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AP credit declined by colleges
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Dance team domination
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A legacy ended in girls soccer
Monta Vista High School Issue 6, Volume XLIII elestoque.org March 13, 2013
el ESTOQUE
UNREAL EDUCATION Why a lack of practical knowledge means we aren’t as smart as we think we are
elESTOQUE
Contents
news 5 Campus upgrade
Planned features of new buildling go beyond cafeteria
7 COLUMN: Little Lessons 8 Police plans OPINION 13 staff editorial Defining ‘intelligence’
A graduate of the Teen Police Academy, junior Zac Burke sets his heart on entering law enforcement
10 Unaccepted credit
A growing number of colleges refuse to accept AP exams for college credit
Practical education is just as important as its academic counterpart
14 pulse
The new cafeteria will provide a solution to current student frustrations
14 BOTTOM LINE Colleges rejecting AP courses for credit are making the right decision Girls sports should receive the same community support as boys’
16 column: The Deep End
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 17 Atypical traditions Every family is different — some more so than others
18 COLUMN: Family Matters 19 COLUMN: 17 going on 71 special report 24 Welcome to the ‘real world’
Changing expectations of home and school impact our learning life skills
21 Dance, dance The Marquesas have been on a winning streak. How do they do it?
26 Scam prevention Basic knowledge to protect you from being a victim
27 A college education Alumna shares experience learning to be independent
28 Life after high school Alumni and teachers reveal the struggles of new adult responsibility
29 Sudden learning curve
One reporter’s narrative on adjusting to Chicago city life
sports 31 End of a Kute era
A decade of a family’s dedication to MVHS soccer ends with departure of varsity girls coach Alan Kute
34 Previewing the MLB
MVHS baseball players weigh in on Major League predictions
37 A lesson in horseback riding Breaking down the details of the equestrian sport
39 Sportsflash
Recaps of boys and girls basketball and wrestling senior nights
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EL ESTOQUE
el ESTOQUE 21840 McClellan Road Cupertino, CA 95014 mv.el.estoque@gmail.com
Editors-in-Chief: Cynthia Mao, Anushka Patil Managing Editors: Smitha Gundavajhala, Patrick Xie, Amelia Yang Copy Editors: Daniel Fernandez, Forest Liao Webmaster: Karen Feng Photo Editors: Margaret Lin, Catherine Lockwood News Editors: Rachel Beyda, Amrutha Dorai, Athira Penghat Sports Editors: Carissa Chan, Karen Feng, Atharva Fulay Entertainment Editors: Yimeng Han, Gisella Joma, Yashashree Pisolkar Opinion Editors: Simran Devidasani, Mihir Patil, Bryan Wang Special Report Editors: Mihir Joshi, Jennifer Lee, Morahd Shawki Design Editor: Alexandria Poh Business Editors: Albert Qiu, Varsha Venkat Public Relations Editors: Ankita Tejwani, Angela Wang Staff Writers: Anjali Bhat, Shriya Bhindwale, Anupama Cemballi, Nathan Desai, Ashley Ding, Soumya Kurnool, Yuna Lee, Steven Lim, Shannon Lin, Alaina Lui, Shuyi Qi, Namrata Ramani, Ruba Shaik, Christopher Song, Eva Spitzen, Robert Sulgit, Joyce Varma, Neesha Venkatesan Adviser: Michelle Balmeo Credits Some images in this publication were taken from the stock photography website sxc.hu. Mission Statement El Estoque is an open forum created for and by students of Monta Vista High School. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Monta Vista High School or the Fremont Union High School District. The staff seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the MVHS community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our readers. We strive to report accurately, and we will correct any significant error. If you believe such an error has been made, please contact us. Letters of any length should be submitted via email or mail. They may be edited for length or accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion. We also reserve the right to reject advertising due to space limitations or decision of the Editorial Board that content of the advertisement conflicts with the mission of the publication. MARCH 13, 2013
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he first time I saw a W-2 form was in January, also generally our educators — of street smarts, six months after I started working at Jamba at least. They guide us through moral qualms and Juice. I suppose having a job qualifies me spiritual ones, so why not practical ones? They as having real-world experience, but just barely. taught us plenty when we were children, but at I opened the envelope that came in the mail and some point, it becomes our responsibility. Whether handed it off to my dad. He would take care of it. we wait our turns to learn those lessons as they We tout this school as many things — most naturally come up in our lives or we actively step often for its high ranking on U.S. News and out to educate ourselves immediately, we should World Report — but not necessarily as a prime realize that a part of growing up, maturity and location for students who know how to handle intelligence requires knowledge like this. themselves in the bigger We bring up game of life. Sure, we this topic because can handle stress. As as the end of Cynthia we progress through another school & high school, we become year approaches, better at prioritizing and evaluating where Anushka time management. We we are in life, how will learn to speak new far we’ve come and languages, to calculate how much further LETTER FROM THE EDITORS we must go is complex calculus problems and to describe worthwhile. Once how coffee affects our nervous system. we recognize our social intelligence shortcomings, But what happens when we are faced not with we can take steps towards repairing them. tests and papers but with the day-to-day? Do we In the end, wholly educating ourselves is a know how to change a tire? Do we know how to collective effort that must be undertaken by do our own laundry? Do we know how to correctly us, teachers, parents and peers. It is an effort address an envelope? Only 26 percent of students that requires us to extend beyond our comfort tested by our opinion staff actually did. We can’t zones to learn something new, and this effort blame the slow death of snail mail on that one. unquestionably never ends. We don’t know It’s not easy to pinpoint a direct cause for our everything yet; we simply can’t. Someday, I won’t lack of knowledge. A big factor is our environment. need my father’s help. We don’t have to know which streets to avoid late c.mao@elestoque.org | a.patil@elestoque.org at night to avoid being mugged. Our parents are
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Correction: On page 6, the Califonia Plumbing Code requires that a school provide one toilet for every 40 men and 30 women. On page 39, Sportsflash incorrectly reported the results of the varsity girls basketball team. The team advanced to the second round of CCS before losing to San Benito by 4 points. 3
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Used with permission of DLM Architecture
BUILDING TOWARD THE FUTURE
New campus center designed with flexibility, students’ needs in mind by Athira Penghat with additional reporting by Yuna Lee
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or the next 18 months, students create a college-style campus center that is will have to adjust to the change in reflective of the culture of MVHS. “We don’t even want to call it a cafeteria,” logistics for brunch- and lunchtime festivities with the absence of half Assistant Principal Brad Metheany said. the Rally Court, prepare to leave for school a “We’re referring to it as a café.” few minutes earlier to account for the fencedoff drop off zones and purchase meals from Foundations for construction In June 2008, local voters approved two 36-by-10 foot food trucks — and a new Measure B, which authorized cafeteria is only part the district to sell $198 million of the reason behind in school bonds to pay for these changes. What’s new in the campus improvements. After The blanket being divided among the five term “cafeteria LABS schools in the district, some construction” is specifically planned of this money has been used misleading — the twofor projects such as bathroom story building that and field renovations as well as will be available for the addition of solar panels to use in August 2014 campus parking lots. will feature not only a to increase classroom At MVHS specifically, college-style cafeteria flexibility many projects have been and improved kitchen, executed since then, but the but also programming and physics labs, a staff lounge, a student cafeteria-kitchen building — ironically, lounge complete with flat-screen televisions the smallest in the district despite MVHS and soft-seating, a veranda and an elevated housing the largest student body — was not touched until now. But planning for the amphitheater area. According to Principal April Scott, the building’s renovation had begun as early as goal behind these additions on campus is to 2011. According to Scott, the idea at the time
Programming
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was to simply enlarge the cafeteria-kitchen space and construct a new building for new classrooms at the back end of campus. “There were two conversations going on when somebody asked the question, ‘Would it be possible to put those buildings together?’” Scott said. “And at that point, the two conversations overlapped.” Plans to construct a new building containing a new kitchen, cafeteria and classrooms at each school site was approved by the FUHSD Board of Trustees in the spring of 2012. Currently, the only two schools that have begun construction are MVHS and Cupertino High School, with CHS having started in the fall of 2012. Over the next few years, Fremont, Homestead and Lynbrook High Schools will also begin construction. According to FUHSD Nutrition Services Coordinator Bill Schuster, the district is trying to avoid overlapping the projects as much as possible because construction at one school alone requires a significant amount of manpower. Although all five schools are currently executing this project, the only planning done together pertained to unifying the new brunch and lunch options district-wide. EL ESTOQUE
ture
Aside from that, the administration from each school was free to design its respective buildings to match the unique features of its campus site.
“We’re going to be able to make more home-cooked meals — what’s the word now, comfort food? And we’ll have more variety,” Lihn said. “We’ll be able to serve actual salads at the salad bar — hey, there’s Better equipment, better food a concept!” In order to foster increased student use According to Schuster, the main purpose of the cafeteria, the dining area of the new of using fresh products is to convince more building is designed so students to actually buy their that the exterior structure meals at school as opposed What’s new in the gradually blends and to off-campus venues. merges with the Rally “My competition is on the Court, where a large streets, so I have to be able to rooms portion of the social scene provide food that’s cheaper on campus is typically and better than what’s out found. The glass walls of there,” Schuster said. on all four walls the building will roll up like However, aside from garage doors to combine multiple projector seeking to offer the best the indoor and outdoor school lunch program spaces into one, and a possible, Schuster also hopes staircase will connect the that the students will see center of the Rally Court that the entire structure was to the second floor of the building, creating built with them in mind. a campus hub. According to Schuster, this “The new layout will give the students concept of student inclusion was the driving a nicer environment, and with that comes force behind many of the design plans. The primary kitchen area will resemble that of a food court with cooks working on a line, so students will be able to observe the cooks preparing the meals while they stand in line to purchase food. Although the chefs will still need to follow state standards and adhere to the district-wide menu, the kitchen upgrade will accommodate for new brunch and lunch specials. “I can’t tell you how much fun it’s going to be when that new kitchen goes up,” Food Services Supervisor Frank Lihn said. “You aren’t even going to recognize this place or the food that comes out. Really, what I’m going to do is I’m going to put up a big sign LEAVE YOUR MARK Plans and every time the bell rings, I’m going to for the new building yell, ‘Showtime!’” were designed by DLM This grab-and-go serving style will create Architecture. One of the more points of sale, so the lines will run more efficiently. But apart from appearance, architects working on the new kitchen will also include diverse the project is Class of equipment, such as a refrigerated double 1975 alumus Erwin Lee. salad bar, a 40-gallon steamed jacket kettle to prepare pasta, soups and sauces, a tiltable braising pan to grill and braise food and a steamer that is less prone to overcooking rice, pasta and vegetables. These additions, according to Lihn, will allow him and his team to not only prepare larger quantities of food, but also execute meals with more finesse and efficiency. Lihn foresees that the size and capacity of the new kitchen will allow him to continue making soups, stews, salad dressings, tomato sauces, barbecue sauces and, as the budget permits, many more items from scratch. Used with permission of DLM Architecture
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Physics
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MARCH 13, 2013
NEWS
a lot more pride because we’re treating them like college students,” Schuster said. “We’re just trying to get away from the traditional high school format that we’ve followed for the last 50 years.” Specific spaces The classrooms in the new building will also target the needs of the students because each of these rooms will be designated for one specific subject. Physics and programming teachers were invited to give their input regarding the interior configuration, such as the ideal locations for projector screens, whiteboards, storage areas and cabinets. According to physics teacher Jim Birdsong, this method of designing a room to match the class makes these new classrooms more purpose-driven and creates a better teaching environment since sacrifices wouldn’t have to be made to
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NEWS displaying notes on one screen and a video arrange a classroom for multiple subjects. “Biology has been growing a lot faster on another. Whiteboards will be placed on all than physics lately,” Birdsong said. “A four walls to facilitate student work in class. “With the boards, we can do gallery couple of years ago, there were two rooms for physics, but because biology has been walks, which is when you do a problem, and then you walk over and encroaching on us, see what the next group did we’ve had to share our and learn from each other,” space. Soon, there will Birdsong said. “Right now, be pigs all over the it’s more like hovering around, place for dissections, and the sinks get in the way.” and we can’t do The new programming physics with pigs. labs will also be designed The new classrooms with programming in will give us flexibility mind. These rooms will be while allowing biology Visit elestoque.org for a wired differently in order to to keep growing.” Although no plans feature package covering accommodate for the amount for purchasing new cafeteria construction of electricity required by the activities conducted by JAVA physics equipment in-depth. and AP Computer Science have been made, there classes. The room will feature will be more electrical outlets in the new rooms to accommodate screens devoted solely to demonstrations, for electricity-consuming activities as well and new laptops will be bought for these as a storage room for the physics teachers, labs to make the interior configuration of the Birdsong and Jeffrey Trevarthen, to more room more flexible. “The physical configuration of desktops easily share equipment between classes. Both physics teachers emphasized the can be difficult at times,” math and installation of multiple projector screens to programming teacher Scott DeRuiter said. allow for flexibility during lectures, such as “If you want four students working together,
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it can be challenging because they have to move away from the machines. The work can still be done, but if we have more of a mobile setup, we can have more collaboration.” DeRuiter believes that the biggest benefit comes from the planning that is being conducted even before the room is built to include the screens and machines that programming classes require. “The challenge of designing a school is that we’re trying to design a school for 40 years from now,” Scott said. “And we don’t know what next year’s going to look like, much less 40 years from now, so the more flexible we can make this space, the better off we’ll be.” Because the new rooms will give the physics and programming teachers the freedom to expand the curriculum of their classes, Scott believes that the benefits from the finished building will outweigh the time and effort being invested into the project. “The design is longstanding, and it’s exactly what we needed to do,” Scott said. “It’ll become a vital part of this campus and provide us the space and flexibility we need for many, many years to come.” a.penghat@elestoque.org | y.lee@elestoque.org
EL ESTOQUE
LITTLE LESSONS
Nathan Desai
PrayStation 4
Pope Benedict XVI and Sony question the status quo
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Shuyi
aming is like a religion. When you devote your life to video games, it changes who you are both on and off the console. Gamers always know what’s going on behind the scenes at Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, even if the companies try to keep it quiet. So when Sony announced that they would hold a press conference on Feb. 20 to discuss the “future of PlayStation,” everyone knew what to expect: the PlayStation 4. Unfortunately, the conference didn’t supply as much clarity as Sony fans expected. The only part of the system Sony showed off at the press conference was the controller. And surprise, surprise, it looks almost identical to the last one. One of the key additions to the PS4 will be the addition of a “Share” button on the controller, allowing users to send clips or images of their gameplay to their friends. Sony is really pushing the idea of incorporating social media in the PS4, a concept rarely explored in the realm of gaming. Despite dropping a few details about the eighth-generation console, Sony left their fans a bit disappointed because they didn’t even show the console — the thing everyone wants to see. Sure, the controller is nice, but not showing the console is as disappointing So, Sony decides to schedule their own and shocking as Beyonce not including Jay-Z press conference. They show only the at the Super Bowl halftime show. controller. And they don’t even announce And to the release make things date. This more ominous, This publicity ploy is even stranger than p u b l i c i t y Sony didn’t that Go Daddy commercial. I am talking ploy is even even announce about it, though, so I guess it is working. s t r a n g e r a release date. than that All they said Go Daddy was that it would be released during holiday commercial. I am talking about it, though, season 2013. so I guess it is working. But Sony wasn’t Qi | El
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the only one to try something new last month. On Feb. 28, Pope Benedict XVI broke down barriers by becoming the first Pope in almost 600 years to resign. He cited his advanced age as his motive for retiring, but what did he expect? When he was elected Pope in 2005, he was already 78 years old. No matter how strongly you believe in God, even He can’t make you younger. However, I don’t want to Cross him. I do believe Pope Benedict XVI when he says that his health is beginning to deteriorate to such an extent that he can no longer do his job. It must be extremely draining to wear that huge hat around all day. To be fair though, I don’t know Pope Benedict XVI. I have no right to judge his decision to step down from his position. However, I do have the right to applaud him for doing something no one thought was possible. He was strong enough to realize that he was incapable of executing his job due to his regressing health and made the revolutionary decision to step down. Similar to Sony. Their PS4 announcement may have been bizarre, untimely and lacking, but the gaming company tried something new. They tried something that no one thought could or should be done. Both Pope Benedict XVI and Sony went out on a limb and questioned the status. quo, and both deserve to be praised for that. Perhaps the Pope resigned so he could spend a bit more time gaming. But as for now, the Church is in a bit of a Popeless place. n.desai@elestoque.org
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TO PROTECT &TO SERVE
Leaving behind a troubled childhood, junior Zac Burke moves toward his dream of becoming a police officer
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t 6:45 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, junior Zac Burke ducked into a police car. But not the back: Burke rode shotgun. Many of his friends were celebrating at a party on Prospect Road, a little way down from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, but Burke had different plans. He spent the final day of 2012 chasing down potential stolen vehicles, helping administer Breathalyzer tests and busting wild parties — including the one on Prospect. The deputy who Burke accompanied had been called in due to reports of fighting. When the two and other officers arrived, the officers asked Burke to stand back. But that didn’t stop Burke’s friends from giving him an interrogation of their own. “A bunch of people come to me and are like, ‘Oh, Zac, are you a police?’ And I said, ‘No, dude, I’m just with them,’” Burke said, animated. “‘Are you a police?’ ‘No, dude, I just told you I’m just with them!’ ‘Oh, I know, but are you a police?’ ‘No, dude, go home — but don’t drive.’” Burke is not a policeman — at least, not yet. But he has dreamed of working in law enforcement since childhood, and, through the Sheriff’s Office Teen Community Police Academy, he has come one step closer to upholding the peace. The Academy The Police Academy runs two 10-week sessions a year. Burke participated in the fall of 2012, attending classes every Wednesday night from the beginning of October until his graduation in December. After filling out an application and being selected, Burke joined around 20 other high school students in attending lectures taught by four officers. Students learned to
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by Amrutha Dorai and Shuyi Qi
conduct traffic stops and operate handcuffs; witnessed a bomb squad demonstration; and spent one Saturday morning firing officers’ duty weapons at the gun range. They also participated in ride-alongs with officers, like the one Burke completed on New Year’s Eve. Field trips included outings to the coroner’s office and the Santa Clara County Jail. Burke recalls walking down the hallway of the jail with criminals shouting profanities at him and his classmates. There was one inmate who stood out to Burke: while his cellmates were up at the bars, he remained calmly at the back of the cell. ”I looked at him in the eye as we were walking, and he told me simply to stay in school,” Burke said. “Not all people in there are bad. Actually, most of the people in there aren’t bad. They’ve just made bad choices.” Broken windows, broken family Burke’s earliest encounters with policemen were anything but positive. His parents divorced when he was eight, and it was a difficult transition for him to make; despite being on medication for depression and anxiety, he sought an alternate method to express his emotions. His parents argued often, but Burke didn’t have that luxury. So he broke the windows of his Sunnyvale home instead. “The cops often had to come over to set me straight. And instead of being understanding, they were just kind of there yelling at me,” Burke said. “And part of me said … maybe if I become a cop, I’d be
more understanding of this, and I could help people more than intimidate them.” When he reached middle school, Burke’s family decided his behavior needed a change. “It was hard to see him struggling, not really being able to handle life in a way that was constructive,” said Kim Rappaport Burke, Burke’s mother. “Raising him was not easy, but he turned his life around.” For sixth and seventh grade, he relocated to Forest Heights Lodge, a treatment center in Colorado. The therapeutic environment, according to Burke, played a key role in helping him turn his life around. After a few more school changes, Burke arrived at MVHS for his freshman year.
THE COPS OFTEN HAD TO COME OVER TO SET ME STRAIGHT. AND PART OF ME SAID, MAYBE IF I BECOME A COP, I’D BE MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS, AND I COULD HELP PEOPLE MORE THAN INTIMIDATE THEM. JUNIOR ZAC BURKE As an underclassman, he faced bullying so severe that the perpetrator was expelled. “Freshman year, I was kind of annoying, I was a little kid thinking I was a big kid. But I think I’ve changed that. I think I’ve matured very nicely,” Burke said. “And I still have issues with people who don’t agree with what I stand for … But I just ignore them.” As for the windows?
EL ESTOQUE
Margaret Lin | El Estoque
“I still struggle with some problems, but I talk about them now, I don’t act them out — we still have windows in this house,” Burke said. “I haven’t done anything since I was nine or 10, but it seems sometimes like yesterday, and when I look back on it, I think, ‘Wow, that was me.’” One of Burke’s mentors, Deputy Sheriff Jennifer Toomey, feels that the challenges Burke has had to face will, in the long run, serve as an asset. “Kids like Zac, or kids like some other people that I know who are deputies now, that have speckled pasts — they’ve dabbled into a little bit of trouble here and there — they make really good cops generally,” Toomey said, “because when they become a cop and talk to other kids who are in a similar type of trouble, they understand where they’re coming from.” In her years of involvement with the Teen Academy, Toomey has encountered only three students who were serious about a future career in law enforcement. Burke is one of them. Beyond the badge On a recent Thursday evening, Burke and his mother attended a showing of “Heroes Behind the Badge,” a documentary that detals the sacrifices made by policemen. “It was incredibly powerful hearing that a police officer in this country dies every 54 hours. That, to me, hit home when I thought about him being put in that danger every
Margaret Lin | El Estoque
day,” Rappaport Burke said. “I did ask him if there was anything else I could talk him into doing, but he’s got his mind set on it, and there’s nothing I’m going to do to change it.” Currently, Burke is applying to the County Sheriff’s Office Youth Cadet program. If he is selected, he will receive a uniform as well as the opportunity to participate in alcohol and tobacco sting operations and law enforcement at county fairgrounds. For his 18th birthday, he hopes to complete a ridealong in Oakland. His end goal is to become a police officer somewhere in this area, where he has lived for the majority of his life — where he has grown from being an eight-year-old with a temper into a young adult with dreams of serving the law. Burke recalls an encounter with a police officer from his younger, more rash days that left a strong impression. He was one of the few officers who, like Burke one day hopes to, approached him with understanding rather than intimidation. “I remember one time a cop kind of got down on his knee and just patted me on the back and asked me in a soft tone, ‘What’s going on? Why are you acting like this?’” Burke said. “He actually seemed to care, which was a big thing.” More recently, Burke saw the same officer at the Sheriff’s Office. He couldn’t remember the officer’s name, so he didn’t say hello. “But I’ll see him again,” Burke said. “And I’ll thank him.”
Margaret Lin | El Estoque
IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT With the permission of Deputy Sheriff Jennifer Toomey, junior Zac Burke moves a police car at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. According to Burke, he was once on track to end up in the backseat of a police car; now, he is looking forward to becoming an officer himself.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TEEN COMMUNITY POLICE ACADEMY, CONTACT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE CUPERTINO SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER AT (408) 868-6624.
a.dorai@elestoque.org | s.qi@elestoque.org MARCH 13, 2013
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percent of AP Psychology students were up to Dartmouth’s standards
percent of MVHS students take AP classes to skip classes in college
percent of MVHS AP students have taken more than 10 AP classes
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ast year, junior Anna Liu took AP instructors impart test-taking strategies at Calculus BC and AP Computer Science. the expense of writing and critical-thinking Now, she takes AP Music Theory, AP skills,” Mills wrote in the website of the Texas U.S. History, AP Statistics and AP Physics. Academy for Mathematics and Science. If Liu goes to Dartmouth, however, she will At Dartmouth, Hakan Tell, Classics not recieve credit for any of these courses. professor and Chair of the Committee of In early January, Dartmouth announced Instruction, tested 100 incoming freshmen that it would no longer be offering who had scored a five on the AP Psychology college credit for Advanced Placement or exam to determine the merit of the AP exam. International Baccalaureate examinations According to The Dartmouth, the student starting with the class of 2018. Other publication at the college, only 10 percent of schools like Bard College and Caltech have the students tested scored up to Dartmouth’s also decided not to standards and accept AP scores received credit. as college credit. The results of Ad d i t i o n a l l y , Dartmouth professor Hakan Tell this experiment there are colleges to tested 100 incoming freshmen contributed that give AP the university’s who had scored a five on the AP decision to change credit but require a minimum test Psychology exam to determine its AP credit policy. score to earn it. the merit of the AP exam. Only B eKr en ns tn ee i tn h, For example, the 10 percent of the students recently retired minimum AP exam score for credit tested scored up to Dartmouth’s AP Government in chemistry at teacher from standards and received credit. Boston College is Eleanor Roosevelt a four, while the High School in minimum score Maryland, agrees for the same test with Dartmouth’s at Vanderbilt is a five. However, the lowest new policy in the academic journal Academe, score any college will accept is the passing reasoning that AP teachers have the tendency score — a three. to teach to the AP exam rather than teaching the class as a college level course. Due to No Evaluating the test Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, public At a school like MVHS, where 42 percent schools have operated under the restrictions of AP students have taken upwards of three of the testing law and its requirements. AP classes, denial of AP credit is something “With test scores serving as the that could potentially affect many students. primary, if not the sole measure of student One of the reasons colleges have cited for performance … anything not being tested this change in policy is that AP-level courses was given short shrift,” Bernstein said. are not as rigorous as college courses and According to Bernstein, most of the tests do not adequately prepare students. This are also primarily — if not solely — multiple sentiment is echoed by college professors choice, and when they do include writing, like David E. Mills, an economics professor they don’t call for a higher understanding at the University of Virginia. “AP courses of writing mechanics. As a result, Bernstein are tailored to the exams, and high-school explained, students arriving from his high EL ESTOQUE
IN LEARNING Dartmouth’s decision to deny AP credit brings focus to the value of the tests by Steven Lim and Joyce Varma
school “lacked experience and knowledge about how to do the kinds of writing that are expected at higher levels of education.” “At [MVHS] it’s just about college acceptance,”AP Economics teacher Pete Pelkey said. “I don’t think that the quality of the course work is always considered.” Cause and effect However, most colleges continue to accept AP credit. According to Dr. Barbara Sawrey Dean of Undergraduate Education at University of California San Diego and professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry departments, AP exam scores generally reflect adequate knowledge of the subject. “I would say in general, yes, students who score a five are pretty well prepared for not only taking university courses but also accelerating their progress in our courses,” Sawrey said. But she acknowledges there are some benefits to taking courses in college instead. “In some cases there’s an advantage to actually having the course at the university so that you are familiar with the faculty and the faculty members’ expectations when you move on to other courses.” For the most part, these conflicting views dominate the discussion about AP credit at colleges. Pelkey provided a different reason that colleges have for denying AP credit. “If all of the freshman and sophomore classes have been filled by AP tests, then you don’t have the bottom line professors, your associates, teaching the freshman classes,” he said. “It’s a money issue. That’s why the colleges are clamping down on this. It’s not because the kids don’t know the information, it’s because the professor needs to have a job.” In fact, according to Pelkey, skipping freshman and some sophomore year classes can save students as much as $30,000 at some schools. Eliminating this monetary benefit would increase the financial burden already placed on students’ shoulders. Students also MARCH 13, 2013
wouldn’t be able to graduate earlier from college by skipping classes through AP credit, and may even graduate late. Nonetheless, if Dartmouth’s decision was to become widespread across colleges, some students would not care too much. Taking the challenge In El Estoque’s March Survey, 32 percent of students said they take AP classes to boost their resumes, while only 25 percent said they wanted to learn more through AP classes. Because of this, 62 percent said they would still take AP classes if colleges stopped giving college credit for AP classes. Because many students take APs to boost their resumes, they would still take AP classes even if colleges wouldn’t give them credit. Though students may have to graduate later and spend more money for tuition if their AP credit is denied, MVHS students will continue to take AP classes. “I feel like I would still take AP classes even if they weren’t AP because it’s just more of a challenge for me,” Liu said. “I don’t like sitting in normal classes most of the time because the material goes really slowly, and I’d rather have the challenge. Even if I don’t get credit for it, it’s still really good intellectually. I think learning’s just really fun.” Junior Anshul Ramachandran shares a similar view of AP classes. “Mostly, if I think it’s a cool course, I’m gonna take it. I know a lot of people who are like ‘Oh I heard AP Music Theory is an easy class, let’s take it. I think it’ll look really good.’ That doesn’t sound really cool at all so I just decided to take Advanced Multimedia instead,” Ramachandran said. Despite Dartmouth’s and some other schools’ decisions to deny AP credit, students will not have to worry about it becoming a widespread policy just yet, and there is much more debate to be had.
s.lim@elestoque.org | j.varma@elestoque.org
37 percent of MVHS students would be deterred from applying to a college that denied credit for AP scores
62
percent of MVHS students would still take AP classes if they were not counted for college credit
*Data was collected from a survey of 420 respondents.
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a
OPINION
BALANCE in
thinking
MVHS students lack the life skills necessary to thrive in the real world
I
n a few months, many of us will begin needed to make it in this world, programs preparing for the new lives the college like these have been eliminated over time. experience provides — a path that most Learning real world skills are a crucial of us will face eventually. But for all the part of growing up, especially for life after bedsheets and book shelves our bucks high school. Neesha Tambe, an alumna might buy, there is absolutely nothing featured in the Special Report article, “It that will prepare us for when we turn our was a process,” seems to think so as well. laundry pink or the day we are stranded For one, knowing how to do a simple, yet on the highway because we ran out of gas. vital task such as ironing or writing a check According to our test scores and rankings, puts us in a better position to take care of MVHS students are high achievers. But ourselves. In fact, in our study, only three when it comes to another kind of smarts students knew the proper iron setting and — street smarts — there are definite voids. seven didn’t know how to write a check On March 7, El Estoque conducted a study properly. Thus, in the real world, their clothes that took 20 randomly selected students would burn and their checks would bounce and tested them on real world skills most back. Ignoring finances and budgeting can relevant to a high school student: budgeting potentially damage credit history, another their groceries, writing a professional consequence students will have to face. email and addressing an envelope to mail, While the consequences of a lack of which only five students did correctly. practical intelligence are subtle, the solutions It’s clear that we are are obvious. Gaining lacking in a critical skill these basic skills is a job set, but our ignorance that should be divided is not the issue at between parents and hand. In the March El schools from the start. Estoque survey, when It is the responsibility asked to rate MVHS’ of parents to give ability to prepare you their children realfor an independent world experiences OPINION OF THE EL life in the real world, from a younger age by with one being “totally allowing them to handle ESTOQUE EDITORIAL BOARD unprepared” and five housework, by dealing being “prepared,” with spontaneous 25 percent of students surveyed gave situations by not protecting their child all the a score of two. We are aware of this time and by promoting behavior that leads to problem, yet as a community, we do not independence. Simple changes, like making value the skill set enough to try to fix it. children purchase their own candy from the The gaping absence of courses that could supermarket, or making them write a letter contribute to real world skills is a solid to grandma, while stamping and addressing result of our indifference. In 1979, MVHS the envelope as well, can go a long way. offered classes like Drivers Education, Schools, for their part, need to bring back Autoshop, Work Experience — where life skills classes — even if it is one course, students would obtain a job and get credits like Home Economics, which could teach for it — and Cooking. Due to a shift in students how to do laundry, iron clothes, make priorities and the constricting mentality personal budgets and cook their own food. that academic skills are the only ones
STAFF
EDITORIAL
MARCH 13, 2013
7
students didn’t know how to write a check Varsha Venkat | El Estoque
Junior Zachary Leon tests his street smarts by writing a check and addressing an envelope.
To test yourself, see full results, or watch a video of students being tested on their realworld skills, visit elestoque.org/ streetsmarts
3
students knew the proper setting of an iron for cotton Varsha Venkat | El Estoque
Freshman Karen Shi practices ironing clothes as a part of the study for street smarts at MVHS. 13
OPINION
PULSE
PULSE extends the conversation from El Estoque to you, the student body, concerning the current issues of the day.
by Mihir Patil, Namrata Ramani and Bryan Wang Photo illustrations by Alexandria Poh
ULSE T
he new cafeteria is designed to emulate a college dining hall. Students enter into a food court where there are different stands, including a refrigerated salad bar, each selling a particular type of food. They will pay as they leave so that money is handled at only one location. This is key, as cafeteria workers normally have to fetch food then receive money afterwards, which is less efficient. The spaciousness of the room will eliminate the tangled,
The new steamer allows head chef Frank Lihn to steam vegetables instead of boiling or sauteeing them. Steaming is a healthier alternative, cooking the food without leeching out nutrients or flavors.
chaotic “lines” that form during lunch, as students scramble to wait in front of five stands that sell almost identical items. After students have purchased their food, they can go into the adjacent eating area, which will be much bigger than that of the old cafeteria and will feature café-style seating. It seems as though the school is ignoring the elephant in the room with all these changes: the quality of the food. But many students are unaware that the school will purchase new cooking equipment, including
Lihn says his staff can cook four times the soup in half the time with the new 40-gallon steam kettle. This means more fresh soup on a more frequent basis.
a new steamer and steam kettle, to go along with the renovated cafeteria. With the addition of more advanced equipment the kitchen staff can focus on providing higher quality food with added variety. It’s clear — the new cafeteria will be a huge improvement. m.patil@elestoque.org n.ramani@elestoque.org b.wang@elestoque.org
The new food line allows Lihn to “show cook” — make entrees like stirfry live in front of students.
the bottom line
Gender inequality in sports reflected in lack of promotions and attendance by Shannon Lin
Even though female sports teams such as girls basketball are doing better than their male counterparts, attendance at sports home games have been lackluster for the majority of the season. The problem is not that girls or boys are discouraged from playing certain sports, but rather the lack of equal coverage and promotions. In general, watching and/or playing sports is considered to be a “manly” thing which stems from centuries of misogynistic beliefs that women are weaker, especially physically, than men. 14
But now in the 21st century, especially with scientific evidence that the physiological differences between men and women are not as significant as previously thought, it is time to recognize the inequalities that female sports face in terms of viewership. At MVHS, ASB promotions of sports games usually focus on boys teams. In addition, the cheerleading squad only cheers at varsity boys basketball games while the varsity girls team is left with the moral support of their own friends and families.
Girls’ sports team deserve as much coverage and promotions as the boys’ teams do. It is unfair for girls who put in just as much effort and dedication to face empty stands during their games. Although it would take a major change in attitude for this problem to be solved, MVHS students should take the initiative to support all of our sports teams, regardless of gender. s.lin@elestoque.org EL ESTOQUE
79%
The percent of students who dislike our cafeteria food
52% 137%
The percent of students who wait in the lunch line at least once a week
The percent increase in kitchen space in the new cafeteria
The two leftmost statistics were computed from a survey of 419 respondents. The margins of error for the two leftmost statistics are ±5.2% and ±6.3% respectively. These margins of error were calculated using a 99% confidence interval. The rightmost statistic is from the plan for the new cafeteria by DLM Architect.
The New Servery With the cash registere located at the end of the servery, students who need just one or two items don’t have to wait in an incredibly long line, increasing the efficiency of the line in general.
The new cafeteria will have stations allocated to distinct cuisines, increasing the variety available to students.
Colleges not accepting AP credit take a step in the right direction by Patrick Xie
Dartmouth University, following the example of universities before it like Caltech, will stop accepting AP credit in two years. A study by the Dartmouth Psychology Department that gave a Psych 1 final to incoming Dartmouth students was an indication that AP tests were ineffective and led to their change in AP policy. Out of over 100 students who got a five on the AP Psychology exam, 90 percent of them failed the AP test. Recently, professors and AP teachers MARCH 13, 2013
are coming out to say AP courses simply aren’t enough to skip classes. As students, it is important to challenge ourselves in high school, but that doesn’t exempt us from college courses. Students should value the kind of education a college course provides that an AP high school course most likely cannot. With this new setup, more students would be taking introductory courses in college, which benefits students, teachers and the school by further preventing bad academic
decisions that can be made by skipping into a class that a student is unprepared for. It is better for students to pass an easier class in college to know their limits rather than fail out of their first few courses in college. Even though a continuation of this trend might undermine the significance of AP exams, it is one step closer to preventing someone from making a bad academic decision. p.xie@elestoque.org 15
THE DEEP END
Forest Liao
A fictional experiment
Unconventional novel raises question about how weird I can get
S
o I read “A Visit from the Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan. It’s basically a bunch of short stories about struggling people involved in or connected to the rock music scene. As the industry changes, many of the characters themselves realize their own age and that time is indeed a “goon.” Then, in the last chapter, babies start buying music and dominate the market. The second to last chapter is beautifully told in the form of a 12-year-old girl’s Powerpoint slide-journal. (Because that’s what all the kids in the future will be doing.) It even inspired me to present my column this issue in a slide format. But then I remembered I only get one freaking page instead of the 20 I would need. Thanks a lot, El Estoque. So what was the next best thing? Like Egan, I would create my own piece of unconventional fiction. Unlike her, I would write about the process. My idea was perfect. Allowing readers to read about a book they could read? It would be just as fun as literary criticism! To start, I would convey the thought process leading up to my work: 1) Novels are made from paper. 2) You can fold paper. 3) Folded paper is origami. 4) I would utilize origami for a beautiful avant-garde piece! The idea was simple really. As you unfolded the paper, the words of the story would reveal themselves. The tale was of a master origami master who was so skilled that his creations would come to life. One day, one of his origami swans flies away. Instead of just making another one, he goes on a long journey to retrieve it, traversing distant lands, meeting new people and learning valuable lessons along the way. That was about as far as I got, because by then the story started to look like this:
Joyce Varma | El Estoque
My second attempt was simpler. It was about a little girl who’s deathly afraid of the dark. And guess what? She has to walk through a cave. As she stumbles around, terrified, she realizes something. Her classmates bully her, her family lives right above the poverty line and her father beats her. Compared to all that, not being able to see her tiny hand in front of her face is nothing. With her newfound courage, she makes it through and back home to her dreadful existence, the reason she’d ran to the cave in the first place. The story was experimental because I would make reading it a simulated experience. With synthetic cave walls attached to the edges of the book, once the reader put their face up to it, they would feel as if they were actually in a cave. I was so proud of my work that I went to show my brother.
Me: Look! Look at this! My brother: What the hell is that? Me: It’s my new experimental novel. It’s about a girl trapped in a cave and she’s really scared and— My brother: Can you even turn the pages? Me: Uh... Godd— If the third time was actually the charm, I would never find out. I was done experimenting; I was done ending sentences like this. Novelty for novelty’s sake was obnoxious and meant nothing. All it had led to was broken dreams, wasted printer paper and ruined books. (It turns out taped construction paper doesn’t come off very easily.) Besides, why would I aim for the unconventional when I hadn’t even mastered the conventions of narrative? My writing would go back to how it’d always been: Normal. Completely normal. f.liao@elestoque.org
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EL ESTOQUE
A&E
CUSTOM MADE
Students share traditions from unique family backgrounds by Gisella Joma and Varsha Venkat
Want to read about more unique traditions? Visit elestoque.org
from the
HOMELAND
E
Varsha Venkat | El Estoque
PERFECT AIM Junior Rachel Stolzman aims at her target board. Though biracial, she inherited a love for American tradition from her father.
M
ost MVHS students have taken camera was more of her own choice than her father’s. shots or have shot a film, but for junior Whenever she got the chance, she tried to go Rachel Stolzman, shooting means shooting and over time, it became her favorite aiming at a target. Some may think that Stolzman hobby. Stolzman recently had the opportunity to embodies an all American girl. However, she shoot her first handgun while visiting her uncle in Dallas. comes from a mixed background. “The kick [from the shotgun] was pretty hard Her mother’s side of the family is Japanese — including all of their beliefs and values. On the other on my arm, and it hurt for a little bit,” Stolzman hand, her father’s side of the family originated said. “So I was a little nervous about that, [but] — I pulled the trigger I was just when from a variety of countries including like ‘Oh! This is fun!’ and we were France, Canada and Germany. Most Japanese doing it over and over again until we When Stolzman’s father was a girls don’t ride ran out of bullets.” kid, he bought his first BB gun and motorcycles. went shooting by the creek near his While Stolzman enjoys many junior Rachel Stolzman traditional American pastimes such house. Eventually, he introduced her to shooting as well and sparked as shooting and driving motorbikes, she continues to maintain a strong tie her interest in the generally maledominated sport. Last year when she went to with her mother’s Japanese background as well. Texas, she used a semi-automatic UZI for her first Stolzman frequently visits Japan with her mother. time. Since Stolzman has been shooting since she She also celebrates traditional Japanese holidays was four years old, she has extensive knowledge such as Hina Matsuri and loves to watch Japanese of guns and how to use them. dramas with her mother. “[My culture] is like two cultures blended into “When we lived in San Jose, we’d set up little cans in the backyard and we’d just take turns one,” Stolzman said. “It’s really weird, like most shooting at them,” Stolzman said. “He would let Japanese girls don’t ride motorcycles or shoot me shoot the pellet guns. Then when I was around guns, so it’s a very different kind of culture than what everyone else expects it to be.” 12, I shot my first shotgun.” However, Stolzman‘s involvement in this sport MARCH 13, 2013
ver since t h e second grade, juniors Christina and Stephanie Cheng have been worshipping at a Daoist temple every Saturday. The sisters practice Daoism, a religion very similar to Buddhism that is practiced by many people in China. At the temple, Christina and Stephanie attend lectures on Daoist beliefs and chant prayers. According to Christina, there is a sense of community in the temple, although everyone welcomes new members who stop by.
S
ophomore K a i s a Rautianen celebrates the mid-Summer S o l s t i c e , a popular tradition in her native country of Finland. It’s a popular event in the Nordic countries because the sun never sets in the north. During the holidays, Rautianen’s family and her friends gather around a bonfire and eat traditional Finnish dishes including crepe pancakes called pannukakku and Finnish sausages known as makkara. Although she hasn’t participated in the holiday festivities much since her departure from Finland, she still enjoys reminiscing of past summers with her extended family in their native country. g.joma@elestoque.org v.venkat@elestoque.org 17
FAMILY MATTERS
Carissa Chan
A family of pseudodoctors In which my family attempts to take care of me, post-concussion
O
Shuyi Qi | El Estoque Photo Illustration
ver the past few years, I’ve come to the understanding that a normal family is supposed to make chicken noodle soup and administer medicine when someone gets sick. My family, of course, doesn’t do what they’re supposed to do. So when I recently suffered a concussion from a snowboarding accident, I didn’t expect top-notch care. After a long examination, the doctor ordered me to remain in quiet, non-stimulating environments for the next several weeks. However, my family took it upon themselves to help me heal, obviously squashing any possibility of a quiet, non-stimulating environment. Symptom No. 1: Photophobia Because bright lights caused massive headaches, I avoided all electronic screens for a while. To keep me from doing nothing, when I was a bit better, my family and I played the board game Bananagrams, a game similar to Scrabble, every night. My sister promptly came up with what she thought was an extremely clever pun: “Board games to keep you from getting bored!” A few minutes after we started the first round, my mother proudly announced that she had won the game. We crowded around her, impressed. But as we evaluated her arrangement of letters, something didn’t seem quite right. “I don’t think ‘ehlkf’ is a word,” my sister said tentatively. A closer look at her crossword revealed many more nonsensical letter arrangements. When we pointed out that “cijeu,” “plab” and “qwue” weren’t part of the English language either, my mother was put on the defensive — “I didn’t know everything had to be a word!” Symptom No. 2: Balance problems I also had trouble balancing, since I kept tipping to the right side. So my sister and I started doing yoga. When my father saw us practicing different poses, he asked what we were doing. “Yoga,” we replied. He nodded and went over to the kitchen, then came back with spoons and a carton of peach yogurt. After about ten minutes of discussion, my sister and I finally came to realize something rather interesting. Apparently, for the past several years, my father has thought that “yoga” is an alternate way to spell “yogurt.”
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We then thought about the many instances in which he had misused the word “yoga” — namely, the time when a man offered him a coupon book for 10 free yoga classes, which my father wrongly believed were yogurt-eating classes. He laughed at the poor man, saying that it was “something even babies can do.” Symptom No. 3: Lethargy and dizziness The week following my concussion was filled with several naps per day and, generally, a great decrease in my productivity. I was starting to fall behind on my schoolwork because I spent so much time sleeping, but my sister had a solution. “Put a time limit on your naps and I’ll force you to wake up when your time is up,” she said. Again, I was surprised by how much this suggestion made sense. I decided to give it a try, telling her to wake me up at 4:00 p.m. sharp. She promised she would and I went to sleep. When I opened my eyes, I looked at the clock. It was 7:00 p.m. I looked around for my sister and saw her sitting on the couch, watching me and placing Cheerio after Cheerio into her mouth. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” I demanded. “I tried, but I couldn’t.” “So you just sat there and watched me sleep?” “Don’t be silly,” my sister said scornfully. “Of course I didn’t just watch you sleep. I watched you sleep and I ate Cheerios.” Prognosis: Never get injured again Since we didn’t leave the house too often after my concussion, I thought that my family wouldn’t have that many opportunities to be strange and embarrassing. Turns out, they can be just as strange and embarrassing in private as they are in public. So I made a new goal, possibly the most important one I’ve ever made: Avoid all illnesses, injuries, surgeries and anything else that involves spending extended periods of recovery time at home. At least until someone in my family goes into healthcare, which isn’t likely. Doctor? Too “boring and unfun” of a job, my sister insists. Cheerio-eating, sleep-watching, yoga-ing sibling? Perfect, apparently. c.chan@elestoque.org EL ESTOQUE
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD WOMEN
Soumya Kurnool
&*%$!
New pottymouth on the block I’ll just stick to “Good grief,” thank you very much
T
he most foul word in my lexicon is probably “crap.” “Idiot” comes a close second. That is true no longer, as I have dropped a bomb for the first time. But not any usual bomb –– no, I dropped the f bomb.
The fateful assignment For AP Literature, I was assigned to act out the role of Claire from David Auburn’s play “Proof”. There’s a scene where she gets ready to blow her top off at her sister when she suggests that she hasn’t adequately helped the family. In ranting about the bills she paid while living in a studio in Brooklyn, she happens to unleash one nice little swear word, so I was expected to, as well. Practicing ... with dead kitties For a long time, I couldn’t bring myself to say the word. I was “fortunate” to receive training from a friend who I shall call Sunshine, whose tongue is sometimes anything but what her name suggests. Sunshine: F***. Me: Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge. Sunshine: Think of me running over little kitties. Me: FuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuSuffice to say, although it was easy to think of the word, my lips just refused to make the “ck” sound.
It’s show time Right before my scene, I stood off-stage, worrying whether I was either going to 1) laugh, 2) cry, or 3) sputter out the word like a malfunctioning car when it came time to say the fateful line. The time came. I dropped the bomb. How eerily silent the class was right after I said it! I don’t blame them; they were probably traumatized by such a foul-mouthed granny. Now I’m a potty mouth... After the play, some of my friends came up to me. 1) Sunshine flat out congratulated me: “I’m so proud of you!” 2) My brunch buddies broke out into applause: “Encore! Encore!” 3) When I told Mr. Clarke that I swore for the first time, he smiled a sage, all-knowing smile. Almost as if this was a rite of passage that I as a young grasshopper had to undergo. I still see no point in using such harsh words when simple euphemisms like “Good grief!” and “Shucks!” could do. What’s so glamorous about this bomb? Why does someone take a granny who drops the bomb more seriously than a granny who cries “Good grief!” from the bottom of her heart? I let Mr. Pelkey in on my secret and he let out a full-throated laugh. “Just watch,” he said. “This is a slippery slope. Just watch you become the worst pottymouth ever.” I was speechless for a moment and then collected myself. “Good grief!” s.kurnool@elestoque.org
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Introducing the
MARQUESAS
SHOWCASE (From left to right) Junior Kitty Liu, sophomore Rowena Lee, coach Hilary Maxwell, senior Jasmine Tsai, senior Rheanna Ganapathy and junior Kimberley Zhong chat moments after the showcase that took place in the gym on Mar. 1.
The Marquesas overcome adversity in their path to Nationals Story and photography by Margaret Lin
“L
adies! This is the last practice before break!” This is Hilary Maxwell, the Marquesas’ coach, and it’s 3:17 p.m. on [Thursday], Feb. 14. The room breaks out into a scattered chorus of “Woohoo!” and “Yay!” as the dancers make their way to the floor. “Come on out! Hurry, hurry!” Maxwell says. It’s typical rehearsal for the Marquesas. The girls are still jubilant over their then-recent win at the United Spirit Association Northern California State Championships. They had walked away from that tournament with five first place trophies in the Kick, Small Lyrical, Medium Dance, Intermediate Dance and Character routines, which more than qualified them for championship division of the March 29 to 30 United Spirit Association Costa Mesa Nationals Competition. “[This year has been] like a roller coaster,” co-captain and senior Rheanna Ganapathy says. “We’ve come a long way from summer and the winter show, and I think that now we’re in a pretty good place [going into Nationals].” Setbacks “The word of the day is attack!” Maxwell said. The day is Feb. 25, 4:31 p.m. and the Marquesas are practicing sharper execution in their lyrical routine. The room is a lot less packed than it has been in previous years during typical Marquesa practices. Because three dance team members dropped out of the team due to time commitment issues,
22
the team member count dropped from 23 to 20 total members. Having a smaller team dropped them from the large to the intermediate category, which means more competitors for the team. In addition, half of this year’s team consists of first-year members, which should have been a significant disadvantage. “I think it was sad for us to see those girls go,” Maxwell said. “But I think the girls understood and I understood why they made those decisions for the most part. I think that’s also made us stronger [though] because here we have this core group of people who really want to be here and make dance team a priority.” Triumphs By the time competition season came around, the majority of the team had grown used to the changes. However, on Jan. 26 during the Homestead High School local competition, the Marquesas placed first in only two routines and second in one routine out of their five total routines. With a long history of excellence, especially at local competitions, the dance team was disappointed with the results. “We didn’t do as well as I thought we would. It wasn’t bad at all. It just gave us something to work on,” co-captain and senior Lyan Cogan said. Their scores at that competition would not have qualified them for the upper division for Nationals, but because the competition was local, the scores were not evaluated by Nationals judges. With only a week before the USA Regional Competition at Bella Vista High School, a qualifying competition, Ganapathy and Cogan EL ESTOQUE
implemented shorter and more intense warm-ups, allowing more time to work on each individual routine. According to junior Michelle Chen, a three-year member, it was the most intense week of practice for the team this school year. “I was a little shocked [at the Homestead competition] because generally we do well and Homestead is generally considered as one of the easier competitions,” Chen said. “As a team we were set back, so I guess we were motivated to work harder. I think that made us stronger as a whole because you can’t really move forward unless you know you have something to work toward.” As they waited for their scores during the last moments of the Bella Vista dance competition, tensions were high. A whole range of emotions ran through the team: fear, nervousness, suspense, hope. “When we’re getting our placements, we’re all sitting in a circle and holding hands and looking down like come on, come on .... let’s go, let’s go,” Ganapathy said. “They’ll be like, ‘In third place we have the ...’ and I’ll be like, ‘Not Monta Vista, not Monta Vista.’” The Marquesas managed to qualify and place in every single one of their dance routines. They placed first in four of their routines and second in their character routine. “We all had this really great sense of achievement because it was such a big jump,” said Chen. “It wasn’t just one or two [routines], we placed [first] in four routines. I think that made us feel as if our work actually paid off.” The team was back on its game. At the NorCal competition one week after the Bella Vista competition, the team swept the awards ceremony with a first place win for every single one of their routines. “It was the icing on the cake,” Maxwell said. “The girls were even tearing up at the awards ceremony, [happy] to have just qualified.”
ARABESQUE Freshman Carissa Yee practices the lyrical routine for the upcoming Nationals competition in Anaheim fromW Mar. 17 to 18. The team practices last two to three hours, four days a week. m.lin@elestoque.org
MARCH 13, 2013
23
READY, SET, GROW
How changing expectations at school and home impact basic life skills by Smitha Gundavajhala and Mihir Joshi
Mihir Joshi | El Estoque
S
u Ling sits in a wicker rocking chair, hands folded on a purple pillow in a rare moment of relaxation. She has come home from work, not an hour ago, and it’s nearing 11 p.m. But none of this is new to Ling, who is mother to three daughters. One daughter is a junior in graduate school, one a freshman in her undergraduate studies and one a junior at MVHS. It makes sense then, that she has always been a worrier. “Jody and Sandy started taking the bus to go to school in about the fourth grade,” Ling said. “When my husband wanted them to take a bus to school, I was so mad. ‘You should take care of your kids,’ I said. ‘How come you let them take the bus by themselves? Do you know how bad it is outside?’ But my husband told me, ‘Don’t worry, don’t worry. You worry too much. If you never let them try, they’ll never grow.” But when do they grow? More importantly, who teaches them the skills that’ll help them grow? MVHS used to offer courses that would supplement students’ education not only in academics, but in life. Choir teacher Shari D’Epiro, a 1979 alumna, took a variety of classes when she attended MVHS that aren’t offered today. “I took Driver’s Ed; that’s how I got my license,” D’Epiro said. 24
“I took Cooking one year. I took Sewing one year — I mean, I wasn’t very good at sewing, my mom helped me with everything. My mom’s a great sewer.” D’Epiro notes that back then, a lot of the experiences sought outside of school today were more integrated into the school day. She used to be on the Drill Team, the equivalent of which today is Color Guard, which met during a designated PE period. Auto Shop, in which students learned to take care of their vehicles, and Work Experience, which required students to document jobs they worked, were also classes that provided credit while allowing students to work toward their nonacademic goals. As the district cut budgets and the interests of those in the community shifted, many opportunities were moved outside of school, causing students to seek this supplemental education through other avenues. “There are more viable means to [take classes like Driver’s Ed] outside of school now,” said guidance counselor Sylvia Lam as to why the school provides less application-based classes. “Before, parents maybe didn’t have access to that, or they didn’t have the monetary means to provide that. But now, kids do have that opportunity.” EL ESTOQUE
SPECIAL REPORT
in this section REAL-WORLD VULTURES 26 LEARNING FOR A LIFETIME 27 TRIAL AND ERROR 28 NOT DIALED INTO REALITY 29
Many classes that once existed at MVHS have been reapportioned — for instance, Culinary Arts in the intradistrict Career and Technical Education program has replaced the cooking class. Since these classes may not stay forever, Lam emphasizes the importance of learning such life skills through one avenue or another. “If you’re not learning life skills here [at school], I’m hoping that kids are also learning that at home,” Lam said. “I see it as a community. It’s parents, it’s the students, it’s the teachers and the schools. We all work together. Even if you’re not getting educated here, you know, with my own daughter, I’m teaching her these skills at home. There should be supplemental stuff. It should come from everywhere, not just school.” Industrial Technology teacher Ted Shinta believes that one thing that is often found lacking in a high school education is learning to apply knowledge. Shinta feels that classes like Woodshop and Drafting are good preparation for life or, in his words, “better citizenry.” “My classes are important because a lot of the students at [MVHS] don’t get any practical experience,” he said. “[With application-based classes,] you get a real feel for it, you’re MARCH 13, 2013
touching, you’re seeing, you’re designing. Instead of problem solving, you’re using your problem solving skills to make something.” Something that Shinta, D’Epiro, Lam and Ling all agree upon is the importance of having this application-based skill set, especially in making a well-rounded person. Ling has practiced this with her children. “In order to be selfsufficient,” she says, “[my] kids have learned all of the basics, but also self-discipline.” For her, it was a teaching process that began when they were very young. “If you don’t teach children before they leave the house, when they go to college, they still don’t know how to feed themselves, how to take care of themselves. You’d better show them, early as you can, before they leave the house,” Ling said. Her concern and views changed over the course of time. “My husband and I have had different methods to educate our kids. At first, I was worried, ‘How can you let kids go to school by bus?’” she said. “But time proved that he was right. And the more I see them able to do things on their own, the less I worry.” s.gundavajhala@elestoque.org | m.joshi@elestoque.org 25
SPECIAL REPORT
Yelp for help Unwittingly risking my life for a great meal by Morahd Shawki
L
ike most people who have grown up in an affluent town, I like to lie to myself and say I’m not sheltered. Sometimes, I almost believe it, too. But if you want to bring yourself back to reality on just how coddled you really are, spend a few weeks in a city. I did just that in Chicago last summer, crashing at my sister’s apartment. Yelp was my best friend on these days, pointing me toward some of the best food in the world. I don’t exactly have what you would call good social skills, or really any to speak of, so I would avoid conversations with strangers whenever I could, sticking to my phone for directions instead. It felt like a good strategy. I mean, I could never really get in trouble with a GPS and Internet access on my phone, right? Right? As I made my way to a cafe (four and a half stars according to Yelp!), I noticed that things were beginning to become more and more unsavory. There were more and more
26
Shuyi Qi | El Estoque Illustration
cracks in the sidewalk, abandoned property and certain undesirables surrounding me. I began to worry, but I just told myself that I was sheltered and paranoid. I mean, millions of people walk around Chicago every day who aren’t shot. Well, most of them anyway. I was probably safe, right? It became pretty clear afterward that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t safe. I took a quick inventory and realized how ridiculous I must have looked. With my blaring headphones and apparent obliviousness, I was clearly a tourist. I looked at my “Pugs not Drugs” shirt and had a scary thought: Maybe this was a “Drugs not Pugs” sort
of neighborhood. I walked quicker and quicker and heard the faint sounds of Bon Iver. Hipsters! I was finally safe. I entered the cafe and called my sister. Her friend, a Chicago native, picked up instead. I told him what was happening. As it turns out, I chose to take a stroll in Humboldt Park, which has one of the highest shooting and gang crime rates in the city. “Where did you say you were?” “Uh, it says... Humboldt Park?” There was a brief silence. “What? How are you not dead yet?” m.shawki@elestoque.org
EL ESTOQUE
‘‘ ’’ it was a
process.
How alumna Neesha Tambe learned to be self-reliant, successful in life through her college experience by Anupama Cemballi and Jennifer Lee
C
lass of 2009 alumna Neesha A. Tambe looks to be your conventionally successful college senior: Currently majoring in sociology at Georgetown University, she is nearing graduation and already has job interviews lined up. However, her college experience has been anything but conventional.
Instead of a four-year college after high school, Tambe studied at De Anza College for a couple of years before transferring to Georgetown. “And that,” she said, “was the best decision of my life.” It wasn’t always smooth sailing at either school, though. At Georgetown, Tambe experienced a steep learning curve in terms of living on
her own during the first few months. Among other things, she dealt with a month-long mice infestation after leaving food out one night and even nearly started a fire while doing her laundry. In addition, Tambe initially struggled with making the mental leap from hometown Cupertino to Washington D.C. “There’s a time where you’re like, ‘Oh my God, if I die, today, it’s going to take somebody some time to find out,’” Tambe said. “How you deal with your life, what you do in the future, thatís all on you the second you step outside of the house. You can’t depend on anybody else. And that self-reliance, that frameshift was very hard.” An equally significant frameshift took place during her two years at De Anza, where Tambe realized she didn’t need to follow the same formulaic route as everyone else. While at De Anza, a close friend told her: “Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It’s a small price to pay for living the dream.” Tambe lives by those words today. “The best moments of your life happen when you push yourself and when you stop being like, ‘Okay, I’m going to do this status quo,’” she said. “When you transfer to another school or you take some time off — that’s when you’re like, ‘Oh my God, there’s an entire world out there.’”
Not conforming to the regular college route has led Tambe to opportunities like writing something that was read on the floor of the House of Representatives and even teaching English in Romania. Tambe recalls that her mother once told her she was nervous when Tambe didn’t have a 4.0 GPA and decided to attend De Anza. According to her mother, sometimes people fall into a hole there. “But I put my effort into my passion, and I became successful at it,” she said. “And that’s when my mom was like, ‘I was nervous, but now I’m not.’” Tambe’s not sure which specific careers she plans to pursue, but she does plan on following her passions — which lie in finding ways to impact her community positively. Whatever happens, she knows that she’s learned the practical skills to take care of herself and the mental discipline to succeed in whichever field she chooses. “Living the dream, it can happen. But it can’t happen if you just do what you think you should be doing,” she said. “It’s about finding that passion, finding that fire inside of yourself — that you can wake up every day, and say, ‘I’m interested in that.’”
a.cemballi@elestoque.org j.lee@elestoque.org
Used with permission of Alice Lee
MARCH 13, 2013
27 5
SPECIAL REPORT
HOW TO AVOID
GETTING PLAYED
Social studies teachers Pete Pelkey and Ben Recktenwald give opinions, insight on how street savvy MVHS students are by Ashley Ding
Community Chest
BOARDWALK
PARK PLACE
FREE PARKING out once in Tip Get a while Recktenwald: “Turn off the Facebook, stop studying, spend time outside of Cupertino, go to college at some school in some ghetto neighborhood.”
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PACIFIC AVENUE
TIPS AND TRICKS e
Pelkey: “[Students generally] don’t know how much money is worth... So you underestimate or overestimate the value of it.”
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Illustration | Alexandria Poh
JUST
of credit Tip Becardwarycompanies
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Recktenwald: “A lot of students spend the money and realize they have to pay it back, and their interest rates go up, and their credit rating goes down.”
GO JA TO IL
Chance
Tip
are people Tip There you can’t trust
Recktenwald: “I have heard some stories of students who would leave their dorm rooms unlocked and people would steal stuff from them. Why wouldn’t you lock your door?”
Student loans are worth it
Pelkey: “Most majors appreciate in value, so you will pay off your student loan. It’s just expensive to go to college. But it’s one of those things you should actually go in debt for.”
a.ding@elestoque.org 28
EL ESTOQUE
GROWING THROUGH
MISTAKES
Simple stories from former high school students about adjusting to life after high school the hard way
‘11
THOMAS YOUR
by Alaina Lui and Christopher Song
teacher
CHRISTY
UTTER
‘ 10ANYSSA A KARNKAENG
O
FOR MORE STORIES ABOUT GROWING PAINS, VISIT elestoque.org
D
ealing with roommate problems for the first time, 2011 alumnus Thomas Your was forced to learn how to adapt. “I had a bunch of problems with my roommate last semester, and basically I couldn’t do anything but figure it out on my own. The authorities don’t help you; the [Resident Assistants] don’t really help you. They almost have no power at all ... You can file a report with the police. Otherwise you can just talk it out, and you’re pretty much on your own.”
Lost in the city
A professional issue n her first day at Dartmouth University, English teacher Christy Utter went into her early morning African American studies program exhausted from talking to her roommate all night long. “I really respected the professor, but [once] I went up to her to ask a question and I said, ‘I’m not really sure how to address you, is it Mrs. or...’ and she said, ‘You will call me professor like you do for all your other teachers!’ I really didn’t mean to show a lack of respect; I just didn’t know what you called professors ... So I ended up inadvertently offending someone.”
Doomed roomies
‘11
JOSHUA LIAO
djusting to the perils of public transportation was a difficult challenge for 2010 alumna Anyssa Karnkaeng. She got lost running a simple errand to Walmart. “Over here, the main mode of transportation is by bus, while back home everyone had a car ... I remember the first time I took the bus to Walmart; I didn’t even end up at Walmart, and it took me awhile to find the right bus stop to wait at ... and I realized that the bus I was waiting for wasn’t even coming.”
Controlling the cash flow
P
reparing for the unexpected is important as well, as 2011 alumnus Joshua Liao realized. Money management is important; you never know what will happen. “The second semester of my freshman year, I just fell for her. I never thought I’d be in a relationship in college, but once I did I had to learn to start to budget my money effectively. I couldn’t just spend all my money to buy food because some days I would need the money for a nice date with my girlfriend.” a.lui@elestoque.org c.song@elestoque.org
MARCH 13, 2013
29
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SPORTS
“Let’s
go”
Varsity girls soccer coach Alan Kute leaves coaching after 10 years by Catherine Lockwood, Neesha Venkatesan and Soumya Kurnool
Used with permission of Susan Satya
MARCH 13, 2013
31
SPORTS
Used with permission of Susan Satya
TEAM HUDDLE Coach Alan Kute provides some last minute advice before the game against Los Altos High School on Jan. 11. Despite their aggressive drives, the team lost 0-2.
W
hen coach Alan Kute says “Let’s go,” he has a kick in his voice that makes anyone want to get up and start dribbling the ball. Alan is always in motion, running across the lower field, his red striped cleats bouncing off the turf. As he jogs, he releases a running stream of pointers at his players. “Let’s go. Defenders, we are still working hard!” “Get away from her. Get the ball.” “Under control! This is not kickball!” Kute pauses on the sideline, one hand directing the girls and another on his hip. His foot rests lightly on a soccer ball, rolling it back and forth. After a moment’s hesitation, he joins the scrimmage, shrugging on a neon green pinny and running towards the goal box. Alan is like any other head soccer coach — he doggedly pushes his players to their full potential, but what sets him apart is that his determination has led the team through both wins and losses. He has created results in getting his team to CCS nine consecutive times in his ten year career as the MVHS varsity girls soccer coach. Alan has been involved in soccer for the majority of his life. Growing up, he played for Lynbrook High School and later San Jose State University, before
32
moving on to coaching. His experience and mentality as a player himself would prove to be instrumental in leading his team to improvement. “[Alan is] competitive, he drives the kids to their best and they’re in an environment with him and they can reach their maximum potential,” assistant coach Greg Wendschlag said. However, Alan has made sure his competitive mentality has not taken away the joy of the game for his team. “I think he is a great coach because some coaches are really competitive and he is comp et it ive, but winning is not the only thing for him,” junior Amelia Strom said. junior Amelia Strom “He wants to have fun first and he promotes that. He has had a lot of experience so I enjoy playing with Alan.” Another attribute that Wendschlag will miss is Alan’s tendency to be a collaborative team player.
“
“Not many head coaches will give the assistant coaches as much freedom as he did,” Wendschlag said. “It was a lot of fun working with him, because he didn’t treat me like I was his assistant, he treated me like his partner.” To his second eldest daughter Cheryl, who has coached with him for the past three seasons, the team dynamic has really centered on the input of all three coaches, who have provided different perspectives that together contributed to the growth of the team. “He’s kind of the scary guy who makes all the rules,” Cheryl said about Alan. “The assistant coach, Greg, is more like everybody’s dad, and I’m the one who relates more to the girls because I’m a girl and closer in age.” The Lady Mats did not have an outstanding season this year, and considering that Alan, Wendschlag and Cheryl are leaving the team this year, along with 11 graduating players, the
He is competitive, but Winning is not the only thing for him. He wants to have fun first and promotes that.
”
EL ESTOQUE
chemistry next season, she team dynamic will hopes that the new coach will change and make bring an the same amount of the transition to the fun to the sport. next season even Alan admits that things will more difficult. change after his departure, but Over the past not for the better or for the decade, Alan has worse; things will simply be been central to different. After ten challenging the camaraderie years as head coach, Alan sees of the team, retirement as bittersweet. according to Strom. “I’ve been coaching [club Typical bonding and school soccer] since activities include ‘96, so it wouldn’t be so bad the annual team Used with permission of Susan Satya to have a year off and see trip to Koinonia what life brings,” Alan said. C o n f e r e n c e ON THE FIELD Kute plays “Pretty soon other things in Grounds near life will happen; there will be Watsonville, CA, in the alumni game on grandkids,” Alan said, smiling where players Dec. 29 with Class of in Cheryl’s direction. would take the 2010 alumna Crissy Although he is looking “Cliff hanger The game forward to his time off, there Course” where Stuart. are memories that he made they climbed 60 allowed him to reunite with his assistant coaches and feet up a tree and with former players. his team that will stick for then ziplined off. “The chemistry of the team was based many years. on the things that Alan did for us to bond,” “Winning the CCS championship [in Strom said. “When that changes, it’s 2009] was definitely a standout moment going to depend on the coaches. Different for us, as the coaches,” Wendschlag said. coaches have different methods to bring on “It was the first time the team won in 30 and that might change the chemistry.” years.” Though the team will have a different Even though an experienced coach is
Sandwiches
Wraps
Cookies
Fruit
Protein Bars
leaving, Wendschlag does not doubt that the new coach will be able to bring a new perspective and success for the team in the coming years. Interviews for the prospective varsity coach will be held in a few months. “When you have someone around as long as Alan has been here, that’s when you really recognize how good you had it,” Wendschlag said. “I think there will be a noticeable difference because Alan did things at such a high level, but the kids are going to do a great job [nextyear].” As Alan runs around the field, yelling advice as plays unfold, it is hard to imagine a practice without him. He takes off his green pinny after playing a scrimmage and takes refuge in the shade of the goal. Leaning against the goal post, he crosses his legs and his arms, looking out over the field. The Kutes are ready to move on from MVHS, but starting June when Casey, the youngest Kute, graduates, the Lady Mats will also have to move on from the Kutes. “There will be a huge Kute hole,” Alan said, laughing. c.lockwood@elestoque.org n.venkatesan@elestoque.org s.kurnool@elestoque.org
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SPORTS
Are you game?
With 30 teams, 162 games and six divisions, predicting the upcoming Major League Baseball season is no easy feat. But three MVHS baseball players were up for the task. So are we. // By Carissa Chan and Nathan Desai
NL EAST Rodrigues says...
Washington Nationals “They have a good pitching rotation and a productive offense that can hit.”
El Estoque says... Washington Nationals With Gio Gonzalez and a healthy Stephen Strasburg on the mound, the Nationals are shaping up for a good season. Big hitters Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond and Jayson Werth provide the bats to stay ahead of the Braves, who won’t have longtime veteran Chipper Jones for the first time in 19 seasons.
NLCENTRAL Srinivasan says... Cincinnati Reds
“I do not think the Cardinals have another magical season in them.”
El Estoque says... St. Louis Cardinals It’s a close call. The Cardinals were a win away from reaching the World Series in 2012 despite trading Albert Pujols, their best hitter. However, they still have former World Series MVP David Freese and four-time All-Star Yadier Molina. The Reds will be right on their heels, but St. Louis might still be able to take one last shot. 34
YOUR ANALYSTS senior Spencer Rodrigues varsity baseball senior Haree Srinivasan varsity baseball sophomore Jasraj Ghuman JV baseball
NLWEST Srinivasan says... Los Angeles Dodgers “They have pitching depth and offense.”
El Estoque says... San Francisco Giants We’re giving the Giants, the reigning champions, an edge over the Dodgers’ money-dumping method, which hasn’t been effective since they started it last year. San Francisco has an almost unchanged World Series roster with an ever-reliable pitching staff (think Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong). Expect to see this team back on top in the west. EL ESTOQUE
AL EAST
ALCENTRAL
Srinivasan says...
Rodrigues says...
New York Yankees
Detroit Tigers
“They’re old and injured, but that hasn’t stopped them for the last four seasons.”
“As long as their pitching stays strong, their offense should hold up for the season too.”
El Estoque says...
El Estoque says...
Toronto Blue Jays
Detroit Tigers
In this competitive division, blockbuster trades sent four-time All-Stars José Reyes and Mark Buehrle, NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey and All-Star MVP Melky Cabrera to Toronto. With the continued dominance of José Bautista and others, the Canadians can probably overpower the lifeless Yankees this year.
After a tough defeat in the 2012 World Series, the Tigers are coming back with a vengeance. With Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner in 44 years, their lineup is still dangerously powerful. Strikeout machines Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer will defensively strengthen this experienced team.
ALWEST
THEPLAYOFFS As predicted by El Estoque
Ghuman says...
NL Wild Card:
Los Angeles Angels “They signed Josh Hamilton and have a really strong offense.”
El Estoque says... Los Angeles Angels We’re with Ghuman on this one. With the most electrifying lineup in the majors, led by 2012 Rookie of the Year Mike Trout, three-time MVP Albert Pujols and newly acquired 2010 MVP Josh Hamilton and topped with pitchers like phenom Jered Weaver, this team is looking to make a deep postseason run.
AL Wild Card:
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Cincinnati Reds
New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers
NLDS:
ALDS:
Washington Nationals vs. Cincinnati Reds
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Francisco Giants
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Detroit Tigers
NLCS:
ALCS:
Los Angeles Angels vs. Detroit Tigers
Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants
Photo from Wikimedia Commons | Creative Commons by-nd-sa Logos source: Major League Baseball
WORLD SERIES Los Angeles Angels vs.
Washington Nationals MARCH 13, 2013
35
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Horseback Riding by Alexandria Poh and Amelia Yang Illustrations by Alexandria Poh
, featuring senior Zara Dickenson All about Western and English riding RIDING HELMET
Helmets are necessary for every style of riding and can range in price from $50 to $200. Senior Zara Dickinson rides horses in the Western style at Garrod farms and also works as a trail guide. She rides two horses: a Quarter horse named Roxy and an Arabian horse named Centaur. Her riding gear includes a helmet and riding shoes.
RIDING SHOES
Riding shoes vary based on the style of riding, from Western style boots to all-leather English boots.
ARABIAN
Affectionate and friendly, these horses are known for their distinctive head profile.
MARCH 13, 2013
WESTERN
ENGLISH
Western saddles have a horn and a wider seat.
English saddles are usually black with a simple design.
SADDLES
BRIDLES
Western saddles have curb straps and longer reins. They are generally more decorated.
English bridles have a noseband and a more plain design.
COMMON HORSE BREEDS
PAINT
Popular for working with cattle, this breed is widely known for its particular spotted coat colorings.
QUARTER HORSE
This breed is the most popular breed and great for new riders.
MINIATURE
These horses are popular as pets and are less than 38 in tall.
37
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SPORTS FLASH A recap on the winter season
Written by Atharva Fulay and Robert Sulgit Photography by Margaret Lin
In February, the varsity girls and boys basketball and wrestling teams played their senior night games. The wrestling and girls basketball teams qualified for CCS but were unable to make it into the semifinal rounds.
Bottom left, senior Tommer Schwarz walks with his baby brother Oren Schawrz and the rest of his family after the boys basketball senior night game. The senior night against Fremont High School was held on Feb. 15. Led by junior Ramana Keerthi, the team started off strong but lacked coherence in the second half. The boys lost the game 53-37, but that didn’t detract from the celebration for the rest of the team. The team finished the season with an 1113 record and a 5-7 record in league play. Though they did qualify for CCS, another team was seeded above them, taking the final spot in the CCS Division 1 bracket. The boys finished in 17th place for their division. Half of the team will not return for the next season. MARCH 13, 2013
Top right, senior James Whall embraces his mother before the wrestling senior night. The wrestling team held their senior night on Jan. 24. Though the team lost 2639, individual winners included Whall, sophomore Max McCann, junior Aaron Wu and senior Ashton Krajnovich. Ten Matadors contested in CCS in all weight classes except 113, 126, 152 and 220 lbs. The team had an overall finish of 81.0 points to tie with King City High School for 10th place. McCann and Whall finished in the top six for their weight classes of 120 and 145, respectively. McCann was seeded third enteirng the CCS tournament. The team was awarded for having high character at the FUHSD school board meeting on March 5.
Bottom right, the girls basketball team recognizes senior Nassim Moallem at the senior night game on Feb. 8. They played against Fremont High School and won the game with a 30 point lead of 57-27. The team finished overall with a 13-12 record and 6-6 record in league play. Coached by Sara Borelli, the team was unlikely to qualify for CCS but was able to pull off a 5-game win streak with a dominating victory against Santa Clara. The streak continued with wins against Homestead, Lincoln, Cupertino and Fremont High School. The girls qualified for round two of CCS before losing to San Benito High School in a close game that ended 50-46 and put them in 11th place for Division 1. a.fulay@elestoque.org | r.sulgit@elestoque.org 5
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I was literally in tears while they were on stage.
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Learn how a group Special Education students have made a big impact on how the cafeteria operates
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Discover how chef Frank Linh handles change
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junior Anisha Pathak, on her bhangra routine at the Dance Showcase
most MOUTHWATERING STATISTICs
30 44
number of hours students fasted
number of years old cafeteria is