation at Branham may be due to the fa milial environment of the team. Varsi ty captain senior Kaylee Lopez, who has been on the

team all four years, said the team supports each other both on and off the court.

“We have a really good team that’s able to get along really well, and it’s just a fun experience every time,” Lopez said. “No matter if we win or lose, we always bond.”

Sophomore Olivia Decker, in their sec ond year playing for Branham, also shares positive feelings. They said playing basket ball facilitates a desire to improve.

“It’s just a great environment and oppor tunity,” Decker said. “I’m always looking for opportunities to get better, and I can do that with my teammates.”

Moreno assumes the nationwide decline may partly be because of basketball season overlapping with other sports such as soc cer and track and field, some of the two most popular sports among high school girls. This may force athletes to choose be tween a selection of top sports.

“It’s hard because girls soccer and bas ketball are at the same time, and (the two sports) are what a lot of girls grew up playing,” Moreno said. “So when you get to high school, you have to make a choice, and I think soccer is more popular.”

For ex-players like junior Naomi Fong, who played basketball for a year before quitting, the reason may be more academ ic. She is taking two AP classes this year and thus carrying a heavier workload.

“For the few people who have left, it’s mostly because of personal things — they don’t have anything against the actual sport,” Fong said.

Whether or not the cause of quitting basketball lies behind simultaneous sports seasons or larger amounts of schoolwork, one thing is clear: The bond of Branham’s team has not diminished and cannot be replicated.

“We have a really good group of players that don’t try to push anyone out and in stead adapt to each other’s different learn ing styles,” Moreno said.

“Girls basketball has really helped the players grow not only as basketball players, but as people as well.”

In the all four variety girls races at Montgomery Hill this season, freshman Hannah Soetaert has consistently outpaced her second-place finishes by at least 20 seconds or more.

Such powerhouse performances earned her the Bay Area News Group’s Athlete of the Week for Sept. 26 to Oct. 1. Soetaert earned more than 12,694 votes, accounting for more than one-third of all entries.

Readers can vote as many times as they wish in the contest.

“Her performance stood out as outstanding in all sports,” cross country coach Craig Lee said. “Winning the award supports that her performance was great but also shows how strong our community supports her.”

Soetaert said she was especially grateful for her recogni tion, especially since the Bay Area has a large student-ath lete population.

She credits her coaches and teammates for her success and is thankful to them for bringing her a great experience.

“Being considered is a special opportunity,” Hannah said, adding later that “it truly is a blessing to have such a great team.”

Despite national declines in girls basketball, Bruin team finds itself on the rebound

Freshman Hannah Soetaert consistently finishes first in league meets at the Montgomery Hill course.

Sophomore Jade Rugnao

Source:

ANGELA CHOI

Science and Health Writer

Courtesy of Lauren Peters

Fitz Vo/Bear Witness

BACKUP FOR A MOMENT

OWEN DASZKO Staff Writer

Aaron Rodgers replacing Brett Favre in Green Bay and Steve Young replacing Joe Montana in San Francisco show that even as a backup, players can still get the chance to prove themselves later on.

While senior varsity quarterback Will Augenstein is hav ing a phenomenal season with a league leading 1,830 rush ing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, sophomore Jack Lewis stands on the sideline, watching, learning, and waiting for his turn in the spotlight.

Lewis was able to gain experience last year as starting quar terback for the JV team.

In that role, the team struggled ending with a 1-4 record, but in that one win they had, the team scored 51 points.

He is preparing for his chance as the starter for varsity next year, after Augenstein graduates, and understands that it’s all a matter of patience.

So far he has played in seven games, completing three passes for 42 yards, in addition he has also recorded 15 rushes for 61 yards on the ground with 2 touchdowns.

“Knowing that I am going to be quarterback next year, it’s not too bad not being able to get all the reps in this year,” he said. Lewis said that Augenstein has made sure to him when it comes to his offensive decision making and leadership on the field, saying that he’s helped with reviewing game footage and memorizing plays.

“In practice he is always telling me what to do to improve and giving me the upper hand to be the next quarterback,” he said.

Tommy McMahon, varsity quarterback coach and offen sive coordinator said that Lewis is ready for next year, and has “soaked as much information as possible” in preparing for the role.

“His commitment and desire to learn and play hard has put him in position to be successful.”

McMahon, who’s been coaching high school football since

2012 and was also a quarterback experience himself, said that expectations for what a quarterback can do are high, and that they determine the flow of every game.

“The ball is literally in your hands every play so you have to be ready and stay ready,” he said.

And McMahon said that even though the backup isn’t the starting quarterback and doesn’t get enough playtime, they still need to be on their toes and able to step up at any moment.

“You don’t get the majority of the reps in practice but you still have to be ready at all times,” he said.

Lewis said all he wants to do is get better and prove that he is built for the starting job.

“I just want to go out there and put in the work to prove that I am capable enough to follow in Will’s footsteps,” Lewis said.

With the support of his teammates and coaches, Lewis has the opportunity to thrive as the next starting quarterback for the Bruins.

ALAN SHAEFFER Sports Editor

At 9 a.m. on a cloudy Sunday morning last week, junior Ricardo Pham was taking his first swings of the golf club at the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf Course as part of the TGR JR Invitational tour nament.

Pham was one of 60 athletes — 30 boys and 30 girls — who was selected from an application pool of 600. The invitational was geared toward giving promising athletes exposure to world-class competition.

One of the biggest highlights of the event was the chance for each golfer to meet and take a picture with Woods himself. Although the interaction was brief, Pham said it gave him motivation for the upcoming tournament.

“He’s the greatest golfer of all time,” he said. “Being able to shake his hand and him telling me good luck was a huge inspiration for me, and it was great.”

Pham said the level of competition was much high er than the golfers he usually went up against at local tournaments. Although he barely missed out on the championship round by five strokes, he said he was proud of how he performed against much more expe

rienced competitors, some of whom have been playing since they “were 5 or 9 years old.”

“I’ve been playing since I was 13, and now I’m 16 so it was great competition for me,” he said.

He initially thought that the odds were stacked against him, given his brief experience in the sport and his attendance at a public school. He’d be going up against athletes from around the country.

“I honestly thought I had no chance at this,” he said. But when he received the news in September all bets were off.

“It was just me and my brother and we started jump ing up and down and it was crazy,” he said. “Later we told our parents and it was amazing.”

With the unique experience under his belt, Pham said he is only more motivated to continue his golf journey and reach new heights, even though he knows he will probably never recreate the experience at Peb ble Beach.

“The Tiger Woods Junior Invitational was complete ly different from anything I’ve ever played,” he said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m gon na keep playing, putting in the practice, getting better, shooting longer.”

As senior Will Augenstein enjoys the spotlight, sophomore Jack Lewis works on refining his game

GOLF

Courtesy of Ricardo Pham

Junior Ricardo Pham, with Tiger Woods, was one of 60 students accepted nationwide into the TGR Jr invitational in October. More than 600 around the country applied.

Dennis Putian/MaxPreps photographers network

Sophomore Jack Lewis has completed three passes for 42 yards with two touchdowns so far this season. He knows there will be a greater opportunity to put up more impressive numbers next year.

What it is: "Blonde" is a fic tionalized account of the rise and fall Marilyn Monroe, one of the most prominent symbols of 20th century. The movie dives deep into her childhood up to her tragic demise at 36 years old.

Liked: Monroe, portrayed by Ana de Armas, is depicted in the same fashion as she was in the20th century— as a sex symbol and woman incapable of making her own decisions. It reveals the extremity of Hollywood's misogyny just a few decades ago. While nauseating to watch the abuses Monroe faced as a young adult and teenager, "Blonde" tells part of her story that has often been forgotten as society remembers the ageless celebrity.

Disliked: I fail to believe that the hyper-sexualization of Marilyn is entirely to educate the public. This movie is the first and probably last NC-17 to be released on Netflix containing excessive nudity and graphic depictions of Monroe's exploitation. To make matters worse, the movie was developed Joyce Carol Oates novel which is partially composed with fictional material.

— Carissa Takaki

ART IS LIFE. CAN IT BE A LIVING?

High competition, job uncertainty to pursue a passion

AVA STARK Arts & Entertainment Editor

Senior Carissa Freimarck is plan ning to be a musical theater major in college, aware of the potential risks and the cutthroat professional aspects of her field.

Despite the risks, she’s willing to do it.

Freimarck has been doing musical theater for years, performing plays throughout high school, including her most recent role as the Fairy Queen in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” She said that she loves being the center of attention and being a part of the musi cal theater family.

She hopes to possibly perform on Broadway someday, and has applied to the University of Michigan and New York University to achieve this.

Still, Freimarck has many concerns about being a musical theater major and acknowledges that it won’t be easy. She doesn’t feel very confident in her dancing skills, and feels a little bit of imposter syndrome thinking about au ditioning against others.

“The competitiveness of the theater industry is definitely something I wor ry about,” Freimarck said, “but it's just a lifelong dream of mine. I don't want to give up on that. I want to try to go after it as much as I can and do everything that I can to achieve it.”

With college applications due just around the corner, seniors face the dif ficult decision of what they are going to pursue after high school. This decision is especially difficult for those hoping to pursue a major in the arts.

College major remorse Finding a career in arts can be diffi cult. In the past eight years, the number of humanities degrees has decreased by 25% in the U.S.

What it is: 'I Love' is (G)-IDLE's fifth mini album, consisting of six tracks. The album portrays the different types and emotions from love. The title track 'Nxde' is inspired by Marilyn Monroe as a break from Monroe's "dumb blonde" image, inspired by the Netflix show (see above).

Liked: "Nxde" ends with "변 태는 너야," which translates to "the pervert is you." The song asks the shames the audience in its sexualization of women and celebrities, specifically Mariyln Monroe: "your view's so rude think outside the box."

Disliked: The message and tone of each of the songs is repetitive, though each explores a different aspect of love.

— Jiyoon Choi

Humanities and arts majors are also the most regretted majors. In a 2021 Washington Post survey, nearly 50% of individuals say that they wish they had chosen a different field of study.

With more of a focus on STEM-relat ed careers in the past few years, there has been less support for arts careers. In rural and less-prosperous areas of California, arts education in schools is less likely to be funded due to local funding measures.

Even so, there are still many avenues for those who want to pursue arts. Art teacher Kyilo Duran-Hulton advo cates strongly for those who are pas sionate about a form of art to try out one of those avenues.

“You need to figure out what you need to be happy,” said Duran-Hulton, “then if the career they're trying to follow aligns with that.”

Duran-Hulton doesn’t believe that a student needs to follow the direct path they laid out for themselves and said that it’s okay to figure things out as you go along, as he had done.

After college, Duran-Hulton explored many career options and programs, such as construction, sculpting and teaching

elementary school before he started teaching high school art. It wasn’t where he expected to be as a student.

“In college I was just getting a degree because it was the next step,” he said.

“It was like graduating high school and getting a degree. I had no idea what I was gonna do.”

Barbara West, who teaches musical theater, choir and guitar, also followed a winding path in the arts.

She majored in voice performance at Florida State University and started off her career as an opera singer, working

Midnights

Taylor Swift

What it is: Taylor Swift's 10th studio album shakes off the coun try roots, following the journey of sleepless thoughts and the things one thinks at midnight.

At times happy, sad, confused and lonely, the album goes through every emotion possible over the span of 20 songs.

Liked: The song list is diverse yet similar to some of her past works.

She talks about a lot of over looked feelings bluntly yet poet ically. It feels like an album that everyone can relate to, whether one is an old or new fan.

Disliked: Literally nothing, it was so nice to get new music for her.

— Reese Gardner

"I

in various theaters across the country before she began her teaching career.

“There's always a part of the job that you're not expecting,” West said. “You have to be comfortable with a little uncertainty and I'm a little bit more risk averse. I had to find a way to (sing) that allowed me to have a little bit more stability.”

'It is becoming more viable as a career path''

Prior to her teaching career, West par ticipated in teaching internships that didn’t work out. She later discovered an unlikely passion for teaching.

“I was looking around for jobs and I started teaching and I was so surprised,” she said. “I loved it. I still got to sing. And I got to bring that joy of music to kids.”

Both West and Duran-Hulton agree that it’s important to look for the draw backs in the career, but also emphasize the wide variety of career paths that are open to students now with current technologies and opportunities.

“Art was never really pitched as a ca reer path at all when I was in school,” said Duran-Hulton. “So it's really en joyable to see so many students inter ested in it and that it is becoming more of a viable career path.”

Though Freimarck still wants to pur sue musical theater she is allowing her self a backup plan.

“High school has really broadened my range of acting,” said Freimark. “But it’s definitely going to be hard and com petitive. I also want to teach theater, though, so that'll be my backup.”

West believes that there are many roads to take with the arts, whether that be as a career, part time job, or hobby. Though she knew that opera wasn’t for her, she was glad to have pursued it.

For West, art doesn’t always have to be a career, but a way of life.

“If you want to be an artist, just be an artist,” West said. “You don't have to make it pay your bills to keep doing it. If you want to pursue this profession then absolutely give it a shot, because you’ll always regret it if you don't.

A show of force as band wins regional title

AVA STARK AND ALLI WANG Staff Writers

The Branham Royal Alliance

marching band ended its season Saturday with a win in the Northern California regional championships for the Western Band Association at James Logan High School.

The marching band also earned a Mu sic, General Effect and Visual award for their show “Enemy.” They competed against Leigh, Monta Vista, Santa Te resa and Mountain View high schools.

Sophomore and guard member Mana mi Sakoda said she really enjoyed engag ing the audience with her performance.

“I love to see the audience smile and enjoy our show,” said Sakoda. “It’s real ly fun to see how they react when we do some tricks on our equipment.”

After the competition, the band cele brated its seniors with a traditional senior

dinner. The band made iced cookies re sembling each of the 11 senior members.

Senior guard captain Sam Sharrard said the dinner made them feel appre ciated and allowed them to reflect on their years in the band.

“It was a perfect moment to spend with the other seniors,” they said, “be cause the majority of them I’ve been there with since day one.”

Sharrard said they were also very grateful for the enthusiasm the band brought to the competition.

“The energy was extremely high yes terday,” they said. “During the show, my co-captain Alexis Tea and I hugged at the end of our duet, and just running up to her, hugging her in my last moments performing with Branham and both of us just saying we loved each other.”

The marching band will hold a ban quet on Dec. 3.

MOVIE Blonde

Directed by Andrew Dominik

ALBUMS

I Love (G)-IDLE

Nolan Zils/Bear Witness

Senior Carissa Freimarck, with Christian Winzenread in last year's "Evil Dead: The Musical," knows the challenges ahead for the ater majors like her. Still, she wants to try to pursue her passion: "I want to try to go after it as much as I can."

Choir and musical theater teacher Barba ra West started her career as an opera singer, which was not always consistent.

She came into teaching later in her career.

still got to sing. And I got to bring that joy of music to kids."

Courtesy of Barbara West

A Cube Entertainment

Republic

MARCHING BAND

Courtesy of Jonghoon Cho

Royal Alliance captains Andrew Goldberg, on alto saxophone and Luigi Renovato duel at their final show of the season Saturday at James Logan High School.

A busy month Ye's very public actions, briefly summarized.

Oct. 3

Ye, Candace Owens and at least one model wear shirts with “White Lives Matter” written on them at Ye’s Yeezy fashion show in Paris.

Oct. 6

After Ye publicly com plained about his contract with Adidas to make Yeezy products, Adidas says it is putting its longstanding relationship with West under review, and in response West writes on Instagram, “F—- ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS `—D AND STOLE MY DESIGNS.”

Oct. 9 West is restricted on Instagram for violating the app’s policies in which he said he was going to use Combs “as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me."

Oct. 9

On Twitter, West claims he is going to go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” —his account is promptly locked by the social media platform.

Oct. 10 West posts a documentary to YouTube, which contains footage of him displaying a porn movie to Adidas executives.

Oct.15 West falsely claims that George Floyd died because of fentanyl, and not becau se former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes.

Oct. 17 Conservative social media platform Parler announces West is buying it.

Oct. 31 West is again suspended on Instagram after posting a screenshot of a text conversation in which he says “I gotta get the Jewish business people to make the contracts fair Or die trying.”

Compiled by staff from

ANALYSIS

THE OTHER SHOE DROPS

ALLI WANG News Editor

The artist Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has long been a source of controversy.

Yet, his actions leading to his stunning fall in just a few short weeks, from losing his Adidas sponsorship to being shunned on social media from his multiple antisemitic and political remarks, may be unprecedented.

The controversy revolved around Ye’s recent Tweet that he wanted to go “death con 3” on Jewish people shortly after reactivating his account.

Death Con 3 is a military slang term related to nuclear warfare.

Since the tweet, Ye has been locked out from Twitter, dropped from his record label and is fac ing a lawsuit from George Floyd’s family. He said he lost $2 billion in value, going from a billionaire to a millionaire.

He’s recently been under fire for selling a “White Lives Matter” shirt, associated with neo-Nazis and far-right leaning views. We asked students about their re actions to the Ye controversy and the question of separating the art from the artist.

'My religion isn't a joke'

Before the recent controversies, sophomore Naomi Bergman, a Jewish student, said that they were a casual listener of Ye.

When they first heard the news, they said they weren’t surprised, given Ye’s past behavior. Still, Bergman decided it was a “break ing point” for them to stop listen ing to the artist.

“I already knew that he was kind of a strange person, and that he had some really questionable be liefs.” Bergman said. “Nothing that really made me have a reason to

had jokingly pestered them about Ye’s comments.

“My religion isn't a joke, and people shouldn’t still support one person over millions of [Jewish] people.” Bergman said. “The fact that people are making jokes about this, especially to people who are Jewish, is just not okay.”

Junior Jordan Levenberg is also a Jewish student. They were a casual listener of Ye, but said that they felt upset by how people idolized him even after the tweet.

“When there's someone that is problematic, just ignore him,” Lev enberg said. “Don't give him the fame that he wants. When people look up to him as an idol because he's so famous, they're gonna start acting like that, and that's an issue.”

Levenberg felt uncomfortable when observing peers continue to support Ye.

“If you're downloading his music, you’re still supporting him finan cially and showing indifference to wards his actions,” Levenberg said.

Bergman felt that the idea of “separating the art from the artist” should not be a matter of debate regarding Ye.

“Having (Ye) out of your life isn't going to affect you.” Bergman said.

“To keep on supporting someone who's harming the Jewish commu nity so actively and keeps spreading conservative conspiracies and lies is just harmful and should be stopped.”

Blame cancel culture

Junior Dominic Troquato blames “cancel culture,” the sham ing of celebrities on social media platforms for sharing controversial opinions. He felt that Ye’s drop from his label and losing $2 billion dollars was “unfortunate.”

Troquato feels that because Ye wasn’t directly advocating violence, he should not have faced conse quences such as being dropped from his label and other compa

ZIV GALPAZ Staff Writer

ow waisted jeans. Halter tops. Leather. All parts of the 2000s fashion plethora that is coming back in the last few years. Fashion is known to rotate in a 20 year cycle and with every few years the trends we vow will never come back, make a resurgence.

The 2000s were a time doused in fashion that was a revamp of the 80’s but with a spin, low waisted jeans, tacky prints, and large bling. Fashion is known to be cyclical because we learn to appreciate the culture that came before us. We are influenced by the fashion that our parents wore, or we see in pop cul ture of the decade before.

Sophomore Naomi Bergman, vice president of the Fashion and Design club at Branham, said she was inspired to get into the style thanks to her mom.

“As a kid, I was always really in spired by my mom's fashion style

nies such as Adidas.

“Deplatforming is not okay,” Troquato said. “In a world where we should be sharing free speech and sharing our opinions, we don’t want to be openly demonized.”

Junior Stella Greeves, another fan of Ye’s, said she separates her appreciation of Ye’s music from his actions.

“I don't agree with everything he does or says,” she said. “But I'm able to separate the artists from their personal lives —- because they're people. I'm here for the music.”

Although Greeves is ethnically Jewish, she felt that she did not see Ye’s intentions of the tweet as “causing violence.” To her, Ye was just joking and did not mean harm.

“Maybe it doesn't offend me be cause I don't really align with the Jewish religion.” Greeves said. ”But if you look at people's intentions, and who they are as people when they're not cracking a joke, that's more tell ing of who they are. Some jokes, I think there's a time and a place. “

Troquato said Ye’s talent is not diminished by his “strong polit ical opinions,” most notably his alt-right conservative views. He also said Ye’s right to free speech shouldn’t be attacked. He refer enced Ye’s history of behavioral disorders as part of why he is able to discern Ye from his actions.

“I don't believe in hate speech.” Troquato said. “When we get to a society where you're no longer allowed to share your opinions. That's when our free speech is completely shut down.”

'Is this the same person?' Cancel culture, a phrase created in the late 2010s, refers to a phe nomenon where one may feel os tracized on social media platforms for expressing their beliefs. It is often associated with a negative connotation during debates on free

and her desire to work in the fash ion industry. Her style in the 2000s made me want to pursue it myself” said Bergman.

Bergman also mentioned that the revamp of chick flicks such as "Mean Girls" or "Clueless" have a strong influence on the fashion we see today.

In these films, the main girls are docked in pink juicy velour sweat suits, blonde highlights, and tall skinny bodies. The girls primarily all dressed and looked the same, and whoever didn’t dress the same was seen as an outsider.

“We see stuff in movies,” said Bergman, “and we hear the soundtrack and see the fashion, and we want to mimic it.”

However, even with all of the glamor and intricacy of the era, the lack of inclusivity that the 2000s fashion encompassed is more than prevalent. The icons of the era were all thin, white celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Avril Lavigne, and others who held a certain stan

speech and censorship.

Todd Inoue, a contributing mu sic and pop culture writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, said that he doesn’t use the word “cancel culture,” as he rather would have conversations around accountabil ity for public figures.

“People are allowed to say and think that they want to think.” In oue said. “But that doesn't mean (the public figure) can be absolved of the consequences for the things they've said. Just because they feel a certain way doesn't mean that we can’t call out their actions.”

However, he said that pop artists with controversial behavior are often a subject of debate. Michael Jackson and his alleged pedophilia and convicted sex R. Kelly are two popular example.

Inoue said that although Ye's first four records are “downright classics,” it can be difficult for listeners to sep arate his work from his actions.

“It's hard to put those songs on now and think, ‘Is this the same person?’ It doesn't feel like the same person because they feel so different,” he said. “They feel like two completely separate people.”]

The debate over holding artists accountable yet observing their impact towards pop culture does not just apply to current artists, however, according to Inoue.

As a journalist, he said he ap proaches controversies when writ ing articles as a “norm” in pop cul ture, and usually sees it as part of the context behind their songwriting.

“Almost everybody that in pop culture or in music has some sort of spot on their record, or something that they've said or done, where they've come to regret it or maybe they're proud about it.” Inoue said.

“But it's impossible to make artis tic judgments about their music because their past overshadows the artistic statements that they make.”

dard for what girls who wanted to participate in the fashion trends should look like according to fash ion magazine Centennial.

During the turn of the century, eating disorders in teen girls rose approximately 25%. Body and Soul, a well-being magazine, mentioned that millennial women have a high er percentage of past eating disor ders than any other generation. Tall, skin and bone, blonde girls were seen as ideal and girls with slightly curvier bodies were referred to as the “chubby girls”. As trends come back, some worry so will the diet culture and eating disorders.

Senior Jada Morrison who has in the last few years embraced her style and taken a lot of inspiration from Y2K fashion, said that we are in a different era that embraces all bodies.

“You see girls who are a size 10 wearing low-waisted jeans, and same with a size 2,” said Morri son“The trends of the era now can apply to everyone regardless of size.”

ARTS CALENDAR AT SCHOOL

Faculty musical Elf Jr Performing Arts Center, Dec. 9 and 10 at 7 p.m. in PAC.

What it is: The modern classic Will Ferrell movie gets the staff musical treatment. Starring science teachers Kevin Kalman as Buddy the Elf, Rachel Basore as Jovie, the cynical department store clerk, it features original music made for the stage. With a run time of about an hour, it is the perfect length for all ages.

OUTSIDE SCHOOL

The Wizard of Oz Nov. 11-20

Montgomery Theater visit CMTSJ/org for tickets

What it is: There truly is no place like home as Childrens Mu sical Theater San Jose puts its own spin on the timeless classic. The show with the Ruby cast features sophomore Maya Drake as the heroine Dorothy, the girl from Kansas who befriends the people of Munchkinland.

MOVIE Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Nov. 23 in theaters

The sequel to "Knives Out" is seeing a limited run in theaters before it heads to the streaming service.

Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc leads a star-studded cast, including Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista and Ethan Hawke.

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio Dec. 9 on Netflix

If the trailers are any indication, this is not the dreadful live-action "Pinocchio" that went straight to Disney+. The stop-motion animated version has premiered to positive reviews, and with Guiller mo del Toro's experience blending the fantastical with the horrific is any indication, this will be the live-action version to beat.

Book

Maus Now Edited by

15

The book is a collection of essays about Art Spiegelman's groundbreaking graphic novel "Maus," and reflects on the white nationalism that has resurfaced in the past decade.

The mentality has changed since the 2000s both in the overall cul ture and with fashion. Feminism, relationships, and body image are all things that have become more acceptable in the last two decades. Morrison also mentioned that to her the 2000s were more than just fashion staples. It was a pre-social media era, a time she wished she could have lived in.

“I feel like everyone kind of minded to themselves, did their own thing and I think that is thanks to the lack of social media.”

To Morrison, it seems that part of what makes the 2000s so romanti cized is the lack of social media, and in comparison to today, it was not such a quick and important part of our lives, that dictates what we wear, listen to, watch, and desire for.

The era of clunky highlights, plaid Abercrombie skirts, and graphic t-shirts is coming back for good and bad, but this time with a greater reach as it becomes more inclusive and attainable to all.

Hillary Chute Nov.

Compiled by staff

Ye's stream of antisemitic and controversial actions is testing his relationship with fans — and the limits of free speech

2000s style, but make it

ZIV Galpaz/Bear Witness

PUMPKIN PALOOZA

It's fall, and it's pumpkin spice season. You may know that pumpkin spice has nothing to do with pumpkins. It's made up of four vital components: nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and ginger. These four fuzzy ingredients will keep you warm all season long.

We tried 11 pumpkin spice flavored items and place them based on their closest flavor profile.

Tae

Yun

(Erica) Kang and Shantala Muruganujan Illustrations by Tae Yun (Erica) Kang

Nutmeg is a spice made from the seed of the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrant), a native Indonesian evergreen tree that is the source of two popular spices: nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the inner seed, while mace is the red, lace-like substance that covers the seed.

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, $2.99

Allspice The name might suggest it is a blend, but allspice is a single spice made from dried berries of the allspice tree which look like peppercorns. Goes well for savory dishes as well as for sweet.

NUTMEG ALLSPICE

Pumpkin Spice Oreo’s, $6.49

Although the aftertaste is hinted with some pumpkin, the oversweet cookie tastes more like the wafer than the creme. This treat has not been on the shelves since 2017.

Safeway Pumpkin Pie, $6.00

This traditional and seasonal dessert is a fall favorite. Creamy and delicious, this dish has a strong pumpkin flavor. It’s perfect to pair with ice cream, whipped cream, or apple cider.

This quick snack is sweet and savory. Although covered in seasonal spices, the seed overpowers the pumpkin spice taste.

Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Iced/ Hot Latte, $5.35

Infused with a special Starbucks pumpkin sauce, this drink is available in hot and iced., but only during the season.

Trader Joe’s Mini Spicy Pumpkin Samosas, $3.99

This cute snack tastes exactly like a samosa with a touch of pumpkin. This snack is savory and perfect to add diversity to your Thanksgiving dinner.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal: Pumpkin Spice, $5.49

With 100% whole grain oats, this easy breakfast item is good for the heart. The initial taste is saturated with pumpkin flavor, but it fades into a brown sugar taste.

Flipz Pumpkin Spice Covered Pretzels, $3.99

This delectable limited edition snack has a cohesive taste of white chocolate and pumpkin spice. Packed in a shiny, blue bag, this snack is perfect for on the go.

Kellogg's Pumpkin Spice Cereal Flakes, $6.99

Although this cereal doesn’t exactly taste like pumpkin, it is a perfect alternative to regular corn flakes to get into the fall mood.

Goldfish Dunkin Pumpkin Spice Grahams, $3.99

Cinnamon A sweet and woody flavour, cinnamon has a slight citrusy note, and its spicy taste is often likened to the powerful punch of cloves. Cinnamon was once more valuable than gold. In Egypt it was sought for embalming and religious practices.

Trader Joe’s Mini Pumpkin-Ginger Ice Cream Cones, $3.29

These mini ice cream cones are perfect for summer and fall enthusiasts. With a strong taste of pumpkin and ginger, this desert is perfect for a quick bite.

Werther’s Original Harvest Cara mels: Pumpkin Spice, $4.99

These limited edition chewy seasonal candies are perfect to hand out on Halloween night. However, they taste more like the original caramels than pumpkin spice.

REGNIG NOMANNIC

The unexpected collaborative effort from Goldfish and Dunkin Donuts was a unique twist. The goldfish taste exactly like honey flavored Teddy Grahams, but not like pumpkin.

Ginger Aromatic, pungent and spicy, ginger adds a special flavor and zest to Asian stir fries and many fruit and vegetable dishes. Fresh ginger root is available year round in the produce section of your local market..