OPINION
NOT-SO-GREAT ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT GATSBIES
A look into Betsy DeVos’ education policies
The dos and don’ts at the prom
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Pages 8, 9
BEAR
Film Club votes Oscar winners
WITNESS BRANHAM HIGH SCHOOL
MARCH 17, 2017
pro•crasti•nation LATIN pro: forward; in favor of
LATIN crastinus: of tomorrow
Do you have trouble finishing a project because it doesn’t meet your own high standards? Perfectionists procrastinate because they want everything to be perfect. They spend too much time on small details. As a result, they rush the rest of the assignment Lucky crisis maker Do you tend to ignore due dates, then at the last second work frantically to get your stuff done? The “lucky” procrastinators have learned to procrastinate without fear; they think their best work is done under pressure. Defier Do you become upset when asked to do a task that you don’t want to do? Defiers procrastinate because they don’t like it when others tell them what to do. They don’t care about deadlines and expectations, which could be done overtly or passive-aggressively. CADENCE TRENCHARD News Editor
rocrastination: otherwise known as inP tentional delay, postponing, putting off, avoidance, or most commonly referred to as the bane of mankind’s existence. It’s the reason senior Ryan Posey rushed on his AP Art Portfolio, the reason sophomore Ryan McBride prefers listening to music over
How much they pay attention to detail Perfectionist: High Dreamer: Low “I don’t want to do details, organizing in general. Organizing requires a certain attention to detail which I don’t like. -Ms. Anu Satyapal, Math teacher
Are they constantly living in the moment or the future? Lucky / crisis maker: Low Worrier: High “[When I was younger] I would do best under pressure. I would space it out, but it wouldn’t work. I did it all at once and got an A. - Freshman Lyndsey Freitas Focus on relationship with others - how do they feel about the people asking a favor? Defier: Low Overdoer / pleaser: High “I feel bad saying ‘no’ especially if it’s something I can do easier than them.” -Freshman Gabriela Verginis taking trees-worth of AP World History notes and the reason I have only started typing this now during crunch (the night before the Bear Witness sends the issue to the printing press). I know, I know. Procrastination is both a mental and a behavioral battle. This means that even if you know you need to finish annotating an article or start your science project, you may be held back by
he Trump administration has decided T to revoke a federal protection of transgender students on Feb. 22— and Branham
Dreamer Do you tend to ignore due dates, then at the last second work frantically to get your stuff done? The “lucky” procrastinators have learned to procrastinate without fear; they think their best work is done under pressure. Worrier Does worrying about the “what ifs” paralyze you before you even start a project? Do you avoid situations that could cause you stress or anxiety? Worriers procrastinate because they fear change, and worry about what may happen in the future.
Overdoer / Pleaser Is it hard for you to say ‘no’ to others? Do you run around doing a lot, without feeling that you’ve accomplished very much? Pleasers have too much on their plate because they say yes to extra tasks, and never have enough time to do it all. old habits. One way to get motivated is by giving yourselves an incentive. For me, that’s time to draw, pet my cat, or read a book. If you have a long history of procrastination, it’s unrealistic to think you’ll become the most productive worker in the world overnight. Both students mentioned that they began procrastinating in middle school. “I guess you hit a point where the grade isn’t SEE PROCRASTINATION • PAGE 6
Task
Feelings
Action
The activating event or task is whatever you are putting off, such as studying for the SAT, cleaning out your backpack, and writing that huge essay for English. All tasks are really neutral.
These are your “hidden” feelings about the task. How you feel about something governs your motivation. If you have negative feelings, you will tend to put it off or delay. If you have positive feelings about the task, you’ll jump right in. These feelings control your response.
This is what you actually choose to do. You can take a rational or irrational approach. A rational response is “I don’t like writing papers at all, but I had better get going on it anyway because it’s worth a lot of points.” An irrational approach is “I hate writing papers, and even though it’s due next week, I’ll start it later.”
INSIDE
National news ...............................2 International news............... ........ 5
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Bulletin board.................................4 Editorial......................................... 5
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Science and technology.................7 Science/Tech briefs........................7
State rules trump new transgender policies Staff Writer
The three stages of procrastination
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MICHAELA EDLIN
The six forms and factors of the human habit Perfectionist
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Spread........................................8-9 Student Life............................10-11
students aren’t happy. This came before the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case of Gavin Grimm, a transgender student from Virginia who sued to use the bathroom for which he identified. In the past few years, President Obama had written several memos that guided state legislature under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. The law guarantees participation in education programs regardless of sex or orientation. These memos argued that transgender students should have access to bathrooms, locker rooms and other gendered facilities that match their gender identity and that this right is protected by federal law. This is why many students, especially trans students, are upset that Trump has withdrawn these memos. The Trump and Supreme Court decisions defer to individual states, which have their own policies on bathroom use. California in particular requires gender neutral bathrooms. “From my perspective we are following the state laws right now and we’ll go from there,” Principal Cheryl Lawton said. Branham is planning to add curtains in locker rooms in the next few weeks to add comfort and safety for students, and plans to SEE TRANSGENDER • PAGE 6
Threats show need for campus drills LAURA HEFFERNAN Staff Writer
ecently, there have been multiple violent R threats made to Branham High School through social media, raising questions about
campus safety. Luckily, friends of the Branham community reported these posts to administration. The students who reported the threats tend to get attacked by the original posters and their group of friends, causing administration to worry that eventually these posts stop being reported and someone will actually attack the school. Although students have been defending themselves by saying these are only jokes, it is important to know that this is not a laughing matter. Dean Rick Hayashi said, “I feel that kids are a little distant and they feel that if it’s not a face-to-face conversation, they feel more bold to do something and think it’s anonymous... Colleges get information about a student and see the student’s online behavior and they get rejected.” Mr. Hayashi added that when a student posts something inappropriate online, it can damage relationships at school and make people feel unsafe. It’s important to know that what you post will affect the Branham community. Mr. Hayashi adds, “...we do restorative justice where we want students to fix that relationship they broke when they decided to do something immature like that.” A similar situation happened in a World History class, on February 14 when a student wrote in the textbook that he or she was
Campus Roundup.........................11 Sports.....................................12-13
SEE DRILL • PAGE 6 Arts & Entertainment..............14-15 The Back Page..............................16
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“I feel that the sex ed we received here was more extensive than others I’ve had.” Courtney Kahai, on Branham’s updated sexual education program.
National headlines Washington D.C.
FBI Director denies Trump wiretap claims Following President Trump’s statement that former President Obama ordered a wiretap on the phones in Trump Tower preceding the election in order to monitor the Trump campaign, F.B.I. Director James Comey has asked the Justice Department to refute the accusation that any illegal wiretapping had occurred. The accusation by President Trump has caused significant controversy, and is the latest in a
long line of accusations from both sides regarding tampering with the election process and unethical behavior. Alabama Bar complaint filed against Jeff Sessions A lawyer from Boston, Massachusetts has filed a complaint with the Alabama Bar Association against recently confirmed United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is licensed to practice law in Alabama, alleging that Sessions violated ethics standards by tell-
Janitors pick up after students’ bad habits
ing the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had not had contact with the Russians. If the complaint is considered by the Bar Association to be valid, Sessions could face penalties anywhere from being put on probationary status to disbarment, although any penalty would be unlikely to affect his status as Attorney General. Virginia Vault 7 leaks show hacking capability WikiLeaks has begun to release a large cache
of documents detailing the Central Intelligence Agency’s hacking and cyberwarfare capabilities and activities. Over 7,000 pages of leaked documents describe vulnerabilities in 21 security products, including Apple iOS and Google Android devices. By exploiting these vulnerabilities, cell phones and other electronic devices can be turned into remote surveillance devices, capturing texts, calls, and even video. — Compiled by Will Suiter
District vows to protect undocumented families
ADAM SALEH
Science and Technology Editor
imply put, littering is an issue at our school. S Despite the 186 trash cans around the campus, Taco Nada wrappers still manage to elude the trash and the custodial staff has to put in extra hours to pick up after lunchtime affairs. Environmental issues at Branham don’t go unnoticed however, with the presence of Students Promoting Awareness of Recycling and Environment (S.P.A.R.E) Club. With such a focus on campus beautification and recycling, cleaning up after ourselves shouldn’t be an issue. But it is. This comes down to laziness, not lack of convenience, as S.P.A.R.E has placed recycling bins in every room on campus. On a wider scale, littering is a third degree misdemeanor outside of Branham’s atmosphere with a fine that ranges from $300 to $1,000. So why is littering not a punishable offense at Branham? Simply because students are supposed to be held accountable for cleaning up after their own waste, a dilemma often solved by the four main custodians on campus. This issue links back to other efforts being made by Branham staff and students to beautify the campus. In a study done by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 75 percent of the American waste stream is recyclable but only about 30 percent is actually recycled. Ideally, this would mean S.P.A.R.E would have their work cut out for them with recycling bins filling up daily; but the common outcome tends to be empty recycling seldom needing to be collected. Janitorial staff member Moises Espinoza said, “Yeah, we’re here to keep the school clean and everything and make sure the trash gets taken out, but the bottom line is [that] students need to take pride in their school.” Mr. Espinoza also weighed in on how most students properly threw away their trash in elementary school, and junior high school, but in high school it seems to all go out the door.
Elliott Margolies /Courtesy Wikimedia Commons Protesters march for immigrant rights in downtown San Jose this January. CUHSD plans to protect families form investigations from ICE. SAI TUMMALA Online Editor
n light of the Trump administration’s plans to tamp down on immiI gration, illegal or otherwise, the district has introduced a resolution that aims to create obstacles to deportation.
The district’s resolution, introduced by board member Kristiina Arrasmith, aims to allow students in school without fear from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Additionally, all schools within the district can’t give information about individuals and their immigrant status to prevent discrimination to the best of their abilities” “ICE activities in and around schools would cause barriers to educational attainment and create a climate of fear and anxiety, affecting all students, regardless of immigration status,” the memo stated. President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban seeks to temporarily ban
some travelers from six Muslim-majority countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - for 90 days and suspends entry of some refugees for 120 days. ” To put this in perspective, not only immigrants are affected, but foreign-born U.S. citizens would not have access to their home, as a result of the ban. Many members within our own community travel outside of the country to visit family and friends who do not reside in the U.S., meaning they could easily be stopped from returning to the States if they travel anytime soon. The biggest change, however, will be the United States’s number of accepted refugees. Trump’s administration will only accept 50,000 refugees this year; Obama’s administration accepted 110,000. Native-born Shaya Zarkub said that “I had left to Iran a year prior to this happening, and if I had left this year, I wouldn’t have been able to come back to my home for a month or so.
Branham sex education updated to code JULIA KOLMAN & KELLEY SHEEN
T
Editors-in-chief
he district has dropped the Christian-affiliated group Real Options last year in favor of Health Connected to teach its sex education program. The change came after The Bear Witness revealed in March 2016 that the physical education department was bringing in Real Options, a pregnancy crisis clinic with Christian ties, to educate the underclassmen in sexual education. The information taught failed to meet the standards of the California Healthy Youth Act, and the district has cancelled its presentations from the group. The act requires the teaching of HIV/AIDS prevention, The CUHSD contracted a 501(c)(3) organization, Health Connected, to educate the underclassmen in sexual education. The group came in and presented in September. In comparison to Real Options, who came in for two class periods, Health Connected came in for five class periods. Because the P.E. department no longer books and arranges for groups to come in, they instead work with the group contracted by the district to plan dates and times.
Bear Witness Editors-in-Chief Julia Kolman Kelley Sheen Managing Editor Ty Shikashio Production Editor Iz Muñoz
Issues arose last year when Real Options did not teach the content required by California State Law, specifically regarding sexual identity and sexual violence. Health Connected states what each session covers in their “Teen Talk High School” package. In the 11 sessions that they offer in this package, they cover everything from sexual identity, to sexual violence, to sex in the media. The difference in content was acknowledged by physical education teacher Mr. Ron Smare, who stated, ”Essentially it did not differ at all. It added more.” Aside from the adults noticing the difference in topics that were discussed, students who went through the program also noted how in-depth the sessions were. Freshman Courtney Kahai said, “I feel that the sex ed we received here was more extensive than others I’ve had. And the information I received was new and eye-opening to the extent of realization. The way they taught us and what they told us made it informational and interesting to the point of awareness.” The “Teen Talk High School” package shows the various activities that Health Connected does in order to relay the information to the students in a memorable way.
Editors News: Cadence Trenchard Opinion: Sunanda Kottayil Science and Technology: Adam Saleh Student Life: Lauren Hogan Sports: Grace Clinton Entertainment: Sydney Uyeda Copy: Taylor Doan Online: Sai Tummala Photography: Iz Muñoz
Staff Writers Omar Ababneh, Fiorella Castaneda, Michaela Edlin, Rosalie Gonzalez, Laura Heffernan, Demi Le, Jocelyn Pierce, Sarah Snitzer, William Suiter, Clarabelle Walkup Artist: Catherine Monroy Adviser: Fitzgerald Vo Mission Statement 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.
Key sex education requirements of California Healthy Youth Act • Information must be unbiased and medically accurate • Covers transmission, prevention, and treatments of HIV and other STIs • Covers sexual harassment, sexual abuse and violence, and sex trafficking • Inclusive of different genders, sexualities, languages, cultures, and accessible to those with disabilities • Discussed pregnancy outcomes and options • Covers contraception options
Contact Us Instagram: @bhsbearwitness Twitter: @witnessbear Website: www.bhsbearwitness.com Phone: (408) 626-3407 Email: bhs_journalism@yahoo.com
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“I would not agree that [carbon dioxide] is a major contributor to the global warming we see.”
NEWS
Scott Pruitt, director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
International headlines Beijing, China
China wants to avoid conflict
China’s foreign minister believes that in order to avoid conflict, the U.S. and South Korea should stop large-scale military exercises, and North Korea should stop testing missiles. This is nothing new, as this idea has been suggested before by North Korea themselves. China believes that if the three nations continue with their activities, they will end up causing conflict that could affect the world.
Worldwide
Israel
South Korea
International Women’s Month
Airport blacklist mirrors U.S.
President removed from office
The month of March is known for being International Women’s Month, where women are taking a stand and making people realize how the importance of women in society. Russian police officers had been flagging down women drivers, but instead of giving them a ticket like the women anticipate, they are given a rose in honor of the special month. All around the world women are marching and not buying things from big stores, illustrating how society would not be able to function without them.
Israel is taking notes on President Trump’s immigration ban, making one suitable for themselves. It consists of a blacklist in border inspection computers, and anyone on it will be stopped at their Ben Gurion airport. It will apparently protect Israel and disable boycotters from harming people in Israel. Just like Trump’s ban however, it has struck up controversy in Israel, some calling it “a foolish move which harms Israel and strengthens the boycotters.”
After months of protests, the South Korean Constitutional Court removed President Park Geun-hye. Ms. Park was charged with using her position for self-gain. Now that she is an ordinary citizen, she is the subject to a criminal investigation for her alleged bribery charges. The ousted president still has a loyal following, cheering for her outside her home every day. — Compiled by Sydney Uyeda
Trump shuns science groups Teachers Staff, students see grassroots opportunity to pursue science research TY SHIKASHIO
Mangaing Editor
he United States is one of the forefronts T for scientific inquiry and discovery. In 2016 alone, the U.S. proved Einstein’s gravi-
tational wave theory by discovering their very existence, we found a possible habitable planet (Proxima b), and we even sent a spacecraft to Jupiter. But despite these amazing accomplishments, the new administration seems to be both aiming towards and encouraging the elimination of scientific assets in the United States. Climate change denial, reduced funding of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the reestablishment of Keystone and Dakota Access Pipeline projects are just some of the anti-science actions Trump’s administration has pursued so far. Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida’s representative for their first congressional district, proposed a bill on February 3, 2017, calling for the termination of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While this bill is still in committee, the very thought of it passing can be extremely terrifying for some. Branham’s AP Environmental Sciences (APES) teacher Mrs. Kori Reynolds weighed in on the new administration. “The one thing that Trump has done that is beneficial for science is that there is an urge for science funding and research,” she said. She added that fear of the new administration jeopardizing current scientific climate in the U.S. is sparking donations to small grassroots organizations that promote environmental conservation. Science Department Chair Mr. Juan Fernandez is concerned with the new administration’s effects on public school education. “If Trump and his advisers concentrate money towards private schools, the service of public of education turns into a business which will further dismantle public education of science.”
Climate change Trump (and EPA head Scott Pruitt) openly show disbelief in anthropogenic climate change. Pruitt recently expressed his disbelief in carbon dioxide’s role in global warming.
Travel ban The recent Muslim ban has restricted notable scientists based in the seven banned countries from coming to the U.S. to conduct research.
Appointment of Scott Pruitt, Rex Tillerson Sec. of State Rex Tillerson was Exxon’s CEO, and EPA head Scott Pruitt was the attorney general of Oklahoma.Pruitt received donations from Exxon during his tenure.
Proposed defunding of NOAA Though it has not yet happened, Trump is planning on cutting NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) budget by up to 17 percent.
Courtesy Creative Commons With a Republican majority in both the house and senate, Trump will be able to amend many current scientifically substantial acts, more recently, the Clean Water Act. Mr. Fernandez is also troubled by Trump being happy to accept alternative facts. He says that this gives the possibility of non-fact based science taught at school and presented to the public as real science. Some of the Branham students are slightly concerned as well. Senior Madeline Trotter intends on majoring in biochemistry, and is concerned about the repercussions of some of Trump’s accusations on young minds. “The way he speaks and acts in response to
certain scientific ideas can often be interpreted as largely discouraging from a young, scientifically interested person. My only hope is that those interested in the field will continue developing an interest and pursue their education,” she said. Madeline also said that she is confident that the U.S. will continue to push and progress science. “There will always be a demand for educated people, and because of that I think it’s unlikely that Trump would have much of a negative impact.”
White power flyers found at school Incident over ski week coincides with increase in hate crimes reported across U.S. SUNDANDA KOTTAYIL Opinion Editor
he Bay Area is home to nine hate groups T and as of recent educational institutions have been one of the targets of their hateful agenda. In late-February, flyers in the style of WWII propaganda with the text, “love who you are; embrace your heritage; be white,” were posted around Branham and Pioneer High School, but were quickly taken down by Leadership students. The incident at Branham has been determined to be orchestrated by outside sources, not Branham students. During the weekend of Feb.18, anti-Semitic posters and stickers were posted around the De Anza Community College campus, which were targeted to Jewish students with hateful rhetoric and denial of the Holocaust. De Anza held a forum against anti-Semitism and other hate and led an investigation. Hate crimes have skyrocketed since the President Trump’s inauguration. The Center for American Progress (CAP), a progressive advocacy group has been using their political news blog, Think Progress, to track hate crimes since President Trump’s inauguration. The rise in hate crimes can be attributed to Trump supporters, who have used his rhetoric as an excuse to target ethnic and religious minorities and members of the LGBTQ community. The CAP found that between Nov. 2016 and Feb. 9 of 2017, 261 hate related incidents were reported, and about 109 that “included specific references to Trump, his election, or his policies.” Although the Bay Area is known to be full of liberal coast dwelling snowflakes, we are no exception in hate attacks. Think Progress lists California among states with the most reported hate incidents (27 to-
Adam Saleh/Bear Witness This white nationalist poster was hung at Branham over ski week.
tal, mainly attacking Latinos and Muslims) along with New York, Texas, and Florida. It should be noted that these states have larger populations so it is expected that they will have more reports of crimes, these specific states have seen a rise in hate related incidents reported. English teacher Ms. Nancy Freschi has worked at Branham since its reopening in 1999 and has seen the changes that the campus has gone through. “In my history of working at Branham, the only incident of students being victims of a hate-related incident was about six or seven years ago,” Ms. Freschi said. “Someone spray-painted the American flag on the rock on Cinco de Mayo. There was also some tension leading up to Cinco de Mayo, but nothing ended up happening.” Administration are set on making sure that Branham is a safe place for students to learn. Principal Cheryl Lawton stated, “At this point, our goal is to make sure that our cam-
act out in faculty musical
Ty Shikashio/Bear Witness Stars on the map indicate the headquaters of the hate groups around the Bay Area. pus is safe and we will do whatever we need to do. Right now we are trying to get our security cameras fixed.” When the people who placed the posters at Branham are caught, they will be criminally charged. “Although we have to respect freedom of speech, the posters will be investigated as a hate crime and at the very least vandalism, because the perpetrators did not have permission to hang them up,” Ms. Lawton said.
Lauren Hogan/Bear Witness Branham students and staff rehearse for the annual faculty musical in the PAC. LAUREN HOGAN
B
Student Life Editor
ranham’s faculty and Drama department will present their 11th annual faculty musical, based on the popular Disney movie, High School Musical, on April 13, 14, and 15 in the Performing Arts Center. The staff participants and seniors Mariah McDonald and Grace Su, who are student directors of the musical, have been prepping since early February. The dates of the showings were originally set for late February, but were pushed back to enable for more rehearsals. This is the 11th annual Faculty Musical since 2006; skipping only last year. The faculty performed “Grease” two years ago, “Charlie Brown” three years ago, and Footloose four years ago. The staff is enjoying rehearsals and making light of the minor mistakes. Grace said, “It is fun to see the teachers out of a teaching environment.” Mariah added, “It is a little bit strange at first to be directing the staff members, but it has been a lot of fun to work with all of them.” As soon as the staff members showed up to rehearsal, they efficiently learned their lines and thoroughly practiced their choreography. Even during some down time between practicing as a whole group, each faculty member practiced on their own. Mr. Ronald Smare, P.E. teacher, ran through some of his lines to make sure it was on time with the dance; Ms. Tobie Schweizer, English teacher, ran through her song lyrics. Ms. Schweizer said, “I love having the students direct us and I enjoy getting to know the other staff members better.” In the musical, Troy Bolton, played by science teacher Mr. Fitzgerald Vo, and Gabriella Montez, played by Ms. Schweizer, are two completely different teenagers who meet at a New Year’s Eve party while singing karaoke. Shortly after, Troy goes back to his high school, East High, in New Mexico, to find that Gabriella is a new student there. They quickly become close friends and accidentally audition for the school musical. “We chose ‘High School Musical’ in part because of how well-known it is,” Mariah said, “but we also did [it] because we thought it would be interesting to put the teachers in the position of high schoolers.” The faculty musical not only seems to bring the faculty closer to students by performing a well-known musical, but also causes comradery between the faculty members; bonding during the down time. At one point Ms. Joyce Davis, a guidance advisor, and Ms. Kori Reynolds, a science teacher, were seen off to the side exchanging various occurrences in their lives; as well as, poking fun at Mr. Smare together when they jokingly commented that they thought it was him singing when the track was playing. The drama students have high hopes for this years’ faculty musical. With a sideways glance, Grace joked, “I hope that it does not crash and burn.”
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OPINION
BHSBEARWITNESS.COM
AHOCKER
“If you take out too many pieces, [the U.S.] will fall apart.” Turner Uyeda, on the prospect of California seceding from the United States
“I think that right when he came into power he really abused it and changed everything based on his views and based on his opinions. He does not allow diversity. I just wish to see more open mindedness and appreciation of the diversity and the world.” Leila Zonoobi Sophomore
“I don’t keep up with the news that much but I see him making a lot of changes already and I hope that the changes will continue and be beneficial.”
“He’s actually not that bad, I don’t find that he’s done anything offensive, think he’s done a good job so far actually.” Matin Faghany Sophomore
“His first days have been filled with incredibly unconstitutional and unprofessional actions. His entire administration has flat out lied to the American public from the first day...”
Tabitha Maschmeyer Junior
Hana Tzou Sophomore
What are your thoughts on the new Trump administration?
He hasn’t done anything productive in his [first] days as president. All his acts are inhumane and cruel.” Jasmine Nikzai Sophomore “Generally speaking, I don’t approve of Trump as a president, just because I think he’s very childish person and doesn’t take a very adult-like position in his presidency.”
“I feel that Trump’s first days as president were inefficient and a waste of time and, in those days, he didn’t do anything to improve America.” Joel Silva Freshman
“It’s been very different from what we are used to, like the way he speaks and expresses himself. Some of his decisions may not be the best choices; I hope to see him bring up his approval ratings.”
“I feel that Trump has not done anything bad nor good as president because nothing has really changed.” Jaeson Gonzalez Freshman
Emily Nakken Junior
Aruni Areti Junior
State of the Disunion
Catherine Monroy/Bear Witness
State secession is reckless abandon SYDNEY UYEDA
Entertainment Editor
alifornia has been engaged C in a back-and-forth discussion on a new proposition called
“Calexit.” The California Independence Campaign, known as Calexit, is a proposition in which California leaves the United States and becomes its own independent nation. The official California Independence Campaign website states that California has not influenced a presidential election since 1876. “Election results”, the group said, “are often decided before our ballots are even counted.” The website includes eight other reasons why Californians should vote for secession, citing education, immigration, peace and security among the issues. Californians should not vote to leave the United States in 2019. Yes, we are in a difficult time right now, with the new president not living up to the true job, but when considering secession, the cons outweigh the pros. First off, leaving the United States would put us back into 1860 before the Civil War. The country is divided over President Donald Trump, and secession could potentially start another civil war. Irrational? Yes. Could it
happen? Absolutely. Do we really want to place ourselves in a position to have to fight another war? As a sovereign nation, California could govern itself nicely. It has the world’s sixth largest economy, and a robust population. However, it is highly unlikely that a state can secede from a country and smoothly transition to autonomy immediately. Take the South for example, whose secession resulted in the Civil War and the deaths of hundreds of thousands. I don’t think we want to go through that again. Not only that, but Donald Trump will be up for reelection in 2020, and he could potentially be voted out of office. With the Calexit vote taking place in 2019, it seems too little too late to have this vote so close to the 2020 election. My brother, freshman Turner Uyeda, who I think has the makings to be a charismatic authoritarian leader, thinks that Calexit is completely pointless. “The U.S is like a game of Jenga,” he philosophized. “If you take out too many pieces, it will fall apart.” The Calexit may seem to be a viable option in theory, but in reality, it is irrational, impractical, and too dangerous for our state to leave the United States.
Trump: Far right but far from Reich, Hitler comparisons invalid CLARABELLE WALKUP Staff Writer
he word “fascist” has often been T used to describe President Donald Trump and his supporters since the
beginning of his campaign. Fascism is a form of government that maintains strict control of government institutions and citizens championing nationalism and often racial purity above everything else. It is most associated with the Nazi Party in Germany that came to power after World War I. Many people think that it’s okay to compare Trump and Hitler, but it’s very disrespectful. Just because they have different views politically does not make it right to call them Nazis. After World War I, Germany experienced an economic crisis following its defeat, allowing Hitler and the Nazi party to use the fear of the public to gain control. Hitler’s policies evenutally led to a mass genocide that killed 11 million Jews and others who were “undesirable” in the eyes of the Nazis. What in Donald Trump’s plan for the United States says anything about genocide? Many of those who have compared Trump to Hitler support themselves by stating that how Trump rose to power perfectly mirrors Hitler’s rise: “He was good at convincing his followers that he was a revolutionary and convincing others that he was harmless,” historian Timothy Snyder states. Obviously, this
What makes a fascist? Common traits of a fascist government: Powerful nationalism Control of media Rampant sexism Obsession with security Supremecy of military Fraudulent elections Corporate power protected Religion and govt. intertwined could be true of any leader: Kennedy, Obama, or even Clinton. Yes, it is true that at Trump’s rallies, people cheered his slogans, but that is like any other rally. Snyder also mentions how both Hitler and Trump lost the popular vote: “The left received 1 million more votes than [Trump’s] party. But due to the vagaries of the electoral system, he was called upon to form a government.” It is true, Trump did lose the popular vote like Hitler did to about a million people. But George W. Bush lost the popular vote and won the electoral, as well as 3 other former presidents. Hitler used Jews and other minorites as a scapegoat to take the blame for all of Germany’s problems. However, Donald Trump doesn’t blame a specific group for the United States’ issues, he points the finger in many places.
For example, he says that illegal immigrants pose a threat to our country’s security and blames the Obama administration for the economy’s conditions. When Trump talks immigration, it gets a lot of media coverage and backlash. But we must understand the stark difference between building a wall to keep illegal immigrants out and placing people in concentration camps. Not only is comparing Trump to Hitler insulting to millions of Americans, it is disrespectful to those affected by the Holocaust. Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission in Australia, said that comparisons of Trump to Hitler trivializes the Holocaust, “It bears repeating again that these types of historically inaccurate comparisons diminish the profound tragedy of the Holocaust and are deeply offensive to the victims, to survivors and to their families,” he says. Yes, I understand Donald Trump is not the nicest person or running the country the way you want it to be. And no, I am not fan of Trump. Trump supporter or not, subjects like this shouldn’t be handled with levity. Remember that the Constitution protects and empowers us. Trump works for us. Trump is not Hitler nor will he turn into him. The day we lose faith in our system, is the day we lose it.
BEAR WITNESS
OPINION Editorial
School spirit goes beyond dress-up days
stream activities such as dances, sporting events and rallies. We have grown up watching TV shows and movies that depict school spirit as students dressed from head to toe in school colors, cheering wildly at sporting events, we have ignored the fact that many students are doing their part in showing school spirit in a different way. Here at Branham we have noticed that students are split into two groups, those who show school spirit the “traditional way” and those that show it through activities such as clubs, academics, and performance arts. Branham, just like other schools, pushes for students to dress up on spirit days, attend sporting events (mainly football), and purchase/wear school attire. Because we
idolize one form of spirit and let the other forms go unnoticed, students have noticed a decline in school spirit overall. While the socially accepted form of school spirit is accepted with open arms, the other forms stay under the radar and are not labeled or accepted as school spirit. Many students participate in clubs, academic programs, performance arts, and off-campus extracurriculars. While it may not seem like it, all of these activities are ways that students show their spirit and pride for Branham. When a club like Interact or JSA attend an event, they are labeled as “Branham’s ____.” The fact that they show up to these organized events outside of school as a representative of the school show that they take in being a Bruin, and therefore are most definitely showing school spirit. Academics are another overlooked way that students show their spirit. By studying for
Patriarchy hurts our men, too
Catherine Monroy/Bear Witness
Men feel pressure to act ‘masculine’ at the cost of being in touch with emotions rom the time I was five years F old, I had already witnessed the stereotypes that were being
imposed upon my male peers. Within the early childhood of a boy, they are reinforced to embrace aggression and impulsiveness by a single phrase. How often do they hear, “Boys don’t cry,” or “Don’t be a girl”? Little do we know, these phrases are carried into our adulthood and manifest into toxic behaviors that reinforce the same stereotypes. We need to recognize that not only women face dangerous social norms, but men do as well. The most crucial part of understanding these restrictions put on men, is that it prominently stems from misogyny and puts emphasis on hyper-masculinity, the exaggeration of male stereotypical behavior. In a broader perspective, these restrictions contribute to emotional suppression, damage to personal relationships and personal identity, and leads to one dimensional portrayals of men. The reinforcement of these behaviors primarily start with characterizing emotions as feminine and weak while emphasizing stoicism as a sign of strength and self control. When we characterize femininity as weak, we encourage men to focus on power and aggression, even going as far as to associate strength with homophobic behavior. The fear of being characterized as feminine causes some men to avoid emotional behavior with other men, calling those who show feminine traits as “sissies” or “f*ggots.” However, there is a clear difference between having emotional maturity and being emotionally
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School spirit
tudents from a young age have been brainS washed to believe that the only way to show school spirit is through involvement in main-
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“DeVos is extremely biased in favor of private schools and charter schools.”
The opinion of the Bear Witness editors
Staff Writer
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hardened to the point of ineffective communication in personal relationships. When men are constantly encouraged to suppress sadness but freely display anger, it creates an unhealthy personal identity. In other words, anger becomes an emotion to mask other emotions, like humiliation and fear. In interpersonal relationships, hyper-masculinity prevents men from being vulnerable, and dismisses their feelings of uncertainty, fear, or sadness. Thus, they have difficulty forming intimate bonds with friends. On a more specific level relating to socio-economic issues, men face problems such as discrimination in the selective service, family courts, the sentencing gap, and lack of male domestic violence shelters. Judicial bias against fathers in family courts exist because women are engendered to be the caretaker. The same reason applies with prison terms; according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 93% of people in prison are men. A study by Professor Sonja B. Starr from the University of Michigan Law School showed that men receive 60 percent longer prison sentences than women for comparable crimes; a major difference that emphasizes the gender bias. In the feminism movement, we need to be more inclusive to men and stop looking at the issues as a backlash from a system that men engendered to privilege themselves. Not all men may be affected by these norms and masculinity is not innately dangerous, but the emphasis of overly masculine traits that tie into aggression is what’s harmful. To make strides in change, women need to acknowledge that there are women gender-based advantages and there are male gender-based advantages to sexism.
tests, (i.e. SATs, ACTs) instead of going to football games, students are not only taking pride in their education, but they are also helping Branham’s reputation by raises our academic averages. It may not seem like it, but almost every Branham student shows school spirit, we just fail to realize it because we stress the importance of one type of school spirit and use that type as a scale to measure our school spirit in general. We as a school focus on trying to get everybody to join the homogeneous culture of school spirit, while not appreciating or noticing the efforts and purposes of other activities. Because these efforts, in comparison to the mainstream type of school spirit, go unnoticed, students are discouraged and the vibe of the school appears to be less spirited. In relation to this push for school spirit, many clubs have noted that there has been a decrease in participation.
Key Club and Interact are the largest clubs on campus. They engage in various volunteer activities, and their work provides Branham with tremendous recognition. However, both clubs are seeing a decrease in membership. Leadership students have also noticed a decrease in student involvement, both in and out of the leadership class. This can be seen during rallies, where not many people are volunteering for the activities, and even when leadership students themselves are not dressing up for spirit days as passionately as they used to. We cannot force students to conform to one type of spirit, for there are too many types of showing it. We can, however, throw away this need to force people to fit the norm and societal expectation, and just begin to accept and appreciate all students for their activities that all accumulate to show Branham’s school spirit.
Betsy Devos unfit to be ‘da’ boss CADENCE TRENCHARD News Editor
any teachers and students here M at Branham were chagrined to hear that billionaire Betsy DeVos was
sworn in as President Trump’s Secretary of Education on Feb. 7. Now, DeVos may not be a horrible person, but she is a horrible fit for the job. The Department of Education has several limited roles in the U.S. education system, since it is chiefly controlled by state and local governments. One of the most concerning factors is that DeVos has never attended, taught in, managed, or founded a public school. So how can Americans expect her to improve the state of public and private education when she has had no inside experience with the former? I’d prefer someone who is well-versed in public education, and has enough faith in the system to send her own children there. There’s nothing wrong with private schools. I should know! Until my sophomore year, the entirety of my education was conducted in private Christian institutions. Unfortunately, DeVos is extremely biased in favor of private schools and charter schools. For goodness sake, she and her husband founded their own public charter high school in 2010, called West Michigan Aviation Academy. During her Senate confirmation hearing, DeVos was sadly unable to promise Sen. Patty Murray (D-WASH.) that she wouldn’t “cut a single penny from public education.” In her prepared remarks at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 27, DeVos said that she wants “to return power in education back to where it belongs: with parents, communities, and states.” There’s nothing inherently wrong with this desire except when that means she is unwilling to make federal ground rules - such as banning guns from school campuses or allowing transgender students to use their preferred restroom. Another point of concern is what
Cadence Trenchard/Bear Witness appears to be a lack of knowledge of common education acts, such as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). One of DeVos’ biggest passions is the advocacy for school choice. She was chairman of the American Federation for Children (AFC), the nation’s leading school choice advocacy group, and her solution is to boldly fix America’s “broken education system by giving parents more options for their children’s education”. “Parents no longer believe that a onesize-fits-all model of learning meets the needs of every child,” DeVos said. “And they know other options exist, whether magnet, virtual, charter, home, faith-
based or any other combination.” According to DeVos’ website, AFC’s work has resulted in placing over 1 million children in the school of their parents’ choice, instead of being forced by their zip code to attend a school (public is implied) that failed to meet their needs. The glaring problem is that it does absolutely nothing to fix public schools. Instead of giving parents more choice, perhaps we need to make sure that the current choices are good ones! Instead of giving parents higher-quality options, America needs to improve the quality of public education first so parents don’t have to look for other options.
Trump, not media, is dishonest JULIA KOLMAN Editor in chief
ishonest, false, irrelevant, failing, worthless, inaccuD rate, terrible, crooked, distorted, corrupt, unfair, biased-these are only a few of the terms President Donald
Trump has tweeted to describe the media, according to The New York Times post “The 319 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List.” Trump has taken a public stance against the “mainstream” media, denouncing any criticism against him, even when it’s accompanied by his own words, polls, and facts. Trump’s administration leads the current war on the media. At the first news conference of his term, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer attacked the media for their coverage on Trump’s inauguration. He claimed that the media underestimated the crowd size at the event, and blamed the grass coverings for the appearance of the crowd. Counsellor to the President Kellyanne Conway responded to the revelation of Spicer’s lies by labeling them as “alternative facts”, which are, in fact, lies. The president himself spews lies, claiming that millions voted illegally in the presidential election, lacking any proof to that claim. Trump tweets his perception of the news, but how much can he say in 140 characters? Enough for typos and one word conclusions followed by an exclamation mark, that is.
Trump wants to be accountable for the news, but since he constantly lies, he has failed himself, and the general public follows the media he stands against. In a tweet on February 17, Trump stated, “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” Yet, the news media stands for the American people, and is only the enemy to those who wish to censor the facts. In that case, the media is your enemy, Mr. Trump, not ours. Watchdog journalists fact check and question public officials, to serve as a check and balance system on the government. They stand for the public to prevent a corrupt government. That is exactly what the media is doing. It’s nothing new, and not a reserved bash on only President Trump. Journalists monitor every president, but Trump has provided more reasons than most to surveil his administration. Phony, bad, and one-sided are innocuous insults, and Trump’s rants on Twitter will not allow him to regulate the press. With immutable First Amendment rights, the media will not be restricted. It is journalists’ duty to provide the facts and query the government, and despite what the Trump administration says, the media is honest, true, relevant, successful, worthy, and accurate-the antipode of Trump’s perception
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PROCRASTINATION | Know the TRANSGENDER | Students angry different procrastinating kinds at bathroom policy reversal as valuable as it used to be,” said Ryan McBride. “It [the grade] used to be a marker of self-value. As you get older, you’re self-confident; I didn’t need a grade to validate myself.”
Teachers notorious procrastinators But it’s not just students that procrastinate; almost everyone procrastinates to some extent, even teachers! Branham teachers Mr. Ramani Visvanathan, Ms. Anu Satyapal, and Ms. Jennifer Ozdinski all admitted to being procrastinators. Tim Urban, a self-described “master procrastinator,” explained in a 2016 TED Talk that brains have an imaginary being called a “Rational Decision-Maker,” but the procrastinator’s brain also has an Instant Gratification Monkey. The Rational Decision-Maker will make the decision to do something productive, but the Monkey doesn’t like that plan (he’d prefer to do something fun) so he takes charge. His plans usually involve playing video games, listening to music, watching YouTube videos, reading a good book or going out with friends instead of working--all of which are fine when you don’t have other obligations. Senior Neil McKibben could relate to this downward spiral of avoidance. “I work productively,” Neil explained, “then it starts with a break that becomes a multiple-hour break.” One way to avoid a similar situation of the perpetually extended “break” is by setting a time limit. If you want to take a reading break but are worried you’ll be sucked in by a cliffhanger, set a timer on your phone, computer, or watch for a reasonable amount of time (enough to give your brain a break but not so long that you don’t accomplish anything). Especially if you have a hard time with self-regulation, hearing an alarm going off will remind you to get back to work. “It’s different for everyone in terms of why they procrastinate,” said history and psychology teacher Ms. Jennifer Ozdinski. “Most often, we procrastinate on things we don’t want to do until we feel the pressure of being due.” These differences (the why and how of procrastination) are categorized into six behavioral procrastination styles, which stem from three different types of behavior. Perfectionists and dreamers focus on how much they pay attention to detail, worriers and lucky/crisis-makers focus on the future, and defiers and pleasers focus on relationships with others, according to psychologist Linda Sapadin, Ph.D. Know thyself for efficient procrastination
Knowing what type(s) of procrastinator you are makes it much easier to find solutions that will work for you. For example, writing down a to-do list is probably helpful for most people, but others may just get overwhelmed by all the things they have to do! If you’re a perfectionist like me, realize that not everything has to be flawless. Before you start working, try breaking up projects into realistic (not idealistic) goals. To make sure you don’t spend too much time on insignificant details, set time limits for each task and stick to them. Keep in mind that “to err is human,” as Alexander Pope said in his poem “An Essay on Criticism.” On the other side of the spectrum, dreamers often find themselves dreaming up cool ideas that never get executed. Try turning some of your dreams into concrete goals by creating small steps that you can work on regularly. Telling people about your goals or ideas will help keep yourself accountable.
Plan ahead There isn’t a simple solution for worriers besides thinking positively, making decisions, and trying to focus on one step at a time. Thinking about multiple benefits to finishing a project earlier could help lucky procrastinators or crisis-makers get motivated about starting now. If they absolutely cannot work without a deadline, try setting personal progress marks leading up to the actual due date. A lucky procrastinator herself, English teacher Ms. Rachelle Burnside said, “As I get older, I procrastinate less. I have more responsibilities. Because I have so many, I can’t afford to procrastinate. I don’t have the luxury of procrastination.” She added that perhaps she had created a constant crisis “by taking on too many jobs.” If you’re a defier, you need to learn to take responsibility for your actions and choices. If possible, try negotiating or find a way to accomplish the same goal in a creative way. Choose your battles carefully because it may not be worth it to rebel. Pleasers can lighten their load by learning how to say no and set boundaries. Prioritize items on your to-do list and only do the important, necessary, or enjoyable activities. Most people will be understanding if you aren’t available. Or, try delegating! Ask others to pitch in. “I tell myself I’ll do it,” said Ryan McBride, “but then. . .I never get around to it.” Huh. Sort of like this article. Procrastinating on an article about procrastination? How revealing.
install gender neutral bathroom facilities within the next five years. Reactions from the transgender community at Branham about the Trump administration’s decision was harsh. “I was thinking to myself ‘I guess I’m going to be breaking that law every day,’ but then I saw that it said states can make their own laws,” said Ten Sanchez, a trans sophomore. “Luckily, California still protects us … but it’s still pretty sad that we [the U.S.] are regressing.” He’s offended at the Trump administration’s choices. “If the law doesn’t protect trans people, how can the public expect it to protect other civilians?” he asked. “If this really is the land of the free, shouldn’t we all be able to use a public bathroom comfortably?” Skylar Henry, another trans sophomore, said that it’s important “that transgender people can use the bathroom of the gender they identify with regardless of the sex they were born with. It is our natural right as human beings,” and that this should be guaranteed by law. “We are human beings just like everyone else,” Skylar continued. “The fact that this is even happening is sickening. This is making the transgender community, which consists of many teenagers like me, feel targeted and dehumanized.” Junior Sophia Rich, another trans student, is upset by the news. “I’m furious,” she said. “Trans people have every right to be treated like normal people be-
Julia Kolman/Bear Witness cause we ARE normal people… Aside from the anger, I also feel insecure, like I’m walking on a tightrope without a safety net.” Others took to Twitter tweeting with the hashtags #ProtectTransKids and #IStandWithGavin. Branham students such as sophomore Riya Kapoor took part in the hashtag by tweeting, “#ProtectTransKids this is about human rights. Spread love.”
DRILL | Staff advises safety steps going to “shoot up” the school. Administration pulled the boys from the classroom in attempts to find the person who wrote the threat. A physically written threat (writing on walls, desks, in books, and graffiti) like this is dealt with in the same way as online threats. One of the students pulled in for further questioning, sophomore Derek Hogan, said, “[The admin] told everyone to get a piece of paper out like homework or classwork and compared the handwriting [to the note]. If you were suspicious then they took your backpack and compared more work.” Mr. Hayashi said, “In situations where we want to see if the threat is credible, we have to identify the person who was making those threats and once we do that, we have a discussion with the police and have a police intervention.” According to Mr. Hayashi, students can be expelled as punishment for these kind of actions. Students over 18 could be tried as an adult and imprisoned. Emergencies such as shootings, fires, and earthquakes aren’t anticipated, but they may happen, even at schools that are considered a safe haven. Resource Officer Mike Carlton said, “It’s just like an earthquake drill or a fire drill, it’s very unlikely that these events will occur, but if they do they are going to be life threatening and very serious.” The procedures to keep students safe have evolved as the school learns from previous events. Understanding what these procedures mean could save your life in a dangerous situation. In the event that an attacker has entered the campus, Officer Carlton said, “They will put the school on lockdown and the run, hide, defend concept is that once the school is on lockdown, you’re running to your class or running off of campus.” The first thing you should do in an emergency (like a shooting) is to run away, but only if you are far enough away from the danger to get off-campus safely. Ideally, students would gather in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center, or another location further away if needed to keep students safe, according to Principal Cheryl Lawton. She added that at Hillsdale High School in 2009, a threat was made from a student who had carried bombs onto the campus. Because the school had practiced these procedures, students were safely hiding in classrooms and no student was injured. “It’s unlikely that you want to take somebody on, you just want to get away from the threat,” said Officer Carlton. If you are unable to run away, the second thing you should do is hide in a classroom, making sure that if the attacker were to look through a window, you wouldn’t be seen. In addition to locking the door, it is important to barricade the door to make it as difficult as possible for the attacker to get through. As far as the barricade, Officer Carlton also says that the best barricade is one that makes it as hard as possible for the threat to get in so he or she will move on to a different classroom. Officer Carlton says, “It’s just like home breakins, people are going to go to the easiest way to get in. Anything heavy you can have in front of the doorway so that the person can’t push the
Dealing with campus threats 1. Run If you are far enough from the threat, run off-campus. Students can gather in local shopping centers and other areas. 2. Hide If running is not a safe option, hide in a classroom with a strong barricade where you won’t be seen. 3. Defend If the threat breaks through the barricade, use a fire extinguisher, textbook, scissors, pencil, or any sharp or heavy object to defend yourself. Rosalie Gonzalez/Bear Witness door open or if the door opens and there’s a bunch of stuff in the way it’s likely they will move on to another classroom. Just do your best to make your class the least accessible so when the door gets opened up it looks barricaded.” Math teacher Meredith Allen said of her classroom’s barricade plan, “First I make sure I lock the door, then we stack two bookshelves up with their back to the door first so it’s like a solid wall. Then we wedge file cabinets behind that. We then make a desk wall in the classroom to make a last barricade against the kids who are in the corner to avoid the fatal funnel.” If the attacker does get through the door, you’ll need to enact stage three: find anything you can to defend yourself. Some suggestions for a makeshift weapon would be fire extinguisher, a rock, a heavy textbook, or a sharp object such as a pair of scissors, pencil, or ruler. Despite the concern among students that these drills will cut into tutorial/homework time, administration sees no problem with kids finishing their work as long as students are remaining quiet. Administration will be presenting curriculum to attempt to show students how it is important to be aware of your digital footprint online as well as how what you post online may affect relationships.
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SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY Science Briefs The truth behind gender
Gender is how someone identifies, whether that corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth or not.
Assigned male at birth
Assigned female at birth
Brain imaging Trans vs. Cis Studies show that the white matter in the brains of trans people are typically similar to that of cis people of the same gender.
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Whales washed up on New Zealand Shores
On February 10th more than 400 pilot whales were found on the beach at New Zealand’s south island, Farewell Spit. About 300 whales had died according the New Zealand’s Department of Conservation. Volunteers from Project Jonah, a whale rescue organization was able to save about 100, however the next day 20 more whales returned. Pathologist are conducting experiments to determine why whales and dolphins often get beached during January and February. But as of now it is still a mystery.
Courtesty Nintendo
Switch up gaming
The Nintendo Switch is a gaming device designed to operate as both a home console and a handheld device. The Switch console is a tablet-like screen with two detachable joystick controllers that slide into place at its sides. You can play with the device, three different ways. You can play in TV mode, Hand-held mode for single player, and if you want to share and play on the go, you can play on Tabletop mode on any surface. This gaming device has recently came out in the US (March 3rd) and prices start at 300$
Michaela Edlin/Bear Witness
NASA
NASA finalizes rover spots on Mars
NASA has selected three potential landing spots for the Mars 2020 rover. The objective is to take samples of a diverse geographical location, that includes variety of rocks and solids, in hopes of finding signs of past microbial life. The sites include: Columbia Hills inside Gusev Crater where the Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, lies currently inactive; Jezero Crater, home to an ancient lake; and NE syrtis, where an inactive volcano is.
Tesla installs new power facility
Tesla, the California based automaker and energy storage, installed a power storage facility in Edison’s Mira Loma substation, in Ontario, Southern California. It holds 80 megawatts hours of electricity with a peak output of 20 megawattsenough to power 15,000 homes for four hours. Tesla installed 369 powerpacks with 16 pods on battery inside. The purpose it to reduce the need to use “peaker plants”- electricity generation facilities that operate when power demands increase. They are extremely expensive to install and maintain. Tesla hopes that their power storage facility will be the alternative.
Lost continent under Indian Ocean found
Scientist have discovered a long lost continent under the Indian Ocean which in now between Madagascar and India. At first Geologist discovered a small island named Mauritus, created by lava over a time period of 9 million years. After further investigation of the rocks, they discovered that the zircons, minerals that occur in granite, dated back about 3 billion years. Therefore, they concluded the island was lying on the super-continent. According to Nature Communications, the piece was left over after the breakup of Gondwanaland, a super-continent that existed more than 200 million years old. — Compiled by Clarabelle Walkup
Cis
MICHAELA EDLIN Staff Writer
ender and sex are difG ferent; that’s a fact. Before you were born, you
were most likely assigned a gender from ultrasound imaging or maybe the doctor told your parents, ‘It’s a boy!’ or ‘It’s a girl!’ after you were delivered. In reality, it’s not that simple. These doctors were only looking at part of the picture, genitals. Gender on the other hand, has nothing to do with sex, which genitals attribute to. Gender is how someone identifies, whether that corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth or not. It’s a trait just as much being shy or outspoken is. For those skeptical, there is a biological basis for this distinction of gender. White matter connects areas of the brain and typically forms different shapes depending on a person’s gender. In a study conducted at the National University of Distance Education in Madrid, Spain, they found that the white matter of trans people were often in shapes close to that of cis people of the same gender,, and not the one they were assigned at birth, or indistinguishable shaped. It’s no wonder that people are curious about gender, and with very few resources, people are confused. That’s why it’s important to make the facts clear, and separate misconceptions from the truth.
Trans
Tech Bytes
Trans
Definitions Gender (noun): the condition of being male, female, or neuter. In a human context, the distinction between gender and sex reflects the usage of these terms Transgender (adjective): denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex Cisgender (adjective): having or relating to a gender identity that corresponds to the culturally determined gender roles for one’s birth sex
Cis
Third gender/ nonbinary/ genderqueer (adjective): denoting or relating to a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders. Pronoun (noun): a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g., I, you) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g., she, it, this) Courtesy of the American Psychological Association, Oxford Dictionary, and Dictionary.com
Common misconceptions ‘Gender and sex are the same’ The American Psychological Association said, “Sex... refers to the biological aspects of maleness or femaleness, whereas gender implies the psychological, behavioral, social and cultural aspects.” ‘There are two genders’ In history there have been socially and institutionally recognized people known as ‘third gender.’ These include two-spirited people from Native American culture and hijras from South Asian cultures. Today, some countries allow legal recognition of third gender or nonbinary people including Nepal, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia. Two people are currently, legally recognized as nonbinary in the U.S. ‘Being trans is a trend’ There has always been trans people, whether that be when trans men joined troops in the Civil War era, in ancient culture or in film such as the documentary “Paris is Burning” and the musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Increased visibility has led many cisgender people to falsely believe being trans is a trend, rather than a legitimate identity. ‘They them pronouns are grammatically incorrect’ Merriam Webster said, “People have used singular ‘they’ to describe someone whose gender is unknown for a long time, but the nonbinary use... is relatively new.” Singular they has been used since the rise of singular you, both common in English. The use of singular they is more popular now, though Merriam Webster has, “evidence in our files of the nonbinary they dating back to 1950.”
Courtest Skull Candy
Wireless, worry-less?
Apple has recently came out with wireless earpods that everyone is trying to get their hands on, but as soon as you see their price of $150, you tend to back away. A product that can produce that same bass and clear, powerful sound is the Skullcandy Method. They are great for working out or just listening on the go with it’s wireless bluetooth connection. They come with a comfortable and secure fit with it’s FlexSport collar and it’s sonically-welded durable design. This is a much cheaper alternative to the earpods since it’s price is starting at $47.99.
Xpand your storage
Tired of seeing that “Storage is Full” notification pop up on your iPhone? Well this flash drive is a solution. This usb allows you to connect a flash drive to your iPhone so that you can store pictures, videos, and other files instantly to the drive. You just simply have to plug it into the computer like you would for any other usb, and all the photos and files you had on your phones can be saved from your phone to your computer. They come in 16GB up to 256GB of memory storage. Prices start at $35 at Amazon on sale!
COZMO robot able to recognize emotion
The future if robotics is growing immensely each year and Anki has built a small robot with a one-in-a-kind personality. The Wall-ee inspired personalty of this robot serves as a mini assistant for small tasks. Anki has programed the robot to react just like a human would, with its emotions from happy to angry. You can choose game modes to play with COZMO, for example, he can stack blocks on top of one another and if he fails to, he will get angry and his blue squared eyes will turn to upside U’s and pound the surface to show it’s frustration. This small robot that can recognize faces and recite names is quite the lifelong childhood dream of having a robot. This mini robot can be purchased for the price of $175. — Compiled by Will Suiter
Eyes of the Doctor
Green Light
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Entering Gatsby’s Gallery
The green light shining across the harbor symbolized Gatsby’s love for Daisy, and his yearning for her companionship.
Exhibits to visit during Prom
Build Your Own Robot
Design, build and program a real robot using sensors, controllers and actuators. (Lower Level)
Jet Pack Chair
Take a ride in a chair resembling a NASA manned maneuvering unit (MMU).
Shake Platform
Experience eight different earthquakes on a shake table that holds up to 10 people at once. Each earthquake simulation is based on actual earthquake data, including magnitude, “X and Y” movement, and duration of the quake.
Dirty dancing When you are on the dance floor, you must respect the rules and boundaries of the dance etiquette. Inappropriate and offensive dancing will not be tolerated.
Creature Creation Station
Use their kit of tangible biological parts to build and program your own virtual creature.
The Technology
Visitors begin their Body Metrics experience by checking out a Sensor Kit, a customized three-part system that measures, records and displays six metrics in real time: activity level, tension, mental focus, talkativeness, attitude and the number of people nearby.
The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg are symbolic of God looking down on a declining American society.
TECH
&
Break out your flapper dresses and zoo Museum in downtown San Jose for the Party, inspired by the famous book, “Th
Drinking Coming to prom under the influence or drinking during the course of prom is prohibitted.
East and West Eggs
Yellow Car
The East and West eggs are regions of New York. Those with “old money” reside in the east egg,
The yellow car that belongs to Daisy is a representation of greed and luxury.
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& Glamour Spread by Lauren Hogan, Fiorella Castaneda, and Omar Ababneh Illustrations by Catherine Monroy
ot suits. Branham’s prom is at the Tech third time. This year’s theme is Gatsby’s The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Trashing the tech Respect the facility throughout the dance. During dinner, make sure to clean up any mess you make. As well as, while visiting the exhibits, please respect them at all costs
Two-timing your date Make sure to treat your date and prom mates with kindness and a good heart. Do not make your date or friends feel unwanted
What not to do at Prom
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STUDENT LIFE
BHSBEARWITNESS.COM
“It feels like everyone is expected to know what they want to do in their life...” Hailee Adams
SVCTE animators to enter Disney contest
Initial sketch
Final version
Junior Catherine Monroy’s original notebook sketch in comparison to the computer-animated scene screenshot. The SVCTE student spent six weeks to create her short film. SARAH SNITZER Staff Writer
ranham juniors Hailee Adams and CathB erine Monroy are currently learning animation at the Silicon Valley Career Technical
Education institute (SVCTE). Their current assignment is to create a three-minute animated film to enter into the Walt Disney Teen Animation Festival in the “2D short film” category. With no guidelines to follow other than the
time-restraint, the students were able to exercise complete creative freedom while creating their independent films. “My film is about a small child who goes into the woods and finds a weird monster. The monster tells the child that there are monsters that eat people and live in the woods and tells the child to leave. But the child doesn’t listen and returns the next day to play. The child then encounters numerous monsters that try to catch the child and when faced with a much larger
Tutoring club aids peers Bruin-to-Bruin club seeks to help more next year FIORELLA CASTANEDA Staff Writer
urrently struggling with Calculus or need C someone to edit your essay? Lucky for you, the Bruin-to-Bruin Tutoring Club exists. The club
is run by advisor Ms. Heather Amanatullah and senior Cadence Trenchard, club president. The club’s purpose is to help students by providing free peer tutors. Cadence said, “There are student tutors in the club, and they learn teaching skills and build relationships with those they help if it becomes a repeat assistance. Tutors also learn more by helping others understand material.” This club first started fall of 2016, a few days before Club Rush; it started with a group of four and has now grown to include 18 students that peer-tutor others. As the year is winding down, the club needs to figure out who will continue to run it, since Cadence will no longer be there next year. Cadence said, “The club will vote at the end of the school year [to see who will take over the positions, such as president], but sophomore Joey Perez will probably take over, since he is the vice president.” Joey said that the club is tutoring a total of less than 10 students, but they are expecting the numbers to rise as more people come in to join. He said, “Next year, we hope to have every member paired with at least one student, giving each of us the opportunity to consistently help our peers.” The club offers tutoring for many subjects and is talking to teacher Ms. Yun Yan to hopefully bring tutors for Mandarin soon. One of the students getting tutored in French, freshman Josephine Chisholm, said that the club has helped her improve her grades “...more than [my grades] would’ve if I tried to handle it myself.” She said that the tutors are really helpful and they make sure that their peers understand the subject they are teaching. “Even if we only helped one student,” said Cadence, “it would still be worth it.”
Subjects English, Math, Science, History, Art, French, Spanish (partnered with LSU) If you are interested in tutoring your peers or would like to get help by getting tutored, please contact either Mrs. Heather Amanatullah or Cadence Trenchard or go to www.bhsbearwitness.com
monster, the [same] monster that had warned the child about the woods protects the child,” said Catherine. It took her approximately six weeks to create the animation. Hailee was inspired to draw on her personal feelings and experience in school, creating an incredibly relatable story that will hit home for many students: “It feels like everyone is expected to know what they want to do with their life, and when they find this thing they want to do,
Catherine Monroy/Bear Witness
they’ll magically know it’s the right one. But it isn’t like that, I have no idea what I want to do still, and I’ve been realizing that maybe I don’t have to pick just one thing,” Hailee said. The main character in Hailee’s film faces this same struggle, but the story is told through a creative metaphor in which flower pot people have to choose what kind of seeds they want to plant in their little flower plant heads.
Branham Relay for Life team unites TY SHIKASHIO
Managing Editor
n Saturday, April 28, The American Cancer Society (ACS) will O be holding their event “Relay For Life” at Dartmouth Middle School, where thousands in the community gather to raise money for cancer foundations.
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Relay For Life involves many different communities in the San Jose area. Schools, families, and organizations set up booths around a 400-yard Relay has lap, where they provide goods, food, and games. All profits are donated to cancer research and definitely ACS. Fundraising comes in the form of sponmade me soring teams and donating a certain amount of more appre- money per lap they walk. The event lasts 24 hours, as a symbol of canciative and cer’s tireless and seemingly interminable plague grateful of on our families. Each team has at least one repthe people resentative walking through the night, often around me. taking shifts. Branham has three teams participating this Tyler year: a sophomore, junior, and senior team. Pesavento Heading each team are brothers sophomore Senior Troy and senior Tyler Pesavento, and junior Matt Ross. Their main objective is to get the Branham community to participate as a tribute to all those who have been affected by cancer. Tyler is the ACS club president, and this is his final year of Relay before he goes off to college. Tyler touched on the significance of this event in his own life, saying, “Relay has definitely made me more appreciative and grateful of the people around me.” Tyler also added that Relay has opened his mind to how precious life can be. Troy, Tyler’s younger brother, said, “[Relay for Life] has impacted me in many ways, and it has taught me that a community can come
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Tyler Pesavento/Special to Bear Witness Branham’s ACS students at their stand at the 2016 Relay for Life event.
Contant Info Tyler Pesavento - tpezsfgiants@gmail.com Troy Pesavento - tdpesavento@gmail.com Matt Ross - mattross524@gmail.com together and help one another to find a cure to something that touches every single one of our lives.” He also said that he is looking forward to seeing what everyone can accomplish this year. Cancer affects everyone either directly or indirectly. These students have worked industriously to organize, recruit, and promote their teams. If you are interested in participating, sponsoring, or helping one of their teams, or even just getting involved in the event, their contact information is listed above.
Leadership class won’t start at zero period Some ASB students fear schedule may conflict with other classes TAYLOR DOAN
E
Copy Editor
lection season has commenced on campus, and many students are vying for a spot in next year’s Leadership class. The class has undergone quite a few changes in the recent years, due to having three new activities directors in just the past four years. Although this year’s Activities Director, Shari Scott-Sawyer, will remain in her position for the upcoming year, there will be new changes to the class itself. Instead of having to arrive bright and early every morning for a zero period class, next year’s Leadership students will have the luxury of sleeping in because Leadership will meet during in the middle of the school day. However, this means upperclassmen won’t have the option of an off period, whether or not the off should occur in the mornings or after lunch. Leadership will be considered another elective, so those wanting to join Leadership may need to reconsider taking on that extra art or P.E. elective. Experienced leadership students such as junior RJ Durrer, who has been in the class for three years, said he prefers Leadership in the mornings; it starts his day right and allows for daily meetings. In addition, an entirely new leadership system will be implemented next year. ASB will continue to exist, with the usual cabinet positions but will focus on spirit, service, and traditional events such as Homecoming and the rallies. Peer Assistance Leadership (PAL) is the new program that will focus on awareness programming (i.e. Red Ribbon Week, Cancer Awareness months) as well as conflict mediation, where they will work with ad-
Rick Hiyashi/Special to Bear Witness ministration on peer education of various issues. Students who would like to be part of Branham leadership but may lack experience will likely be placed in PAL. Ms. Scott-Sawyer said that she hopes to reach her goal of getting every student involved and reaching out to those who are not. The 5-Star Student system currently being used for tutorial check-ins will be implemented further, allowing for student involvement with clubs and activities to be tracked, resulting in what will be known as “spirit points.” “This will allow us to see who is not involved, and we can reach out to them to see how to get them involved,” she said. She believes the current leadership class is truly “student-led/student-run,” and thinks that although it is in a really good spot, “it can just get better.” Applications for positions have been released and will be analyzed by the current ASB cabinet, starting March 10.
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STUDENT LIFE
“I have noticed a decline in people showing up for the weekly meetings. I think people haven’t been showing up as much because the also have other clubs they are committed to” - Miranda Bravo
Dying clubs and trying clubs Clubs that are unapproved or losing attendance face problems of acceptance ROSALIE GONZALEZ Staff Writer
ey Club, Marvel Club, Idol Club, K SPARE: Clubs give students a way to share their interests and so-
cialize with others, but what happens when a club is in danger of dying? What happens when member participation begins to trickle down to little or none? Likewise, new clubs with few members share their experience about jumping the gun and putting up posters before they were approved. Idol Club posters could be seen in numerous classrooms across campus, but there was one problem: the club still had yet to be approved. Idol Club explores genres of music outside the western sphere of influence such as Korean, Chinese, and Japanese pop. “Our goal is to show people that there is more than just western music. We like to explore; it can be any songs that people are interested in.” Idol Club members said. While it was still being formed, Idol Club had very few members and were interested in informing people about their soon to be approved club. In order to get the word out, posters were set up all over campus. “It was basically some miscommunication between us and Leadership. We wanted people to know that if they didn’t have anything to do, they could just come [to Idol Club] and hang out. Once we were told we couldn’t put up the posters, we took them down,” members said. On the other hand, Key Club, a club based on community service and leadership skills, has been rumored to be “dying” or its members have slowly but surely stopped attending meetings. Many clubs will face phases of high and low popularity, Key Club being no exception. “I have noticed a decline in people showing up for the weekly meetings. I think people haven’t been showing up as much because they also have other clubs they are committed to,” says Key Club member Miranda Bravo. The main issue is that the less and less people show up for meetings for their clubs, and of course the less members a club has, could mean that the club will cease to exist in future years. “I just hope that the club continues on because it’s a great club that promotes helping others,” says Miranda who hopes Key Club will be able to prosper on and gain popularity.
CL BS
Idol Club 2 months old
Michaela Edlin/Bear Witness
Branham’s 50th anniversary
The logo to the left, designed by volleyball coach Ms. Heather Cooper, emerged as the winner of the logo contest.
Logo contest kicks off year of festivities GRACE CLINTON Sports Editor
ranham High School is nearing its 50th anniversary next year, and to B commemorate this, a new logo is to be searched for and implemented throughout next year. As of now, Branham’s logo is, quite appropriately, a Bruin, in reference to the school’s mascot. Now, Branham’s 50th anniversary organizing committee, headed by assistant principal Rick Hayashi, is on the search for an updated logo. After Branham’s rocky history, shutdown in 1990 and then the fight to reopen (which was achieved in 1999), a 50th anniversary is a huge deal and very impressive, therefore a logo for the occasion should be done justice. Other schools in the area have been undergoing similar processes recently as well, including Leigh High School and Leland High School. Originally, the decision for what the logo should look like was to be brought to a vote by the teachers on the committee. However, this decision was soon replaced with the idea that any willing teacher, student, or parent should have input on the design.
Mr. Hayashi explained that the logo “belongs to the school” and that “[they] wanted parents and students to have input as well.” He said that the 50th anniversary logo is intended to really capture Branham’s “rich tradition and history.” A survey was sent out about a week ago with several different logo design options for students and staff and parents to vote on one. Various teachers contributed to the design such as Lisa Pimental and Heather Cooper. As this design was mostly produced digitally, there was no input from the art classes and only a little from art teacher Tina Prates. So far, 340 people have filled out the survey, and it is the committee’s hope that 700 people will fill it out. The logo is set to be launched in a number of ways. As of now, it is planned that the logo will be “presented at Casino Night,” according to Mr. Hayashi. Additionally, the committee of staff is currently working on a variety of other ways to present and implement the logo at Branham. One idea is that Branham alumni will be involved in the presenting of the logo. The committee is very excited about the logo and all that it represents for Branham. If you haven’t voted for a logo yet, then try and vote as soon as possible so you can be a part of such a special and significant symbol of Branham.
Club Roundups
GSA Androgyny fashion show on March 24
On Friday, March 24, GSA will be hosting its annual fashion show in the PAC with the theme of androgyny: the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. Aside from fundraising, the purpose of the fashion show is to present gender expression and to show that you don’t have to fit in with a certain gender stereotype. For more information you are welcome to attend weekly meetings on Tuesdays at lunch in room 8.
Best Buddies Program voted best in Northern California
Branham’s Best Buddies has been ranked the top of its program in Northern California. The club has previously held the Best Buddies prom and cupcake Valentines grams. The purpose of Best Buddies is to create one on one friendships between students on campus. If you are interested in attending, meetings are every Wednesday at lunch in room 35.
Film Club Group attends Cinequest
The Film Club attended the film festival Cinequest early. Going to Cinequest will provide club members an opportunity to see independent filmmakers whose art is unavailable to the general public. Members will hopefully be able talk to industry professionals. If you are interested in joining see Mr. Hunter in room 18.
Mr. Branham Pageantry for a cause
The annual Mr. Branham male beauty pageant was held on March 8 incidentally the same day as International Women’s Day. The show was a sight to see, featuring a mix of sophomores, juniors, and seniors showing off their looks and talent for cash prizes. Fashion competitions ranged from sportswear to beachwear. The level of talent was high, from stand-up comedy, to eating lemons, to rapping original songs. All contestants intended to donate a majority of the cash prize to a charity organization of their choice upon winning. Senior Carl Erez won the first place prize of $200, Junior Paul Smith winning second and $100. Carl fundraised for Hope For Justice, a group dedicated against human trafficking, while Smith plans to donate to Amazon Watch, who fight to protect the amazon rain forests. — Compiled by Laura Heffernan and Jocelyn Pierce
Virtual drivers be wary of online courses DEMI LE
Staff Writer
he convenience of online drivers eduT cation has been pulling students away from traditional in-room teaching. With ex-
panding internet resources, any student has the chance to finish their drivers ed online in the comfort of their home. However, lack of statistics lead us to question the effectiveness of online drivers education compared to traditional drivers education in classrooms. According to Branham alumnus Aidan Kirwan’s book, “Branham: A Passionate History,” a drivers ed program was offered districtwide when Branham was founded. Former instructor Roger Smith would pull students out of classes into a “specially designed room that simulated a behind-thewheel experience.” The instructor also took students around the parking lot and off-campus to be evaluated on their driving skills. Now, students must be self-motivated and can learn at their own pace with online drivers education. These courses usually include interactive quizzes, tests, and checkpoints to mark progression. Upon completion, a Certificate of Completion is mailed to the person’s home as proof that they completed a drivers’ ed course, which is required to take the DMV permit test. Of course, there are pros and cons to both traditional drivers ed and online drivers ed. However, the effectiveness of an online drivers education course depends on how well the course is made. If it contains lengthy screens of text with easy tests, it isn’t going to be helpful. If it has interactive animations with personalized feedback and assignments, it’s likely going to be an effective learning experience. Therefore, it’s partly up to the student to choose a practical course and make efficient use of the material. Traditional teaching has its restraints, and students can’t learn at their own pace. When students choose to learn and have incentive, they learn more effectively.
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SPORTS
BHSBEARWITNESS.COM
“A good coach has the ability to take an athlete and focus on their strengths” Jim Lawrence, pole vaulting coach
Searching for the ideal coach Sports briefs
Boys Volleyball The boys volleyball team took first place at the Del Mar tournament on Saturday March 11, and is currently undefeated. Upcoming match: March 21 vs Wilcox JV 4:30 V 5:30 p.m. Boys Tennis Boys Tennis dropped their first two matches to Evergreen Valley and Leland. Upcoming match: March 20 @ Willow Glen 3:15 Swim and Dive Upcoming meet: March 23 vs Silver Creek @ 3 p.m. Track and Field Hunter Beck achieved a PR at K-Bell classic in 300 m hurdles. Upcoming meet: March 18 @ St. Francis
Iz Muñoz/Bear Witness
Coaching a balancing act between supporting athletes and pushing their limits ADAM SALEH
Science and Technology Editor
ehind every good athlete there is a great B coach and with the start of the Branham spring sports season our coaches are focusing in
on getting our teams in shape and moving on to the Central Coast Section (CCS) competition. Coming into the new season as an athlete we ask ourselves, “I wonder how the coach is, will he pick favorites, will he like me?” These are all questions we take into consideration since we want to have to best coach possible to work with throughout the season. Eseta Finau, an athlete on Branham’s volleyball and track team, weighed in on what makes a good coach. “It’s important that the coach can connect with the players and have fun with the team while being able to give constructive criticism. It’s also good when the coach doesn’t hold back on what I need to focus on.” Similarly, weathered coach and former strength
trainer for the 49ers, Greg Marshall, believes that, “a coach has to be honest with his athletes about where they are, where they’re going, and how they’re gonna get there and always display that honesty when athletes are doing well and when athletes are doing poorly and need improvement.” The idea of an ideal coach in this situation extends beyond good verbal coaching. Many students serious about sports intend on continuing on into college sports and in some cases work towards scholarships and college recruitment. This is where having a coach with connections and experience with other athletes comes in so that the process for intramural and college level sports is streamlined and the student can make a smooth entry into their place of higher learning. Jim Lawrence, a former soccer coach and the current Branham pole vaulting coach, says that, “you have to mix in little bit of fun into practice but ultimately the responsibility for success
lies on their (the athlete’s) shoulders, one of the things you can’t coach is you can’t coach drive.” This is especially important for the spring season as motivation to do your best in sports isn’t always there with the need to perform well in classes and standardized testing always looming over your shoulder. Junior track and football athlete, Jason Gant, believes that the aforementioned is vital for and effective coaching staff, “while having a coach that pushes you to your maximum potential is important, its always welcomed when the coach is understanding of student schedules and is open to change based on what works best for the student.” The constant I found for a good coaching staff seemed to always lie between having a lot of experience and the ability to give constructive criticism. Student athletes at Branham are eager to improve their competitive readiness and a good coach is the catalyst to get them there.
Baseball Baseball beat Sobrato at home 3-1. Played Lambrick Park Secondary School. Upcoming game: March 18 @ Milpitas 12:00 Softball Softball came up just short vs Leigh at home, losing 2-1. The Bruins are 5-1. Upcoming game: March 21 @ Piedmont Hills 4:00 Badminton Upcoming match: March 20 @ Yerba Buena 4:00 Golf Upcoming match: March 23 @ Spring Valley 3:15
Injuries a part of the game SUNANDA KOTTAYIL Opinion Editor
njuries are a common fear that athletes will I have to face whether they be professionals or amateurs, and athletes at Branham are no excep-
tion. ACL is a phrase that is often thrown around by sports commentators, but is actually a quite serious condition. ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is the ligament that runs diagonally in the middle of the knee and prevents the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur and provides rotational stability. Causes of torn ACLs include changing directions rapidly, stopping suddenly, slowing down while running, landing from a jump incorrectly, and direct collision and contact. ACL tears are easily diagnosable through physical examination, and MRIs may be used to determine what type of tear has occurred. Senior Matt Fernandez suffered from this injury twice his freshmen and sophomore year while he played football. “The first time I went to make a tackle and I planted my foot to cut one way, my knee cut out and that’s when I tore [my ACL]. The second time I was running down the sideline to make a tackle and this guy shoved me from behind and I planted and my foot gave out and tore the same ACL again.” Sophomore Kendall Schwiebert also tore her right knee ACL, while playing varsity soccer. “I was going up against a Leigh player who had possession of the ball. Pretty quickly she stopped to turn the play and I turned with her and tore my ACL.” After the injury occurred, Matt was benched Iz Muñoz/Bear Witness Matt Fernandez making an offensive push in a game against San Jose High after recovering from his fottball ACL injury. for the rest of the season and was forced to be-
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It’s always an annoying thing in the back of my head that prevents me from playing.
MATT FERNANDEZ Senior
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gin physical therapy to strengthen his knee. “I had to do lots of cardio-running on a treadmill, riding the stationary bike, and ladder and cutting drills. I also have to ice it after every time I play sports.” Kendall was not so lucky, as her injury resulted in her needing surgery. Although physical therapy and, in severe cases, surgery can help strengthen the knee again, its mark lasts forever. Once an ACL is injured it can never heal due to its position in the knee. As a result of this injury, Matt no longer plays football, but continues to play baseball, for the fear that he might injure his knee again. “It’s always an annoying thing in the back of my head that prevents me from playing. I might return; I haven’t decided yet.” Athletes can prevent injuries by stretching before, during, and after their activities and making sure that their hamstrings, quadriceps, and muscle-tendon units are flexible and can avoid shock. These measures will hopefully allow them to continue playing their sport for as long as they choose, with keeping the negative physical effects at a minimum.
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SPORTS
“To high school basketball: Thank you, it’s been fun.” Senior Brendan Lopez
Boys soccer has successful season
Team wins division, but falls to Pioneer in CCS open division finals IZ MUÑOZ
Production Manager
ur Branham boys soccer O team has accomplished a tremendous amount this 2016-2017
season with a (10-1-3) record in league and (14-2-4) overall. The boys clinched the Blossom Valley Athletic League-Mount Hamilton Division title and a spot to compete for the CCS Open Division title as well. The team’s first playoff game was against a tough opponent who was at the time undefeated, Pioneer. The game was at our home field alongside our Blue Crew friends and families. During the first half, both teams had equal amount of ball possession and back to back shot attempts at goal. As the game progressed, Pioneer had taken a counter attack towards our back line and had a chipped shot at goal. The first half ended with a 1-0 score for Pioneer but our boys weren’t done yet. At the huddle before half, the boys stayed calm and coach Danny Kadah said, “We will not go down without a fight.” As
the second half was under way, Branham bounced back with a scoring opportunity. Senior and forward Aymen Mohammed dribbled the ball past Pioneer’s defenders and got fouled by their keeper which gave Branham a penalty kick attempt to tie the game. Junior Tyler Khan was up to take the kick and scored for the Bruins to make the game 1-1. After full time and extra time halves, the teams could not score and the game resulted in penalty kick shootouts. Unfortunately, the Bruins ended up losing the shootout and were eliminated from reaching the CCS title. Senior and team captain Samuel Nichols, had some words to say about the season coming to an end: “The season was tough, but the team was able to fight our way to the top since we had a consistent drive to give our full effort at every game.” The team was very content with what they have accomplished this season and Junior Grant King says he is “looking forward to getting back out with the guys and getting another league title” for our team.
Iz Muñoz/Bear Witness During a CCS game, Junior Tyler Khan holds his team together after scoring a penalty kick, tying the game in the second half.
Girls Basketball
Girls Soccer LAUREN HOGAN
JOCELYN PIERCE Staff Writer
he Lady Bruins basketball team recently wrapped up T their eventful season. The varsity team made it to CCS with a league record of 9-5, before losing to Santa Clara High
Student Life Editor
School with a score of 59-31 in the second divisional round. By the end of the season, the girls proudly held a record of was 15-11, including non-league games. Despite their loss, the team is extremely proud of the progress they’ve made from last year, when they finished with a 1-23 record. “We all found a way to come together and bounce back from a rough season” said Junior Macy Wagner. “This season by far was the best I’ve seen out of my three years of playing at Branham, I wish it could’ve been longer.” Freshman Payton Scattini said,“I thought our season went great. We weren’t undefeated or anything, but we played to the best of our abilities and worked hard and had an overall successful season … We all pushed each other to get better and better, making stronger players and friendships.” The varsity team is losing two seniors, Alexa Lopez and Brianna Sasao. The rest of the team is hoping to carry on the success from this year into the following season. The JV girls finished their season with a league record of 7-7. They played their final game against Del Mar High School, winning 41-32. The team could be said to have progressed more and more as the season went on. “I think we definitely progressed and got better as a whole as the season went forward,” said Sophomore Alexandra Winford. Being a bonded team played a big factor in the girls’ success. “Towards the end of the season, we built such good team chemistry that it didn’t matter if we won or lost, but Adam Saleh/Bear Witness more if we all put our effort together as a team” said Sophomore Samantha Chun. “I remember at our first team bond- Junior Tori Mok prepares to pass ing already feeling like I was a part of a second family. It the ball to her teammate during a didn’t matter that we weren’t all in the same grade, we were game against Santa Clara. still so open with each other.”
The Branham girls soccer team ended their season with a record of (5-6-3) in league and an overall record of (8-9-4). The girls finished 5th place in league, a big surprise for the Lady Bruins after having finished their previous 20152016 season as CCS finalists. The team underwent various obstacles this season that altered the outcome of most of their games. Of these hurdles included many illnesses, head and leg injuries, and restrictions of girls not being able to play. The team’s final game of the season was against Piedmont Hills on the Friday before February break. The girls prepared and warmed up in hopes that this would not be the final time that they suited up together this season. The Lady Bruins played well throughout the game as a whole, being able to hold the score of 0-0 for the majority of the game. Sophomore winger, Caitlyn Trampenau, comments, “We played an amazing game but sadly the score did not represent how we played.” Piedmont Hills subbed in a critical player about halfway through the second half and she scored on a header off of a corner with only 13 minutes remaining in the game. Instantly one could witness the defeat in the Branham girls’ eyes, but they did not want to give up until the final whistle. The Branham girls had a few opportunities towards the last few minutes of the game: one beautiful cross from the right hand flank into the box and another corner kick that had great potential, but both opportunities could not be finished with a goal that would have been clutch. The Branham girls did, unfortunately, lose the tough battle against the 2nd place team in league with a score of 1-0. They needed to either win or tie that game in order to have qualified for CCS so this was sadly the end of the road for Iz Muñoz/Bear Witness the team. Senior Rachel Martin keeps the ball Senior co-captain Courtney Simmerok said, “All the se- away from opponents Piedmont Hills. niors were sad to that that game was our last, but we had a great four years together.”
Boys Basketball
Wrestling
TAYLOR DOAN
SAI TUMMALA
asketball season has come to an end for the B Bruins, with an overall record of 11 wins and 3 losses for the varsity team, and 14 wins and 4
ranham Wrestling had a spectacular season this winter through games against eight schools in B league. The team was coached by AP biology teacher Mr. Garrett Benjamin who has had experience coaching at three other schools. “The team as a whole was good as we built from the basics and we had some standouts who made a big impact to the team,” said the new coach. Coming from C-league last year, Branham has more than just earned its valour with a win to loss rate of 5:2 games. This season has also made a massive impact on the team as it will be the last high school season for senior Lucas Peters who transferred here from Saint Francis two years ago. On the other hand, it will also be the first time in Branham history where one of our students was able to attend a state-level tournament. With 27 wins in the season and 15 pins, Lucas Peters led the wrestling team as he won 1st place in BVALS, 2nd in CCS, 1st in the Webber tourney, 2nd in the Lincoln tourney, and 5th in the Matt Classic. Lucas Peters finished the season by placing in the top 25 players in State making him a part of the top 1% of players in California and taking Branham with him. With Branham’s new entry into B league, our wrestling team has definitely proven their valor with a 71 percent win percentage and many promising new players as well as a new coach to guide them through seasons to come.
Copy Editor
losses for the JV boys. The varsity boys basketball senior night resulted in a 73-46 loss to rival Leigh High School. At the time of the mid-February game, Branham was in the top spot for BVAL-West. Despite many efforts to overcome the Longhorns lead, the Bruins just could not keep the ball consistently in the net. In terms of the opposing players, “Leigh works really well together. Great team,” said Senior captain Jarrett Powers. In their game against San Mateo in the CCS playoffs, the Varsity boys once again were unable to come through with a win. The game ended with a loss of 49-62. In a social media post lamenting his last year of high school basketball, Senior Brendan Lopez said, “To high school basketball: thank you, it’s been fun.” Other senior players, such as Matt Fernandez, followed suit with similar social media posts. Jarrett says he looks forward to playing basketball for a four-year university, also stating,“I hope that Branham basketball can continue on the upward trend and continue to compete year after year.”
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Adam Saleh/Bear Witness Boys basketball a Varsity record of 15-6 and a JV record of 14-4.
Online Editor
Lucas Peters/Special to Bear Witness Lucas Peters became the first Branham wrestler to make it to the state finals.
ENTERTAINMENT
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MARCH 17, 2017 |
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“Every participant, no matter what their level, a chance to perform in this grand musical event.“ - Choir teacher Barbara West
1. Press shuffle 2. No skipping
Bruins gather for annual performances
Kim Tran Sophomore
Branham’s Royal Alliance and choir perform at the pop concert and the District Music Festival
PRESS
“Scoops and Tunes” pop concert
1. “Purpose” Justin Bieber 2. “Love on the Brain” Rihanna 3. “Deja Vu” Post Malone ft. Justin Bieber 4. “Shelter” Porter Robinson
MICHAELA EDLIN
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“These songs are inspirational to me. They are soothing songs that are nice to listen to and have good vibes.” Connor Moore Junior 1. “Finish Line/ Drown” Chance the Rapper 2. “Monkey Trees” Kendrik Lamar 3. “Love Yourz” J. Cole 4.“Wat’s Wrong” Isaiah Rashad “... the lyricism and flow in these tracks are profound and complex. I also appreciate uniqueness in my music and each of these artists/songs are unique sounding in their own way.” Aiden Velasquez Freshman 1. “Same Drugs” Chance the Rapper 2. “No Problem” Chance the Rapper 3. “Outlet” Desiigner 4. “Beautiful Day” U2 “These... remind me of good events that had happened, like the Leadership retreat last summer or hanging out with my dad. The other songs are just really hyped and get me pumped for my games.” Anna Thompson Junior 1. “Power Trip” J. Cole 2. “Slide” Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, Migos 3. “Tunnel Vision” Kodak Black 4. “Land of the Snakes” J. Cole “J. Cole is quality. Hands down best rapper. I’m trying to go to his concert. The other songs are just very catchy to me and they are good to listen to.” — Omar Ababneh
Staff Writer
he audience was not the only one to enjoy the “Scoops and Tunes” pop concert on March 3; the participants said that they also had a swell time. The second annual pop concert was a collaboration of the music programs as well as a feature of a guitarist. A rising note started off the concert, one that’s considered more loose and less reliant on the classics often performed by high school bands. The program started with a medley of Pixar classics, such as [Pop concerts “The Incredibles” and “Toy Stoare] a lot more ry.” These were sophomore Zoë Boomershine’s favorites because relaxed and we they reminded her of her child- have a lot more hood. The program switched between fun. band and choir performances in front of a full capacity crowd as Jackson ice cream was served to guests Baker Junior outside. Besides the ice cream, highlights included a 20-saxophonist group spanning the width of the cafeteria covered “Root Beer Rag” by Billy Joel. Another key point of the program junior Sam Franz sang “She Will be Loved” by Maroon 5 and “This Town” by Niall Horan accompanied by her own guitar instrumental. A crowd favorite was the “Spider-Man Theme Song” where one student wore a Spider-Man mask midway through the program. In addition, the flute solo by junior Savidu Geevaratne impressed the crowd. The fun and lax spirit of the event is what some performers liked most. Junior Jackson Baker said he enjoyed the pop concert more than more traditional concerts because “they’re a lot more relaxed and we have a lot more fun.” Others, such as sophomore Anastasia Langner, prefer more traditional concerts. “They’re more familiar and the overall expectation for how the night could play out is better (in traditional concerts).”
Michaela Edlin/Bear Witness Band students prepare for the upcoming instrumental piece during the annual pop concert by looking over their sheet music as choir performs. The concert was held in the cafeteria.
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GRACE CLINTON
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Sports Editor
ranham was well represented in the 45th CUHSD Music festival, with its band and choir programs participating in Tuesday’s event. Because it has grown in prominence in recent years, the event takes place in the San Jose State Event Center, compared to its humble beginnings in the place in the Campbell High School Auditorium (now the Heritage Theater) and later revolving through school gyms in the district. The festival has come a long way, said Branham’s choir teacher Barbara West. “Our music programs are much larger,” she said. According to Ms. West, the goal of the festival was to bring “together all musicians in the Campbell Union
District music festival
The choir has been working really hard all year and we are all excited to perform.
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Sarah Robertson Junior High School District, giving every participant, no matter what their level, a chance to perform in this grand musical event.” Because of the enormity of the undertaking of bringing together the music programs from five different high schools, rehearsals had to be split among different
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locations near San Jose State. The jazz band rehearsed at the Tabard Theater in San Pedro Square, while the orchestra rehearsed at Flames restaurant across the campus. Percussion students met at Leigh. The choir practiced at the Music Building Concert Hall while the Symphonic Band occupied the cavernous Events Center. Branham students had been looking forward to the event all year, as they got to work with renowned conductors from San Jose State, West Valley, Nevada and CSU East Bay. Junior Sara Robertson, who is also in choir and attended the festival, said, “The choir has been working really hard all year and we are all excited to perform.”
Student critics challenge Academy picks SUNANDA KOTTAYIL
O
Opinion Editor
ne week before the Academy Awards, Branham Film Club members made predictions about who would win the biggest award Hollywood has to offer. Their responses were based on personal opinion and were not trying to mimic the biases that the Academy has. But student responses were biased in favor of “La La Land” as that was the only movie that all voting club members had seen. Film Club predictions were based on a majority rule, so not all voting members agreed with the ultimate nomination. Student responses are below in comparison to who actually won.
Best Picture
ght”
“Moonli nd”
“La La La
itness dlin /Bear W Michaela E
Best Director Oscar Winner Damien Chazelle Film Club prediction Damien Chazelle “‘La La Land’ was a really visually appealing movie... from the clever cuts and the color correcting... Chazelle allowing the music to move the story really pulled him over for me.” Freshman Caitlyn Schlaman
Oscar Winner La La… ”Moonlight” Film Club Prediction “La La Land” “I thought that the music in ‘La La Land’ was pretty mediocre, Best Actor Oscar Winner and they could have chosen Casey Affleck people with better singing Film Club prediction voices since it was a musical... Casey Affleck the songs sounded really “Out of all of the other actors (other than Viggo Mortenson because similar.” I didn’t see ‘Captain Fantastic’) I thought there was an effortlessFreshman Megan Panopio ness to Affleck’s performance that Denzel and Gosling didn’t have.” Freshman Kyle Barba
“Manchester by the Sea”
Best Original Screenplay Oscar Winner “Manchester by the Sea” Film Club prediction “La La Land” “What made ‘Manchester by the Sea’ great is that when you try to describe it someone who hasn’t seen the movie, you can’t really tell them anything or else you give away the ultimate point.” Math teacher and club advisor Mr. David Hunter Best Actress Oscar Winner Emma Stone Film Club prediction Natalie Portman “Although we were all fangirling about ‘La La Land,’ I personally thought that Emma Stone’s performance was pretty average.” Freshman Alyssa Phillips
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MARCH 17, 2017 |
Best Rap Album is awarded to albums “regardless of album sales or chart position”
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ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
Photographers develop a social media platform
Iz Muñoz/Bear Witness JOCELYN PIERCE Staff Writer
o paraphrase a popular phrase, a picture is T worth a thousand likes. There has been a recent surge in Branham stu-
dents displaying their passion for photography. Put a camera in their hands, and they’ll figure out how to create a piece of art. Sophomore Natasha Mills started her love for photography as a kid. “I grew up with my mom and many other photographers in my family, so I was introduced to it at a young age,” said the aspiring photographer. “I loved it from the start and it became
something I grew interested in as I got older, which led me to my passion for nature photography.” Mill said that photography allows her to capture the aesthetic moments of her life. “I love being able to go on hikes or travel and take beautiful shots to give a little taste of what I got to see throughout my adventures,” she said. It’s not uncommon for people to begin their passion for photography at a young age. Sophomore Roman Bowlzowski’s interest in photography also stems from exposure starting as a child. “I got into photography as a child by watch-
ing my father take pictures of me, and challenging him by saying I could do better,” he said. “A couple of years later, he bought me an expensive camera so I had more freedom to express my images in the finest quality.” Instagram has become a great outlet for students to promote their talents. Many student photographers have created accounts dedicated purely to showing off their work. Junior Mikayla Dimulias takes a lot of pride in her photography account. “I created an account to share my photos because I really just wanted to have a place to put the pictures I am most proud of, and share them with those who come across my ac-
count.” Dimulias appreciates how her camera allows her to “capture personal memories and moments.” Constant advancement in photography technology also contributes to this hobby being widely spread. Almost any cell phone has some type of camera built into it, especially the highly popular iPhone. Sophomore Sophia Gibson can vouch for the fact that you don’t need to start with a big, fancy camera to fall in love with photography. “The first time I ever got a hold of an iPod with a camera on it I realized taking pictures was something I liked to do.”
Grammys take a Chance The Academy puts independent artists into the mix Chance the Rapper
Drake
Kanye West
Will Suiter/Bear Witness
Streams: 57.3 million Units sold: 0
Streams: 1 billion Units sold: 1.61 million
e live in an era of self publishing. In W one form or another, sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr allow emerging
Iz Muñoz & Taylor Doan/Bear Witness
Staff Writer
he 2017 Grammy’s set a new standard by T awarding an artist with streaming-only albums three Grammy awards. Chance the Rapper
received awards for Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, and Best Rap Performance (for his collaboration with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz). However, due to the fact that he did not have any legitimate studio albums, many felt as though this was an unprofessional move by the academy. The official guidelines for the Best New Artist award states that it will be awarded to “A new artist who releases during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist.” Essentially any new artist who is able to first gain notice, and not necessarily create their first album, is eligible for the award. Similarly, the guidelines for Best Rap Album are awarded to albums “regardless of album sales or chart position… and contain at least 51 percent playing time of the tracks.” This was the first year streaming-only albums were considered for the Grammy Awards. This
WILL SUITER Staff Writer
Streams: 99 million Units sold: 94,000
ROSALIE GONZALEZ
SELF-PUBLISHERS WANT TO BE ZINE
means that no physical copies were available; all music had to be streamed through apps such as Soundcloud or Spotify. Due to the fact that album sale and chart position are invalid in the consideration for these album awards, Chance was eligible even though he had no physical albums to sell. Many feel that by doing this, the Grammys have opened doors for smaller, lesser known artists to be able to receive prestigious recognition. However, this raises many other issues, such as whether other prominent streaming-only artists will be given the same amount of attention when being considered for awards. Artists who sign to labels might also feel hindered by the loose guidelines since they do rely on album sales. Large studios might also suffer large declines in clientele, especially when you consider that it is now a possibility that aspiring musicians will only turn to outlets like Soundcloud to create their albums or mixtapes. Chance’s wins may mark a turning point for the music industry, where labels grow obsolete in favor of a fragmented listening audience.
artists, photographers, and other curators to make their content available on platforms that are free and accessible. These tools are indispensable for anyone who creates content, allowing an easy way to put work out there and get noticed. Gaining exposure is extremely important for artists, as it is essentially the only way that they can grow in their work and be able to advance their craft. As online mediums become more saturated, it can be hard to get one’s work noticed, and it is becoming harder to find meaningful and high quality work in a setting that can often feel disconnected from the real world. In order to float their work through the swamp of online photo galleries, accounts, and other digital media, many artists and content creators are turning to self-published and produced printed work in order to distribute their work in a tactile and high quality format that is still easily accessible and can allow their work to be showcased and discovered. These self published works, often referred to as “zines” (short for magazine), are becoming increasingly popular as a way to
share one’s own work as well as to collect others. A zine is a small book, often only 10-20 pages long, that is has no rules as to what it can contain, or what format or theme it can take. They can be designed on a computer or simply by cutting and pasting onto paper and then photocopying, scrapbook style. Artists are encouraged to take total creative license with their work. Zines can be made to different quality standards, with some being printed on cheap paper with a Xerox machine in black and white, and some made with high quality full color digital offset on thick art paper. Unlike traditionally published books, start-up costs for producing a zine are relatively low. This provides a low barrier to entry for someone looking to publish their work. Instead of having to find a gallery to display an art piece or a photo, an artist can simply print and publish their own work. Zines are usually sold directly by the artist or traded at “zine fests.” Several galleries such as Seeing Things Gallery in downtown San Jose also sell zines and hold several zine fests every year. Zines are just one way that self-published work has become more accessible. As art and photography become more available to produce and share, more artists will be able to gain recognition for themselves and sustain their work.
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PROMISING ACTIVITIES By : Rosalie Gonzalez & Sydney Uyeda
Dinner Alternatives
Dinner : The dance does offer a buffet that is included with the dance ticket. However, prefer to eat as a group ahead of time. Places such as the Olive Garden and Spaghetti Factory offer delicious italian cuisines, while restaurants like La Victoria Taqueria and Tac Oh! provide authentic mexican food. Olive Garden - Open 11am to 11pm 940 Blossom Hill Rd, San Jose, CA (13 minutes from Tech) Family friendly atmosphere with classic Italian recipes and dining. Spaghetti Factory - Open 12pm to 11pm 51 N San Pedro St, San Jose, CA (12 minutes from Tech) Authentic italian food with a “fancy” atmosphere. La Victoria Taqueria - Open 7am to 3am 140 E San Carlos St, San Jose, CA (10 minutes from Tech) Delicious mexican food at a reasonable price, “student friendly”. Tac-Oh! - Open 11am to 10pm 399 S 1st St, San Jose, CA (9 minutes from Tech) Mexican comfort food for a cheap price. Recently opened in 2015.
Sweet Treats
Dessert: After a long night of dancing, sometimes all you need is a refreshing sweet treat. An ice cream, milkshake, or cookie can do just the trick; here we have listed shops open past 11pm for you to enjoy. CREAM - Open 12 pm to 2 am 49 S 1st St, San Jose, CA (4 minutes from Tech) Serves fresh ice cream sandwiches with freshly baked cookies and drinks ! Milkshakes, floats, sundaes. Vegan and gluten free cookies available. Psycho Donuts - Open till 12 am 2006 Winchester Blvd, Campbell, CA (8 minutes from Tech) Serves ‘psycho’ donuts. Ben and Jerry’s - Open till 12 am 115 East San Carlos, San Jose, CA (10 minutes from Tech) Serves ice cream. My Milkshake - Open 11am to 1am 151 S 2nd St #199, San Jose, CA (6 minutes from Tech) Custom milkshake bar with signature shakes named after popular superheroes.
Santa Clara University 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA (13 minutes from Tech) This open campus allows for multiple picture spots, and neutral tone walls to make a beautiful background.
Photo Ops
Japanese Friendship Garden 1300 Senter Rd, San Jose, CA (10 minutes from Tech) The garden is a long pathway that includes gorgeous trees, bushes, and flowers. You’re surrounded by scenery, so there will never be any empty spots in your photos. Downtown Willow Glen (11 minutes from Tech) Willow Glen consists of multiple colored walls for cute pictures. There are many shops and restaurants, which will allow for fun wall photos with colorful or neutral toned walls.