Volume 49, Issue 2, Oct. 24, 2018

Volume XLIX Issue II Monta Vista High School

elESTOQUE NEWS 4

OPINION 12

A&E 26

SPORTS 34

Introducing the six new school board nominees on the Cupertino ballot

Exploring the implications of dark and self-deprecating humor

Getting comfy and crafty with at-home Halloween activities

Low attendance at games prompts Athletic Department changes

FEATURES 19 When your wildest dreams come to life

NEWS

FEATURES

OPINION

8 8

END OF AN ERA

Cupertino City Council approves Vallco revitalization plan

THE DARK SIDE OF FUNNY

The appropriateness of humor

MAKING A MARK ON OUR BOARD Candidates running for the school board

12

4

6

CONSTRUCTION DISRUPTION

The stigma of jokes about race

14

Teachers and mental wellness

15

BACK WITH THE BOND

Gym construction requires flexibility from various groups on campus

10

20

DREAM THEORY

Should we vote for Measure CC?

16

their craziest dreams

22

DOUBLED UP

HIS WATCHFUL EYES

33

How I started playing tennis

LIVING THE DREAM FILLING THE EMPTY SEATS Lucid dreamers

24

PSYCHICS BE CRAZY

Low attendance athletic games results in changes from new Student Senate

EE member has dream analyzed by psychic

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

share their most vivid dreams

25

CAUTIOUS CHOICES Reflecting on the origins of my indecisiveness

36

Comparing school and club sports with the effect on academics

Experts share insights on the meaning of dreams

SELF-DEPRECATING DREAMSCAPE Students reveal HUMOR

BEHIND THE BOND SUPPORTING THE STAFF $275 million bond on Cupertino’s November ballot

SPORTS

18

EE recognizes football player Tarun Sarang as athlete of the month

34 39

IN THIS ISSUE A&E

CRAFTS, COOKING AND CHILLS

26

EE explores Halloween 2

EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

DEAR HALLOWEEN

27 TREAT YOURSELF 28 A letter to my childhood obsession

Spooky foods for any Halloween party

FRIGHT NIGHT Films to get into the Halloween spirit

30

LOW [COST]UMES Quick and easy DIY Halloween costumes

32

C

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS I

(Rana) swished and flicked my wand towards the set of books in front of me. I was in Charms class at Hogwarts, with Harry and Hermione next to me, and holding my wand felt empowering. I opened locked doors, turned my enemies into repulsive animals and helped Harry on his quest to defeat Voldemort.

But as I was in the middle of using a love potion on Harry, I hit my head on the corner of my nightstand. My mom then entered the room telling me to get dressed for school. The wand I’d gotten from Universal Studios lay on my nightstand, and outside of my head, it was just a piece of sculpted resin.

And I (Roshan) often wake up in a sweat. It’s normally some variation of snakes — an enormous python slithering into my bed, thousands of baby snakes swarming at my feet and multiplying by the minute, a venomous snake sinking its fangs into my arm. When I snap awake, I immediately know none of it happened, but it still takes me time to fall back asleep. Dreams have a way of creating my biggest fears in such vivid detail that I can’t help but be frightened.

Dreams have a way of stripping us from our ability to distinguish reality. We experience our worst nightmares and wake up trembling, sometimes sweating. In other instances, when we accidentally wake up from the best dream, we force our eyes shut, hoping to fall back into it.

For some, our dreams are crystal clear. We vividly remember dreams we had years ago but forget the dream we had just last night. We ponder the meaning behind those dreams. On pages 20 and 21, reporters Roshan Fernandez and Sarah Young explore experts’ perspectives on the meaning of dreams. They look at the various ways dreams can be interpreted and the importance of paying attention to them.

Some of us take this advice further and choose to record and track our dreams in diaries. On pages 22 and 23, reporters Laasya Koduru and Annie Zhang share students’ most vivid, interesting and funny dreams.

Some of us are lucid dreamers. We know we’re in a dream, and we can control what happens. On page 24, reporters Tyler Cho and Jai Uparkar explore the exhilaration of lucid dreaming.

Regardless of whether we remember every dream and record it when we wake up or if we can only recall a single dream from the last five years, they’re a reflection of our subconscious. They represent our mind when we’re completely unaware it’s functioning.

Rana Aghababazadeh

Roshan Fernandez

CORRECTION FROM SEPTEMBER 2018 ISSUE In “Sports flash,” the MVHS boys water polo team won their game against Cupertino HS 11-7.

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

Editors-in-chief: Rana Aghababazadeh, Roshan Fernandez Managing editors: Helen Chao, Ruth Feng, Gauri Kaushik Copy editors: Charlotte Chui, Robert Liu, Claire Wen News editors: Sunjin Chang, Lakshanyaa Ganesh, Jasmine Lee, Andrea Perng Sports editors: Ankit Gupta, Rajas Habbu, Sreya Kumar, Anish Vasudevan Entertainment editors: Alyssa Hui, Hannah Lee, Jahan Razavi, Emily Xia Opinion editors: Zara Iqbal, Stuti Upadhyay, Brian Xu, Claire Yang Features editors: Claire Chang, Shuvi Jha, Swara Tewari, Jai Uparkar Beats editors: Oishee Misra, Chelsea Wong Design editor: Sara Entezar Business manager: Zara Iqbal Graphics editor: Sarah Young Visuals editors: Herman Saini, Rucha Soman Web editor: Collin Qian Staff writers: Ayah Ali-Ahmad, Tyler Cho, Shivani Gupta, Elena Khan, Laasya Koduru, Tina Low, Iman Malik, Tabitha Mendez, Kamyar Moradi, Brandon Ng, Flora Peng, Dhruvika Randad, Keshav Taneja, Katerina Pappas, Ishani Singh, Julia Yang, Annie Zhang 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.

COVER ILLUSTRATION | SARA ENTEZAR

OCTOBER 2018

3

MAKING A MARK ON OUR BOARD

BY SUNJIN CHANG

SCAN FOR FURTHER COVERAGE

NAOMI MATSUMOTO

An introduction to the candidates who are running for the FUHSD school board

DON SUN

Sun has worked in city management for the past eight years. He was also elected president of the Cupertino Historical Society and currently serves on the board of the Cupertino Rotary Club.

Sun believes that the fundamental function of a FUHSD board member is to oversee public policy and the budget. Serving on the planning commission for the past eight years, Sun is aware of the issue of teacher salary.

He is currently in the process of seeking alternative and affordable housing options for teachers. Sun is also willing to listen and take the questions of the community and address them in meetings.

Sun majored in statistics and urban planning at Beijing University. He then acquired his Masters from the University of Pennsylvania and moved to Stanford for political research.

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EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

BENAIFER DASTOOR

Dastoor has been a board member for the FUHSD Foundation while serving on three other FUHSD committees. The three committees she previously served in were related to enrollment issues, student wellness task forces and parent engagement in the community.

For Dastoor, her priorities revolve around the concept of care. She says that she cares about the collaboration between students, parents, teachers and the administration whenever anything has to be done.

Dastoor also believes that accountability and transparency is fundamental in all operations involving the school community, recruitment and retention of qualified staff.

Outside of serving on the board, Dastoor enjoys getting out into nature while spending quality time with her family. One memorable experience she’s had is traveling and having fun with her daughter.

Matsumoto is currently serving as the director of housing at the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Silicon Valley. Prior to this she has served as the executive director at the West Valley Community Services and associate director of the Santa Clara County for Asian American recovery services. Matsumoto believes that her previous interactions with the education system will aid her in serving on the board. She has also served as a school social worker so she is well aware of the school system. An active member of the community, Matsumoto has also participated in many of the volunteer activities such as the PTSA. Matsumoto believes that her previous experience working as a social worker and an executive will aid her in serving on the board. Having worked in management of an organization, she is well aware of budgets, contracts and negotiations. She has also previously worked on a nonprofit board as one of the board of directors so she is well aware of the job expectations. Matsumoto would also like to help aid in the process of seeking social and emotional health for the students at FUHSD. Matsumoto has had the chance to meet the Crown Prince of Japan, Naruhito, on a trip to Colorado after being selected as one of the four young adults to go on the trip.

Wilson has served on the school board for the past three terms and is running for a fourth. Currently serving as president of the board, Wilson believes that keeping him on the board would help maintain a sense of stability. In addition, he wants to continue because he believes that public education is important.

Wilson hopes to continue to develop new pathways for career technical education (CTE) allowing students to experience and learn about career opportunities. He believes this may allow students to open their eyes to possible career opportunities they might not have otherwise considered.

Wilson also hopes to continue to assist the process of hiring the best teachers for the district. He is well aware of the financial challenges that many teachers face while living in Silicon Valley, and is willing to find possible ways to provide more housing availability by working with the community. Wilson hopes to aid in increasing revenue to distribute to teachers, making it more affordable for them to live here. Another main proposal that Wilson has is regarding the continuation of culture collaboration in the community.

Wilson has experience flying a single engine airplane. As Wilson enjoys outside activities, he recently had a life accomplishment of climbing Mount Whitney with his son a few years ago, continuing his passion for hiking.

Juttukonda-Gajula has always been active and involved in the community holding multiple positions on her childrens’ PTA for the past decade. She has served on the school site council and has facilitated or attended around 400 meetings regarding community issues.

Outside of school, Juttukonda-Gajula has coached basketball for the Sunnyvale and Cupertino basketball leagues, working also as a member of the Emergency Response Team. She is also a leader of both the Girl and Boy Scouts with her children. She has worked as a treasurer for non profit organizations, aiding her in realizing the realities of working on a budget.

Juttukonda-Gajula’s main focus of her campaign is to increase parent engagement in their student’s education. To improve the communication between the district and the parents, Juttukonda-Gajula hopes to encourage parents to introduce new ideas and topics at the schools.

Another area of focus in JuttukondaGajula’s campaign is organizing teen wellness programs. She believes that students should not only focus on their academic goals, they should also participate in extracurricular activities such as sports.

Juttukonda-Gajula is an athlete. She has always enjoyed outdoor activities.

Throughout the majority of her life, she has been active in basketball, having been a player and coach for multiple teams in both Cupertino and Saratoga. In high school she was a gold medalist for handball and she enjoyed swimming and cycling also.

ROSA KIM

NEWS

BILL WILSON

MEENA JUTTUKONDA-GAJULA

Kim has served as a teacher and principal of the Silicon Valley Korean School for the past 10 years. Because Silicon Valley Korean School holds weekly classes on the Cupertino HS campus, Kim has been able to interact with many FUHSD students.

She believes it is important to maintain the emotional wellbeing of students since she understands the rigorous academic nature of FUHSD schools.

Kim proposes reinforcing student mental and emotional wellness if she were to serve on the school board. Being a parent of a high school and college student, Kim believes that high school is a critical time where students prepare to live independently in college. Not only does that mean physical independence, this also indicates how students must learn to manage and handle their physical and emotional wellbeing.

Kim plans to listen and incorporate student voice and ideas when implementing district policies. She is well aware of student activities on campus such as sports and performance teams and hopes that students will be able to connect with the community through these activities.

Kim enjoys recording her experience through writing. She has also published a biography based on her grandparents’ diary from 1938-1946. Aware that her grandparents had documented their life for nearly a decade, Kim decided to take initiative by reading, reorganizing and publishing a biography about their lives.

NEWS | OCTOBER 2018

5

BEHIND THE BOND Measure CC, a $275 million bond for FUHSD, will be on Cupertino’s November ballot

BY GAURI KAUSHIK ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KATERINA PAPPAS

F

or the past 15 years, the MVHS campus has seemed to be constantly under construction: new fields, a new cafeteria, new classrooms and, more recently, a new gym. Modernizing the school costs millions of dollars, but as MVHS approaches its 50-year anniversary in the 2019-20 school year, students and teachers alike find these changes necessary.

This year, the school board approved of a $275 million bond for the November ballot that will go towards renovating all five high schools. On Nov. 6, 2018, Cupertino residents will be able to vote on whether or not to pass the bond, known as Measure CC. According to Jason Heskett, president of the Fremont Education Association (FEA), Measure CC would be the third bond to be passed in the past decade — the first one being passed in 2008 and the second in 2014. Each time, FUHSD is faced with the same dilemma: whether to propose a parcel tax, which would allow for the district to use the money as needed and increase teachers’ salaries, or a bond, which can only fund improving or adding physical structures.

On Sept. 24, every teacher at all five FUHSD schools was greeted by a piece of neon green paper in their mailboxes. Printed on it was a list of one pro and several cons of the bond. This letter was generated by a small group of teachers from Lynbrook HS in response to Measure CC being proposed instead of a parcel tax.

MVHS site president Bonnie Belshe explains that the current parcel tax for FUHSD is $98, which is significantly less than surrounding areas, such as Mountain View, Los Altos or Palo Alto Unified School Districts. She points out that these districts

are unified school districts, so they include seeing your favorite teachers leave [at] end elementary, middle and high schools in the of every year and it’s not because they don’t area. However this doesn’t change the fact want to be here. It’s [a] very hard decision that Cupertino’s parcel tax is still considered for teachers, but with difficulty of buying relatively low. houses, long commutes, we need to have the “Families in our area have the 98 dollars salary compensation that fits with that.” for us and then there’s a different one that’s To help with the decision, FUHSD hired a for the Cupertino district surveying company to {CUSD},” Belshe said. “But poll the city in order to even with those combined, measure the likelihood [it is] still much smaller of either a parcel tax than the other surrounding or a bond passing. districts are.”

According to Heskett, In an area like Cupertino, they received around where the cost of living 60 percent approval towers over the average of for both the bond and the country, some teachers parcel tax. However, struggle to continue living while passing a bond here with their current salary. would require only The median home cost in 55 percent of the MVHS SITE PRESIDENT Cupertino is $2,370,400, vote, passing a parcel BONNIE BELSHE compared to a median home tax would require 67 cost of $216,200 in the U.S. percent because of a Many live far from school California state law. in more affordable communities and have to “The board decided that they weren’t then deal with commuting in a high traffic going to go for it because they can’t move area. The last parcel tax, which was passed the polls three percent, even with a really in 2004, not only raised teachers’ salaries, strong campaign,” Heskett said. “So they but also helped preserve programs such as said, ‘well we’re not going to be able to get band, music and journalism. Heskett explains the 67 percent, so why should we spend that funding teachers allows schools to keep $150,000 on a campaign?’” these elective programs, as the programs On top of the campaigning costs, the need teacher advisers to run. This parcel tax district also pays $130,000 to get a measure will expire in 2022 — a prospect that Belshe on the ballot, according to Heskett. After says would be devastating. deliberating and surveying from November “We need to, in this area, look to what we 2017 through March 2018, the district can to do for helping with staff salaries for decided that attempting to pass a parcel tax teacher retention because it’s so expensive would be a waste of money and proposed to live here,” Belshe said. “You have probably Measure CC instead. seen in your four years in MVHS — you’re

WE NEED TO, IN THIS AREA, LOOK TO WHAT WE CAN DO FOR HELPING WITH STAFF SALARIES FOR TEACHER RETENTION BECAUSE IT’S SO EXPENSIVE TO LIVE HERE.

2008 Measure B, a $198 million bond, was passed, and supported the construction of the student union, a new track and new turf fields.

Photos by Katerina Pappas

6

EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

Do you support the approval of Measure CC, the $275 million school bond on the November ballot?

According to a survey of 25 MVHS teachers

88 % are strong supporters, 12% have no opinion

Will you be able to vote on Measure CC?

32 % Yes 68 % No To promote the bond, MVHS and other FUHSD schools held a precinct walk on Oct. 6. Teachers, administrators and community members walked throughout the district, hanging door hangers at the homes of prospective voters.

Belshe believes a parcel tax would be beneficial for the teachers, but the district just doesn’t have the approval it needs to pass one, and she says Measure CC will ultimately be able to provide benefits for both teachers and students.

“Quite frankly, I’m sitting in this brand new classroom that was built with money from the last bond measure and this is an amazing classroom,” Belshe said. “The new furniture that we have, it’s just … the support that’s built into the classroom, [is] so great and don’t we want other classrooms to look like this and other teachers to have this? And then the opportunities that the kids can get from that [as well].”

Facilities like the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, which usually are

replaced every 17 to 20 years according to Belshe, have been in place at MVHS for 20 years, and need replacing. Heskett and Belshe both believe that these changes can improve the learning environment for both students and teachers.

“We want to look into getting another parcel tax, but unrelated to that, we’re in support of the bond measure,” Belshe said.

LHS senior and FUHSD student board representative Indali Bora believes Measure CC and the previous bonds are important in improving campuses. She discusses the ongoing construction at many of the FUHSD schools, including LHS and MVHS, and how it can benefit future students.

“While it is inconvenient for students to a certain extent, I think that considering how old a lot of these schools are, that construction is necessary,” Bora said.

Heskett also notes that the bond can also indirectly help increase teachers’ salaries.

The less money the district has to spend on the physical upkeep and maintenance

of the campus, the more money will be available for teachers. Acknowledging the few teachers who have concerns about the FEA and FUHSD endorsing Measure CC over a parcel tax, Heskett says that with around 550 teachers in the union, expecting everyone to be happy is unreasonable.

“We’re always going to have some people that don’t agree with going in a certain direction,” Heskett said. “It was a way that group of people could get their voice out and they did.”

Bora believes that, while students may not know what Measure CC is, they will be able to see and experience the effects of it.

“We’re seniors, so we might not be able to benefit from the changes, but it’s for the kids coming in, the future classes,” Bora said. “They’re going to have these updated facilities to learn in … experience high school in.” e

2014 Measure K, a $295 million bond, passed by a vote of 64.84% and supported the construction of a new gym, additions to the B building and updates in the rally court.

NEWS | OCTOBER 2018

7

END OF AN ERA Cupertino City Council approves new Vallco revitalization plan

BY ANDREA PERNG

O

n Sept. 19, the Cupertino City Council voted 3-2 to approve Sand Hill Property Co. (SHPC)’s Tier 2 Specific Plan to renovate the nowdead Vallco Mall. It will include 1,750,000 square feet of office space, as well as over 2,500 apartments and less than four percent retail space. The mockups displayed on revitalizevallco.com and architect firm Rafael Vinoly Architects’ websites show a futuristic town center that includes a sleek AMC Theater, upscale dining and greenspace that spans for acres.

The City of Cupertino’s website, envisionvallco.org, states that a specific plan is just that: a plan for how a certain area will be used. It is a document that details objective standards for multiple aspects of land development, such as the building that will be erected on the land, how certain land will be used and how the site itself will be laid out.

According to an archived version of revitalizevallco.com from August, the City of Cupertino is involved in a General Plan Update between 2012 and 2014. During this time, the proposal first surfaced to transform Vallco from its current state as a declining mall to a town center that would include office space, retail and housing. Years later, in 2016, the political action committee Better Cupertino submitted a ballot initiative that would secure Vallco as a retail-only site, which, if passed, would have disabled SHPC from further investing in Vallco. Both that measure and the measure supporting SHPC’s investment in Vallco were rejected by Cup er t ino voters in the 2016 election season.

8

EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

City Council member Savita Vaidhyanathan “A lot of us bike and walk, and we felt voted to approve the plan for two reasons: that the way [SHPC] had developed Main to transform the dead mall into a mixed- Street was really unsafe and pedestrian use destination that will serve Cupertino’s unfriendly,” Tate said. “And so we just community for many backed out because we generations, and because felt like the community’s she believes that the Tier 2 concerns are not being Specific Plan will better bvb addressed.” nvbprovide for teachers, first SHPC, on the other responders, medical service hand, says on its website professionals and the that it has made an effort to disabled in order to cultivate engage with the Cupertino an inclusive community community so that it can within Cupertino. learn what the community Vaidhyanathan is also on needs are. the VTA Board of Directors “We are prepared to along with leaders from engage with the City and the four other West Valley community about the types cities, and says that the of public improvements and mass transit system that community benefits that can the Vallco Specific Plan be incorporated throughout has will encourage people the process, as we have to move away from using done consistently over the single-occupancy vehicles, past several years,” SHPC BETTER CUPERTINO which she says will help the said on revitalizevallco.com.

SUPPORTER environment in the long run.

“It is important to note the LIANG CHAO “I want to leave the Vallco Town Center project planet a better place for the application is informed next generation and save our by years of community environment by reducing greenhouse gas engagement on the future of Vallco. We are emissions,” Vaidhyanathan said. confident it will be successful and are proud However, junior Maya Tate, who was once to bring it forward for our community.” involved in the Vallco redevelopment process On the other hand, Better Cupertino along with the rest of her organization, High supporter and Cupertino City Council School Democrats of America, says that candidate Liang Chao has fought against this SHPC did not implement enough public new plan, along with the rest of the political transport infrastructure to ensure that action committee. Chao contends that pedestrians and bikers would be safe. As a SHPC refused result, HSDA unanimously voted to back out of the Vallco redevelopment process.

IF [DEVELOPERS] THINK THAT CUPERTINO IS LENIENT, THE DEVELOPERS WILL PUSH HARD FOR SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO TURN CUPERTINO INTO SOMETHING THAT NONE OF US COULD RECOGNIZE.

to honor Better Cupertino’s demands for developmentally disabled. The campaigning reduced office space and below-market- prompted SHPC to delete several tabs rate (BMR) housing, which is housing that is on revitalizevallco.com (which included rented or bought for a price below market. a Specific Plan Process, FAQ and several She also believes that SHPC found loopholes mockups of the finished project) and instead within the California state law SB 35 in order emblazon a message on the front page that to allow them to pursue their project without implores Cupertino residents to “Get the sufficient BMR housing. SB 35 requires facts for yourself before signing anything.” “[SHPC] has been developers to submit able to play around with projects to the California the numbers so that an state legislature, the Office affordable housing project of Planning and Research in fact has much, much and the Department of more office space than the Housing and Community amount of housing they Development in order to provide,” Chao said. “So be approved through a that’s the SB 35 project they streamlined process. The have, and then using that as Tier 2 Specific Plan and a threat, they derailed the the SB 35 project were entire community-driven developed concurrently, process this year.” and SHPC stated that they Vaidhyanathan, however, did not intend for the SB sees no community benefits 35 application process in the SB 35 plan. According to interfere with the CUPERTINO CITY to her, SB 35 would be development of the Tier 2 COUNCIL MEMBER handled entirely by the Specific Plan.

SAVITA state with no input from Following the Tier 2 plan VAIDHYANATHAN Cupertino citizens or the approval, Better Cupertino City Council. Additionally, has begun petitioning she says, while the SB 35 for a referendum on the new Vallco plan, pushing instead for the plan provides more affordable housing project that would be approved by SB 35. overall, it does not include moderate income In comparison to the Tier 2 Specific Plan, housing, which would benefit teachers who the SB 35 plan would have buildings reach fall in that category. The Tier 2 plan contains up to 240 feet, have no required very low to moderate income housing. community benefits and have no extremely low income housing units that accommodate the

WE ARE THE CITY OF APPLE, AND WE ARE ENCOURAGED TO “THINK DIFFERENT.” THIS WILL BE A LEGACY PROJECT FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY TO ENJOY.

“A referendum, if it qualifies, will reduce the benefits to our school districts, shuttles, bike paths and trails,” Vaidhyanathan said.

“SB 35 has no community engagement and SB 35 does not come to the City Council for approval. There will be no community benefits. The City Council cannot impress upon the developer regarding the community needs.”

Chao also believes that the City Council itself fell short of its duty to its citizens multiple times regarding the renovation. By allowing SHPC to essentially bypass state law, she says, the Council is allowing “bad” development to take place within the city so that it becomes completely different from the relatively quiet, suburban Cupertino that she is familiar with. She says that if she saw Cupertino moving into the direction of encouraging bad development, she would move out entirely. “[The City Council has] set a really bad precedent for the future of Cupertino,” Chao said. “If [developers] think Cupertino is lenient, the developers will push hard for something that’s going to turn Cupertino into something none of us could recognize.”

In contrast to Chao, Vaidhyanathan believes that the new Vallco will bring life to the Cupertino community, pushing it into the future as the “city of Apple.”

“This is how I see it: I took a bold stance to vote for something for our future generations,” Vaidhyanathan said. “We are the city of Apple, and we are encouraged to ‘Think Different.’ This will be a legacy project for the whole community to enjoy.” e

NEWS | OCTOBER 2018 9

CONSTRUCTION DISRUPTION Ongoing gym construction requires flexibility from many groups

BY CHELSEA WONG

D

week. The lost time was dedicated to ead spots, an open space in the ceiling an extensive and necessary removal of and a missing entrance. According to asbestos, which could have led to long-term principal Ben Clausnitzer, these are health risks. some of the problems scheduled to Last year, the announcements stated the be fixed as a part of the MVHS 2018 gym construction would be finished by the end of construction which will conclude by the end September, just in time for the Homecoming of October. The construction plans include rally. However, with the upgrading the gym floors delay, leadership decided and adding new classrooms, to hold the rally in the a dance studio and two team newly renovated rally holding rooms on the second court for the first time. floor for visitor teams.

Senior and vice Additionally, the counselors’ president of the class offices are being renovated to of 2019 Victoria Tung establish a more confidential has experienced some area for appointments, as well difficulty rescheduling the as an additional seating area for logistics of the rally due those waiting. to the location change.

The new dance studio will Tung believed that some have triple the square footage PRINCIPAL BEN of the traditional elements and floor to ceiling mirrors of a rally would be lost CLAUSNITZER lining the walls, while the due to not hosting it in an leadership room will also have enclosed area. Things like an increase in square footage the posters, games and and a view overlooking the rally court. the cheers had to be altered. The biggest Clausnitzer also wanted to institute issue that leadership faced was regarding the a distinct entrance to the gym from the seating location of each class around parking lot. The construction also includes the stage in the rally court. additional concrete and landscaping work to “The rally games have to the exterior for a more obvious pathway to be designed in a the gym. specific way so “If you are driving into Monta Vista and that people you’re parking, and you’re looking ‘Where’s can see [the the gym?’” Clausnitzer said. “In the past it action],” was always kind of awkward, people would Tung said. be like ‘Well there’s these portables and I “It’s also don’t know there’s [a] gate there and there’s s omet ime s the fields and tennis [courts], there’s that big hard to hear building, maybe that’s the gym.’ Versus now, [each class] where there is a big beautiful entrance.” and it just Unfortunately, much was put on hold feels different when the construction company, Lathrop, because you found asbestos underneath the floors in the can’t see the gym. Due to this discovery, the completion two other deadline was delayed by a couple of weeks, classes.” which ultimately impacted homecoming

IN THE PAST IT WAS ALWAYS KIND OF AWKWARD [LOCATING THE GYM] VERSUS NOW, WHERE THERE IS A BIG BEAUTIFUL ENTRANCE.

Senior class president Ashika Jaiswal echoed the same challenges. Though she admitted that she was worried that the authenticity and cheers would not be completely felt in a open space like the rally court, Jaiswal had faith that the MVHS’ spirit and hype would not change.

“The good quality of the gym [was that] it encaptured everyone into this small space and that resulted in a different feeling,” Jaiswal said. “But even without the gym, the spirit and the cheers, all of that rally elements was there. It would just in a different location.”

Leadership had made sure that all the classes had a view of the stage, so it became an issue when trying fit all the rally-goers.

“So spacing was our biggest concern,” Jaiswal said. “Because originally it was going to be seniors and juniors sitting on the stairs but the we realize how many seniors and juniors there are. So last minute during third period we changed it so it was just seniors on the steps and the other classes would be on the other side [of the stage].”

Despite the last minute changes and adjustments, Jaiswal nevertheless feels like the rally was able to run smoothly.

“Judging by the fact that it was our first time, I actually enjoyed it and I thought it was really interesting,” Jaiswal said. “I thought it was different and I felt like everybody around me was having a good time.” e

HEL

C TO |

PHO G WON SE A

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EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

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THE DARK SIDE OF FUNNY Perspectives on the appropriateness of dark humor

BY HELEN CHAO AND OISHEE MISRA

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ow many babies does it take to paint Birdsong receives for his somewhat crude a house? Depends how hard you sense of humor. However, he’s okay with throw them. students’ emotional responses.

How do you get 100 babies in a “It could be unmemorable and make bucket? A blender. them mad, which I’m torn about about, What’s the best thing but generally, it seems about dead baby jokes? They work,” Birdsong said.

THERE WERE PEOPLE to never get old.

“But [most students] WAY FUNNIER AND Some would find these like it and seem to smile MORE WICKED jokes — darker counterparts more often than not THAN ME, AND of common jokes — during class, so I guess NOW THEY’RE ALL offensive. Others, such as it’s okay.”

BANKERS AND junior Ellie Damozonio, find C l a s s r o o m LAWYERS SO I DON’T environments them funny, not because aside, KNOW HOW THEY she feels they’re typical Birdsong also says GET IT OUT OF THEIR is a point where there humor, but because of their dark SYSTEMS ANYMORE. unexpected nature. humor can get offensive “I find them funny and I — a point that he himself PHYSICS TEACHER don’t know if that makes me used to often cross.

JIM BIRDSONG a bad person,” Damozonio “I’m bad at gauging said. “It’s so unrealistic [that point], and I tend to and unexpected that there’s almost a level go until I go too far, but I’ve made all those of discomfort when the person hears it, so mistakes a long time ago, so I know pretty that the only reaction they can think of is to much where I need to stop,” Birdsong said. laugh. [Dark humor jokes] are very strange “But it never is [meant to] and I think it things” clearly is not meant to be hurtful.”

Like Damozonio, senior Varshini For junior Nikitha Fer nandez, Srikanthan also appreciates dark humor, joking about but she prefers the satirical aspect of it. She p e o p l e emphasizes the importance of reading the who have audience because the appropriateness of a e n d u r e d joke varies depending on the audience. If a s o m e t h i n g man makes a sexist joke in a room full of difficult can women, she feels that isn’t okay. be taking it For AP Physics teacher Jim Birdsong, too far. his audience is typically students, who are “Say ing greeted with his creative physics problems [an offensive] on tests and worksheets: a stupid man joke in front shoots a gun straight up in the air, the of someone ‘stupid’ referring to his lack of intellect who’s lost a when it comes to knowing that the bullet will family member come straight back down. People — or even or someone muskrats — getting hit by hammers and close to them is rocks are a few of the numerous problems really harmful,” that show up on his tests.

Fernandez said, According to Birdsong, he has enjoyed “It minimizes the dark humor since the age of eight, crediting pain that they’ve this passion to his childhood friends who been going through.” were always playing and cracking jokes with While she doesn’t each other. want to control what “My friend group, that’s the way we people say, both were. I never knew any different,” Birdsong Fernandez and Srikanthan said. “There were people way funnier and consider that jokes about more wicked than me, and now they’re all historical events like 9/11 or bankers and lawyers so I don’t know how the Holocaust — essentially they get it out of their systems anymore.” situations where people have Shocked is the common response that undergone trauma — to be

12 EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

completely inappropriate. In contrast, art teacher Jay Shelton himself has cracked a joke along those lines.

Around 13 years ago, during a tsunami in Japan, Shelton overheard several Japanese kids in Yearbook late night discussing the aftermath of the event. “[A student says] all those people got washed [into] the sea,” Shelton said. “And I go ‘I know, the worst part is going to be like [in] a week when all the dead rise up out of the ocean and come out and start eating everybody [and] it’s going to be worse.”

Everyone looked at him as if he were crazy. Nobody laughed, except Shelton himself. Typically, if someone is offended

by Shelton’s joke, he will feel bad and try to reach for a kind of compromise.

He’ll apologize, but he will also urge them to admit the joke was funny.

More often or not, they’ll concede.

Ultimately, humor can be anything for Shelton. “[Humor] is not filtering yourself,” Shelton said. “I know sometimes I’m going to say something terrible that’s going to upset somebody. But [another] part of me says, ‘Well, I’ll never get this moment to say this this way right now.’”

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He believes there’s few boundaries or exceptions — if the audience right in front of the speaker laughs, it’s humor, even if the rest of the room is left shocked.

“If your goal is to be funny, and this is funny to you, and you say it, there’s no line,” Shelton said.

However, in present society, Shelton notices he’s been witnessing less and less of the above mentality. According to Shelton, people have begun to take offense, not because they’re genuinely offended, but rather due to the “checkoff list” in the back of their mind — not a list they made up, but rather what they have been told to watch out for, such as racist or sexist comments.

Instead of letting the reality wash over them, Shelton believes that people have ‘learned’ to be offended anytime a joke makes light of an item on the so-called checkoff list.

However, even as a millennial, Srikanthan believes she doesn’t have much of a p r e - f o r m e dc h e c k l i s t .

As an avid f e m i n i s t , s h e ’ s heard jokes a b o u t sexism and feminism but wasn’t p er s ona lly offended.

S h e ’ s laughed at dark jokes on the feminist movement, and admits that some of the humorous critiques are valid.

Fer na ndez, t o o ,

acknowledges that political dark humor don’t want the negative humor, they can often lighten the mood, especially in simply want information. the current, often divisive and difficult to On the other hand, there is a deal with political climate. Like Srikanthan different, even darker aspect of dark and Fernandez, Birdsong humor — jokes such understands that dark as the frequently THERE’S A REASON humor can definitely heard statements MOST COMEDIANS around campus like, have a positive effect, ARE DEPRESSED specifically when it ‘oh gosh that was so PEOPLE. THE BEST comes to making the terrible I wanna kill COMEDIANS JUST educational material myself.’

According SEE THE WORLD memorable for all of the to Damozonio, these FOR WHAT IT IS — A types of jokes have students.

VERY EXISTENTIAL “There [is] an become a part of TYPE THING — YOU objective to the MVHS culture to CAN’T HELP BUT SEE some extent. madness,” Birdsong said.

THE IRONY AND THE “I do weird examples and “I don’t know if I know HUMOR IN IT. try to do funny things anyone who hasn’t made this because it’s more likely kind of joke at some point to be remembered — if in conversations with me,” ART TEACHER JAY there’s a hook to get the Damozonio said. “I’ve made SHELTON student to remember the those kinds of comments content, they are more too and it becomes just a golikely to remember the physics when they to response that people get used to saying recall the funny part of the example or when something bad happens.” explanation. That’s the goal.”

She says that this perpetuates the Birdsong recalls his former high school problem of people who have actual mental teachers and college professors — the ones health issues — it becomes harder to he remembers and learned best from were differentiate who is saying it due to a sort the ones who had incorporated humor into of mob mentality, and who is saying it as their lessons. a result of legitimate suicidal thoughts. It “I try to say something in a different way normalizes mental health issues, making it to be more memorable, and humor is one seem as though they don’t need as much way to do it,” Birdsong said. “You can say attention as they ought to receive. something deep and profound, or you can For Srikanthan, wit is an essential say something funny. I can only be funny, so characteristic in dark humor. While she that’s what I do — or try to do.” acknowledges that those jokes about Regardless of the type of dark humor, be wanting to die aren’t genuine, she believes it offensive or something to chuckle at, it has those statements stem out of insecurity, an effect on the people who hear them. In perpetuating the negative mentality that a fact, a student of Birdsong’s for three years single, low grade will define the rest of one’s even presented him a folder with all of his life. Thus, these jokes don’t really qualify as dark jokes — an indication that his teaching dark humor — dark humor has a tendency to approach was definitely a memorable one be less insulting and more commentary on for the student. Birdsong believes that high reactions to ongoing issues. school, especially, is the perfect stage to “[Making those jokes] keeps making you for dark humor. feel like every time you don’t do as well as “Elementary school is like ‘don’t you hoped, you’re automatically a failure,” let them eat glue.’ Middle school Srikanthan said. is all about ‘don’t let them However, according to Shelton, tasteful kill each other.’ College is dark humor is simply a way of seeing all about content — [the reality, seeing the larger connections out professors teaching] are there, seeing the the world for what it is in a paid to do research, succinct, observant way. so whether or not “There’s a reason most comedians are someone remembers depressed people,” Shelton said. “The best is not as important comedians ... see the world for what it is — a to them,” Birdsong very existential type thing — you can’t help said. “High school but see the irony and the humor in it.” e is good for [dark humor]; it can actually be useful.”

However, he does believe that at times, students

OPINION | OCTOBER 2018

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SELF-DEPRECATING HUMOR The stigma surrounding jokes about racial backgrounds

BY LAKSHAYNAA GANESH AND CLAIRE WEN

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say things like] ‘Our parents are going to be Suresh about the parallels between selfmad at us because they’re Indian,’ when in deprecation and making fun of one’s own reality, they’re mad … because race, as well as how being they want us to do racist to other groups well in school and can be seen as succeed.” bullying.

C h i n e s e “I don’t like RACE IS THIS UMBRELLA teacher I-Chu the idea of TERM FOR YOU AND OTHER Chang thinks joking [about] the acceptability another race PEOPLE TO USE, BUT IT of joking about b e c a u s e CAN’T BE USED IN THE one’s own race sometimes WRONG WAY. depends on the we are just situation, but is not thinking SOPHOMORE JHARNA SURESH generally alright, and not especially if really being everyone present respect ful,” understands Chang said. “But the culture and to [make fun of] background. She one’s self is more acceptable.” also agrees with However, Suresh believes that making racist remarks about one’s own race can play a large role in reinforcing stereotypes, adding to negative stigmas. She agrees that a lot of existing stereotypes are a product of outside influences, but people part of minority groups also have a role in either dispelling or reinforcing these stereotypes.

While everyone agrees that there may be negative effects from poking fun at one’s own race, Liu believes that its effects can often be blown out of proportion.

“Especially in this day and age, a lot of people get offended really easily,” Liu said.

“Someone can make a really generalized statement pertaining to anything and someone can take it too personally.”

Ultimately, Suresh believes that there needs to be a balance between making light-hearted comments and recognizing when a joke can go too far.

“If you’re just mocking your mother with an accent [and there’s no ill intent], by all means go for it,” Suresh said. “But if it’s taken to an extreme where you’re putting down your own race saying something along the lines of ‘I wish I was some other race,’ that’s when it shouldn’t be acceptable.” e PHO

witty comment or two to entertain a bored audience, to relieve an awkward silence or to bounce back after an embarrassing moment. Humor is the natural human response to something unexpected, used across all cultures. Yet sometimes, when looking for something to poke fun at, the target falls on ourselves — or rather, a group we belong to.

According to the MVHS school profile, 79 percent of the school’s population is Asian, and sophomore Jharna Suresh believes that as a result, many students joke about their own race. In a survey of 385 students, 82 percent think making fun of one’s own race is common at MVHS. Suresh believes it’s a common occurence to hear people make stereotypical, selfdeprecating jokes relating to their own cultures, especially when it comes to test scores and grades. For example, people may say things along the lines of “I got a 94 percent on my test, and my parents are going to kill me because they’re Indian.”

Sophomore Jacqueleine Liu hears jokes like these frequently as well, but has conflicting feelings about them.

“I can understand why people would be okay with it,” Liu said. “If you’re of the race [you’re making fun of] and you’re okay with it, I don’t see why not. If [the joke] isn’t funny, and it really is offensive and you’re being overly aggressive, then it’s not okay.”

Suresh believes that ridiculing one’s own race is akin to making fun of oneself, and this parallel can have many implications of its own. She also acknowledges the tendencies of people to use race as an excuse or reason for the issues they face in their day to day lives.

“When you’re making fun of someone else, that’s bullying, and I think that can apply to race too,” Suresh said. “Race is this umbrella term for you and other people to use, but it can’t be used in the wrong way. [A lot of people

SUPPORTING THE STAFF Teachers share their experiences with their own mental wellness

BY BRIAN XU

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he turning point of now history teacher humane profession,” Choate said. “Every Scott Victorine’s first career occurred day, I’m interacting with students on a human as he was eating lunch at his former level. It’s very rewarding, but it becomes law firm. As a paralegal in immigration important for me to prioritize my self care law, Victorine was overwhelmed with stress. so I can be the best support for students He sat staring at his lunchbox one hectic I can. It’s a different kind of balancing act day and he decided he from other professions.” needed to find another Victorine maintains a career path. positive outlook on his teaching.

“For me, sitting in At one point, Victorine was an office environment spending day and night simply wasn’t my thing,” teaching and creating lessons Victorine said. “I had for his U.S. History class. always known I wanted Although he grappled with the to teach, but I was kind perpetual workload, Victorine of scared to do it. I didn’t never viewed teaching as think I would be able to overly stressful because it was HISTORY TEACHER make a living off of it. I a profession he was genuinely SCOTT VICTORINE went back to work that passionate about. day and I started looking Student advocate Richard at teaching credential programs online, and Prinz agrees that the way one deals with stress what I would need to do, and the ball just can greatly affect their mental wellness. He started getting rolling. I just went with it – I mentions that while both students and staff didn’t look back.” have many stressors, one’s internal attitude Making the transition into teaching came can have a large effect on the overall at a hefty cost. Victorine pushed through anxiety they feel. Prinz believes that when the busiest years of his career, struggling working to improve to meet the demands of teaching while also maintaining his personal life. During the 2015-16 school year, Victorine balanced attending graduate school, writing his master’s thesis and teaching a mix of both general and special education classes.

In addition, he was responsible for working with a group of students on a case study, checking up on them and documenting their progress.

“The first few years of teaching are really busy,” Victorine said.

“It’s go, go, go. It’s nonstop. You sacrifice financially because when you’re student teaching, you don’t get paid. You sacrifice on a personal level because it’s timeconsuming. You’re going to class [and] you’re teaching, so you’re going to work also. You’re writing lessons, you’re creating lessons, and you’d like to think you’re going to stay a week ahead, but it doesn’t always happen that way.”

Similarly, English teacher Megan Choate shares that the time and energy she pours into teaching extends beyond the conventional parameters of a full-time job, as she works many hours before and after the school day.

“Beyond that, teaching is very much a

THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF TEACHING ARE REALLY BUSY. IT’S GO, GO, GO. IT’S NONSTOP.

mental wellness, the first step lies in looking past the stigma behind mental health.

“Usually, [when] we think stigma, we think people are embarrassed what others will think,” Prinz said. “But sometimes we’re afraid ourselves to talk about our inner life because it has a hold of us and we’re afraid it will become more real and predominant. But usually the more we’re afraid of it, [the more we] give it power.”

For some teachers, there are tangible methods for increasing mental wellness.

Choate consciously spends time destressing and is aware of the steps she takes to keep her mental health in check.

“If I feel overwhelmed, I’ll make a list of things I have to do,” Choate said.

“Sometimes I’ll step back and take a couple of minutes to breathe and just sit with myself before returning back to work, as a way to refocus. And then I do try to make sure that I’m doing hiking and yoga outside of school to help my overall mental stability when I’m here.”

The administration has also begun to take action to alleviate stress in teachers as well as students.

“Stabilizing student stress [was] one of our staff’s collective commitments for the past four years and this year, it was decided to include staff as well,” assistant principal Nico Flores said. “We are doing this through our payday barbecues. Each teacher will mark the last day of each month on their calendar so that they can come and enjoy good barbecue while chatting with colleagues from different areas of school. We are [also] sending out positive messaging to staff about positivity and mindfulness while highlighting the good work that is taking place in PLCs.” Choate explains that not only does the increased awareness around staff mental health better the teachers, but it will also lead to lasting positive effects for the entire school community.

“As staff it is very easy to get stressed out or feel overwhelmed [and] have so many different things going on both at work and at home,” Choate said.

“So making sure that staff mental health is put as an equal priority is benefiting us and ultimately benefiting students [with] the way we’re able to make connections in the classroom.” e

ILLUSTRATION | OISHEE MISRA

OPINION | OCTOBER 2018

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BACK WITH THE BOND Community members should vote for Measure CC

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even hours and 25 minutes. The would receive maintenance crucial for a length of a typical school day at school built over 50 years ago.

MVHS. In a month, students spend As society advances at an exponential around 150 hours at school. In a rate, it’s imperative for students in our year, that’s around 1,300 hours. In four district to have the environment and years, MVHS students spend 5,340 hours resources we need to prepare to compete on campus and in classrooms. in a global market. Having the optimal Given that students spend so much physical environment surrounding us can time on campus, it is essential that make a sizeable difference, and is just one our educational environment be as of the reasons we need our community to comfortable and as conducive to learning support Measure CC. as possible. The creaky chairs containing As students, it can often be difficult years’ worth of dust, unstable stools in to come to school day after day to learn biology rooms, and study; the the funky renovations from smell in the B the bond can help us building and get the most out of filthy carpets in our education. In a the D building survey of 386 MVHS OPINION OF THE EL ESTOQUE may not seem students, 83 percent EDITORIAL BOARD like a big deal, claim that having but when considering their a more pleasant physical environment cumulative effect, these details can have benefits their learning and makes them a sizeable impact on students’ ability to more willing to come to school. learn at school.

Beyond just students, however, According to the Sage Journal, “an teachers can also benefit from Measure optimal environment would encourage a CC. Just as students spend thousands of good relationship between the student hours on campus learning, teachers spend and his or her environment, thereby thousands of hours on campus teaching. encouraging more productive learning As opposed to students, teachers do and better motivation and concentration.” not move from room to room throughout In order to continue renovations at the day, so having better furniture and schools in the FUHSD, the school board utilities in the space they spend most of has recently approved Measure CC, a their time can positively affect teachers $275 million bond, for the Nov. 6, 2018 and translate to better teaching. In a ballot. The bond money would be spent on survey of 25 MVHS teachers, 68 percent new heating and air conditioning systems, say the renovations from the bond can technology, furniture, roofing, flooring, significantly impact their teaching, and ceiling tiles, LED lighting, painting, fire another 24 percent say the renovations alarms, sprinklers and renovating the could somewhat impact their teaching. academic quad.

If students are more comfortable in their At MVHS, all classrooms in the A, B, class environment, they will be easier to C, D and E buildings would receive these teach, and vice versa. renovations. Although the improvements Still, some do not want to support the would not be as extravagant as a new bond because they feel like it would deter cafeteria or gymnasium, each classroom community members from voting for a

STAFF EDITORIAL

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EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

parcel tax, a tax that can be used to raise teacher salaries, in the future. In the same survey of MVHS teachers, if both the bond and the parcel tax were equally passable, 88 percent of teachers would prefer a parcel tax over a bond. The parcel tax allows money to be used to provide teachers with competitive salaries. For 15 years, the district has chosen to move forward with bonds, with Measure CC being the third, instead of going for a parcel tax because the 67 percent of votes needed to pass the tax may be unattainable.

Granted, Cupertino is an extremely expensive area, with a cost of living ranked at 384.1 on the cost of living index, almost four times the national average of 100. Even outside Cupertino’s boundaries, the Bay Area in general is an extremely expensive area, making a pay increase extremely valuable to teachers and their ability to comfortably survive in this area.

However, the sheer difficulty of passing a parcel tax makes the bond a much more feasible option. A parcel tax requires 67 percent of the vote, and when the community was polled, this majority was not reached (polls reached 60 percent for both the bond and the parcel tax). As opposed to this, the bond requires 55 percent of the vote and can also indirectly contribute to pay raises.

According to FEA union president Jason Heskett, the renovations from bond money lead to decreased maintenance costs and therefore more leftover money for teachers and other programs.

Because of this, the school board’s decision to put forth a bond instead of a parcel tax was a strategic move that should not deter people from voting for the bond.

It would not have been sensible to push for a parcel tax and receive none of the $275 million that the bond would possibly bring. A bond is far more likely to be passed, and with the bond comes guaranteed benefits for students and teachers alike. Not voting for the bond will mean our district gets no money at all, so even avid supporters of the parcel tax should put their qualms aside and vote for the bond.

The only group in our community that would not experience the direct benefits of Measure CC are taxpayers who do not have family members attending or planning to attend a school in the FUHSD. However, even these members of our community would have good reason to vote for Measure CC. The value of homes around Cupertino is largely dependent on our school district’s prestigious status, and money from the bond will continue to elevate the school’s status, and therefore increase the value of community members’ property.

Essentially, the bond is an investment that helps students, teachers and community members.

Although community members will be required to pay a small increase in taxes, the cost is reasonable compared to the countless benefits Measure CC will bring.

Despite these benefits, the bond will only be passed if the community actively votes for it. Thus, it is essential that everyone who is eligible votes for the bond on the ballot. Even those who cannot vote, such as students, should encourage their friends and family to take a few minutes out of their day and vote to support our schools in their endeavor to create a more enjoyable learning environment. A single vote can make a huge difference for our community as a whole. e

ESSENTIALLY, THE BOND IS AN INVESTMENT THAT HELPS STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

ILLUSTRATION | SARA YOUNG

OPINION | OCTOBER 2018

17

CAUTIOUS CHOICES Reflecting on the origins of my indecisiveness

BY EMILY XIA

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ast Thursday, I was faced with a dilemma.

I was sitting on my couch, ready to nestle in for a good nap, when my mom told me that we would be eating out for dinner. Disappointed at being forced out of my precious sleep time, I was then asked the dreaded question: “Where do you want to go to eat?”

I think I want ramen … but wait, dumplings sound pretty good too. Or maybe we should just get pizza. Or we could alsoThis wasn’t the end of my thought process, but you get the point. It was a seemingly simple question — yet for me, it required over 15 minutes of thinking.

Actually, it probably would’ve taken longer if my mom hadn’t gotten impatient and decided on ramen herself. While this entire situation may seem disappointing and underwhelming, the most unfortunate part is that this wasn’t the first time it had happened. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I hung out with my friends or family without having a mini existential crisis over what meal I should buy or how much sugar to add in my boba.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m terribly indecisive. I apologize if I seem over-dramatic, but one of my ultimate goals in life is to be efficient, and I’ve realized the main reason I haven’t been able to achieve this goal is because I can never make up my mind. One moment, I’m sure that I want one thing, then one second later, I debate over whether another option I never even considered in the first place would be the better choice.

I am continually reminded of this flaw of mine.

Picking a number between one and 10?

Unimaginable. Choosing a piece of candy from an assortment of brands and flavors?

Impossible. And of course, I haven’t even gotten started on those dreaded multiple choice tests.

I’m sure the answer is B. Hmm, but now that I look more closely, it could also be A. A or B? Which one should I choose? OK, I’ll choose B. Shoot, now D also looks right.

In fact, as I wrote this very column, I began to question if I should rewrite it because I kept doubting my writing ability. Of course, as you are currently reading EMILY XIA it, I decided to keep it, but it’s quite obvious that my inability to make up my mind is reflected in not just my speech, but also in my writing.

My indecisiveness is a parasite, attaching to my unaware self and appearing in the worst possible moments; I can’t seem to shake it off no matter what I do. The problem isn’t knowing that I’m indecisive — I’ve known that for quite some time — it’s that I haven’t tried to approach it. Although it’s always there, I’ve chosen to ignore it.

COMING OUT OF MY SHELL

ILLUST R

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Now that I look back, I wasn’t always like this. My kindergarten self could confidently choose the red lollipop every time without questioning every thought she was having.

Comparing the person I am now to the person I was then, I’m proud to say that I’ve vastly improved my character relating to my empathy and compassion, but I can’t deny that, for some reason, I’ve grown to be less confident about the decisions I make.

The truth is, I used to be blissfully uncaring and unaware of what others thought of me. In my efforts to become more kind and compassionate, to be generous and forgiving, I lost something that I never knew I had in the first place: self-worth.

Though the issue of indecisiveness itself is what I was trying to target in my attempts to “come out of my shell,” I realized that my indecisiveness stemmed from my fear of offending others, from what I thought was simply kindness.

I completely misunderstood and exaggerated what it meant to be polite.

I thought that by sitting back and letting others make the decision, I was doing the other person a favor, when in reality, it just annoyed everyone. But ultimately, the one who suffers the most from my problem is me. I’m unable to see that I shouldn’t let my lack of self-worth hinder my success.

This habit has to change. How can I say I’m assertive if I can’t even make my own decisions? I have to learn to trust my instincts more, to understand that although there are sometimes consequences for making the wrong decision, I can learn from them. Although it contradicts everything I’ve ever stood for, sometimes making the wrong decision is better than making no decision at all.

I can’t doubt myself, even for a second.

After all, who will have faith in me if I can’t believe in myself first?

So next time my mom asks me what restaurant to go to, I can’t exactly be sure about what I’m going to say, but I definitely know that I won’t second-guess myself again. And as I continue to write my columns through this journey of self-improvement, I’ll confidently keep writing. I trust my words, but more importantly, I trust myself. e

ILY X IA

AT ION | EM

Features

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | SARAH YOUNG

A & E | DECEMBER 2017 27 FEATURES| OCTOBER 2018 19

DREAM THEORY

Experts interpret the importance and meaning of dreams

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BY ROSHAN FERNANDEZ AND SARAH YOUNG

hen she found herself wondering Although precognitive dreams have gives an example of what the dream means, whether her relationship was not been clearly defined, Mascaro explains we have to own our projection, so we have to healthy, whether there would that it’s still important to pursue research say ‘If this were my dream, I think it means be a future, she turned to an in these types of fields and emphasizes the ‘blank.’” unlikely source for guidance: her dreams. the importance of paying attention to one’s Dr. Angel Morgan, another member “I asked [myself] when I was asleep, dreams. Her IASD colleague, Dr. Athena of the IASD, is a firm believer in what she ‘Dreaming mind, show me what I need to Kolinski, expands on this, explaining that one calls ‘dream circles.’ With a group of people know about this situation.’ And then in the dreams about the things that are important listening, the dreamer explains their dream dream, my boyfriend at the time was driving to them. and the others listen, reflecting on what they unsafely in the car, and [he] brought us to our “Your intuition speaks to you from believe it means. According to Morgan, these home, which was a barren shack. And there whatever you know and whatever you can be powerful interactions that really help was a little more detail, but that helped me understand,” Kolinski said. “So as you gain the dreamer gain understanding. She recalls think, ‘Ok I’m being cared for or more information on a particular example, where the group was driven in an unsafe manner to a these subjects, it can re-enacting the scene of a girl’s nightmare.

I ENCOURAGE place with nothing.’ And that’s speak to you, sending “She had a dream that a troll and a dragon EVERYONE TO PAY all I needed to know.” you symbols [through were chasing her around a coffee table … so ATTENTION TO THEIR Dr. Kimberly Mascaro, your dreams].” she cast a boy in the group as the dragon DREAMS AND WONDER a board member for the In order to and a girl in the group as a troll. I asked her WHAT THEY MEAN. THEY International Association for put those pieces how she felt, and she said I feel scared, I feel HELP US GROW AND the Study of Dreams (IASD), together, the IASD helpless, I feel silly,” Morgan said. “And I THEY HELP US DEVELOP. cited this anecdote from holds conferences said why don’t you turn around and chase her personal life as a way of DR. STEVEN NOURIANI that attract people them, and she said OK. And [after that] they explaining how dreams can be from all over the all started laughing because it was funny, helpful. In addition to the scenario above, world. Through both an annual conference and it just made her feel so much better she explains that dreams have helped her as well as numerous regional conferences, about the dream.” make important decisions about her career. people have the opportunity to delve deeper This kind of ‘therapy’ seems to be But beyond the helpful aspect of dreams, into the different areas of dreams through helpful, but one thing the IASD discourages Mascaro’s interest has shifted towards the seminars, workshops and presentations. is dream dictionaries. These are books that field of extraordinary dreams, a category These conferences are held across the world, people may reference to find the meaning which includes the more unusual types of including past events in Anaheim, Calif., of particular symbols that appear in their dreaming. Among these are precognitive Scottsdale, Ariz. and the 2019 conference dreams. Morgan and Kolinski encourage dreams, which is when one dreams of an will be held in the Netherlands. group discussion, as opposed to referencing event that may happen in the future. Though Personally, Kolinski enjoys workshops a dream dictionary, because every person’s there is anecdotal evidence that people where people share their dreams mind works in a may foresee extreme catastrophes in their and the entire group discusses different way. dreams, she says precognitive dreams are them. She emphasizes, however, “Say for instance, THE DREAMER usually more mellow. that nobody else has the right to you dream of a rose.

IS ALWAYS “[Some] people saw 9/11 in their dreams definitively tell someone what And then the dream THE ULTIMATE before it happened and they couldn’t their dream means –– they can book says its about AUTHORITY OF THEIR make sense of the event, they just did not only offer their opinion. love and fertility, so DREAM, SO NOBODY understand what they were seeing,” Mascaro “The dreamer is always you’re already set HAS THE RIGHT TO said. “[But] what we find is in precognitive the ultimate authority of their in that that’s what SAY ‘THIS IS WHAT dreams is usually … basic stuff like … the dream, so nobody has the right it means. But the YOUR DREAM MEANS wrong package being delivered to your door. to say ‘this is what your dream reality is, what if ABSOLUTELY,’ THAT’S It’s really benign stuff like that.” means absolutely,’ that’s not I’m dreaming about NOT HOW IT WORKS. The science behind precognitive dreams how it works,” Kolinski said. a rose, and the rose DR. ATHENA KOLINSKI is still unclear, but Mascaro believes the Even when someone else is reminds me of my answers lie within theoretical physics. sharing their dream, Kolinski grandmother named Research in this field can help explain how a says that she is still gaining Rose,” Kolinski said. dream can predict a future event. something from it. Because we all have “So we always need to look at the personal “We contemporary Westerners really different ideas about the way the world meaning, not just what happens in our dream only have one understanding of time, which works, she says hearing someone else’s but deeper, what is that symbol connecting is very linear,” Mascaro said. “Other cultures point of view is beneficial. us to, what is it saying. That’s something have a different understanding of time which “When we’re hearing a dream, we’re only you know.” is not linear –– it may be a sort of circle or interpreting it from what we know in our own Dr. Steven Nouriani agrees with this as a something like that.” mind,” Kolinski said. “When I or anybody practicing psychotherapist. He believes that

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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | TYLER CHO, ROSHAN FERNANDEZ AND SARAH YOUNG

dreams have multiple layers to them, originating from an individual’s life and relationships and stemming from the state of unconsciousness.

“There’s this whole theoretical model that we have [an] unconscious and [a] conscious,” Nouriani said. “We believe dreams come from … the unconscious –– the psyche is [constantly] trying to balance our consciousness with our unconsciousness.”

Nouriani follows the Jungian belief, a way of thinking that emphasizes the individual psyche and personal quest for wholeness. Following this, dreams reflect the unconscious and internal conflicts.

When he hears a client’s dream, Nouriani takes a deeper look at the symbols from a Jungian perspective.

“Jungians have an amplification method in which we go beyond the symbols and try to apply what we know about mythology and fairytales and culture,” Nouriani said. “So, for example, the dog [symbol] can have different stories in fairy tales or mythology, and then we bring these other kind of associations at the cultural level to understand what other meanings these symbols might have.”

Similar to Kolinski, Nouriani looks for symbols in dreams and what these symbols mean to the individual.

“No two dreams are alike; they are always different,” Nouriani said. “The same way that your thumbprint is different from someone else’s –– you have the same thumb as other people but the thumb print is still different, and so you have to have a certain

level of expertise to decipher the meaning.”

One thing all of these experts share in common is they all encourage individuals to record their dreams and think about their meaning. With dreams being so intrinsically connected to the unique individual, Kolinski, Mascaro, Morgan and Nouriani are there to provide guidance, but never insert meaning.

“We all believe dreams are just there and we can understand them –– we have to work with the person to understand,” Nouriani said. “It’s good for people to be interested in dreams because they constantly try to help us be more conscious; I encourage everyone to pay attention to their dreams and wonder what they mean. They help us grow and they help us develop.” e

FEATURES | OCTOBER 2018

21

DREAMSCAPE

Students reveal their craziest dreams

BY LAASYA KODURU AND ANNIE ZHANG

MVHS students share the most vivid dreams they have encountered. From outrageous thrillers to barbarous animals on the loose, these dreams exhibit and retell stimulating stories.

SOPHOMORE MEHA GUPTA At roughly five or six years old, sophomore Meha Gupta endured recurring nightmares. Gupta describes how she and her friends were residing in the upstairs bedroom while her parents were downstairs. Suddenly, a lion with a vibrant red luxurious mane burst through the front door and mounted the stairway; it rampaged into the bedroom, barbarically charging at Gupta.

PHOTO | ROSHAN FERNANDEZ

SOPHOMORE REVA LALWANI Sophomore Reva Lalwani recollects a spontaneous dream, dating back to when she was in seventh grade. A portion of Lalwani’s choir group vacationed to Tokyo for a brief summer program.

Opting out of the vacation, the group rode unicorns. As every member selected their respective unicorn to ride, Lalwani’s friend claimed the unicorn Lalwani wanted, resulting in a quarrel.

To settle the dispute, Lalwani’s teacher alternatively brought Lalwani to a “sketchy tavern,” instantly transporting from Tokyo to a desert. Drawing out a miniature wooden figurine of a “horseelephant,” Lalwani’s teacher prompted her to sit on it. As Lalwani mounted the figurine, it grew huge and whisked Lalwani away. As the motorized horse traveled at 100 miles per hour, Lalwani rode back to Tokyo and conclusively fell off the house on a red Japanese tourist bridgegate.

PHOTO | ROSHAN FERNANDEZ

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CHEMISTRY TEACHER MIA ONODERA Chemistry teacher Mia Onodera describes her dream — she runs around in a disorderly frenzy trying to locate her runaway son. While doing so, she runs into a colleague who wants to watch the Superbowl together. Upon agreement, Onodera promptly sits down to watch but then needs to relocate her son once more. In retrospect, Onodera perceives that the dreams she can vividly recollect are recurring, as part of her subconsciousness. She believes that these dreams correlate to having a “conversation with certain individuals” she knows.

Interestingly enough, none of the people in her dreams are “faceless.”

PHOTO | LAASYA KODURU

FRESHMAN ARIANE CHEN

Freshman Ariane Chen recounts a particular dream where she jumped off a second story school balcony, structured similarly to MVHS and into a “field” in her friend’s car, who also happened to be driving it. Both Chen and her friend were going on a road trip and went into a gas station. There, Chen remembers seeing “sketchy” people doing drugs, and she and her friend drove away.

PHOTO | ROSHAN FERNANDEZ

SOPHOMORE REBECCA HALCIN

In her dream, sophomore Rebecca Halcin vividly recalls how her music teacher tried to kill all 100 students enrolled in her class.

Halcin describes how her teacher yearned for the death of her unabiding students because she wanted them to work as a cohesive team of singers. The students and Halcin escaped by scrambling up a tree branch in a forest situated in a ship on a beach. Every time Halcin’s music teacher attempted to ascend the trees, Halcin and the party of students would discreetly hasten down the trees and scuttle to a secluded area. Halcin says she and the students jumped off the ship as an escape route and took the teacher in captivity. The outcome was that a credit card was heinously stolen from the choir teacher and used.

PHOTO | ROSHAN FERNANDEZ

ILLUSTRATIONS | LAASYA KODURU AND ANNIE ZHANG

FEATURES | OCTOBER 2018

23

LIVING THE DREAM

Lucid dreamers reflect on their most vivid dreaming experiences

C

BY TYLER CHO AND JAI UPARKAR ruising along the streets of San Francisco, she lazily shifted her gaze to the passenger window. Glancing up, her eyes widened as she stared, transfixed, Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” twinkling back at her in the sky. Smirking to herself in hopefulness, she reached towards her arm and pulled her skin, watching in amazement as it stretched limitlessly. She then dove out the window, rolling to her feet and sprinting through the strangely empty streets of the Golden City. With the wind flying through her hair and her toes barely skimming the ground, she was determined to take flight.

Blood was pumping through her head and she was almost there, almost airborne — just to wake up under the cozy covers of her bed.

Breathing deeply, she simply lay there for a few seconds, a minute, an hour, frozen in awe and wonder.

Just like that, it had happened. It was 3 a.m. and sophomore Pearl Raina had just woken up after lucid dreaming for the first time. Raina, intrigued by the concept of lucid dreaming, did research to guide herself through the process.

“One thing about lucid dreaming is that it’s really fast,” Raina said. “I had the lucid dream for 10 minutes and then I woke up again. You snap out of it when you lucid dream the first time. Once you actually know how to control it and be comfortable, you can extend that time.”

According to Dr. Clare Johnson, president of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, lucid dreaming is a state of dreaming where one is aware of the fact that they are dreaming even during a dream. Though it is not necessary to qualify as a lucid dream, this self-conscious awareness enables the dreamer to guide and shape their dream as they wish.

“Scientific studies show that lucid dreaming can even help us to improve physical skills such as s w i m m i ng and kickb o x i n g , because when we practice these skills in a lucid dream, we

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feeling of delighted discovery tends to remain when we wake up from a lucid dream, and can enhance our daily life.”

Junior Anika Mittal, in contrast to Raina, is a regular lucid dreamer and experiences them once a month for the last five years.

“I just thought [lucid dreaming] was normal for some reason,” Mittal said. “I just thought, ‘okay this is cool’ and I just kept on going, and then this week [my friends and I] started talking about lucid dreaming, and I realized that I lucid dream, and that it’s not normal.”

According to Raina, in order to gain control, one first has to realize they are dreaming.

She uses a metaphor of a painting to describe the process of recognizing if you’re in a dream.

“One way you can realize this is if you look at the sky, your brain doesn’t understand the sky,” Raina said.

“So if you actually pay attention to it, it’s like a painting. And your brain doesn’t understand gravity, so if you look down, you’re either floating or you’re swimming. If you realize that, then your brain knows, like, ‘Oh, I’m in a dream.’”

Raina’s favorite part of lucid dreaming is having control over it. She enjoys creating a plot and manipulating her dream to fit that story.

“One thing is that once you learn how to lucid dream, it is the coolest thing ever,” Raina said. “Because for my dreams, I like storylines, so when you can actually control it, and it’s the oddest experience because you can control everything. One second you can feel like you’re eating chocolate and the other second you’re running.”

In contrast, Mittal’s favorite aspects of lucid dreaming are the freedom and adventure that come along with it. “[Lucid dreaming] was super exhilarating,” Mittal said.

“Whenever [lucid dreaming] happens, I love it so much. I want to just keep on dreaming because it’s like I’m living in a different life that I could never have.” e PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | TYLER CHO

strengthen the muscle memory and neural pathways related to that activity,” Johnson wrote in an email. “The only negative health effects might be lack of sleep when a person becomes obsessed with getting lucid in their dreams to the extent that they disregard the need for deep, recuperative sleep.”

Lucid dreaming occurs in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of the sleep cycle, similar to regular dreaming. When compared to non-lucid REM sleep, certain parts of the brain are more active than others when lucid dreaming. According to Johnson, lucid dreaming has many health benefits including nightmare relief and easing anxiety and depression.

“There are many techniques for becoming lucid in a dream,” Johnson wrote. “It’s possible to enter a lucid dream directly from the waking state, by observing the hypnagogic (pre-sleep) images that arise in our mind’s eye as we are on the cusp of sleep, and then following these into a three-dimensional, moving dream scene.”

Johnson had her first flash of lucidity at the age of three. As she grew up, she continued to lucid dream, and as a result, decided to pursue it in an academic context.

“There is a surge of hyperaware consciousness when we get lucid, and the dream imagery responds by becoming super-vivid and clear, as if even dream armchairs and dream p ebble s are alive, conscious entities,” Johnson wrote.

“It is quite astonishing and marvellous when it first happens, as there is a deep sense of wonder present.

This

psychics be crazy

What I learned (and didn’t) after a psychic analyzed my recurring dream

BY CLAIRE CHANG

T

his is not just some random dream.

This is what Star Torus, a psychic from the website AskNow, told me over the phone.

In my recurring dream, I am young, with my childhood nanny and brother, all upstairs. A violent hog, able to open doors but not climb stairs, opens our front door and stands at the bottom of our staircase.

For some reason, the three of us see no other alternative other than to jump off the staircase, one by one, and get eaten by the hog. I always jump last.

When I was first faced with the prospect of going to a psychic to get this dream analyzed, I was curious — what would they say? Could they really tell me what the dream meant, if it meant anything at all?

But that curiosity soon turned to apprehension and dread. I thought psychics were crazy, and my imagination ran wild.

What if they got into my head and made me believe something completely irrational?

What if they actually told me some dark, undiscovered secret about myself that I didn’t already know? These questions kept circling in my head, scaring me.

Yet, my curiosity got the better of me, and I chose to get a reading over the phone; it seemed safer. After talking to a customer service person, an automated machine, and listening to hold music for 20 minutes, I finally reached a woman who called herself Star Torus. As she started telling me the various things she thought my dream meant, I was incredulous, and found myself struggling to stifle laughter.

The first explanation she told me was that I had ancestor trauma.

“One of my gifts is that I can see into your genealogy,” Torus said. “I can see your ancestors, what issues they’ve had.

The belief is that you actually inherit these traumas from your ancestors.”

Her initial belief was that I was somehow experiencing problems in my life due to the bad deeds of my ancestors two or three generations back. The collective suicide in my dream, then, means that I “basically gave up [my] life for the past,” Torus said.

As she tells me this, I think to myself, Does she actually believe the things she’s telling me?

How is she even coming up with this stuff?

The vague nature of PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | CLAIRE CHANG

her dream analysis became even cloudier when she cited where her insights came from. More than once, she said the idea of ancestral trauma came from “native belief,” which means absolutely nothing. Native to who? Where did it originate?

When I researched ancestral trauma after the reading, there was little credible evidence of its existence. All examples of transgenerational trauma relate to intense tragedies like the Holocaust and the Great Depression — things neither I nor my ancestors have experienced. And, I don’t trust Torus enough to even investigate the possibility of ancestral trauma in my life.

On the AskNow website, Torus’ credentials include “certified fairyologist” and “ordained minister.” A fairyologist, I Googled, is someone who thinks they can connect with fairies. And anyone can become an ordained minister online.

The absurd credentials Torus and other psychics have revealed how much of their profession is based on their clients’ blind trust and belief. Someone labeling themself as a psychic is all people need to believe what they’re saying: no credentials necessary.

The second explanation Torus gave me for my dream is that I’ve experienced trauma I don’t r e m e m b e r.

She tells me multiple times how worried she is for me.

“It’s very scary. I feel terrible to tell you this, but ... something has terribly happened to you.”

There is something quite unsettling about someone telling you that something terrible has happened to you, when you know that nothing has. It seems as if readings can be very hit or miss — for all Torus knows, there was a traumatic event in my life. If there had been, I would have been much more easily convinced of her reading.

I realized that’s probably what happens to many who continue to trust psychics. What psychics say must be vague enough, must be lucky enough, for their client to resonate and connect with.

Going into the reading, I wouldn’t have even called myself a skeptic; I had no faith whatsoever in the psychic. I strongly believed that psychics were completely off their rockers, and that their profession and livelihoods were basically a joke. I could not understand how any logical person could trust a psychic to tell them about themself, and actually believe what the psychic says.

For some reason, I am disappointed to say that my opinion of psychics didn’t change after my reading. I had hoped that I would be able to understand where psychics were coming from or why people went to them for advice in the first place.

Yet, the idea of having crazy intense dreams and wanting to understand them is not a foreign idea to me. I have complicated dreams, evidenced by the hog dream, all the time, but don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure them out. I don’t have a problem with people analyzing their dreams; to me, the idea of keeping a dream journal and speculating about what dreams could mean isn’t unreasonable — in fact, many do.

What seems so strange to me is that psychics are managing to convince other people that they can tell them what their dream means, and that they’re making so much money off of that illogical trust. The insanity of their profession was only further reinforced at the end of my reading, when I asked Torus if she could tell me something more specific.

“Yeah, that’s a good ques-” she responded, before being cut off by the automated phone system. My paid 15 minutes was up, and AskNow wanted to charge nine dollars for another minute. I hung up.

Nothing she tells me is worth the time or money. e

FEATURES | OCTOBER 2018 25

Crafts, Cooking and Chills

Halloween, the contraction of All Hallows’ Evening, is a holiday based on the ancient Celtic festival Samhain, when people would often wear costumes to protect themselves from ghosts. Now, Halloween has become a fun time for people to go trick-or-treating or enjoy costume parties.

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PHOTO | SARA ENTEZAR

A&E

DEAR HALLOWEEN, A letter to my childhood obsession

BY LAKSHANYAA GANESH

Y

ou used to be my absolute favorite next day that I didn’t study for that gave me holiday. Every year, I’d beg my parents goosebumps. Instead of cackling in delight to go candy shopping as soon as they when I’ve finally convinced my parents to lined the Target aisles with spooky splurge on decorations celebrating you, I black bats and cartoonish pumpkins, groan and complain as my parents drag me replacing September’s school supplies. I around Target, barely even noticing the bats wanted to make sure our house was the or pumpkins anymore.

I guess that the fading of the spark you house — known for having the best selection brought me of candy. I wanted may have had the jackpot something to do — king-sized with growing Kit-Kats, Twix, up, but…that’s Swedish Fish not fair. I don’t and Airheads. I want to view secretly hoped you as just my parents would another day buy an extra bag because I have or two just for my LAKSHANYAA GANESH responsibilities brother and me to now. I don’t split, but alas that want to be measuring my months in test never happened.

I’d start planning my costume months dates over holidays. I want that specific in advance, consulting my collection of feeling of overwhelming excitement after Party City costume catalogs for ideas. By seeing the Target aisles decked with spooky the time October rolled around, I’d have paraphernalia to come back, instead of gone through at least 20 different versions trying to shake off the discomfort that of seemingly the same witch or pop star or comes with realizing all the paraphernalia bumblebee costume, but never seemed to represents capitalism at its finest.

Now, if you were a real and physical find the perfect one until October 30.

The night before, I didn’t get much sleep being, you’d probably roll your eyes and in anticipation of knocking on doors and scoff. At the end of the day, I do have a say in asking strangers for candy. You were the what “growing up” consists of. It’s so much only excuse I had for being able to wear a easier to brush you off and claim that tall black witch hat around all day and not you, and all other holidays, are little be questioned. If you, unfortunately, fell more than tools for capitalist on a school day, nobody would be able to propaganda, rendering sit still. Our teachers would succumb to all of y’all useless. It’s our excitement and would replace normal easier to blame my lack curriculum with fun coloring pages and of excitement when word searches that were themed around it comes to you on you. Especially during the earlier years of growing up, rather than elementary school, the school held costume acknowledging my own parades, during which we would happily shift in priorities. Instead spend two hours of the day showing off our of my head brimming sparkly costumes to our friends and parents. with costume ideas and But, as the years went on, the spark fantasies of eating candy that you brought me started to fade. Every everyday until New Years, year after elementary school, the magic my head now swims that had seemed to come with the turn of with math formulas and the seasons fizzled out. Suddenly, fall was biology concepts.

But who says I can’t about school starting again, not about going trick-or-treating. Instead of feeling have room for both? the thrill of roaming the neighborhood Until now, I’ve never realized that with my friends at night, the last time I really went trick-or-treating two years ago, I just growing up and getting felt cold and uncomfortable. The spooky excited about seemingly skeletons guarding every house weren’t “childish” things aren’t what sent chills down my spine, though; mutually exclusive. This it was remembering I had a math test the year, I’ve noticed the

LOVE, LAKSHANYAA

spark is starting to come back.

Crunchy leaves are starting to litter the sidewalks again, and the crisp October breeze is slowly stirring that old feeling of excitement awake.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still quite a bit of math formulas swimming around in my head, but the other day, I spent a solid half hour fantasizing about the the bucket of candy filled to the brim that my not quite as cynical, eight year old brother would bring home. When October rolled around this year, I was actually excited about the start of the holiday season – and not just because that meant more breaks from school.

I found my old pointy witch hat buried in the back of my closet the other day, and I might whip it out and go for a stroll around the neighborhood with my brother when it’s time to celebrate you this year. I think I’m starting to fall back in love with you, to the point where you may be my absolute favorite holiday again. Because hey, nobody ever said I couldn’t memorize formulas while wearing a witch’s hat.

Love, Lakshanyaa e

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A & E | OCTOBER 2018

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T REAT YOURSELF Spooky creations for any Halloween party

BY ROBERT LIU AND JAHAN RAZAVI

GRAVEYARD CAKE Who doesn’t love a chocolate cake? Make this tasty dessert that fits the theme of Halloween by adding some tombstones on top.

Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups sifted flour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/3 cup boiling water 3/4 cup milk 2 sticks (or 1/2 lb) and 2 tbsp unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 16 oz can of chocolate frosting Various cookies Milanos (for tombstones) 1 tube black icing 1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 13-by-9 inch pan and sprinkle in flour until coated.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in one bowl. Stir the cocoa, water and milk until smooth in another.

3. Use a mixer to whisk the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the flour and cocoa mixtures.

4. Spread the batter in the pan. Bake, rotate once halfway and cook until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

5. Cool in the pan for one hour, then remove the cake from pan.

6. Crush cookies and cover the top and sides. Add chocolate frosting.

7. Pipe “RIP,” a grave symbol and other desired Halloween related words onto the cookies and place on top.

SOURCE | myrecipes.com

SWAMP MONSTER SPAGHETTI Halloween treats don’t just have to be sweet. Prepare this quick pasta dish and enjoy a healthier treat this Halloween.

Ingredients: For sauce: 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef 3 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt separated 2 1/2 teaspoons black pepper separated 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 yellow onion finely diced 1/2 red bell pepper seeded, stemmed and finely diced 2 cloves minced garlic 1 large 28 ounces can crushed tomatoes 1 small 14 ounces can crushed tomatoes 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon granulated sugar For pasta: Salt 1 pound dried spaghetti 1/2 teaspoon black gel food coloring 1/3 whole pimento-stuffed green olives Instructions Sauce: 1. Place ground beef, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper in Dutch oven (or large saucepan) over medium-high heat. Break apart with spatula and cook until browned (around 10 minutes). Stir often.

2. Place the meat into a colander. Clean the Dutch oven and add tomatoes, paste, sugar, 1.5 teaspoon salt and 1.5 teaspoon pepper. Stir and simmer for 20 minutes on medium-low heat. Set this aside.

3. Add onions and peppers to heated pan, sauté with oil for five minutes, add garlic and sauté for one minute.

Spaghetti: 1. Stir food coloring in boiling water, then add the spaghetti.

Cook the spaghetti according to instructions on the package.

Transfer to platter and add the sauce. Bon Appétit!

SOURCE | theanthonykitchen.com

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BLOODY CUPS For vegans, Halloween can be a difficult holiday, since most treats require milk or eggs. But never fear! This unique recipe, tailored to vegans, is easy to modify.

Ingredients: 1 cup frozen raspberries 1 tablespoon rice syrup or maple syrup 1 3/4 cup vegan baking chocolate or chocolate chips 1. Heat the frozen raspberries in a small pot on medium-high heat until soft. Mash the raspberries until there are no large chunks and add rice syrup. Stir the mixture and set aside to cool.

2. In a double boiler, melt one cup of chocolate.

Meanwhile, place eight muffin liners in a muffin pan.

3. Place about 1 1/2 teaspoons of melted chocolate in the muffin liners and tilt them, so the chocolate spreads to the sides. Repeat for all the muffin liners and place it into the fridge for a few minutes until the chocolate hardens.

4. Melt 3/4 cup of chocolate into the double boiler.

Meanwhile, add about a teaspoon of raspberry filling into the chocolate coated muffin liners. Once the chocolate has melted, pour it over the raspberry filling.

Tilt it a bit so the top is covered with the chocolate completely. Let it harden in the fridge for about five minutes, then remove cupcake liners.

SOURCE | elephantasticvegan.com

VAMPIRE CUPCAKES The perfect Halloween treat, these cupcakes provide a traditional red velvet cake in a simpler form serving as a tasty snack for this iconic holiday.

Ingredients: For the cupcake: 1 3/4 cups cake flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon fine salt 1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup sour cream 1 tablespoon red food coloring 2 teaspoons cider vinegar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 large egg, at room temperature One 3-ounce semisweet chocolate bar 1 teaspoon coconut oil 1 cup raspberry jam For the frosting: 8 ounces packaged cream cheese at room temperature 6 tablespoons cubed unsalted butter at room temperature 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2. Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, sour cream, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and egg in another large bowl.

3. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until incorporated. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick can come out of a cupcake with moist crumbs. Remove cupcakes from tin and cool completely.

4. Microwave chocolate and coconut oil together in a small microwave-safe bowl for about one minute, until completely melted.

5. Use a knife to cut out and remove cake from the middle of each cupcake. Do not cut to the bottom, but leave a 1/4-inch border around the side. Brush the holes with the melted chocolate and place in the freezer until the chocolate hardens 6. Whisk together the jam, one drop of red food coloring and one tablespoon water in a small bowl until completely smooth. Spoon one tablespoon of the jam into each of the chocolate holes; set aside.

7. Cream cheese frosting: Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in the butter until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about one minute. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe on top of the cupcakes so the jam is covered.

SOURCE | foodnetwork.com PHOTO | RUTH FENG

A & E | OCTOBER 2018

29

FRIGHT NIGHT Six unconventional films to get in the Halloween spirit

BY SARA ENTEZAR AND RUTH FENG

30

EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO | RUTH FENG

“SE7EN” (1995)

“DONNIE DARKO” (2001)

“WOULD YOU RATHER” (2012)

SYNOPSIS

SYNOPSIS

SYNOPSIS

Homicide detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) discover a number of gruesome and unusual murders. As the victim count grows in number, an unruly pattern appears: each victim embodies one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

A schizophrenic teenager, Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), has frequent visions of a man in a bunny costume. His parents, out-of-touch with their troubled son, sign him up for hypnotic therapy.

However, these visions persist. Donnie continues living his life with his girlfriend from school (Jena Malone), but everything falls into disorder as he fails to distinguish the real from the fake.

A young woman, Iris (Brittany Snow), in a desperate attempt to help her sickly brother, agrees to a dinner invitation that promises participants a chance to win a large sum of money. The game? Sadistic rounds of “Truth or Dare” alongside seven other players, gruesomely “eliminating” contestants along the way.

Our rating: 5/5 Rating: R Director: David Fincher Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt

OUR TAKE With a groundbreaking cast, “Se7en” tackles the mysterious mind of a killer who justifies his homicides based on the Christian teachings of the Seven Deadly Sins. The detectives provide the viewers the same confusion they feel in the investigation as they try to unravel the mind of the killer.

“Se7en” is not for the faint of heart, since gruesome aftermaths of the killings are unapologetically depicted, especially for the murders of gluttony and lust.

However, the film provides more than just nauseating cinematography as the psychological plot twist will make you groan. The perversely bizarre murders, never shown in action, provoke the viewer’s own imagination to picture the scenes themselves and combine the visual horror with the bone-chilling images.

“ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE” (2013)

Our rating: 2/5 Rating: Not Rated Director: Lucky McKee, Chris Sivertson Stars: Caitlin Stasey, Tom Williamson

SYNOPSIS After a star cheerleader dies performing a stunt, her best friend Maddy Killian (Caitlin Stasey) joins the team in her honor. Maddy befriends other cheerleaders, who soon realize she wants to avenge her friend’s death. Maddy targets the star of the football team, Terry (Tom Williamson), her best friend’s ex-boyfriend. Unbeknownst to him, the girls have supernatural powers that take the football team down a very bloody, vengeful road.

OUR TAKE Although it’s not the most nuanced or complex movie, “All Cheerleaders Die” doesn’t let the audience catch their breath. The femme fatale narrative drives this story, with a girl clique out for revenge and a football team unaware of the consequences of their actions. This movie trades in the traditional narrative of a horror movie for the perfect blend of teenage drama and the gore that every thriller needs.

Our rating: 4/5 Rating: R Director: Richard Kelly Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone

OUR TAKE Don’t make the mistake of watching this by yourself — the bunny man is not forgiving. Donnie himself doesn’t even know the depth of what he’s getting himself into, but he’s not afraid to do all he can to figure it out. This film is confusing, but in all the right ways. With a dysfunctional family life and all the quirks of high school, it pays homage to the traditional coming-of-age film… except a human-sized bunny is involved.

On Halloween night, follow Donnie as he tries to save the world. It’s helpful to have someone to talk to throughout the movie because this unconventional coming-of-age thriller is a tough one to crack. A background in theoretical physics also wouldn’t hurt.

Our rating: 4/5 Rating: Not Rated Director: David Guy Levy Stars: Brittany Snow, June Squibb

OUR TAKE If you’re in for something more than just gruesome, “Would You Rather” is your psychological slap in the face for the Halloween season. The characters in the film resort to sabotage and violence in order to win the cash prize. With the majority of the film set at a dinner table, the focus of the film is clear: we’re looking inside the minds of the characters, especially Iris, who is engrossed in saving her ailing brother.

In a jumble to analyze the characters’ choices, you’ll tense up, flinch and even close your eyes at the gory scenes that’ll make you questions your own limits. Horror, thriller and psychological travesty all around, “Would You Rather” introduces plot twist after plot twist to ensure a spooky Halloween movie night.

“THE BABADOOK” (2014)

“GET OUT” (2017)

SYNOPSIS

SYNOPSIS

Our rating: 3/5 Rating: Not Rated Director: Jennifer Kent Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman

Amelia (Essie Davis), a widow struggling to cope with her husband’s death, lives with her only child, Samuel, whose unusual tantrums and fear of monsters take a toll on Amelia. This is only the beginning for her as she discovers a mysterious book about the “Babadook.”

OUR TAKE A combination of a deranged child and eerie cinematic scenes, “The Babadook” will consistently keep you on the edge of your seat. This psychological horror peels back the layers of Amelia’s traumatized mind and leaves her in a struggle to love her child.

The monster symbolizes Amelia’s suppressed frustration towards Samuel, condemning him for her late husband’s passing. As Amelia continuously trashes the book, the monster returns stronger than before, framing the psychological battle to accept her son. More than just class-A jump scares and ‘dun-dun-duns,’ “The Babadook” will make for a creepy Halloween night film.

Our rating: 5/5 Rating: R Director: Jordan Peele Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams Young black protagonist Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is invited to meet the parents of his white girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams). When he gets to their family cabin, the father’s (Bradley Whitford) sensitive behavior around his race is nothing new. Chris notices the parents’ concerning behavioral patterns and is forced to piece together the warning signs and get out before it’s too late.

OUR TAKE “I would’ve voted for Obama for a third term” simply seems like a mundane microaggression, right? The father repeats this three times throughout Chris’ stay. Jordan Peele brings everything to the table with this film — there are countless instances of symbolism and allusions to black history. Confusion turns into shock, shock into rushes of adrenaline as you see Chris race against time to uncover the underlying danger in this family cabin.

You’ll never view Froot Loops and milk the same way again.

A & E | OCTOBER 2018

31

LOW [COST ]UMES Three easy and affordable DIY Halloween costumes

BY ALYSSA HUI AND RUCHA SOMAN

32

DEVILED EGG

DR. PEPPER

PIG IN A BLANKET

For a twist on the devil costume, be a deviled egg this Halloween. Stick a yolk on your stomach and a headband on your head and you’re all set.

This fizzy costume keeps you comfortable in your own clothes. Simply make a stethoscope and a name tag and you’re good to go.

Stay warm on Halloween by wrapping yourself in a blanket with this take on the classic food: pigs in a blanket.

Materials: 1 white shirt 1 yellow construction paper 1 red construction paper 1 headband Scissors Glue/Tape Any Pants Optional: Red jacket

Materials: 1 short sleeve shirt and bootcut pants of the same color 1 black headband 1 black construction paper Sweatshirt string/shoelace/ribbon Glue/tape Scissors Black marker

Directions: 1. Using the yellow construction paper, cut out a large oval to represent the yolk in the egg.

2. Tape the yolk to the center of the white shirt.

3. With the red construction paper, cut out two crescent moon shapes.

4. Take the cutouts and fold them over the headband, then tape or glue the two sides together to make the horns.

5. Put on the shirt, headband, any pair of pants and an optional jacket to become a deviled egg.

Directions: 1. Attach one end of the ribbon to the middle of the headband.

2. Cut out a circle from the black paper.

3. Paste the circle on the other end of the ribbon. You just made your stethoscope.

4. Using the construction paper, cut out a 1 inch by 4 inch rectangle.

5. Write “Dr. Pepper” on the cut out rectangle and paste it on the shirt as a name tag.

6. Put on matching clothes to represent scrubs and hang your newly made stethoscope around your neck.

EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

Materials: 1 pink shirt 1 blanket 1 headband 1 dark pink construction paper 1 light pink construction paper String Scissors Glue/Tape Directions: 1. Cut out ears with the darker pink construction paper and larger ears from the lighter pink paper.

2. Paste the ears onto the headband.

3. Cut an oval out of the lighter pink paper and two small circles out of the darker pink paper.

4. Paste the smaller circles onto the oval to make a nose.

5. Attach the nose to the string.

6. Wear a pink shirt, put on your headband with your newly made ears and wrap yourself in a blanket to be a pig in a blanket.

PHOTO | ALYSSA HUI

SPORTS

HIS WATCHFUL EYES How I started playing tennis for myself

A

s another ball went flying off the court, I looked over at my dad and threw my hands up in frustration. Slumping my shoulders in reaction, I looked at him again defeated and annoyed. Patiently, his eyes conveyed a message: stay loose. I nodded my head and moved on to the next point.

My dad was an open book when it came to my tennis. If I were playing badly, I could feel his cold stare radiating with anger and stabbing me in the back. I didn’t even have to look at him to know how he felt about my performance. I knew that some days, when he was just too frustrated, he would simply walk away, leaving me to clean up the mess I made on the court.

His expectations for me were too high.

Slowly, I began to feel the pressure pile up and because of that, I wasn’t playing with the freedom I had before. Every step on the court was to prove to my father –– not myself –– that I belonged there. I was playing the game to satisfy him, and that’s how my habit of looking to my dad for assurance started.

His approval was the only thing I sought when I played tennis. Everything I did was

for him. I depended on him. My tennis depended on him so much that when he stopped coming to my matches at the age of 15, I fell apart.

The first match I played without him watching, I caught myself many times looking over my shoulder — but he wasn’t there. I lost that match because my mind was clouded.

Why he was sitting in the car instead of watching me play? Did he stop caring?

Was he too disappointed JAI UPARKAR to watch me play? Had he given up on me?

After I reported the score to the official, I began the walk back to the car to face my dad. Sitting in the car, I started to cry and blamed him for my loss. I blamed him because he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there to support me, guide me, believe in me. He just sat there looking at me and said, “This is exactly the reason why I don’t watch your games.”

He stood by his statement. He didn’t come to any of my matches after that. It took me

LESSONS FROM THE COURT

some time to get accustomed to not having anyone there to depend on, rely on, to tell me ‘It’s okay, keep going. You got this.’ The presence of my dad had dictated the way I played tennis for six years. When he was watching, I would make it a point to finish points at the net, with a volley or overhead, just to impress him, to prove to him my game wasn’t one dimensional.

As time went on, I found myself looking at the ground shaking my hands, as if I were shaking my mistakes off, when I made a mistake, instead of looking over and finding my dad. As time went on, I began to feel the weight of my father’s expectations slowly lift off my shoulders. I felt as if I was breaking through invisible steel chains that restricted me for so long. Each match I played without the prescence of my dad weakened the stregnth of the iron grip around to my feet until I was set free. As time went on, I began to believe in myself. As time went on, I no longer need my dad’s approval.

Maybe my dad did have a plan for me all along. Albeit it wasn’t in the easiest form, but it made me a better person and player.

He taught me a life lesson that there won’t always be someone in my corner to support me. I started playing for myself. e

I BLAMED HIM BECAUSE HE WASN’T THERE. HE WASN’T THERE TO SUPPORT ME, GUIDE ME, BELIEVE IN ME. HE JUST SAT THERE LOOKING AT ME AND SAID, “THIS IS EXACTLY THE REASON WHY I DON’T WATCH YOUR GAMES.”

SPORTS | OCTOBER 2018

33

FILLING THE EMPTY SEATS This is where you write your caption.

PHOTO | YOUR NAME

Low attendance at MVHS athletic games calls for changes by new Student Athletic Senate

T

BY RANA AGHABABAZADEH AND ANISH VASUDEVAN

There was a time at MVHS when the football bleachers were so packed that a crowd, four to five people deep, stood around the perimeter of the field. There was always anticipation of the Friday-night football games in the fall, and fights burst out after basketball matches in the winter.

In recent years, however, this culture has shifted, and high school game attendance is low. According to an article by the Los Angeles Times, the reason for low attendance at games in the last decade has been mainly due to high ticket prices. However, this is not as apparent at MVHS since most sporting events are free with ASB, or only a few dollars for those without it.

According to senior and boys water polo captain Damian Pow, a problem that strikes a lot of MVHS students is time. Why go to a football game when you could stay at home and study for your next test?

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EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO | ANISH VASUDEVAN

AN

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICK BONACORSI

The Student Athletic Senators from left to right: Senior Cheto Vasquez, senior Bill Deacon, senior Akshay Gopalkrishnan, junior Kyle Tsujimoto, junior Hannah Risher, senior Heather Migdal, sophomore Sara Valtanen and senior Roann Acot.

This year, MVHS athletic director Nick Bonacorsi and players from the MVHS athletic teams have worked together to create the Student Athletic Senate. The Senate consists of players and captains nominated by each athletic team for their leadership and character.

The Senate meets a few times a month and creates goals for the year. One of these is increasing attendance at sports games, especially for field hockey and water polo.

A solution proposed to meet this goal was the addition of staff appreciation games.

Players on these teams are to invite a chosen staff member to a home game, hopefully encouraging them and others to attend the game. According to junior and field hockey captain Isabelle Dingli, the varsity captains collaborated and made mason jars filled with a hot chocolate mix, garnished with a purple and yellow ribbon and a note inviting staff members to the game.

Along with individual changes, the athletic department has integrated a new point system that awards teams for different activities.

Attending other sports’ games and posting on a team social media account are part of this initiative. Scan the QR code to learn more about the new point system.

30%

Attend at least one game a month on average *According to a survey of 369 MVHS students

Despite these changes, Dingli says that attendance has gradually decreased since the start of the season. She also admits that the point system has been the sole source of increasing attendance at games, since teams are awarded with points if they support other teams. Dingli remains optimistic and believes the system does more than just invite staff members. “[The system] is also just the massive encouragement for each player to tell their friends to come to more games rather than just ignoring the games that are said on the announcements,” Dingli said. “I think that also people, especially freshmen, don’t even know that there is a field hockey team at MVHS, so [we] just want to raise awareness about the team and [get students] to come out and support it.”

One sport that doesn’t face these SCAN FOR problems is baseball, which often has a larger FURTHER crowd compared to COVERAGE other sports. Mehrnaz Hada, mother of senior baseball player Ryan Hada explained some of the elements of why high attendance is such the case.

According to Mehrnaz, parents are an integral part of supporting the teams as a whole and not just their own children.

Mehrnaz also has a daughter who swam

88%

Believe nonattendance is due to lack of interest in sports or a preference to stay home *According to a survey of 382 MVHS students

for the MVHS team. For the Hada family, there was always at least one or two of their family members at the kids’ meets or games.

Mehrnaz notices that being in the crowd at a sports game also provides an opportunity to bond with other parents or students. She credits this to the fact that some of the players on the MVHS baseball team are also on her son’s club baseball team. As a result, she not only meets other parents and supporters at the MVHS game, but during other times of the year as well.

Mehrnaz notes that with living in the Silicon Valley, a lot of parents work fulltime jobs and are unable to make it to afterschool games like baseball. But for her, the parents who do attend are doing more than just cheering on their own players.

“It all starts with your own kid,” Mehrnaz said. “You just want to show them that you actually do support them, and you are behind them. [Even if] a kid comes to base and their parents are not there, the rest of the parents are rooting for them.”

Though other MVHS sports may lack the camaraderie of the baseball team, the Senate is working to improve attendance.

The goal is to make more students aware of the athletic events at MVHS, whether it be through staff appreciation games, or even promoting the team and game dates on social media platforms. e

40%

Agree that they enjoy attending MVHS sports games to some degree

*According to a survey of 384 MVHS students

SPORTS | OCTOBER 2018

35

D O U B LEDHU P

e looked around the field, scouting the other players. He was nervous but confident, knowing that he had a strong chance of making the team. All he was waiting for was his name to be called. Time went on, his coach pulling players off the field, congratulating them. But he didn’t hear his name.

As nervousness and doubt ran through his mind, he finally heard those two words.

As he rushed to the coach, the worry left his body. Though it was a year-long commitment, and he wouldn’t be able to play for his school team, he had made one of the top soccer teams in northern California.

Junior Brett Park plays competitive soccer for De Anza Force Academy U-17. Because of the high level of commitment required to play, athletes are required to sign a contract with the U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) that restricts them from playing for school. Due to the number of hours Park puts into his Academy team, he experiences difficulty balancing academics and club.

“I definitely use those three tutorials [and] sometimes I go in at lunch, but I definitely manage my time with planners,” Park said.

In addition to games and tournaments that span yearlong, Park participates in matches all over the world that he says negatively affect his academics.

“I’d say at least eight trips whether [that be] in state or out of state or in SoCal and then we had a trip to Spain,” Park said.

“That ruined all my grades, it fell about five percent [in] each class.”

Park believes that though he made the decision to play for his club team, he misses out on the unique atmosphere that playing on a school team provides. Park admits that if there was no such contract between him and the USSDA, he would take the opportunity to play both.

“I see groups of people — ­­ football teams — and they have a real [brotherhood],” Park said. “I think it would be really fun, because I see all my friends play on the soccer team, but then I [remember that I] can’t.”

Although Park would like to be a part of a school team, he still recognizes the benefits of playing for the Academy, specifically the competitive environment that it offers him.

Park hopes to continue his soccer career in college, and believes that playing for the school team would not give him the same kind of opportunities.

“I get a lot better because the Academy program is more competitive than at MVHS,” Park said. “I would rather get the college exposure from being a full-time

36

EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO COURTESY OF JANA TSAI

Comparing school and club sports and the impact they have on academics

BY RAJAS HABBU, KAMYAR MORADI AND JULIA YANG academy player.”

Junior dancer Jana Tsai has also been exposed to a high level of competition that has taken a toll on her academics. She is a part of the MVHS dance team and a competitive team at NorCal Dance Arts, which takes her to competitions around the state and country.

Tsai explained the struggle of managing her time due to the workload of dancing for two teams. To make sure that she doesn’t fall behind in school, Tsai finds it necessary to communicate with her club and school coaches to ensure that her schedules will not overlap and create problems.

“I had to work out the conflicts that I’m going to have for the upcoming season because there [are] a lot of competitions during second semester that clash with the rehearsals that I have otherwise,” Tsai said.

Head coach of the MVHS boys varsity soccer team, Todd Kimble, explains how student athletes are not as committed to school sports as they are to club sports. He mentions that students do not put the time and effort required into school sports due to the academic environment at MVHS. “The parents are paying [for their children to be in club teams], and you’re committed and the coaches wrap you into a commitment,” Kimble said. “Whereas in the high school sports, it’s much harder to wrap you into the commitment. Club comes first when it comes to soccer, however, grades come first even over that.”

Kimble explains that students have a different mentality when it comes to club sports and they become more focused and more determined, mainly because parents are playing for their children to play.

“It’s a way [they] approach it, ‘my parents are paying for it, my coach is demanding certain things’ and you are not with your buddies,” Kimble said. “There’s the mentality [that] ‘I’m going to go there to work.’ In high school, that’s where I think the difference is.”

Both Tsai and Park explain how much more competitive club sports are in comparison to school teams.

“I think the [MVHS team] is more focused on being a team and bonding, and it’s in school, so I feel like it’s not as intense or scary,” Tsai said. “When I’m with an outside dance group, my teachers are more focused on improving individuals [and] preparing them for potential careers as dancers.”

While Tsai acknowledges the intense environment that her academy brings, she still enjoys the team bonding activities with PHOTO COURTESY OF BRETT PARK

SPORTS | OCTOBER 2018 37

PHOTO | SUNJIN CHANG

her school dance group during the season. With as much pressure and anxiety that comes with competing for a club, Tsai says this is something that the school can offer that her academy cannot. “[The MVHS dance team] actually did specific activities, and I really liked it because I got to know the people I’d be dancing with at the at the camp that we went to over summer,” Tsai said.

In January of 2018, Tsai was also presented the opportunity to compete on NBC’s “World of Dance” with her academy dance team. On the show, competitive dance teams across the nation showcase

their talents for a panel of judges. Tsai shared that she dedicated a lot of time to the show, including extra practices and rehearsals which took time away from her school work.

“I think that the rehearsals leading up to going to the show were pretty stressful because our teacher she really wanted us to do well,” Tsai said.

Similar to Tsai’s experience on “World of Dance,” in March of 2017, Park went to Barcelona to play in the prestigious Mediterranean International Cup, where they faced teams ranging from Spain, Japan and Australia. His team won three games, tied one and lost the other in a penalty

shootout, finishing 32 in the tournament.

Regardless of the commitment an outside sports team requires, Park and Tsai still feel like the benefits outweigh the sacrifices that they continue to make to compete at the highest levels. For Park, playing in the Academy gives him a unique chance to pursue a collegiate career.

“I’m playing soccer right now a lot because it’s not only fun,” Park said.

“It definitely gives me like a more of an opportunity to get into like colleges rather than just like my education alone.” e

e

38

EL ESTOQUE | OCTOBER 2018

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH TARUN SARANG

BY RAJAS HABBU

M

22 564 10 RECEPTIONS

VHS wide receiver and junior Tarun Sarang first discovered his love for football when he was seven years old. He started as a flag football player and over the years, has transitioned to tackle football. Some of his favorite plays include scoring six touchdowns against Lynbrook HS his freshman year and making an impressive one-handed touchdown catch against Gunn HS the following year. With seven touchdowns in just the first four games of this season, Sarang plays a key role in the success of the MVHS football team.

YARDS

TOUCHDOWNS

*First seven weeks of the 2018 season PHOTO | ANKIT GUPTA

SPORTS | OCTOBER 2018 39

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