C Magazine Vol. 5 Edition 2

C Magazine Arts & Culture

November 2016 Vol. 5 Edition 2

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

Dear Readers, We are excited to introduce our second edition of C Magazine this year. Our first issue was a success, and we are hoping this one will be as well.

We’re thrilled about our new website and are looking forward to creating exclusive online content. Keep an eye out for videos, photo essays and exciting multimedia content at cmagazine.org!

Our cover story for this edition highlights the deaf community and features four people, including Paly junior Sam McBride, who shares her experience with cochlear implants and how she views deafness. Four individuals with four different perspectives are woven into one narrative to create a spectrum of insight to the deaf community. We hope the reader will come away with a better understanding of the deaf community.

We also have many fun stories to share, including staff writer Darrow Hornik’s baking catastrophe, “My Fall Baking Failure,” in our food section.

In our arts section, staff writers Chiara Biondi and Olivia O’Farrell explore cruelty-free clothing companies in “Ethical Fashion.”

The C Mag perspective for this edition shares staffwriter Katie Look’s unique outlook on life influenced by her chronic disease. She details her experience living with Type 1 diabetes and explains how it has changed her view of mortality.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Happy reading, Reilly Filter, Ahana Ganguly, Katie Passarello and Sarah Shapiro Editors-in-chief

PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL, 50 EMBARCADERO RD. • WWW.CMAGAZINE.ORG • @C__MAGAZINE

WHAT’S INSIDE...

FOOD My Baking Failure Breakfast Around the World Sweet Green Versus Sprout Three-Step After School Snacks

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CULTURE C Mag Tries: Escape Room C Mag Simplifies: The Electoral College A Year Around the World C Mag Perspective Date Ideas Cover: A New World of Hearing November & December Events Artist of the Month: Dillon Scheel Review: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

12 14 16 19 20 22 28 30 32

ARTS Green Day’s Revolution Radio Poem: An Interview With Dwight Fall Crafts SF Neighborhoods: Bernal Heights Ethical Fashion Art Galleries in Palo Alto Garden Sculptures Around Palo Alto

34 36 38 39 42 44 46

editors-in-chief reilly filter, ahana ganguly, katie passarello, sarah shapiro managing editors jasmine abeyta, atusa assadi staff writers chiara biondi, maddy buecheler, hollie chiao, gabe cohen, lhaga design editor emma staiger dingpontsawa, amanda hmelar, fe hmelar, creative director teddie stewart darrow hornik, katie look, benner mullin, creative illustrator jordan schilling mattie orloff, alexis pisco, julianna roth, talia copy editor rima parekh stanley, yashvi tibrewal social media hannah darby illustrators yoonjung cho, chloe patterson web editor nicole li adviser brian wilson business manager ally scheve cover art jordan schilling

MY

BAKING

FAILURE TEXT AND DESIGN BY DARROW HORNIK PHOTO BY AMANDA HMELAR

4|Food

I

f you have ever read C Mag, you know that the food section consists of delicious-looking desserts and ingredients artistically arranged on an aesthetically pleasing page. Well, that’s what this article was supposed to be, but I failed miserably.

For some reason, I thought it was a good idea to sign up to bake fall treats for my article, completely forgetting about the fact that I am a terrible baker.

I first realized I should not have taken on this task when I couldn’t turn on my oven. Right after that, I should have known I was in over my head, but instead, I continued to “bake” (quotation marks around the word bake because I needed my uncle, an actual baker, to assist me with my pumpkin cheesecake). Anyway, while I was helping my uncle, I was measuring flour in a hard, plastic measuring cup, when the handle snapped off — I managed to break a measuring cup that had lasted years.

That baking cup seemed representative of what my baking dreams were: shattered. However, the rest of the process went smoothly, only because I let my uncle do the real work as I stood there watching. My only contribution was turning the mixer on and off, a job at which I was fairly competent.

At this point my uncle had to leave, and I was left with the responsibility of taking the cheesecake out of the oven to let it cool. One would think nothing more could go wrong. Unfortunately, that was not the case. All I had to do was unlatch a hook on the pan that was made specifically for cheesecakes. I was set up for success, but even so, I somehow managed to break the entire cheesecake in half. I was left with two cheesecakes for the price of one pathetic baker.

One gorgeous fall treat, cut in half, was complete. It was time to create another pumpkin masterpiece to add to the collection. However, my mother once again strongly suggested I seek help. My uncle wasn’t available, so I considered turning to the next best option, his sixth grade daughter, who is a much better baker than I am. I had too much pride, not in my baking abilities, but in my need to prove that I am a competent young adult (emphasis on the adult).

Rather than succumbing to the humiliation from consulting an eleven-year-old, I acted like the young adult that I am and gave up!

There were no additional pumpkin

fall treats made. No delicious pumpkin brownies. No simple pumpkin muffins.

No delectable mini pumpkin pies. All that was made were “two” individual pumpkin cheesecakes and this testimony to my failure.

Feel free to make this pumpkin cheesecake. Just be sure to have sturdy measuring cups and a pan that doesn’t chop your cake in half. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe: Ingredients for the crust: • 1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs (from 10 whole crackers) • 1/4 cup sugar • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Ingredients for the filling: • 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened • 1 1/4 cups sugar • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree • 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 4 large eggs, room temperature

Baking Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Assemble a 9 inch nonstick springform pan, with the raised side of the bottom part facing up.

2. For crust: Mix cracker crumbs, sugar and butter in a medium bowl until moistened; press into bottom of pan.

Bake until golden around edges for 10 to 12 minutes.

3. For filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth; mix in flour. Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla and salt; mix until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time. Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform and smooth top. Place in oven, then reduce heat to 300 degrees.

Bake for 45 minutes and turn off oven; leave the cheesecake in the oven for two more hours without opening to prevent the top from cracking.

4. Remove from oven; cool completely.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours (until firm). Unmold, serve and enjoy!

food|5

BREAKFAST AROUND THE WORLD TEXT, DESIGN AND PHOTOS BY RIMA PAREKH • ILLUSTRATION BY JORDAN SCHILLING

Tired of cereal and milk for breakfast? Try out these breakfast dishes from around the world to improve your morning meal.

1. TUNISIA

Shakshuka

• 1/4 cup olive oil • 3 jalapeños, finely chopped • 1 small yellow onion, chopped • 5 cloves garlic, grated • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • 1 tablespoon paprika • 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained • Salt, to taste • 6 eggs • 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1. Heat oil in skillet. Add jalapeños and onions and cook, stirring until golden brown.

2. Add garlic, cumin and paprika, and stir until garlic softens.

3. Put tomatoes into bowl and crush with your hands. Add to skillet with 1/2 cup water, reduce heat to medium, and stir occasionally for 15 mins. Add salt.

4. Crack eggs over sauce. Cover skillet and cook until yolks are just set (5 mins).

5. Sprinkle feta and parsley and serve with pita bread for dipping.

Belgian Waffles • • • • • • • • •

2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 3/4 cups plain yogurt with 1/4 cup milk 2 eggs, separated 1/2 stick melted butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Canola oil to brush on waffle pan

2. BELGIUM

1. Combine dry ingredients.

2. Mix buttermilk, and egg yolks into separate bowl, then stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones.

3. Beat egg whites with whisk or electric mixer until they form soft peaks, then stir them gently into batter.

4. Brush waffle iron with oil and turn it on.

Once waffle iron is heated, spread heaping spoon of batter onto iron and bake until the waffle is done (3-5 mins).

3. INDIA

UPMA • • • • • • • • • •

2 tablespoons Canola oil 2 green chilies, split into 4 large pieces 1 inch piece of ginger, grated 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 cup cream of wheat 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1/2 tomato, chopped Lemon, cut in half 2 cups water Salt to taste

1. Pour water into saucepan and heat over a stove until it boils.

2. Meanwhile, pour oil into another saucepan on medium heat, and add mustard seeds.

When you start to hear a crackling noise, add cream of wheat. Stir until it becomes light golden brown (5 mins).

3. Add onions, tomatoes, ginger and chilies, and stir until the onions become soft and translucent (5 mins).

4. Slowly pour water while stirring to prevent lumps. Add salt and squeeze the lemon.

Continue stirring until the mixture forms a porridge consistency (5 mins).

Food|7

SWEETGREEN With the opening of Sweetgreen this past summer, there has been a lot of debate over which salad restaurant is the best in Palo Alto. We took it upon ourselves to evaluate both Sweetgreen and Sprout, so that the next time you are craving a salad and struggling to choose which downtown Palo Alto restaurant to attend, you have all the information you need!

ATMOSPHERE

TASTE

As you approach the entrance to Sweetgreen, the line will be out the door. The staff is very friendly and always willing to accommodate your order. The interior is clean and hip with a farm-to-table vibe. The overall ambiance is very low-key, with people seated around wooden tables while talking and laughing at a moderate noise level.

With locally sourced organic ingredients, Sweetgreen salads are not only delicious but also high quality!

MOST POPULAR SALAD Guacamole Greens Price: $10.15

INGREDIENTS • Organic mesclun • Avocado • Roasted chicken • Red onion • Tomatoes • Tortilla chips • Fresh lime squeeze • Lime cilantro • Jalapeno vinaigrette

OVERALL RATING

VS. SPROUT TEXT AND DESIGN BY TALIA STANLEY AND HANNAH DARBY • PHOTOS BY REILLY FILTER

TASTE

ATMOSPHERE

Sprout salads can taste any way you want when you create your own salad from a variety of healthy ingredients!

As soon as you walk through the large doorway, there is a very friendly vibe and you will probably see a fellow Paly student! When you are standing in line to order your salad, you will find a huge, colorful “Sprout” spray painted across the wall to your left. After ordering, you choose a place to sit amongst the many different people and wait patiently for your delicious salad to arrive. The many waiters and waitresses are very attentive and happy to oblige.

MOST POPULAR SALAD Steakhouse Price: $10.95

INGREDIENTS • Grilled marinated tri-tip steak • Hearts of Romaine • Apple-wood smoked bacon • Fried onions • Roasted potatoes • Black beans • Gorgonzola • Caesar dressing

OVERALL RATING

three-step after sch

l snacks

TEXT AND DESIGN BY JULIANNA ROTH • PHOTOS BY AMANDA HMELAR AND JULIANNA ROTH

A nourishing snack is the essential fuel for your after school activities, whether it be studying or sports practice. Students rushing to afternoon commitments often grab a bar or yogurt cup because they don’t know how easily a tasty treat can be made. Here are some three-step recipes that are not only delicious but also will help you conquer the rest of your day.

VANILLA BERRY SMOOTHIE 1 serving

directions

• Grab berries, almond milk, yogurt and protein powder, then place them in a blender • Blend until smooth and add water if the smoothie does not have enough liquid • Pour into your favorite glass, garnish with berries and enjoy!

ingredients

1 cup of frozen berries (amount can vary depending on preference) 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk ½ of a scoop of vanilla protein powder (for flavor) 2 heaping spoonfuls of Greek yogurt

NACHOS

directions

• Sprinkle cheese over tortilla chips laid out on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds (time may vary by microwave) • Spread salsa over chips and cheese • Dollop Greek yogurt on top and enjoy!

10|Food

STUFFED PITA POCKETS

directions

• Rip pita bread in half and spread hummus inside the pita on both sides • Cut up tomatoes, lettuce and bell peppers • Stuff veggies into pita, sprinkle feta cheese and enjoy!

ingredients

Pita bread 2 spoonfuls of hummus 2 small tomatoes ½ of a bell pepper Feta cheese

CRACKER SANDWICHES

ingredients

Tortilla chips Shredded cheese Salsa Greek yogurt (substitute for sour cream)

directions

• Rip sliced turkey into pieces that fit your cracker, cut avocado into slices and cut the cheese into squares • Layer sliced avocado, turkey and cheese onto one cracker • Add another cracker on top of your sandwich contents and enjoy!

ingredients

Crackers 1 avocado Sharp cheddar cheese Sliced turkey

c mag simplifies

the electoral TEXT AND DESIGN BY AMANDA HMELAR AND BENNER MULLIN

During the election, many voters wonder what their vote counts for or how much of an impact it really makes. Some wonder where the Electoral College comes into play and what it means in regards to changing the election. Whether or not the Electoral College undermines the popular vote has been a question for many voters. C Mag has parsed all the information and simplified it for you — ­­­­­ read on to find out!

what is it?

the popular vote

The Electoral College is the process by which the popular vote of the people determines which candidate will be represented by the states’ electoral votes. Electors in the college vote for the candidate who won the majority of votes in the popular election in that state. So, when you cast your ballot, you are not directly voting for that candidate. You are signaling to the electors which candidate should be elected. For a candidate to be elected president, they must receive 270 of 538 electoral votes.

The results of the popular vote do not directly influence which presidential candidate gets elected. When civilians cast their vote on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, they vote for a president and a vice president. The popular vote determines which candidate will recieve a state’s allotted electoral votes based on which candidate recieves the majority votes.

55

3 4

6

49% 51%

Whether a candidate wins by a large or a small majority, any majority win of the popular vote qualifies a candidate to receive all of the electoral votes in a state.

34

12 7

the majority rule

3 3

3 6

11

10

6 7

5 38

3

29

16

20 18 20 11 5 13 10 8 15 11 6 9 6 9 16 8

6

5

9

10

29

4 11 4 7 3 14 10 3* Most republican Moderately republican Toss up Moderately democratic Most democratic

4 538 Electors in Total 12|Culture

*

Washington DC

college the electors example

2 electors for 2 senators

6 electors for 6 representatives

8 total electors for the state

distribution of votes

the election

Every state is allotted a certain number of electoral votes. The number of electoral votes that each state receives is equal to its number of members in Congress. For example, Montana is worth three electoral votes in the 2016 election: two votes for its two senators and one vote for its one House of Representatives member. California is worth 55 electoral votes in the 2016 election: two electoral votes for its two senators and 53 electoral votes for its 53 House of Representatives members.

The selected electors meet in each of their respective states on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of the December following election to cast their votes for the majority selected candidate in their states. Whichever candidate reaches or surpasses the 270 electoral vote majority is declared the winner of the election.

THE CONTROVERSY Speculation Over The Electoral College The Electoral College can benefit the people in a state who voted for the majority vote because the electors will vote in their favor. However, the electoral college demeans the popular votes and does not allow for the people who voted to have direct influence over the election. This occurs because the electors, who are supposed to vote for the candidate who won the majority in the state, still have the freedom to vote however they please.

How it affects Third Party Candidates

≼270 to win

BY THE NUMBERS...

71 percent of democrats surveyed in 2012 are in favor of a direct popular vote as opposed to the electoral college and 53 percent of republicans surveyed are in favor of a direct popular vote as opposed to the electoral college

Third-party candidates have the ability to play the spoiler role in elections and have pulled enough votes away from major candidates in swing states to alter the outcome of the general election in past elections. However, the Electoral College essentially nullifies third-party candidates as legitimate choices for president, as many of the candidates who receive a signifisource: gallupp.com, 2012 cant percent of the popular vote seldom win electoral votes.

CULTURE|13

C MAG TRIES:

escape room

I

n this physical adventure game, players are locked into a room and must use elements of their surroundings to solve puzzles and find the key to escape within a set time limit. The first escape room, Real Escape Game, was created in Japan in 2008, and in 2012, it was brought to San Francisco.

The concept has become increasingly popular throughout Silicon Valley since, so we decided to see what the hype was all about.

If you like crime shows, if you like logic puzzles, or if you grew up with A-Z Mysteries like we did — and want to be Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose all at the same time — go to an escape room! We had the time of our lives geeking out about the clues we found all over the room — under boxes and inside books and drawers — and were completly focused on how all the pieces could fit together. One clue led to anoth-

er — search this book, decode these letters, open this box — in such fast sequence that we were held captivated by the task.

The five of us dedicated ourselves wholly to unearthing bits of the puzzle, bouncing ideas off each other and making sure that no piece of information went unnoticed or unused. We listened to each other and worked together to move forward in the game. There were moments of suspense and discovery; each time one of us found the number combination for a lock, we would gather around and hurriedly throw the lock open to get to the next step.

There were moments when we jumped out of our skin, and moments when we felt our hearts race with excitement and shock. Being locked in that room and racing against the clock was exhilarating.

So the next time you decide to go out on a Friday night, forget the standard, boozy party. Grab some friends and go escaping!

TEXT AND DESIGN BY NICOLE LI AND RIMA PAREKH ILLUSTRATIONS BY TEDDIE STEWART TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR ESCAPE ROOM EXPERIENCE: • •

•

•

•

OUR ESCAPE ROOM VENUE: Beat the Lock 1171 Homestead Rd #280 Santa Clara, CA 95050

•

Try everything. Think from multiple angles and search under every object.

Listen to your peers and communicate.

Every idea is valid and it will take teamwork to escape. You must constantly communicate with your group members.

Different people will find different clues, and collaboration is necessary in order to figure out the puzzles.

Bring a mid-sized group of people. Five is a magic number. Having two people in the room is not as fun and is insufficient in terms of brain power or vantage points to solve the puzzle quickly. However, bring too many people, and the result is chaos. Ideas will conflict, and time will be wasted on bickering.

Relax. Try to think rationally and consider all the clues. Remember that you get three hints from the monitor, so use them.

Be on time. You need to hear the instructions and the information that will make your experience truly great.

Engage. Throw yourself into the puzzle!

C MAG PERSPECTIVE:

TEXT AND DESIGN BY KATIE LOOK • ILLUSTRATION BY JORDAN SCHILLING

I don’t know death. I know it’s there, waiting around the corner.

But I’ve never felt it. What’s perpetual but distant does not scare me; it can’t. I don’t fear what will come.

I’m afraid of dying because I know what it might be like: the burning pain in my limbs, darkened vision, a growing hole in my stomach. I’ve felt it before. With it is the fear — the immediate danger of the pain, coupled with the pain of the danger — that I know all too well.

Since I was 11 years old I’ve understood that I’m faced with higher odds of dying than the average kid.

According to a statistic published by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, I have a 1-in-20 chance of dying from hypoglycemia, or severely low blood sugar. I don’t know anyone who has contributed to that statistic, but I do know plenty of people who’ve had hypoglycemia-induced seizures. It’s a constant possibility in my life.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes stem from a deficiency of insulin in the body. Type 1 involves a lack of insulin production, while those with type 2 diabetes face a diminishing insulin sensitivity. Insulin is essential to survival — without it, your cells have no way to absorb nutrients. Instead, your body will burn fat for energy. When this is prolonged, it will burn muscle, including your heart. As a severely underweight 11-year-old, I was diagnosed after a weekend camping trip. During the trip, I drank an excessive amount of orange juice, culminating in an unfortunate vomiting incident. A well-placed suggestion from a family friend led us to the emergency room a few days later. My blood glucose was three times what’s considered normal.

In the following months, a lot of things changed. I learned to count carbohydrates by sight and to give myself upwards of five daily injections. Then I got an insulin pump and a CGM (continuous blood glucose monitor), and I faced a whole new learning curve. After gaining 25 pounds, I was finally at a healthy weight. I no longer look sick. Aside from the small pink medical device I keep clipped inside my pants, I don’t think anything suggests there’s something wrong with my health. Those who have not witnessed it could never fully comprehend how much personal care diabetes takes, because most of it goes on behind the scenes. Diabetes is an invisible illness in almost every way.

I’m hesitant to suggest that my struggle is in any way unique. I know that people have problems that others can’t see. What’s different, though, is that despite the volatile nature of diabetes, the entire treatment of my condition is in my own hands. I make at least 20 medical decisions per day, most of which have potentially life-threatening consequences if not administered correctly; I only see a doctor every three months to help realign my decision-making. Living with diabetes means I risk and save my own life every single day.

If a cure were available, there’s no doubt in my mind I’d take it, despite the incredible support of the diabetes community. A lot of people feel that the things they have gained through diabetes-related experiences are more valuable than a life without our common chronic condition. Sure, there are certain parts of my experience I wouldn’t give up for anything — the friends I’ve made and everything my dad’s type 1 diabetes tech company has done for the community, for example — but that doesn’t mean I have any desire to continue to subject myself to unnecessary pain, fear and risk. No amount of sentiment is worth that. Yes, my condition has shaped my identity, but that doesn’t mean it is my identity. I am so much more than my cells, more than my body’s betrayal. My wellbeing is too valuable to sacrifice for the idea of solidarity.

Everything I do — every decision I make — is tied to my health in some way. It’s exhausting. If I choose to prioritize perfect diabetes care in my life, I’ll never have peace of mind. Those who concern themselves with absolute control have no other focus.

That’s not a lifestyle I’m willing to commit to. And yet, if I were to forget my diabetes entirely and allow myself to live unburdened by concerns for my health, I’d die. I’d lose my vision, or lose my legs, or my kidneys would fail. While those complications are unlikely, their prospect is terrifying. So my reality is a ceaseless tug-of-war between my physical and mental wellbeing.

If I’m healthy, I’m unhappy. If I’m happy, I’m unhealthy. I can never win.

All of this is not to say that I’m living a terrible life. Given the negativity my diabetes brings to my life, it’s easy to say I’d rather be without it. The constant obstacles inhibit my every day to extents I will never fully understand. But the challenges of diabetes themselves together present the greatest and most important challenge: carrying on. The ultimate defeat would be allowing my diabetes to control my abilities entirely. Having spent five years insisting I could live the same life as anyone else despite my diabetes, I struggle to admit the ways in which it does control me. I wish I weren’t limited, but the reality is that I sometimes need understanding or accommodations. And that’s OK. I remind myself every day that I’m allowed to ask for help.

Despite my limitations, I have to allow myself to take risks. I have to know that I’m not trapped by my condition, that I can still live something of a normal teenage life. My fragile mortality distorts my reality; if I want to live peacefully, I can’t let death scare me.

I don’t want to just sit around and cry about how I’m going to die, so I don’t let myself think about it. I’m not one to avoid my feelings, but in this case it’s vital to my survival. To conceptualize a serious fear of death would be to let it take over my entire life. Diabetes has taken a lot from me, but that’s one thing I won’t allow.

CULTURE|15

the

A Ye

o r u A n r d a

WORLD TEXT AND DESIGN BY MADDY BUECHELER AND JASMINE ABEYTA ILLUSTRATIONS BY JASMINE ABEYTA With gap years becoming an increasingly popular post-high school option, C Mag decided to interview Paly graduates who took a year off before college to see where they are now.

Galen Byrd “I wanted some real-life experiences before going to college,” Galen Byrd said on deciding to take a gap year. With college deadlines drawing ever closer, Byrd, like many high schoolers, felt, “I wasn’t passionate about anything. I had interests, but I really didn’t care deeply about anything”. With the bubble of high school concealing the outside world experiences necessary to find his true direction, Byrd chose a different path to accomplish his goal of experiencing real-life: a gap year. External forces stepped in again. “My mom ‘forced’ me into outward bound.” With a little research, Byrd became more excited. “Once I looked into it, I wanted to go.

My sister took a similar South America trip, so I felt comfortable knowing she has been to these places already.”

Guided by the advice of family and friends, Byrd finally set off on his year-long exploration. “I started with a 3.5 week outward bound course in southeastern Utah. We hiked 90 miles of backcountry and rafted 80 miles of the Colorado river.” He then embarked on a 6-week trip to Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. After that came many quicker trips with friends and family to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Cuba.

Now back and starting his first year at the University of Vermont, Byrd has found profound benefits from his year off. “With a year off, my transition to college was smoother and I have a totally rejuvenated interest in learning. I am genuinely enjoying classes compared to my low-interest in my classes in high school.” Byrd recalls the benefits he got from challenging himself as well. “I remember before my trip that my biggest challenge was facing my anxiety,” he said. “But today there are multiple incidences where I rise to the challenge.

I may not remember all the specifics but the overall memory is that of pure happiness.” To Byrd, a gap year was a great decision. “I gained so much perspective in so many aspects of life that I otherwise would have never even understood. My prior life was very structured. School, sports, summer camps, homework, etc. I had never had to really question, value or understand the precious moments of my life. ” Byrd believes that every student graduating should be required to take a gap year in order to find what matters to them and to determine how they will invest their time exploring the possibilities, “Deciding how to spend your time is a life skill that eventually we must all learn. The earlier, the better.”

16|Culture

Sophia Armitano Sophia Armitano couldn’t picture herself going to college right after high school. When thinking about the next chapter of her life, college just didn’t feel like the right path. “I knew that after college I wanted to start working, and once you start working it is much more difficult to get up and leave your life/work/etc. I thought this was the perfect time to do whatever I wanted,” she said.

Armitano, a member of Palo Alto High School (Paly’s) class of 2016, was then inspired to look into alternative post-high school plans. After talking to many people who had taken a year off after high school, and hearing nothing but positive feedback about taking a gap year, Armitano decided she needed to discover herself through travel, and take time off of school to recover from the academic pressures of living in Palo Alto.

“I was tired of living like a Palo Alto robot. I have absolutely no hatred for Palo Alto, and I am extremely fortunate and thankful for everything I have, but I got caught up in a lot of it and I wanted to experience something different,” she said.

With that, Armitano got a job at Anthropologie to raise money for her trip, and started to plan with her close friend Alys Olmstead, who also decided to take a gap year after graduating from Paly last year.

“We decided [we would go to] South America, because there are many hikes, circuits and outdoor activities to do. We both speak Spanish so we thought it would be a good idea to be able to utilize that,” she said.

Armitano started her gap year by traveling throughout Europe by herself, finding her way as the trip unfolds. She has been to various cities, including Munich, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Bolzano Vicentino (a small town near Venice) and Venice. She plans to visit more Italian and Spanish cities. Afterwards, she plans to move on to South America, where she and Olmstead will continue their gap years.

Like many others, Armitano went into her gap year with goals of self-improvement and with an open mindset. Most of all, however, she wanted to learn how to live in the moment.

“Anybody who knows me knows that I like to plan ahead and that I’m very organized. Sometimes that interferes with living in the moment and enjoying life,” she said. “I wanted to challenge myself to not have every detail planned out. Being in a completely new place and knowing absolutely no one is completely out of my comfort zone, but it’s also exciting and something I think everyone should experience.”

Armitano feels as though her indecisiveness is her greatest limiting factor, and that when planning her trip to the next city, she finds herself wasting a lot of time because of it. However, she feels that traveling alone has allowed her to learn through experience and work on her flaws.

When asked if she would recommend that others take a gap year, Armitano responded passionately.

“There are so many things you can do and learn on your gap year that no level of education can come close to,” she said. “I haven’t heard of people that regret taking a gap year, but I’m sure it’s not the right fit for everyone. If you feel burnt out, not ready to go to college, want something different, or want to find yourself, you should definitely take a gap year. To anybody that is even slightly considering it, take a gap year,” Armitano advised. “You’re never ever going to get this opportunity again. College, or whatever it is you want to do, can wait.”

CULTURE|17

Rebecca Sunnerås-Jonsson “Like many, I was pretty burnt out from the academic pressure at Paly by the time I was a senior, and as second semester neared it became more and more clear that going to college straight away was not the right move for me.”

With college application deadlines looming, Rebecca Sunnerås Jonsson , made the quick decision to opt out of the traditional path of education and pursue a gap year. “I believe a lot of people in high school default to thinking (as I once did) that there’s just this one path from leaving high school to your goals,” she said. “But that’s just not true. We all know that talk of college at Paly starts so early and that there is often a pretty singular presumed outcome. I just don’t see a lot of people investing serious time to really think about what they really want out of life before they leave high school.” She added, “I came to understand that I had to first find myself and find out a bit more about where I fit in the world. I came to believe that if I could do that, then I’d be able to make so much more out of my time and efforts at college.”

For students looking to take a gap year, national programs have more recently been established to assist student’s travel and classes for the year, however for Sunnerås Jonsson, need for 100% freedom was on top of her priority list. “I was initially interested in going on an organized gap year program, where you travel and have the opportunity to take classes as you go, but that did not seem free enough. Then, one of my French best friends was also taking a gap year.

She was planning to live and work in Paris, and convinced me, sort of on a whim, she convinced me to move to Paris with her.”

From there, real freedom was given, “Going to Paris on my own was a great choice for me. Suddenly, I was given the ability to travel around Europe as I desired and Paris would be my homebase. While the gap year programs are expensive and structured, I would be able to live for next to nothing.” She said with time abroad, “I found a real passion for art, something I never had time in high school to discover the wonders of art.” “A lot of this trip is about learning more about myself and how to take care of myself more like an adult, and living alone (with my two best friends) is teaching me a lot.

It’s really cool to see all the opportunities that have lined up by just not having any plans at all, and having the freedom to do literally whatever you want.”

We’ve always been a fan of engraving and have teamed up with MARIPOSA to offer FREE PERSONALIZED ENGRAVING just in time for Holiday gifts.

Please join us for an ENGRAVING PARTY on Thursday, November 17th 3:00-6:00 at Cover Story Collections 216 Main Street Los Altos, CA 94022 Pre-sale is also available November 14th - 20th so drop by anytime and take a look at the beautiful MARIPOSA frames, trays and platters available to add a monogram, name, date or personal message.

We look forward to seeing you!

THE DINER The Peninsula Creamery, located

in downtown Palo Alto, is a perfect restaurant for a first date. The Creamery is loud and fun, making it easy to break the ice and get to know your date. From salads to mac ‘n’ cheese to burgers, The Creamery is sure to have something you and your date are in the mood for.

The farmer's market You can find the Palo Alto Farmer’s Market any Sunday of the year from 9 am to 1 pm on California Avenue.

If going out at night isn’t your thing, the farmers market is a perfect way to take someone out for a first date together.

nola

Nola brings New Orleans’ cool vibe to Palo Alto. Nola is not only known for the delicious Cajun dishes, but also the N’awlins-style decorations and art that cover the walls of the restaurant. With balconies on all four sides overlooking an open-roof courtyard, Nola allows dates to take a quick, romantic trip to the Big Easy.

drive-in movie

A renovated relic of 1950s movie culture, the West Wind Capitol 6 DriveIn theater in San Jose is the perfect opportunity to cuddle up and enjoy a movie in the privacy of your own car. Don’t like old-fashioned films?

No worries — theaters like West Wind are stocked with newly-released movies.

20|Culture

TEXT AND DESIGN BY HOLLIE CHIAO AND MATTIE ORLOFF • PHOTOS BY JORDAN SCHILLING

ice skating

As the weather gets colder, cute date ideas aren’t as limited as they may seem. The Winter Lodge in Palo Alto is a local ice rink equipped with a cozy fireplace, well-maintained ice and fake snow that falls from the ceiling at the end of the night. Skating also provides adorable photo ops and excuses to hold hands.

concert

Finding a good concert can be a great bonding experience. From sitting on your date’s shoulders to visiting foodtrucks to just dancing the night away, you’re bound to have a good time. As Shakespeare once said, “If music be the food of love, play on!”

brunch

Tootsies at the Stanford Barn is a tiny cafe on campus, perfect for weekend brunches with bae. Their ricotta pancakes may be the most raved about item on Yelp, but the cozy barnhouse ambiance is what really sets this cafe apart. With a field of lavender, copious amounts of roses and ivy growing on the brick house, Tootsie’s oozes with a countryside feel.

sunset

If you’re looking for a peaceful, inexpensive evening, take a drive up Page Mill Road to Skyline Boulevard to watch the sunset. Whether you want conversation or complete silence, this is the perfect place to relax and appreciate the Bay Area’s natural beauty.

Check out our previous edition for other great sunset locations!

CULTURE|21

A New world of Hearing A LOOK INTO DEAFNESS, Cochlear Implants and THE stereotypes THAT SURROUND THEM

TEXT BY LHAGA DINGPONTSAWA, ALEXIS PISCO, YASHVI TIBREWAL, TEDDIE STEWART DESIGN BY TEDDIE STEWART • PHOTOS BY JORDAN SCHILLING AND TEDDIE STEWART

22|Culture

S

am McBride knows that when people look at her, they see her cochlear implant. Jumping to the conclusion that she needs their pity accommodations, they exaggerate their enunciation, talk a little louder, and assume she doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Deaf people are often treated as inferior, but many feel that their inability to hear doesn’t make them disabled. Unlike Sam, much of the D eaf community views their Deafness as just a different reality: not worse, just different.

It might seem impossible for someone who is deaf to fit in, especially taking into consideration that 95% of the world is hearing. We have stigmatized Deaf people as somehow less than ourselves, and they are well aware of the sympathetic looks that are forced on them.

Today, technology is able to give a deaf child the ability to hear. When Sam was one year old, she received a cochlear implant, an electronic medical device that replaces a non-functioning inner ear. Sam has never known a life without being able to hear, and she can’t imagine one.

“What if I’m walking in the middle of the road without my implant?” says Sam. “I’m not going to be able to hear.”

Sam was born Deaf on September 23, 1999 to Todd and Sarah McBride. The entire family received cochlear implants when the technology was still relatively new.

Originally, the Deaf community supported the McBrides’ decision to invest in cochlear implants, but the idea of having to someday leave the deaf community loomed over the McBrides.

A portion of the Deaf community believes that if parents give their children cochlear implants, they are expressing that something needs to be corrected, that their child is disabled in some way. This originates the moment a child is born and is given a pass-fail hearing test. For many members of the deaf community, the idea of doctors proclaiming that a newborn deaf child has “failed” a hearing test is deeply offensive, because it directly contradicts their belief that deafness is not necessarily a disability.

Why would a parent not want their child to have the opportunity to live with the ability to hear? This might seem like a question not worth asking, akin to asking if someone could give an amputee the opportunity to have their legs back. But the general opinion of the deaf community is that a person doesn’t need to hear to live a successful and fulfilling life.

While hearing people might view cochlear implants as

a way to contribute to the hearing world, many in the Deaf population view this as a loss to the Deaf community.

Most children who receive a cochlear implant will not learn sign language because it isn’t widely accepted by the oralism philosophy that dominates Deaf programs in the hearing community. Oralist schools educate Deaf students through oral language, which constitutes lip reading and mimicking the mouth shapes and breathing patterns of normal speech. Their primary goal is to integrate the deaf into the hearing society; however, this can create a great barrier between child and parent, maybe even ending a language that has been passed down for generations.

Although Sam started at an oral school for Deaf children before going to kindergarten, she still struggled in elementary school. Sam expressed her feelings about being Deaf and was quick to say how she differs from the rest of the community in viewing her Deafness as a disability.

“I think being Deaf is a disability because I can’t hear,” says Sam, “Everybody has [five] senses, and [I’m missing] a sense that is really important, and I need [it] in order to live …[If ] I take the implant off I can’t hear cars running by, I can’t hear people calling my name, I can’t hear people telling me to get out of the way. It could be life-threatening.”

This inability to hear made her childhood difficult, as she had to face many obstacles that hearing people don’t have to worry about. As a young child, Sam spent a lot of time with her extended family. They are all hearing, unlike her parents and brother. This, in turn, helped show Sam the two sides of the world she was living in. Growing up, Sam often found herself interpreting conversations for her parents and trying to help them feel like a part of their family. Even though her parents were living with cochlear implants, they weren’t able to fully integrate themselves into the hearing world, because people treated them differently.

Sam too, has felt this pity when teachers over-enunciate what they’re saying because they think they are helping her by doing so. This resulted in her family feeling constantly distanced from both communities.

After living most of her life caught between two worlds, Sam decided to share her perspective with the public by posting an anonymous blog directed at the deaf community, sharing her positive experience growing up with a cochlear implant.

Even though Sam understood there would be a lot

CULTURE|23

of harsh backlash from her article, she decided to post it anyway.

“They don’t like it because they think that when you give an implant to a Deaf child, you’re saying that the child is not perfect and that you need to fix them,” Sam explained.

In her blog, Sam draws from her personal experiences and asks the question, “Why wouldn’t you give your child a cochlear implant?”

As she had predicted, her article caused a lot of controversy, as many members of the deaf community didn’t seem to understand where she was coming from. Some felt attacked and expressed their feelings with bitter and ruthless comments.

“You’re emphasizing parents’ choice [to get their children implants], but nothing about the child. That’s sad,” an anonymous commenter wrote.

Others, however, were open to the idea of looking at this issue from a different point of view.

“I applaud you for writing this, you are absolutely right. This is your pride,” an anonymous commenter wrote.

Sam saw this controversy as an opportunity and decided to do something about it. She replied to as many comments as she could, offering her point of view and thanking them for their opinions.

The same summer that Sam posted her article, she served as an intern to Dr. Roberson, a doctor who specializes in cochlear implants. He operated on Sam and her family 16 years ago.

Her internship with Roberson has shaped the way Sam sees the world. She was able to help children who, just like her, were not able to hear until they received a cochlear implant. Sam plans to go into this field in order to serve members of the community transitioning from the Deaf community into the hearing world.

••• Stuck somewhere between the Deaf and hearing community is Sarah McBride, Sam’s mother. Born into a hearing family, Sarah spent the early years of her life trying to integrate herself into the hearing world. Her parents only realized her inability to hear when she turned three years old, a critical age for children to learn how to speak. While her peers learned to talk, Sarah was fitted with hearing aids and taught to lip-read.

Growing up in a hearing world was very difficult. “[Hearing people] have no patience,” said Sarah. “They have accents that [we] can’t understand when reading

lips, and they’re usually not interested in repeating, which makes communication very difficult,” explained Sam, as she interpreted for her mom. Sarah grew up learning to be oral under school systems that were adopting the oralism philosophies.

While speaking comes naturally to the hearing community, it is difficult for the Deaf. In elementary school, Sarah’s Deaf friends would constantly practice talking to perfect their speech and better integrate themselves into the hearing world. However, even endless practice with her peers wasn’t enough for Sarah. “I try to be part of the hearing world, but my speech isn’t clear and my grammar isn’t great,” Sarah said. Even if members of the hearing community put in the effort to understand, the pressure and difficulty of communicating remains. “[Speaking] doesn’t come naturally to me.”

After being raised in the hearing world, Sarah attended University of California at Santa Barbara. Free from the oral philosophies of her previous schooling, she was introduced to the Deaf community through American Sign Language (ASL). “[UC Santa Barbara] provided an interpreter, and that’s when I learned to sign. They provided an easier tool for me to communicate with,” said Sarah. After taking classes in ASL as the medium for communication, Sarah realized how much material had been lost in translation when she took the same classes orally in high school. Using sign language enabled her to learn more than she ever did orally, and Sarah says the experience led her to become addicted to signing.

“I grew up orally, but there was no connection between speaking and listening,” says Sarah. “Sign language is very visual, very logical. It helps me connect [information] more.”

Through UC Santa Barbara’s oral program and her proximity to the California School of the Deaf, Sarah got to spend more time with her Deaf friends, and gradually became a part of the Deaf community. Although she grew up in the hearing world, she considers herself a part of the Deaf community because she feels they understand her more.

Despite this, Sarah chose to remove her two children, who were born Deaf, from the Deaf community by giving them cochlear implants.

“I wanted them to have opportunities to be successful and be able to communicate with hearing people around the world,” Sarah says. Although she doesn’t see being deaf as a disability, she believes that government and employers do. According to CPRF, an organization that

helps those with disabilities get jobs, employers tend to classify Deaf people as incapable of performing a job because they assume they can’t communicate. However, this isn’t always true, as many Deaf people are orally proficient or can communicate easily if provided with the tools they need.

••• 40-year-old Elizabeth Kunze, who has only known deafness, has a similar view to Sarah McBride. She doesn’t feel disabled, but that the government has limited accessibility for the Deaf effectively taking away their potential. “Our society focuses on disability rather than accessibility,” says Kunze. By not hiring the Deaf or providing captioning or interpreters, society takes away the Deaf ’s abilities.

Born Deaf and having grown up in the Deaf community, she now works at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont.

Although she has a few friends and a daughter who are part of the hearing community, she thrives in the Deaf world. Medical procedures offer her the opportunity to join the majority of the world in hearing, but she chooses to remain Deaf. “This is how my life has been since I was born. I am happy with who I am and the people I have in my life,” said Kunze.

Kunze believes being Deaf in a hearing world has significantly shaped her values and worldview. “Being a minority has its advantages,” said Kunze. “It helps you become more understanding of what privilege is, how oppression feels and have more appreciation for those who make an effort to connect with you.”

As happy as she is in the Deaf community, Kunze agrees that cochlear implants have benefits for children born Deaf. However, Kunze sees the implant as a tool rather than a cure. “I think the most important thing to do is to expose your child to ASL at birth,” says Kunze. “[Then] they have a strong language foundation and are not delayed [in speech].

People say giving Deaf babies [cochlear implants] will give them more

"I wanted them to have opportunities to be successful and be able to communicate with hearing people around the world."

SARAH MCBRIDE

"We are all Disabled from the viewpoint of a bee."

KENNETH HARRENSTEIN choices. But then they take away ASL. That is taking away choices. It’s hypocritical.”

In addition, she strongly believes that every Deaf child should have access to the Deaf community. Being surrounded by like-minded people who are easy to relate to fosters self-confidence and self-assurance during childhood, which a Deaf child can only get from the Deaf community. It’s the only way for them to develop a strong sense of identity.

“Deaf people have a lot to contribute to the world, and being different is okay,” says Kunze.

••• Kenneth Harrenstein is the embodiment of that exact mentality. When Harrenstein was fiveyears-old he woke up one day and had lost all his hearing as a result of not being properly vaccinated for measles and mumps. However, he’s never let being Deaf hold him back.

He was “mainstreamed” (he attended a non-specialized school) and had trouble understanding and communicating with people around him until he was a young adult. Because he could not read lips, “[I spent most of ] class reading to myself or passing notes to nearby students. I got away with it because I told the teachers I was ‘trying to find out what their lecture was about’,” said Harrenstein.

He described his schooling experience as incredibly boring, as he was unable to understand what was happening most of the time. Instead, he dedicated his time to reading and immersing himself in books.

“Music and radio were not options, and there were no closed-captions on TV or movies in those days. I would visit the library all the time and take out as many books as I could carry. I was extremely self-motivated to do well at school because I always felt like I had to prove that I was just as good — or better — than the hearing students.”

This drive is what he believes enabled him to get into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At MIT, Harrenstien worked on a project called the ARPANET. This was one of the first versions

of email and online communication.

“I was motivated because I wanted that system to exist so I could communicate with people,” he said.

He is currently an engineer for Google in Mountain View. As the internet has evolved and changed, videos have become much more prominent. Members of the Deaf community had no way to take advantage of these videos because they weren’t captioned. Feeling the full impact of this disadvantage, Harrenstein took this problem to heart and decided to do something about it. Over the past few years he has been working with a team of other engineers to create captions on educational and important YouTube videos.

Harrenstein did not feel like a part of the Deaf community until he turned 21 and learned American Sign Language. Although he now works in the hearing world, Harrenstein still feels somewhat connected to the Deaf community.

“In the past several years I’ve met other smart, literate, and even high-tech Deaf folks, and really enjoy going to [Deaf events] to meet more,” Harrenstien said.“I don’t consider myself disabled, I’m just occasionally frustrated.”

Harrenstein views disability as something that indirectly affects everyone.

“We’re all disabled from the viewpoint of a bee, not just because we can’t fly but because we can’t see ultraviolet. We’re effectively blind to all but a tiny slice of the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as the auditory one — the phone system is designed to only transmit within a range of a few kHz for that reason. We use so many prosthetics daily — glasses, shoes, clothes, watches, wheels, knives, etcetera, that are all now considered ‘normal.’” In this way, being deaf isn’t something out of the ordinary for him.

There are a million Deaf people in the country and likely a million different definitions of “normal.” Sam McBride, Sarah McBride, Elizabeth Kunze and Kenneth Harrenstein have all taken different paths to find theirs.

November & December Events TEXT, DESIGN AND PHOTO BY MATTIE ORLOFF

The Lion King

Nov. 2-Dec. 31, San Francisco Theatre

Mac Miller

Nov. 9, Fox Theatre

Lil Wayne, Migos and 2 Chainz Nov. 10, Oracle Orena

Rae Sremmurd and Lil Yachty Nov. 10, The Warfield

Lupe Fiasco

Nov. 16, 1015 Folsom Theatre

Cirque du Soleil

Nov. 18, AT&T Park

Snakehips

Nov. 18, The Warfield

Steve Aoki

Nov. 19, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

Thanksgiving Run/Walk Nov. 24, Golden Gate Park

YG

Nov. 25, Fox Theatre

Christmas Tree Lighting Nov. 25-26, Union Square

Christmas Tree Lane

Nov. 27, 1900 Block Eucalyptus Ave

Menorah Lighting

Nov. 24-31, Union Square

New Years Eve Fireworks

Dec. 31, Between Mission and Folsom, SF

28|Culture

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Artist of the Month:

Dillon Scheel

TEXT BY NATHAN ZEIDWERG AND EMMA STAIGER • DESIGN BY EMMA STAIGER • PHOTOS BY JORDAN SCHILLING

C Mag sits down with senior guitarist Dillon Scheel to learn more about his band, his recording experience and his musical aspirations.

A

s I walk down the stairs into Dillon Scheel’s basement-turned music studio, he welcomes me to his “beat laboratory.” I settle into the cramped, styrofoam-insulated room and it’s immediately apparent how invested Scheel is in his music.

A piano, a drum set, a series of guitars and an unusual number of picks surround a chair and microphone that he’d been using to record.

For a man of few words, Scheel seems overwhelmed by how much he wants to share. He explains the function of all of his recording equipment and why he uses one particular technique over others. He seems infatuated with everything pertaining to the musical process. As soon as music is played or brought up, his distant stare snaps back to the present and he ignites with fixation and knowledge.

While Scheel has always been fond of music, he began playing the guitar at the age of nine. Not only is he a talented player but he also has a keen ear for rhythm and harmony, and he is able to easily continue a song after only having heard a few bars. His acute skill, compli-

mented by the euphonious voice of Palo Alto High School alum Henry Hughes, constitutes the most impressive amateur band I’ve ever heard.

Not only are their songs fantastic, but they have a magnetic dynamic; watching them perform is incredibly fun and everyone in the room feels the vibe of the music. There’s no uncomfortable staring, no hesitation; they simply jump in with confidence, causing their audience to reciprocate with confidence in their success. For having only released two songs, they’ve developed a devout cult following, including a series of groupies that closely monitor their every move.

Despite his local success and impending stardom, Scheel has somehow remained above the fray by focusing on school and college applications. However, it seems as though he’s simply passing the time until he can return to his studio, guitar in hand, and work toward his big break. Following is an interview that should give you some insight into the mind of Dillon Scheel, and if I were you, I’d have him sign it. You might be able to buy a car with it one day.

Q&A with Dillon Scheel C Magazine: What type of music do you play when you perform?

Dillon Scheel: A lot of John Mayer … Our closeout song, usually, is “Gravity” because by that time … it’s 7:30 or 8:00, so we’ll dish out Gravity because it’s a pretty smooth and really good ending song. Other than John Mayer ... we’ll play some Zac Brown Band, we’ll play some Norah Jones ... One of our favorite songs to play is Neon by John Mayer. If you haven’t checked that song out, you’ve got to check it out. If we do any cover songs, that’s our first go-to.

CM: What style does your band generally adhere to?

DS: I’d say it’s a lot like John Mayer’s, but what we’d like to be is more like John Mayer if he had a full band because [he] can play whatever he wants. Sometimes he can sound like an acoustic solo act, sometimes he can sound like Jimi Hendrix…But we would like to be more of a band with a distinct sound.

CM: We heard a few of your songs. What was the process of actually recording them?

DS: We went to this studio in Belmont with this woman that we have connections with through my dad … We recorded three songs, but we didn’t finish the overdubbing, which is when you pick the best take [of a song] to use for the remainder of the recording process … They sound good when they’re produced that way, but, the thing is, when you record in an acoustic studio like that and you don’t go in and put effects on it and you [skip] the whole mastering process, then the sound just isn’t as big and bold as you’d like.

CM: Did you learn anything from the process?

DS: Well, we recorded on tape, and people that I’ve talked to who have asked about my recording are like, “Wow, you recorded on tape for the first time? That’s pretty impressive.” Nowadays, you can do anything digitally, and it’s super easy to record. On tape, we just didn’t get the sound we wanted because we didn’t go through the whole process of getting the effects we wanted on the guitars and vocals and really add in some other elements.

Like, in a lot of songs today, you’d hardly even notice, but there are some synths in the background, some strings and just other added elements that give it a bigger and bolder sound.

So we basically learned that we wanted to do things digitally from now on.

CM: Do you think that you want to stick with Hughes in the future to maintain the band?

DS: It’s tough to really collaborate right now, but he’s helped me in a lot of ways to figure out if I wanted to pursue a career in more contemporary pop music … because I have a lot of background in jazz.

So in terms of writing music that’s more for an audience that you can connect with, he’s been good at keeping me in check … When I, with my jazz background, write music, it’s not exactly as easy to listen to. So when I bring a song to him and we go through it together, [his critique] is kind of disappointing sometimes, but he’s usually right and he has a good ear for that kind of thing, which is really important if you want your music to get anywhere.

CM: So you absolutely want to pursue music? No plan B? DS: Yeah, I do. I’ve looked into applying to music school and I thought I was going to do that for about a year. Long story short is, I thought I was going to go to music school … I’m not going to do that anymore and what a lot of my teachers have told me is if you study on your own, you can learn just as much as you would at another conservatory. It’s all about your own work ethic, making your own opportunities, going out and playing different gigs, and finding new places to play. I’m not taking the route through school, I’m taking my own route, and I’m going to keep playing as many gigs as I can, put my music out there and see what people think.

ARTs|31

REVIEW:

HEDWIG AND THE ANGR Hedwig and the Angry Inch? More like Hedwig and this show was so good it made me angry! Don’t miss C Magazine’s first theatre review with professional Broadway critique extraordinaire, Atusa Assadi.

TEXT AND DESIGN BY ATUSA ASSADI • ILLUSTRATION BY YOONJUNG CHO

B

roadway’s touring production of “Hedwing and the Angry Inch” is a mesmerizing success that transcends gender lines and redefines the meaning of the term “musical.” “Hedwig” lights up San Francisco’s Golden Gate theatre with the innovative music and lyrics of Stephen Trask. Headliner and Glee favorite Darren Criss delivers a stellar performances alongside supporting actress Lena Hall, who is reprising her Tony award-winning performance for this national tour. Criss dazzled in the role of Hedwig, a struggling genderqueer rock performer from East Berlin who does not allow her many hardships to strip her of her captivating pizzaz.

Before you ask: No, this isn’t a show about Harry Potter’s owl and his critical 2.54 centimeter-long tumor (although incidentally Criss did star in the fan-made cult hit “A Very Potter Musical.”) The title of the show stems from Hansel (now Hedwig) Schmidt’s botched sex change operation, which left her with an undesirable “angry inch” of flesh and consequent lifetime of defying norms of traditional gender expression. The show is loosely based on the life and experiences of the script’s author, John Cameron Mitchell, the son of an American General based in West Berlin. The idea for Hedwig’s character was inspired by Mitchell’s German babysitter who moonlighted as a prostitute from her home in “wicked little town” Junction City, Kansas.

32 | ARTs

The setup of the show has viewers serve as the audience for “Hedwig”’s rock meets offbeat comedy show with improvised references to current events and localities to keep each show fresh and high-energy. The scene never changes from the venue of the rock show, meaning that the cast of characters remains constant the whole show. With the exception of the band they are backed by, the entire cast is made up of Hedwig and her husband, Croatian immigrant and former drag queen Yitzhak (Hall), who is played by a woman to push the show’s gender fluidity even further.

One of the best things about this explosive rock musical is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Although the topics addressed are real and delicate, the play invites you to laugh at the oddities, but also share in the sorrow of Hedwig’s lowest points. I was excited and engaged the entire time, marvelling at the show’s singularity and ability to entertain while addressing real issues in a palatable way.

I’d strongly recommend this show to anyone with a “sweet tooth” for groundbreaking performances, or an affinity for edgy but moving rock ballads.

“Hedwig” is a special show because it asks nothing of you in terms of experience with sensitive issues of gender — only that you engage for the full 100 minutes and that you love and respect the electrifying heroine.

The crowd doesn’t feel exclusive at all; there’s no unspoken rule that “only the hyper-consciously politically correct are welcome.” In

fact, as I took my seat behind several rows of elderly patrons (as one must expect at any theatre performance, but especially a matinee) and snapped a photo for a friendly lesbian couple and their ten-year-old daughter, I decided that this show has something for almost any demographic to enjoy. Certainly, some of the older viewers were a little shaken up by the movement of Darren Criss’ meaty thighs, but overall I believe this show is for everyone (this point was carried home when almost the entire audience waited in the rare San Francisco sun for some two hours for Criss at the stagedoor.) It’s about when the important things in life get “botched” and how we cope and move on from those situations; it’s about anger, love, forgiveness, and, most of all, our humanity.

As something of a connoisseur of musicals, I’ve come to tire of the “classic” format.

I resent shows from the mid 20th century full of cheesy dance breaks and cringeworthy jazz hands, delivering cliché messages with damsels in distress belting one last high C before their timely rescue by a dreamy but morally questionable knight in shining armor. The thought of shows like “Oklahoma” makes me roll my eyes. When I watch a musical, I crave something creative and original, something that delivers a crucial message, that revolutionizes the medium evoking the whole host of emotions from the audience and reminds everyone of their shared vulnerability. “Hedwig” delivers on all of these fronts.

RY INCH

Green Day's Revolution Radio TEXT BY GABE COHEN • DESIGN BY HANNAH DARBY PHOTO BY JORDAN SCHILLING

Staff writer Gabe Cohen reviews the iconic rock band’s 12th studio album, Revolution Radio.

Best Tracks Still Breathing Outlaws Revolution Radio

Worst Tracks Youngblood Say Goodbye Bouncing Off The Wall

34 | ARTs

I

t’s been a long time since Green Day has released a good album. If you were to talk to any fan, no matter how diehard, they would likely agree that Green Day hasn’t released a complete record since 2004’s “American Idiot.” But they have tried to make good albums; disregarding these attempts would be unjust. Green Day has even come out with a couple of great songs since “American Idiot.” Their 2009 double album “21st Century Breakdown” includes some noteworthy jams such as the genre-flipping deepcut “Peacemaker” and the chart-topping single “21 Guns.”

Though the latter track may not have gained favorable reviews from the band’s fan base due to its undeniable pop appeal, I firmly believe that “21 Guns” perfectly demonstrates Billie Joe Armstrong’s impeccable song-crafting talents with vocals, guitar and songwriting. Despite these few gems, “21st Century Breakdown” overstays its welcome at almost 70 minutes of tracks. Even though there is a staggering amount of music on the album, there are only a few noteworthy and memorable tracks.

The band followed up “21st Century Breakdown” with an even more ambitious project in 2011-2012: “Uno,” “Dos” and “Tre.” This is not simply an album title but rather three album titles, all released within a few months of each other. The goal of the band was to step back from their rock opera style in order to create simple rock-and-roll, and a lot of it. The project as a whole hits a gargantuan 121:40 in length.

Though the sound of the trilogy is minimal compared to “21st Century Breakdown,” the whole project seems like a macrocosm of its predecessor: There are some great songs, but the excessive amount of filler makes the trilogy a chore to listen to all the way through. The lack of commercial and critical success of the trilogy seems to make Green Day’s mission clear for their eventual follow up: No more filler. The album needed to be concise. Whether or not the music needed to be ambitious in scope was up to them.

In my opinion, Green Day’s best music comes directly from Billie Joe’s heart. From the snot-nosed pop punk masterpiece that was “Dookie” to the ambitious political rock opera of “American Idiot” in 2004, Armstrong’s lyrics are direct, visceral and personal with strong concepts that materialize throughout each record. The argument can be made that what set Green Day’s inferior albums back was a lack of coherency in the tracks. So now, after all the trials and attempts to create a great album, Green Day released “Revolution Radio,” their 12th stu-

dio effort, on October 7th.

“Revolution Radio” plays how Green Day intended “21st Century Breakdown” to play following “American Idiot.” What do I mean by that? Well, for starters, the production of the album is almost robotically pristine. The guitars manifest a wall of crunch against crisp drums and the low ends of the bass. The acoustic guitars (which get the most play time on a Green Day album since 2001’s “Warning”) are full and bright, providing a soft cradle for Billie Joe Armstrong’s voice, which is caked in more post-production effects than any instrument.

Armstrong’s voice no longer possesses the same power it did through Green Day’s golden age. However, that’s not to say that his vocal skills haven’t improved. He still has the pipes, but the heaps of editing clearly in place prove that they aren’t nearly as powerful as they were ten or even twenty years ago. All this adds up to create a very clean production value to the album.

With the production only being utilized to clean up the sound of the album, the majority of judgement falls on the songs themselves, and how they stack up. They vary drastically in quality, but average out to a pretty decent batch of songs. The record’s high points include the bombastic pop rock ballad “Outlaws,” which employs the loud-soft dynamic better than any other song on the album. “Still Breathing” is inarguably the highlight of the record; its pop-appeal and earworm hooks make the song a dynamic and epic affair. The lyrics on the track provide tangible metaphors for the listener to relate to, and Billie Joe’s voice sounds pristine.

Coupled with these great tracks, however, is an overwhelming amount of material that leaves the listener unsatisfied. The vast majority of songs on this record aren’t objectively bad, but they aren’t very good either. Tracks like “Say Goodbye” and “Bouncing off the Wall” are the greatest offenders, coming off as so aggressively average and unmemorable that you forget them the moment they end.

This is where this record suffers the most.

These bland, generic pop punk tracks grow infuriating with multiple listens, and even the aforementioned good songs on the record feel tainted by their overpowering mediocrity.

“Revolution Radio” is a safe-bet for Green Day. They were clearly trying to strip the unneeded bells and whistles from their previous two releases in order to make a more straight-forward punk record, and, in that sense, they achieved their goal. But at the end of the day, “Revolution Radio” is lacking in innovation, takes no risks and left me feeling helplessly unsatisfied.

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An Interview With Dwight A poem by Teddie Stewart Tell me how it feels to hear voices that only talk to you…

Do they give you stories?

Whisper muddy love and raise your skin?

You say “Their words give me stability” You seem to crawl from thought to thought, adjusting yourself into some shape that feels more comfortable.

So why you are permanently slumped?

You say “My depression made me veal” How do you collect enough drowsiness to sleep through the day?

You grab ahold of my shoulders and rock me right to left… and right to left…

“Infant tactics,” you say.

If you lay your head down, does the weight feel like a burden? Do your nightmares ever cease?

“Once I push suicides, but I try to never let it get that far” with a slight grimace chuckle.

“I must say, you are kindness in a divine casing, why are you letting it turn cold?”

He tells me “It’s getting harder to stack my spine and relieve myself ” 36 | ARTs

Let us

paly madrono 2016-17

KNOW...

The Madrono staff [you know, those guys ^] would love to hear from YOU: • Have an idea for something we should cover? Let us know!

• Take a cool photo we might want to put in the book? Let us know!

• Interested in joining us on the staff next year? Let us know!

• Want to just see how the yearbook is put together? Let us know!

Stop by MAC 104 during 6th period and say hello! or email us at: madronoyearbook@gmail.com

fall crafts TEXT, PHOTOS AND DESIGN BY HANNAH DARBY AND TALIA STANLEY

pumpkin candles materials: • Small pumpkins or decorative goods • Kitchen knife • Candle

instructions:

1. Prepare your workspace: Line the countertop or a work table with plastic wrap and set out all of your supplies.

2. Cut the top off the pumpkin: Use the kitchen knife to slice off the top of the pumpkin and its stem.

3. Carefully make an incision in the top of the pumpkin, cutting a circle with a knife.

Use the knife to remove the top and hollow out the pumpkin.

4. Place the candle inside the hollowed pumpkin. If the hole is not wide enough, use the knife to shave around the edges to make it wider.

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leaf bowl materials: • • • • • •

Modge Podge Foam paintbrush Leaves 1 balloon Scissors Mixing bowl

instructions: 1. Collect a variety of leaves from outside or around your neighborhood.

2. Cut off the stems of the leaves using scissors.

3. Fill up a balloon and place it in a mixing bowl to keep it in place.

4. Apply a thin layer of modge podge to your balloon.

5. Place leaves on the balloon, adding another layer of Modge Podge on top of the leaves.

6. Continue this process until the base of the balloon is covered in leaves. The father down you place the balloons , the taller the bowl.

SF Neighborhoods: Bernal Heights

Wear your hiking boots and don’t forget to pack a water bottle, Bernal Heights is C Mag’s first stop on the SF travel diary. Located in the southern part of San Francisco, Bernal Heights sits surrounded by a grassy hilltop -- perfect for hiking, dog walking and running. A mostly residential neighborhood, Bernal Heights is a hub for your dog loving and lesbian friends. This quiet, yet chic corner of the city offers its visitors a vast selection of cafes, nurseries, and high end boutiques.

TEXT BY FE HMELAR DESIGN BY FE HMELAR PHOTOS BY ANGELINA WANG AND FE HMELAR

ARTs|41

OPINION

Ethical Fashion

TEXT BY CHIARA BIONDI • ART AND DESIGN BY CHIARA BIONDI AND OLIVIA O’FARRELL • PHOTOS BY JORDAN SCHILLING

Y

ou might consider it to be an art form, you might detest it or maybe you just don’t care. Regardless of your stance on the importance of clothing, it is imperative that you understand the impacts of what you wear on our planet and humankind.

Fashion is a $3.1 trillion global industry. It is also the second most polluting industry on earth and the second-largest consumer of water. Americans alone dump 10.5 million tons of textile waste into their trash cans each year, leaving the non-biodegradable materials to rot away in landfills. This practice seems to defy all logic — why purchase something just to toss it away?

Unfortunately, it seems that Americans, along with the rest of the Western world, have fallen victim to a trap set by big businesses: senseless consumerism. It’s in the economic interest of big brands, such as H&M or Topshop, to quickly and consistently spit out new clothing. With low prices and ever-changing styles, shoppers feel like there is always an abundance of clothing available and then buy more. This business model is known as “fast fashion," and it has devastating repercussions for the third world countries that do the manufacturing.

To captivate the attention and attract the cash of customers, fast fashion brands rely on extraordinarily cheap products. While shopping, it’s easy to look at a $5 price tag and think that you’ve stumbled upon a steal. But it’s critical to recognize that the price is low for a reason. Somewhere along the supply chain, sacrifices are made to keep the cost low for consumers. Fast fashion enterprises cannot maintain their low price points without outsourcing manufacturing to third world countries where workers do not have safe working conditions, fair minimum wage or the abili-

ty to unionize. Since the economies of these countries are so fragile, the risk of losing business from the western brands bullies factories into accepting lower and lower payment for their work.

As if all this were not enough, areas with a high concentration of factories suffer from life-threatening pollutants. In the city of Kanpur, India, 50 million liters of toxic waste floods into the city’s water supply daily. The pollution causes high rates of liver cancer, jaundice and various skin infections among the city’s inhabitants.

The damaging effects of fast fashion on the environment are not limited to capitals of manufacturing. Between production and distribution, the global impact of the fashion industry is astounding. For a single t-shirt to travel from a factory in China to your local department store, two pounds of carbon dioxide are emitted. What’s on the inside matters, too.

The cotton in one t-shirt requires 700 gallons of water to grow and process. Since two-thirds of all clothing is made from cotton, you can only imagine the amount of water consumed by the entire industry.

But just because the ethics of fashion seem grim doesn’t mean one should stop buying clothes all together. Many members of the industry have recognized the problem and are making strides to fix it. You don’t need to look any further than Town and Country, home to prAna, a clothing company dedicated to selling quality products without sacrificing the environment to do so.

“Our brand is an opportunity to enlighten customers so that they’re educated and informed,” Anna Santana, manager of prAna’s Palo Alto location, said. “We want them to have a better understanding of the effects of fashion.” prAna uses sustainable materials, such as hemp, organic cotton, and recy-

cled wool and polyester to manufacture their clothing. In addition, prAna is certified by a number of organizations that substantiate the ethics of their products, including Responsible Down, bluesign, Fair Trade USA and the Fair Labor Association.

Unfortunately, as the focus on ethics increases, so does the cost. The price point may not be feasible for many, but those with means should consider it a fair price to pay for virtuous and quality products. “You have less in the materials, but you have a little more work going into producing those materials. The work, and price, will be reflective in the quality you get,” Santana said.

In contrast, how can a $10 shirt account for the cost of its entire trajectory through the supply chain? It can’t. But our desire for “more” comes into play, and suddenly a $10 shirt becomes quite appealing. Expensive clothing doesn’t align well with the consumerist mindset, and companies like prAna are aware of that.

“Yes, we can be stimulated by fast fashion because we’ve become a materialistic society,” Santana said. “But in comparison to being a little bit more conscious, doing your homework on what you’re buying and wearing, and how that’s going to impact the world, it’s a whole different ballgame.”

Although it may seem as if we are slaves to consumerism, destined to shove as many items into our closet as we possibly can, we must remember the significance of the role we all play. You are able to invest in whatever product you choose to. You are able to educate yourself on the topics of cheap labor and the severe environmental impact that goes hand in hand with outsourcing the production of inexpensive clothing. Fast fashion brands depend on you buying into their model of more is more. So don’t buy into it.

Brands to buy from PATAGONIA REFORMATION NASTY GAL "AFTER PARTY" A.P.C. "BUTLER" AMERICAN APPAREL PRANA JOHN VARVATOS DL 1961 DENIM ...OR GO THRIFTING

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Art galleries TEXT, DESIGN AND PHOTOS BY ALLY SCHEVE

in Palo Alto

With rent soaring in Silicon Valley, locally owned art galleries have struggled to maintain their space and have subsequently dwindled in number. The remaining galleries are the hidden gems of Palo Alto, and they’re great places for community gatherings and housing the arts. Here are a couple that you should visit. Check them out!

gallery house

bryant street gallery

Nestled between a high-end hair salon and a brand new gym, Printers Cafe on California Avenue houses the 60-year-old Palo Alto institution, the Gallery House. The gallery is surprisingly large, with numerous paintings lining the walls, and it showcases many different techniques and styles. As I observed some of the exhibitions more closely, a kind woman named Patricia Nojima approached me.

Nojima has been a part of the Gallery House Co-Op since 2002. As a part of the co-op, Nojima and the other artist, pay dues and staff the gallery while their art is on display. Nojima leads me around the gallery, pointing out certain areas of the gallery and noting the diversity of the work. There are paintings that jump off the walls like the psychedelic water color pictured to the right, pictures that capture the true beauty of the Bay Area through masterful photography and alluring handmade tapestries. Gallery House has been showcasing art since 1956, and it’s an important part of Palo Alto’s art history. With a lovely staff and beautiful art, it is hard to pick a highlight, but the boxes of unhung work sitting near the back of the gallery that are relatively inexpensive should not be missed. Gallery House is a great place to spend a leisurely afternoon drinking a delicious iced coffee and admiring exquisite local art.

Located one block off of University Avenue, the Bryant Street Gallery showcases contemporary art. Established in 2002, the gallery is a haven for art lovers and appreciators of beauty. The gallery is white and airy, with cavernous ceilings and large, abstract paintings lining the walls. A recent exhibition featured Tracey Adams, a long-time partner with the Bryant Street Gallery who brings her emotions to life through art. The texture and bold colors of each of her paintings make them pop off the walls. This exhibition is full of vibrancy and sentiment. The art housed in the Bryant Street Gallery is upscale but worth visiting, as it is very accessible and one of the only art galleries left in downtown Palo Alto. After a meal with your friends, step into this gallery to explore contemporary art with bold colors and brush strokes.

Bryant Street Art Gallery Art By Tracey Adams

locations Bryant Street Gallery: 532 Bryant St, Palo Alto, CA 94301 Gallery House: 320 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306

Gallery House Art By Elis Minborg

ARTs|45

3

4 TEXT AND DESIGN BY NICOLE LI PHOTOS BY NICOLE LI AND JORDAN SCHILLING CONTRIBUTIONS BY AHANA GANGULY

I

n Palo Alto, residents have sculptures and art displays that go beyond your average lawn gnome and flamingo combination. We’re talking fantasy worlds of mystical creatures and unorthodox creations. Here’s your chance to find out more about Palo Alto’s unique features and learn the mysteries of the town.

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GARDEN OF MUTH On a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jeanne and Larry Aufmuth found the cactus that now watches over their front yard. On a different trip to Minnesota, the couple found a rooster sculpture they instantly fell in love with. “After a couple of months,” Jeanne said, “the rooster finally arrives, and the artist pulls up in a truck, and says, ‘Oh, I see you have my cactus.’”

This serendipity has made the Aufmuth garden the fun, whimsical landscape it is today.

Spread throughout the yard are little pigs, smaller roosters, a bottle tree and a giant dragonfly named Depepea that rotates in the wind. There’s an elephant from India, a scrap metal animal, a frog on the wall, a buddha, an ant and a large flower hidden in the bushes.

“Whenever we see a sculpture that we love, we just think, ‘We’ll find a place for it.’ We’re not done, but we’re going to run out of room eventually,” Jeanne said with a laugh.

For the Aufmuths, each piece adds happiness and character to the garden.

“Our dining table looks out over where Depepea is, and that’s where I face when we eat. He’s sort of part of my day.”

ROCHELLE FORD Everything in Rochelle Ford’s yard is made out of recycled materials. At age 58, Ford quit her job running an international nonprofit and taught herself to be a welder. Since then, people have brought things like wrecked car parts and old trashcan lids for Ford to weld into sculptures.

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1 46 | ARTs

Cactus sculpture by Frederick Prescott

2

Scrap metal above the Ford front door

5 “My instruments use 6,300 degrees of heat — twice the heat of the sun,” Ford said. “I use those materials to cut out all the metal, so I draw with fire.”

Placed throughout her yard are pieces made of old wine barrels, an angel made out of an old water heater and a pregnant woman fused from melted metal.

“I know exactly what I want to do,” Ford said. “The metal kind of tells me what it wants to be. My favorite piece? The one I’m trying to do next.”

When asked about her motivation for becoming an artist, Ford was introspective. “It’s the last thing I wanted to do before I died,” Ford said. “You have to fulfill your dreams. My friend was dying of cancer, and she told me, ‘Don’t die wondering.’”

One might wonder what a woman of her energy and confidence can’t do.

“I can’t draw,” Ford said, smiling. “I can’t draw with a pencil, but I can draw with heat. It takes two types of energy to make my pieces. It takes my masculine energy to do all the heat work, and with my feminine energy, I can do all the finishes — I can paint and make everything look nice. When I wake up in the morning, I ask myself what I’m going to do today. Sometimes it’s welding, sometimes it’s the finishing.”

Ford still organizes shows, alerting thousands of guests on her mailing list when she does. Even when there isn’t a show going on, her gallery is always on display.

6 “People literally knock on the door. They bring out-of-town guests, and every week somebody will come by and they’ll have a piece they want to buy or they’ll bring in a piece of metal that they want made into something.”

STELLING HAUS Stelling Haus is a home that also functions as an outdoor museum. Built by Charles Stelling in the early 1900s, the blue and white roof peeks over the fence facing the street. Horseshoes from the horses that worked on the farm now hang on the fence as hooks. Chickens, ducks, cows and pigs also inhabited the Stelling farm.

The collection also includes short saws, axes, clamps, a pitchfork, milk jugs, chains, a harvest sickle, egg-sorting trays, barrels, cooking pots, a wheelbarrow, a scythe and a millstone.

Fred, Stelling Haus’s resident of 15 years and the artist behind the house’s gallery-like decor, created the display to bring history back into the community. “Stelling would bag ducks and pheasants for dinner,” Fred said. “People nowadays don’t know what the old way of living was like. People used to take care of nature instead of exclusively taking out of it. It pains me to see litter in the streets and kids and computer-people throwing everything away.”

GARDEN SCULPTURES around palo alto

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Ford’s trash can lid sun display

4

Farm tools in front of Stelling Haus

5

Cock-A-Block, also

by Prescott

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Stelling fence facing Louis Road

ARTs | 47