Volume 47, Issue 5, March 8, 2017

Issue V Volume XLVII

March 2017

Monta Vista High School

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NEWS

The change in party culture over the years

13

OPINION

Too hesitant to go against the mainstream

30

A&E

Students express themselves through art

34

SPORTS

Students’ journeys to weight loss

POWER UP HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING OUR WORLD

NEWS

OPINION

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LA IDENTIDAD

The origins of different icons on campus

BLACKED OUT The use of the n-word at MVHS

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BEYOND THE STATUS QUOTE How repetition numbs opinions

AN EVOLVING YOUTH

How teen party culture has changed over the years

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18

CONTRA THE LEGAL AGE

The arbitrary numbers: 18 and 21

CONTRA THE SYSTEM The limits of rebellious behavior

CONTRA POP CULTURE

Against the mainstream of fashion, music and interests

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A&E

ARTISTS OF MVHS

SPORTS

30 36

Students explore different art forms

IT’S A DATE March’s local events

28

CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG

16

Holiday hatin’

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Sleep deprivation takes its toll on athletes

CHOOSE TO LOSE Students use athletics to develop healthy habits

GIGI ACKER

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Nutritionist shares insights on healthy lifestyles

SPORTS FLASH

FASHION FAUX PAS Dressing outside of the norm

RUNNING DOWN THE CLOCK

MVHS athletics in photos

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39

IN THIS ISSUE SPECIAL REPORT

THEN AND NOW The impact of technology

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EL ESTOQUE / MARch 2017

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A CHANGING LANDSCAPE Technology of the future

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FOOD WITHOUT THOUGHT How food and errand services affect our lifestyles

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS...

“SIRI, WHAT WOULD THIS MAGAZINE BE LIKE WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY?” “LET ME CHECK ON THAT.” Without Google Drive to share and edit the stories in this magazine. Without the DSLR cameras and audio recorders to capture and forever freeze even the smallest moments in time.

Without the Macbook computers for page layout design. Without the printer that makes 2,000 copies of this issue. Without all of these tools, we can only imagine how different this magazine would become.

“SIRI, WHAT WOULD THIS SCHOOL BE LIKE WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY?” In third grade, we were taught to type without looking, to let our fingers graze the curves of computer keyboards as we strung letters into words. In sixth grade, we were introduced to iMovie, and learned how to introduce motion to stillness and action to silence.

And in high school, technology became almost intuitive, like a deep-seeded component for a successful education. We often check School Loop for homework, open Google Documents to type papers and create presentations on Google Slides without so much as thinking twice. As reporters Ruth Feng and Kingsley Wang note on p. 21-23, it is not uncommon to see Chromebooks and iPads incorporated into lesson plans. How would we learn without these tools?

“SIRI, WHAT WOULD THIS CITY BE LIKE WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY?” Technology rests in every corner of this city. It is the foundation of our economy, employment and education. The Cupertino of yore — with rich vineyards, greenery and local color — has long faded, with fewer remnants braving the turn of decades and centuries. Technology has become so ubiquitous in our lives that simply asking what Cupertino would be like sans its current-day high-tech culture is nothing short of impossible. Advancements in technology pushed us from one point to another, but if we were to return to square one, what would that be like?

Yet the farther we move away from our starting point, the harder it is to satisfy such a theoretical query. In Silicon Valley, we are taught that technology is the solution to historically untreatable medical conditions, the answer to more efficient energy usage and the explanation to innumerable questions about the world. Through technology, complex problems are simplified — we create models, algorithms and statistics to represent our understanding of how the world works. With our knowledge, we condemn complexity in favor of simplicity, ambiguity in favor of certainty. The more streamlined our world becomes, the more challenging it is to know or even guess what might have been.

In this area, technology is treated as the route to progress, the solution to the world’s problems, the oracle to the most complex questions.

“SIRI, WHAT WOULD THIS WORLD BE LIKE WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY?” “SORRY, I DIDN’T GET THAT.”

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

CORRECTION FROM THE LAST ISSUE ​“Wired Differently” misstated the number of students at MVHS. Our student body consists of about 2,400 students.

In “Frame of Mind,” Manuel Bedrossian was fulfilling his general education requirements while at community college.

In the story “Caffeine Culture,” caffeine was misspelled in the headline.

el ESTOQUE 21840 McClellan Road Cupertino, CA 95014 mv.el.estoque@gmail.com

Editors-in-Chief: Avni Prasad, Mingjie Zhong Managing Editors: Kalpana Gopalkrishnan, Trisha Kholiya, Aditya Pimplaskar, Hannan Waliullah Copy Editors: Bill Cheng, Karen Ma, Jessica Xing Webmasters: Sharjeel Rahman, Krishna Sunder Graphics Editor: Becca Zheng News Editors: Claire Chang, Ilena Peng, Chetana Ramaiyer, Sepand Rouz, Nate Stevens Sports Editors: Amanda Chan, Om Khandekar, Aditya Krishnan, Akshara Majjiga Entertainment Editors: Ananya Bhat, Aanchal Garg, Dylan Tsai, Devika Watawe Opinion Editors: Brighton Balfrey, Vivian Chiang, Shriya Deshpande, Sara Entezar Special Report Editors: Elizabeth Han, Emma Lam, Daniel Lin, ZaZu Lippert, Priya Reddy Beats Editors: Jennie Chen, Andrea Schlitt Visuals Editors: Vijeet Chaugule, Roshan Fernandez, Sharjeel Rahman Public Relations: Sanndhi Menon, Anthony Moll, Himani Yalamaddi Staff Writers: Rana Aghababazadeh, Helen Chao, Ruth Feng, Gauri Kaushik, Stephanie Lam, Shayon Moradi, Katerina Pappas, Karen Sanchez, Mallika Singh, Anjini Venugopal, Kingsley Wang, Jackie Way, Chelsea Wong, Michelle Wong Adviser: Julia Satterthwaite 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.

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N TONI MORRISON’S NOVEL “Beloved,” the word n----- is used 37 times. In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” it’s used 48 times.

In Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” 217. These books are all part of the reading curriculum at MVHS. And despite the derogatory history of the word, n----- can still be heard throughout the school halls today.

The first and only time that senior Abby Teklu heard n----- at MVHS was while walking down the school stairs.

She heard a group of boys joking around with each other. The derogatory term was integrated into their humor. It unsettled her how the word n----- was said repeatedly, like rapid-fire.

Yet, despite the words bothering her, Teklu didn’t say anything — she just walked away. She doesn’t consider herself a confrontational person. And it wasn’t the word by itself that was upsetting.

“It bothered me that it was being used. Not them personally, but [towards that fact] that it’s used so easily and not really cared about,” Teklu said. “It makes me uncomfortable, but it has to do more with the history of it, not even the world itself.”

According to PBS, n----- found its origins as a prejudicial barrier in the 19th Century, before slavery was outlawed. If there were two men, one Black and one White, in the same community with the same name, “n-----” became the Black man’s title.

A Black man named Jack would be known as “n----- Jack,” while a White

BY NATE STEVENS AND HANNAN WALIULLAH

HOW THE MEANING OF THE N-WORD HAS CHANGED

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EL ESTOQUE /march 2017

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HE WORD N---- IS STAINED throughout literature, a reminder of a past more racially exclusive. Literature teacher Shozo Shimazaki prefers censoring the use of the word in his class. He addresses its controversy in the classroom head on.

“When the word is used in our literature which we have class discussions on ... I’m simply quoting the book,” Shimazaki said.

“So visually I put my fingers up, and [I say] ‘quote, ‘n-word,’ not the word itself, and ‘end-quote’ as well. So in that sense I’m not evading the word completely, but then I also bring up that the word is there.”

Shimazaki doesn’t think the n-word should be completely removed from literature. There is a specific purpose for its inclusion, in his mind, making it much different than how it’s used casually.

“I do think the message of the book as a whole is especially showing people to be more aware of racial and social issues,” Shimazaki said. “It has its place to be used in students’ literature. Students [are] reading it for hopefully the higher message of it.”

Despite n----- making Teklu feel uncomfortable when it’s used casually, she understands that by censoring the word, it would purify the past and the struggles of the African-American community. Because even for her and her parents, the word has heritage; it represents the progress that has been made since the n-word was first used.

“It’s a part of our past, so because it’s being used in a historical context, or just for accuracy, I don’t particularly mind at all,” Teklu said. “[The] only time when I usually have an issue with it, is if someone is throwing it around for the heck of it.”

Shimazaki agrees; he knows that students act differently in class than they do outside of it, although he hopes that they can see the difference in both the environments and the context that comes with each.

“This isn’t just with the n-word, but with the appropriateness of a lot of things that people say, and there can be times where a student forgets where that line is and could say something they normally wouldn’t in a classroom or to a teacher at school,” Shimazaki said.

A

FAIRLY CLOSE FRIEND OF TEKLU once asked her: “Is it okay if I used the n-word?”

Teklu’s answer was a sharp “no.” She wasn’t, however, offended that the girl took the initiative to ask. Despite her initial surprise, Teklu recalls being grateful.

“I’d rather have someone ask, than to just slip it in conversation. If I had said ‘yes,’ it would have been yes to her using it casually,” Teklu said. “Knowing her now, she *FROM A SURVEY wouldn’t call me OF 224 STUDENTS it, but just use it casually.”

In modern day, music and media contain n----- in lyrics. Many of these songs are ones that top the charts, like “Bad and Bougie” by the hip hop group Migos or “Bounce Back”

by Big Sean. Due to the commonality of the word, for some, the meaning of it may have changed. Yet, in a survey of 232 students, eight percent reported using n----- regularly.

That eight percent includes a junior

30%

at MVHS who would prefer to be anonymous, due to the controversial nature of this issue.

For simplicity, he will be known as Sal. Sal started using the n-word in eighth grade, which he believes may be a result of listening to rap music frequently containing that word. Eventually, he and his friends all started to use it in their day-today conversations. However, after saying it around a non-Black friend of his, Sal received a response he wasn’t used to.

“I used it around someone I [never had before] ... and it kind of really freaked them out,” Sal said.

“After that, I realized that maybe, for some people, this isn’t okay to use. It was really eye-opening.”

Despite this event, Sal still uses it today with his friends, though he knows that around other people, it can be offensive — it’s just how his friends communicate.

He doesn’t feel the n-word has the same meaning it did before, since he doesn’t use it to belittle and degrade someone with a different skin color.

When Sal calls his friends n-----, it’s another way of him saying “dude” or “bro,” yet the way it originated was for the exact opposite.

He believes that is the biggest difference between the n-word then and now — intentions.

He, and others like him, don’t say that word to be offensive, although its interpretations can differ greatly than how it was meant.

But for Teklu, the different connotations are why she believes it’s only okay for African-Americans to say it. “[The word] was made with the intention to hurt us or separate us,” Teklu said. “And then even now, we still deal with issues [where] sometimes it is still malicious.

People act [out] against us, and so that’s why African-Americans can still use it — because [of] where it originated from and how we struggle with it today.”

NEWS

man named Jack would be “Jack.”

As time went on, the word branched out into different possible meanings, including political rhetoric, endearment and its original meaning as an insult. AfricanAmericans eventually embraced the word as a term of endearment towards other Black people, taking a word meant to sting and wearing it on their sleeves, according to PBS. The originally black and white connotations of n----- eventually blurred into a gray area.

Being African-American, Teklu sometimes hears n----- thrown out between her cousins. Not as an insult, but as a term of endearment. The word, she explains, is used similarly to how “dude” or “friend” are used. Black student and senior Pierre Grubb realizes that there’s ambiguity surrounding the usage of the word.

“There’s a really large gray area.

Obviously, you [can] use it as an insult. But then there are [people] within the Black community [who] may use it as a term of endearment, and I think those people think it’s fine,” Grubb said. “But beyond that ...

Can a White guy call a Black person that or vice versa? I don’t know.”

But for Grubb, there are still unacceptable situations where the word is said.

“Since the days of slavery in America, it’s been widely used as something to demonize someone or to make someone appear or feel less than another group, less than a White man,” Grubb said. “So, use of that word in context of trying to make someone feel bad is terrible.”

OF MVHS STUDENTS DON’T FIND THE N-WORD OFFENSIVE*

N E W S 1 75

LA IDEN The origins behind the names at MVHS

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF EL VALEDOR

BY JESSICA XING

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF JANET MELIKIAN NAUSS

EL MATADOR

P PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF EL VALEDOR

I

T WAS THE SUMMER OF 1969.

Students from Cupertino, Fremont, Homestead and Lynbrook High School filed into the courtyard to become what would be MVHS’s first graduating class.

Janet Melikian Nauss, an alumna from the MVHS class of ‘72, remembers that the gym wasn’t even completed yet when a small group of kids gathered around to vote on the new school’s mascot.

“Being the first students, we set the rules,” Nauss said. “We didn’t think about any of this stuff. It was just the way it was.

The school was a work in progress.”

The class of ‘72 became the students that named a lot of the organizations still at MVHS today: El Valedor, El Estoque, the mascot, the Matador and even La Verdadera, a newer publication that continued to follow the traditions established over 40 years ago.

The names students see around campus are reflective of MVHS’s past and of traditions still around in the present.

EL ESTOQUE

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EL ESTOQUE / MARCH 2017

URPLE AND GOLD HADN’T ALWAYS been MVHS’s go to colors — Dave Collier, class of ‘72, remembers the Bengals, paired with orange and black, the Matadors, paired with purple and gold, the Cardinals, paired with red and white and the Spartans, paired with blue and gold.

According to Nauss, there was then a big conflict over whether the mascot would be the bull or the matador, so the school ended up trying to integrate both over the year.

“Fremont colors were also red and white and I’m pretty sure no one really wanted that,” Collier said. “People just wanted to be distinctive — it was a new school and there wasn’t anything else like the Matador.”

Nauss, who loved drawing at the time, was one of the art students who drew many of the images seen around MVHS back then, such as the bull, shown on the ‘72 ASB card.

As an art student, she would sit in the quad and draw the roof lines and buildings around campus. Sitting there, Nauss understood why the class of ‘72 chose the Matadors to represent the school when looking at the Spanish architecture surrounding her.

“Nobody thought about giving credit for any of the art we did — we just drew because we loved it,” Nauss said. “We did all the artwork and scenery for the carousel, an event the school held at the time. Then we all pitched in and drew the bull — a lot of people wanted the bull instead of the Matador, so they incorporated the bull whenever they could.”

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF EL VALEDOR

EL VALEDOR

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CCORDING TO MVHS’ FIRST yearbook in 1970, El Valedor is a Spanish word for friend, protector and “something cherished and of value.” This name was suggested again by George Green, who also named the student newsletter and according to Nauss, suggested the class vote for the Matadors over the other mascots.

The name apparently caught on so well with the Student Body at the time that over 60 percent of the student body voted for its adoption.

NTIDAD PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF HUNG WEI

EL ESTOQUE

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VHS’S ROOTS ARE FOUNDED in its long lasting traditions — according to Collier, the student newsletter founded its roots in his JV baseball teammate Green. Collier remembered how Green won the contest held in 1969, the same year the school first opened to the public, deciding the name of the school newspaper.

“The only reason I remember the name ‘El Estoque’ was because one of the guys — we played JV baseball the first year: George Green,” Collier said. “[Green] wasn’t particularly civic minded, so I was astounded when he won the name for the newspaper.”

Green, according to Collier, explained that El Estoque was Spanish for the sword that the Matador sticks into the bull — it was used to continue the motif of strength and valiancy of the Matador, emphasizing the forcefulness and power of the written word.

LA VERDADERA

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HIRTY YEARS AFTER THE CLASS OF ‘72 graduated, La Verdadera adviser Hung Wei’s daughter also graduated from MVHS, and went on to attend NYU in 2004. She committed suicide within the year.

La Verdadera, spanish for “the truth,” is a student publication started in 2005 by for the sole purpose of giving students a chance to talk about certain taboo topics: drugs, sex, religion. According to Wei, her daughter had grown up sheltered — the signs leading up to her daughter’s death should’ve been obvious, but were brushed off since many parents, at the time, didn’t know what they were supposed to be looking for.

“My daughter passed away by suicide 13 years ago,” Wei said. “ People think that something’s wrong with us, but nothing is wrong with us. We are just a normal family growing up in Cupertino. People are just so afraid of judgement — with Verdadera I’m trying to get rid of the stigma here that ‘I must be the only person suffering from this and there must be something wrong with me.’”

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF VERDADERA

After her daughter’s death, Wei started Verdadera based off of Los Gatos High School’s Reality Check, a publication in which students can anonymously submit stories. While Verdadera has changed and tackled many subjects over the years, La Verdadera has always included a professionals page. According to Wei, by including testimonials from professionals and their contact information, parents and student know who to contact if they ever want to reach out and get help, or even to ground the publication so student views don’t skew the topic one way or the other.

What has lasted in its 12 years is its name.

“I had a hard time even pronouncing the name at first. But the kids at the time, they are very proud of their tradition and want to be identified as [MVHS] students,” Wei said. “The name came about because that’s where [the students] come from. I even talked to them and I was like ‘can’t we just call it Truthfully Magazine?’ and they said no, it has to be something that conforms with our school tradition.”

N EWS

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AN

They started by putting picnic tables on top of the Gym. They took a car out of an auto shop and stood it on end in the middle of the rally court; afterwards, they added a gas can with a wick, so there was gas burning out of the top of the car. But they didn’t stop there. Their next course of action was to flood the rally court and jam nails into classroom doors so nobody could enter. And the grand finale: taking their cars to the upper field to race each other on the track.

Principal April Scott says that over

BY CHETANA RAMAIYER, KAREN SANCHEZ AND time families as well as school policies MALLIKA SINGH have controlled this type of behavior.

Specifically, MVHS administration developed stricter dance policies because years ago, students would come to dances under the influence. According to “You start thinking of about your Assistant Principal Mike White, students whole entire future and what you could would rent hotel rooms at the prom venue be sacrificing and throwing away. It to hold their own “after parties.” Because [was] really big for some reason for me,” of that behavior, the administration Ally said. “The whole time I was like I changed the venue of the dances. shouldn’t be doing this. I was being really “Sixteen years ago alcohol usage at cautious of everything that was around dances [was] huge. It was common at me. I wanted to go home.” every dance to bust at least one child At some point during the party, someone for being under the influence. But that’s started yelling really changed, that the cops dance policies have were going changed,” White to show up. said. “That’s just not That’s when a great problem that things got too we see. It’s been two intense for her. years that we’ve had Along with anybody under the a group of influence, that we about 10 other know about.” girls, she ran Whether the as fast as she party culture among could away students at MVHS from that is discrete or not, MVHS ALUMNI JENNI house. And ultimately, White MIDDLETON for almost feels that this type a year, she of exposure to partying and drinking is stopped goin to parties. not healthy for teenagers. White attended “I was like I can’t go back to that for Oak Grove High School in East San Jose, a long time. I was kind of traumatized where his brother was a major part of the because people were saying that the cops party culture. And that didn’t stop once he were going to show up,” Ally said. “[I] just entered college. Eventually, his brother was kind of reflected and it’s like, ‘What am I expelled from UC Berkeley due to academic doing with myself?’ I wasn’t old enough deficiency, losing his full athletic scholarship. to understand ... so I was kind of mad at And so White steered away from that type myself and just stayed away.” of partying.

1972 But it was more than just his brother.

WHEN HIS SENIOR YEAR ROLLED White’s uncle passed away in Nov. 2016 around, Lofstrom says his graduating class as a result of his drinking habits. decided to go all out on a senior prank. White was never drawn to party

EVOLVING YOUTH

How the party culture has changed overtime

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N 1972, AFTER FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL games, MVHS students would meet up at the McDonald’s near highway nine, now known as De Anza Blvd. There was a Taco Bell, a Shakey’s Pizza and a parking lot packed with cars. People would smoke marijuana, drink beer publicly and race their cars down the highway. This was the first graduating class of MVHS. Once MVHS opened in 1969, there were two classes: the sophomores and the freshmen. David Lofstrom, MVHS alumni from the class of 1972, explained that he and his classmates broke many rules.

In 41 years, however, MVHS has changed in many ways. One of the most prominent differences seems to be the party scene.

According to a survey of 229 students, 59 percent of students believe partying and the drinking among MVHS students has become an underground culture.

Although 60 percent of students, from a survey of 226 students, know of people who go to parties, only 27 percent, from a survey of 230 students, actually go to parties. Based on these stats, lot of students wouldn’t break the rules, at least, not openly.

2015

HER FIRST PARTY WAS AT THE end of the summer of 2015. Due to the nature of this subject, we will call her Ally.

The house looked perfectly normal from the outside. Inside, however, there was blaring music, people everywhere, kids laying on top of each other and a table lined with illegal substances. She was extremely nervous.

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EL ESTOQUE /MarCH 2017

WE MADE A LOT OF MISTAKES IN OUR LIFE HANGING OUT AT THE BACK GATE … TO GO BACK, I WISH I PAID BETTER ATTENTION.

culture because of his uncle’s alcoholism as well.

“If anything that taught me [it was] that, ‘well okay I don’t need this to happen in my life,’” White said. “That was my example to learn from his mistake.”

Lofstrom like White, had his own reasons not to elevate his level of partying to beyond control. Because he had a job as well as other responsibilities, he couldn’t afford to lose control and party all the time. Some of his friends, however, did.

“They just liked to do drugs and they liked to drink. And quite of a few of them have been dead for a long time because of it because they just never stopped,” Lofstrom said.

Now, almost 41 years later, Ally feels that the party culture among MVHS students is more responsible. According to her, for example, they always have a designated driver.

1975

BACK THEN, HOWEVER, JENNI Middleton, an MVHS alumni from the class of 1975, says they didn’t even know what a “designated driver” was.

She described herself as a “backgater.”

During Middleton’s time at MVHS, the backgate, now the back entrance of the school, was where some students would gather during lunch, or during class, to smoke. During lunch, a cloud of smoke would emerge from the back of the school.

But by the time the teachers arrived, all the students got rid of the cigarettes so they wouldn’t know who did what.

Middleton, however, spent so much time at the backgate instead of class that in her senior year she was kicked out of MVHS and sent to Blaney High School, an alternative school.

“I’d change all of it ... The time I spent not focusing on all of the better things in life, I would undo all of that,” Middleton said. “We made a lot of mistakes in our life hanging out at the back gate … but a lot of us turned out okay too. To go back, I wish I paid better attention and spent less time at the back gate.”

She recognizes that the party culture among MVHS students at the time was far more reckless. Middleton and Lofstrom both say they rarely actually

did school work. On the rare occasion that past actions to aid her parenting.

Middleton took work home, she says she “What my mindset was when I was that only spent about 30 minutes on it. age was that they were the enemy — the “If you aren’t even thinking about if deans, the principal, a lot of the teachers — you’re going to kill somebody when you’re I looked at them like the enemy,” Middleton [drunk] driving or die in this car on the cusp said. “These are people that just want to of it, you certainly aren’t thinking about catch us and get us in trouble but realistically, what’s going to happen to your whole they were watching out for us.” career and your college education if you 2017 get caught,” Middleton said.

ALLY, HOWEVER, O n e is very open with her n i g h t , parents about attending Middleton these parties. They are and her okay with her going as long two friends as she is doing her best to sat on top take care of herself and as of the car long as she understands while they all the consequences. made their The rules have way up changed. Times have Montebello changed. People have Rd. — changed. what they “We didn’t have the ANONYMOUS STUDENT called “car scrutiny put on us as SOURCE s u r f i ng. ” hard as you guys do now As they because there aren’t that w e r e many jobs. To get into a good school, to driving back down the road, a police car get a good education, to get a good paying passed them on its way up. Middleton and job is not easy. You can’t be out every her two friends jumped out and quickly Friday night, Saturday night, Tuesday tossed the half filled beer cans to the side night, Thursday night smoking pot of the road, speeding away. Eventually the and sleeping through your class[es] police car caught up with them. The cops to graduate from began to pull each person out of the car high school until they got a call of another emergency. to get into a Middleton and her friends escaped good college,” without getting in any trouble. They then Lofstrom said. proceeded straight back to Montebello Rd. “But we didn’t to find that their beer cans had been run care about that over by the police car to ensure that they then. It wasn’t a couldn’t drink anymore that night. big deal.”

Now a parent, Middleton describes how she understands that what they were doing as teenagers was wrong. She uses her experiences and her reflections on

YOU START THINKING OF ABOUT YOUR WHOLE ENTIRE FUTURE AND WHAT YOU COULD BE SACRIFICING AND THROWING AWAY.

EL ESTOQUE ILLUSTRATION | CHETANA RAMAIYER AND HANNAN WALIULLAH

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BREAKING NEWS

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Poetry brings back what repetitive headlines take away

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struggle to shape opinions. With repetition, news articles are just words without faces.

Yet that message is perhaps only true if you repeat it to yourself, because for every time you repeat something over and over again, When I stare at a word for long enough, there is someone reading. You’re sick of I begin to think it’s spelled wrong, even repeating it and someone’s sick of hearing though I know it’s right. When I read it, yet someone else is reading it for the first headline after headline about politics, it loses time, and they’re blown away.

For those who its meaning. I’ve still think poetry always thought that is an elementary being an opinionated school haiku, individual would know that it’s make life hard, that more.

If news I would spend too headlines are much time getting starting you make worked up over you feel sick, every news article JUNIOR ILENA PENG remember that I read. To have a there are people strong opinion on behind every headline — people who created every issue would surely be exhausting.

Headlines that should upset people have events, people who are directly affected by lost quite a bit of their shock factor. Yet I those events, people who hate those events know their importance, even though there with all their being. Modern day poetry isn’t are times when I’m so sick of reading news separated from the 21st Century, stuck in articles that my only thought is “why.” That’s the era of Shakespearean sonnets — it’s the only thing keeping me from unfollowing merged to provide a personal face to every news site. Sometimes all I want to do the headlines because repetition is get away from it all, to detach myself from is important. March 21 was it. But unfortunately, that news is the real designated World Poetry Day by the United Nations world — and I cannot shut out the world. y mother taught me this trick. If you repeat something over and over again it loses its meaning.

-Phil Kaye

BEYOND THE STATUS QUOTE

| ILENA PENG

EL ESTOQUE /MARch 2017

RATION

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ILLUST

Sometime during the break in December (the one where I historically refuse to do any work), I rediscovered spoken word poetry.

I was binge listening until 2 a.m. to poets whose topics ranged from family and friends to mental illnesses and bicycle tires — you name it and there was a poem for it. Poetry in its simplest terms is releasing everything that troubles you into simple words on paper. These days, a lot of those troubles are political so it’s not that poetry isn’t political, because it can be — anything can be if you want it to be. It’s easy to forget that political things involve more people than just the politicians. But maybe the people who have something to say aren’t heard enough.

Phil Kaye’s “Repetition” is a lyrically worded general observation on how repetition numbs meaning — “You watch the sun set too often, it just becomes 6 p.m. You make the same mistake over and over; you’ll stop calling it a mistake.” Yet that broad message is one that applies to everything and it’s the very reason that I

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Read those headlines, find those poems. Someone’s seeing that headline for the first time when you’ve seen it for the hundredth time. Fight the urge to throw your phone out the window when you see that every post on your news feed is about something political — read at least one of them. It’s important and that’s something I’ll repeat again.

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OPINIOIN

CONTRA KON-TRUH

LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN: SPANISH

AGAINST; OPPOSITE; CONTRASTING OPINION

13

CONTRA the system

We walked around campus asking students one question: What is the most rebellious thing you have done? Here were some of the answers.

“I hit 120 on 85 before.”

SENIOR SIDDHARTH SHARMA

“[I] walked around downtown San Jose with my friends without adult supervision, which is not safe.”

FRESHMAN KIREN BALAKRISHNAN

“I was at my friend’s house and we were eating cereal.

I picked up the wrong bowl with his stuff and I re-put his food back in his bowl. I didn’t tell him. I just let it pass.”

JUNIOR VIKAS SRINIVASA

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EL ESTOQUE /MARch 2017

HEN DISCUSSING the topic of this staff editorial, we set out with a mission in mind: don’t perpetuate the stereotype of the overly studious MVHS student. So that’s where the idea of “contra” originated — against the grain, in rebellion to the stereotype attached to us.

For every staff editorial, we gather members from different sections to discuss what topic we should choose. In this particular discussion, the word “rebellion” seemed to spark the fire. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say people were yelling at each other, their voices becoming increasingly louder as they passionately voiced their take on the word.

That’s when we realized we had all come to the table with a different image of a rebellion. For some, it’s listening to rap music and throwing around the n-word, while for others it’s a kid who cuts school, does drugs. For others, it’s simply the one who takes the risk and goes against the grain. The one who refuses to listen to pop music. The one who doesn’t take the SATs. The one who doesn’t wear the latest trends.

Whatever our image of a rebel was, we all agreed that rebels were the minority.

But the word “rebel” is overly stigmatized. The word “rebel” largely has the connotation of party culture. It’s the student whose life revolves around drugs, drinking and sex. But rebellion, by definition, has no implication of embracing a self-indulgent existence which its connotation suggests.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition simply states that it means “opposition to one in authority or dominance.” In fact, historically speaking, rebellions are events that have brought about change.

The American Revolution created a nation free from British monarchy. The French Revolution caused feudalism to come to an end. The Haitian Revolution gave slaves back their freedom and rights. They are far from being purposeless.

A rebel is simply someone who chooses to be different. They take the risk to go against the norm and try something new.

And at MVHS, that norm is our stereotype.

Many MVHS students complain about the label that is automatically given to them when they enroll into this school. As many students seem to be against this definition that the connotation of being an MVHS student brings us, it’s surprising that we have so few rebels against it. Whatever you think a rebel is, it involves risk. In this environment, that risk might present itself as an academic grade drop, being the outsider in a large school or even just going out of the safety of the Cupertino bubble.

W

We have been told by countless parents and teachers that MVHS students are not the average teenager. It would be ignorant of us to say that we aren’t privileged. Most of us are able to study and learn in a safe environment without worrying about our families’ financial status. And it’s because of this privilege that we have built up our reputation of being hardworking, academic students. We have invested so much time and effort into our futures that we’re afraid we’ll mess it all up with one wrong move. And it’s not just the burden of self pressure that we carry. Some of our parents have invested their entire lives into providing a good education for us. We don’t want to disappoint them when they’ve done so much on our behalf.

The truth is, most of us don’t rebel because we have too much to lose. At a school where 98 percent of the students are college bound, one mistake could cost us our future. We believe in the domino effect. We think that just one small wrong move, maybe getting an F on a test or cutting a class, could make all the dominos topple down. We’re so focused on the end goal that we mentally create a checklist to become successful.

One deviation from that plan and we think our whole world is going to come crashing down. So although we may not like the

standard to which MVHS students are held, mindset of the straightlaced MV student. we’re too afraid to do anything about it. It’s risks like these that can slowly change We’re too afraid to become rebels. our mindset into being more open to taking While our privilege has given us an larger risks. abundance of opportunities, it has also taken We’re so afraid of messing up these away our rebellious spirit. We want change, four years in high school, when we should but we don’t have the mindset to do it. Yet really be more concerned about them when the logical way to change the stereotype it really counts: in the adult world. Making that so many of us disagree with is to elicit mistakes and taking risks in the adult world change. We can’t can have major expect change to consequences happen unless we when it comes are willing to take to careers. But the risks to drive then again, it’s those changes. But OPINION OF THE EL ESTOQUE those who take with our future on risks that bring EDITORIAL BOARD a golden pedestal, about new none of us think we can afford it. technology, come up with new theories and Our teenage years are supposed to be accomplish the impossible. If we don’t start the years when we experiment, find out who experimenting as teenagers, how will we be we are and try new things. Experiencing able to deviate from the standards of the these risks is what helps us learn and grow. modern world and bring about something The risks we take don’t have to be getting new? We need to start experimenting drunk at a party or completely bombing to learn what kind of risks we should be our final. We could take smaller risks, like taking. We need to embrace that rebellious taking time to rest instead of studying for a teenage spirit, for ourselves now and in the quiz tomorrow. Or raising our hand in class future. The time to take risks is now. even when we’re not 100 percent sure we have the answer. Or asking that girl out for a date. Just small things that go against the

STAFF EDITORIAL

OPINIOn

1155

CONTRA POP CULTURE W

BY KALPANA GOPALKRISHNAN

hat is the definition of opposition?

Sometimes, the barriers that opposition causes are more subtle, unspoken pressures.

We don’t speak about unspoken pressures, especially when they don’t seem significant.

These barriers prevent us from being aware of how much we are affected by entertainment: by the clothes we wear, the books we read, the music we listen to.

As high schoolers, our identity is often what we consume rather than our actual personalities. And often, there’s an “in-list” of what to consume. It’s what you felt when you forced yourself to read “The Fault in our Stars” by John Green. The confusion in middle school when you opened your closet and saw the words Abercrombie and Fitch on every single one of your shirts. That sour taste in your mouth when you hear “Can’t Stop the Feeling” on the radio but leave it on anyways.

That’s why the people at our school, who don’t give in to pop culture, are our rebels.

It’s too easy for us to just do what the people around us are doing. And it’s harder than it sounds to say, “No, I don’t like that new Drake song,”and take the time to discover our own version of pop culture.

In middle school, junior Daria Syskine stopped reading fantasy fiction once she realized she could just read “Lord of the Rings” and be able to predict the plot of most other fantasy novels. Not only is Syskine a voracious reader, after years of curating

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EL ESTOQUE /MARch 2017

her reading tastes, she now prefers to read classics rather than series like “The Hunger Games” or “Divergent.”

“I like books that are more complex and less focused on action or teenage love triangles and more on character,” Syskine said.

For instance, one of Syskine’s favorite authors is Ray Bradbury, who wrote Fahrenheit 451. Just as her favorite genre used to be fantasy in middle school, Syskine now has a thing for dystopian novels.

Unfortunately, Syskine’s unusual taste in literature leaves her few people to talk to about her readings. Just recently, Syskine read “Watership Down” by Ray Bradbury.

But when she approached her friends and helplessly referred to the book as “the one about the rabbits,” all she received were blank stares.

“I’ll find a book with a lot of cool ideas,” Syskine said. “But there’s no one to discuss it with.”

However, the rejection of the more popular and cliche ideas comes from being exposed to them.

“I don’t like outright rejecting [pop culture] because usually there’s a reason that it’s popular,” Syskine said. “I’ve read Hunger Games and Divergent so that I can at least know what I’m talking about if I tell people I don’t like it.’

Rather than defy pop culture, sophomore Georgiy Bondar blatantly laughs at it.

Knowing how opposed to Trump the majority of MVHS is, Bondar often comes to school sporting Trump apparel and the Kennedy Middle School P.E. uniform.

“It’s cause I like [Trump] and a lot of people at this school don’t,” Bondar said.

“And it’s fun to mess with people.”

Although Bondar does not usually get many responses, one person has told him to f-off at school before.

“I don’t care if someone yells at me,” Bondar said. “I just think it’s funny.”

Bondar admits that much of his behavior stems from his tendency to trick people, but he also dresses the way he does to oppose the mainstream culture at MVHS. “I don’t like social media, and a lot of the culture here stems off of that,” Bondar said.

Bondar’s opinions may not be popular, but at least he tells MVHS what they are.

It’s not just these two that have decided to reject the grain. There’s a real hipster within all of us here at MVHS. We just need to put in the energy to find it.

PAS

BARKING UP THE RIGHT TREE

FASHION FAUX

BY ALBERT WANG

W

henever somebody asks me how much my outfit costs I usually g e t annoyed. I’ve already been reduced to nothing but a few numbers by college admissions offices, don’t reduce my outfit to nothing but a number too, please. Like, just go Google it or something.

Cost is not a factor by which I judge clothes. Even though sometimes cost is the predominant factor behind the prestigious status of some clothes, I think it is generally shallow to judge clothes simply based off their price tags. Standing out fashion wise isn’t about replying my outfit costs more than your rent, but rather having the mindset to overlook such shallow questions.

Clothes have the ability to express emotions and create perceptions of status and personality. Nowadays, a quality garment doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive one, and likewise an expensive piece isn’t necessarily a “cool” piece. Take the Adidas Yeezys for instance. Depending on the model, these shoes can go from $400 to $3,000, but they’re not the least bit appealing to me, because even people with no personal style — such as those who wear Pacsun zipper pants and Champion hoodies claiming to be unique — know and want Yeezys. Their status drops in my mind because of the demographic they appeal to, despite the ridiculously high price point and immediately recognizable silhouette. On the other hand, even some cheap, brandless $60 Chelsea boots appeal to me more than Yeezys. Although I can sort of relate to them because I feel like ‘flexing’ is a truly

important aspect of dressing well, I don’t think it is stylish or cool to flaunt expensive clothes without piecing them together in a coherent and subtle way. The abstract character of a piece transcends its price, and finding pieces which will fit my unique style is countless times more important to me than wearing Gucci or Fear of God from head to toe.

These abstract elements of garments are what I look at to form my own style. The feelings and memories a piece brings up are what’s important.. For example, I don’t love my black Comme Des Garcon jacket simply because it is Comme Des Garcon, but rather because it is reminiscent of a very traditional satin American baseball jacket from the 80’s. To me, it isn’t nice because it’s a Comme Des Garcon jacket, it’s a cool jacket which Comme Des Garcon happened to make.

Much of what I wear is derived from the quirks of my personality, and my style is a reflection of my character. I love to mix classy with grunge, degrading expensive or showy garments to almost sleepwear and elevating generic brands to design levels. In essence, juxtaposition is a major key. I often showcase obscure graphic hoodies and tees alongside dressy boots in many of my outfits because I feel the mix is very representative

of my self perception. Fashion is all about sending messages and sometimes expressing such messages explicitly becomes too boring, so I find ways to implicitly convey themes reflective of my personality.

Embracing my personal style has been hard at times, for I become hesitant to wear certain clothes out of fear that I would stand out too much. I remember seeing movies of people in cold places like New York or London and they would all be wearing long coats, which I thought was insanely fly. Ever since I came into high school, I’ve wanted to wear a long coat, but I was scared that other people would think I’m weird for wearing such a big jacket. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone at MVHS wearing one. After a while I had a few coats in my regular outerwear rotation and this article of clothing no longer instilled insecurity in my mind. The craziest thing ever though happened a few weeks ago. One of my friends talked about how he’s going to start wearing more dressy stuff like coats and boots in college. I asked why not do it now and he replied that he didn’t want to seem like he copied me. I was like HOOOOOLLLY FENDI. Some people apparently think I’ve marked my territory in that style. I went from being afraid to wear certain clothes to becoming the reason why other people are afraid to wear them. Like, what the heck.

I still think his reason makes no sense but the fact that he strictly associated that style with me blows my mind. I didn’t trademark anything or get a patent for my jacket rotation, I just wore what I wanted and that inspired others to hop on the same train, which I cannot be more grateful for.

OPINION

17

CONTRA the legal age O|

OT

PH

N IVIA

G

IAN

CH

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BY VIVIAN CHIANG AND SARA ENTEZAR

system, to want to rebel, to want to do exactly what you were told since day one not to do.

But curiosity killed the cat, right?

Well, not always.

T H E LU C KY N U M B E R S *All names that begin with J are false names to protect the anonymous sources.

CU R I O S I T Y K I L L E D T H E CAT She sits alone on her bed in the corner of her bedroom, one hand fiddling with the edge of the foil wrapped around the mint. Before she could change her mind, she tears the foil and pops the mint in her mouth, feeling it instantly dissolve. She closes her eyes and waits. It was Jill’s first time tripping on acid.

“I felt my body kind of tingle and finally felt something kick in,” Jill said. “I started seeing [the things] in my room in different colors and shapes.”

At MVHS, 57 percent of students, out of a poll of 230 students, claim they have been introduced into the drug culture or someone they know has. But at what cost?

“I read that tripping can be very spiritual and stimulating,” Jill said. “I was going through a tough time with people and I thought it could help me.”

The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that one of the five leading causes in which minors do drugs is to experiment.

Curiosity. It’s natural to go against the

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EL ESTOQUE /MARCH 2017

The National Institutes of Health states, “Alcohol and tobacco are the drugs most commonly abused by adolescents, followed by marijuana.”

Alcohol, tobacco and marijuana — all legal drugs. But there’s a catch; you must be 21 or older to use them.

“Teenagers are going to smoke anyways [since adults do it,] so it should be legal at an earlier age,” Jill said. “Also, weed is not super harmful like cigarettes are, [so] I don’t think it should be judged on the same level as cigarettes.”

The number 21 seems to have come out of thin air, a shift in which a single day turns you from an irresponsible child to a responsible adult. These age restricting rules come from a combination of different laws, created decades ago.

The National Minimum Age Drinking Act of 1984 is a currently used law which was created in hopes of limiting alcohol

consumption after failing to enforce the previously ratified law of 1919 which enacted a zero-alcohol-consumption rule.

Prior to 1984, the age of alcohol consumption was decided by the state.

Almost all states had lowered the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 after many argued that if someone is allowed to serve in a foreign war, they should be allowed to drink. When the National Minimum Age Drinking Act of 1984 was enacted, the bill threatened that any state which did not comply to raise the minimum drinking age to 21 would lose out on a portion of federally funded highways.

H a r s h , America. Harsh.

JILL So, that explains why an age restriction exists, period. Yet, it still fails to indicate why 21 is the prized number.

Three years out of high school and suddenly you’re a new person?

In fact, the person who started the movement to enforce the Bill of 1984, Candy Lightner of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, had lost her daughter due to an adult driving under the influence.

The government took a toll on the youth population, labeling them as irresponsible and unfit to handle alcohol,

I STARTED SEEING EVERYTHING IN MY ROOM IN DIFFERENT COLORS AND SHAPES.

Average age to

57% of students claim they or someone they know have been introduced into the

DRUG CULTURE. when the entire movement was started because of one, and several irresponsible adult drivers.

18+ The typically hushed up topic only mentioned in whispers and nudges, sex, is actually common among teenage kids as well. NBC News states that the average age of losing virginity is 16.9 for males and 17.4 for females. Of 229 students, over half claim they have had sex before or know of someone who has.

Jasmin lost her virginity when she was 15-years-old.

“I did it because I wanted to,” Jasmin said. “Especially in the Monta Vista area, you can have sex safely without contracting diseases or getting pregnant. I think the people here are pretty responsible.”

Viewing inappropriate content, such as pornography, which is illegal to be viewed or bought until the age of 18, is often viewed as “dirty” and looked down upon.

However, again, just like sex and drugs, viewing pornography occurs. Out of 226 MVHS students, 61 percent watched or

16.9 17.4 Males

Females

knew someone who watched pornography at least once in their life. Yet, 40 percent of students out of 221 claim they view it as something “dirty” or “shameful.”

“I [watch porn] for myself,” Jose said. “I feel like most of [the stigma behind a minor watching it] is based on embarrassment that people do it themselves ... A lot of it is because in predominantly Indian and Asian societies, parents are ‘taboo-ing’ even talking about things like that.”

FA L S E I N N O C E N C E Aside from drugs, sex and alcohol, the norm when it comes to illegal juvenile activities, there are events in which teens obtain a fake ID. Out of 224 MVHS students, 29 percent claim either they or someone they know has a fake ID. Google autofills the search “how to get” with the most popularly searched phrase: “how to get a fake ID.” And the reasons for fake IDs may be less fraudulent than for illegal and dangerous activities such.

“A lot of

of students have watched

PORN

or know someone who has.

events I go [like raves and regular concerts,] are 18+ and then they require and ID, but I think it’s really dumb that there’s an age limit to go to events,” said Jasmin. “ I feel like everyone had the right to see an artist that they enjoy and they shouldn’t put an age limit on that.”

The most popular argument is that teens are simply not responsible enough to partake in activities including drugs, sex and other “adult-rated” pastimes.

Though, if something is bad for teens, what makes it okay for adults?

Many European countries have younger drinking ages compared to the United States. These arbitrary numbers set standards of responsibility, yet, oftentimes people are left with little understanding as to where they came from. Because really, they lack the validity necessary to be set.

Germany, 16+. France, 16+. Great Britain, 18+. Canada, 18+.

America, 21+?

NG

HIA

NC

IVIA

|V OTO

61%

AVERAGE AGE TO LOSE VIRGINITY

PH

OPINION

19

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Chalk boards turned into white boards. Notebooks turned into Google Docs.

Pencils turned into the rapid typing on a touchscreen keyboard. This is how technology has transformed the learning experience.

BY RUTH FENG, PRIYA REDDY, KINGSLEY WANG AND MINGJIE ZHONG AP Chemistry teacher Kavita Gupta did not know what to expect of her new high-tech classroom. After five years of teaching in places from rural India to Los Angeles, she was finally making her way to one of the most high tech areas in the world: Silicon Valley. However, much to her disappointment, the technology in her classroom was no different.

After over 30 years of teaching, Gupta believes that the amount of available technological resources and the frequency in the use of technology in her classroom has increased with its evolution. Back in her classroom in Los Angeles in 1996, the whole science department shared one Apple IIE Computer, the first Apple computer ever released. Every teacher in the department would use it solely to key in their grades.

Now, every morning when she walks in, she is greeted by the familiar display of the Apple TV and the stark clarity of the Liquid Crystal Display in her schoolissued MacBook Pro, marking just a few of the several technological milestones achieved in her teaching career.

For Gupta, the use of technology is crucial. In order to succeed in Chemistry, students must have a strong understanding of how particles bond and how they interact. To help her students attain visualization of how these processes work, Gupta relies on the Dell Netbooks, stored in a cart in the upper left corner of her room, to run Java simulations and animations, providing a visual representation of the infinitely small particles as they react. Thirty years prior, during her student teaching in New

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EL ESTOQUE /March 2017

Delhi, India, Gupta found herself with the exact same lesson plan, only this time, in a country halfway across the continent, in a classroom twice as small and with only a blackboard and chalk to explain what she is able to do now with just a simple animation.

“It was very hard … especially in my subject area, where [the] things that I talk about — atoms, molecules — they are so invisible,” Gupta said. “When I was teaching, I found it hard to create the models that I have in my head, in my students’ heads.”

She remembers conjuring complex narratives and filling up the board with two-dimensional pictures in order to depict something which she is able to now illustrate with a click of her mouse.

Even as she was able to successfully detail the process through spoken words and static diagrams, many students, who Gupta had lost somewhere along the way in her thorough description, still walk away as confused as ever only to repeat the process over and over until something finally clicked.

Yet this confusion, Gupta feels, can be significantly mitigated through the advent of technological animations and other education tools.

“I didn’t realize how important technology is, until I started using it,” Gupta said, her voice rising in excitement.

“Things that were so hard to teach became so easy!”

Subjects like three-dimensional

modeling and trigonal pyramidal structures were suddenly much more straightforward with the support of online visual animations, compared to Gupta’s own drawings in a twodimensional medium.

With the convenience of having technology being able to enhance her teaching and allow for a fast paced class, Gupta still has hopes that technology can be augmented much greater in the classroom to the extent of which she is able to use it for globalized learning.

With students in her classroom being able to interact from students all around the world with the help of technologies such as Facebook Live, Gupta hopes that these students are able to not only garner different perspectives of foreign students, but also be able to apply what they learned in class to tackle worldwide problems together. With the help of globalized learning, Gupta also hopes to be able to bring learning to those who do not have as much access to it.

For example, Gupta imagines that technology could contribute to an education model wherein students who do not have physical, high-quality resources in education — such as a classroom, a good teacher — can obtain just as quality of an education through education platforms like Khan Academy. In this model, students who are perhaps less financially privileged will nevertheless still be able to afford a decent education. After all, Gupta says, a number of children in the world will have the same intellectual curiosity, but not all will have the same opportunities; some

AP Chemistry teacher Kavita Gupta

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF KAVITA GUPTA ILLUSTRATION | ELIZABETH HAN

SPECIAL PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | RUTH FENG AND PRIYA REDDY

will face greater limitations than others.

“If [students] have access to this remote content which is still very engaging and interactive, could there be a place for self-based learning?” Gupta said.

Student teacher at MVHS Jasmine Solder

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF JASMINE SOLDER ILLUSTRATION | MINGJIE ZHONG

A TEACHER OF THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

The light from her computer screen bounces off her glasses. She replies to her emails, opens up the Google slides

lecture for that day’s lesson, then faces the class and says the usual greeting, “How’s everyone doing today?”

English teacher Jasmine Solder grew up in Australia. Throughout elementary school and middle school, her education was mostly paper-based. Her classes paid occasional visits to the computer labs, but she never experienced the designated Chromebooks initiative that many classes, including her own, utilize in their studies.

“People still weren’t as obsessed [with social media]. Technology is an art right now,” Solder said. “I sound so old.”

She laughs as she looks around a room full of high school students.

Every day when her fourth and fifth period students walk in, the first thing they grab is their designated Chromebooks, which were assigned to them at the beginning of the year. Students then walk to their desks and settle down, and their computers are up-and-running within five minutes of the class starting.

These Chromebooks are used for journaling, essay-writing and big projects.

In one research assignment, students relied on news articles and databases such as EBSCO database to help them write their formative essay. Other commonly used web applications include Google Classroom, Turnitin.com and School Loop.

Solder believes technology helps students learn more in a shorter amount of time. Typing as opposed to writing is not

only more efficient, but it gives students a chance to delve deeper into themes.

However, with technology comes a heightened occurrence of procrastination.

“I think here especially, kids here have so much to do, they are very overwhelmed and technology is a really good reprieve from the day,” Solder said. “It can be difficult to find the desire to get started when you have the accessibility to so many different apps at your disposal.”

One of Solder’s dilemmas is how she can better utilize technology in situations that present themselves with the opportunity for procrastination. She has yet to figure out a solution. “[How we can put technology to better use] is arguably the most important question for teachers right now,” Solder said.

Looking into the future, Solder thinks technology will provide students with the resources they need in order to succeed, but the role of a teacher is irreplaceable.

She compared her case to an experiment titled the “Monkey Love Experiment,” where psychologist Harry Harlow placed a developing monkey with two fake monkeys. One was made of wire and provided food for the monkey, the other was made of cloth and offered nothing. Despite this, the developing monkey chose to spend time with the cloth mother.

Online courses

SPECIAL

23

For Solder, just as how a real teacher can provide more warmth for a student, the developing monkey was more attracted to the cloth monkey.

“So, that’s me,” Solder said. “Cloth monkey.”

Online courses

Sophomore Alex Bokovikova takes PreCalculus Honors online instead of at school because it was getting difficult for her to find a balance in her classes. In her experience, she feels that there is an element missing from the online course, being that the teacher role does not even teach the lessons.

“All I know is his name. That’s kind of it.

I think I’ve emailed him once,” Bokovikova said. “There’s not really a connection.”

However, Bokovikova has found herself to be more independent without a prominent teacher role.

For junior William Hsu, his independence is what pushes him to take online courses to get his credits instead of taking in-person classes at school.

The first course he took was roughly three or four years ago — an online photography course to fulfill his Fine Arts credit that lasted for a quarter. Provided by a local community college, it allowed Hsu to avoid spending time in school each day on the class.

“That was before I was really used to these online course platforms, like Coursera, these open online courses,” Hsu said.

“And going into it I don’t think I had many expectations.”

For Hsu, taking classes online allows him to choose from a variety of options which aren’t offered at school, without having to spend a lot of time in school on each class.

Junior William Hsu

PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION OF WILLIAM HSU PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | MINGJIE ZHONG

24

EL ESTOQUE / march 2017

But despite the availability of options online, Hsu believes that students just don’t know that they have the option to take courses like art online.

As a student Hsu feels that he is motivated enough to manage his time and complete these courses, and believes that online course could be a viable replacement for in-person courses. But Hsu agrees that it may not be the best option for every student, he believes that some students may need the push from their teacher whereas others are self-motivated enough to stay on track.

“In my opinion I think it does come down to [...] motivation and personal discipline,” Hsu said.

This belief comes in part from the large number of classes Hsu has taken online, ranging from classes that seek to mimic the in-classroom experience through the use of video calls and set meeting times, and classes that are almost completely without teacher involvement. Hsu estimates that he has taken a total of 10 online course - four courses for credit, and six not for credit Hsu doesn’t see the physical distance to be much of a problem.

“In the online Bio class I’m taking, sometimes people will just be sleeping, and then they pause the camera and then no one can really tell,” Hsu said, “So there is potential for people to abuse that system because there’s a physical barrier, but at the same time I don’t think that that can stop you, even at Monta Vista people sleep in class.”

Despite this, there are some classes Hsu believes are better suited to being done in person. As a requirement of his AP Biology class Hsu must complete a lab portion, and in order to do so he must order all the lab materials and lab kits himself in order to complete the labs at home. Something which he says is more inconvenient than if he had taken the class in school.

Sophomore Alex Bokovikova.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | ELIZABETH HAN

“It becomes easier to do these kinds of things in person,” Hsu said, “So things that require a physical aspect, would probably be easier to have in an in-person format for that.”

The online classes also offer another benefit for Hsu; smaller class sizes that allow teachers to provide more attention to each student. And despite the physical distance between him and his teachers, Hsu believes that the opportunities and benefits of online course far outweigh the few downsides.

“I think, for me actually [I am] more connected [with the teachers online]. But I don’t think that the online platform has anything to do with that, versus it was just a smaller class size so it was able to be more personal,” Hsu said, “And I think that’s one of the benefits of online learning, that we can connect people like that. Sure, the entire online platform may be a bigger barrier, but it also provides more opportunities, like smaller class sizes and more personal classes.”

it does come down to motivation and personal discipline Junior William Hsu

2 A CHANGING

3 ILLUSTRATIONS BY PRIYA REDDY

1

LANDSCAPE Where technology is going to take us

BY JENNIE CHEN AND ZAZU LIPPERT

1

The Old: Manufacturer The New: 3D Printer

Junior Saurav Pahadia, director of finance, and junior Ishan Mitra, manager for the MVHS Robotics Team, remember sending off the measurements and diagrams of the parts needed for many robots to their manufacturer. Now, with the addition of their own 3D printer, MVHS Robotics Team has been able to create their own parts.

The team acquired the printer through the company Ekocycle, which chose a few teams in the Bay Area to give them to. Robotics team member and junior Arnav Gupta says that previously it could take weeks or months to receive a part depending on its complexity, but now it only takes a few hours to create using the printer, though it depends on the size.

Pieces of technology such as the printer make a difference in daily life. And with this comes increased efficiency but also a loss of human connection and a need for safety precautions.

“Going forward with the tech we develop, especially concerning AI, we need to be careful about how we go about it,” Pahadia said, “So we can build a safe community going forward for all people.”

2

The Old: A Regular Car The New: Google Waymo

Picture this: You’re stopped at a red light at the intersection, when you absentmindedly look over to the car next to you — only to see that the person in the driver’s seat doesn’t have their hands on the steering wheel. This is Waymo, the self-driving car produced by Google that stands for “a new way forward in mobility.” Starting in 2015, Google employees tested the project on roads in the Mountain View area. Since then, Waymo has made advances by driving the first blind passenger in Texas in October 2015. Google has continued to make leaps in test-drives for Waymo; thus far, Google engineers have developed a computerized program for recognizing and anticipating the motion of bicyclists and vehicles, as well as for reading road signs. See the diagrams below for more information.

Mitra thinks these self-driving cars could prove to be especially useful for those who are older or unable to drive. It could even be integrated, he believes, into other services.

“If you were to use a self driving [car],” Mitra said, “Then it could just go and a cashier could just load the things into the car and just bring it back to you.”

3

The Old: iPhone Apps The New: Google Home

You’ve finished all of your homework and decide to reward yourself with your favorite TV show, but you can’t find the remote. Instead of looking for it, you just turn towards a small dome on your kitchen counter. “Ok Google, turn on the living room TV set.” The screen flashes on within seconds. Google Home is a dual speaker and sound-interceptor that syncs with other home devices such as your television set, making it possible to ask the device to play a Netflix movie on another device or dim the lights in a certain room.

Gupta finds the level of control that Google Home exerts over one’s house to be slightly frightening.

“It’s kind of scary, because it’s very easily hackable,” Gupta said.

But Pahadia has a different opinion. He believes that hacks which would endanger people’s home security would be virtually impossible to complete.

“It’s Google right?” Pahadia said.

“They’re going to be using high-level encryption that not an everyday hacker can crack into.”

SPECIAL

25

FOOD WITHOUT T

he bell rings. He leaves his class and pulls out his phone. Junior Noah Youngs dials a number and makes a call, one that he makes frequently around lunchtime.

At the end of lunch, he rushes out to pick up his food — waiting for him in the hands of a DoorDash or UberEATS driver, either at the bus circle or student parking lot. If the food is in the back of the car, then the driver will get out of the car, rifle through other deliveries and pass it to him. Other times, he’ll get handed his lunch through the car window. It’s the little things that frequent users like Youngs notice.

Youngs frequently uses food delivery services to buy lunch for both himself and his friends and has them delivered to MVHS. This way, he gets the best of both worlds:

PHOTO BY ZAZU LIPPERT

food from restaurants he likes without the hassle of driving there and back in the span of 45 minutes.

He uses food and other delivery services three to four times a week, including Amazon Prime Now, the company’s instant delivery service that brings orders straight to your desired location, at least once a week.

Youngs started using UberEATS when it first came out last August, and he started using Prime Now last spring.

UberEATS is an expansion product of Uber Technologies. Utilizing their popular car service, Uber introduced an on-demand restaurant delivery service in 2014, allowing a person to order and receive food from nearby restaurants in “10 minutes or less.”

Payment is the same as the car service, cashless and charged on the customers’ smart phones and couriers include drivers and bikers along with walkers.

The services aren’t always perfectly seamless, as sometimes, the food will be cold when delivered.

Youngs remembers one time when he had ordered

SOMETIMES NO ONE FEELS LIKE COOKING, SO WE JUST ORDER [FROM UBEREATS].

JUNIOR JESSE WONG

26

EL ESTOQUE /March 2017

food from a restaurant through UberEATS and got a call from the delivery person, who seemed impatient.

“The driver guy called me and told me to cancel the order because he’s been waiting in the restaurant too long,” Youngs said.

After the call, Youngs called UberEATS support and received a new driver.

Youngs believes that part of the popularity of these services is due to the bustling nature of Silicon Valley itself. He believes that the close proximity of residences in the area makes it possible for these services to thrive.

Youngs thinks this availability can make people lazy. It makes it so they don’t have to go to the grocery store if they run out of milk, for example, and use apps to get someone to do it for them. But maybe, he says, it’s not a bad thing.

Junior Jesse Wong says he has had experiences with incompetent UberEATS drivers. Once he waited for over an hour for his Caribbean Passion smoothie.

The UberEATS driver still couldn’t identify Wong’s location, who, attending a prep class, had made five phone calls to said driver and still hadn’t received his smoothie.

Wong recalls this memory good-humoredly, chuckling to himself.

UT THOUGHT How food and errand services affect our lifestyle

BY HELEN CHAO AND ZAZU LIPPERT

PHOTO BY ZAZU LIPPERT

on demand restaurant delivery service, which first launched in San Francisco and expanded to the Bay Area. Customers can browse and order from nearby restaurants on the DoorDash smartphone app, and delivery persons, nicknamed “Dashers,” can deliver the food in just COUNSELOR MONIQUE BALENTINE under an hour.

Since last August, “[The driver’s] a weird guy,” Wong said.

Balentine has ordered from “He was just really loud.”

DoorDash three to four times a month.

Wong, who uses UberEATS and orders Overall, Balentine interprets DoorDash as a it to his house every month or so, considers double-edged sword; while it is convenient, the service inexpensive depending on she feels that she is becoming consistently what one orders. He also acknowledges lazier, preferring to simply “DoorDash” the convenience of general food delivery meals if she hasn’t bought enough groceries services, especially for people with limited or is just too exhausted to cook. access to nearby restaurants.

“It’s definitely so convenient,” Balentine “Sometimes no one feels like cooking, so said, “So convenient it hurts.” we just order [from UberEATS],” Wong said.

DoorDash has often aided her in a pinch, Unlike Youngs and Wong who both use and she specifically remembers one example UberEATS, guidance counselor Monique with the MVHS Speech and Debate club. As Balentine prefers to use a service called an advisor of the club, she had accompanied DoorDash. the kids to their event at another high school.

Founded in 2013, DoorDash is also an She was promptly faced with a dilemma: the

MAYBE THERE WILL EVENTUALLY BE ROBOTS WHO DELIVER DOORDASH AND SIT IN SELF-DRIVING CARS.

students were hungry, and yet she couldn’t leave the kids to pick up food. “[So] I DoorDashed them Subway sandwiches,” Balentine said. “They all got something healthy and nutritious and I was able to watch them and make sure nothing [dangerous] happened.”

Usually, according to Balentine, the deliveries run as smooth as silk, although she is still puzzled over an instance when the deliverer claimed he sent the food, yet she did not receive the food.

As the food industry service continues to advance, Balentine believes people will become more dependent on these types of services, and simple everyday tasks will become increasingly convenient.

“A lot of people say things [of the future] about self-driving cars and artificial intelligence and robots,” Balentine said.

“Maybe there will eventually be robots who deliver DoorDash and sit in self-driving cars.”

That’s certainly food for thought.

SCAN FOR MORE COVERAGE SPECIAL

27

Sure, I’m free that day…

What do you want to do? story by bill cheng and stephanie lam Illustration by Ananya Bhat

Spring Break may be a month away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a break from school.

Travel around Cupertino and San Jose and attend these upcoming events to relax. From the MVHS musical “The Little Mermaid” to the magic of a Harry Potter orchestral concert, come and see what the community has to offer.

6 p.m.

9 p.m.

March 13 Bluelight Cinemas

5 p.m.

8 p.m.

4 p.m.

6 p.m.

March 18 California Theatre

SJSY Spring Concert The San Jose Youth Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra is having one of its three annual concerts at the California Theatre. All are welcome to come out to the theatre to listen to and appreciate what the music world has to offer. Ticket prices ranges from $5-20.

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EL ESTOQUE / MARch 2017

MVHS

MV on the Grid

Silicon Valley Reads Film Series The Cupertino Library Foundation sponsors showings of films adapted from novels like “Unfair” by Adam Benforado and “Writing My Wrongs” by Shaka Senghor. Participants view a new film each Monday and Wednesday evening from March 6 to March 22. The event is free, but space is limited.

March 17

This event includes various activities such as raffles, music and features food trucks selling Mexican food, boba and more.

There will also be special performances from MV Bhangra, Raas, Variations and other performers. All profits will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The event is open to everyone.

7 p.m.

10 p.m.

March 24 MVHS Auditorium

The Little Mermaid Members of the MVHS Theatre Arts present “The Little Mermaid,” a musical directed by Drama teacher Sara Capule.

The play is based off of the version from Musical Theatre International. Although the plot and characters differ from the Disney movie, it still has the same familiar songs and characters.

10 a.m.

12 p.m.

March 18 Blackberry Farm

World Water Monitoring Challenge This free event at Blackberry Farm invites everyone to come and learn more about the quality of water in Stevens Creek, the importance of watersheds and how to effectively preserve the creek’s water.

High schoolers can volunteer as monitors for the water activities during the monitoring challenge.

2:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

April 1 San Jose Center for Performing Arts

Harry Potter Concert Symphony Silicon Valley presents music from the movie version of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” Audience members will be able to watch the movie with live accompaniment from the orchestra. The price for this magical event ranges from $45-95.

A&E

HOLIDAY HATIN’ Some people occasionally like to be loners

V

ALENTINE’S DAY HAS LONG isn’t it a tad bit loud? And so touchy-feely PASSED. The only leftovers we’re and extroverted?

Every holiday, I feel claustrophobic from “savoring” are bags of Hershey’s Kisses slashed with “50 percent off!” in an overdose of “fuzzy-and-warm” emotions.

The Christmas carols. Thanksgiving and the black Sharpie.

Christmas is already an impervious oil counting of “blessings.”

It’s 2:00 p.m. on a lazy Tuesday, and I’ve stain on a paper bag, which was previously bloated with red and green sprinkle donuts. huffily regressed into a rant instead of a Thanksgiving? The turkey’s spirit is at rest column. You’re reading “salty” cat out of in heaven, all chummy with the deceased the bag, as the hip kids on the block with their Skechers light-up shoes say. Or Adidas. mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.

A disclaimer before I begin upchucking I’m not quite clear myself.

Perhaps, my introversion has spurned my my words: I do not hate Valentine’s Day, Christmas or Thanksgiving. I-I just- don’t dislike — or lack of endurance — for holidays and social gatherings in general. exactly- well, I feel like it’s rather excessive.

I’ve always had a Here’s how fondness for doing Valentine’s Day absolutely nothing went down, as “productive” and far as my plumbjust be by myself, t uckere d-out to simply sit and mind can dream of the remember. m is c ella ne ous: (If the the most creative following SOPHOMORE HELEN CHAO metaphor possible, paragraphs me as the heroine of are incoherent, blame the 2:00 a.m. black coffee jitters. the never-to-exist fifth season of “Sherlock,” According to this wannabe coffee and whether or not there is actually an connoisseur, “caramel lattes” and “PSL’s” afterlife or just a black hole of nothingness.

There’s something magical about sinking are wolves in coffee sheep’s clothing.)

As per usual, the phone alarm was yowling into the embrace of a misshapen, lumpish sofa, lulled to half-sleep by the aroma of its charger off at 6:00 a.m.

As a no-owl (I am productive neither coffee and whittling the Sunday afternoon during the morning, breaking dawn, eclipse, away — with a pair of headphones for or any title of the “Twilight” Saga, because company — that so entices me. Alone, mind all I aspire to do is sleep, nap or try to you.

That is my kind of holiday. sleep), I blurted permutations — or is it And no, I’m not spinning some haphazard combinations? — of swear words, pulling out my hair until my alarm wondered if I’d developed epileptic shock and retreated into a respectful silence.

(Anything after the pulling-out hair is imagination, actually. And yes, I do swear quite vibrantly and melodically, inside my head of course, because I’d never be so uncultured as to blurt “schist” aloud.)

When Valentine’s Day concluded, it wasn’t any different from Christmas, Thanksgiving or a regular school day.

Here goes the cat.

Just as I boycotted New Year’s Day and every single holiday with an emphasis on “loudness” and “togetherness,” I sat out on Valentine’s Day. Oh, I’m not a hater, I’ll have you know. I’ve just always impeached the ILLUSTRATION | MICHELLE WONG necessity of Valentine’s Day. Simply stated,

CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG

argument to defend my laziness. I am not lazy.

I am merely a daydreamer, and again, not in the sense of dreaming for a cause or an unattainable goal of being a Kpop idol.

My dear cat owners, I’ve entrusted a total of four secrets to you. By now, you can dissect my style of writing.

I love to dream through 90 percent of the column in flowery word throw-up, and for a scant 10 percent, I “reflect” upon my secret. Unwillingly and stoically, I dissect the secret from head to toe according to the “Guidelines of Reflection.”

First, please summarize your secret. Be concise and detailed (a paradox in itself).

Second, provide evidence and quotes by a dependable source to prove this secret.

Lastly, tie the first and second steps above with some universal, relatable aspect of human nature.

Reflection, or the “under-the-surface” thinking teachers adore is ... inescapable.

And for a dreamer like me, “reflecting” and dwelling upon my daydreams is pure torture. It’s an extra step, an extra two minutes that toughens the filet mignon, a succulent secret or daydream, from medium rare to well done.

As you can see, I’ve happily and unintentionally “dreamed” off the beaten path and ventured into nonsense again, much like the introduction of this column.

Where was I again?

Oh, my boycotting of holidays. Holidays are a reflection, are they not? A reflection, an attempt to solidify our meant-to-bemessy-ball-of-yarn feelings of family, love and all that good stuff through tangible gifts and Valentine’s Day chocolate.

There I go again, forcing myself to analyze.

Except for the paragraph above, this column was really just an excuse for me to daydream. And if you’ll pardon me, I must leave before I’m imprisoned for “lack of evidence” in my daydreaming.

I’ll catch you later.

A&E

29

THE ART O Students express their passion for different art forms photo | DYLAN TSAI

COMICS

i PHOTOS USED WITH PERMISSION OF ZACH HSIEH

30

T

EL ESTOQUE /MARCH 2017

BY BILL CHENG AND DYLAN TSAI wo years ago, senior Zach Hsieh began to notice that several of his friends were drawing superheroes on their homework. On a whim, he followed their lead.

Two years later, Hsieh has sacrificed swimming practices and sleep to make more time to practice for a future career in comic drawing. He has helped several amateur comic writers actualize their writing in comics, created an Instagram to showcase his art and formed a network of fellow comic artists. Hsieh sees himself a fullfledged comic artist.

What he enjoys most is the creative aspect of comic drawing, where he can sketch out his own world and the scenes associated with it. As a result, he specializes in sketching, usually allowing others to do the inking and coloring for him. However, Hsieh realizes that he should expand his skillset if he hopes to enter the comic art profession, and is currently working to improve his inking and coloring. He will move onto graphic coloring once he is satisfied with his proficiency in these skills, using a computer to add hues and tones to his inked works.

“I’m a rather dark person, and I can get quite angry inside sometimes,” Hsieh said.

“Instead of lashing out on others, or showing

others, I put my energy into drawing and it motivates me to work harder.”

Hsieh’s Instagram, @zhcomicart, is a massive grid of these works. Original sketches, colored pieces, explanatory steps for drawing techniques — every day there is a new image or video for Hsieh’s 27,000 followers to see. It was this collection that has helped Hsieh establish connections with aspiring comic writers, fellow comic drawers and one of his favorite comic idols: Edward McGuiness, the primary penciler and inker for Spider-Man vs. Deadpool.

Spider-Man has always been Hsieh’s favorite superhero, so when he received a direct message from one of Spider-Man’s artists commenting on his talent despite his young age, Hsieh didn’t let the opportunity pass him by. Through Instagram, Hsieh established a firm connection with McGuiness, and continues to receive occasional comments and suggestions from him. With a professional comic artist’s words as guidance, Hsieh has improved his female characters and background sketching.

“If you’re passionate about something, put your time and effort into it,” Hsieh said.

“It’ll show.”

OF

BALLET

BY TRISHA KHOLIYA AND DYLAN TSAI

I

n a short-sleeved, yellow-colored velvet dress cut off at the knees, orange capri pants and with chopsticks stuck in her bun, current senior Linnea Cheek was dressed head to toe for her role for her first ballet recital — dressed up as a little Chinese girl. Below the costume her three-year-old self wore tiny ballerina shoes.

Of the ballet dance itself, Cheek now retains only the faintest of impressions. She was following demonstrators — teenagers on stage dancing the choreographed routine for the children to copy — so she never even memorized the choreography. Now, Cheek can only recall jumping across the stage.

Ballet has been a steady constant in Cheek’s life since she started at the age of two. As a baby, Cheek was constantly on the move, climbing over everything in the house. Once she started ballet, she finally had something to concentrate her energy on.

At first, Cheek enjoyed moving and feeling pretty — like a princess. However, as she continued, ballet also encouraged selfimprovement and hard work.

“I love that it’s an individual sport,” Cheek said. “Even though you dance with other people, it’s really about pushing yourself and you don’t have to compare yourself with anyone else.”

Now, Cheek practically cannot stop doing ballet: The motions that go into ballet dancing have been irrevocably ingrained in her body. When she stands, her feet naturally point outwards and she finds herself walking like a duck, a side effect of spending hours

photo | SHARJEEL RAHMAN

doing turnouts. At times, she ends up turning would dance for them. But if she doesn’t, her her legs outwards to extend her legs. time to pursue ballet will soon fade, with When she moved to New Mexico from her only taking college classes and dancing California at age six, Cheek immediately recreationally. changed dance studios. She found herself Looking back, Cheek can still recall the immersed in a studio of stern Russian ballet room reverberate as her strict Russian dance teachers and strict class uniforms. But choreographer, the type of coach who rarely just as she began getting accustomed to the learns his students’ names, elaborated on his strict structure of the class, she moved back precise expectations of the dancers. It was to California. her freshman year, her last performance with And with a change of studios came a that studio and her biggest solo performance change in her growth as a ballet dancer. to date — her first time receiving her own, Where she once practiced ballet for over three special costume and being able to wear a hours a day, she tutu instead of a now finds herself long, romantic skirt.

SCAN FOR MORE dedicating most of To her, this ABOUT THE ARTISTS moment that time dancing was for the Marquesas. special. And despite Still, ballet has how tough the become part of choreographer was Cheek’s muscle memory — and without it, on her, she practiced as much as she could something feels wrong. In a way, she’s come and did her best to overcome her weakness to need ballet. Where she was once bored by of not being able to memorize choreography. classical music, now, when she thinks about But when the hours of practice passed by the ways she can dance to it, it fascinates and the performance itself loomed in front her. Not only does ballet dance help calm her of her, Cheek found herself simply living in down, but it’s helped her improve her work the moment. ethic. Since she has always had to make time She wasn’t a scared teenager — she was in her day for ballet, Cheek is now well- a ballerina. When the performance was practiced in time management and stays over, she was sad that she would no longer organized so that she can focus on ballet be able to dance for this studio, but she when she wants to. had successfully carried out the biggest The future, however, remains unclear to solo dance she had ever performed — Cheek. In her hands, Cheek holds a dance successfully enough that her choreographer, scholarship to a college, and if she did accept who had always referred to her as “you,” it and attend the college, she knows that she called her by her name.

A&E

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PHOTO | AANCHAL GARG

PHOTOGRAPHY

S

he can still faintly remember her first photoshoot: a makeshift shoot on the Don Burnett Bicycle-Pedestrian bridge off of Homestead Road last summer. It was her shot — a way to attempt long exposure photography shots under the intense light of the sun. Messing around with the dials on top of her 2007 Kodak camera, sophomore Abhilasha Goel had her first real exposure to photography.

She had done it before, a little. But to her, photography is more than just clicking the camera until she gets the perfect picture — it’s also finding the perfect location. In her phone, Goel notes a list of places that she drives by or hears about to explore and capture through her photoshoots — places like the Pace Gallery in Palo Alto and Christmas in the Park.

As a fairly new photographer, Goel still finds herself getting accustomed to the dials and settings on her camera. For one, she hasn’t gotten around to purchasing a newer DSLR, so her old Kodak is difficult for her to understand. After being accustomed to taking photos on her phone, the many settings on her camera were just confusing.

At times, she’d look down at her photos only to notice something seemed off about them.

Joining the MVHS Photo Club gave her a great support system to begin learning how to navigate her camera. With the club’s help, the steady support of her friends and the internet, Goel has learned more of the technical side of photography. Once she got comfortable enough with the camera to understand what the settings did, it was easy for her to use her computer to do research on more interesting features, like how the time of day and number of people played into the composition of the photo.

But, at least for now, the models for her photoshoots only come from her group of friends. Her photoshoots give them an outlet

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EL ESTOQUE /March 2017

to experience new things together, to hang out and have fun.

While the photoshoots give her a sense of excitement and adventure, it’s the end result that makes Goel happiest. When she gets home from a shoot, Goel immediately removes the photos from her SD card and onto her computer to prevent losing photos to SD card malfunctions. Within a day or two, after editing them using the photo editor Polarr, Goel finally gets to see what she wants to. The pose, the photo, the edits — it’s all perfect.

She showcases these edited photos on her personal Instagram account, with a starting following base of just her friends — a total of over 100 followers.

When her photos on Instagram get more comments, they become more popular and viewable through the hashtags they’re

Sophomore Abhilasha Goel adjusts the focus on her camera during a photoshoot at McClellan Ranch Park.

One of Goel’s favorite parts of photoshoots is getting to travel to new places.

Photo by Aanchal Garg.

BY ANANYA BHAT AND TRISHA KHOLIYA

characterized under. One of her recent photos got comments not just from her friends, but from photographers in other states and countries too. It’s comments like this, detailed comments on the thought she put into her photos, that Goel appreciates — an indication of her improvement over time.

It’s been approximately six months since Goel had her first photoshoot, making photography one of her more longstanding hobbies. After trying out painting, calligraphy, perler beads and other artistic crafts, photography has been the only thing that’s stuck for her. It has given her a reason to do something more than just sit at home.

“I think I’ve found an actual hobby, because before I just sort of did things here and there or I just like sat around and did nothing,” Goel said.

i MAKEUP

BY ANANYA BHAT AND HIMANI YALAMADDI

S

he watched her mother put on makeup every day, witnessing the transformation. After a swipe of eyeliner and lipstick, her mother would look almost unrecognizable.

Curious about this power to “change her face,” senior Elizaveta Serebryakova took matters into her own hands. The 9-year-old Serebryakova stole her mother’s makeup, eager to try it out for herself.

When her mother finally found her missing eyeshadows and lipsticks smeared across young Serebryakova’s chubby little cheeks, she didn’t scold her. Instead, she offered to help, and did Serebryakova’s makeup for her.

Of course, it didn’t turn out as expected.

The dramatic shadows and dark colors contrasted with Serebryakova’s then-preteen face and seemed off to her. Still, her interest in makeup only increased. When Serebryakova turned 14, she maintained a daily, simple makeup routine, consisting of mostly foundation and mascara.

During the early days of her makeup journey, she made the same mistakes as most beginners do: inconsistent blending, messy eyeliner and smudged pigments.

But with almost daily practice Serebryakova began to improve. After approximately a year of serious perseverance, she found herself able to do eyeliner with ease, which she considers the moment she found herself truly improving.

The time and effort that Serebryakova put into refining her makeup skills — understanding the art and smoothing out her technique — led her to realize that makeup is just as technically and artistically demanding as traditionally recognized arts.

“Your face is your paper and you draw whatever you want to,” Serebryakova said.

“You can change your face, you can change how you look, you can make yourself look older, or younger, or more fresher, or I don’t know — anything.”

Serebryakova took an even bigger step in trying to improve her abilities in 2016 by taking a masterclass with Russian makeup artist Irina Svetlichnaya in Kazakhstan, the country in which she was born.

Svetlichnaya’s private, 10-day class was rigorous, requiring Serebryakova to implement difficult makeup techniques on people of all races, ages and face shapes. She was introduced to new styles of makeup,

from more natural looks to complex wedding makeup. The extensive practice she received working a range of techniques on a variety of models helped her gain the confidence to start pursuing makeup professionally.

Her first time doing another person’s makeup was just earlier that year, when a few students asked Serebryakova if she could do their makeup for an upcoming school dance. She reluctantly agreed, but stuck to what she knew, deciding on a more natural look consisting of neutral tones. She recalls painstakingly applying eyeshadow and fake eyelashes, worried what the girl would think of the end result. But as Serebryakova turned the girl towards a mirror to show her the finished look, she breathed a sigh of relief when the girl told Serebryakova that she loved it.

“It was really stressful for me because I didn’t know how it was going to turn out for her,” Serebryakova said. “I [was] like, ‘God bless I can breathe right now.’”

Within a week of returning to the U.S. from Kazakhstan, she received a message from someone asking her to do her makeup — one of many new clients. Though she is still learning to be comfortable with getting paid for her work, she no longer feels as nervous when doing other people’s makeup.

A few months ago, Serebryakova took a chance and changed her major from her longtime passion, fashion design, to cosmetology.

The sudden shift was met with concern from her parents, but her considerable skill set and evident love for makeup led them to embrace the change.

Serebryakova maintains that her love for makeup was a result of her own interest and passion for it — uninfluenced by pressures from anyone or anything. Although makeup is a major part of Serebryakova’s life, she doesn’t think that it has to be for everyone.

“I put on makeup just because I like to do that. I like to change my face, I like to

Serebryakova applies lip liner for a classmate from her De Anza art class. She began doing makeup professionally in 2016. Photo by Ananya Bhat.

(Above) A makeup look senior Elizaveta Serebryakova did for her aunt for a party. This was one of the many looks Serebryakova did during her masterclass in Kazakhstan. Photo used with permission from Elizaveta Serebryakova. emphasize my eyes or lips during the day or night,” Serebryakova said. “I feel like it’s really important for people in general to understand that makeup is a choice, not a requirement.”

A&E

33

T

HE BELL TOLLED, AND her stomach dropped slightly.

She slowly packed up her science notebook, pretending to write down extra notes, and anxiously waited for her classmates to leave before she stood up. Pulling her shirt over her midsection, she walked out of her sixth grade science class, deliberately remaining quiet while following her peers close behind.

This routine happened almost every day at the beginning of middle school for sophomore Kamya Krishnan. At 155 pounds and just five feet tall, making herself invisible in front of her peers seemed like the only way to suppress the anxiety that came along with being overweight.

photo | rana aghababazadeh

CHOOSE TO

LOSE Losing weight through breaking habits BY rana aGhaBaBaZaDeh

34

EL ESTOQUE /march 2017

“A lot of people are really selfconscious,” Krishnan said. “I know there’s a lot of body shaming that can go on if you don’t have a perfect body.”

Krishnan’s body mass index was 5.4 kg/ m² more than the normal weight range for her height, which was 97-123 pounds, making her obese by BMI standard.

Although Kamya’s mother Lalitha Krishnan encouraged her daughter to participate in physical activities from a young age, Kamya admits that even sports like basketball, volleyball and soccer couldn’t offset the amount of food she ate. Her diet consisted of mainly noodles, burgers and lots of rice.

Lalitha would often joke with her daughter

All throughout middle school, I always felt bad that I was always the last one to finish the mile

sports

Badminton varsity captain senior David and every step will get easier.” about her weight and tried to persuade Kamya to cook her own meals, hoping to enlighten Chen had a similar experience with changing It was clear for both Kamya her about her current state of health. And his habits to lose weight. In seventh grade, and Chen that losing weight was so Kamya took her mother’s remarks as he would play badminton for about one to harder than it looked. Whether it two hours a week, was resisting the tub of ice cream motivation to but that was his only sitting in the fridge or picking up change her habits form of exercise. a dumbbell, unhealthy habits were and lose weight.

Even when his mom something they had to work to break.

Along with the made home-cooked words from her “No matter what other people meals, Chen would say, you should keep your mind mother, Kamya skip the vegetables on your goal,” Kamya said. “Be ack nowledged and only eat the meat self-centered in that moment the standards of and rice. He also because that's what's important.” people’s body enjoyed indulging in shapes at school the pizza pockets and how that from the cafeteria. influenced her to But the summer make a change.

Senior David Chen after seventh “I found grade, Chen people who were skinnier than me complaining about decided to pursue badminton and extended Senior David Chen prepares their weight,” Kamya said. “And then I his training to about six hours a week. to hit a clear shot in a doubles “All throughout middle school, I always game against Fremont HS. realized if they're complaining about their weight, then imagine me, then what am I?” felt bad that I was always the last one to Her first step to losing weight began with finish the mile,” Chen said. “But I thought Badminton played a large role a new diet and exercise plan. The summer that I would love myself more if I could in Chen’s road to losing weight. after sixth grade, she started cutting out rice change [the physical aspect] about myself.” Photo by Rana Aghababazadeh.

Though badminton and cheese from her diet and limiting herself to mainly whole wheat bread and vegetables. was still his only form of It was a lot to commit to at first, exercise, Chen started to but Kamya knew she had to gradually shed pounds through the change her diet if she was going to be intense conditioning at his able to resist eating unhealthy foods. badminton practices and “At first it was easy because I didn't through a modified diet.

But the change didn’t constrict myself so much,” Kamya said. “I didn't go from eating a lot to eating nothing.” come so easily for Chen.

In addition to her new diet plan, Kamya Though he still doesn’t also developed her own workouts. At have a particular taste for first these workouts consisted of half vegetables, he’s adapted an hour of cardio every day combined the mindset of knowing with strengthening exercises such as he can treat himself if he squats and pushups. After a few weeks eats more healthy foods.

“I’ve managed to of consistently working out, Kamya was able to manage two hours of cardio make them bearable daily. She also participated in classical by saying, ‘if you eat Indian dance for about an hour a day. this you can eat more Kamya’s habits were changing, but the sweets,’” Chen said.

Continuing with number on the scale wasn’t. This didn’t bother Chen’s her. She continued to exercise, keeping badminton, her focus on dance and soccer. Six months eating habits also began later, she had managed to cut off 30 pounds. to change, and soon Lalitha admired her daughter’s progress his fat was replaced by and motivation to have a healthy body muscle. He was growing, and lifestyle. She even admitted to trying so losing actual weight to keep up with her daughter’s workouts. was not as big of a “She has taken her life choices in goal, but shedding the her hand,” Lalitha said. “And she's fat and changing to a responsible in making it happen.” healthier lifestyle was.

“It's really hard to Kamya moved on from soccer, but continues to dance and joined MVHS’ change habits,” Chen field hockey team her sophomore year. She said. “But once you take admits she lost weight during the season that first step, you just but hardly noticed as that level of physical keep pursuing it with activity had become a routine for her. that end goal in mind, photo | rana aghababazadeh s po rts

35

RUNNING DOWN THE CLOCK

MVHS athletes struggle to juggle sports, study and sleep

By Om khandekar and Shayon moradi

T

he mental aspects of sleep deprivation can hit a student particularly hard; drowsiness, irritability and a general reduction in mental ability turn the average school day into a series of challenges. MVHS students have heard people condemning sleeping late for its mental effects. People say things about academics like “don’t stay up late before a test” or “sleeping the night before is better than cramming,” but not much is said of the physical handicaps athletes exhibit when operating on a less than optimal amount of sleep. This subject is more difficult to observe but is no less important for the performance of athletes.

Lack of sleep is a common issue for

MVHS students, but out of 102 athletes, 75% reported not getting enough sleep.

Athletes are the group where the effect of sleep deprivation has a more noticeable physical effect, and when an athlete goes to practices, games and tournaments with a lack of sleep, it becomes extremely difficult to recover and refuel. Senior runner Kelly Bishop can recall times where lack of sleep has affected her performance in meets.

“There was one time when I was running the mile and the first lap is like, ‘ok I can do this,’” Bishop said. “But come the second lap and especially the third lap suddenly everything sort of crumbles and your stride and core loosen up, and

Senior Kelly Bishop continues her homework late into the night after she comes back from track practice. In addition to the responsibility to practice daily, school work also kept her awake.

Photo illustration by Om Khandekar.

36

EL ESTOQUE /March 2017

Similar

you just don’t feel like yourself.”

Wrestlers often need to gain or cut weight so they can compete in the weight class they are most suited to compete in. Since they need to rapidly undergo transformations, their bodies need the sleep to catch up mentally with these physical changes.

They often need to cut up to four or five pounds in a relatively short amount of time, and according to varsity coach Joevon Barnes, sleep is a huge factor in whether a wrestler can make weight.

“It’s often not about the workout,” Barnes said. “It’s about giving your body rest and eating right.”

In addition to the time spent at practice, sports like volleyball and wrestling also compete in weekend tournaments. These tournaments swallow up hours on Friday and sometimes spill into the Saturday after. Many tournaments start before sunrise, and travel times affect the quality of sleep an athlete can get on the road.

When junior Jason Shen experienced sleep deprivation at a weekend tournament, a competitive experience transformed into a mentally draining challenge.

“It’s the worst thing, because for volleyball tournaments if you have to travel [then] most of the tournaments aren’t far enough to get a hotel for the night,” Shen said. “So you have to get up at four in the morning to drive there.”

Time management is essential for athletes. With the time spent in practice

these athletes have to be efficient with creep up on students who let their time their time spent on their school work. management skills slip.

“The [students] who procrastinate Senior runner Salma Sheriff claims that time she spends running keeps her from and kill time screwing around, texting, surfing the internet, essentially doing other distractions.

“When I’m off season I still go nonproductive work to ‘relax’ actually wind up staying up running,” Sheriff until two or three in said. “Even on the days I don’t the morning,” Chiu said. “I’ve seen it go running, in my kids. Both of often the time I my kids are Monta would have spent Vista grads and at running I instead spend getting the time they were not very efficient distracted so it with their time.” actually helps Sprints coach I think. It also Coach joevon Barnes John McKeeman makes my sleep has witnessed sleep deprivation eat away more consistent.”

Student athletes take on an extra at his athletes throughout the season. He burden when they compete as an attended a class at Stanford led by sleep MVHS Matador. On top of balancing scientist and expert Dr. William Demment, their daily academic schedules with where he discussed the effects of sleep practices, sometimes the burden of deprivation on the body and mind based time management isn’t felt as clearly. on studies on volunteers.

The study filmed them sleeping under As varsity volleyball coach Paul Chiu observed, sleep deprivation can various conditions, with their sleep either

It’s not about the workout, It’s about giving your body rest and eating right

Junior Jason Shen recalls a volleyball tournament that was a mental challenge because of lack of sleep. Fatigue crept up at lengthy tournaments and practices. Photo illustration by Om Khandekar. disrupted or left undisturbed, and the people with interrupted sleep performed much worse on the tests. Coaches like McKeeman know the importance of sleep, but can only watch the results when their athletes have to make it through a practice on little to no sleep.

“It’s just a responsibility thing, you know?” McKeeman said. “Kids have to realize that [sleeping is] just as important as eating well [or] training hard.”

SCAN FOR MORE COVERAGE

S PO RTS

37

GIGI ACKER E

very week, Gigi Acker can be spotted walking around the campuses of San Jose State University and De Anza College, where she teaches nutrition. As an avid health enthusiast for most of her life, Acker has worked with countless clients, ranging from collegiate athletes to pregnant women, and has led healthy cooking classes for corporate executives.

BY AMANDA CHAN AND ADITYA PIMPLASKAR

EE: What motivated you to focus on the field of nutrition?

GA: Boy, I have loved nutrition since I was a kid. But I also was an athlete ever since I’ve been young, so part of it is I knew firsthand that how I ate impacted my performance and my own health. I’ve always been interested in the prevention and the wellness.

Sports is one thing but also just I had a mom [who] was very interested in health, so I think she influenced me.

EE: What would you consider the ideal diet or food choice for high school students and athletes?

GA: First, I’d say there’s no ideal … I think each person is unique and has to decide what works for them within guidelines [to] really make it their own … I would say the less processed, the more real the food is, we know that it’s much healthier for us. So I worked with high school kids before, and when they start taking processed food away they feel much better. I don’t recommend quick weight loss dieting because of the long-term negative impact on both health and weight … I’m really big on tuning in to hunger, stopping when satisfied and finding healthy foods you love. And stay away from doing what somebody else tells you to do if it doesn’t fit you. Put yourself first in the idea of healthy eating. Because if it doesn’t taste good, you’re not going to do it forever and healthy eating is about finding your way to eat forever.

PHOTO | AMANDA CHAN

38

EL ESTOQUE / march 2017

EE: What would you consider to be the best foods in terms of taste and nutritional value?

GA: In my class, I talk about how there isn’t one type of food. If we don’t get variety, we don’t get all the nutrients we need. But fruits and vegetables definitely stand out. Because, besides nutrients they’ve got these wonderful chemicals that are important in our health. I’ve had clients that say they don’t like vegetables and I say that’s okay, let’s find some fruits that you like that have similar nutrients. Try to venture into different fruits and vegetables.

EE: What advice do you have for people who want to start leading a healthy lifestyle?

GA: What I learned, while I was getting my college degree, was I didn’t know how to cook. And I learned one of the most powerful things you can learn how to do is cook. Because then we can venture into the quality of ingredients and the freshness and things that matter for our health. I think it’s harder as a high school student to learn to cook, but I still would say if you have any opportunity to get into the kitchen and learn to cook, that will be a life skill. Find a way to eat that works for you that has healthy foods. I really think it’s important that each person does it their own way.

spORTs FlASh Senior Anitra Varhadkar takes an open shot during a game against Gunn HS. Despite a rocky start to the season with a new coach and players, the team managed to win a game, ending the season with a 1-10-1 record.

PHOTO | SHAYON MORADI PHOTO | OM KHANDEKAR

Senior Rhea Rangarajan attempts a three-point shot against a strong Milpitas HS defense.

The girls lost to MHS 45-58, and had a league record of 5-7 this season.

PHOTO | OM KHANDEKAR PHOTO | OM KHANDEKAR

Sophomore Peter Heydinger struggles to take down an opponent.

Despite having a smaller team this season, the team sent three athletes to CCS, senior Shayan Eslamian, junior Colin Yang and sophomore Satoshi Ueda.

PHOTO | SANNIDHI MENON PHOTO | OM KHANDEKAR

Senior Aditya Mohan attempts a three-point shot in a highly-anticipated rivalry game. The Matadors lost to Lynbrook HS 5254, ending the season with a 0-12 league S P o r trecord. s PHOTO | OM KHANDEKAR

PHOTO | OM KHANDEKAR

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