Bear Witness - September 2022

COVID-19 cases are ri sing, but we don’t seem to be as concerned.

Destinations and detours, here and abroad.

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CROWD CONTROL

FIND the FUNDS

Teachers take on extra work

Classes expand as enrollment grows

MILA WINDELL Staff Writer

Branham’s record-breaking 2,000-plus student enroll ment has led to more class sections, more course offerings, and for some teachers an increased workload.

Barely six weeks into the school year, the changes are contributing to the feeling of teacher burnout that’s been observed nationwide since the start of the pandemic.

By the end of the second week of school, students’ schedules were shuffled as classes were added in chemistry and in art to reduce the number of students per class.

In the science department, chem istry teacher Fitzgerald Vo took on his colleague Kevin Kalman’s seventh period class, while Kalman is teaching a new second period chemistry class.

Other changes include art teacher Gabby Gramegna upgrading to a full-time teacher from part-time status, a new U.S. History class, and the collapse of a seventh period ethnic studies class.

Students, staff: Portable AC units no help in heat

OWEN DAZKO Staff Writer

When the weather reached a record-breaking 111 de grees Sept. 6, students in physics teacher Jovanna Theodosopou lou ’s class sweated it out.

Even though the class had re ceived portable AC units because parts for the main systems were backordered, the hoses did not vent out of the class, instead re circulating air back into the class room.

“They were a joke,” Theo dosopoulou said, adding that the portable units made it harder to teach over their loud hum.

During the heat wave, while a majority of classes were well air-conditioned, a small number — school officials say that around six classes in the three-year-old

"It is really hard to give each individual student attention during class."

Katia Saade , French teacher

MEASURE O yet, but among all the ballot measures voters will choose in November, it will have the greatest impact on Branham, and the district. It extends an

that

in the books. The district says that the money will go toward...

PARCEL TAXES: ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

• If a school com munity in California wants to significantly increase funding for the basic operation of its own local schools, there is only one option: the parcel tax.

California is the only state in America that uses this particular form of property tax to fund schools, for reasons tied up with Proposition 13

This famous ballot initiative, passed by California voters in 1978, prohibits school districts from raising property taxes based on the value of property.

66.7% needed to pass

Parcel taxes are hard to pass; they require twothirds voter approval, not just a simple majority. About half are passed.

65.1% of all parcel taxes originated from the Bay Area between 2008-2019.

Sources: Ballotpedia Ed100.org

MEASURE O | Parcel taxes unique to state

From PAGE 1

Previous measures, K and L failed to pass in March 2020 and November 2020. For parcel taxes to be approved, a supermajor ity of 66% is needed, and both measures received about 60% of the vote each.

Superintendent Robert Bravo said there are several reasons why the parcel tax measures failed twice 2020. Measure K sought to more than double the parcel tax, and negativity toward online schooling doomed the November initiative.

Getting the word out

He said that with school in full swing, momentum is shifting toward its passage.

“I think we’re in a different place and that this is a very different time,” he said.

Volunteers in the greater Campbell Union High School District community had formed the Measure Steering Com mittee in effort for Measure O to pass in order to sustain the funding for the dis trict’s schools.

Because the district cannot allocate money to explicitly promote a politi cal measure, a group of district staff and teachers has been working to get word out on the measure.

Fernandez is part of the committee. He hopes that local voters understand that the measure will not increase taxes, but rather use the current level of taxes to spe cifically allocate towards student services and teacher salaries.

He said that other surrounding districts such as Los Gatos and Santa Clara can pay teachers more partly because of these parcel taxes, which has given teachers a modest salary boost.

“We are too poor to be rich and rich to the poor, so we don’t get funded by the state,” Fernandez said. “Our local source of revenue is not as large as of the districts nearby.”

The Campbell High School Teachers Association has endorsed Measure O, and has begun be working with the committee to get the word out to the community to promote and deliver the message of the measure.

In the coming weeks, teachers are being asked to call neighbors and to canvass their neighborhood in support of the par cel tax.

Currently, a taxpayer organization filed an argument against Measure O and the campaign for Measure O filed a rebuttal. Also in July, Bravo sent out a survey to the community regarding their opinions on the measure. In a poll of 209 community members, the measure had many propo nents.

Rising inequality in Bay Area

The district is no stranger to successful

ballot initiatives. In 2016, it convinced voters to pass the Measure AA bond, which raised millions to fund campus ren ovations such as the four two-story build ings at Branham.

However, increased teacher pay has been a thorny issue for both sides, as teachers share stories of working side jobs and long commutes from affordable neighborhoods to make ends meet.

The availability of funds from parcel tax es also creates a disparity in the amount of money the district can spend on its stu dents and staff.

According to school officials, the district receives around $13,000 per student, com pared to Palo Alto and Mountain View, which receive around $20,000 per student. This means they have more money to go into personal funds.

News staff in the San Jose Unified School District make an average of $67,497 com pared to the district’s $52,000 to $67,000.

For special education teacher N ick Cor tez, one of the principal negotiators with the CHSTA, the issue of funding for

Staff writers

Juliette Bonacum,

Adviser: Fitzgerald Vo Mission Statement

schools in the Bay Area seems symptom atic of a larger issue with school funding. He said that the use of a parcel tax to fund public education is only a Band-Aid solu tion where funding for CUHSD’s needs in the long term may prove challenging.

The state’s Prop. 13 has made it impos sible for schools to raise taxes based on property values.

“I don’t know anywhere outside of Cal ifornia that passes a parcel tax to fund schools,” he said. “This is not typical way to fund schools.”

Among the proponents is new College and Career specialist Sandrine Chau mette, who helps students find available financial aid and scholarships. She worries that students will end up in “dead-end jobs” if the College and Career center had to go away due to lack of the budget al location.

“Children are the future of our society,” Chaumette said. “If we can’t invest in chil dren, we’re saying that we are not willing to invest in the growth and the success of our society.”

Website: www.bhsbearwitness.com

Phone: (408) 626-3407

Email: bhsbearwitness@gmail.com

CAMPAIGNING GLOSSARY Ballot measure

A proposed law on a ballot that is approved or rejected by voters.

Canvassing

The act of going door-todoor to persuade people and gain support through direct contact

General election

Final election for a political office; can happen at a local, state, or national level. Occurs during the first Tuesday of November.

Parcel tax

Property tax based on the characteristics of the property instead of the value; requires a two-third majority vote to pass

Phone banking

When volunteers call voters to win their support; canvassing without direct contact.

Polling place

A place for voters to cast their ballots.

Primary election

Election held to determine which of a party's candi dates will be nominated for the general election. In California, the primary election date is March 3, though voters in Santa Clara are able to vote from Feb. 22 till that date.

Property transfer tax

a tax that is only applied when a property is bought or sold and changes ownership.

— Compiled by staff

Address: 1570 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA 95118

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.

COVER STORY

Karis Do/Special to the Bear Witness

Windell, Makayla Wu, Lia Choi, Owen Dazko, Carissa Takaki, Shantala Murujanugan, Aresema Agdie, Ryan Walters, Aadyant Suresh

Bear Witness archives

Special education teacher Nick Cortez speaks to a neighborhood resident during a canvas ex pedition in support for Measure K in 2020, one of two failed parcel tax measures. The district hopes that Measure O, which does not raise fees, will be an easy sell.

WHAT BURNOUT?

Recent surveys indicate that teachers in K-12 schools are the most burned out group among all industries.

44%

of K-12 employees say they “alway” or “very often” feel burned out at work.

55%

of teachers say that they are ready to leave the profession.

Factors behind burnout

• Feeling unappreciated by parents, students, school leadership, and district leaders.

• Lack of interest or moti vation

• Inadequate preparation

• Lack of autonomy.

— Sources: Beyond Burnout, National Education Associa tion, Gallup

TEACHERS | Larger classes making personal connections more difficult

From PAGE 1

When new classes can’t be added, teachers have seen increased class sizes.

Katia Saade is the only French teach er at Branham, and is navigating classes as large as 40-plus students. Combined, she has more than 200 students over six periods.

She said that it’s challenging to give each student her undivided attention with these larger classes.

“My biggest hardship as a teacher is to make sure I give every single student today enough attention today for that student to succeed,” Saade said. “So, with larger classes, sometimes it is real ly hard to give each individual student attention during class. However, I tell all my students to always have an open communication with me.”

Last year, because of predicted low en rollment, Saade previously campaigned againset a planned combined French 3, 4 and AP course. Students took action and sent letters to district Superinten dent Dr. Robert Bravo to prevent the combined class.

For Vo, who took on the extra chem istry class, it’s like “survival mode.” He said he’s lucky to get the help of a sup

portive department that shares curricu lum that they develop together.

It’s in the assessments and labs that he says are difficult to grade and hand back in a timely manner.

“Ideally I would spnd a week to grade something and give it back,” he said. “That’s the goal.”

He said it’s taking longer than usual to grade, and the first unit test has just been finished, a week and a half behind schedule.

“Right now, it’s just putting out fires,” he said.

Teachers in need of support

For many teachers nationwide, the flame of passion they once had for ed ucation has been extinguished. This is evident with the mass exodus of nearly two dozen teachers and staff last year.

The National Education Association reported that 55% of educators reveal that they are ready to leave their pro fession earlier than expected, citing high costs of living and pay that is not equivalent to the time they put into their job.

The increased workloads are not help

CAFETERIA

ing, but Saade credits her department and students for the immense amount of support.

“Sometimes it is stressful with my schedule, but when I open the door and welcome my students, I forget everything,” Saade said. “I don’t mind the stress because they’re awesome stu dents. They really make it where every time I come to school or leave, I have a smile on my face.”

Juan Fernandez, the teachers union vice president, said that with the amount of work and the impacct they have on students, teachers need some more support from their community.

“We need to ask our students and par ents to help teachers too,” Fernandez said, “because we are overwhelmed and overloaded, and they need to be patient with us and treat us with respect and some TLC.

Some tangible benefits are coming: teachers and the district reached a con tract agreement with the district Sept. 19, which addresses the workload and per-student ratio in class. The details of the agreement will be revealed later in the week.

Remodeled kitchen to open any day now

Healthier options, more variety on the menu for students

Though construction of the new kitchen and cafeteria is completed, school officials say health inspections are delaying its grand opening.

Construction of the cafeteria and kitchen started in 2020, which was part of a district-wide proj ect to improve the student lunch experience, including short lunch lines and healthier options such as sushi.

Del Mar High School piloted the first kitchen in March 2019, with Leigh and Wesmont next on the construction plan. However, different constraints have resulted in the opening of the kitchen be ing put off.

Eric Wasinger manages the fa cilities in the district, and said that the old kitchens needed an up grade. He expects the new kitch ens, funded by the Measure AA bond, will be completed by Sep tember 2023.

Principal Lindsay Schubert said that while construction of the cafeteria and kitchen was fin ished before the beginning of the

News highlights

visit @bhsbearwitness for updates

New location for gender-neutral bathroom a frequent spot for loitering and littering

With the volume of students who pass it, the gender neutral bathroom, which moved from the J building, is often left with wads of seat covers stuffed in the toilets, a blanket of paper towels covering the floor, and school lunch debris scattered shoved into the sinks.

Sam Sharrard, a non-binary senior, said that while the school’s attention to inclusivity was in the right place, the extent of the littering and vandalism makes it unusable for students like them.

“There’s always something going on in there and it’s extremely dirty,” they said. “I feel like I can’t really use the bathrooms. It’s kind of disgusting.

Prior to the switch, the restroom’s location near the back of the school enabled frequent mischief, prompting the administration to re-situate to a more visible area. Following the change, both non-binary and cisgender students have expressed mixed emo tions regarding the relocation and its consequences.

Campus supervisor John Chen said he spends lunch, brunch, and after school watching over the mass amounts of students moving from place to place.

He said that while the bathroom is in a more visible spot than the J building, the issues continue to persist. Finding students responsible for the damage is also difficult because of privacy issues.

“If there’s a mess around, it takes janitors time to clean up that mess versus taking care of other priorities,” said Chen.

— Aresema Agdie and Carissa Takaki

Taco Bell responds to junior in viral video after he spends a year spamming their social media

Since Aug. 14, 2021, Smart had been direct messaging

Taco Bell with the same message, “Hi Taco Bell” and last August marked the oneyear anniversary.

Smart posted a video on his TikTok chronicling his endeavor. The post quickly gained attention and went viral, reaching over 7.5 million views and 1.1 million likes.

“One day, I went on Taco Bell’s Instagram and realized I could message them,” Smart said. “So I just messaged them ‘Hi Taco Bell,’ and continued on with my day.”

Two days later as Smart sent his usual message, he noticed that his message was marked seen and he received a response from them reading “Hi.”

“I honestly wasn’t expecting a response because I didn’t think my TikTok would go anywhere,” he said. “I was tripping out.”

Not long after, a video exact to the format of Smart’s viral post was posted on Taco Bell’s official TikTok page, revealing the sending of their response. As of now, the video has 3.7 million views.

Smart said he has gotten a lot of attention from this experience both at and outside of school. He also gained an estimated 30,000 TikTok followers and currently has over 31,000.

— Lia Choi

Downtown San Jose was awash in pride flags, rainbow merchandise and glitter as hundreds marked the Silicon

Schubert was the former assis tant principal at Del Mar and said that the renovations improved the lunch experience.

She expects a similar experience at Branham.

“Once we transitioned into the (cafeteria), we found the lines went a lot faster because they’re able to get in, there’s more space in there, and more places that people can choose food, and then check out faster,” Schubert said.

An improved menu is part of the new lunch experience. District cafeteria manager Jennifer Web ster said that vegan and possibly gluten-free options will be among the options.

Other items on the menu include a rice bowl and Mexican food sta tion where students will be able to select items cooked or assembled to order similar to Chipotle and Panda Express.

In addition, sushi and pizzas made in-house will be provided.

Rory McCarthy, who is in charge of food services, said the menu will continue to evolve.

“I know that you can get burnt out on the same food every day,” McCarthy said, “and I want to give you something that is en joyable.”

Valley Pride, celebrating its 47th annual parade on Sunday. Under the theme Proudly Authentic, it featured more than 80 floats from groups such as CMT San Jose and the San Jose State University Marching Band.

Queer Student Union president Ainsley Bateman served as a volunteer, both as a parade guide and setup helper for vendors at the festival. It was Bateman’s third time attending the Silicon Valley Pride Parade.

Fewer COVID logistics made this year’s parade more fun for them, and they said they’d like to bring similar community events back to Branham.

“It’s nice to see community representation – I really like to see the Children’s Musical Theater and marching bands.” Bateman said. “I want to bring that sense of community to our school. And it inspires me to do things for our school that we don’t have in our community.”

Alli Wang

school year, for the past two years, health inspections have been de laying the kitchen’s opening. There was another health inspec

tion in early September, and ad ministrators are hopeful that the kitchen will be open in a week or two.

Aresema Agdie/Bear Witness

Students walk by The Kitchen, which has been under construction for two years. When it opens, sushi and other healthy options are in store.

Alli Wang/Bear Witness

Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Center volunteers hold the transgender pride flag

Mila Windell/Bear Witness

Katia Saade is the only French teacher at Branham. She currently teaches six classes with more than 200 students.

Lia Choi/Bear Witness Junior Nico Smart received some swag from Taco Bell.

Junior Devin Hawk for USA Cycling Nationals after winning a regional race.

Teacher has rare blood disease

CARISSA TAKAKI Staff Writer

After a three-week stay at the hospital due to complications from a rare blood vessel disease, En glish teacher Mike Espinoza was re leased Sept. 17 to his home.

Espinoza, the district’s 2021 teacher of the year, said he has been experi encing medical issues for more than two years. During the first few weeks of school, he described feeling im mense pain and not feeling his usual self.

“I was in so much pain and my voice was so terrible and I just had no ener gy, so I apologize to my students for a subpar teaching experience,” he told the Bear Witness via email.

Mike Espinoza 2021 district teacher of the year has been hospitalized the past three weeks. He is back home, but is unsure when he will return.

He was later admitted to the hospital, where doctors recently dis covered that he suffers from microscopic poly angiitis, a rare disease in which inflamed blood vessels cause severe damage to the lungs, nerves, skin and joints.

The discovery has forced him to make some “serious lifestyle changes.” He said that he also had to undergo dialysis, a treatment for failing kid neys, for when those organs cannot properly pump out blood.

Over the past two weeks, substi tutes and fellow English department teachers have worked to support Espinoza’s students in his absence. However, little to no information was released regarding his condition.

For senior Kaila Castanon, an eth nic literature student, the course is less interactive without the presence of Espinoza, and she said she misses the “sophisticated, nuanced conversa tions and discussions.”

“I don’t want him to rush back into things,” Castanon said. “I want him to rest and recuperate.”

Espinoza said it’s unclear when he’ll return, and it depends on his healing process and other factors. He said that assumes that he will be “out for quite a while.”

“It kills me to miss so much and not be having fun with my students, but I need to take care of my health.” Es pinoza said.

Starting this week, a long-term sub stitute teacher Ivan Bergman will be filling in for Espinoza.

Meanwhile AP and Ethnic Lit erature teacher Jeannine Black has curated lessons for Espinoza’s Ethnic Literature students.

“We would all love to see him back on the Branham campus as soon as possible,” she said.

Espinoza looks forward to the day he returns to Branham, too.

“My body has gone through extreme changes in a matter of weeks,” Espinoza said. “I have my head up high, and I look forward to living a life that will be different but exciting.”

AC | Heat made it hard to focus

From PAGE 1

buildings — have had malfunctioning AC sys tems, some for longer than six months.

Some classrooms, such as English teacher Mike Espinoza’s, recorded 94-degree tempera tures.

The heat in Theodosopoulou’s class made it harder for students such as junior Isaac Lua focus, adding that she had encouraged students to visit the Wellness Center if they were expe riencing difficulty in the heat.

“It’s really hot and they don’t want to do things — they’re unmotivated because of the heat,” he said.

Portable ACs vent back to classroom

Though the heat wave has passed, school offi cials say ventilation issues and missing parts to repair the AC units persist. Students and teach ers are losing patience. And when the weather inevitably warms up, the problems will have yet to be addressed.

As a band-aid measure, technicians installed portable AC units in the classrooms that are having AC issues. But for students and staff, the portable AC units are not adequate, and are not installed to push the hot air out.

A Bear Witness audit of the classrooms showed that the hoses vented air into the ceil ing, which then heats up the classroom.

“It is still warm in there, and it’s super-duper loud,” junior Lilliana Dearo said of the units in her physics classroom.

The portable units will have to do as school plant supervisor Vinnie Ramos says it will be a while until the parts, coming from overseas, will be delivered.

They have not yet arrived as of this publication date.

He added that as the process of getting the AC units fixed is being resolved, the school has to risk losing more of these units.

“As we are waiting on it, more of them are failing,” Ramos said.

Learning loss

Another risk is that students in the heat in the classrooms is taking a toll on students. Though there are no state laws mandating minimum temperatures, studies show that increased tem peratures in the classroom contribute to an in ability to focus.

Though Lua said he enjoys the content, he said that AC situation in Theodosopoulou’s physics class is tricky.

“I hate math, but I can pay attention in that class because it is a cool classroom,” he said. “But when it comes to Ms. Theo’s class, it is very hot and humid and I can’t focus,” he said.

Several studies, including a 2018 Harvard study, said that optimum temperatures for a classroom range between 70 degrees and 77 degrees, and test scores increase by about a per centage point for each temperature gain.

But as classrooms become warmer scores usu ally drop.

This is because the brain gets constant inter ruptions from the body signaling it to adapt to the temperature.

Underscoring the interruptions in learning, the district in 2016 had canceled classes during a late-summer heat wave, prompting the instal lation of dozens of air conditioning units.

Waiting game

The end of this heat wave doesn’t mean the heat is done. With heat likely to come in the next couple of weeks, principal Lindsey Schubert emphasizes that the technicians, teachers, and students will have to prepare even better than before.

“The weather patterns are changing, so we

Junior Kaulen Velasquez, inter rupting senior Georgios Argiris mid-interview on why Branham is better than its rival Leigh ahead of Sept. 16 rivalry game.

Branham won for the first time since 2019 with a 28-13 score.

HEAT WAVE

As the school year continues, the condition in these buildings have been “very difficult” for both teachers and students to handle.

“It is very difficult for them to concentrate and participate,” Theodosopoulou said. “I have to add more to-do activities for the students so that they keep themselves occupied.”

Although many students have been complain ing about when the AC will be fixed, there are no immediate solutions besides waiting.

Theodosopoulou believes that if no improve ment is made, students should start to discuss the issue with the admin or even the district.

“It is time for students to somehow discuss this issue,” she said. “Get some answers on why the problem takes that long to be resolved –and get them to give you a definite date on when the AC will be ready to run.”

Record heat

109o

Sept. 6 was the hottest recorded for San Jose since records were first kept in 1893.

7 days

when the state recorded teme pratures in the 98th percentile, the longest duration ever.

>99%

chances that 2022 will rank among top 10 warmest years on record, but an 11% chance it will be among the top 5.

4 days

of 100-plus degree weather in San Jose this year, tied for seventh place in 1995.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

“Once you do it and ride around for knows how long you eventually want to race”"

“Okay, shut up. First off, their name starts with an L.”

QUOTES OF THE MONTH FROM OUR ONLINE STORIES

Juliette Bonacum/Bear Witness Chemistry, AP Biology teacher Kevin Kalman notes that a portable AC hose in his room does not vent air out.

“It was not fun being locked up at home for a year. It’s just great to be back in the classroom and have things almost back to normal.”

Physics teacher Chris Chidester on the first in-person back-to-schoolnight in three years.

Editorial

The opinion of the Bear Witness editors

OPINION

Crucial services go away without parcel tax

Vote yes on Measure O, which secures funds $5 million for needed services such as well-compensated teachers, IT support and college and career counseling.

With Branham already near full capacity and stretching already we cannot afford to lose more teachers and student services.

The annual $5 million in district funds can support 16 teachers, three computer techni cians, two counselors, and College and Career Specialists at its five schools.

It can also provide enriched extracurriculars such as performing arts, technical programs, visual arts and athletics.

Property owners aren’t paying more. Through an $85 annual tax on property owners, Mea

sure O is not a new tax, but a continuation of the parcel tax. If this measure does not pass, the district will have to make up the $5 million from somewhere else: teacher salaries and student service centers, including the Wellness Center and the College and Career Center.

Students will lose a significant mental health resource with the loss of Wellness Center, which has been a source of comfort for strug gling students.

Busy counselors, dealing with at least 300 students each, would become even more over whelmed with the number of students and the college information for seniors. Students will miss scholarships and financial aid opportunities that College and Career Specialists provide.

The potential loss of teachers can’t be over looked. Without Measure O, the number of teachers at each school site will decrease, which means a higher student to teacher ratio and in creasing the acute teacher burnout that’s been exacerbated since the start of the pandemic.

Last year alone, nearly two dozen eachers and administrators left Branham, with some citing the high cost of living here.

With more students per classroom, teachers will find it harder to gain personal attention from teachers, not being able to receive effec tive feedback on their work. French teacher Katia Saade, who teaches more around 200 students across six periods, feels this burden.

Voting for Measure O is the most direct way

to help the students be successful and better the school.

Past measures such as K and L could not muster the supermajority needed to pass, and teachers, staff and the community need to help ensure its passage.

Measure O will appear in the upcoming November general elections under local city measures. Parents, community members and eligible students should all register to vote for Measure O.

It is more crucial than ever that students also voice their opinions and exercise their rights. Students 16 to 17 years of age can pre-register to vote at registertovote.ca.gov along with any other general voting registrations.

WOMEN IN STEM

COG IN THE MACHINE

We need more women in engineering as our leaders and role models

ALLI WANG News Editor

When I told my older sister I was going to enroll in the freshman Introduction to Engineer ing and Design class (now called En gineering Essentials) three years ago, she gave me a word of caution about her experience in the engineering class.

She told me that in most of her en gineering classes, there’s only one or two table groups of women-identify ing students/other people like her in the classes. Year by year, the number dwindled to a mere five in her senior engineering class.

I committed to that freshman engineering class, but she turned out to be right. On the first day, I sat next to the only two other female students in the large class of 36. I couldn’t believe my eyes: I thought the gender imbalance in public high schools or STEM-related companies only existed in the movies.

The gender gap in the engineer ing field compared to other careers remains is more prominent than ever, and it’s not just in public high school engineering classes.

According to a 2019 report from the United States Census Bureau, female engineers represent only about 13% of the total engineering workforce.

Although efforts such as PLTW engineering classes and organi zations specifically encouraging women to pursue STEM fields have improved the gender gap, just 22% of college students pursuing a bache lor’s degree in engineering identify as female according to the National Science Foundation and Engineering Workforce Commission.

The Society of Women Engineers reports that over 32% of female STEM majors eventually switch to another major.

As I continued taking the four-year path of the engineering pathway, my sister’s premonitions rang true. I observed there were five other non-male students in my sophomore Principles of Engineering class, and today in my senior engineering class there are four other non-male identi fying students.

Ironically, all of the curriculum content did not play into a certain male stereotype. In fact, the curric ulum felt applicable to many daily interests, and on a personal level the female engineering teachers I have had played a huge part in helping me decide what I hope to pursue in the future.

Yet when it came to selecting my sophomore courses, I almost consid ered dropping the sophomore Princi ples of Engineering course. I didn’t want to admit it at the time, but the internalized sexism I faced somehow increased during my freshman year of engineering after often being confined to being a “secretary” for many group engineering projects or “observer.” There were times I agreed, without protest, when my male peers assumed I couldn’t “do engineering”

or didn’t know what I was doing due to my timid nature and gender identity.

But when I made the choice to continue to take the Principles of Engineering class, the internal ized sexism I enforced on myself started to fade away. My engineering teachers encouraged me to stand up for myself and start being less hard on myself when I struggled with learning new engineering concepts. I realized that I didn’t have to be the most prolific in knowing engineering theorems or softwares to qualify as an engineering student, and the time I took to grasp new concepts didn’t signify my lack of fit for the field.

I struggled in being exposed to many engineering concepts for the first time and often being put in non technical roles in my engineering groups freshman year. However, it didn’t restrict me from taking the

career path. The engineering classes filled my personal drive to constantly challenge myself beyond core classes, and I’m continuing to take the fouryear Project Lead the Way Pathway to fuel my satisfaction of seeing my hard work and trial and error turn into operating breadboards or practi cal solutions to problems.

The gender gap in my engineer ing classes suddenly clicked in my brain: While today the engineering workforce does not entirely consist of men – the internalized gender stereotype that engineering is only for men still needs to be challenged.

The root cause of the gender gap has been lessened dramatically with many female engineering role models today – but there’s still work to be done to overcome sexism in engineering-related fields.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis tics says that female engineers earn

Erica Kang/Bear Witness

10% less than male engineers, and a Society of Women Engineers research paper found that 61% of women engineers report that they have to prove themselves repeatedly to get the same level of respect and recognition as their colleagues.

Of course, this is not to say there has not been progress in including more non-male identifying students in the engineering field. According to the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), the percentage of women engineers has increased from 13% to 17% of the American workforce between 2019 and 2021.

More than ever, it's important to break the stigma around women taking on the engineering field.

When Branham’s course registration comes in December and January, I want to see more people enroll in the engineering classes.

BITE-SIZED OPINIONS |

Minor problems, minor solutions

Problem: People watch TikTok with the volume way too loud in class. Plus, a lot of the sounds are extremely repetitive and not something everyone wants to hear.

Solution: Hack their phones into playing some real music on the same volume level, such as Party in the U.S.A or the Shake it Up theme song.

— Ryan Walters

Problem: Some of my classmates take too long in the bathroom and keep the pass for 20+ minutes.

Solution: Have 25 bathroom passes, one for each student. What could possibly go wrong?

— Shantala Murujanugan

Problem: I spend more time trying to exit the Branham parking lot after school than I do in school itself. I'm annoyed.

Solution: Just remove the problem all together. No more parking lot, no more problems!

— Carissa Takaki

Problem: I know that a lot of people are going to ask me to HOCO because I'm so attractive and cool. The problem is, how do I pick which one to go with?

Solution: I should just reject all of them and leave them heartbroken.

—Alan Schaeffer

Problem: Having to take a certain amount of hours of behind of the wheel instruction in order to get your license, even after you turn 18, is annoying.

Solution:Everyone should automatical ly get their driver’s license when they turn 18. What could possibly go wrong?

Nolan

OPINION

BOARD

Fewer tutorials

The new block schedule places tutorials on B days, with Outreach classes taking place every other Friday. This means that during any week, students have, at most two tutorial classes.

We asked students what they thought about it.

Dinidu Geevaratnee Freshman

Canva Stock Photo

"It is extremely helpful because you're able to communicate with your teachers about grades, concepts that you're learn ing, and catch up on some work. It's a great time to hang out with friends and get yourself in that mindset to tackle the rest of the week."

"I prefer the old tutorials because they're longer and could take more time to actually do your work because it's really a short amount of time."

“I've had a different schedule each year of high school. So it's like nothing new to have it be different this year. I'm still able to use tutorial time to get work done."

Rachel Langer Senior

"I like to use tutorials to work on stuff. Last year I got all my homework done at school, and this year I have a lot of homework to do at home. "

all

Anxiety.

I’ve had anxiety before. The two years I spent coping with anxiety were the worst. I used to be open about it.

But each time, no one seemed to really care. I silenced myself when I realized I must’ve sounded like an attention -seeker. I felt completely alone.

I learned to cope with anxiety independently. I learned to create a peaceful environment for myself, and I discovered a new hobby that I could distract myself with. This was painting.

I drift off into my own world and I feel free. Every perfect stroke, and every imperfection, brought peace to my mind.

SAHASRA MAKAMCHENNA Online Editor

“You’re Indian, you’re pretty good at math, right?” asked my math classmate as she handed me an IM3 worksheet.

She had just watched the Netflix show “Never Have I Ever,” which features math-whiz Devi Vishwakumar, the main character.

It’s not just Devi. It could be Ravi from “Jessie,” Baljeet Tijender from “Phineas and Ferb,” and Raj Koothrappali from the “Big Bang Theory.” They all have two things in common: they’re Indian and they have the smarts.

duced to the racial stereotypes presented by Baljeet.

According to a census conducted in 2021 by Common Sense Media, the use of screen media between teens and tweens is up by 17% since the start of the pandemic at an average of 8 hours and 39 minutes per day. And among the participants, 32% chose YouTube as one site they wouldn’t want to live without when forced to choose.

Poor representation of South Asians in media reinforces modern Indian stereotypes

In this generation, TV has become a big part of a kid’s life. From a young age, many get exposed to broadly drawn portrayals of characters such as Devi, who aside from her desire to have her first time, is the president of almost half the clubs at Sherman Oaks High School.

More than 289 million viewers have watched Phineas and Ferb, meaning more than 289 million people have been intro

Though the media can present stereotypes of different ethnicities, it can also help debunk stereotypes. Despite the stereotypes present in Mindy Kaling’s show, Never Have I Ever helps bust myths of South Asian Indians from mental health to strong, independent women. Devi Vishwakumar, the main character in the show, frequently sees a therapist ever since her father passed.

Mental health in South Asian families is always a taboo topic. Personally in my fami ly, mental health isn’t a topic that comes up at all at the dinner table.

From where my parents were brought up, asking for help was shown as a weakness,

Eventually, creating so mething even more. It’s been years since, and I’ve never felt any happier.

especially when regards to mental health thus becoming such a non-talked about topic in South Asian families.

Because of the positive portrayal in the show, not only South Asian parents can reflect, but all public in general can take away the flaws in cultural mindsets.

Not only does it encourage acceptance and mental wellness within South Asian communities, but it opens up a gateway for in-depth understanding outside of just grades and academics.

Indians aren’t always aiming to get 100’s on a math test or get accepted to an Ivy league school. In reality, we have our own imperfections that make us perfect like any other normal person.

Baljeet’s song, “Gimme A Grade'' which has 5 million views on YouTube, shows we have a long way to go towards more posi tive portrayals of cultural minorities.

However shows like "Never Have I Ever" can humanize ethnicities by examining beyond intelligence and showing what life really is for people of color.

Jasmine Bangura Sophomore

Ida Gunaseelan Sophomore

Anxiety is different for everyone. There are many types of anxiety, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and social phobia, or social anxiety disorder. The main cause of anxiety is usually a traumatic event during adolescence.

People with anxiety deal with different symptoms like overthinking, trying to please others in fear of losing people, and having trouble focusing on anything other than the worry. Scientists say these habits are all caused by stress from anxiety.

Written and illustrated by Grace Ngo

Sports briefs LEADER IN THE POOL

Football - The Branham football team continues their perfect start to the season with a win against rivals Leigh on Sept. 16.

Record: JV: 1-2

Varsity: 4-0

Girls volleyball

Girls Volleyball, trying to repli cate last season’s record-breaking suc cess, winning their tournament game against Ann Sobrato on Sept. 17.

Record: JV: 5-4

Varsity: 12-3

Field hockey

The field hockey team is facing a rough beginning, as a loss to Gilroy on Sept. 20 marked their fourth consecu tive loss.

Record: JV: 3-1-2 Varsity: 0-4

Girls tennis

The Bruins girls ten nis team beat Silver Creek in their second game of the season on Sept. 15.

Record: Varsity: 2-0

Boys water polo

After a strong sea son last year, boys water polo began with a dominant 15-5 win against Leland on Sept. 14.

Record: JV, Varsity: 1-0

Girls Water Polo

The girls water polo team suffered a tournament loss to Harker but pulled off a narrow 7-5 win against Willow Glen, before they host Pioneer on Sept. 21.

Record: Varsity: 1-1

Cross country

Cross Country started the season off strong, beating Lincoln in their first meet under new head coach, Craig Lee.

Record: Both varsity teams: 1-0

Compiled by Alan Schaeffer

ALAN SCHAEFFER AND RYAN WALTERS Staff Writer

Junior Fiona McElroy has been play ing water polo for a club team since she was in 8th grade.

As a freshman, she said that a friend con vinced her to join the school swim team, which would prove to be a catalyst for the creation of Branham’s first ever girls water polo team a year later.

As a member of the swim team, McEl roy soon learned that Branham was sup posed to have a girls water polo team, but there hadn’t been enough interest in previous years for a program to actually be formed.

In reality, there were plenty of girls that would have been interested in playing water polo for Branham, such as junior Kira Weinger. Weinger had seen emails being sent out about practices for boys water polo starting, but hadn’t heard anything about a girls team.

The problem didn’t lie in the interest levels, but instead in the process of find ing those interested and creating a team out of them.

As McElroy and Weinger got to know each other, they began working to make their vision come true. Weinger made posters that were put up around cam pus, advertising the formation of a new girls water polo team, and displaying QR Codes that could be scanned for more information and to sign up. Between these posters scattered across the school and word of mouth, there was soon a full squad of people interested in playing wa ter polo for the next season.

“I convinced a girl in my ethnic studies class to come join the team,” McElroy said. “I convinced a lot of people on the swim team. We steal people from other sports. If they maybe aren’t as interested in their sport we kind of open up a new opportunity for them.”

This was only the first step in creating a team. With the start of the fall 2021 season fast approaching, very few of the new players had ever played water polo before. Many had come from the swim team, but being a team sport, water polo is vastly different, requiring teamwork, communication, and new skills such as ball control and treading.

“It’s not just kicking your feet around,” said junior Ashley Maguire, another member of the original girls team. “It ac tually takes a lot of practice and (McEl roy) was able to help the new players and make sure they got that down.”

To get all the newer players up to speed on how to play the game, McElroy and the other experienced players had to step up as leaders on the team, giving tips and

advice to the incoming athletes.

After only a few weeks of training, the season began. It was a rough start, as Branham lost the first few games, but the team soon began to find their rhythm and made a comeback, finishing off strong, with a final record of 7-5.

By the end of the first season, the team was beginning to look and play like a unit, and it seemed as though next sea son would only get better.

One year after their humble begin nings, Branham’s girls water polo team is back and ready for another season of improvement. This year, however, McEl roy will not be playing.

McElroy had injured her shoulder last season, but continued to play on and attended physical therapy sessions. Her constant usage of it turned out to make the issue much worse. Although she isn’t sure when she will be able to return to the pool, McElroy has stepped up more this year than she ever has before.

Last year’s girls coach, Tony Sampson, had applied for college coaching positions and, not wanting to be accepted and hav ing to leave mid-season, stepped down. This left the Bruins with no head coach and time was running out. As the athletics department looked to find a replacement, McElroy once again took the opportunity to step up and lead practice sessions.

“Since I was already injured I knew I was going to be helping from the deck,” McElroy said. “But once we kind of re alized what the coaching situation was, I and a few other girls started coming up with drills together because this team is really important to us.”

Due to increased sign-ups and partici pation, there are now enough players to form a JV team along with the already existing varsity team. As she had done in previous years, McElroy helped set up drills to help catch up the newer players, and continued to work with the return ees, effectively becoming a student coach

while the hiring process was under way. “We kind of coached ourselves,” Weinger said. “A couple girls would get up and lead a drill and Fiona would help the newer girls catch up.”

Even though she would rather be in the water, McElroy has a positive out look for the season ahead, expressing her optimism for how she will spend her re covery process.

“I’m excited to learn the game in a new way [from a coaching perspective],” she said. “And to help with the new athletes and explain things to them because I un derstand what it’s like being thrown into the game.”

Update: McElroy’s MRI results revealed no major injuries or concerns, and she was cleared to begin her recovery process. On Sept. 21, McElroy stepped into the pool once again, playing in the Bruins game against Pioneer.

Bio teacher, UCLA grad, calling football games

RYAN WALTERS Staff Writer

Second-year biology teacher Ryan Matthews ascended to the press box for the first Branham football home game on September 9 against Gunderson High, and made himself comfortable during the JV game, joining in on the crowd chants, informing said crowd on every play who was involved, and bringing a beam of en ergy, especially during the presentation of the Varsity match.

For more updates, visit bhsbearwit ness.com or follow us on social media: @bhsbearwitness

He replaces longtime sports announcer Bob Holmes, known as “The Voice of Branham,” retired from voicing foot ball after the 2021 season due to health concerns. A disability prevents him from navigating the stairs to the press box, which is not compliant with the Ameri cans with Disabilities Act.

Holmes will still be working basketball and volleyball matches. Matthews, who has assisted Holmes in the past, hopes to carry on his legacy.

To prepare for the passing of the torch at the Gunderson game, Matthews said he internalized one of Holmes’ words of advice about the importance of authen ticity in his craft.

“I was excited to announce in my voice,”

he said. “I’m not trying to emulate any one, not even Bob. He did things only his voice could do, I’m more so stepping in, trying to have a good time and bring as much energy as I believe I can.”

Matthews addressed the first-game jitters during and after the two football matches by correcting small mistakes he noticed he made, which he said helped reassure himself.

Confidence was noted as an issue for him in high school, as he played a year of

football then quit out of insecurity that he wasn’t fit enough.

But under Holmes’ guidance, Mat thews learned to embrace his mistakes and insecurities and said Holmes has given him some pointers in confidence over the half year he assisted him.

“You’re the PA guy, not a play-by-play guy,” Holmes recalls reminding Matthews.

“Make sure you have the knowledge and bravery to know the names of everyone.”

Matthews spent 10 years as a UCLA Bruin, including as an undergraduate and graduate student, while also work ing as a fitness instructor.

When he moved to Branham, Mat thews said he had never expected to become the school’s football announcer.

“I’m one of those guys where you could hear me from the other side of the hall,” he said.

Even before stepping down as the foot ball announcer, Holmes had expressed a desire to have more interaction with the Branham community in a 2020 Bruins of Branham interview.

“Now, I get to be at a sporting event and really say hello to the people that I’ve met and known for many years,” he said in the interview. “I also get to meet new people (at games).”

As Matthews takes on his new respon sibilities as the new announcer, he said he feels a new connection with Branham football, but doesn’t feel too much pres sure to follow through every game.

“At the end of the day, I’m just trying to help out as best as I can, same as every staff, faculty, and administrator,” he said.

“This experience makes me just as excit ed to be part of the program just as any

Junior Fiona McElroy heads up team that she helped form

Alan Schaeffer/Bear Witness

Sophomore Kaevan Mantilla and senior Cameron Krolik have both expressed their discomfort in changing in school locker rooms.

BRUIN TO BRUIN

WATER POLO

Biology teacher Ryan Matthews checks the roster during the JV game against Gun derson high school.

Ryan Walters/ Bear Witness

VISITING MY

Ziv Galpaz • Staff writer

This summer, I embarked on a journey that felt like a must, way to connect with all the suffering my culture had suffered, a trip to Poland to learn about the Holocaust. It's more com monly known in Hebrew as המסע לפולין or "journey to Poland."

In Israel, all high school students are supposed to take the trip, as part of their final exam curriculum, but as an Israe li-American, I chose to participate in the experience through my Israeli scouts program with teens from all over the U.S. and from Israel.

The process of getting to Poland itself was intense, with seminars every two weeks to prepare us both for the mental and physical difficulties of the trip, but also to help us connect to the people we were going on this personal journey with understand more in depth the people we are learning about.

This helped me dig further into my family’s personal ties the Holocaust. Humanity’s inhumanity toward others was answer that I hoped to answer.

Arriving at the extermination camps

The trip really began after arriving in Poland.

I felt prepared for the journey, but there was a lot I still not fathom. Within 9 days, I visited two ghettos, five extermi nation camps, three mass graves, and six synagogues. The ings that accompanied me from site to site are hard to explain, hard to describe in words as they were so unfamiliar and I walked through Auschwitz Birkenau, the deadliest of death camps, a place were my distant relatives were extermi nated, suffered and tortured. Knowing that I am here today visiting with my mom and friends was a monumental experi ence that I don’t think I can ever be able to put into words.

But even after being in a somber place like Birkenau, 45 minutes later, I was sitting with my best friends laughing at counselor on the bus. The stark difference and quick change sadness to happiness is one that only now can I understand.

The inhumane treatment of people allowed me to learn appreciate all that my mother country had to sacrifice for to be here today.

At Majdanek, one of the first extermination camps, there still a 45-foot high pile of ash left over from human remains. was filled with pride when I saw my friend holding the Israeli flag right next to me as we stared down on the ashes.

I saw the torture that my culture suffered, yet here I was standing with my all of my friends from Israel, truly under standing why I came to Poland.

Answering the unanswerable

Each day began at five in the morning and ended close one with my group sitting down with our counselors, trying answer the question: How do people such as the Nazis truly become killers?

After intense arguments, we never came to a concrete answer. We realized that most of the killers during the Holocaust everyday civilians who underwent deep pyschological experi ences to turn them into mass murderers.

We studied the Stanford prison experiment, German battal

Book of souls One of the books that holds the names of those who perished in the Holocaust. They are organized by last name. Out of the approximately six million Jews who perished, 4.5 million names are accounted for. Seven pages were of the writer's family's last names.

My whole life, I have often really happened to my extended wing up in an Israeli-Jewish household Area and in Boston, the Holocaust away from. It was never hidden

Outside death The Israeli scouts group poses in front of the majority of the deaths of the 6 million Jews during the Holocaust.

MY PAST

often grappled with the question of what extended family 80 years ago. Gro household and community in the Bay Holocaust was not a topic that I shied hidden or censored from me in any way.

must, a suffered, com Poland." the Israe through U.S. mental connect with and about. ties to was an could extermi feel explain, new. the extermi today experi words. my from understand. to for me there is remains. I Israeli was under to trying to truly answer. Holocaust were experi battal

ion 101, the Milgram experiments and many other psycho logical studies to try to further understand the human brain's ability to commit such unimaginable horrors.

More than month has passed and this question is still brew ing in my head every hour of every day, and I wonder if I will ever be able to come to a concrete answer.

End of the trip

After a week in Krakow and Warsaw, our delegation was starting to see the end of the trip, and for me and many oth ers, the desire for more was still there. I felt I still had so many questions left unanswered.

How did Joseph Mengele, who performed experiments on prisoners, find it justifiable to run fertility tests on my great aunt, resulting in her miscarrying twice and never being able to have kids again? After seeing the horrors of the camps, why did I feel happy during my visit?

We visited Treblinka on the last day of the trip, knowing that goodbyes were coming.

My whole life I have had to say goodbye to my family and friends when returning home. hBut this goodbye felt symbolic. I was standing at the selection area right where the train from Warsaw would come into Treblinka, which meant guar anteed death.

As I was imagining saying bye to my friends in a few hours, I imagined how in this exact spot, families said their final goodbyes. Even today I still have an unease with the feeling of saying good bye, as I imagine the way families not any different from my own stood in the exact spot I am and felt a similar pain, just amplified.

The final piece of the puzzle

Despite the graphic images and intense emotions of the trip, a huge factor that made this experience so memorable was the people I went through it with. Two weeks prior to the trip I never met, and we all had three things in common; scouts, is raeli, and wanted to learn about our heritage more. But within slightly less than two weeks, I made a family for life. The need to be there for one another led to some of the closest friend ships I have today. It also strengthened in me the appreciation and love I carry for my own family. It is not obvious that I was able to visit a place that I know someone in my family was likely murdered and hold my moms hand.

More than a month has gone by since I returned, and still every day at every thinkable moment I am thinking about Po land. A part of me is still there, and I doubt it will ever leave, as after almost 18 years, I feel I have some answers to a topic I have tried to understand for so long. Today, I still am trying to figure out the questions we tackled, and still communicate with my friends at all viable hours, and even feel the trauma of some places.

I have been working on this story since my freshman year, and now I am a senior. This trip was the final piece of the puz zle that helped me tell the important story of my family who both survived and perished, and of my nation who suffered immensely at the hands of their neighbors.

ANALYSIS

U.S. overlooks Holocaust education

ZIV GALPAZ Staff writer

F or most Americans, the Holo caust is an unknown subject, un delved territory; information that was never directly taught to them.

In the United States, education is the responsibility of not the feder al government, rather the individual states and counties.

Holocaust education is only strong ly reccomended rather than regulat ed in 28 states and only six of them mandate it. North Carolina was the first state to mandate the teaching of the holocaust in 1981 to students with the purpose of encouraging stu dents to understand what happens when you don’t stand up for others, and the phrase, “never again” was coined for the first time in american schools.

According to Pew research, only one-third of Americans are aware that approximately 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and it was found that older Ameri can adults were significantly more knowledgable about the Holocuast in comparision to their younger coun terparts globally.

At Branham, most students cannot recall being taught about the Holoc uast in detail in their middle and high school years.

In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a government council on Holocaust and Genocide education , the first of its kind of California, that would help ensure that all students will have to learn about the Holocaust twice between 7th and 12th grade.

His initiative comes after a push in the state for greater inclusivity of minorities and the new law that goes into effect in the 2023-2024 school year requiring all students to take an ethnic studies course to reach gradu ation requirements.

As some states move towards great er education efforts, others are re tracting them.

In the past year in Tennessee the graphic novel depicting the atroci ties of the Holocaust, “Maus” became aniother book to earn the title of a banned book.

Social science teacher Stefanie Menera who has taught both ethnic studies and AP U.S. History, said that she was made aware of how little stu dents know about the Holocaust after teaching her Ethnic studies students about the rise of anti-Semitism.

“Most students don’t know beyond Hitler and the Nazis and are unaware of how the Holocaust happened, and how it affected our world," Menera said. "And now with book banning, I am afraid for the future of education.”

Menera mentioned that due to the strict requirements and restrictions that teachers face, there is little room to teach about the Holocaust and other genocides.

She said that she hopes with the new legislative mandate on teaching of eth nic studies, she hopes this will help teach students about the atrocities.

A summer trip to Poland with the Israeli scouts provided a once-in-a-lifetime chance to understand the inhumanity behind the Holocaust.

the Auschwitz Birkenau extermination camp, which was responsible for the Holocaust.

Life after death A forest in northeastern Poland grows in which more than 2,000 Jews were led to and shot in mass graves.

From a child's eye A recreation of a child's drawing that was recovered from the Auschwitz concentration camp. The Nazis kept a meticulous record of everything the Jews kept during their stay.

Banned book 'Maus,' the Pulitzer Prize-winning grap hic novel about the Holocaust, has been banned in several states, most recent ly in Tennessee.

Road to death The original train tracks and cattle cars that each carried approximately 150 Jews to the Auschwitz Birkenau. Most never returned.

STUDENT LIFE

EYES ON THE SIZE

More than 80 clubs at Branham highlight and enhance the diversity of campus.

CARISSA TAKAKI Staff Writer

Branham’s clubs cover a wide range of interests, from restocking the tam pons in school bathrooms to con necting with middle school students.

With clubs as large as 119 members to some as few as two, all clubs play a role in making students feel wel comed at school.

This year, the more than 80 clubs fill interests ranging from academics to athletics to hobbies. While some clubs frequently make appearances across campus or share what they’re doing on Instagram every other day, other clubs work under the radar.

Going global Days for Girls, a club with less than 15 members, stocks tampons and pads in bathrooms at Branham and donates menstrual products to thirdworld countries.

The club’s last tampon drive gath ered around 300 products. This threeweek fundraiser has become an annu al event. The club also hosts bake sales to help fund projects such as their menstrual product kits.

Senior Morgan Lord, the club pres ident, has seen its numbers decline during the shutdown two years ago. She said she is happy with the club’s size as long as they can continue their feminine hygiene products mission.

Lord also has more global ambitions, and hopes to move forward with the international organization’s goal of assisting third-world countries this semester with larger product drives.

“Our impact is really towards other countries,” Lord said. “So it's not as important that we affect this school. It's more important that we affect the entire world.”

Let’s talk math

The Math Club has a more local ap proach. President Eric Liang brings math-lovers to bond over real-life lessons of mathematics and provides interactive activities. Despite a de cline in members throughout the pandemic, Liang has found the pos itive in having a small club of about 20 members.

“Usually it's the smaller clubs that have the closest bonds between mem bers,” he said, “since students are so passionate that they're willing to join even if the club is less popular, which leads to passionate members meeting with each other and sharing their pas sion.”

The Math Club has also visited nearby middle schools such as Dart mouth, Union and Steindorf. Their efforts include teaching concepts such as making 3D spirographs. They have also hosted math tournaments, emphasizing the skills of answering quickly and accurately.

“We taught over 30 students at each school, and everyone seemed to have a great time,” Liang said.

Though club size varies on campus, Liang agrees with Lord that value resides beyond numbers: it's the com munity a club unites that truly counts.

“Every club has its unique niche and as long as there is a single member interested in a club, then that club serves a purpose and is important to contributing to the Branham com

munity,” Liang said.

The more the merrier

As tight-knit as smaller clubs are, Branham’s larger clubs also remain successful in upholding a sense of community.

Last year, the Latinx Student Union’s meetings regularly saw 30 to 40 members at its bi-monthkly meet ings. Senior Nina Ruiz-Garcia, has been on LSU’s board for three years, two as president.

She’s seen club membership dip since the COVID-19 pandemic and then emerge in-person with a larger membership. Ruiz-Garcia stuck with the club and the established message it brought to her. She said that LSU’s growth represents a growth in its community engagement.

“It's been awesome to see that grow again and to see that we've reaffirmed our place on campus,” Ruiz-Garcia said.

Regardless of a club’s size, it’s the structure that their sense of purpose that makes them vital to campus life, said senior Arjun Mittha, the ASB Vice President who works with each clubs’ president.

As long as they meet regularly, keep track of meeting minutes and stay solvent, it doesn’t matter their size.

“Not all clubs throw events, some clubs are meeting-focused,” Mittha said. “It's very difficult to have a stan dard of what’s successful or not.”

Ruiz-Garcia said that with 84 clubs at school, there’s something for ev eryone’s interests, and they enrich the campus experience.

“I love our clubs on campus,” she said. “We have so many and that's re ally cool. It's definitely one of the best ways you can get involved with your campus and find your people.”

Finding my place

Adjusting has always been hard for me. I've moved around six times in my whole life, I guess it’s a decent amount.

From one part of Germany to another, Munich to Copenhagen to the United States, from Sunnyvale to Cupertino to Campbell.

I remember that living in Germany, the weather was pretty cold and rainy, but I loved the architecture there a lot. It was beautiful honestly.

Ever since I moved from Cupertino, it’s been a really good expe rience. Like making new friends, exploring new places, new malls, and overall getting food and clothes.

Still, growing up I had supportive and good friends by my side and alongside me. I also have supportive parents so my childhood

was, I guess, pretty normal, they let me go places and they say yes pretty often.

I went to Dilworth Elementary School, Miller Middle School, and then Branham High School. In the school I went to before attending Bran ham, the teachers were really really mean and the school environment was toxic as well.

It was a Blue Ribbon School, however, the competitiveness and the environment itself were motivating but not really in a sense, there were bullies around schools too of course but I haven’t really experienced being

Country vibes

Everything but country. I cannot stand that garbage. My mom listens to it every day in the car. And oh my glob I can't. Yeah, it's all just about trucks, drinking and women. Then my mom was saying, "No, it's not all that!" Then she turns the volume up. The song literally is about that. A guy driving in his truck, drinking tequila, talking about women. I'm like, "Yeah, I rest my case, mother."

'Finest news source'? Check out The Bruinion

LAUREN GERNALE Staff Writer

From Queen Elizabeth’s recent passing to stu dents vaping in the gender neutral bathrooms, there is no safe target for seniors Chloe Bagi and Tara Ka viani, the satirical minds behind The Bruinion (pro nounced Broon-yon).

The pair take great inspi ration from The Onion, which dubs itself Amer ica’s Finest News Source, even calling The Bruinion “Branham’s Finest News Source.”

Their stories are gaining traction, quickly becoming one of the school’s fast est-growing social media destinations, growing to nearly 400 followers in the span of one week.

News stories of Queen Elizabeth’s death layers in geopolitical issues, with headlines such as “AP U.S. History teacher takes down Lady Liberty (poster) af ter realizing U.S. History no longer exists in light of Queen’s passing.”

Bagi and Kaviani said their stories on the Queen have been the most enjoy able to write, especially as the stories featured staff members such as Princi pal Lindsay Schubert and social science teacher Kirk Selfridge, among others.

The two posts on the Queen combined have gained more than 700 likes as of Thursday.

“I was shocked that we occupied an active spot in people’s minds,” Bagi said.

“It was really successful and I had so much fun writing those pieces.”

The Onion’s influence on The Bruinion is apparent, from the social media de sign to the fake headlines.

The pair said it was men tioned briefly during their AP Language unit on satir ical writing their junior year.

Since then, it has played a defining role in their sense of humor, with the two con sistently reposting The On ion’s content and creating satirical headlines about oc currences in their own lives.

“We found it really in triguing, hilarious and the funniest thing that's ever happened,” said Kaviani.

Bagi and Kaviani say that The Bruinion helps them channel their niche humor into a more readily accessi ble format. They hope that its popularity continues to spread, and have also creat ed an idea submission form for outside ideas.

“We want to make peo ple giggle,” said Kaviani. “We want to ultimately become part of the grand zeitgeist, we want the Bruinion to be a thing that people know about, and we're getting there slowly. It's really exciting.”

BRUINS OF BRANHAM | EVERYDAY BRUINS

Courtesy Kevin Kim

Jiyoon Choi/Bear Witness Junior Cindy Kim and club president Eric Liang say the Math Club's outreach efforts at local middle schools have been rewarding.

KEVIN KIM | SOPHOMORE

— Interview by Elliot Yau

Elliot Yau

ZACHARY REINIE | SOPHOMORE

Days for Girls | 15 members

Latinx Student Union

members

Math Club | ~20 members

Sal McClure/Bear Witness archives

Latinx Student Union members paint a cantaritos de barros (clay mug) as one of their club activities last year. LSU leaders have seen the club grow stronger after a brief dip in membership during the pandemic.

Senior Morgan Lord helped Days for Girls collect period supplies for distribution last spring. The club hopes to help the international organization with its worldwide product drives.

Gyuri Kim/Bear Witness

Lauren Gernale/Bear Witness Seniors Chloe Bagi and Tara Kaviani skewer school news.

STUDENT

55 YEARS OF BEING A BRUIN

ONCE UPON A TIME AT BRANHAM

A lot has obviously changed at Branham since it opened in 1967. Students used to be able to smoke alongside tea chers in the grove next to the band and choir rooms. Payphones were a hot item. Mascots resembled Sasquatch's long-lost sibling. Here're some highlights about what used to be at our school.

1981

Originals

Branham's first principal was Burl Fields, who passed away earlier this year. Fields was an educator for more than 40 years.

Although Leigh High School is our current rival, Branham’s rivals schools used to be Camden and Los Gatos high schools.

In 1991, lack of enrollment caused the school to close down. The campus was leased to Valley Christian, which is why the track is the best built out of all 6 schools in the district. Branham reopened in 1999.

I'm calling from a payphone Nowadays, everyone carries around a cellphone: precisely 96% of Americans. In the 80s, people used pay phones, even at schools. Before the rise of cellphones, the only way to call home, your friends or 911 was through pay phones for the price of 25 cents. Although most were removed because of the mobility of cell phones, there are still a few scattered around train stati ons, gas stations, bus stops and some public buildings.

Sadie Hawkins dance

In 1981, Branham offered a Sadie Hawk ins Dance, a flipped version of a school dance because the girl asks a boy out.

The tradition comes from a cartoon plot by American cartoonist Al Capp’s (1909-1979) co mic strip, “Li’l Abner”.

As early as 1938, college students started to promote the reversal of gender roles. The tradition started transferring to other schools, and high schools started celebrating Sadie Hawkins Day with a dance. The dance has been phased out at Branham due to its sexist overtones, but it was celebrated as late as 1995.

2018-present

Out with the old buildings

Because Branham has been open for over 50 years, many parts have been torn down and rebuilt, or even replaced.

Until 2016, Branham had a library with textbooks and books for students to just check out and read. Students could also use the library as a place to study. The quad, usually filled with groups of students at break and lunch or ASB events during spirit weeks, used to have trees planted at the entrance of the quad near the cafeteria although the brick wall has always been a part of Branham’s quad and stage.

In 2017, Branham had been open for 50 years and the administration started creating plans for campus renovation. Since then, the new English, math, science and office buildings on the side of Branham Lane have been built, and the kitchen and the pool have both been remodeled.

Gymnastics, bowling at Branham

Branham offers 17 sports throughout the fall, winter and spring seasons including more popular sports such

Beyond infinity

Bob Pauley, the creator of Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear, was in a member of the Class of 1979. At Branham, Pauley participated in Student Action For Environment (S.A.F.E.), now known as SPARE. He was also ASB president.

He told the Bear Witness that he considers his former art teacher Karen Parsagian as his favorite teacher.

Pauley also created art for this paper, including contri buting to several mastheads.

He is currently Pixar's production designer, and stressed that "the arts are supremely important," and art classes "are provided for students."

as football, soccer, and basketball.

In the 1980s, however, Branham had even more sports from gymnastics to bowling. Furthermore, there were more spirit based teams other than the cheer team. Branham offered football yell leaders, basketball leaders, letter girls and song girls.

Driving school

The California law states that residents can get their permit six months after they turn 15 after completing driver’s education. Then, they must wait six more months to get their official license.

In 1920, school districts provided traffic safety and driving instruction as a school subject. Books such as “Man and the Motor Car” and “Sportsmanlike Driving” were available in high school libraries.

The Aetna Drivetrainer, a hands-on driver training tool, similar to a bumper car, was used in classrooms starting in 1940. Branham had its own driving school in 1973. However, due to high costs, school districts removed driver education in schools by the late 1990s.

Open campus

Branham was originally an open campus. Students could leave at lunch and come back before class. This idea became controversial due to safety issues and the school

Tale of the Rock

The tale of Branham’s Rock started in 1973, when a a group of seniors decided to pull prank on the school.

The rock was meant to be dropped in the quad, but it was too large and heavy, so it was left at the front of the school, where it has stayed ever since.

Over the years, classes have spray painted thematic messages on the surface for events such as back to school, Rivalry Week and Winter Wishes.

Details about the origins of our mascot are scarce, but for years, our beloved Blu used to be known as Bru, for Bruin. Blu made his debut in 2018, and auditions were held for those wanting to try on the big suit. According to science teacher Torie Rainieri, performers were trained to embody his mischievious but friendly personality.

Bob Pauley's contributions include editorial cartoons for the Bear Witness

Courtesy Bob Pauley

Reprinted with permission from Pixar

Photos courtesy of Ursa Major yearbook

Reporting by Shantala Muruganujan

SCIENCE &

SCIENCE &TECH BRIEFS

California hits Amazon with an antitrust lawsuit

California filed a lawsuit against Amazon about how it has had too much power in the online retail industry, following a trend of efforts by American states and Euro pean regulators to decrease influence of tech giants. When Amazon sees a product that is being sold through their page also listed on another site at a lower price, the company will often remove buttons like “add to cart” on the amazon website, decreasing sales. Product sellers have no choice but to raise their prices on other sites to be able to enlist their product on Amazon, causing customers to buy artificially inflated products from Amazon.

Biden creates biotech initiative to combat cancer

President Joe Biden announced on Sept. 11 announced that Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, a biotech executive from Boston, would be leading a new Biomedical Research Agency that promises to develop new and “bold” ways to fight cancer. Biden has a deep personal commitment to fighting cancer since his son Beau Biden and close friend Senator Edward M. Kennedy both passed away from brain cancer. He calls his efforts the “cancer moonshot” which aims to halve cancer rates in the next 25 years. Along with the new leader announcement, Biden issued an executive order for a biotechnology initiative to help the United States resolve some of the supply chain issues that were revealed during the COVID19 pandemic for supplies.

Heat reaches record Levels

The recent heat wave has broken records all around California, with the state capital, Sacramento, seeing temperatures as high as 116 degrees. About 42 million Americans from Arizona to Idaho had excessive heat warnings too. However, even after California’s Independent System Operator (ISO) issued a warning for rolling outages, the power grid managed to keep on, which helped both the vulnerable population with power connected life-saving devices and those who cannot tolerate higher temperatures. After the heat wave, the ISO tweeted that “consumer conservation played a big part” in prevent ing blackouts.

Report finds developed countries lack monkeypox resources

After the monkeypox vaccine came out, wealthy countries like the United States bought most of the resources, leaving very little for developing countries like Peru.

Despite being a country with one of the highest cases of monkeypox, Peru has no access to both the vaccine or any sort of treatment. A similar situation is true for other developing countries in Africa. However, even though the United States owns more than 15 million vaccines, more than 7 million of them are being sent to be bottled in stead of being used to combat the disease.

—Compiled by Angela Choi

Sources: New York Times

BACK-TO-SCHOOL SPIKE

Loosening restrictions, packed events led to a spike in infections, but why aren't we as worried?

LIA CHOI Staff Writer

School officials are saying that looser mask rules are partly to blame for the surge in COVID-19 cases since the new school year commenced, the highest recorded since January.

According to the district’s new COVID-19 tracking dashboard, Branham has seen nearly 90 new cases since the start of the school year. In one week, cases jumped from 2 to 39 during the week of Aug. 12 to 19, the highest in the district. Districtwide, confirmed cases amount to over 270.

District officials and students say there are several factors contributing to the spike. Unlike the end of last year, a ma jority of students and staff no longer wear a mask as strict guidelines such as mandatory masking and social distanc ing are no longer in place.

Attitudes toward the ongoing pandem ic have also shifted. A survey of 375 Bear Witness readers found that 54% no lon ger wear a mask in the classroom, while 32% say that they still do. Another 14% are unsure on masking.

However, 44% students still view the pandemic as a concern due to factors such as unknown variables and new vari ants, wanting to protect their close ones from infection and preferring not to have school events canceled.

Additionally, the high vaccination rates in the county — nearly 90% have had two shots — have contributed to the de cline in masking.

“Masks aren’t really common anymore because people have noticed when they had COVID before, it wasn’t as bad as they thought, and overall numbers are going down,” said junior Jaden Obeden cio, who was recently reinfected after at tending the back-to-school dance.

As someone who continues to wear a mask, Obedencio was surprised to have gotten it again.

“It was weird because I’ve had all my vac cinations and been boosted,” she said. “My family comes from health care, so I don't want to risk them by not wearing a mask.”

During her time with COVID, she said she experienced mild symptoms that only lasted a few days compared to when she was last infected during January’s surge.

Other students are taking a more ca sual approach to the pandemic. Junior Ella Boisvert has had COVID-19 three

A SHIFT IN ATTITUDES TOWARD MASKING

54%

of Bear Witness read ers no longer choose to wear a mask indoors, down from 88% last spring.

89%

44%

still view the pan demic as a concern, a shift from 85% in the Bear Witness' spring survey.

vaccination rate among residents 12 years old and up in Santa Clara County.

times over the past two years, but does not view the pandemic as seriously as be fore and compares it to the seasonal flu.

“I would wear a mask if I felt I was at risk or I needed to protect someone in my family, but I don't have anyone I need to protect right now,” Boisvert said on masking. “Especially in outdoor events — I always feel safe.”

The rise of infections at Branham have also caused prolonged student absences.

Chris Chidester’s AP Physics 1 class had an estimated 10 students absent due to COVID-19, which is a situation he said has never occurred before.

He said the lack of masking and ventila tion from the broken air conditioning are all contributing to the spike as it creates a stifling environment in his classroom.

“It makes it all the more miserable to have the mask on,” he said, “and honest ly at this point now, since I’ve never had COVID, I wouldn't be surprised at all if I get it any day.”

District and county COVID-19 protocols

have changed as vaccination and immunity rates have improved and testing kits be came available. For example, students who test positive can come back to school after quarantining for five days and experiencing no symptoms, even without a negative test.

With the start of the new school year also came improved emergency expo sure alerts, emails that alert those who are at risk of either having or getting COVID-19. Vice Principal Nikita Shah said that last year’s emergency exposure alerts have been revised so that they are no longer individual emails, but instead mass emails sent out through tracing to all staff and students who have been in the same classes as positive students in the past 48 hours.

Upon sending the alerts and checking the dashboard,Shah said the school’s spike is already dying down, being less worrisome than last year’s upswing.

“While the number was really high compared to where we were, it wasn't high enough to warrant going back to

stricter measures,” Shah said. “Most students have pretty mild symptoms or they're testing negative by day six or seven, so the infection isn't lingering. I’m just speaking as a general trend and COVID is still important, but I think people are tired of being vigilant.”

Director of district student services and COVID-19 designee Crystal Adams also shares her opinion on changing at titudes and the pandemic’s importance.

“We know that masks continue to be strongly recommended, especially in in door settings, but that is a personal choice as it is for everyone at this time,” Adams said. “I think COVID is here to stay, and I hope that over time it will become more like the flu or other viruses that are season al and we cope with in similar ways.”

Although there are mixed opinions on the importance of COVID-19 and its guidelines, one thing is certain: be coming sick requires just as much care and caution, whether or not one has COVID-19.

COVID-19

Source: CUHSD COVID-19 Dashboard

Dhatrisri Tummala/Special to the Bear Witness

Reported COVID-19 cases at Branham shot up right after the Back to School dance in August. Ventilation issues in some classes and fewer masks also contributed to the infections.

RECORDED COVID-19 CASES IN THE DISTRICT SINCE AUGUST 2021

Total Branham Leigh Del Mar Westmont Prospect Post-winter break

Start of school.

TIME AFTER TIME

Late start, new schedule changing sleep patterns

ANGELA CHOI Science & Health Editor

The new 8:30 a.m. late-start man date for secondary schools in Cal ifornia is changing student behavior.

In a Bear Witness survey of 201 read ers, many say they are sleeping more, but almost as many say they are getting less sleep, or aren’t seeing a change in their sleep patterns at all.

However, nearly 60% say they are sleeping up and waking up later, which is good news for English Ker ry Murphy

Now that she’s had six weeks since the start of the school year to adjust to the schedule, Murphy said she’s found that the late start made her mornings less stressful.

Her three children, two of them high schoolers, now have time to be fully prepared to leave the house.

“There's no anger and pushing and rushing people out the door,” Murphy said. “I found it is a lot more enjoyable in the mornings.”

For proponents of the 8:30 a.m. start, the new schedule also meant an extra hour of sleep in the morning.

Junior Cindy Kim remembers that she slept anywhere between 11 a.m. and 4 a.m., and woke up at 6:30 a.m.. She said that she was always running out of time in the morning and had to run to be on time.

When she was in the first class of the day she said she often felt tired or le thargic.

“I kept saying I’m tired and wanna go home, and there were a few occa sions where I had serious issues staying awake in classes,” Kim said

Though the jury is still out on whether the late starts have had a positive effect on the schedule, assistant principal Ni kita Shah has seen an improvement, Last year, students were late to class and were not actively participating be cause of the “hard time waking up” as assistant principal Nikita Shah found when talking to parents of tardy stu dents.

However, junior Rayleen Franceschi ni has lost an hour of sleep with the schedule change. Because she has less time between when school ends to bedtime, she has less time to spend on homework, time on relaxation and with friends. Franceschini is forced to stay up later if she wants to spend time on these things.

“It's difficult to adjust to sleeping later since I feel as if I had missed time to be doing more things. It gives me less time to do things that I enjoy, which is unfor tunate,” Franceschini said. “It just means that I have to stay up a bit later.”

demonstrations

Instructions

1. Put on your goggles. Tie your hair back if it's longer than shoul der-length.

2. Wash your arm, or whatever surface you want to set on fire.

Warning: Do not do this at home!

2. In a large tub, add soap, water

What is happening here?

and create some suds.

3. Feed methane so that large bubbles of soap appear. This is the trapped gas.

4. Scoop up the soap bubbles (the larger ones are filled with gas), and hold it away from your face.

5. Light it up!

When lit, methane gas trapped inside soap bubbles combust, forming carbon dioxide and water vapor.

Is it safe?

Yes — but make sure the room is well ventilated, that you are wea ring goggles and that your hair is tied back. When you soak your hands with water, it's to insulate it.

Water has a high specific heat, meaning that it takes a lot of energy with it as it evaporates.

On-the-job training at SVCTE

AADYANT SURESH Staff Writer

This year, 55 Branham students are attending a morning or after noon SVCTE class, a career and tech nical education school partnered with districts around Silicon Valley, includ ing this district. The program enrolled 1,230 students around the city.

The Silicon Valley Career Technical Education off Capitol Expressway provides hands-on experiences not available in traditional high school classes. Culinary science, forensics and medical assisting are among the classes offered.

New SVCTE Principal Jeff Arnett said learning by doing is the school’s mantra, and it is what differentiates the program from a normal high school class.

He points to the forensics investi gation class, which recently simulated an investigation into a mock car crash and where teams worked to break down the scene for evidence.

“It speaks to a lot of people, it's more actively engaged,” Arnett said. “It’s just a different way of learning.”

Students are also able to meet teach ers who have worked in their fields and are knowledgeable on its nuances, including industry best practices.

“They are industry professionals, so they know what the soft skills are, what their employers are looking for,” Arnett said.

Junior Ofir Aicler is a student in the culinary arts program, and said having an experienced instructor is helpful. She said that chef Danielle Clark, who leads the program, has worked through the ranks, from being a dish washer to sous chef, and understands what it’s like to be in their shoes.

“She knows how to come forward and ask questions or tell us if we're doing something wrong,” Aicler said. “She doesn’t come off too strong be cause she knows that when she was in that situation she would take that a little bit too hard. Having that same connection and experience helps her help us more.”

SVCTE’s campus is modeled after professional workspaces, which Arnett said makes for a smooth transition from school to work environments.

Tamie Garcia, a former pathology assistant, teaches the medical assist ing classes, and said students learn to work with medical equipment such as EKG machines and mannequins.

Medical assisting students eventu ally work with each other, and move on to externships programs at Kaiser, Sutter Health, and Stanford, which have gradually reopened to students after the pandemic.

“It's been great having (doctors) share their knowledge with the stu dents,” Garcia said. “They really want to share what they know with the next generation of medical employees.”

Arnett said that SVCTE is also looking to the future course offerings as industries change. They are getting ready for a new course in electric ve hicle repair, which they hope will de but next year.

Aicler said her experience in SVCTE’s culinary arts program is helping her see the potential in the field, which is helping her develop a passion for it.

“When I do it hands-on, I can think of it as a possibility for a career because I’m doing it right now,” Aicler said.

Amanda Day/Special to the Bear Witness Sophomore Olivia Jahromi volunteers for the "Methane Mamba" demonstration in her chemistry class.

Angela Choi/Bear Witness photo illustration

Source: Bear Witness online survey of 201 readers

Courtesy of Ofir Aicler Junior Ofir Aicler said that SVCTE culi nary arts class has helped her decide on her future career.

ARTS & CULTURE

Mini Reviews

VIDEO GAME

Splatoon 3

What it is: Splatoon 3 is the third installment in Nintendo's iconic third-per son shooter Splatoon franchise, with the first game being released in May 2015 for the Nintendo eighth generation console

Wii U. Splatoon 3 is released with Nintendo's ninth generation console Nintendo Switch, with improved graphics and a new, indepth story mode that takes place a year and a half after the events of the Splatocalypse, which took place in the second installment Splatoon 2.

Liked: The in-depth and ntense the online game modes. Even as a newbie, the classic turf war game mode was still a ton of fun regardless of skill level.

Disliked: While there are a lot of Easter eggs and places to roam off to in the lobby as well as plenty of game modes to try out, it doesn’t feel there are enough.

— Ryan Walters

SPOOKY VALLEY

English teacher releases book on history of paranormal sightings in San Jose

NEW JEANS

'NEW JEANS' EP

What it is: A 5-girl K-pop group that debuted in August under the ADOR and HYBE labels.

The EP consists of four tracks and three singles, "Attention," "Hype Boy," "Cookie," and "Hurt;" the album contains various music genres, such as R&B, electro-pop, and hip hop.

Liked: The music videos are so refreshing and new. For "Hype Boy," there were five music videos released on this song as each music video focused on a different member and their love story; I've never seen this concept before.

Disliked: The songs in the album featured repetitive construction and production, and I wish the EP consisted of more songs.

— Lia Choi

NOLAN ZILS Co-Editor-in-Chief

I f you go to the Del Mar High School football field during the daytime, nothing jumps out as unusual or out of place for an athletic facility.

But according to legend, in the middle of the night, 3:15 a.m. to be exact, the empty stadium is filled with a murdered child’s cry for help, with a humanoid figure running up and down the bleach ers.

Though no deaths were reported at the school, in 2011, amateur paranormal investigators decided to investigate using an Electronic Voice Phenomena device, which allegedly interprets spirits’ voices.

When they asked “We just want to know by you’re here,” a voice not matching any of the inves tigators present said, “Okay” in response.

Stories such as Del Mar’s can be found in all corners Silicon Valley, from Alum Rock Park to Hicks Road, and are explored in English teacher Elizabeth Kile’s debut book, “Haunted San Jose.”

The book was published Sept. 12, exactly one week after the 100th anniversary of the Winchester Mystery House, which features prominently in the book.

“Without a doubt, the most famous haunted location in San Jose and the South Bay is the Winchester Mystery House,” she said in an excerpt. “Indeed it may be the most famous tourist attraction — haunted or not — in the entire city.”

The book chronicles the history of paranormal sightings in the area, which Kile shares a deep history with.

Her family has lived in San Jose since the 1790s who owned the land off Alviso and Narvaez as a part of the San Juan Bautista land grant.

She credited her mother’s in terest in paranormal activity as a main source of inspiration for her obsession with the spooky and unexplained.

even she can’t explain. Among the experiences she’s had, she noted in the book an instance when she was in the basement of the Mystery House and may have seen a sign of the infamous workman ghost often reported in the area.

“I always try to approach my investigations looking for other explanations," she said. "When I can't find them, I am willing to admit there might be something going on."

Kile cited the Mystery House as one of her favorite places to investigate because of its history and the recent discoveries sur rounding Sarah Winchester’s life. She may not have been the par anoid woman as depicted in pop culture.

“She was not a crazy old lady,” she said. “She was not as eccen tric. She was an architect who couldn't practice because she was a woman. She was a philanthro pist, but she did it anonymously. So I think her story is remark able.”

In her research, Kile found sto ries that she felt were problematic and targeted groups of people and races. Both Hicks Road and Alum Rock Park have stories of sup posed bloodthirsty albinos roam ing the area.

“There's a big problem with tar geting people with albinism,” she said of the tale. “We don't want to vilify people who are different in these albino stories where we do that, but for some reason, there are so many of them.”

Another story she considers of fensive is one at San Jose State University, considered a paranor mal hotspot. There have been re ports that Uchida Hall, which was used as a registration and collec tion point for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It is said to be haunted by their ghosts.

TOP HAUNTS IN SAN JOSE

Never Have I Ever Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher

What it is: In the third season of "Never Have I Ever," Devi Vishwaku mar, an Indian-American teenager, continues to face the trials and tribulations of high school drama in the coming-of-age comedy series.

Liked: Introducing more char acters from the queer community, — they already have a culturally diverse cast — this third season continues to represent a growing number of its viewers and falls nothing short of spectacular.

Disliked: Especially within the new season, this show pushes to the audience that in order to be happy, conformation to society is mandatory, setting an unhealthy standard for its primarily younger audience.

— Carissa Takaki

“It was also really gratifying to see that a lot of this activity hap pened on lands that my ancestors owned.”

Kile recalls her mother claiming there was a heart buried under the floor of the dining room in her house. Her mom’s stories and her family’s history is what got her interested in the subject and local paranormal occurrences.

During the pandemic, Kile, a skeptic and certified paranormal investigator, began her “Haunted San Jose” project. She had already participated in investigations af ter receiving her education at the Rhine Institute, a parapsychology research center.

While the book addresses sight ings and reported hauntings, Kile, also offers practical explanations.

For the alleged Del Mar spir its, she suggests that teenagers wanting to pull a prank may be responsible.

However, there are some things

“I find that really touchy and problematic, because that was such a horrific experience, even without ghosts,” she said. “I hope that I have done a respectable job of talking about that story.”

After working on the book during the pandemic with the support of her fellow teachers and her family, to whom the book is dedicated to, Kile is elated to see the book become available to the public.

“I'm feeling really excited to see it in bookstores,” she said.

Kile said she will continue to contribute to paranormal investi gations, and said she may write a similar book about the paranor mal history of Chico.

“Everywhere you’ll find all these recordings and sightings,” she said.

For now, she is content with the fact that she was able to create a detailed account of San Jose’s history, something she felt the Haunted America series and the literary world was lacking.

“I feel like I can say that I have literally written the book,” she said.

WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE

Completed 100 years ago after the death of its owner, Sarah Winchester’s house is a haunted spot that even Kile has experienced unexplainable events at. Her husband ran a repeating arms company so successful that one of their guns was dubbed, “The Gun That Won the West”. A psychic medium told Sarah the place was cursed by those killed by the rifles her husband helped produce. To stop the spirits, she must make the house as confusing and intricate as possible, which Sarah, an architect, did for decades until her death.

ALUM ROCK PARK

Created in 1872 as the first municipal park in San Jose, the tales of Alum Rock Park are fueled by real events and many recorded deaths. From railway accidents to suicide, a death occures every several years. The Penitencia creek has been the source for sightings of La Llorona, a common figure in Mexican folklore.

The tales from the Tully Road location of the kid’s arcade franchise come not from murderous animatronics, rather from freak accidents. The two most famous stories tell of kids left unattended that fell to their deaths. Employees have reported seeing games turned on after closing when no one else was in the store.

HICKS ROADHELLYER ROAD

On the corner of Hellyer Avenue and Senter road, the house gained a reputation for the story of a girl who murdered her parents and eventually hung herself. Though there are no reported deaths, accounts speak of a girl in a black dress. One plumber alone in the house claimed that the girl was standing behind him, and afterwards vowed to never go to the house again.

The 8-mile road is said to be a good place to hide dead bodies. Besides the tales of albinos roaming the hills, there are also reports of a ghost cyclist, and the spirit of an old woman walking aimlessly on the side of the road on the Hicks and Shannon intersection. The winding road has recorded several bicyclist deaths.

ALBUM

TV SHOW

Nintendo

Min Hee-Jin under Ador Label

English teacher Elizabeth Kile reads her debut book "Haun ted San Jose" the day after it was released to the public on September 12.

CHUCK E. CHEESE

Photos and information courtesy of Elizabeth Kile

ARTS & CULTURE

ARTS

BEHIND THE

AVA STARK

Arts and Culture Editor

The sophomore class pulled off an upset in the Homecoming lip sync battle on Tuesday, as they won the event ahead of the second place seniors, who almost always emerge victorious each year.

The Class of 2025’s splashing perfor mance was a chance at redemption for sophomore choreographer Wycoff Hig gins, whose freshman class last year took fourth. This time, their choreo, consist ing of partner dancing, color guard, and a “Titanic” homage was good enough for the win.

The team had put in dozens of hours of work, holding rehearsals two to three times a week prior to Tuesday’s show ing.This included staging, re-teaching dances, coordinating props, and learning new dance moves. In the end though, the effort put into their winning perfor mance was worth it.

“I’m super happy with how it paid off, and I’m incredibly elated that we won,” Higgins said.

Part of the fun for lip sync is finding the perfect songs to signify changes in momentum.

Higgins said that this year’s Greek theme was much easier to work with, since it allows each class to find ways to incorporate stories from mythology.

Some of the sophomore’s songs includ ed “Bottom of the River” by Delta Rae and “Ocean Man” by Ween, matching up with their Poseidon nautical theme.

The seniors, who typically win lip sync, who adopted Hades, the god of the un derworld, as their mascot, chose songs such as “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC and “Fireball” by Pitbull.

Other upsets included the freshman class, which as a group of only 12 fin ished above the juniors. Despite their small numbers, they displayed a confi dence that had not been seen in other freshman classes.

Perhaps they chose the right chore ographers in Brooke Derhammer and Sarah Osband, the latter of whom is a veteran with Children’s Musical Theater San Jose. Osband said she took inspira tion from her program and was confi dent in their group’s song choices.

With their theme Greek god Apollo, the god of the sun and music, they chose songs such as “Walking on Sunshine'' by Katrina & The Waves and “Sunroof” by Nicky Youre.

Prior to Tuesday’s performance, Os band said that it is the anticipation

“I'm excited for when the crowd gets super hype and the feeling of Oh, we did it,” she said. “We're done. And now everyone gets to watch it.”

Though they finished behind the soph omores, senior lip sync choreographer Lilley Stryker, who has assisted with cho reography all four years, said that she has seen her confidence and her leadership grow with these public performances. She said she remembers what it was

like to be a freshman and learning how to choreograph her dance for the first time. It’s much easier now.

“I feel like as I've gotten older it's not as big of a deal,” she said. “Also, people are supportive and everyone is cheering you on, which makes it exciting.”

With four years of lip sync experience, Stryker said she feels more comfortable coming up with the dances.

She and other upperclassmen had giv en advice to the underclassmen chore ographers, such as when to schedule practices or how to organize their time during those practices to keep the group focused and present.

Even though she felt the pressure from her peers of having a “senior sweep,” Stryker appreciates how lip sync allows her to express herself through dance.

“Dance has always been more of an out side school activity for me,” said Stryker, “but lip sync has been a way for me to bridge dance back into my life.”

Masks to come off when curtain rises

LAUREN GERNALE Staff Writer

The fall play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” marks several new begin nings for the Backstage Bruins as both the first maskless play since 2019 and the first Shakespeare play in nearly a decade, when “As You Like It” premiered.

Consisting of three intertwining plo tlines and mystic lore involving mar riage, romance and fairies, the Backstage Bruins’ rendition differs from usual hor ror comedies done under director Jen nifer Sorkin, like “Evil Dead” and “She Kills Monsters.”

The show being maskless is both ben eficial for the cast’s speech clarity and the audience’s comprehension of Shake speare according to senior Jack Law rence, who plays Nick Bottom, a comic relief character.

“For understanding Shakespeare, if someone does not have good diction, which a lot of us don’t, it is hard in itself,” he said.

COVID will not be taken lightly during the process, and it is still a major concern for the club despite the planned maskless performances.

The show has no understudies or stand-in performers. Sorkin says that because of so many scheduling conflicts within the cast, they could not afford to have them, unlike last year’s play, “Twelve Angry Jurors.”

“It's so crushingly fatiguing,” Sorkin said. “It's not as much of a worrisome factor, but with us having an indoor event and not having an understudy, we only have one human who can do the job.”

Because there are no understudies, the program is taking extra precautions,

citing an abundance of recent COVID exposures and an outbreak at Leigh that led to the cancellation of their show. Although masks are optional during indoor rehearsals and school, the cast is highly encouraged to wear them. Due to the obstacles, Sorkin says it's troublesome to ensure that the show goes up on time and that it's the best it can be.

“We have a lot of extra hurdles that other groups don't have,” said Sorkin.

“Trying to still put on live theater and let young artists create art definitely makes it difficult.”

Set in Athens during the twelfth-cen tury BC, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and influential plays. Matching the comedy from the Elizabethan era, the play’s humor is centered around ro mance and marriage, eventually lending itself to a joyous ending.

Junior Christian Winzenread, who portrays Lysander, a young man that Hermia is in love with, said that despite the differences from past Backstage Bruins shows, the play’s lighthearted theme is very appropriate as they plan to return to normalcy in their perfor mances.

“‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ is such a fun, very effervescent, very whimsical show,” he said. “I think it's definitely the kind of energy we need coming back (and) making this grand resurgence to theater.”

Prior to selecting a play, senior Mari lyn Alonzo, who is cast as Helena and is the co-president of the Backstage Bru ins, mentioned that the program want ed to stray from the genre they typically perform. Choosing “A Midsummer

Night’s Dream” was an adequate blend of both familiar and unfamiliar.

“We do a lot of fantasy, out-there shows,” Alonzo said. “I think this plus the classical element of ('A Midsummer Night’s Dream') being Shakespeare is a pretty good way for us to demonstrate our talents in a new way. You get so many shows in high school, you want to do as much as you can.”

Despite these setbacks, performing “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and using Shakespeare may appeal to a larger de mographic and help sustain the program.

Senior Carissa Freimarck, who will por tray Titania, queen of the faries, says that while the Backstage Bruins primarily con sists of upperclassmen, Shakespeare can bring in some fresh faces.

“I think a lot of people know Shake speare, and obviously, there's very mixed feelings towards him,” said Freimark. “But I think doing a well known show probably will help recruit more underclassmen, which we need right now.”

The show is set to premiere on Oct. 10 in the performing arts center.

AT SCHOOL

Halloween choir concert Performing Arts Center, Oct. 26, 27 at 7 p.m.

Madrigals and Concert Choir will perform their first concert of the year clad in Halloween costumes. Madrigals will perform a variety of pieces from fast paced latin in “Daemon Irrepit Callidus” to slow, minor key songs like “Gravedigger”.

Midsummer Night’s Dream Oct. 10 in PAC.

Backstage Bruin’s first Shake speare show since the 2014-2015 school year, and the first under director Jennifer Sorkin, takes a more comedic and light-hearted approach to comedy compared to prior horror comedies under Sor kin. The performance is planned to have maskless actors.

OUTSIDE SCHOOL

A few months after the other surviving Beatle Paul McCartney performed in the Bay Area, former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, 82, travels to San Jose with the 15th rendition of his band, to the largest local performance venue. The setlist includes Beatle classics written by Starr such as “Octopus's Garden” and “With a Little Help From My Friends,” along with hits from other band members such as “Down Under”, “Free Ride”, and “Who Can It Be Now?”

Movie Amsterdam Oct. 10

Three friends become suspects in a murder in the 1930’s. Other supporting cast members include Mike Myers, Chris Rock, and Anya-Taylor Joy. The film is director David O. Russell’s first since his 2015 movie “Joy”.

Documentary

The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave Netflix, Oct. 5

“The Trapped 13” tells the story of the Thailand boys soccer team that got trapped in the Tham Luong Nang Non cave in 2018 after a monsoon. The documentary interviews team members and their experiences in the cave, along with the rescuers that raced against time to save them. The film is also complemented by young actors portraying the team members as they try to escape the cave.

Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' will be first maskless performance since 2019

Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band Oct. 14, San Jose Civic Center

Musical Jagged Little Pill Golden Gate Theater Premieres Oct. 11

The musical based off Alanis Morissette’s album of the same name is performing in San Francis co after a successful broadway run that earned two Tony awards. The touring cast stars Heidi Blicken staff as the lead role M.J. Healy.

Compiled by Nolan Zils

Sophomores earned an upset win on Tuesday with their lip sync performance to aquatic-themed songs such as "Ocean Man" by Ween and "Surfin' U.S.A." by the Beach Boys

Courtesy of Danny Roach

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" cast members rehearse a scene after school in director Jennifer Sorkin's classroom.

FALL PLAY

Carissa Takaki/Bear

Witness

Common Goods

Creative Commons

UNPACK YOUR W RLD

With fewer COVID restrictions, air travel was able to operate at maximum capacity this summer, al lowing for Branham students to travel for the first time in years. For some, this meant visiting family who live out-of-state or around the world.

Others were able to go on trips that were put on hold for many years. With air travel costs creeping up, travel is still prohibitively expensive for most students.

Makayla Wu and Juliette Bonacum

The costs of travel Traveling for most is a privilege. Here are some costs that most travelers have to consider before booking their flight.

$1,558

The average cost of a oneweek vacation in the U.S. for one person

$45

The average cost of food per person per day in the U.S.

13%

the number of Americans who say they have never been on a plane.

-73%

The drop in international travel due to COVID-19 pandemic, which equates to 1 billion fewer travelers compared to 2019.

Value of the dollar

The stronger U.S. dollar is making it cheaper to travel internationally, if you can afford it. For example, a hotel that used to be $100 a night can now be booked for $80.

Source: World Tourism Organization

Dream destination

Key Recent visit

Hawaii

Australia

“I really want to go to Australia. Specifically Syd ney and I also want to go to the Great Barrier Reef.

It’s just really fascinating because it’s all the way across the world, but theres still so much that’s similar to us.

The history there is also super interesting and their seasons are the opposite of us."

Adam Orenstein sophomore

The Travel Club president bring together a lot of people who love to travel, "not just to go on vacation to go on vaca tion, but to travel to learn about different places and cultures and see how it differs from us."

Hawaii

“I went with my family to Hawaii. We went horseback riding and it was first my first time in Hawaii”

Gabriella Wong, sophomore

Fashion Week

“Honestly anywhere during Fashion Week. Like Paris Fashion Week, Milan during fashion week or even New York Fashion Week.”

Ian Angelopoulos sophomore

Japan

“I love Japan because there is just so much connection and the family I have there are close to my heart”

Lisa Kanda sophomore

Europe

“I would want to go anywhere in Europe because it seems like such a nice place, especially for a vacation”

Denise Garcia junior

Colombia

“During this trip I really was able to realize how much family means to me”

Tamara Restrepo sophomore

Egypt

“Eventually in my life traveling to Egypt would be fun. Egypt has such a unique culture and has many different things to see”

Rayleen Franceschini Junior

Antarctica

“Penguins are super cool, and there is a lot os snow there so it’s just a cool place. It's probably one of like the least traveled to areas other than the cruise lines, and that what appeals to me”

Parker Miles sophomore

Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week began Sept. 9, and lasts four weeks.

Yes, surfing was invented here more than 200 years ago.

Australia

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue structure that hosts more than 1,500 per formances annually.

Postcard from abroad

French teacher Katia Saade traveled with 21 other students to Europe over the summer, visiting sites such as Windsor Castle in England (pictured).

Over summer her group visited England and France.

Saade traveled as part of the EF Educational Educational tour program, offered to teachers.

"All the kids were so happy and we they loved the food there," she said.

Japan Sando gates march the entrance to a shrine.

Europe Travel in 2022 is ex pected to reach nearly 60% of prepandemic tourism.

Egypt

Air travel from the U.S. is expected to exceed prepandmic levels by 2024.

Antarctica Each season an esti mated 170,000 visitors make the trek to the South Pole.

Sources Exodus Travel Tours, European Union, Travel Market Report

Bear Witness staff graphic with images from Freepik

Courtesy of Katia Saade